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The Easiest Way to try Linux

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:05:00 +0000

I have commented on a variety of different ways to get started with a free operating system and some ways to even have a free computer.

That being said, this has to be the easiest way to get started using Linux from Window's XP.

Go to my thread here and download this exe file (Window's installation program). The download works great with either Internet Explorer or Firefox 3.5, but it may ask for a password if you use a different browser. My thread has suggestions on ways around that or just try one of those two browsers.

If you run it you will have Puppy Linux 4.3.1 installed on your computer. Just like that.

It doesn't change anything about your Window's XP installation (that is the version of Window's it has been tested on) and, if you don't want it for whatever reason, just go to Window's Add/remove software and remove it.

What it does: this program adds a folder in Windows for Puppy Linux, what's called a "frugal install." This puts Puppy's needed files in that folder (around 100MB). The program also modifies Window's bootloader file (it adds one line to the file). This allows that the next time your reboot you will then have the option to run either Window's or Puppy.

You pick. Boot up, run the operating system you want. If you run Puppy it will just do all you want it to, then you can either save the settings or don't save (saving it will create a save file that Puppy will then use the next time you run it).

Doesn't get much easier than that.

(the picture at the top of this post is one of my current Puppy Linux desktops. Takes a couple of seconds and you can modify your desktop however you want)

Easiest Way to Try Linux on a Flash Drive

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:17:00 +0000

Many people I know are wanting to give Linux a try, more than at any other time I've known. Window's users are not wanting to pay all that extra money for a new computer and are interested in trying something different. With Linux being a free alternative, there really is nothing to lose in at least trying it out.

As I've explained before, Puppy Linux is small, boots up and runs from ram, so nothing needs to be installed to try it out. You just boot it up, play with it, if you don't like it, take out the disk or flash drive (usb drive) for your next boot and boot back to Windows. Windows won't even know that's what you did.

Of course, if you like it, including the fact that Window's viruses and malware and such don't work on Linux so none of that cleaning software is needed, then you can begin switching to Linux.

So, if you want to give it a shot, here's the easiest way I know.

1. First, set your bios to boot a usb device before booting the hard drive. This link explains it the best way I know: here. Very easy to do. You are simply telling the computer to check the other devices, in this case a flash drive, and see if there is something to boot from. If not, it will boot/start like normal.

2. Next, buy a small flash drive/usb thumb drive. Really, any size you want. The more basic and cheap the better. This program is designed to be used with a regular flash drive that has a fat filesystem on it (most do). It needs to have at least a couple hundered megabytes (MB) on it (most are at least 512MB and up. It is pretty standard to find one with a couple of gigabytes space on it for like $5. 1000MB = 1gigabyte (gig)).

3. Then, go to the top of my thread here and download the Window's exe file (standard exe file like any other Window's install). Better download location from here except this download site asks for a password if you aren't using Internet Explorer or Firefox 3.5 +.

4. Then plug in the usb drive.

5. Run the exe file. It will go through a series of questions asking it where you want to put the files. Make sure you pick the flash drive. It will put the files there.

6. Reboot your computer so that it boots to the flash drive. It should boot up Linux just fine.

If you have any issues check this thread as the program is continually being improved. Enjoy Puppy Linux!

Here is an example of what the Puppy Linux desktop looks like:

What do you do if your computer crashes?!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:53:00 +0000

What do you do if your computer crashes?! Here is the easiest process.

You could diagnose the problem, but you have probably already done that to some extent. If you are down to either replacing the hard drive and/or reloading the operating system then here are some things try before opening up your computer case.

There is something called a livecd that you need to get your hands on. It does not need a hard drive to run on, just a cd player on your pc. With a livecd you can do essentially anything, including check your drive for issues, get online and basically any and all computer work. Most livecd’s are free, simply costing the price of a cd. I’ve used computers for years that only use a livecd and have nothing installed.

How do you get your hands on a livecd? Ask a friend of yours to burn one to a cd. They would be burning an iso image file to a cd, so it isn’t exactly the same as just putting data on a cd, but it is very similar. First, download the iso image of your choice (whatever you are downloading would have the ending .iso). Then just look for iso/image burning option on your cd burning software. For example, using Nero (one of the more common cd burning software, although not free) it would be under the option of “Copy ISO image to cd.”

Or you can order one. Most of these types of cd’s are very, very inexpensive, usually only a few dollars, essentially the cost of just the cd itself plus shipping.

What type of livecd should you get? This one runs and operates basically the same as Windows. Want to try a different option, try this one. It uses the Fluxbox window manager so everything is via the right-click. It happens to be one I put together from various sources. Hate both of those? There are hundreds of other options out there.

Once you have your livecd, you have to make certain your computer will boot (that means “start up” or “run from”) a cd. The easiest way to try this is to start your computer and put the disk in as quick as you can. If it didn’t work, then reboot the computer leaving the disk in and see if it was ‘cause you didn’t get the disk in fast enough. If it still wouldn’t boot then you have to set your BIOS to boot using the cd player.

This is very easy to do. As your computer is starting it usually says something like “Hit F2 to enter Setup.” So, hit F2 and you are now in the BIOS.

Look for something called boot options or something similar. You want the boot order to be the cd player first, then the hard drive. Save it, then close the BIOS leaving the cd in the cd player.

Once the livecd is up and running it will give you certain options. READ THEM. Pick which options you want or don’t. Usually the default settings are ok, but everyone should be in the habit of reading what is posted; that’s why it’s posted. ;-)

Now that you are running your computer, do what you will! Surf, fix your computer, surf to figure out how to fix your computer, whatever. You have a whole new world of options with your livecd. Enjoy!

