05.25.08
Posted in Software at 11:35 PM by Jeff
Knoppix is one of the best Linux Live CDs I have used. The hardware detection is very good (however, I have not tried to use my USB scanner with it). It is easily mount HDDs and USB devices with different filesystem formats.
The default software seems to include everything that I have wanted to use it for. It has the utilities necessary for system recovery (which is my primary use of Knoppix), network diagnosis, internet browsing, etc.
While I think this is a great distribution, I would not recommend it for new Linux users. The user interface does not contain as much eye candy as other Linux Live CDs that I will post reviews for in the future. The great utility of this Linux Live CD makes it quite useful. I currently have a Knoppix CD in my work briefcase. You never know when you might need it!
Stats as tested on my old P4 test box.
This graph show that the bootup time is 2 min. and 17.7 sec.
[pie chart here] Runtime Statistics Go Here
Applications useful for recovering a system: [# goes here]
Size of ISO Image: 696.4 MB
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05.23.08
Posted in Software at 10:21 AM by Jeff
This post kicks off a series about various Linux Live CDs. I have been trying out a multitude of them lately, and figured that others would be interested to learn about some of the worthwhile CD/DVDs out there. I use the term Linux Live CD to indicate Linux distros on a boot-able CD/DVD or other portable media.
The purpose of such a CD includes the following:
- Test drive a Linux distribution or Linux in general
- Recover a computer after a severe system failure
- Test hardware compatibility with Linux
- Getting work done (e-mail, word processing, etc.)
The things I look at when evaluating a Linux Live CD are functionality, hardware detection/compatibility, included software packages, overall look and feel of the operating system, and ability to modify operating system on the fly to get work done.
If you have questions about a particular Linux Live CD, feel free to ask. I’ve tried all the major ones and a lot of the not well known ones.
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04.23.08
Posted in Software at 10:44 AM by Jeff
A while back I was playing Warzone 2100 and I had an idea. I should have a GNU/Linux LAN Party. Not only would it be fun but it would encourage people to try out Linux.
Here are some conclusions that I have come to so far about the possible future Linux LAN party. I would not want to require everyone to install Linux on their gaming rig (if it isn’t installed already). That would mean that either the games played would need to have a Windows/OS X counterpart or there should be a live CD/DVD that people could run the games from. I am currently researching possible games and possible Linux live CD/DVDs that could be used.
During my research I have found these other Linux LAN parties that all turned out well.
Arkansas Linux LAN
NJ LoCo Team Linux LAN Party
SW Florida GNU/Linux Users Group
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11.28.07
Posted in Development at 3:56 PM by Jeff
This is the error message I received when trying to bring my work laptop back from hibernation. This unsolicited advice from one of my co-workers was also very helpful. “Tough choice. I think I’d pick No, I do not want an error.”
This is what happens when error checking goes wrong. The laptop knew something wasn’t right, but it didn’t know exactly what it was.
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11.14.07
Posted in Development at 8:40 AM by Jeff
A while back I remember a co-worker of mine saying that he saw an error message while doing some critical updates to our system. He said, “I clicked ‘yes’ because I wasn’t sure what clicking ‘no’ would do”. Clicking ‘yes’ was actually not what he wanted to do, and it created some problems.
Besides making a good inside joke, this makes a good example of the need for buttons to be descriptive. If an IT worker cannot figure out what the button does by the warning message given and the text on the button then something is wrong. Using buttons that just say ‘yes’, ‘no’, and ‘Ok’ is often not enough. The reader does not want to read three pages of text, but they need to understand what will happen before they click on the button.
I would recommended using buttons like ‘login’, ’save’, and ‘delete’. When one word is not enough, it is acceptable to use short phrases like ‘edit this transaction’ or ‘approve this contract’. They are still very concise descriptions, but in terms of usability they are leaps and bounds ahead of ‘Ok’.
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