Time to Share the Wealth

As a non profit entity, The HeliOS Project does not generate capital. We do not "profit" as is made obvious by our non profit status.

That doesn't mean we don't receive individual "payment" from time to time.

I received a letter not too long ago from the Executive Director of The Settlement Home, thanking us for accepting them as one of our projects. We built12 computers then installed them around the compound, in the various "houses". The Settlement Home is a safe-haven and long term home for young girls who have been horribly abused or neglected.

You better be a strong person if you are going to sit with one of the counselors and listen to some of the individual stories.

Strong means not getting up, obtaining a ball bat and busting the knees of the sub-human rot capable of these acts.

It was our privilege and pleasure to accept and complete this project. The giggles and bright-eyed anticipation we saw and heard while we were there is treasure beyond tally.

I honestly wish you could have been there.

See...some of you were. You are the parts and the pieces that make up the whole of those machines and of that software. Many of you give us money so we can do what we do, you write the code and scripts that make it all work...and without you, I could have never experienced the soaring joy that was The Settlement Home.

So no...we don't get paid in money...and often, what we are paid by has no tangible presence.
But sometimes it does.

Shortly behind the letter we received from Linda Addicks Kokemor, The Executive Director, we received a large brown postal envelope. Within that envelope was the only real "payment" some of you will realize for helping us do what we do. I dearly hope you can understand how precious this payment is...for it comes from the hands and the hearts of the tiniest among those there...Those little girls from The "Nelson House".

While my name is on some of these, understand that these children associate what they have with the person they saw place it there...they have no idea that it was you that put those computers into their homes...it was you that opened the doors to their futures...that gave them choices they may never have had otherwise. I've made sure the staff passes that along when the opportunity presents itself.

Just so you know. I want you to have these:



































































































































All-Righty Then...

Oh Where Oh Where Have The AGP Slots Gone...?

One of the most frustrating things about rebuilding computers is getting the right video card for the machine. We are donated mostly Dells from the Dimension E series to the 8100 and 8200 series machines.

Guess what?

Michael decided that these machines didn't need AGP slots.

That in a word...



SUX.

So, most of these machines come with either 810, 845, 915 or 945 video chipsets...Intel Chipsets. Now normally that would seem sufficient but as many of us who recently purchased the Penumbra Series of Frictional Games discovered.

They don't run for crap on these chipsets.

Now I am not building these machines for gameplay...they are intended to further the academic achievements of the kids who receive them. They are donated to kids who under any other circumstances would not have a computer. Yet, I want my kids to have full use of their machines. Just because they are disadvantaged is no excuse for me or anyone else to consider them as less than equal. I am not going to build them inferior stuff, nor is anyone associated with this program. This has come up in the past.

More than one of you have argued with me about this off-blog and stated that they should just be thankful they get anything at all. "Beggers can't be choosers", "That's just the way life is, deal with it", "They can just work in the service industry, not everyone needs access to a computer."...

More than one of you have been told never to darken my inbox again.

I work in an ongoing effort with many of these kids and the last thing they need is to feel that they are second-class because they were born into less than satisfactory financial situations.

So here is what I am asking. We need ATI or Nvidia chips on PCI-slotted cards. You notice I did not say ATI or Nvidia cards...although we will take them. There are a ton of manufacturers who put out generic-type cards with the above-mentioned chips on them and they work extremely well to my experience. If you have any of these cards, please consider sending them to us. I will be more than happy to scratch up the money for shipping...we really need these cards. A Linux Guy up in the northwest has set up a shop with several of them available. I have not compared prices with NewEgg or anyone but if you are so inclined, you can look them over here.

You can contact me via email at helios at fixedbylinux dott kommm if you want to contribute to what we do.

I would appreciate it more than you know.

Oh, and for those who need a smile today?

You might wanna look here.

All-Righty Then

A Real Trooper Passes

Well, so she wasn't a Trooper , she was a Rodeo...

But she's gone now and she will be missed.

From February 2004 to July 20th, 2009, she served daily and without complaint, picking up hardware parts, delivering computers and attending to the business of what would eventually become The HeliOS Project. In all, she gave The HeliOS Project right over one hundred and eighty eight thousand miles of service.

She was out picking up a small computer donation for Linux Against Poverty when age and the demands of her business became more than she was capable of giving.

With just under three hundred thousand miles on her, the bottom half of her main bearing sheared thus ending the service life of one of the greatest automobiles I have ever owned. She wasn't pretty, she sure was beat up and her paint had cracked and failed with about the same speed of my receded hairline. "Receding" would be incorrect...that would infer there was actual recession going on...there's not any real estate left to recede to in my case.

She had her moments, both good and bad...one of the worst was when some crackhead punks decided to smash in her back window right in front of my house in the middle of the night and steal 6 computers loaded and ready for delivery the next day.

You want to know the really sad part? I lived on Ozzie and Harriett Boulevard...nothing bad ever happened on our street...until then. The residents of Cannonwood lane left their cars unlocked all the time.

So did I...all the thieving little cowards had to do was open the hatch...instead they shattered 1100 dollars of back window to steal less than 500 dollars in computer equipment.

But she saw plenty of happiness as well...

