The Blog of Helios

Official White House Response to Investigate Chris Dodd

2012-01-31T20:07:00.000-06:00

Why We Can't Comment

Thank you for signing this petition. We appreciate your participation in the We the People platform on Whitehouse.gov. However, consistent with the We the People Terms of Participation and our responses to similar petitions in the past, the White House declines to comment on this petition because it requests a specific law enforcement action.

I honestly don't know what to say.

Maybe it's just time for some good old back-alley tactics.

We will be heard now. Dodd Petition reaches 25,000

2012-01-23T21:06:00.014-06:00

On this date, at approximately 8:31 PM CST, the petition requesting that Chris Dodd be investigated for bribery was validated by the required 25,000 signatures. That's correct. The petition to have Chris Dodd investigated has reached 25,000.

If you don't know the story, it is fairly simple. After the stunning setback of SOPA and PIPA, Chris DODD, former Senator and now current President of the Motion Picture Association of America, threw a hissy fit on Fox News and openly threatened President Obama and the entire Democrat party by denying further campaign contributions until he "got on board" with the MPAA line.

From the petition web page:

"Those who count on quote 'Hollywood' for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who's going to stand up for them when their job is at stake. Don't ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don't pay any attention to me when my job is at stake."

And just a side note from this blogger....if you hadn't made such a boneheaded statement on the public airwaves Chris, your job was most likely secure for years. That nasty taste in your mouth probably originates from the sole of your shoe. Just sayin'.

The petition alleges:

"This is an open admission of bribery and a threat designed to provoke a specific policy goal. This is a brazen flouting of the "above the law" status people of Dodd's position and wealth enjoy. We demand justice. Investigate this blatant bribery and indict every person, especially government officials and lawmakers, who is involved."

It was the original people's petition on the Whitehouse.gov website that prompted the President and several of his staff members to address SOPA/PIPA in a manner that did not please Mr. Dodd. If half the people who poo-poo'ed the relevance of this petition would have taken a minute to sign it, I believe we could have doubled the number of signatures.

But let's look at the accusation of "bribery" in this particular case.

Sure it may be wrong that a corporation or a non-governmental agency can dictate or "purchase" legislation, but it's been done for so long, it is considered business as usual in the Beltway. For years, the American People have become numb to it as they didn't see any way to bring a stop to it. Dodd may have succeeded in walking the fine line between open admission of bribery and simply stating the accepted and obvious truth.

Most important legislation can be traced back by following a money trail.

And honestly here....? I don't think many US citizens are engaged enough to even be aware of the situation....not with a new season of Survivor and Dancing with the Stars just around the corner. The old saying that "people get the government they deserve" comes readily to mind.

But this petition brings it into public awareness now. If for nothing else, to see how it is hem'ed and haw'ed about. The discomfort level should be through the roof. My personal prediction is, whoever responds to this petition will fall back on the exact semantics of the complaint, and dismiss it on those grounds.

So again, in less than 24 hours, We The People have initiated a conversation about national matters.....Important Matters. Regardless of outcome, you've drug something from the darkness into the light, and light is, after all, the best disinfectant.

In most circuimstances that is....Washington may be the exception to that rule.

We'll see how the White House couches this.

All-Righty Then

You Moved Mountains

2012-01-20T13:09:00.001-06:00

I want to share with you an email I received from Tiffiniy Cheng (yes, that is the correct spelling). What you as members of the tech community did to stop SOPA and PIPA was historical....no I mean truly historical as in your grandchildren will read about this in their history books. So take a minute and celebrate the moment, take your victory lap but always realize they could bring this back at any time.

If you want some glaring insight into how they are going to put these laws in front of the nation the next time, click on the New York Times link below. Just sayin'...

You guys friggin' rock.

Ken

Hi everyone!

A big hurrah to you!!!!! We’ve won for now -- SOPA and PIPA were dropped by Congress today -- the votes we’ve been scrambling to mobilize against have been cancelled.

The largest online protest in history has fundamentally changed the game. You were heard.

On January 18th, 13 million of us took the time to tell Congress to protect free speech rights on the internet. Hundreds of millions, maybe a billion, people all around the world saw what we did on Wednesday. See the amazing numbers here and tell everyone what you did.

This was unprecedented. Your activism may have changed the way people fight for the public interest and basic rights forever.

