Desktop Linux...building the future

Just a short note to let you know that our raffle ends at midnight on the 2nd of July. To date we have broken even, which means that we will have to pay shipping of the prizes out of pocket. If you want to, we'd love you to take a cheap shot at one of our laptop prizes or some of the other cool stuff. See the TEXT link on the left side of this page. We appreciate you being part of what we do. - h

If you fall into the camp that believes that Linux/Free Software is at war with proprietary software for the future, there's good news...or fairly good news if you are a cynic. Look at what's being done.

June 22 through June 27th...2009.

The HeliOS Project built transported and placed 16 Linux Computers in and around Austin.

Big deal...right?

Yeah, it is and I want to tell you why.

In the past 6 months we have either set up or mentored 31 successful efforts to build projects like ours.

31 organizations across The United States are doing what we are doing in Austin. Some set 2 machines a week, some kick our asses on a regular basis. Some, we helped fund when we had the money to do so. Not much with the grand total in mind...but enough to get the roots down.

Big deal...right?

Yeah, it is.

This is quietly growing the base we need to insure the future isn't presented to our kids as a shrink wrapped set of chains. I have argued and presented the case for an organized advertising effort for the concept of Linux and Free Software for almost 5 years. That didn't do so well...too many politics and egos blocked the way. But this...

This is working, and it's working better than I had ever imagined.

On September 1st of this year, the East Austin Learning Center will open it's doors. Within those doors will sit 25 full Linux computers. Computers we hand-built and installed. We will staff and instruct that project with our own people. Two nights a week, one of us will be at the East Austin Learning Center to show these kids how to use their future. And two more centers are planned for this year as well. One organization...a few people that got tired of holding the line.

And so it goes...

In Boise, Lincoln, Seattle, Houston, The Central California Coast, New Jersey, Miami, Tucson, Oklahoma City and Lawton, San Francisco, Missoula, Champaign, Chicago...

Kids are getting Linux computers and they are getting Linux Computers from people who decided that it was time to stop holding the line.

Sometimes you have to do more than defend.

The next time you read the obvious Astroturfing articles and comments, just smile...those are people in some cases being paid to put doubt into your mind. They are being paid by people that are afraid. They are afraid of who you are and what you represent.

They don't know how to stop you.

I no longer have doubt...I take the calls at 1 am, asking about video card compatibility, 1.5 grub error 17 messages, "how do I do this, how do I make this work...how many feet of Cat 5 cable will I need to finish this project?"

We take other calls, other emails as well. Sometimes, in the face of little or no funding, we've found a way to get done what needs to get done. Going here provided us the motivation to find a way.

So here in Austin we start each day with a simple reaffirmation statement:

"Today, we set a kid free."

And never, ever after making that statement, do we fail to do so.

And to my guess...Neither do 31 other organizations across the United States.

"A child's exposure to technology should never be predicated on the ability to pay for it." We live our project based on that one sentence.

Wanna be a part of this? It's time to take it to them. It's time to make our own future.

We are looking specifically at the number 32.

Let's talk. You know where to find me.....

All Righty Then...

Balancing the Scales

"If YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING NICE TO SAY ABOUT ANYONE.....COME SIT BY ME. ...
Joan Rivers

It wasn't too long ago, I told you the story of my experiences with Acer. Seems that articles I wrote about 3 years ago concerning Trusted Computing and the hardware/software nightmares implemented to enforce it came home to roost.

We couldn't get to the login prompt due to the Trusted Core sentry. These computers were in essence, doorstops.

On two computers donated to us by nFusion anyway. It wasn't nFusion's doing...they did everything but blowtorch the damned modules out of the computers. Fact is, only two of the 13 they donated had it activated.

Not only was the Trusted Computing Module a nightmare to get by, the endless loop of tech I and tech II support agents who insisted that I pay them 100 dollars plus shipping to get it fixed wasn't exactly a cure for insomnia. We went through days of fruitless phone-sitting before we invoked the nuclear option.

That's a shame.

It was only once we threatened to make a YouTube video of these computers being put through a wood chipper in super slow motion, did someone respond. See, having one of your products brutally destroyed in protest of the lack of customer service isn't exactly good news for the stockholders. That would have been compounded when the video went on to explain that these computers would have went to disadvantaged students if they had worked.

It really wouldn't have been good news for us either. These Acer TravelMate 5720's are great, great computers. One of you is going to find out just how great they are when you win one in our Alienware/Acer laptop raffle.

We honestly have not done nearly as good as we needed to in raising operating funds for the rest of the year. If you want a chance at one of these beauties or some of the other great stuff, come see us at the link provided above.

See, I rebuild a lot of laptops for our kids. Without a doubt, in my opinion the two best laptops
made are Acer and Asus. If Dell didn't produce a different adaptor for every friggin' new model or upgrade, I would include them as well but when it costs us 40 bucks to replace an adaptor for a donated computer, well, that sucks. I have boxes of adaptors that fit any Acer or Asus I might run across. Brilliant money-maker for Dell, but I think they suck for doing it.

Once I got past the 100.00 tech support sentries and got someone's attention that could help me, it was a great experience. As great as going in for a repair experience can be anyway. Their local repair facility is in Temple Texas which is less than an hour's drive from my house so I pounced in the Rodeo and made the trip north to get 'er done.

Not only did Acer fix them for free, they allowed me to sit and wait for the repairs to be made...which was cool because I got the chance to share some time with a gorgeous front desk specialist. I am horrible at names but I believe her name is Casey...maybe Kasey?

I don't know...she was so pretty I didn't bother to confirm. Aside from the positive athstetics, she was smart. I got the chance to introduce Linux to her and spend 45 minutes in great company.

So allow me to balance the scales here. Acer went way past the mark in chapping my nether-regions but in the end (sorry) they made it good and that's what really matters. They did it quickly, courteously and with professionalism. That is getting scarce these days.