Like the time I took off for the southern tip of Texas to rebuild the Computer lab wiped out by a trilogy of hurricanes. When the school lab was finished and I had installed all the computers, I had the privilege of shuttling 15 kids from McAllen Texas out to their new Montessori school. 4 trips of giggling and excited 6th, 7th and 8th graders who had a new computer lab and a new outlook on how they were to use those computers...all Linux computers. The old girl pulled a trailer full of computers and associated hardware and reels of cat 5 hundreds of miles to go do one of the most important jobs she ever did.

So now what? I dunno...we're working on it. Repairs to an engine this old, especially repairs to parts in the heart of the engine are not prudent. The bearing failure is an obvious point to metal fatigue, so it can be safely assumed that other metal parts are just as tired.

It would be akin to trying to patch a sinking ship.

She gave us more than we could ever reasonably ask for. We will let her rest and go about our business.

Right now our business is obtaining a new service vehicle for The HeliOS Project.

We'll let you know how that goes.

All Righty Then...

The People Behind Penumbra

Before anything else, I want to personally thank those who brought the Frictional Game Servers to the brink of molten metal. You have once again...and maybe for the Golden Moment, proven to the Gaming Industry that we do indeed deserve their attention as a viable market.

"I can happily tell you that at the moment we Linux version is selling tons and our main concern at the moment is how to handle the load of people wanting to download the purchase game....so if it continues like this we won't last the weekend! So currently we are looking into some solutions, making a torrent file is on of the more obvious ideas we have." 8:46 AM 07/17/2009

Jens also stated that he should have such worries every day.

As promised, I want to introduce you to the people that brought the frightful Penumbra Trilogy to you. Being a small indie gaming company, they knew full well the challenges they faced by entering the gaming market. With confidence in their phenomenal gaming engine and the writing and coding talent already on board, they made Frictional Games happen.

Here are folks behind the spooky hallways and labyrinths.

At Frictional Games we are:
Thomas Grip - Programer & Project Lead, Co-founder and more
Thomas lives in Helsingborg, Sweden. He has been programming games since his teenage days, the first horror game he did was a 2D top down game called Fiend. In addition to being a programer he is also a hefty sketch artist, doing many of the sketches artists use to create the graphics for the game. Thomas and Jens met(Online that is) around 2004 and in 2005 did a thesis game together called Energetic, exploring educational gameplay on the topic of energy consumption and pollution. In 2006 they both attended a masters year at Gotland University, where a group of 4 students worked on the tech demo Penumbra, that was released in 2006 with great reception. Thomas, Jens and Anton then started Frictional Games in the second half of 2006 and begun work on the first Penumbra game, Penumbra Overture. Anton is no longer at Frictional Games, the bastard(joke obviously;)) moved to Norway and started to work for FunCom in late 2007.

Jens Nilsson - Gameplay Scripting & Audio Lead, Co-founder and more
I too live in Helsingborg, Sweden. I have been freelancing for over ten years as a sound designer, originally as a musician but not that suited to make video game music. During those years I got the basics of running a company and hense at Frictional when I don't work on games I do most of the "not related to games"-tasks that is involved in running a company. Since the Energetic game I have been doing gameplay scripting, learning for each project we have done as I have not previously been that educated in script languages beyond basic web site crafting.

Luis R Morales - Tools & Audio programer
Luis is from Sevilla(around), Spain. Luis originally volunteered to help out with some programming during the first Penumbra game. He implemented OpenAL into the game engine, he then re-worked and improved the implementation for the next penumbra and after that he started to work full-time on developing the tools for the next game engine(which is our current work in progress along with the game Unknown). The tools that he has developed includes a level editor, model editor and particle editor all which contribute to make the creation of the new game that much smoother. For the Penumbra games we used 3D editors as the actual game creation editor, it worked but was hardly as enjoyable as using real editors.

Marc Nicander - Graphics artist
Marc lives in Svedala, Sweden. As a student he helped out doing some minor work for the first Penumbra game, when we did the third Penumbra game he was working full-time and did most of the graphics for the game. He also did a lot of design and gameplay ideas for that game. Currently he works mostly with creating sets of graphics for the new game. With the new game we have decided to take the tile set approach common in 2D games and apply that to a 3D model environment. Poor Marc has to spend a great deal of time creating 3D parts that can be used in numerous combinations to create rooms, levels and environments. For the rest of us it means that we can all participate in creating levels, making use of the pieces that he creates.

Marcus Johansson - Graphics artist intern
Lives in Arvika, Sweden. Currently a student doing his final internship here at Frictional Games. If nothing goes completely wrong during his last two months as an intern we will be enjoying his work as an employee soon. His work is currently concentrated on creating a lot content for the game, furniture, items, level details and all sort of things that the player can play with in the game.

We also work with three main colaborators:

Mikko Tarmia - Composer
Lives in Mikkeli, Finland. Composer for computer games since many years back, originally we met(Online..) when he was doing music for a Mac game developer by the name CodeBlender and I was doing sound for them. Mikko helped out to do a theme song for the Penumbra Tech Demo and has since then created all the music in the three Penumbra games. I can't recall ever having read a review of our games that has had a poor score for the music, so in short his work has always been much appreciated!

Tom Jubert - Writer
Lives in the UK, I'm uncertain of his exact location these days. After having released the Tech Demo there was a day when a mail came to our inbox, a guy said "I played your game and well I think the writing was OK, but I would have written it like this instead..." and since then he has worked very closely with us developing and creating the story for the Penumbra games far beyond the original grasp. Tom also helps out with the voice directing, which have resulted in often positive mentions of the voice acting for our games.

