An interesting thing happened on the way to a system build..........
I had some solo time with my boy, so I brought him out for some man stuff. You know, burgers, auto parts stores, peeing standing up, boy stuff. I've decided that I should resurrect my old Windows 2000 box, with Lubuntu, a lightweight Linux distribution. Aside from the install cd, all I should need is a wireless device.
I brought the boy to Staples, to see about getting one for a reasonable price. Stacked within the wireless routers, were a couple of options for over $30. About to pass, I was asked by a sales associate if I needed help.
The young man brought me over to the clearance section, where there was a low profile 802.11n device for $15. I bought it, knowing I could bring it back, no questions asked in a couple of weeks if I found a better price.
In talking to the young man, he informed me that TWC was providing him with a 300Mbps bandwidth pipe. Despite trying to correct him, he assured me that TWC was indeed providing him with 300Mbps, for the low price of $50 a month.
Go ahead and go to speedtest.net, right now and test your connection. Depending on your broadband connection, you should probably see between 3Mbps, and <10Mbps. 3Mbps is enough to stream video, and 10Mbps is considered pretty snappy. My DSL download speed comes in at 7Mbps, and is usually right around there. Even South Korea, which boasts the fastest average internet speed, comes in at 17.5Mbps.
This kid couldn't be more wrong, but I guess that's why he works at Staples, not as a network engineer.
Now, in all fairness, I know I've spoken out of turn, and I could have an improper grasp of concepts, I thought I had mastered. But it's helpful to see the imperfections in yourself when they are reflected from a stranger.
I tried to give this life lesson to the boy, but he was too busy hitting on the cashier.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Open Source For Life!
In my last post, I talked about some alternatives to pirated movies, music and software. One of the most prolific and best alternatives is open source.
Open source software is distributed under the GNU licence. This license entitles you to use the software any way you see fit, deconstruct the software to suit your means, even sell it as your own. The GNU license is most often associated with the Linux operating system, although it is attached to many different types of software.
Ubuntu is one of the most popular and user friendly versions of Linux. There is a massive user following, which means that problems have probably been addressed, if not fixed, and support is abundant. One of the benefits of having a large tech savvy following, is the porting of expensive applications to the Linux platform. Often times these open source alternatives are as good, if not better than the Windows or Mac versions.
Commercially, Linux makes sense. When you have thousands of workstations, and hundreds of servers, the savings could reach millions of dollars. As an added resource saver, most malware only targets Microsoft machines!
If you are stuck on a Windows machine (it is the most widely used operating system in the world) you aren't limited to paying for expensive apps. The most common open source Windows app is Open Office, a Microsoft Office alternative. As a long time user, I can confirm that it handles MSOffice files, quite well, and is fairly easy to use. While the default file formats are superior, it is easy to switch the defaults to MSOffice extensions.
As far as open source music and video go, most of it is protected by copyright. But there are options available!
There are free music services online, like Pandora or Spotify. There are limits to what you can listen to, for example: you can't request a specific song or album, by a specific artist with Pandora, but you can listen to a specific artist and artists like it. Part of the way these services work is by introducing you to artists that you might like that you haven't heard before. I've personally bought many albums, after hearing them through Pandora.
Most people are familiar with Hulu. It's an online television service that allows you to watch current and past shows, and some older movies, for free. There are commercial interruptions, but they are fewer than during the actual broadcasts. Another emerging option is Youtube. While it is sometimes possible to view unauthorized material on Youtube, it is often taken down, and quality is often not good. Youtube is, however starting to produce original content, like the Nerdist channel.
So there, a ton of options that are all perfectly legal. So when you get busted downloading warez, or torrent rips, or hell just get a mean virus that turns your computer into a $800 paperweight, don't say I didn't tell you so.
Open source software is distributed under the GNU licence. This license entitles you to use the software any way you see fit, deconstruct the software to suit your means, even sell it as your own. The GNU license is most often associated with the Linux operating system, although it is attached to many different types of software.
Ubuntu is one of the most popular and user friendly versions of Linux. There is a massive user following, which means that problems have probably been addressed, if not fixed, and support is abundant. One of the benefits of having a large tech savvy following, is the porting of expensive applications to the Linux platform. Often times these open source alternatives are as good, if not better than the Windows or Mac versions.
Commercially, Linux makes sense. When you have thousands of workstations, and hundreds of servers, the savings could reach millions of dollars. As an added resource saver, most malware only targets Microsoft machines!
If you are stuck on a Windows machine (it is the most widely used operating system in the world) you aren't limited to paying for expensive apps. The most common open source Windows app is Open Office, a Microsoft Office alternative. As a long time user, I can confirm that it handles MSOffice files, quite well, and is fairly easy to use. While the default file formats are superior, it is easy to switch the defaults to MSOffice extensions.
As far as open source music and video go, most of it is protected by copyright. But there are options available!
There are free music services online, like Pandora or Spotify. There are limits to what you can listen to, for example: you can't request a specific song or album, by a specific artist with Pandora, but you can listen to a specific artist and artists like it. Part of the way these services work is by introducing you to artists that you might like that you haven't heard before. I've personally bought many albums, after hearing them through Pandora.
Most people are familiar with Hulu. It's an online television service that allows you to watch current and past shows, and some older movies, for free. There are commercial interruptions, but they are fewer than during the actual broadcasts. Another emerging option is Youtube. While it is sometimes possible to view unauthorized material on Youtube, it is often taken down, and quality is often not good. Youtube is, however starting to produce original content, like the Nerdist channel.
So there, a ton of options that are all perfectly legal. So when you get busted downloading warez, or torrent rips, or hell just get a mean virus that turns your computer into a $800 paperweight, don't say I didn't tell you so.
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