Just an unsolicited piece of advice...?

Getting rid of the off-shore tech support might help Acer...I dealt with accents so thick that they would thud if they ever hit the floor. I hung up on three of them simply because I could not understand a thing they were saying. What I found amusing is that when they introduced their obvious India or Pakistan-residing selves, it was with names like "Mike", "Steve" and "Rudy".

But you have to do what you have to do to compete...I understand. I just don't personally like it, having been "outsourced" myself. Thanks for fixing something that needed fixing and doing it well.

All-righty then

Uh, Helios...ever heard of Twitter?

Pardon the silly blog post folks.

Pearl...Pearl from Elgin. call or email me as soon as you get a chance. Need to do a followup on our install. helios at fixedbylinux dot com

Ken

Working at the Edge of Reality

I'm sure 99 percent of the people reading the title of this blog expected some metaphorical tie-in.

Sorry to disappoint. No, really I am.

I want to take a few minutes and tell you about a local Austin gaming company that went way out of their way to help The HeliOS Project.

And let me break your heart early.

She's already seeing someone.

The Edge of Reality is an Austin firm that makes games for the console. Brittany Henry, a producer for Edge of Reality emailed me a while back and asked me if I would be interested in, oh...I dunno, somewhere around 70 monitors and 40 Pentium 4 computers? My reply was pretty simple if I recall.

"Ya think?"

I laid on the truck for that day but try as I could, I wasn't able to find anyone that had Friday off and was willing to help me load this cargo.

It was a lot of cargo.

Taking one final shot, I posted a simple blog, asking if anyone would consider helping me the next day. Fortunately, because had I needed to do this myself, I would still be there; a young man named Justin Carnahan chimed in and said he would be happy to.

I don't think he had any idea.......

It was a disaster from the moment we walked in the door.

The Edge of Reality occupies some of the most expensive glassy and chrome-ie office footage available in Austin. Yes, I have heard the console gaming industry is doing ok for itself. This pretty well proves it.

We had brought pallets and pallet jack, shrink wrap and other assorted implements of destruction to get the job done.

Note to self...21 inch CRT's do not stabilize well unboxed and on a pallet. Trying to put 8 monitors on a pallet and shrink wrapping them resulted in monitors trying desperately to escape the shrink wrap oh, I'd say in about 5 feet of transport.

Once we did succeed in getting a pallet of them down the elevator, we found that the 12 degree lip on the liftgate was much too steep to get the pallet jack onto it...not without bumping it with an 18 inch head start.

Which resulted in monitors wanting to impact upon the hot asphalt in the worst way.

Bad idea.

So, 4 at a time, we hauled the monitors down to the truck, lift-gated them up to the truck and carried them one-by-one to the back of the truck, stacking them as tightly together as possible.

By the way, miracles do happen. We transported these monitors about 30 miles in a bumpy truck ride without breaking one. We broke only one in the loading process. (see the part about 12 degree lips)

The computers themselves were not that bad as they play well together when in a group. Nice, neat stacks that didn't threaten to commit mass suicide at the least little bump. I like them. 21 inch CRT's not so much.

Justin Carnahan was a life-saver that day and I owe him much more than the Chili's steak dinner we bought for him.

Then came the real surprise.

We had left the truck loaded because I had yet to secure storage for the beasts. Upon arising for the morning, I did what I always do. I reached for my coffee cup to make some instant while my ancient Mr. Coffee chugged to make the real stuff.

I reached for it with my left hand. Gravity ensued. Grip was not as strong as gravity.

In fact, there was no grip at all. Subsequent trips to the Dr. revealed that I had repetitively stressed a tendon in my left arm. Further Dr. visits to a specialist discovered I had torn said tendon.

Two surgeries later, I believe it will be ok. It was really too far from my heart to kill me but you couldn't convince my cry baby self about that at the time. Besides, they were micro-surgeries...I even got to watch the monitor as the Doctor spot-welded it together. It left a bee-sting sized scar for me to show off at parties...oh the sacrifices made...

So...giving away computers to kids is easy...fun actually.

Gathering them in one place, can at times, rate a 10 on your "that-sucks-O-Meter."

But what do you expect...

It all happened at The Edge of Reality.

As so much of my life does it seems.

All-Righty Then

What Myth Do You Want To Kill Today?

For those that don't know yet, The HeliOS Project is raffling off two killer laptops plus some other cool stuff. Drawing is on the 3rd of July so get your entries into the hopper soon. You can click the TEXT link on the left side of the page or you can click here to enter. Details of the raffle can be found here.

A colleague and a friend of mine recently had to resort to moderating her blog comments based on the number of (kindness and light helios...kindness and light) uh,.... uninformed readers who insisted on trotting out the tired old line:

"Oh yeah...well Linux is only secure because no one uses it.  You just wait until the hackers think it's worth messing with, then you'll see, Mr. smarty pants Linux user.

Sigh...

I think I want to run knitting needles through my eyes and brush my gums with a potato peeler.

Look, we're going to knock this down right here, and for all time, unless of course it gets proven wrong.  I doubt that it ever will.  this is going to be Linux security 101 for people that you send here to get the real story on how it works.  It's going to be told via mildly condescending story-telling techniques and simple analogies.  It won't go into Guru depth but we'll drill far enough down and unpack it enough to make our point.  Is that elitist?  Sure it is, but we're already accused of that anyway.  

They haven't advanced the ball a bit by saying it.

Securing an environment of Windows platforms from abuse - external or internal - is akin to trying to install sprinklers in a fireworks factory where smoking on the job is permitted...Gene Spafford.

Here's how it works.

It was a different day, a different era when Microsoft Windows was born.  The whole idea behind Windows was to make everything backwards compatible with everything else.  Slight changes caused by a patch or upgrade would normally break currently installed software, so the engineers at Microsoft made it so that didn't happen.  The code was written so that the system adapted itself to the changing API's and system calls.  That way your favorite pinball game didn't stop working when a program using an almost identical dynamic link was called.