Abyss Light - Graphics outsourcing
A company from Ukraine, when we started on the second Penumbra game, Black Plague, we had less time and a need for much more details in the game to be made. By introduction we met the Abyss light crew and has since then worked with them, very smooth and a very well working collaboration.

And if we want to thank anyone personally for bringing this great gameset to Linux...

The port to Linux & Mac is done by Edward Rudd.
Lives in Fishers, IN, USA. Edward also was someone that simply sent us a mail saying "Hey, played the game and I noticed you use a lot of cross-platform libraries. Ever considered a port to linux/mac?" and indeed we had. Since the beginning we decided to use cross-platform libraries and technologies to create the games, in the hopes that some day when the opportunity would present it self we could hopefully get a port to mac/linux done. When Edward contacted us it was at the very right moment, we were half-way done with the first Penumbra game and the engine was close the final version. He begun with porting the Linux version and it got released about 1 month after the Windows version I believe. The Mac version took a very long time for the first Penumbra game, there were a lot of problems at the beginning that Edward had to work through. Edward also works with this in his spare time so he can't sit day and night(he might actually from time to time we suspect) working on none-solvable problems that could be in the drivers or OS it self and not the actual game. The two following Penumbra games had near simultaneous releases on all platforms and our current game is already being worked on by Edward.

Challenges of the gaming industry

The main problem for us as a smaller developer is always going to be more about getting people to know about us rather than create the actual game. A small developer also has fewer options as to what publishers to use(if any), we had problems with publishers that simply were not to be trusted in the beginning. In fact, there has been times when we would have to close the company if it weren't for the sales we do on our own with the Mac / Linux port. It's not that we are very successful as a Mac / Linux developer, but the sales we do have has given us a buffer to get by during hard times.

Having released the three Penumbra games we have started to get a bit of an established reputation, which helps when trying to get word out on the new project.

What motivated you particularly to create this trilogy. Any challenges in physically porting the game to linux

We were all a bit soft for the horror genre and really wanted to try and make a horror game. We also had some ideas that perhaps a first person game does not have to be a shooter and in particular when making a horror game is it not better to remove the weapons so that the player is much more vulnerable? As we got the physics interaction system in place, originally the physics came to as we tried to come up with a method that didn't require a lot of animations to be made, it really started to get exciting when we noticed how well manually opening doors, drawers and things like that work in a horror game.

Edwards reply to the challenges
"The only challenges I ran into on the linux port was updating to code base to adhere more strictly to the C++ specifications as GCC is rather strict compared to Visual C++. but the real challenge was getting the final binaries built so that they would run on a large set of Linux Distributions. Right now the final binaries are built out of a Fedora Core 4 based build environment which is always fun to get everything to build in :)

Really the most challenging part of porting was getting the Mac build up and running, as with the Mac , the OpenGL drivers are significantly more strict than they are on linux and Windows.. So things that could be "gotten away with" on Windows and Linux could not be done on the Mac. Also with the Mac port I had to mess with PowerPC vs. x86 processor differences while making the universal binary."

Has anyone from the linux community covered your port yet.

We have had some coverage, over the years a couple of magazine has reviewed the games and we have done a few interviews and things like that for Linux oriented media. But mainly the Linux community is spreading the word about the games through forums and other communication technologies. When we have some Linux news we try to get it out on Linux oriented sites, but in general it is quite difficult as most sites are often on a much higher and technology oriented level, focusing on what CISCO is up to and not so much what the small little game developer from Sweden is trying to say.

Hey, just a guess here...maybe a shot in the dark so to speak?

Whaddaya wanna bet Frictional knows where to come with news of their releases from now on?

It will be our pleasure.

All-Righty Then

Are You Afraid? You Will Be...

Hey folks, these people took a big chance on us by re-porting this great game set to Linux...let's get them some publicity. Vote for it on slashdot here. Thanks - h

In the deepest, blackest parts of us, bad things exist...

Things that we cannot touch, but we see...in a momentary flicker of peripheral vision...in the dark room that takes its only light from the moon...shadows that move...that take shape.

Sometimes they speak to you...in whispers not understood. CandleFlame that dances in a room with no breeze...

And low laughter in a place where you know you are alone. And always...the whispers.

Sometimes they cry. But beware, their sorrow is only a ruse. Their grief will morph into rage and drag you into That Black Place.

Never to return.

This is the gameworld that Thomas Grip and Jens Nilsson have created in the Frictional Games trilogy, Penumbra. The Trilogy of:

Overture

Black Plague

Requiem

OK helios...big deal. Another game to get second-rate gameplay in Cedega or Wine...no thanks.

Ahem...I beg your pardon?

This game is now written for Linux. And here is what makes this blog newsworthy. Not only has Frictional taken the leap of faith to re-port to Linux... For this weekend only, beginning Friday the 17th, Linux Users can purchase the entire trilogy for five single dollar bills.

That's absolutely unheard of...until now. Until Frictional decided they want to give us what everyone else is enjoying. At five bucks for the entire trilogy, they ain't exactly focusing on profit motive.

The link below will take you where you want to go. Linux users as well are being given this as a way of re-introducing Penumbra to the Linux Community. And holy freakin' cow, what games.