Learn and Save on Computer Costs

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:22:00 +0000

In today's struggling economy there are certain things we are going to need to change.

Need a new computer but can't afford it? Then there are some easy answers, but you may need to make some changes.

The good Lord has blessed me over the years with an amazing life. Among other things, he has blessed me with the need to use learning over spending. Why does that matter?

In my experience (experiences may vary) Windows users (which means typical computer users) would rather spend money than learn. That's fine, if you have the money to spend. Also, Windows users typically don't want a lot of choices; they seem to prefer the choices made for them. Yes, there are times that fewer choices are preferred but this also is something that we may need to get over in this economy.

So, if you are prepared to learn rather than spend and can handle having lot's of choices to do what you want, then this is what you should do to get a new computer.

Check craig'slist, the Goodwill Computer store, or a rich friend that is getting rid of their computer and find a computer. Covered with Window's viruses? Doesn't matter. Need a new hard drive? Get one from one of the same sources and replace it.

With a cheap computer ready to go, we now need to put an operating system on it. Typically, Windows users don't know what an operating system is 'cause they only know Windows. Well, Windows is an operating system, but it is one that costs money ($90-$200) and one with fewer choices (usually).

Now take that old computer and put Linux on it.

Check the picture for an example. This is one I put together for a friend. It looks like Windows, surfs the internet, reads/writes Excel/Word/Powerpoint, uses custom fonts if needed, reads ipods/mp3 players, plays movies or any video, you name it. And it is free.

Did I have to learn things? Sure. Is that bad?

Oh, did I mention that it was free?

I went to a few Linux forums. Actually, there is a ton of information out there and people (like myself) that enjoy posting on the forum and helping people out.

The version of Linux in the picture is Puppy Linux (version 4.1.2). After using many Linux'es, this is the one that I prefer, but it isn't for everyone. So pick one of the HUNDREDS that are out there; pick one that does all media and focuses on that, if you want. Pick one that focuses on Windows users that want to switch. Whatever. Google all your questions and progressively narrow your search till you have what you want.

Learn and grow and save money.

With Linux, there hasn't been a computer project yet that I haven't been able to do. Yes, I've had to learn more and take longer with certain things, but I'd have to do that with Windows too, wouldn't I?

I've converted VHS and audio tapes to digital. I've downloaded youtube videos in bulk, converted them how I wanted and watched 'em. I've used Firefox, played Windows and Linux video games, read PowerPoint, cleaned hard drives, formatted hard drives, whatever. This is not to brag about my geekiness (I swear!) but rather to demonstrate that free software can do whatever you want on a computer with few exceptions.

Plusses of Linux: it's free. Window's viruses don't work on it and, since 99% of the viruses out there are Window's viruses, I've never had to have a virus scanner running or had any virus issues, ever. Stuff doesn't install the same in Linux so malware and spyware really doesn't work the same, so I don't use any scanners of any kind in Linux. Oh, it's free also.

Most computers purchased new these days have Windows installed on them. Yes, you are paying for the operating system. No, you don't have to. Progressively a few companies are selling systems without operating systems or with Linux installed. These are amazingly cheaper, of course.

So, why pay for a new system when you can do everything you want for free? Yes, you might have to learn. So what? You've learned a lot in life so far, this shouldn't be any big deal for you. Just give it a shot and give it a try. If you screw it up royally, so what? You've just been introduced to the world of learning! Note your mistakes, fix them, then move on. Repeat till you get it right. It's a free operating system, so no harm if you have to start over.

If you follow this procedure you can save yourself hundreds of dollars and may actually learn things that are marketable in this need-to-adapt-to-change economy.

Open your mind and save some money. Who knows? If you get good enough at it you can help others or sell newly referbished computers on your own. With a mind open to learning and a willingness to save money its amazing what you can achieve.

In the Beginning was the Command Line

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:46:00 +0000

Why would people continually choose an expensive, virus ridden Windows when there is a perfectly good, although different, operating system out there? One that is free and essentially free of viruses (well, at least compared to Windows)?

(disclaimer: Novell Linux is one of the literally hundreds of versions of Linux out there. I believe that Novell is a commercial brand, therefore it costs, but I believe it is inexpensive. If a free operating system is more what you are after, I'm a big Puppy Linux fan as you can see by my other posts. But, search around; there is for sure a free version of Linux for you.)

Neal Stephenson explains it best in his essay/book titled "In the Beginning was the Command Line." I have loved many of Stephenson's books over the years. He is an unique writer with excellent skills and story lines that were unheard of, at least until he wrote them down. "In the Beginning..." is one of his earlier works, but the info in there is as true today as ever. Linux users should read it to understand the origins and reasons behind Linux. Windows users should read it to see why they do what they do. All computer users should read it to broaden their horizons.

In this excerpt, Stephenson gives a comparison between Linux and some of the other operating systems by using the car dealership analogy:

With one exception, that is: Linux, which is right next door, and which is
not a business at all. It's a bunch of RVs, yurts, tepees, and geodesic
domes set up in a field and organized by consensus. The people who live
there are making tanks. These are not old-fashioned, cast-iron Soviet
tanks; these are more like the M1 tanks of the U.S. Army, made of space-age
materials and jammed with sophisticated technology from one end to the
other. But they are better than Army tanks. They've been modified in such a
way that they never, ever break down, are light and maneuverable enough to
use on ordinary streets, and use no more fuel than a subcompact car. These
tanks are being cranked out, on the spot, at a terrific pace, and a vast
number of them are lined up along the edge of the road with keys in the
ignition. Anyone who wants can simply climb into one and drive it away for
free.

