Remember that project I mentioned awhile back? The one about the old computer I was going to work on and fix up? Well, it’s almost near completion and I feel a strong need to write a progress report because I’ve been obsessed with Linux too much to think about much more than configuring fstabs and compiling software. For the past few weeks I have been simultaneously configuring Linux on two completely different machines: the old Pentium monstrosity and my brother’s g3 iMac. Needless to say this has given me a lot of work, since g3 iMacs do not work very well out of the box and there is a lot of stuff I need to do that goes completely over my head (But I’m getting there)!

Well, for now I’d call my job on the old monster computer a near complete success. The initial installation of Xubuntu failed, however, by no fault of its own; I had simply forgotten the password that I made for it! And then, feeling stupid, I re-installed it with a password only an idiot could forget. Then I finally logged into the Xubuntu desktop and immediately started configuring things. I didn’t need to configure the network, because the Ubuntu auto-config worked well enough for me; however I did install a firestarter firewall. No matter what the computer is used for, the rule is always, and I mean ALWAYS install at least a basic firewall. Unless of course the computer isn’t connected to a network of any kind, then you can pretty much fuck the firewall.

Sure, you’ll never make the computer 100% hack-proof, but at least you’ll be safe against some 13-year-old who just watched ‘Hackers’. And that’s about 99% of the ‘hackers’ out there. The really good ones are probably going to go after bigger prey than you anyway. Haha, that’s my security plan right there. That, and not running Windows because it has a TERRIBLE root user system. As the network administrator of my house, I would feel very uncomfortable having a Windows machine on the same router as my computer. Shivers up my spine!

So I set up a firewall, and installed Skype only to find out that the built-in sound card doesn’t work with Linux because the company that makes it--Rockwell international, now known as Conexant--are out to make the most Linux-unfriendly sound card there is. And this basically means that if the owner of the machine wants sound he’ll have to purchase one of those super, super cheap old soundblaster cards which are practically everywhere in the PC world. With a working sound card this machine would make a decent Skype phone. I’ve seen some of those cards on eBay going for one dollar!

My sound card frustrations were somewhat assuaged after an installation of a Swiftfox built for a Pentium 2 -- even though the computer actually is a Celeron, it’s one of the Pentium 2 based ones so the optimization still applied. And once I had removed some of the Firefox plugins I found that Swiftfox could provide a responsive, completely up-to-date web browsing experience on a computer that was manufactured when The Matrix was still cool and teenagers could still wear trench-coats to high school without raising red flags. But even though Bill Clinton was president when this computer was manufactured, I still managed to make it useful. Add web kiosk for a kitchen or wherever to its list of useful functions.

The default RAM in the computer is 64 megabytes, although I was lucky that one of the previous owners had upgraded it to 256 megabytes, probably in a desperate attempt to get it to run a newer version of Windows properly. Which basically meant for me that it would run the Xubuntu configuration of the GNU/Linux operating system quite well. In fact, I managed to make it so useful that sometimes while I was working on it my brother would just use it to check his internet e-mail and blogs. He could visit some of the more intensive site without near the slowdown I expected.

The XCFE desktop environment is very light and efficient because the group that works on it has nothing to gain by forcing you to buy new hardware. They’re just in it to make software, and pretty good software at that. My only issue with the XCFE included with Xubuntu is the default file manager, Thunar. Even though Thunar is very easy to use, and quite efficient once you get use to it, it is not as finished as I think it ought to be. There is no Samba-sharing capability in that Thunar, so I had to use a terminal-based program called Midnight Commander to connect and transfers files from my own computer over the network. And even though this works for my networking needs, it doesn’t quite fit in with my goal of making this an easy-to-use and polished Linux box. I may very well be able to fly through Midnight Commander, but I need to be considerate of other people when I set up computers like this for them.