The MPAA (the lobby for big movie studios which created these terrible bills) was shocked and seemingly humbled. “‘This was a whole new different game all of a sudden,’ MPAA Chairman and former Senator Chris Dodd told the New York Times. ‘[PIPA and SOPA were] considered by many to be a slam dunk.’”

“'This is altogether a new effect,' Mr. Dodd said, comparing the online movement to the Arab Spring. He could not remember seeing 'an effort that was moving with this degree of support change this dramatically' in the last four decades, he added."

Tweet with us, shout on the internet with us, let's celebrate: Round of applause to the 13 million people who stood up - #PIPA and #SOPA are tabled 4 now. #13millionapplause

We're indebted to everyone who helped in the beginning of this movement -- you, and all the sites that went out on a limb to protest in November -- Boing Boing and Mozilla Foundation (and thank you Tumblr, 4chan)! And the grassroots groups -- Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Demand Progress, CDT, and many more.

#SOPA and #PIPA will likely return in some form. But when they do, we'll be ready. Can you make a donation to Fight for the Future, to help us keep this fire going?

We changed the game this fall, and we're not gonna stop. $8, $20, every little bit helps.

13 million strong,

Tiffiniy, Holmes, Joshua, Phil, CJ, Donny, Douglas, Nicholas, Dean, David S. and Moore... Fight for the Future!

P.S. China's internet censorship system reminds us why the fight for democratic principles is so important:

In the New Yorker: "Fittingly, perhaps, the discussion has unfolded on Weibo, the Twitter-like micro-blogging site that has a team of censors on staff to trim posts with sensitive political content. That is the arrangement that opponents of the bill have suggested would be required of American sites if they are compelled to police their users’ content for copyright violations. On Weibo, joking about SOPA’s similarities to Chinese censorship was sensitive enough that some posts on the subject were almost certainly deleted (though it can be hard to know).
...
After Chinese Web users got over the strangeness of hearing Americans debate the merits of screening the Web for objectionable content, they marvelled at the American response. Commentator Liu Qingyan wrote:

‘We should learn something from the way these American Internet companies protested against SOPA and PIPA. A free and democratic society depends on every one of us caring about politics and fighting for our rights. We will not achieve it by avoiding talk about politics.’"

Been a Tough Couple of Weeks.....

2012-01-20T08:19:00.003-06:00

We've been down for about two weeks now due to vehicle problems. I do want to thank Todd Coogan and Jeremy Stacings for driving us around to do the few installs we could do. We fell short by 150.00 in getting the vehicle picked up and won't be able to get our SPI check for another week.

As much as I hate to ask, we need to raise that 150.00 before the mechanic's shop starts charging us storage. I really dislike doing this but it is what it is and our hands are tied.

If you have the opportunity to help us get back on the road, contact me helios att fixedbylinux dott kommm and I will forward you the paypal info. As well, you might check with our Ebay store and see if there is anything there of interest to you.

Again, thanks for helping us do what we do.

Ken

SOPA/PIPA - Who To Talk To in Texas

2012-01-18T07:44:00.000-06:00

This Site Has Been Shut Down Due To Possible Copyright Infringement

2012-01-17T20:30:00.001-06:00

Actually, nobody has closed this website down.

In solidarity with Reddit and many other sites, this site is blacked out today in protest against SOPA and PROTECT IP laws. While we at the HeliOS Project understand the need for an artist, inventor or author to protect their Intellectual Property, the above-mentioned laws over-reach to the point where innocent websites will be erased from the Internet without due process or legal review.

These laws will be a threat to free speech and to the freedom of the Internet. Please contact your representative, who most likely doesn't understand how the Internet works, and tell them to vote 'No' on this law. You can learn more about SOPA here.

SOPA Will Ultimately Be Our Fault

2012-01-15T00:29:00.012-06:00

As was the DMCA

As was The Patriot Act

As was The NDAA.

And so it will be for SOPA/PIPA.

When I say "our" fault, I am not talking about those of us in the tech field, although we have a major part to play in defeating it. I am talking about everyone. I'm talking about the grocery checkout guy, the lady who rents you a car or the policeman who pulls you over for speeding.

And let me first clarify that the normal political infighting here is verboten. This isn't a left vs right thing....it's a right vs wrong thing. Those of us who still insist on putting our toes firmly on a party line need to re-evaluate our allegiances.

Those comments won't even be considered for publication. It's sickening how party politics have almost destroyed our government.

Did you Bush voters ever think that he could ever sign a bill into law such as the Patriot Act?