Customers come to this crossroads in throngs, day and night. Ninety percent
of them go straight to the biggest dealership and buy station wagons or
off-road vehicles. They do not even look at the other dealerships.

Of the remaining ten percent, most go and buy a sleek Euro-sedan, pausing
only to turn up their noses at the philistines going to buy the station
wagons and ORVs. If they even notice the people on the opposite side of the
road, selling the cheaper, technically superior vehicles, these customers
deride them cranks and half-wits.

The Batmobile outlet sells a few vehicles to the occasional car nut who
wants a second vehicle to go with his station wagon, but seems to accept,
at least for now, that it's a fringe player.

The group giving away the free tanks only stays alive because it is staffed
by volunteers, who are lined up at the edge of the street with bullhorns,
trying to draw customers' attention to this incredible situation. A typical
conversation goes something like this:

Hacker with bullhorn: "Save your money! Accept one of our free tanks! It is
invulnerable, and can drive across rocks and swamps at ninety miles an hour
while getting a hundred miles to the gallon!"

Prospective station wagon buyer: "I know what you say is
true...but...er...I don't know how to maintain a tank!"

Bullhorn: "You don't know how to maintain a station wagon either!"

Buyer: "But this dealership has mechanics on staff. If something goes wrong
with my station wagon, I can take a day off work, bring it here, and pay
them to work on it while I sit in the waiting room for hours, listening to
elevator music."

Bullhorn: "But if you accept one of our free tanks we will send volunteers
to your house to fix it for free while you sleep!"

Buyer: "Stay away from my house, you freak!"

Bullhorn: "But..."

Buyer: "Can't you see that everyone is buying station wagons?"

Go out and buy a copy of Stephenson's book and expand your views. Then pick up some of his other books and really stretch the limits of your perspectives; enjoy.

Install a New Operating System without Installing It

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:29:00 +0000

Ok, the title is a little misleading but it will make sense once you read the post.

And I'm aware that I've talked about Puppy Linux before, but I just can't get over how cool this Linux version is.

Here's the latest: I've installed Puppy Linux to a hard drive without really installing it. Puppy Linux allows for what they call a "frugal" install. The frugal install runs essentially like a linux livecd, in that it is not really installed.

But let me give some background.

A computer essentially works like this: the cpu (central processing unit) requires information. First, it pulls it from RAM (memory in the form of memory sticks) that is quicky, flash, easily accessible memory. If the info is not in RAM, the cpu accesses the hard drive for info. The hard drive is much slower since it is a spinning disk with data on it.

Keeping that in mind, here's how Puppy works: when you put in a livecd and run it, Puppy loads the entire operating system to RAM; it's so small that it can do that. Then the entire operating system runs from RAM, is able to read the hard drive, sees all the hardware, whatever.

A frugal install is essentially putting all of the needed stuff from a livecd onto the hard drive into a saved file. Then, when my computer boots, I tell it, boot that file! It loads Puppy, Puppy puts itself into RAM and it is off and running!

Why does this matter? Well, that's a great question, 'cause for all outward appearances, it looks like Puppy is running just like any other installed operating system. The reasons it matters are these: it is much faster and it is very easy to update/change. Oh, and a frugal install doesn't change/remove any of the data that is already on the hard drive

Oh, and Puppy makes it very easy to do a frugal install; just check the Puppy forum for details on all I've explained.

For ease of installation, great community support and a generally cool operating system, Puppy is definitely one to check out.

Linux up that Laptop!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Fri, 23 May 2008 20:17:00 +0000

I got the idea the other day that it would be great to sit in my recliner and check my email via my laptop. The only problem was, well, I didn't really have a laptop. Not one that was worth anything.

Hmmm; or did I?

I did have an old IBM Thinkpad 600 with a Pentium II processor. It had an old version of Windows on there, but I wanted to spruce it up a bit and see if I could get it working with wireless.

I went through a great deal of trial and error, using a variety of minimalist versions of Linux, but I was really stonewalled. I couldn't get any of the newer BSD's or any of the Linux's to boot.

Thankfully I found a site that had a link for updating/flashing the bios. It turned out that was the key. You could, of course, download the floppy-bios-update creating file from the manufacturer's website, transfer it to a bootable cd (since I didn't have a floppy drive) but thankfully this guy on this site had done it for me already. After downloading it, all I had to do was put the newly-burned bootable .iso disk in, boot up the laptop and update my bios. Now all the versions that I had been trying before were booting at least.

But many of them still had issues. FreeBSD is probably my top pick, but it had too much on the newer versions for this laptop to handle. Coulnd't get NetBSD to boot. PCFluxboxOS is one of my top Linux picks, but it was too much on the LiveCD for this system's memory to handle. Damn Small Linux (excuse my French) installed great, but there was some stuff that I felt lacking on the desktop, not to mention I was having to battle with ndiswrapper too much trying to get wireless to work.

Well, I had wanted to wait until I had wireless working for sure, but there have been such good reports with the final version I selected that I just couldn't wait. Then when I got it set up after it installed so easy, I just had to post right away.

The winner: Puppy Linux. I had used this version of Linux in the past, but it just looked strange to me in the past. Not any more! Very modern look, easy interface, just a little Linux tweaking but not that much. A great deal of Forum support. Very impressive.