If you've rummaged around inside a Windows machine at all, you've seen that there are a number of seemingly identical dll's registered with the system.  I'll bet some of you, in order to save hard drive space, at one time or another have even deleted some of them.

Oops.

"Honey, why is there a blue screen on the computer...?   Honey...?"

They are not identical at all...they may have the same names but there are variations of code that make them unique to the programs they belong to.  Another brilliant move by Microsoft...identical file names for different files.

In the first place, you should have never been allowed to even touch that file, but we'll get to that in a bit.

The point is, once malicious, evil hackers discovered that most code had free reign in a Windows system, they went to work.  If legitimate code was allowed to cuddle with the system, why couldn't their's...kind of like the first digital STD's.  Actually, we can thank Microsoft for vastly strengthening our economy, from their efforts sprang multi-billion dollar companies like Symantec, McAffee, Kaspersky...the stockholders were ecstatic.

The way that Microsoft Windows was coded insured that you would have to indeed pay for or use other software in order to insure the software you already purchased will work.  There's some more of those dll's gumming up your works.  Microsoft, not being the financial slacker, saw an opportunity to turn crap into gold.  They actually "sold" space to these companies on their install disks so that they could give you "antivirus subscriptions".  They found a way to make money on the sub-standard system they wrote and sold you.

You lucky dog you.  And quite the wise consumer.

So with all this code running around loose in your system, it's no wonder that you have to wrap your computer in bits and bytes of security chains before you even connect to the internet.  You just never know what you've picked up that will want to co-exist with the software on your machine.  Here's what I find absolutely hilarious.  Those antivirus and antispyware programs you use often, can slow your system down so much that it becomes an exercise in patience just to go from page to page.  Many of you in turn blame viruses for doing what the antivirus software is actually doing.  Your hard-earned dollars at work.

The Microsoft Windows file system, coupled with a user's free reign within that system is what makes Windows so fallible.  There are absolutely no road blocks or speed bumps to deter reckless behavior or intrusion.

With me so far?

Good, we're gonna show you why Linux is light years safer than Windows. 

What we got here is yer good ol' natural laws of the universe.

In Linux, there is a system of "user permissions" set up when you install the system on your computer.  There are two parts to your system.

User Account and Root Account.

You operate as the user in Linux.  In fact, and as in Windows, you can have as many user accounts as you want.  There is, in some form, an Administrator account in Windows...it just doesn't function as one.  Each account is an environment unto itself, and it evolves as the user interacts with that environment.  Making changes to the color scheme and installing applications will dictate how the account changes as the user works.  These are little worlds unto themselves and are not aware of other user accounts residing on that hard drive.

The root account, or Administrator account is a different story.  It remains largely untouched as it exists only to keep order.  If you install a program, it insures all the individual parts are in place and havoc does not ensue.  Whereas you had all the permissions in the world to alter and ultimately screw up your Windows system, in a Linux environment, restricted privileges insure that order is maintained and access to critical files is controlled.  The end result is a stable, reliable machine that rarely needs rebooting.

"Well helios, so much for Linux being all about freedom then.  Turns out all that is a bunch of poop.  Linux is actually an authoritarian, police-like system.  At least in Windows I had the choice whether I could screw up my system or not."

You could look at it that way, but only if your ultimate goal is to eventually screw up your system.  Besides, on a single-user machine, who do you think assigns the root password?  You do, so ultimately, you have the same privileges you had in Windows.

Microsoft Windows assumes you are an idiot.  Linux makes you leave irrefutable evidence.

(see /var/log/)

With this system, if a bad guy should ever gain access to your machine via socially engineering you to initiate a script (you know them as .exe's), it can only cause its havoc within the user account.  It cannot do silly little things like meander its way to your address book and send itself out to dozens or thousands of recipients.  How do you think these viruses propagate so quickly?  The root account, the keeper of the castle, will not allow the bad code to do anything but trash your own house...It's house stays in order.  You can rebuild your system after a disaster in minutes if you are properly backed up.  Oppose that to a 3+ hour Windows re-install.

And that's what this is all about.

Productivity and order.  Natural Laws Of The Universe.

You know, I've worked Tech Support on and off for ten years now and Vista actually did implement a stringent Root account system.  It makes me laugh to know that the majority of the bad attitude of Vista is that it makes you provide a password before doing certain stuff.

Gee...wonder where Microsoft got that idea?

Chances are, those commenters in Carla's blog really didn't know a thing of which they spoke.  They had heard or read someone say that Linux was only secure because it is obscure and were simply repeating it to show off.

My dad had a saying he was fond of telling me...and he did it often as I remember.

"People can only assume your an idiot.  Once you open your mouth, you prove it to them."  

Think for yourself for a change.  Stop to think that upwards to 70 percent of the Internet runs on Linux.  Is that obscure?  If what you say were true, wouldn't the Internet be brought to its knees on a daily basis?  If it were Microsoft servers running the show, it may very well be.  As our good friend Sander from LXer.com noted recently, even if you want to argue the merits of what I say, the obvious evidence is right in front of you.  Google runs entirely on Linux.  Now you run right along and hack that.  And one more point for the road.  Many of you sidestep this to the point of embarrassment.  You insist on clogging your Windows System with Antivirus software for some reason.  I have never, ever had a byte of AV software on my Linux boxes.

You need it, I don't.  Deal with it. 

The fact that Linux exists gives you a stable environment to dwell on the Internet.  I'd be a bit more respectful and check my facts before I went leaving public record of my ignorance.  What you say or do on the Internet never goes away.  Carla should have posted those comments.

All-righty Then

Linux Against Poverty - It is a GO

For those that don't know yet, The HeliOS Project is raffling off two killer laptops plus some other cool stuff. Drawing is on the 3rd of July so get your entries into the hopper soon. You can click the TEXT link on the left side of the page or you can click here to enter. Details of the raffle can be found here.

