Category Archives: Ubuntu

10 years of Linux

Hooray!  Oh no! Yes folks, here in Canada, July 1 marks a momentous day.  And that day is the 10-year anniversary of the day I decided to ditch Microsoft Windows and switch to Linux.¹ It was July1, 2007 when I made the switch, and I remember being excited about partitioning the hard drive on my […]

Windows XP – End of Life

It’s the operating system that won’t die! And even though I primarily use Xubuntu and other Linux-based operating systems for my PCs, I still use Windows XP.  I also use Windows 98, but that’s another blog post. My use of Windows XP is restricted to a virtual machine here on this main computer of mine.  […]

Bodhi Linux

I’ve recently been playing around with a new-ish distro called Bodhi Linux.  It’s a light-weight distro, and since I’m a cheap bastard who likes to spend not much money on underpowered hardware, I like to get the most I can out of my OS. That’s why I use primarily Xubuntu and Lubuntu, and even Puppy […]

My Puppy

Oh how cute, Robotman’s going to bore the fuck out of you by talking about Linux again! Yes, This is a story about a Linux distribution called “Puppy Linux“.    I’m not much of a 1337 H4XXÁ˜R when it comes to Linux, so I pretty much stick to distros that I can install and use with […]

Oy Mint!

Well, I tried to give Linux Mint another try.  This time I tried Linux Mint 13 with Cinnamon, 32 Bit.  And I tried it on a computer that I’ve never tried to install Mint on before. The live DVD wouldn’t even boot. So as not to make the downloading and burning of that ISO a […]

To the FUTURE!!!

Cue scientifical music. That’s better. This post is the first post written on my “writing laptop” since I dun reformatted the hard drive since I dun got me a rootkit on it.  See below for the horrid, treacherous details of that.  Sordid?  Yeah, add sordid to that list of adjectives too. Am I making any […]

Oh, Mint

I really tried to like you, Mint.  I really like your philosophy, and the fact that you’re moving away from the clone-Appleâ„¢ policies of Ubuntu.  So I was disappointed when I first tried installing you back in 2008.  The “Fluxbox” version I booted with a Live CD on my laptop looked so damn seductive, and […]

The price of my computing needs

I meant to post this post a while ago.  Back when the details were fresh in my memory.  So please excuse me if they are fuzzy or wrong. This last Spring, I had two of my computers die on me – within 5 days of each other.  That fucking sucked.  One of those computers was […]

Is it Xubuntu or is it Windows 95?

Or some bastardized mishmash of Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 and Windows 98? Actually it’s my writing laptop with a definite oldschool look that gives me a chuckle every time I use it. For the record, this is Xubuntu 12.04. It all started when I was bored and upgrading from Xubuntu 10.04 to 12.04.  Contrary […]

How XScreensaver got me to use Xfce again

Here’s another nerdy story for you all!  Gather around the glow of the CRT, it’s time to get geeky! I recently got a DVD from Jolly Old England (that’s what the country is officially called, I think) because it’s so obscure I couldn’t get it here in Canada.  The video is this: Made by these […]

Another Ubuntu user

Last week, I had actually brought back my friend’s computer to work so that i could give it to her.  But before I did, I asked her if she would like to have an alternative operating system installed beside Vista. I explained that she would be able to choose which one to boot when she […]

Why geeks should ask for help in naming things.

Hoe-kay. Ubuntu comes with a nifty little screenshot application.  You just hit the “print” key (your keyboard has one, it probably says “Prt Scr” over “SysRq”) and voila, a nifty little application window comes up and asks you where you’d like to save the screenshot and what you’d like to call it. Nifty is one […]

All done and I like the results

I’ve got everything reinstalled now and aside from virtual Windows being slower, everything is better or the same as how I had it before. My grammar sucks but that is because I’m tired.  So sue me.  I actually spent a bit more time setting up Windows than I would have liked.  Reason?  Apparently Windows XP […]

Fixins

Well, my early night last night didn’t really turn out that way.  I couldn’t sleep.  So I went ahead and installed the new video card I got last night.  Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Uncle Furry for carting me around town to get that card. AGP cards are a scarce breed these days.  The […]

ZOMGITSFROZEN!!1!

Alas, my internet PC has dun gone all fuckled.  I boot, she freeze.  I boot, she freeze.  Sigh.  Tarnation! I hadn’t upgraded or reinstalled Xubuntu on this thing for a while… it was still running 9.04.  And now I think I’ll have to reinstall the whole damn shebang.  Now, this computer has 2 hard drives.  […]

A short rant about something that really bugs me about Linux

Okay.  Back in the days of Windows 95 and 98, I learned how to customize my setup as best as I could.  This included changing desktop wallpaper, the window buttons and title bars, the Start Menu, the sounds, and the mouse cursors.  I customized other things too, but let’s not get carried away here.  This […]

Update on my first PC

Because this is fucking VITAL information.  A few posts down, I talked about how I was reinstalling Xubuntu/LXDE on my first computer.  I use it for reading, so all I run is Firefox and a text-to speech program. Well, I dun got me everything set up.  I installed all the updates, got the codecs I’ll […]

Fuck upgrading… viva la reinstallation! – Part 2

So now the time has come to reinstall Ubuntu on my very first PC, and this thing will go from Ubuntu 8.04 with LXDE to Ubuntu 10.04 with LXDE. But I’m going about things a little differently on this machine.  First of all, when I tried to load the computer using the Ubuntu 10.04 Live […]

Fuck upgrading… viva la reinstallation!