I'll post back to confirm wireless, but here are the pictures of the desktop now. So with a little effort, no purchase for the Linux (the price of a cd; Linux is usually free) I have a modern (newest version of Puppy Linux is from 2007) laptop up and going. Great stuff!

Update: ok, first of all, I had already installed Firefox and the driver for my wireless PCI Linksys card (rt8180 or something). These two and a few other programs I installed by getting them as pre-installable software from the Puppy website; very easy. I put them on the laptop with a flash drive (usb, Puppy finds it right away) and then double clicked them to install them. Then, when I got home to the recliner and my wireless, I right clicked the screen to bring up the menu. I clicked on Network--> Xautoconnect to Wireless Network. Instantly it began running a program that right away found my wireless signal and I was up and running. Puppy rocks!

Update (yet again!): I discovered in the various Puppy Linux options that you can very easily remaster (create your own) Puppy linux. What the heck? So I ran the program followed the instructions and now have a version that has the wallpapers I want and the documents I want already running from the livecd/installation cd. So, if I want to install this to another computer that I put together, I can now start with my own files already on the disk ready to install. Oh, also, I was playing with this newly created installation cd of mine on my main computer, the one that is running on a wireless cantenna and an internal pci card from within the enclosed garage. Would it find my wireless? I just right clicked to bring up the menu, ran the "Xautoconnect to wireless network." Sure enough, out of the box!, Puppy linux found my wireless device. So then I ran "Pwireless wireless scanner." It found my Network, just like that. That never happens with Linux, or Windows for that matter! Awesome!

Customize Windows XP for Free

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:09:00 +0000

First of all, disclaimers: if you do any modifications of your Windows settup, you do it at your own risk, of course. This should be obvious, but I don't want people getting grumpy at me.

Also, this is not for those that blindly click "Ok" on everything that presents itself on their screen. Read everything, or this won't work.

That being said, I am amazed at how quickly and easily I can do this and have a good looking customized screen for Windows when it was such an issue in the past. I could always customize as I wanted to in Linux, but Windows was a hassle; not with the process that I explain in this post.

And, even noting the above disclaimer, the couple of times I didn't follow the directions exactly and didn't wait long enough (you'll see what I mean later) it just caused the patch not to work, and everything returned to normal, no harm no foul.

Oh, and this is all free and takes about 15 minutes, even less after you've done it a few times. I'll explain it in thorough detail, but once you get the hang of it, it is very simple.

I first discovered some of this when I was looking on ways to make XP look like Vista. To do that, just use the info in this post and some other free packages on the web and you can set up your system any way you want.

Mine looks like this:

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg238/web4everyone/screenshot-2708.jpg
As I've said before, you can make yours look like whatever you want once you've got it set up.

I used a couple of packages that you need to download. I'll provide links but you could just as easily search around yourself.
UXTheme Multi-Patcher 5.5.exe from here.
This is the main bit of software that I used. This is a zip file that you'll download. Then unpack the zip file to somewhere you want. Don't run the .exe file just yet.

I also installed and ran ClearType from here. It is pretty straight forward. You just run the .exe file and it takes you through the process. You say yes to everything, click ok to install and click on yes to get it running. Not certain you need this, but it does make things looks smoother.

Now we are ready to run the UXTheme patch. Basically this is a patch that allows you to run any themes that you want rather than the default Windows themes. Windows, as you could guess, doesn't like this. So, during the installation process it tells you that you are trying to run something, but it needs to restore the defaults. WE DON'T WANT TO RESTORE THE DEFAULTS.

So, let's run UXTheme patch. When you double click it, it tells you what it is. You'll then click ok and it runs it's patch. It may look like, at first, that you are going back to the old Windows look, but that is just it resetting itself. Don't worry. Then you will see that it says to wait about a minute before canceling the Windows warnings; follow that advise. Then the Windows warning will come up. After you have waited for the patch to do it's thing (i.e. waited a minute or so like it tells you to), you will cancel the Windows warning. It will say, "Are you sure?! Are you crazy?!" Ok, not really, but it will look sort of like that. Just cancel the Window's warnings as the patch told you to. After the Window's warnings are gone, you finish with the patch and reboot the computer, just as it says to do.

Once you reboot it will look like nothing has changed. Well, that's 'cause you don't have any new themes to pick from.

Using mine as an example, I went to here for the ClockWork Orange theme. But pick any theme you want. From this site the ones that work for me are the ones that download as zip files. Some of the others are .exe files and they run under a different theming program, so I don't use those. You can look for other free XP themes out there on the web as you like.

I then saved the file somewhere. I would then unzip it to a folder of my choosing. Once the package is unzipped, I copy all the contents of the folder (there are few files in there, just ctrl+a to select all, then ctrl+c to copy them all, is what I did).

Then we need to open the Windows theme folder. That is at C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes.

Once I have that folder open I just ctrl+V to paste the stuff that I just copied. Now all the CWorange files are in the Windows theme folder as well.

To be honest with you, I right clicked the Windows theme folder and made a shortcut, then moved that shortcut to my desktop. Then I can open it quicker in the future when I add more themes. But that is up to you.

If you did everything right, if you ran the patch right, then you now can pick the ClockWork Orange theme, if you are using my example. Right click on your desktop in an empty spot, click on Properties, then Appearance tab. Now check under the drop-down box for Windows and Buttons and your new CWOrange selection should be there. Click it and now you have customized with your first theme.