Understand, these are not games where you have an arsenal of weapons to blow bloody chunks off of Sauerbraten monsters. This is a world where you exist or perish by your own natural wit, awareness and reflexes. Think quickly and correctly or become part of the shadowworld that awaits its next victim. You physically build your own survival. You actually hand-make the barricades, the weapons, the ladders and escape routes that you will need to survive...and you do it with movements and manipulations just like in the physical world.

Not simulations...oh no...this takes gameplay to a whole new level. That old stack of lumber against the wall in other games?

Eye filler.

Not in here. You might just need one of those boards so your body will remain above room temperature a while longer.

In this realm, things exist that you pray do not. This is a game that will make you look behind you every now and then.

When you are alone...

And you will be frightened.

Play it with the lights off. Play it with your back to the door...maybe with only the light of the monitor...I dare you.

I don't want to give anything away but there were several places in all three games that I physically jumped in my chair and yelled...I would say "screamed" but that elicits images of a ditsy blond falling down while being chased by the monster then screaming with a fade to black...

I look like crap in heels anyway. Why do they always try to run away in heels?

Yeah you read it right...five bucks US...the whole three game set.

Or paypal/credit card. I am guessing that would be quicker than mailing them five one dollar bills. Now...please...

Go spend five dollars and support those who support us.

And get the Holy Crap scared out of you for your troubles.

This game was well received in the Windows world. You can see a full and representative review of the entire trilogy here.

This game differs from all others by the virtue of the way you interact with items in gameplay. The detail is stunning. You actually use the mouse and buttons to pick items up, move them to your advantage, turn them around in your hand and inspect them...throw them across the room, carry them, push them or turn a door knob and open a drawer.

It isn't the old "bump and acquire" engines that dominate games today. This takes physical manipulation in games to a place never seen. While these games are not "new" the fact that they have just been ported to the Linux world merits their discussion here. This opens a whole new dimension to gameplay for us.

Oh, and did I mention you can get the entire trilogy for five dollars for this weekend only?

So helios, is this game really different?

Ya think? Watch the film clip. Oh, and DO turn the volume up a bit and watch it fullscreen.

I want you to see what these folks have done with their revolutionary gaming engine...and I quote from a review posted on the internet:

"Using one of the most realistic and impressive physics engines ever created, the player can grab, maneuver, push and throw pretty much anything in the environment and have it react exactly as one would expect it to. The mouse-only object manipulation has a wonderfully tactile feel to it; in order to open a locker door, you have to click on the handle and then pull the mouse back to physically open the door. Similarly, if you wanna spin a wheel or pull a level, you have to use the mouse to replicate the exact movements you'd make in real life. Thanks to the fact that there's no all-purpose "use" button, Black Plague has the most tactile controls you'll ever find outside of a Wii title. Unlike its predecessor, Black Plague utilizes these physics far more when it comes to puzzle solving (being forced to open a door using leverage was, to my mind, one of the most enjoyable parts of the game)."

Or, more succinctly put:

"Black Plague is moody as hell, and it's got one absolutely incredible plot moment about 3/4 of the way through the game (I'm tempted to call it the indie equivalent of BioShock's "a man chooses, a slave obeys" scene)"

Are you a blogger with an established blog? Want to save the bankrupting price of five bucks? Write about this release and the folks at Frictional have authorized me to get you a set of the games free. Just email me the link to the blog and I will take care of it. I have 10 full sets to give away.

Dude...you've never played a game like this...

I will follow this entry with a more personal introduction of the people that make this trilogy...but until then...go play this game.

And Sleep Well....

Yeah, right.

All-Righty Then

Understanding the Scope

Before anything, we need to make an announcement concerning the Linux Against Poverty event on the first of August. May I add that looking at the list of those who volunteered, it reads like a who's who of Austin Tech Talent. That talent is asked to participate in a walk-through on Saturday, the 25th of July. We will meet at Union Park and brainstorm just how everything will be set up, and who will be doing what and where they will be doing it.

It shouldn't take but an hour of your time and it is necessary to the success of the event. We are only going to have a short time to set up on the first so knowing a bit about what will happen is important to the organization of this project. I want to personally thank each and every person who volunteered for this event. I also want to thank those who are coming from different ends of the country to be part of this. Please check http://www.linuxagainstpoverty.org for the details and times.

I've had a couple of conversations with some of the people who work for companies that may be donating to our project. The question they both asked:

"How many computers have you gotten already?"

The answer is about 60.

Both, either in a direct manner or indirectly stated that should be enough computers to keep you busy for a while...as in, we really don't need any more.

I don't think you understand the scope of what The HeliOS Project does.

This is no longer a guy puttering around in his workshop, casually piecing computers together for one or two kids a week. This has evolved into a full scale operation that takes 5-12 requests a day for computers. We have a staff of myself and 4 Directors coordinating this effort. Often, those involved have to pull money out of their own pockets to make sure it gets done.

It stopped being small a while ago.

We have School Teachers, Child Protective Services Counselors, City and School Bus Drivers, State Assistance Employees, Radio Station Managers, State and Government Union Members and private individuals from every walk of life, coming to us with the names of kids or families of kids who qualify for a HeliOS Project computer. 64 percent of those requested will be built and delivered.

Oh, and the 60 we've received?

Those all have names and places stuck on them. They are gone as soon as I regain my ability to lift a computer.