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. ...Helen Keller

Quoting Helen Keller in a Linux blog may seem strange, but there are many parallels between this magnificent woman and Free Software/Linux. We both started way behind the competition with handicaps and hindrances that made it almost laughable that we would compete.

First they Ignore you
Then they laugh at you
Then they fight you
Then you win...

Of course you can only win if you compete.

Common sense. And not being afraid.

We've given much thought and study to the dynamics of change...personal and sociological dynamics. None here are scholars in the matter but some of us have had the educational background to at least pursue the rudimentary aspects of the topic. We've collected some extremely good empirical data, Our assessment of the situation? Getting Linux as a viable alternative to Windows on the desktop?

We're in for a slog.

But we can win, in time.

Personally, I have all but written off the current generation of computer users. We have had and will have our victories, but the genius of Bill Gates was not in keeping an operating system cobbled together. His genius was understanding human nature and behavior.

He only had to hold monopoly status long enough to ingrain Microsoft Windows into our society. We would do the rest for him. The Anti Trust sanctions leveled against him pale in comparison to the profits realized by his monopolization of the desktop.

We are lazy, and as a rule, most of us would rather deal with the devil we know than the devil we don't. We detest change.

Gates understood that...and built the most powerful business and political lobby in our history based on that knowledge

So how do we win?

We start with a clean slate...the minds of those not yet corrupted. Minds that can understand freedom without a mental boat anchor tied around their leg.

Linux Against Poverty is much more than an installfest. It is an effort between the Free Software Community in any given place and the greater community that holds it.

Lynn Bender is a professional organizer and the brains behind Linux Against Poverty. When Lynn first heard about The HeliOS Project, he immediately wanted to help and began outlining a plan to do so. He would gather Geeks, Community Leaders, Corporates and City Leaders together to accomplish one goal.

Collect enough computers and money to give organizations like The HeliOS Project some breathing room. Materials and funding for one year.

Lynn's contacts are impressive. He's been doing this for 20 years and he's either friend or acquaintance with mayors, City Administrators, Council Members, Police Chiefs and other leaders for at least a decade past. Lynn has had some ragingly successful events and he hopes that Linux Against Poverty can be one of them.

Here's the plan. It all comes together on August first, 2009.

Lynn's people will now begin soliciting companies and corporations in the Austin area for physical donations. He has secured the swank and popular nightspot known as Union Park for both the actual event and the party afterward. The Park will be full of volunteer Austin Geeks, ready to accept the incoming machines, triage them and place them into different staging areas. One of the brightest tech guys I know, Andy Krell from nFusion will be there in person to lend a hand. There is a place to sign up as a geek extrordinaire if you want to be part of this event. Email Tom at the above link and he will get you scheduled.
Tom King - HeliOS Project Network Guru and volunteer coordinator

While LAP has been scheduled for a while, we went through some changes in getting to the point to announce the event. Initially, it was planned as a global event...several cities on 4 different continents would be doing the same thing at the same time. We had the resources together to do it. The HeliOS Project, being the technical arm of the project had built the servers to feed the different project sites ISO files and distro manuals...we were all ready for it.

It didn't take long to realize that there were just too many people that didn't have the tools or know-how to do the actual organizing. That's when Lynn wisely decided that we would do the Austin event first, painstakingly document the process then let other cities digest the information and do their individual projects as they felt comfortable in doing so. Rushing this would not have ended well.

It was a smart call.

Mayhem would have surely ensued. This type of project, marrying the various components of the city to the techs in that city is brilliant in concept but not the easiest plan to successfully execute.

It's the kids that need these computers...and folks, having done this for several years, I am still in awe of the number of children in Austin Texas that do not have a computer or internet access in the home. We've barely made a dent. I can hardly imagine what it is like in LA or New York City or London. I receive emails on a daily basis, asking how to set up projects like The HeliOS Project and by those numbers, I am encouraged. These kids are the future of Linux and Free Software proliferation. It is up to us to see to it that they know they have a choice.

As of now, they do not.

A child's exposure to technology should never be predicated on an ability to pay for it.

Period.

If you are a member or owner of a company and wish to schedule your donation or become a sponsor, contact Lynn here

If you have immediate hardware to donate and cannot drop it off at the actual event, contact Ken here.

We can make a difference...if we care to, and keep the quotation of one of the most famous Americans to ever live in our forethoughts:

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

All-Righty Then...

Gnome - The Curtain Is About To Go Up

My experience in the theatre is limited to high school productions. Lousy renditions of Bye Bye Birdie and West Side Story. All played on an aging stage in an aging gym in front of small town parents who had nothing better to do than come watch their kids do lousy renditions of Bye Bye Birdie and West Side Story.
Still though...

I remember the semi-dark backstage madness...the charged whispers just before the curtain went up. The smell of old wood, canvas, perfume and electrical cables...the glitter on the floor from over-powdered girls and that feeling in your stomach that ranged somewhere between nausea and the most exciting thing you've ever done in your life.

And the last minute prayer seconds before the curtain rose.

"God please don't let me suck."

This was back in the day when you had to actually get up out of your chair and physically walk to the television to change the station. Oh yes, there were such things as remotes back then.

They were called kids.

"Hey Skip...put it on three, the basketball game is about to start...and get me another beer."

There were three stations to choose from and the knob on the channel changer went "clunk, clunk, clunk when you turned it. The most popular toothpaste was a brand called Crest, the Chevy 409 was king, and that year the Chicago Cubs lost a bid for the world series in a way that is all but but impossible according to physical probability and statistics.

I'm sure the dynamics of theatre have not changed much...that knot in your stomach, the glancing around for the little taped squares on the floor that told you where to stand...that feeling you got just before the curtain went up.

Hey Gnome people...if you don't have that feeling right now, you are spending too much time in Gedit and not enough time looking around you.