I made a post a while back about how I upgraded my parents’ laptop from Xubuntu 9.04 to 10.04.  It went well.  But since I upgraded, I didn’t get to take advantage of the vast improvements in boot times that came along with the newest version.  Also, I didn’t get my chance to try setting […]

The sad state of text-to-speech in Linux just got less sad

I’m a lazy guy.  I read a lot while I surf the net, and I have a screen reader do all the work for me.  Currently, I have TextAloud mp3 do that for me on this computer.  It runs in a virtual Windows XP installation that I have in “seamless mode” in VirtualBox on my […]

Upgrading Ubuntu – Part 2

My experience with upgrading my Ubuntu (and Xubuntu) systems from version 9.04 through 10.04 seems to have gone well.  As I blabbed about in a post below, I upgraded my parents’ laptop first, then did the same to my own laptop. Now, I’ve done the process to my music computer.  I was worried about this […]

Upgrading Ubuntu

Well, the time has come again for me to run the “Distribution Upgrade” from the Update Manager window.  This usually means certain destruction.  I think I’ve only successfully upgraded an Ubuntu system once before.  Every other time I’ve done it, it has gone horribly wrong and left me with a broken and irreparable system.  Like […]

A new toy 2

I’ve still got that 10 year old Thinkpad.  And I’m still enjoying it.  Here’s a status update for those of you waiting breathlessly for such information. This puppy now dual boots both Ubuntu 10.04 and Windows 98 SE.  That’s a month-old operating system coupled with a 12 year old operating system on a 10 year […]

A new toy

As part of my ongoing quest to experience the unmitigated awesome that is the Windows 3.1 operating system, I have acquired an old laptop.  Thanks, Uncle Furry. ;) It’s from the heady year of 2000, which was once a large-looming “FUTURE” but is now, like, ten years ago. And it has Windows 98 already on […]

Thoughts on Ubuntu 10.04

I’ve read that this latest release is buggy. And I’ve also read that it’s got an “unfinished feel”, especially for a Long Term Release.  And from what my own experience with it tells me, I would have to agree. I mentioned earlier how I downloaded the beta and installed it on my netbook.  That went… […]

Out with the old…

Well, I finally got around to checking out my new laserjet printer today.  And I didn’t know this… but “LaserJet” is a trademark owned by Hewlett Packard.  Meh. Well xerox my kleenex! So far I’ve printed only a test page from Ubuntu and a test page from Windows XP, but they look good.  Now, if […]

In Praise of Chef Boyardee

Yes, my slop is being nuked in the microwave as we speak!  IT was either that or Wendy’s.  Not healthy, but flavourful.  I’m getting plenty of “exercise” at work lately.  So I guess I can claim that I’m burning off the fat pretty fast. So on to things that aren’t high-sodium, high-fat, low-nutrient meals.  Well […]

First impressions of Lubuntu

Well, out of boredom and a need to express my geekdom in as many ways as I can, I’ve installed “Lubuntu” on my netbook. Lubuntu, for those not in the know, is the variant of Ubuntu that uses LXDE as its desktop environment.  I use LXDE over Ubuntu or Xubuntu on most of my computers.  […]

Bring back Windows 3.1!

So, my opinion of Ed Bott is that he’s a shill and an Áœber Fanboy for Microsoft.  Still, this is fucking hilarious. And it has me thinking of Windows 3.1. A while ago I watched this video of someone running Windows 3.1 on a Nokia phone. Pretty neat trick.  I have a very old monochrome […]

Back from the Robot Lab

Well, nothing of substance to say tonight.  You see, I’ve just spent more of my hard-earned money on phone sex with a lovely lady through the NiteFlirt website.  Giggity. I do want to mention something I forgot to complain about in my Ubuntu post just below.  Who the fuck put the window control buttons on […]

The state of Ubuntu

I saw some recent screenshots of the latest version of GNOME, which apparently is in contention for being an early version of GNOME 3.0.  I hate it. I see a very nasty trend in GUI design lately.  That trend is all about eye candy.  Eye candy and the need to cater to stupid people who […]

Well, lawdy freakin daw

I’m sure many of you out there have noticed that motherfucking godawful bloody Daylight Saving time has cursed us all with its presence one more time.  Except for folks in Saskatchewan.  Why did they realize that DST is a useless fucking turd and not the rest of us? Anyhoo, you’ve probably guessed by now that […]

Firefox no longer pisses me off!

That’s me!  Look how happy I am!  And look how shiny my coat is! Seriously, I’m no longer thinking about ditching the Linux version of Firefox.  Since I did my little experiment with installing and using the daily builds, I’m enjoying the quickness and light weight of the browser.  I just uploaded some pics and […]

I’ve finally upgraded Firefox!

This is actually exciting news on Linux.  As much as I love Linux, there’s one thing I can not stand about it.  The way that software gets installed is a fucking mess. I’ve learned the hard way that unless you are a Linux programmer, you shouldn’t try to install anything outside of what your distro […]

Just browsing, thanks

Firefox is a very fine browser.  It’s full-featured, and it allows for the use of some excellent add-ons.  It used to be the fastest browser out there for Windows. As far as Linux is concerned, Firefox is a sludgy molasses pit.  Things have improved a bit since Firefox 2.0, but it’s nowhere near what it […]

“LXDE – the cure for what ails our older PCs”

Not my headline, but one from Christopher Dawson over at ZDNet.  Seeing as how I’m under the effect of another bloody Chinook headache, and seeing as how I can’t get the neurons firing to think of a topic to blab about myself, I will just let you read that. And read this too, because it’s […]

My first PC

This is a love story. No, not the kind of love I have for female androids.  I never have and never will fondle or fuck a PC. My first PC is a vintage 1998 HP Pavilion 8260.  Back then, it cost me $2599 and included only a mouse, keyboard, monitor and speakers. The specs and […]