I actually have a handful of themes to pick from now on multiple computers, but it's all fun and easy once you've set it up once or twice. Enjoy!

PS That wallpaper is from devaint art by an artist named Valerio Vega. Good stuff!

Goodwill for Computer Parts

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:51:00 +0000

Ever donated anything to Goodwill? Ever bought a pc there?

I've visited our located Goodwill branch that has a computer area many times. I have been very impressed over the years with what I've found there. Of course, everything is as is, but if I can find things like an all in one printer/copier/scanner for $30 then, to me, it's worth the risk (it works great, by the way).

Go to your Goodwill computer store if you have one nearby and makes friends with the clerk behind the counter. They are usually volunteers and can frequently cue you in on where the best deals are, what is still in it's original package, etc.

Or check their online sales out at sites like http://www.shopgoodwill.com/listings/listByCat.asp?catID=7

Here's how you could take advantage of this, even if you didn't have any computer experience.
1. Just go over there, find a pc that looks good and take your chances. Or...
2. Tell all your friends you take old computer parts. Invariably you'll get a pc that has something piddly wrong with it (frequently a virus or damaged hard drive or something) but is otherwise perfectly functional. Go to Goodwill, buy a new hard drive (or whatever is needed as a broken part) then find what looks like that in the pc you have and replace it. For $10-$20 you could very easily have a working pc. No good operating system on that? As mentioned in other posts, slap a good Linux on there, then cheap new pc for you!

There are many ways to get a cheap computer out there and get online. Research a little and begin surfing!

gOS: OS on $300 Laptop and $200 PC

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 13:01:00 +0000

Finally, an idea to bring cheap computers and good operating systems to the world, an idea that might actually work. There have been other ideas to bring Linux and alternative operating systems to the main stream, but Everex may have just figured out the best way to do it.

Recently, Everex and gOS and Walmart have come out with the under $200 pc. I discussed this in another blog post, so please check it out.

Very soon, they are going to be coming out with the under $300 laptop as featured on their website.

I had the chance today to try out the new gOS, the operating system (OS) featured on the inexpensive laptop and pc that Walmart is marketing. I went to the gOS website, downloaded the new OS as what's called an iso file, then burned it to a cd.

As mentioned in other posts, I used this livecd and booted into it, starting my computer in the new OS rather than my usual Linux/Windows OS.

Very nice! Going with the overall "green" theme, the gOS system features a great many concepts that save it space and allow it to run very smoothly on minimal hardware. Based on Ubuntu Linux, 7.10, it used the Enlightenment window manager that makes it look good, gives it functionality, but allows it to run with very little computer memory space used.

Let's see some pictures of what it looked like:

Here is one of the general desktop with the menu format selected.

Here is one with the Firefox Web-browser being used.

Here is one showing if someone selected the option to install this OS onto their computer. It runs a simple installer that takes someone step by step through the process.

As you can see, this gOS is a very solid, good looking operating system that can allow someone to get online very quickly and inexpensively.

If you want to try out the operating system for yourself, you can download it for free and try it out without installing it via the livecd option that I mentioned. Other free/inexpensive operating systems are featured here.

Better yet, track down your own inexpensive PC or laptop and get on the internet! Enjoy!

How to Convert Cassette Tapes to CD or MP3

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:16:00 +0000

Most of my blog posts are about the internet and various things to be done on there. This post is a little different, but was just too useful for me not to post it. We are going to use the internet for some downloads, though.

Here is what happened: I found an old cassette tape (of music) that I really liked. Yes, I could have probably bought the cd, but I already had the tape, and this example is good for those items on cassette that can't be found anywhere else. For example, my father has a tape of my grandfather telling bed-time stories; that would be something you would want put in a digital format and saved.

So, I had the cassette tape. Now we need a cassette player. They are crazy cheap if you don't have one (check here or check a pawn shop, or check to see if one of your friends has one). You will also need a line-in cord to plug into the back of your computer; I used an audio cable that has two 1/8" connectors and looks like this. You can find it at the local electronics store for very cheap.

I then plugged the audio cable into the cassette player and into the back of the computer in the line-in plug (usually marked and right next to the speaker plug-in).

Now we need software to be able to do this. Don't worry, the one I used and the best one for the job is free: Audacity.

Audacity allows you to select what type of audio input you want. From a drop down box in the main screen, just select "line-in." You may have to adjust the various volume controls to get it to sound like you want.

Oops: first we have to download and install Audacity. Go to here, download it and install it; very easy.

Then, with the cassette player plugged in and ready to go, click the record button on Audacity, play the recorder and you should see the lines of your audio input start to appear. If you don't, check to see that you have the line-in selection picked, you have the cassette player plugged into the right place, like that.

Just record a little bit right now. Stop the recording (and your cassette player) and see what you've created. With Audacity you can adjust the volume of your creation, save it as a .wav file or as an mp3 (with some minor tweaks I'll discuss later) and a wide variety of other things. Amazing stuff.

Ok, now we want to convert the entire cassette tape. Start over again, get the recording going, and then just let it play. You can even listen to it on your computer speakers if you want while the recording is taking place.

Here is what you will end up with: once the cassette is done, you should have one giant audio file, ready for you to do what you want in Audacity. Here is what I did, once I had played the entire cassette and had it all on Audacity.