Your curtain is about to go up.

"God please don't let them suck."

I see it every day...I feel it. The low rumble of an impending change that will alter the way people use their computers from now on. That change is Linux, and that change is going to be facilitated by Ubuntu.

Like it or not, that's the way things have shaken out and we have to work within these system-sets. While Gnome is as good as any other environment in my book, we have to remember that this is the environment that people are first going to experience. What I have found most frustrating is that things have been left half-done and half-thought out for several releases now and it's time to get them fixed.

Like Dood, Wherez my Filez?

The first thing a new user wants to know almost always is this:

"Where are my files?"

The file structure of Linux is a system shock within itself. Where users did have free-range in Windows, their new digs may seem a bit confusing and even a little restrictive at first. I've easily explained to most users that all they really have to be concerned with is /home/myfiles.

And if you disagree with this technique, let me give them YOUR number so when they delete their xorg files. They can call you.

Home is where the files are. Everything else is just gears and pulleys.

I base my opinions here on my experiences in Konqueror. In my opinion, Konqueror is the best file manager out there. You don't have to install "scripts" in order to do simple things...you don't have to drill down three menu entries to do the easy stuff. Take a look at my scripts folder and see what I mean. Note the file folder in the middle of the pack. Shouldn't it follow heiarchy and be at the top?

Right click - move or copy files.

There is even a little addon called "Kim" (konq-kim in some distros) that gives you amazing control over your images with a simple right click....and it's there right in front of you when you right click. You don't have to open a series of other folders to get to it. You don't have to add separate scripts to change from different formats. You can even make compilations or DVD movies from you photos and lay in music underneath the presentation.

What is so hard about that? Now there may be plenty hard about that. I don't write the code that makes the magic happen. I would have to assume that since the people that write Nautilus have not made these seemingly easy and often requested changes for years now, it must be something terribly complex.

Or maybe John Hall was right.

John, Tom King and I were privately discussing Gnome at the 2007 Linux Symposium here in Austin. John boiled it down so that all the clutter was blown away immediately.

"Gnome Developers have perfected the art of ignoring their users."

Another choice is also available. They just cannot do it. It may be designed to fail the ability to make these changes.

In talking with new users, I hear constantly the frustration of having to find features after the right click. According to them, and I agree, there are simple things that should be there natively. Move and copy files are obvious and in my mind the most important. Even everyday users find themselves in the file manager constantly. We need to make that experience as functional, efficient and user-friendly as possible.

Right now I don't think it is. Why are we adding an extra step of adding scripts?

"Oh, you mean I have to go out, find them, drag them home and put them in a file folder I can't see normally? I thought you told me that everything ELSE was gears and pulleys. Now I have them in my home file? And why are there "hidden" files in my home directory. What is there that I am not supposed to see?"

And no...I don't want Nautilus to be Konqueror...I want someone to have sense enough to realize that moving or copying a file shouldn't entail a drilling expedition.

Functional, efficient, and user-friendly.

I was told once by a third party that the reason Nautilus did not include these simple features was because they did not want to be perceived as copying the KDE guys. I honestly hope that isn't true. If it is, that means the development of the première environment for file management is being fueled by ego.

So given the fact that Gnome via Ubuntu is going to be the face of Linux, what changes do you see as an evolution of the system? Post them here and we'll cull the best and send them forward. No they probably won't listen, but you can't give up until you try at least once. You people are pretty smart...we'd like to know what your ideas are.

And don't make me quote Mad Dog again. He charges me a royalty every time I do.

All-Righty Then...

The blog you'll never read.

Hey folks...take a minute and join in on the raffle for some great laptops and other prizes. Your donations go to fund the HeliOS Project. We are trying to gain enough support to take us through the rest of the year. You can go here to get the specifics. These laptops are extremely sweet. We honestly hope that we can meet the needs of others for the rest of this year. There is a text link on the left side of the page to enter or you can just click here. Thanks. - h

This isn't newsworthy stuff. It doesn't directly deal with anything the readers of this blog have come to expect. Instead, I am posting this as a simple communication to those people...and maybe bring some understanding to certain events that have taken place in the past few weeks. I haven't exactly been accessible or approachable lately.

Nothing earth-shaking...I simply want to talk to you about something.

Four weeks ago, I wrote my last blog.

It was for all intentions at the time to be my last blog. A blog you will never read.

It wasn't melodramatic, drawn-out or rambling. It was a simple statement as to why I have to quit doing what I do. Again, nothing deeply philosophical or profound, it was much more mundane than that...but more powerful than either of them could ever be.

I am tired to the core of my soul.

The kind of tired that surpasses physical fatigue...the kind of tired that rocks you with an inertia weight you could never before imagine.

For the first time in four years I honestly didn't care about what it was I started...what it was that I had a moral obligation to do unto perpetuity. The kids didn't matter anymore, the families...nothing mattered.

I simply wanted to go sit on the bank of a river and fish for the rest of my life.

A number of things brought this about. Recently, we had a chance to go on a local radio show and tell a huge audience about what The HeliOS Project does. I had high hopes...hopes for donations...hope for some help doing what we do. We would be reaching tens of thousands. We did get a response.

* One pentium III with a broken printer donated
* 81 requests for HeliOS Project computers

It was simply an event that brought the weight of what we attempt to do down hard on me. Now let me clarify something...something that is most important for me to say.

People I have never met...people I have come to meet via this venue have supported in large this effort for two years. I could not nor would not ever ask anything more of the fine people that have become part of what we do. You have been my backbone, and for that, you have my immortal gratitude. Thank you.

The problem settled into me that there just isn't anyone outside of you who gives a crap. Being laid off had a lot to do with it. I am out of work for a month now. I don't make it a big deal but I've pumped a butt-load of my own money into this project. I've never complained...I fully accept this thing I do as my calling in life and I would have done anything I needed to do in order to do it.