Spoken for - promised...

Out of here.

So don't quit on me now. If you work for a company and have decided that 60 computers is all we need...and you feel the need to report that back to your employer...

I'll ask you to answer our phone for the next month and explain to the folks that we just don't have a machine available for their kids.

Besides...Linux Against Poverty does not end in Austin...this is only the beginning. People on 4 continents are waiting for us to get this documented so they can hold their own event.

Do you think they want to go to this trouble and expense for 60 computers?

We're doing good work here...work that isn't ever easy...but it's work that I would be lost without. We can place 250 computers before this year comes to an end. Linux Against Poverty gives us the chance to do it. Please don't short change the effort.

All-Righty Then...

Another Linux Myth Killed In Broad Daylight

I really wish I could pop the old Lobby4Linux website up sometimes. It exists in a small square, wholly represented by the iconset I choose to decorate my desktop with. About 4 gigs in weight, it represents how this whole thing got started. The Joomla website Tracy Kuhlman built, the Wordpress blog that was my first... Maybe one day when we have a bit more money, I will find someone to host it just for poops and giggles.

Why bring that up?

Because in that blog...the Original Blog of helios....Remember this...?




I ranted on the shape of Linux wireless. It was mid 2006 and my daughter, then living in Germany, was having fits with a Broadcom chip. We struggled for 5 days to get that wireless to work. We failed.

Imagine that. The blog I mention purged the five days of frustration I felt at the time.

Well, something magical happened between the .26 and .27 kernel releases.

Wireless in Linux went from "wireless sucks" to "Wireless just works". That, along with the majority of webcams and voip software, there was an amazing leap in improvement during that period.

Well, that's not news...most everyone reading this knows it already....so why bring it up?

Oh...just to gloat a bit....

Just a bit.

Today I was putzing around the shop, getting some "almost ready for prime time" machines finished up for our kids. Since I am not going to be lifting much of anything except my beverage of choice for the next three weeks, I thought I would get them out of the way.

One of the nicer machines came with a fully-licensed and legal copy of XP on it. As I prepared to wipe it, I thought better...why not make it a dual boot machine.? There are times, especially when I give these machines to the disabled, that they need a Windows app or two along the way.

I got the jumper settings right for the second hard drive and then did the same for the second dvd burning rom I had installed. I fired it up and waited for everything to settle (oh memories of the bad old days) and then popped the control panel open to configure wireless.

My workshop is about 300 feet from the house and the wireless source so I have a system of cantennas and dongles I have Mcgiver'ed together to get signal. It works pretty good given the distance between me and the router. Using a Belkin USB dongle I rigged to extend outside the door, I installed the driver (almost forgot I had to do that) and tried to connect.

Nope...said there wasn't a network in sight.


I went over to both my production machine and my laptop and verified that they were connected and were able to draw data...

I was in 5X5.

I stepped outside, messed with the USB dongle to make sure it was seated in the cradle properly and went back in to check it. Nope...


Deader'n a stump.

I practiced the true definition of insanity several times before I decided to slide in a live CD and see if I couldn't diagnose the problem. Good ol' "iwconfig" will tell you volumes combined with some stratigic pinging.

While the Mepis CD loaded, I made sure the mid-line connections were good and that I had a solid connection at the USB port behind the machine. It couldn't have been any tighter if I seated it with a three pound hammer.

Now Mepis doesn't present Network Manager on first boot. Warren has devised a pretty cool Network connection utility in Mepis so I followed the bread crumbs to the menu link and opened it. I configured the settings with a couple clicks and then started Network Manager.

We were in like Flynn...pulling a fluctuating 61-73 percent signal strength for the next three hours.

I couldn't buy a wireless signal from the Windows machine.



So, while this isn't a newsworthy blog, it should act at least like a historical marker...a bloody sword laying on the road of time.

"Linux is too hard to learn"

"I can't play any games on Linux"

"I have to use the command line too much"

"Linux won't run on my hardware"

"Wireless doesn't work in Linux.

Oh, and just as an unwarranted dig? You have to use antivirus software, I don't...deal with it.

May they all rest in peace...and by the way...don't put away that dark suit you wear to funerals.

Several more Linux myths have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. The TOYA Boys will grieve plenty in the following months.

All-Righty Then...

Knocking it back a notch

I'm not real happy with my body right now...

It isn't too happy with me for that matter.

Folks I have to deal with this injury and get it out of the way once and for all. I mean, it's my fault...if I had done what I was supposed to in the first place, I wouldn't have to be doing this.

What is "this"?

I need to go into a restorative therapy clinic for 15-20 days and get whole again. Seems that every time I get to feeling a little better and the pain subsides, I take that as a signal to kick the stick off the brake and rage on.

I've never been accused of being very smart.

So, for the next three weeks or so, I will be doing just about as much of nothing as humanly possible...we have Linux Against Poverty coming up and I need to be 100 percent for that event. Doing this now will insure that will happen.

I caught up on our last installs last night and this morning and we will not be taking on any new assignments until after the first of August. I'm not going anywhere...I just won't be doing much of anything. It will give me a chance to work on some scripts I've put off and some technical reading that I've fallen behind on.

My day's will be spent in clinic but evenings and weekends I will be here.

Email me as usual...the keyboard isn't my problem. We will also be needing volunteers for the East Austin Learning Center installation. That will take place the last week of August so if you are interested in helping us build the most comprehensive Linux-based learning center in Austin Texas, email me and we'll make plans to get 'er done.