I went to the very beginning of the recording. I then high-lighted the area that consisted of the first song. After selecting it, I then went to File, then selected "Export Selection as Wave file." This allows me to save the first song as a .wav file (the type of file that is typically found on most regular audio cd's). I then did this for each and every song in my recording. When it was all done, I had about 10 or 12 new .wav files ready for me to do what I wanted to. I then proceeded to create a new cd.

Another option is to export the files as mp3's. Very easy, just select "Export Selection as Mp3." But the first time you do this it will as for a file called something like lame.dll (can't remember exactly). You can download the file from here. Once you get this file, save it somewhere (remember where) open the .zip file, then extract the contents (in this case, the lame file you want) and save it somewhere.

Now, when Audacity asks for this file you can simply browse for where you saved it, then select it and let Audacity take over. Once you do this one time you can save mp3 files and manipulate them as you want.

I use Audacity for this cassette tape conversion process, for converting mp3 to .wav files and vice versa, to make audio files louder, things like that. Very useful software. Enjoy!

Follow Up on the Pentium II PC

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 15:23:00 +0000

This is just a follow up of the last post.

I was having issues with the fact that the computer would start off great with my internet connection, but then it would lose it after about five minutes. I tried a variety of adjustments, software, etc. but just couldn't keep the connection.

So, another Linux freedom kicked in and I applied it: the ability to start over with a different version/distribution (distro).

I finally got smart and picked PCFluxboxOS's TinyMe distro. Still fluxbox, but this had the core of PCLinuxOS in it. So, reinstalled, opened the PCLinuxOS Control Center (PCC), under setup and followed the prompts to set up a new network connection. Still picked ndiswrapper (the Linux driver doesn't seem to work as well with this Belkin device) but it was very easy to do. After picking ndiswrapper, it (PCC) told me to put in the cd, which I did, then it set it up for me. Very easy.

So, the final choice in Linux for this Belkin device was PCFluxboxOS. Check it out.

Oh, and special prop's to the forum: the most helpful Linux forum I have encountered. Very helpful, very friendly.

How to bring a Pentium II Computer to Life

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:08:00 +0000

I found that I was taking apart my own personal computer whenever I wanted to work on someone else's hard drive for them.

To save myself having to do this, I needed an alternative computer.

Someone had donated an old Pentium II computer with Win95 on it that had issues to me. They said, as many do, if you can do something with it, it's yours.

This is what that computer looks like now:

Oh, here are some more screenshots: here is one (with internet going), here is another (shredding a hard drive), and here is a third (with a gparted disk partitioner going).

Of course, it didn't start out looking like this, but it wasn't hard to get it there.

First, I cleaned it using a Linux command called shred. This isn't necessary, but I think it a good precaution. I was using a Linux livecd...any should be able to do shred, but I was using Feather Linux.

Then I had to put an operating system (OS) on there that wouldn't take up a lot of space but that I could do what I wanted with it. Linux was a great choice, and I picked Ubuntu Linux for this. But I needed a desktop/window manager that also didn't take up much hard disk space.

That lead me to a version of Ubuntu called Fluxbuntu, which uses the fluxbox windows manager/desktop. Fluxbox looks a little different, but takes up very little space, and has some cool features with it. To use the menu at any time, you just right click anywhere on the screen and the menu comes up. To customize it, you just need to find the file you want and edit it. Fluxbox is amazing powerful and effective for as little space as it takes up. Oh, of course, Fluxbuntu is completely free.

So, I installed it, then needed to get internet going. That took a little work, 'cause I wanted wireless. I first had it plugged into the wall to download what I needed. I wanted to use Synaptic package manager as it is a little more user friendly, so I installed it.

Let me back up: in Windows, when you want to install something, you just run the .exe file. This then installs the program on top of Windows (this is essentially the truth...there are of course more specifics, but that is the gist of it).

With Linux, you have to install something and then it is recompiled, so you now have essentially a whole new system after you install something. In other words, the program is now integrated. (Again, speaking in generalities). No .exe file works, for the most part, with Linux, you have to go a different route.

So, it is easy to install things via a package manager like Synaptic. With Synaptic, you search for the program you want (via name or description or whatever), find it, tell it to install, and you are good to go.

So, I ran Synaptic and installed ndiswrapper-utils and ndiswrapper and a graphical interface called ndisgtk. (Clarifying again: most commands run via the command line, which is like typing in on a black screen. But to run a program like ndiswrapper without having to use the command line, you need a graphical interface, which it the pretty point and click interface like ndisgtk provided.)

I wanted to use a usb wireless adapter. I picked an inexpensive Belkin wireless adapter for about $25-30. But it only had a Windows cd. This isn't a problem with ndiswrapper.

I put in the disk, and copied and saved it on my system. I then ran ndisgtk which very simply said, hey, you want to install what driver? I looked for the driver that I had saved from the disk, then specified it. Ndisgtk then ran ndiswrapper for me and set it all up.

Then, of course, I had to customize the desktop and make it look how I wanted it too. I downloaded some themes from here and I found the wallpaper I wanted from here.

It should be pointed out that I got a lot of the ideas for the wireless set up from here.

Now I had my "work" computer all set up and the Pentium II was clicking along nicely.

So, for the price of wireless (which I already had) and the Belkin, the donated PII computer, and a little bit of learning and work (always good) I had another computer up and running. Not bad.

Free Bookmarking Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:28:00 +0000

Ok, you travel from computer to computer, and you are more and more trying to store all of your information online.

But the problem is you find a link you like so you bookmark it. But if you are on one computer, you can't access that bookmark on a different computer.

Unless you use one of these free tools.