To include rip the ligament in my left arm to the point of needing surgery.

I went to a long-time friend and poured this out...I just puked every silly little problematic thing I felt all over his life...but he listened, like a true friend does. I don't know what I expected...I don't know why I thought he was going to give me the answers.

All he said is that I would know what to do when the time came. He asked me if I had considered the impact on the people I would not serve...the ones that would not benefit in the future from what we did.

I didn't want to answer him and he didn't push me for one...he knew he had scored a point.

See, the point he tried to make to me was that we are all not called to greatness. Some of us are called to pave the way for the great. The teachers, the mentors, the chance meeting with strangers that alter a person's course in life forever.

I've long known that I am not going to be great...never set out to be...never wanted to be.

But I had never considered myself being one of the bricklayers...that had never occured to me.

And then Gavin emailed me...out of the blue, without knowing anything about the mini-drama going on in my life, he wrote to me something that changed everything.

This is not about me or any of the people that help run The HeliOS Project....probably not about you either. It's about that one in a million that reaches leadership or influential positions that guide an entire people to greatness and prosperity....or to ingenuity and a better life.

All those people were kids once...someone molded and prodded them to be who they ultimately were to be. I want to share with you what Gavin sent me:

If I were smart enough to actually contribute an original idea to this world, I would prefer immortality over wealth. Who is more famous? King Henry III of England or Galileo Galilei? Philip I of France or Isaac Newton? Socrates, Karl Marx, Oliver Cromwell, Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare, Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Johannes Kepler, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - these are the names that are remembered beyond the borders of time and sovereign nations. Their ideas are printed in books and school papers alike. They are the giants who stood on the shoulders of other giants so that the rest of us could dare to be taller. Their genius has inspired every single generation after them, long after empires have fallen and great halls have been conquered by strings of enemies. They push us forward while whispering into our ears that we can be better, always and unconditionally better. A person may touch other lives before they die, but a very few people throughout history have touched THE WORLD, forever and always. You can't buy that! Not that all those geniuses died destitute and alone, but a few of them did and hardly anyone remembers that part. What we do remember is that the sun is the center of our solar system, gravity and motion have powerful rules, reason leads to truth, people can be equal to each other, rule by birthright is a silly notion, a simple smile can lift a failed flight machine, it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, matter and energy are one in the same, a brushless electric engine really IS possible, the planetary orbits have amazing patterns, and music has a power over the soul matched only by love. To be a part of that priceless company would be so incredible that I could die, right now, without regret. No dollar signs, no wine or women, no televised spotlights across the globe. Just peace, for the world, forever. Maybe not now, maybe not a hundred years from now, but someday it will be. And the pride and elation will belong to those few who reached across time and made it so. That's my opinion, anyway...

Somebody shaped these people...somebody influenced their lives so that they became what they were, or are. Gavin knows....the majority of us will never touch the world...but one of us may touch her that does touch the world.

Even if it's such an insignificant thing as giving them a computer when they are eleven years old.

I'm still tired, still unsure of how it is I am going to keep doing what I am doing. I do know that I no longer have the health and vitality to work a 10-12 hour a day job and do The HeliOS Project the rest of the time. It was suggested by my good friend that I find a way to fund it so that I can draw a small salary from what I do. I think I am going to do that. I am never going to be wealthy, my needs are extremely simple...truth was at one time I was fairly close to it and was the most miserable son of a bitch you ever met. I didn't like that man...but I like this one for the most part, enough so that I don't wince when I look in the mirror.

You probably didn't deserve this pouring babble...I am sure you didn't expect it. What I am sure of now is that a simple smile can lift a failed flight machine...and a loving chastisement can boost a tired spirit.

And that one small, seemingly insignificant act can breed the next Richard Stallman, or give him the tools to that person become.

Now if you will excuse me, I have computers to build...and a plan to put together so I can build them.

All-righty Then...

Invisible force Destroying the Status Quo

Wanna killer laptop? Chances are it's yours. We now return you to the regularly scheduled rant.

"I get the feeling that when more people find out how easy using their computer really is, they will not only be relieved, they will be angry as well. Hour many hours have we wasted fighting this nonesense?"

Dan Fields has an interesting life. He is a licensed commercial pilot and is currently a standby Captain for a major airline, but to earn his daily bread, Dan works as a Petrochemical Engineer. He's the only person I know that has been in the Antarctic and Belize in the same week. Now residing in Atlanta, Dan still keeps in touch from time to time.

He's also responsible for the above quote. While we're looking at quotes, let's look at a few more from the same source:

..."The main reason why I love Linux so much is that I don't have to worry about little bugs and viruses getting in my computer and crashing it! This has happened to me over and over in the past with Windows. I will never go back to Windows ever again."

"Well, this begins month two without having to reboot our computer and my kids have went download-crazy. The fact that they can play their beloved games and not ruin our setup like it used to happen is not only a relief, it has saved us countless hours of reformating and reinstalling Windows"...

"My name is Jack Mallory and I have a business which relies upon computers to accomplish our mission. For years, I have dreaded the annual visit of our Microsoft Rep. Every time he walks through our door he costs us more money. Thanks to you people, I was able to tell him that we would no longer be needing his services"...

Dan contacted us a couple of years ago with a problem. His computer was showing a blue screen with cryptic numbers and symbols. He had been fighting this thing for a week. If he rebooted enough, eventually he would get into his system and go to work but this time it wasn't letting him in. He had critical reports to email and was under a severe time gun. I took a few minutes to explain to him his options and told him that we could get him up and running with a live CD long enough for him to send his email. He invited us to come by and get him fixed up.

Once the CD booted and I showed him the browser, he was off and running. I sat in the chair opposite his desk and watched him as he worked. He logged into his office server, retrieved the data and used his newly-opened Gmail account to fire off the critical information. He turned from the screen and asked me if he could keep this program on his computer.