All-Righty Then

As the TOYA Boy Turns...

A couple months back I coined an acronym for a specific type of person we are seeing more and more lately. Now we've talked about this before but for those that are recently joining this experience, let me rehash briefly.

TOYA Boy.

I, at all levels of logic, can understand Linux fanboy-ism. After all, we are not as much a Kernel, an operating system, and Free Software as we are a philosophy.

An important philosophy to my way of thinking.

So of course you are going to have those that take this philosophy to near, ahem...religious heights. Many of us actually have changed our life-course because we believe so strongly in this philosophy. There are millions of us across the globe that understand what computing freedom is...and we embrace it.

Zealot, Fanboy, NerdGeek...

Guilty as charged. More than willing to re-offend. Unrepentant Recidivist.

And I don't mind a bit evangelizing our philosophy...healthily demonstrated by the fruit of that philosophy...it's the core of what we believe...of what we know.

That's where the confusion starts to creep in.

The difference between a philosophy and a product. Let's break it down to what we are talking about at the core.

Linux (Gnu/Linux for my brethren who prefer) exists as much as a philosophy as it does a system.

Microsoft Windows is a product. Redmond cannot even spell philosophy.

Bought and sold with demanding stockholders eying its stability, big, with gleaming buildings and lots of people paid huge amounts of money to produce said product. I can understand liking a product...I like my HP 2710 printer, I like my poor old decrepit Isuzu Rodeo...

But I cannot understand defending it like they defend and protect Microsoft products, especially given the corporate entity that produces it and the Licensing agreement they must agree to before using it.

So if you like a product that's good...buy it, like it and use it. But when someone else, a free consumer in the market for Heaven's sake wants to try something else.....

Why are many of you prepared to do just about anything to keep him from doing it? Why are you prepared to mangle the truth or even lie in order to keep someone on your side of the fence? You will repeat complete falsehoods mouthed by others just as ignorant as you in order to sway a decision.

Why? And don't bother...it's rhetorical.

Well, I ran into another TOYA Boy this weekend.

Oh, and TOYA = Talking Out Your A$$. (when your mouth knows better.)

...and I do mean boy.

He was all of 16 years old.

A 16 year old with a smart mouth that stays in one piece by the blessing that he is only 16 years old...an adult with his mouth would have gained some hard-learned manners long before now.

I drove South to San Antonio and the surrounding area this weekend to do a spate of installs that I had reserved for a one-shot circuit. We've learned to schedule them at least 2 weeks from the time of request to insure that any other installs in that area can be done at the same time. It saves a ton on gas and wear and tear.

His name is Bryan and he too is 16, but much better behaved...well-behaved to the point where him calling me "sir" started to get on my nerves. Bryan has had it tough. He has bounced from foster home to foster home for the past 9 years and it has nothing to do with his behavior. The System simply sucks. The referrer was a CPS Counselor who calls me often with referrals and she told me his story. "Psychologically Brutal" is by no means an exaggeration of his previous circumstance. Through it all, Bryan has a 3.55 grade average going into his Senior year and has already been approached by two colleges. It seems that Bryan possesses some extreme music talent.

One of these Universities would surprise everyone...not many get that invite 3/4th's of the way through high school.

But Bryan is still a 16 year old boy...the voice of a man...just adjusting to the increasing testosterone levels and not at all comfortable with it. He's on that cusp that made all of us as young men extremely uncomfortable.

To take his mind from his problems, Bryan likes to play computer games...and write music scores. Original music scores.

Two of his friends had gathered in the family room with Bryan and his caregiver as I unpacked the computer and began to set it up. I had went out of my way to build Bryan a good computer. This kid captured my attention immediately upon his paperwork coming across my desk.

Bryan knelt down beside me and started putting the various cables and wires into the back while I bench-pressed the 21 inch CRT onto the desk. Have I ever mentioned in passing, my extreme dislike for 21 inch CRT's...? The wonderful woman that pledged to care for Bryan excused herself and told me that if we needed anything, to let her know.

When it came time to push the button, I nodded at Bryan.

"It's your computer son, you turn it on."

The Dell Bios bar crept slowly across the screen until the Super OS logo appeared in brilliant color. I glanced at Bryan and his friends to catch their expressions.

It wasn't any where near what I was expecting.

Bryan was not frowning but I could tell he wasn't exactly ready to do cartwheels either.

Bryan is a gamer and he was expecting Windows.

I sat down in the side chair and motioned Bryan to take the Captain's seat. I had him drop the menu and we started exploring his system. As he traveled through the various sub catagories, I explained how the menu system is set up and how to prioritize the applications to his particular needs. Bryan likes to manipulate music and by the time I showed him Rosegarden, LMMS, Audacity, and ZynAddSubFX, he had forgotten his initial disappointment. He was excited. He was absolutely enthralled with ZynAddSubFX.

I explained to Bryan that while Linux was not anywhere near on par with Windows in the gaming sense, it far surpassed Windows in about everything else. I was about to show him the Gimp when one of his friends chimed in from behind us. It was TOYA Boy.

"I've got a cracked copy of XP at the house Bry...we'll go get it later"

I turned in my chair and the kid smirked as I met his gaze.