So I’ll advise the owner to upgrade to 6.10 Xubuntu when it comes out, because that version will have XCFE 4.4 with a much better Thunar that has Samba network support. Which is great because I really like Thunar. It’s one of the most logical file managers I’ve ever used. Extremely simple and logical once you learn how to think Unix. Longtime Windows or MacOS users may find it daunting at first, but I think it’s better than the other file managers that simply try to emulate the commercial OSes. XCFE really makes you feel like you’re using Linux, even though it is easy. Any computer user in the world could do useful things on my setup. You simply start up the computer and applications that do 95% of what people do with a computer show up on a clean desktop: Thunderbird E-mail, Gaim Instant Messaging, OpenOffice Writer Word Processor, Gimp photo Manipulation (Which actually runs at a usable speed.) and Swiftfox. Very good applications that I highly recommend. It would play Mp3s and small videos as well if it had a soundblaster.

Another challenge for me was to figure out how to connect to a shared Windows printer over a network. This was difficult because I had to set up a Mac to emulate a Windows machine on the network and enable printer sharing. This didn’t work either because I didn’t know what I was doing, or the Mac Samba doesn’t emulate Windows Sharing well enough for me to see. So if you need something printed from this computer you have to send it to another computer and then print it from there; or just connect the printer to the Linux box because CUPS will probably work. Printers will always be the bane of my computer existence. I have never had a print work properly! Shit, I hate them. I’d rather pay those maniacal thugs at Kinkos to print for me than deal with some piece of crap printer!

But perhaps the best thing for me about this project is that I have gotten to know the Linux community a lot more, and have made myself somewhat of a contributor. At first glance your average Linux forum is scary as hell, and you’re not quite sure how helpful the people are going to be. I usually just search them to find people having problems similar to my own and adapt the solutions to my particular setup. However, sometimes you may not be able to do that. Then you’ll have to know how to talk to a Linux-geek, and that’s perhaps the most important Linux skill you can develop. You must keep in mind at all times that they’re just like Trekkies in that they love technoblabble. If you’re having a problem with a program it’s a good idea to start it from a terminal and copy-paste the output! And if it’s a system problem, give them your entire dmsg output. Even though you may not have to, doing this kind of marks you as someone who is smart enough to do the things they tell you to fix the problem.

And I guess I’ve kind of made myself into sort of a proto-geek. I even helped another Linux user solve a problem, and that made me feel good about myself. With Linux you sort of have an obligation to help others if you know how, this strengthens the community and makes the software better. It’s a very personal and independent experience, and yet the sense of community is unlike anything I’ve ever seen since the old days of the Mac. So I find the entire thing extremely stimulating and satisfactory. What I love so much about Linux is the sense that even I, with no programming experience, can change things about this. It reminds me of the days before computers were as big as they are now. Linux takes you back as much as it takes your forward. You feel as if you’re back in the day when those who owned computers knew how to use them. For as easy as Linux can be made for the end-user, it still does not underestimate your intelligence.

So, in conclusion, I’ll say that I’m glad I got all this computer stuff out of my system and that I may soon be able to talk to human beings again. Also, I’d recommend that a newcomer who is interested in Linux but also scared shitless of it try one of the ‘Buntu’s; they’re small and easy to setup. Once you’ve booted up from the DesktopCD, tested all the hardware recognition and it all checks out, there’s really no reason for you not to install it (And if you still like Windows you can set up a dual-boot with the Windows partition not set up to go online so that you can maintain a virus/spyware-free installation by using Linux for all your internet stuff). Heck, I’d even help you to the best of my ability. If anyone wants me to, I’ll take their older--or newer--computer and purge it of all Microsoft software, for free, because I don’t know what I’m doing enough to charge for it! What I am at this point is just a one man InstallFest.

See, there are an awful lot of people out there that don’t need any Windows-specific programs, and are always having problems because their computers are always getting stuffed and bogged down with a lot of spyware and shit. Another thing I notice about Windows PCs is that they’re often out-of-date because Microsoft upgrades are so expensive the owners just don’t bother; with a free Linux distribution they can always to be up-to-date because the upgrades are free.

So there you have it, my report. I suppose there may be more computers come in here for me to tinker with and purge. And I still have the iPod Linux project that can contribute to now. And if my Mom allows it I’ll try to put Linux on her cell phone. Call it an obsession, at least it’s a useful one to have. I’d say I leveled up one level in the computer world.

Dalton out. Will talk like a human being again soon!

sudo shutdown now