I 'splained to Dan that it wasn't on his computer and what he was using was an operating system on a disk. I pulled my chair up next to his and started navigating my way through the menus and options. I even showed him the files on his windows machine and pulled up All Along The Watchtowers" for him to listen to. All the time, he said nothing...he just watched....and listened

By the time I left, Dan Fields was a Linux User. There are no reports, print-outs or statistics to show it but Mr. fields doesn't use Windows anymore. Not at home, not at the office and not on his laptop. Those are three licensing fees that Microsoft will never see again.

That's why I simply laughed at the recent story of Linux reaching 1% of the market.

I spent a good part of my Sunday calling people that now use Linux, either through our HeliOS Project or via HeliOS Solutions. We do this on a regular basis anyway. It's good to track how many people are happy with their systems, find out what concerns or problems they are having or just visit for a bit and let them know you care enough to call.

39 phone calls

31 answers

100 percent retention.

Do the Powers That Be know these people? Are they ever included in any statistical data pertaining to Computer usage? Not according to any of them. In my conversations, I asked all 31 of them if they had been surveyed or questioned about their computer use.

Not a one, although a few of them were asked about their political opinions and the type of car they drive. Those folks come by all the time to gather information.

So OK...we're one small organization doing some modest work in Linux and Free Software advocacy. How many people across the globe are doing the same thing? It is my belief that you can take that one percent figure and slam dunk it into the circular file next to your desk.

Folks, People are tired of fighting with their computers. We can show you example after example of individuals who simply do not use Windows anymore...for anything. A recent article by Carla Schroeder drew the ire of a particular Windows sycophant and spent what had to be hours in defending his position...

Which is odd given the fact that he was the first to attack hers.

Here's the bottom line pal. People across the globe are weary of doing the Windows Shuffle. Patches, updates, virus definition downloads, anti-virus apps that clog and defile their registries. While many have discovered that Linux is more than suitable for more complex tasks, they are finding that they don't have to pay in time and money to do the few things they do on a computer.

Besides...If you read the various EULA's from Microsoft and still find comfort in using Windows, then there is not much that can be done for you. Everything else aside...if you make a conscious decision to stay with Windows after reading their EULA, there's a good chance that you are used to making compromises in your life in order to slide by the easiest way possible. And yes, I know dozens of people that have to use it at work, but when they get home, they would no sooner use Windows on their personal computers than they would juggle roaring chainsaws.

Dan Fields has read that EULA...as have many of our clients. The mildest reaction has been disgust.

As an aside and for the record, I do not read "popular Windows or Mac blogs". The sound of so many chains rattling becomes distracting after a while.

So it seems that the uncounted are the ones that will destroy the status quo, millions of them now...nameless, faceless computer users who quietly cut their chains and walked away from servitude.

Hey Redmond...count that.

All Righty Then

Laptop Raffle Features Alienware Beauty.

The HeliOS Project is happy to announce our semi-annual raffle. We do these twice a year so as to secure partial funding for the next half of the calendar. See the last paragraphs for how to enter and rules for this drawing.

This event sports some of the best prizes we've ever offered. From Alienware and Acer laptops to AMD personal internet devices to autographed copies of Carla Schroeder's Network Cookbook, we think we've got the Geek Thing covered. Take a look at what your 10 dollar donation puts you in the pot for:

Alienware m5500i-R3 Series. Dual core 2 gig chips with a gig of ram and 100 gigs of hard drive space. Radeon Mobility X1400 graphics brings you into the game. DVI output is present with a dvd burner and card reader. System is currently SuperOS with all the bells and whistles ringing and blowing. Runs great under full compiz effects...I've used this laptop for making first impressions with new users and it is a powerful tool. Not to mention that it performs beautifully. You can see a full slideshow here. An extra five dollars insures we ship a 1 gig stick of ram for you to upgrade it with.




Acer TravelMate 5720: Problems aside from getting the TrustedCore shredded into non-existence, this is a fantastic laptop. That bully will not bother you any more on this machine. Also I've now heard two stories of people falling with their 5720's and having the computer
breaking their falls...and then firing right up. I can believe it. Sporting a built-in WORKING webcam, it delivers your smiling face via the HD Radeon Mobility 2400 XT graphics setup. It is powered by a 2x Intel Core T7500 dual core chip. This comes with one gig of ram, a 160 gig hard drive. It has a VGA AND a DVI out with a dvd burner rom present. Personally. as much press as the Alienware gets...? I think this TravelMate 5720 is the better laptop. It has a card reader in the front and like the Alienware, it takes conventional and express PCMCIA devices...however wifi is built-in so you will probably not need them for connectivity. Full info can be found here.
An extra five dollars insures we ship a 1 gig stick of ram for you to upgrade it with.

Each laptop comes with the charging device and the Acer has a new spare battery still in the box included.

You want weird prizes? Check this out.

We are offering two AMD 50x15 Personal Internet Devices.

What are they? A minimal function computer about half the size of a toaster. It is capable of surfing the net, sending emails, and it comes with some fairly cool software to include a word processor and other office apps. It has plenty of USB inlets as well as a hookup for a camera to download and upload/email pictures. Aside from the fact that these run a CE version of Microsoft XP, they are pretty cool. Need a computer for the kitchen? Maybe one stashed in the garage or on the workbench for looking up part numbers? A friend keeps one in the glove compartment with 6 feet of cat five so he can connect at client's homes and access the internet. Keyboard and mouse are supplied but it needs a monitor. hey...it's a friggin' raffle. Some wifi dongles will work with this but you have to see which ones will work. Drivers and other software are installable via USB since there is no cd rom. These are new and still in the box, we are giving away two of them. You can see all about them here.




We never, and we mean never, have a raffle without bringing The Goddess Of The Grid and her Linux Networking Cookbook to you. Carla Schroeder has written, what has been described to me, as the definitive Linux Networking manual. I've loaned my copy to 20 year experts in networking and they've all asked me how they could obtain a copy. We have two left from the last raffle...some folks just don't want to get THAT serious about their Linux but their loss is your gain. And by the way...they are personally autographed by Carla.