Of course, my favorite is http://del.icio.us . First of all, you register for free, then you can save all your bookmarks there. Many, many people already use del.icio.us for almost all of their bookmarking needs. In fact, if you already use del.icio.us, please feel free to tag us by using the tag button in the top part of the left hand column. ;-)

But one of the things that I like most about del.icio.us is that you can see what others are posting, especially the most popular posts. So, not only can you check your favorite bookmarks, but you can see what others consider cool, check out the link yourself, then save it also if you want. Very helpful to find all sorts of things. You can search for various tags and find a much more specific list of websites than just the normal search on the search engine can produce.

But there are other ways to bookmark your stuff and take it with you.

Check out the bookmarking freeware on snapfiles. Snapfiles is great for all sorts of free and shareware, but I came across this list of freeware just today when looking for bookmarking utilities. Using a flash-drive/pen-drive, you can use any one of these helpful tools to set up your bookmarks on the drive. Then, when you are ready to use another computer, take the drive with you and you are good to go on the computer of your choice. If you need to, search for a flash drive using the amazon link to the left.

Probably some combination of web service bookmarking (like del.icio.us) and the flash drive bookmarking may be best for most people that are migrating their lives towards the web. In using the search tools in del.icio.us, the bookmarking and adding a flash drive for additional bookmarks pretty much all of your useful links can follow you around where ever you need to go.

Inexpensive PC's

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 22:15:00 +0000

This is somewhat of an impromptu blog today started because I wanted to notify everyone about some of the very inexpensive items that I've seen on the market today.

First of all, these pc's have good operating systems. They may not be the more commercial products that you are used to, but they also aren't the expensive resource hog operating systems that you've used in the past either. I've already spoken about alternative operating systems, so check out other posts, but don't let the different OS's hinder you from purchasing one of these great PC deals.

1. Walmart is coming out with a PC for just under $200. You can find it here or you can go to your nearest Walmart and check it out. It is running the gOS operating system, one that there isn't much information about on the market, but it looks just fine, especially for most of us that do a little surfing the internet and use there computers for that.

As mentioned in other posts, almost anything can be done via the internet, more ideas to come later. The key is to be able to get on the internet in the least expensive most logical way possible. This may be a great choice for you.

Here is another alternative...

2. Found on the Amazon site, it features a Linspire system which is a great OS to use for virtually any of your surfing/internet tasks and ideas. Also use the Amazon search bar in the left hand column to find other Linux PC ideas...I also saw a laptop there for under $500 just briefly looking around.

Check out these deals and they may the key to getting you on the internet in the most effective way possible. More ideas on what to do with your documents, games, files and etc. to come in future blog posts.

Top 3 Alternative Operating Systems (and a handful of others)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:14:00 +0000

I find it fascinating that most people don't know what an operating system (OS) is. This is because Microsoft's Windows has so cornered the market that it is generally thought to be what is on a computer as a given.

Well, only if you want to pay for it and don't know any better.

If you want to find an inexpensive copy of Windows XP, use the Amazon search box found in the left-hand column of this page; Amazon kicks butt on prices. But this article is not about Windows.

Believe it or not, there are alternatives OS's that are frequently better choices. I know this article has been written before on the internet, but all the ones I found are out of date and don't cover what I want to cover.

So, here are some other operating systems that are great, frequently (if not always) better for your needs, and free. Yes: free.

How can they be free when Windows isn't? Windows is a commercial product and an excellent tool. It is not the tool I usually use, however...Commercial products are what most consumers are used to: they are a certain product for a certain price. If what you get for that price is acceptable to you, then it is a good product.

Free OS's (frequently are Open Source, but the explanation of that is a whole other article) can be seen as created like this: Hey, I came up with this software, what do you think? Oh, that's cool, but you might add this. Yeah, that's even better, but what about this? And thus the creation of an Open Source project, or new, Free Operating System, is born. Lot's of community support, lot's of people working for free to make things better.

Oh, and it should be mentioned that all of these listed out here are impervious to Window's viruses, have almost no spyware problems and are basically free of worry in that regard. Yes, they can be corrupted, but their basic design allows them to avoid all the usual virus problems associated with Windows. So, you don't have to run an anti-virus, spyware cleaner and all that; it just isn't necessary in almost all cases.

Ok, now on to the lists.

First of all, you can pick what you want in an OS's. Yes, you can choose from a few hundred that are constantly improving, updating and changing. So, even though this article will give you some ideas now, half a year from now you'll have to research on your own and start over because things will have changed.

So, do you want an OS's that is minimal effort and requires very little tweaking or changing and is quite polished "out of the box?" Then try these:

Minimal Effort:
1. PCLinuxOS
2. Ubuntu
3. Slax

What if you want something that is very customizable and can really be a new adventure and an optimal system for you?

Customizable:
1. Gentoo
2. Ubuntu (yes, I said it again)
3. Mandriva

Then there a few hundred that match any other kind of OS need that you might have.

For example, got really old hardware that won't take a big OS? Try these:

Old hardware:
1. Damn Small Linux (DSL)
2. Feather Linux

Or do you like a certain kind of desktop look and you want the best one for it? There are many different desktop, so you can research even more if you want. But, for the sake of more specific lists:

For Gnome:
Gnoppix
Ubuntu (again, yes)

For KDE:
PCLinuxOS (yet again also)
Knoppix (click on the flag for the appropriate language)

For Fluxbox:
PCFluxboxOS
Feather Linux
DSL

Like I said, the choices can sometimes be over-whelming. But isn't that better than under-whelming? Pick and choose! Download one, install it, try it for a week, then get rid of it and install another one! Or install a dual/multiple boot system and have a different one try out whenever you want. Many are very easy to install (especially those in the first list) so go nuts!