"Why would you want to ruin a perfectly good computer by putting XP on it. It will be ate up with viruses in a month. Besides, Bryan doesn't have to steal anything...everything he wants is one mouse click away and absolutely free." I glanced over at the cased laptop on the end table. "Have you ever used Linux?"

The kid snorted in reply. "Dude, If he wanted a toy he would have went to the mall and bought one. Besides", he jerked his head toward the brand new Dell. "I haven't gotten a virus on my computer ever, so that's a bunch of crap. Power Users don't get viruses.

I eyed the other kid then TOYA Boy. "That is a sweet computer. Can I see it?"

He froze for just a moment and then went over and picked it up from the table and handed the case to me. I opened the case and pulled out the gleaming black beauty. 2000 bucks worth of upgraded Dell studio XPS laptop wasted on this rich boy snot.

I opened the lid and he smiled with pride as I turned it on and waited for it to boot.

"Do you have any games on it now?"

"Well yeah...that's what it's for. Check it out."

I opened the Experienced cracked menu and started looking through the games he had...all cracked...no CD needed...not a thing on it legitimate. Even Photoshop was stolen. This particular "release" of XP comes with the ability to install some impressive software...all cracked without any of the keygen or serial hassles. The only real protection he had on it was an expired copy of Norton and it had a big red X through it. I didn't pull it down from the menu but I would guess it was nefariously gained as well. Wireless dutifully found the open signal and connected.

Bad move.

I shifted in my seat and reached in my pocket for the right thumb drive, carefully holding the XPS as I did so. I pulled the cap with my teeth and slid it into the side slot. I waited for the device to register than opened the directory.

"Here's a game you don't have. Click that icon."

The kid glanced at the explorer box then took the laptop from me and took two steps back toward the love seat and sat down. He looked up at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Dude, that's a kid's game man...that's not a real game."

I just smiled.

"Oh trust me...it's as serious a game as you can get...try it and see if I'm not right".

He shrugged and tapped twice on the indicated icon. He fooled with it for about two minutes then laid the machine on the bed. Bryan was still deep into the menu of his new computer. He and his well-mannered friend had discovered Rosegarden and were excitedly exploring the options and features of the application. There was an almost gleeful dialog going on between the two friends.

"Dude, that's so lame my sister wouldn't play it." He pulled the 8 gig drive out of the slot and tossed it back to me.

I just shrugged and turned, put the drive in my pocket and focused my attention back to Bryan.

I took my time with him, explaining to him why Linux and Free Software were a better bet for him, not only now but for the rest of his computing life...barring The Cloud descending upon us all that is. I did accentuate that this was his computer and that indeed he did have a choice of what he put on it but that he should not buckle to peer pressure. Bryan should do what's best for Bryan. I noted with satisfaction the similarities between Bryan and a young man I encountered in Felton California. That was a good thing.


It would seem that helios is geographically-challenged...see if you can spot the boo-boo.


The other young man was listening just as attentively and that seemed to bother our Little Eddie Haskell.

"Dude, but what about our games. He can't play our games on that junk."

I patiently told him that "that junk" was a dual core 64 bit AMD Turion with a 250 gig hard drive and three gigs of memory. Because I knew ahead of time that Bryan would have some specific graphics needs, I installed the Quadro FX 5800, bypassing the onboard ATI setup. I also did a mini lecture on the abilities of Wine, Cedega, Crossover Office and some virtualization engines that would allow him to play at almost peak.

It didn't bother me at all to emphasize with authority that Bryan was being given this computer so he could better himself academically...not putz around at LAN parties and form associations with kids that prioritized gaming over building their futures. None the less, I directed Bryan to a text file in his home directory that listed all the games that played fine on Linux. Then I ended it with my regular finger-wagging .

"AND, it is all but impossible to get a Windows virus on Linux...it's almost impossible to get any virus."

Spawn of Satan snorted. "Big deal, that's not a problem for me either."

I looked him dead in the eye.

"Pull up your favorite game." He just looked at me like I had spoken to him in Swahili.

"Do it...I'm going to show you something."

I motioned Bryan to quickly vacate the seat he was sitting in and dug the red thumb drive out of my pocket and inserted it into the front of the computer. When the sdb1 drive opened, I clicked a folder and double engaged the Sub7 Server...who's client was softly nestled in the whack-a-mole game I allowed him to execute. While Bill Gates Jr. was yammering on about how he didn't need security protection and that Windows was as secure as Linux could ever be, the server connected and I clicked the control panel - screen text:

DO YOU WANT TO PLAY A GAME?

Bryan looked at me with his head cocked and without looking behind me I typed again:

Yeah, I'm talking to you, "Mr. I-Don't-Get-Viruses."

Plato responded in the way I figured he would.

"Hey, someone's typing on my computer."

Boy genius, ain't he?

Bryan smiled widely and I winked.

Again, appearing in a little yellow bordered box on his desktop: "How's that Windows system working out for you now sport?"

For good measure, I opened about 12 incidences of his desktop calculator and choked his 2 gigs of memory to a crawl.

By then, the kid had caught on. The sound of initiating applications was still dinging on his computer. He all but flung his laptop onto the love seat and came stomping over to the where we were seated.

"You put a virus on my computer?"

I just smiled at him.