Did you Obama voters ever, in your wildest GD dreams, think that he would be capable of penning his name to the NDAA? And Gitmo is closed now....right?

The answer most of us would give is...No.

So screw the divisive Democrat vs Republican artificial lines of contention here, at least for a while and let's come to an understanding of what we are dealing with.

The most naive, idealistic freshman politicians are ultimately corrupted by The Beltway. Something happens to them in that environment that makes them think they are insulated from public scrutiny and constituent opinion.

Inevitably you have people like Lamar Smith and Patrick Leahy accepting a combined figure of a half of a million dollars in campaign funds from Hollywood, to push laws through like SOPA and PIPA.

And Therein lies the problem.

One industry, trying to protect it's broken business model, if successful, will change the landscape of the Internet for a decade or more. If they have their way, the Internet will become just another venue for paywalled cable television. Once entrenched, these laws will take years to undo, if they are ever undone at all. And through it all, the majority of Americans will go on with their lives, watching Dancing with the Stars and gossiping about the latest TMZ garbage.

and that will be largely our fault.

There is little point in "contacting your representative" via snail mail or email. The best you will receive is a canned response from some low-level staffer, explaining why the politician is in favor of this bill. (S)He will wave the flag, talk about how piracy costs jobs and directly affects the US economy.

If the music and movie industry is holding ANY economy up, they were in trouble long before now.

Email is probably the most easily ignored medium for communications. It can be filtered and deleted with no effort what so ever. A persistent phone call or a physical appearance however is a different story.

There is too much insulation between the voter and the politician. We don't need letters or emails. We need fingers pointed personally and directly at those politicians, calling them out on their votes and actions. We need fingers stuck in the chests of these clowns, demanding the truth.

How a congressman can enter office with a net worth of less than 50 thousand dollars and in two years be worth over 2 million is in itself amazing. What is even more amazing is that the American people shrug it off as they turn the channel to watch Jersey Shore.

So as it is with most things, a few will instigate change for the many. And if we're lucky, it won't take a generation for us to undo it.

SOPA or PIPA is going to pass.

Many websites (to include mine) plan a "darkout" here in the next few days to educate their readers as to the dangers of SOPA/PIPA. While these actions have the potential to educate millions of people, I fear that in reality, it will just be another instance of performance art.

The politician casting his vote isn't directly affected by this unless people call them or visit them en mass. He or she probably won't know about it until some staffer brings it up in a meeting a week later.

No. It takes direct intervention to affect change, but I'm afraid in this case, it may even be too late for that. To much cash has flowed into the pockets of decision makers now. The die is cast. They've received payment to do a job and now they will do it.

and through it all, us "Republicans" and "Democrats" will savage each other like wild pack dogs, each blaming the other in order to assign blame.

When it is the fault of all of us for not doing the right thing.

A good friend of mine brings the whole thing into perspective with one question.

"The Second Amendment? Pish. What good is having all these guns if we're not willing to use them to protect our rights?"

Will it ever come to that? Should it ever come to that? We probably will only know when they come knocking on OUR doors, telling us we have to give up our Second Amendment rights.

And when it comes right down to it, SOPA or PIPA isn't going to stop me from gaining access to sites that give me what I want. I don't watch much TV but I do follow a few programs on a regular basis. Unfortunately, it's usually 3 in the morning and a full 24 hours after they aired that I am able to watch them.

Does the network or producer offer these shows on their websites after the initial viewing? Some of them do but none for what I watch. Is there any where I can go to pay a bit of money and watch them legitimately when I am ready to watch them.

No.

So I will simply type in the numerical representation of that "rogue" website that does offer links to them and go on about my business. That's all it will take to bypass SOPA. Smart website owners will move their domains to places the US cannot or will not reach and life will be good...for those who know how to access it anyway. Does that make me a criminal? Probably, but then again, I don't personally care.

So, you want to bring my actions of watching "pirated" TV shows with those of someone accessing child pornography? Lots of luck with that.

"You can't stop the signal, Lamar".

Catch me if you can. I'm not downloading anything, I am not sharing anything, and I am not "stealing" anything. I am watching something on my computer that is accessible to anybody with the know-how to access it. Give me an option to pay for it on demand at my terminal and I will not do it any more.

If anything, that's what the politicians running this country need to learn. The consumer is king and the consumer will have what they want. Regardless of how hard they try to keep it from them.

All-righty Then....

tony942012@163.com

Up On My SOPA Box.....