Since what you spend the most money in a new computer purchase is typically the OS (yes, it is) then using one of these alternative OS's may be just the thing for you.

Oh, and so as not to leave those non-linux OS's out, here are even more that aren't on the list above. In fact, the first one is one of my favorites, but is not always for a new person transitioning from Windows.

Other alternative OS's:
1. FreeBSD (Unix)
2. Apple OS X (not free, but definitely a great alternative)
3. Menuet (not Linux, not Unix, completely independent; something new to try)
4. FreesBIE (Unix livecd)

So enjoy the choices, enjoy learning, and pick one according to your needs. Do you just surf the internet and send email, like my kids? Then PCLinuxOS may be a great choice. Want to learn Linux like I did, thrust into the cauldron, learn quick or die? Then Gentoo may be a better choice. Try them all, if you want. Enjoy!

Cheapest Way to Track free Surfing

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:22:00 +0000

What is the cheapest way to get on the internet? Why, mooch off of someone else, of course!

So, let's use a friend's computer. But you don't want to leave all your tracks on their computer, do you? One of the easiest ways to use another computer without leaving a trace is to use a livecd.

There are a variety of livecd's out there, and I've tried a great many of them. A livecd is an entire operating system (OS) on a cd. So, instead of running the Windows (or whatever) OS on your buddies computer, you would simply put in a livecd as the computer boots-up and allow it to boot to the cd rather than the hard drive. Then all of your work would be done via the cd without the computer's hard-drive knowing anything about it. Nothing installed, nothing left behind.

What type of livecd is best? Well, I'm going to say for the average user that is just getting off of the Windows OS train, try the PCLinuxOS 2007 livecd. Go to their website, find out how to burn a cd iso file, download it, burn it to a cd, then you are ready to go. Completely free, except for the cost of having a cd to burn it on.

PCLinuxOS is great 'cause it is about the most Windows-ish of Linux versions out there. By that I mean it finds almost any hardware, has a long list of drivers, has a great forum/community that will work for you, all for free. Very tough to beat. Of course, the geek-ier you become the more you can pick a livecd that is closer to the specifics you want and/or you can re-master your own livecd. Recently I've enjoyed the PCFluxboxOS (an off-shoot of PCLinuxOS) that I configured to my own spec's.

Now that you've got your livecd, you are ready to get started. Find a cooperative friend, make sure their computer's bios are ready to boot to cd (most are already set to that) and get that cd going. Now you can surf, nothing is stored, the friend's computer is essentially untouched!

But what about data storage? As mentioned in the past (and in the future) there is a great deal of data storage for free online. But I have been very impressed with external hard-drive prices these days. I saw this one on Amazon at 500 Gigs for $120, an amazingly good price. This could be easily taken with you, boot the livecd, put all your data on the external hard drive, no computer of your own necessary!

Of course, you have to make sure you have a friend that is willing to help you out. Or, at the very least, a computer that you can play with. With someone else's computer, a livecd and an external hard drive there is very little that you can't do in the internet world.

TV 2 Internet

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Schultz) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:16:00 +0000

What does the future hold for us and computers? Well, that remains to be seen, but more and more items are being accessed on the internet and stored on the internet instead of the home computer. By storing data and forms online one can create a virtual world that can be accessed not only from one's home computer, but from anywhere that the internet is available.

For example, let's set up a take off point by creating a home page. From my home page I can access my email, check out my bookmarks and do a wide variety of things without even opening another website. This can be done freely and easily from a variety of websites. My favorite is www.pageflakes.com. Start there and get organized.

But what if we want to store larger amounts of data. Various websites offer storage data on the internet. Want a free account that allows you to store 25 Gigs worth of data? Then go check out http://www.mediamax.com/. There are other sites that offer ways to store data entirely online but this is one of the best.

But what if you really just have to have an operating system? Well, you can find those on the web as well. Windows is the classic Operating System (OS) but there are many others (Linux and Unix come to mind). In fact, the latest trend has been WebOS's. One of my favorite of these is eyeOS. Using eyeOS you can create an entire operating system, files, documents and more all on the web to be accessed from anywhere. This wasn't my choice over a homepage but it is an alternative that many are enjoying.

What about those bookmarks? Like a website, then store it on your home computer's browser, right? Well, by accessing and using http://del.icio.us.com you can set up your bookmarks to be checked anywhere you can get on the internet. In fact, you can check out the most popular websites and see what others think are helpful as well.

What about documents? Using Google Docs you can create a variety of document types, store them under your account then access them from anywhere.

So, do we even need computers? This will be a question asked over and over again by the web4everyone blog. So far, computers are the main way for everyone to get online. But not the only way.

Do you have a TV that has picture within picture display capabilities? Then this may be for you: the RCA/MSN TV 2 Internet and Media Player. Using this device you can get on the internet without a computer. Hook it up to your television and within just a few minutes you can be searching the internet and taking care of all your computing needs without a hard drive and without a computer at all. And for around $100 the price is much more affordable than the few hundred that is typically spent on the average computing system.

The web4everyone blog will continue to cover more specifics with review on a variety of different devices and trends that we continue to show that the internet is here to stay, but computers may be on the way out. Stay tuned for more.