"No pal...YOU put a virus on your computer. And it's a trojan, an OLD trojan. A Power User should know the difference. If you had any kind of protection at all, it would have warned you. You might want to think about re-enabling system messages while you are at it. It would have told you something was altering your Registry. You were dumb enough to click on a program given to you by a complete stranger so welcome to the world of social engineering Dilbert."

Bryan and his other friend almost fell out of their chairs laughing. The kid sputtered and spewed impotent threats about suing me and police reports...I think he even said he was going to tell his mommy.

That sent his friends even deeper into hysteria. Bryan's "Mom" stuck her head in the door to see what was going on. They were completely at the mercy of their own laughter. I smiled and waved. she surveyed the room, waved back then closed the door.

I unmounted the thumb drive and tossed it to the next candidate for the cover of Mad Magazine.

"Open the same folder, click on the "untitled" folder and double click the icon that has the red and white lifesaver. It says "rescue" under it. When it says to reboot, do it. It'll take the trojan completely off. Oh, and be patient closing all those calculators...Windows does not handle memory very efficiently."

The removal tool had him back to normal in 20 minutes.

I spent the next two hours with Bryan, Michael (the quiet kid) and David...a much subdued David. We used the time to explore OpenOffice, Ekiga, Pitivi and a host of sound manipulation applications. I also showed them how to use both synaptic and the shell to apt-get new applications. Even David was obviously impressed and sheepishly asked me how he could obtain the same Linux System Bryan had. I dutifully dug in my bag and gave him a disk and explained it was simple enough even for a Windows Power User.

As I prepared to leave, we gathered in the living room and I spoke to Bryan's caregiver, I made sure Bryan AND her had the username and password, our business card and instructions to call if there were any problems. I even told Bryan's "mom" about the incident with David and she laughed softly as she shot him a sideways look...something told me that she was pretty sick of his mouth as well.

I was at the front door with the four of them standing in the hallway, I turned and looked at David.

"So did you learn anything today Dave?"

Shuffling his feet, he repeated that he should never trust a stranger or his word when it came to putting stuff on his computer. He also mumbled something about not talking about things until he knew what he was talking about.

I nodded and smiled. "Yep, that's a good start." I began to open the door to leave, then stopped and turned back to him.

"So Dave... was I less of a stranger to you when I told you to click the second icon...?" I met his blank stare for the three seconds it took him to understand what I was saying.

I'm betting there is a good chance he finds a way to re-activate that anti virus program...or if he's smart, he'll follow Bryan's lead.

With that I pulled the heavy front door behind me closed and stepped into the blistering Texas afternoon. I had two more installs in Schertz and New Braunfels before the day was allowed to finish and it was already 1 PM. Eventually, I would return to my home at 12:10 AM on Sunday.

It was a good day.

All-Righty Then

For those who may be concerned, all parties mentioned in this article have read, approve of their participation in the article and bear no ill will toward the author. David's father thought it was a scream and donated $50.00 to The HeliOS Project - h

Winners Announced

At 3 PM CST, The HeliOS Project held it's semi-annual fund-raising drawing. We have individually emailed the winners but will post their names here for historical record. Should you not want your name to appear here, let us know and I will pull it down immediately, or as quick as I can get to a working terminal.

Again, I want to thank everyone who participated. I have to process the funds so I know who donates and I personally want to see everyone win. That's why I don't do the physical drawings myself. The actual hand in the hopper this drawing was Ami Shellberg from Austin. Ami is the mom of one of our HeliOS Project Kids and volunteered to do it. We wanted the local firehouse to do it but they were slammed with calls all day and it didn't work out.

Thank you folks. Thank you for caring enough about what we do to take part in it. Your particpation insures that it does keep putting along. Now, here are the winners:

Alienware Laptop - Paul Jimenez

Acer Laptop - Kenneth Lambert

AMD Personal Internet Device - Lane Beneke

AMD Personal Internet Device - Ed Matthews

Carla Schroeders Networking Book - Sam Briesmeister

Carla Schroeders Networking Book - Josh Slade

Again, we will be shipping on this Tuesday. Our Twitter announcement said Monday but Monday is a holiday and all postoffices are closed.

Thanks folks...thank you for being part of what we do.

Ken

Drawing Draws To An End

Ladies and Gentlemen, I on behalf of Larry Cafiero, Tom King, Bob Pianka, Darrel Raynor Mark Van Kingsley and the volunteers for The HeliOS Project, I want to thank you for participating in our semi-annual funding raffle.

Your generosity has been humbling and the majority of you that donated, dwell within the Linux Community. Few, if any from outside did, although they were invited. Yes, I said Community...for as often as I've decried it as a myth, it is obvious that the fires burn warmly within our township and those who want shelter or citizenship are always more than welcome.

We take the time to allow an independent audit of our raffle so that before the drawing, in the event anyone was missed, the problem is corrected immediately. There is also a post-drawing audit to make sure the numbers balance. Allow 24-48 hours after the drawing for your prizes to be shipped. We do this for everyone's benefit and ask you patience. The drawing is scheduled to take place at 3:00 pm CST on 3 July, 2009. I have several installs tomorrow so in the event I get back late and you do not see the first winner announced on the helios17 twitter, check back at 4pm cst and it will take place then...it simply means I ran a bit late.

We go forward into the last half of the year, refueled, refunded for the summer months and ready for all challenges that may face us. May your God bless and keep you.

And as always.

Thank you so much for being part of what we do.

Ken