Soon
Blogging will resume soon. No, really.
Blog
10 Guides for a new Ubuntu user
The FlackOS blog has a list of 10 guides for a new Ubuntu user.
Pretty handy list, from binary video card drivers to eye candy to reducing boot time.
Check it out.
Ubuntu Blog
As you should know by now, I’m a huge Ubuntu Linux fan. I’ve been using Linux off and on since 1997, starting with Red Hat, and have tried most distros in between (SUSE, Mandriva, Gentoo, Debian) but it was Ubuntu that made me switch permanently from Red Hat (and later, Fedora) when Ubuntu’s 4.10 was released.
I use Ubuntu on all three of my main machines now (except my Windows Media PC when I have to use Windows, and my Mac Mini, just to toy with Mac OS X), and made the switch to use Ubuntu full-time a year ago when I decided to give up my gaming habit.
As an Ubuntu user, I highly recommend the Ubuntu Blog, written by a Ubuntu fan, Ubuntonista, who posts daily about how to make your Ubuntu experience better. I make sure to stop by every day.
If you are already an Ubuntu Blog reader, Ubuntonista has posted on why he writes and calls for comments on what his readers want to see there. Make sure you stop by, thank him, and share your thoughts.
Jacktracker
For you 24 fans out there (and I’m a raving one):
Introducing the Jacktracker. Using Google Maps, Flickr, and other tools, some enterprising fans have put together a history of all the hotspots in L.A. Jack has visited in 5 seasons of 24. Click on the map points to get a history lesson, and zoom in with Google maps.
Very, very cool fan made tool.
On this Day 10 Years Ago
Lawrence Lessig on today’s history lesson:
On February 8, 1996, Congress enacted the 1996 Telecom Act, which included the Communications Decency Act. After the President signed both laws, John Perry Barlow, at Davos, issued his “Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace.â€?
The Supreme Court struck the core of the CDA within 16 months. The Telecom Act is still being litigated, and Congress is now talking about trashing it.
But John Perry’s Declaration is still a great read.
And Mr. Lessig is right. John Perry Barlow’s Declaration is still a good read. And, in my opinion, the 1996 Telecom Actcompletely failed what it was trying to accomplish. Ten years later, and we are seeing the re-forming of Ma Bell (Look at SBC – purchased two other regional phone companies in the last 5 years (Pacific Bell & Ameritech) and last year’s purchase of what was left of AT&T), these same phone companies complaining about web services like Google running over “thier pipes” and content providers should pay for the privilege (isn’t that why individual users pay a monthly fee for broadband?), and compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. has one of the worst broadband availability, and some of the highest prices.
It’s too bad too, because I belive the 1996 Telecom Act meant to do good things, and they just never happened.
Best of Bootie 2005
Go here and download the Best of Bootie 2005, a collection of mash-ups featuring the favorite mashups of 2005 bootiesf.com.
They picked some good ones – I really dig the album. But then again, I dig mashups. What’s a mashup? Think remix, especially when you combine one artists vocals with a completely different artists music. Look at the track listing on the link above – the last song on the album is actually really good, which is NWA vocal’s laid over Nirvana’s Smells like Teen Spirit.
Give it a try – you won’t believe until you listen.
ET: Quake Wars to have Linux Client
From the preview over at Planetquake4:
Other features include in game voice chat, absolute Linux support (though may not be 100% done at the time of shipping), Punkbuster for anti-cheating, and stopwatch mode for tournament play.
Sweet! Enemy Territory: Quake Wars will run on the Doom3 engine, and is being developed by Splash Damage, who did the original Enemy Territory. Quake Wars pits Strogg vs. Humans as the Strogg invades Earth, and will the two sides will have entirely different classes and vehicles.
I’ve been talking this game up for a while, and I’m very excited they officially announced Linux support.
Second Life on Linux!
It’s here! I received the email yesterday to participate in the alpha test of Second Life’s Linux client. It’s Alpha – it has a few graphic glitches, but it’s working. It seems to run fast so far.
The client is very Mac OS-ish and very intuitive. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to play as I needed to watch Jack with my better half out shopping, but I’m really looking forward to spending some time this weekend with Second Life.
Obligatory screenshot right after I logged in:
Savage 2 to be available on Linux
Linuxgames has the post and the links with the details.
Savage 1 was an interesting game – a RTS / FPS hybrid, that actually worked. The learning curve was a little steep, but it was a fun game.
I’m glad to see another major developer continue to support Linux – add S2 games to the list of developers doing the right thing like id and Epic.