Entry is Easy. The top left of this page holds a donation link or you can click here to enter. Donations per item are $10.00. So if you donate 30 dollars, you have three tickets in the drawing. if the donation is for like say... 25.00 then we immediately know you want two tickets and want the extra gig stick of ram shipped if you win one of the laptops. Unfortunately, we cannot ship the computers overseas, the cost is simply prohibitive, however Ms. Schroeder's book is shippable anywhere in the world. Directors of The HeliOS Project, volunteers for The HeliOS Project and employees of HeliOS Solutions are not eligible for this drawing. The laptops offered are previously owned and come with no warranty. I've personally both used and inspected these computers from the inside out and they are in great condition.


The funds for this drawing will see to it that we have gas money, maintenance costs and the everyday funding we need to operate our HeliOS Project effort for the next six months. Thanks for everything you do for us and most importantly, thanks for being part of what we do.

The drawing will be held on the Third of July...time to be announced. We are trying to arrange the local firehouse to do the drawing. If that fails, winners will be announced on Twitter.

All-Righty Then

How to screw a kid's day up

This isn't really for anything else but public record.

It's important that it is recorded. If for nothing else, the searchable text that will insure the proper dissemination of information. You'll see in a moment.

Last Wedensday was a busy day for us. With 4 HeliOS Project installs and a HeliOS Solutions appointment, my day started at 6 am. A boh reader and Linux guy named Jason had asked us to go out to Elgin Texas and install Linux on his mom's computer so HeliOS Solutions was happy to oblige. Fact is, due to circumstance, she was eligible for a new compter from The HeliOS Project so what turned out to be an install morphed into a very good day for this fine lady.

She got a great deal for a C-note I would say. Heck, it's a pretty good deal for anyone I would think.

Arriving at North Bluff Estates in South Austin, we found that two of our installs were across the street from each other. One location to unload the Rodeo for 2 installs was a good thing. We knocked on the door of the first install, introduced ourselves and unloaded their computer and got to work. About 20 minutes into the install I realized I needed a VGA to DVI adapter and stepped out to my car to get it.

Or where my car HAD been. Holy crap on a cracker, someone had stolen our vehicle.

I should have been so lucky.

It seems that the North Bluff Estates property management company has a policy that prohibits cars parking on the grass. That seems reasonable. Grass is hard enough to keep alive in the Texas heat without having to battle leaking motor oil and various toxic fluids that drip from older cars. In this neighborhood, that's about all there is. When I imagine someone parking "on the grass", I picture an entire car sitting squarely amongst the greenery, touching nary a bit of road surface.



Personally, I don't consider this "parking on the grass".

Fact is, rule or not; there is nothing posted at the entrance of the mobile home park about this rule, nor is there any such warning posted throughout the entire neighborhood about one's vehicle being towed away for said infringement. As well, if you are in an area that allows for towing off of personal property, you are required to have signs posted telling you where you can pick your car up.

Seems that less than six inches of tire sitting on a grass surface here is enough to get you towed to the automotive hoosegow.

Bad move.

See, I owned two towing companies here in Austin in the early 90's. Doing a quick check with the city of Austin, I discovered the rules of vehicle impounding have not changed. Again, you must post warnings of tow-able offenses and you must post signs in reasonable places telling you where to go to pay the ransom and pick up your recently-kidnapped car. This being "private property" may let them off the hook for this particular requirement...in fact, In thinking about it, I'm now second guessing my own knowledge here. Regardless, it's still sleazy.

They are seriously out of city ordinance compliance in other areas anyway. This is a matter I will personally bring up to the licensing board in the morning. In talking with a few of the older residents of North Bluff Estates, I found out that this place is bought and sold more than a US Congressman's vote and every time someone new buys it, they jack the rent up as far as the law allows. Because the population of this neighborhood is largely Hispanic, no one complains much about anything...many are not in a hurry to explain to law enforcement about their current citizenship status. Good hard-working people these folks are. We've done a lot of work in here in the past. I don't give a damn what language they speak.

What we have here is obviously a true and compassionate landlord.

So we had little choice. I spent most of the day borrowing the 200 bucks, trying to get the vehicle released. I made them stand there while I inventoried the contents of the vehicle. I wasn't in too much of a hurry to get it done. They couldn't care even less that we can't do installs for a week...we'll have to pay our debt before we do anything else. Once we do that, then we'll get back on course.

Making them witness me inventorying the contents of my vehicle wasn't much solace.

You ever seen the inside of my vehicle?

To equate it to a poorly kept computer parts facility would be kind.

A computer junkyard on wheels is probably more apt. I can almost see a dozen heads shaking in unison right now..the poor souls who have had to ride amongst the carnage within my car.

So anyway...all of this being said, the fine folks at North Bluff Estates couldn't care less about any of this. Here's where they should. We HAD 41 kids here scheduled to receive HeliOS Project computers during the last half of 2009.

They won't be receiving them from us.

I can't afford any more arbitrary impounds of our vehicle so some tow truck driver can make a quick 20 bucks. What's the next reason for impound? Bad paint job? mismatched tires? We've started making the calls and letter-mailings today, informing the un-chosen why they are un-chosen and our deepest regrets.

The people at North Bluff Estates simply do not care. Having been in the business, I would be interested to see the name of the person who signed the contract with the towing company...I mean just to see. I would never even come close to suggesting anything as unscrupulous as a kickback arrangement back to the management or anything.

The point of the matter is that they truly don't care.

They made it a point to say as much.

All-Righty then

EDIT - We have made arrangements to do the installs in this neighborhood. A few of the suggestions in the comments have been accepted and acted upon. Thanks for the ideas...your instincts were correct, there are "residents" that will not allow our vehicles to be towed again.









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