2012-01-11T11:01:00.002-06:00

By now, most people who pay attention to our government and have a pulse, are aware of the Twin Titans of Tech Terror, SOPA and PIPA.

I am guessing those people comprise about 12 percent of America's population. The rest are either in tears over Kim Kardashian's divorce or are ticking off the days until the new season of Dancing with the Stars.

I've often stated that if we were to take measure of the average US citizen's IQ, based on their television viewing habits, they would place comfortably between a bag of hammers and....uh, Kim Kardashian.

Don't laugh, I don't think there is much of a spread there at all. Remember folks, every time Jersey Shore airs, billions of brain cells die.

Which is probably fine since they weren't being used anyway.

So, I had been budgeting to get some of my all-time favorite CD's and DVD's replaced this month. Due to either wear or unkind handling, I figured I would need to spend about 40 bucks to replace them. That is at retail price anyway.

Much has happened in the world and within me since many of these disks were first purchased. One such occurrence has been my growing awareness of the **aa's and their heavy-handed practices toward the consumer.

I'm not real thrilled with how they screw their artists over either.

So instead of running out to some mall or store to replace said entertainment media, I popped over to Ebay to see what I could see.

Oh my.....

That 11 dollar first Aerosmith album I wanted to replace?

2.99 - free shipping.

Who's Next by The Who?

Ditto.

Now I immediately began to suspect the origins of said disks. The description listed them as "new"....but somehow I knew the new was relative.

So my budgeted 40.00 went waayyyyy farther than I had expected it to. The added benefit was that with the 7 CD's and 8 DVD's purchased, I am guessing not one shekle went to the RIAA or MPAA.

Of course, it could be argued that said one shekle didn't make it to the original artist either.....

I'm still workin' through that, but for the moment, I am basking in the knowledge that I have, in my own little way, stuck it to the man and at the same time, told them where to stick SOPA.

And on that note, while it's still somewhat legal to do, I'll leave you with a YouTube video of a live Chicago performance of 25 or 6 to 4. Just a personal blast from my past. What a fantastic fusion band. Unfortunately, it does not feature the original lead guitar player for Chicago, Terry Kath.

All-Righty Then

Abacus Thinking in a Digital World

2012-01-08T07:07:00.001-06:00

You know....if this had only happened once, maybe even twice in my personal experience, I wouldn't bother mentioning it.

But lately, it has occurred twice in a month's time. I'm not quite sure there's a darned thing that can be done about it, except quietly shake my head and write it off as abacus thinking in a digital world.

So I get a phone call from the personal assistant for an IT Director in San Antonio. This IT Director frequently directs decommissioned computers and parts to HeliOS and for that I am grateful. The stuff they send our way is quite good.

The request was for a blank PDF copy of the receipt we issue for donated equipment. The donating entity prints it out and fills in the blanks. Corporations and individuals use these forms to deduct the donation from their taxes. In the past several months, she has requested this form a few times and each time, I dutifully send her one without thinking about it. I was at a place with no terminal access so I answered her email request via Droid by directing her to my last email. The requested form was attached therein.

She emailed me back almost immediately.

"I've already used that one, I need one for the November donation."

I expected to see a smiley face at the end of her sentence.

No smiley ensued. She was serious.

"Are you filling them in using an Adobe tool...I mean typing the donations in?"

"No."

I began to respond to her and 'splain the concept of "attached thingies" but then decided it was a bit much to do by touchpad. As my buddy NZ17 would say...

"I rang her up".

And you know what...? I would have been better off just sending her a fresh email with a freshly attached form. No matter how I tried to analogize it, I could not get through to her the concept of a digital copy. In fact, she became a bit testy toward the end because I fear she may have felt "talked down to" by my examples.

And maybe she had a right to feel that way. I was digging for third grade vocabulary when I gave up.

Her take on the whole thing?

"If you eat a cookie, that cookie is gone. You cannot eat the same cookie twice."

It was a challenge but I was able to hold back asking the question. She wouldn't have understood it anyway. I dearly wanted to ask her.....

"Have you ever worked for the RIAA?"

All-Righty Then

Move Over Barbie...Girls Want Tech.

2012-01-02T07:34:00.002-06:00

Dress 'em in pink, build them cute little doll houses and do their hair in pretty little pony tails and braids. Even after your best attempts to "socialize" them into their roles, many of them will disappoint you.

They don't want to play with Barbie's little motorized car.

They want to take it apart.

