Underground Media: Reloaded

Whew! Vacation, illness, and a hectic work schedule have kept me away, but no more. Today, I want to introduce everyone to a good friend of mine. Her name is Elyssa. And she's the BEST! The best OPERATING SYSTEM, that is! Now, I know most of you suckas out there are using Windows XP or Vista, and I am certainly not here to evangelize to those of you who are happy Microsofties. But if any of you are feeling adventurous, there are some O/S alternatives out there that you should seriously consider. Yes, I am talking about Linux . It's core written in 1991 by Linus Torvalds, Linux has been a geek's wet dream for the better part of 15 years. Linux comes in MANY different flavors (called distros), all presenting competition to a market that was monopolized for too many years by Microsoft Windows. However, it's only been in the last two or so years that a few distros have made Linux accessible to the unwashed masses. Novell's Suse Linux, Mandriva Linux, Fedora, an...

A Linux Mint, that is! Ordinarily, I would have a "non-geek disclaimer" for a post like this, but this time, I invite my non-geek readers (if I actually have any) to read on. My premise is simple. Choice is a good thing. For the consumer, and for the economy as a whole. So why do 90% of all computers run Windows? Is that choice? Not really. And I'm not a Microsoft-hater. Seriously, I'm not. Bill Gates, in my opinion, is a genius and an innovator. But, his company took some wrong turns with their company values. In any case, 20 years of an operating system monopoly has given us Windows Vista as the high water-mark of Microsoft software development. Here's what the editor of PC Magazine (a noted Windows fanatic) recently said about Vista : "I could go on and on about the lack of drivers, the bizarre wake-up rituals, the strange and nonreproducible system quirks, and more. But I won't bore you with the details. The upshot is that even after nine ...

Without hesitation I must say that Windows newest OS, the mighty Vista, is a pain in my rear end. To preface this, I will disclose that I am a linux user (Since 2002). It doesn't mean that I hate Windows or Microsoft, it's just that I prefer customizing and controlling my computer, as well as the security benefits inherent to Linux. No anti-spyware, anti-virus, or anti-malware software is necessary. So with that stated, my adventure started when my wife's laptop overheated and literally cracked our glass-top dining-room table in half. It broke off, dropped to the floor and shattered. Along with the laptop. So after a few days of weighing her needs, we decided to get her a super-cheap ($399) laptop from the local Big Box. She only does web browsing, email, some photos, and a bit of genetics work, so the Acer 3610 with the Celeron processor was just fine. Or so I thought. SIMPLY BOOTING INTO WINDOWS VISTA WAS ENOUGH TO BRING THIS COMPUTER TO IT'S KNEES! And this...

These are pretty sweet! The second one is the funniest... Seriously, Vista eye-candy is old if you're a linux user...