Seems that at a young age, before we teach them makeup and skirts, they want to get their hands dirty.

Unfortunately, many of us as parents will discourage this behavior.

I've long held, even with my own daughters, that no child should be channeled into any behavior that isn't "normal" for them. My daughter refused to wear a dress or skirt until she was 14 years old. Her mother was mortified.

But she's a little girl.....

Of course she is....but she's a little girl that took her watch apart to see what made it tick....literally. I told her mom that we were lucky she didn't take an interest in veterinary medicine.

"Honey, have you seen the dog...?"

Today, she is a mechanical engineering student....and yes, she will wear a dress when protocol dictates.

But this isn't a lesson on parenting. I am absolutely the wrong source to offer advice in that arena. I've had major failures in the distant past. One thing I can do, as I visit families and set up computers for them, is to recognize the "hacker gene" when I see it.

And more and more, I am seeing it in little girls.

And for that reason, we've set up the HeliOS Mentoring Program for Girls. Starting in January, The HeliOS Project will choose one girl per calendar quarter, between the ages of 8 and 12, and mentor them in all things computer. From the hardware to the software that controls it, we will teach them as far as they want to be taught.

Of course, the child has to show a legitimate interest in this area. We talk extensively with the parent(s) to see if there is any behavior that might indicate an interest in this area.

Surprisingly, even for us, there is an abundance of it. We got a good indication of that during our last two Camp HeliOS events. The girls showed equal or superior aptitude and curiosity to the boys.

So our "project girl" for this quarter is named Ashlynn. Her mom, Ciara, is excited about the prospect of Ashlynn becoming part of our program. (for privacy reasons, we never use last names - ken)

"She loves computers", her mom said. "She asks me questions I wouldn't expect from a 5th grader."

Ashlynn attends the fifth grade at Harmony School of Political Science.

She carries a straight A average and has not only shown academic promise, but exhibits the traits of a leader.

Ashlynn received a laptop from HeliOS three months ago and we pretty much knew right then that she would be our first mentoring project.

Ashlynn will also be given a "scholarship" for Camp HeliOS this year. We waive enrollment fees for up to 40 percent of the registrants if they show a true hardship in paying the fee. We are assured that since Ashlynn is a Linux User, she won't be asking her mom to spend the saved money on operating system upgrades or antivirus software.

She's a smart girl....one of many we will present to you in the coming months.

All-Righty Then

SOPA? Get YOUR message across.

2011-12-27T22:47:00.000-06:00

A couple of good things were accomplished today. I had the chance to talk with an old friend who incidentally is a Network Engineer in Palo Alto and we had the opportunity to kick around some ideas for getting around SOPA.

Turns out, it may not be that hard to do...if you don't mind breaking a federal law or two.

My friend Katie had some bumper stickers made up that pretty much echoes my sentiments of SOPA/PIPA. I normally don't dally in bumper stickers but this one is going on the old Explorer as soon as it arrives in the mail. 5 bucks out the door to include shipping.

AND....within the next few hours, the name Lamar Smith and the term "Congressional Quisling" will appear in most 1st page search results with the search string "Lamar Smith".

So yeah...it's been a productive day in a pissed-off-to-the-bone sort of way.

And Jason Johnston, the network engineer for Ticom met with me today and helped us load 18 donated HP Proliant DL380's into the Explorer. (seems that I might need rear shocks here soon). We'll be putting those up for sale here soon for cheap so if you are interested let me know.

Lamar Smith - Congressional Quisling. That has a nice ring to it.

All-righty then.....

Why Stop Billions When You Can Stop Millions....?

2011-12-27T00:40:00.016-06:00

I try not to get too worked up about much any more. Most angst is just wasted neurons. Stuff works itself out just fine without me encouraging another ulcer or sleepless night. I have a rule I've come to live by and it has worked for me wonderfully.

It is called the 24 hour rule.

When I find myself in a tither or feel that uncomfortable sensation of having my shorts in a bunch, I simply ask myself:

What impact will this problem or situation have on me in 24 hours?

Most of the time, the answer is none. That is my cue to dial it down a notch and go find something constructive to do.

But this SOPA thing.....

So I engaged my 24 hour rule there too, but I projected it into the future....24 hours after it passed.

You know what? Some of it is worth worrying about.....

And some of it isn't.

Let's get to the "isn't" first.

What the Congressman from the 21st District of Texas does not understand at the fundamental level is software, and it's engineered purpose. Software is designed to solve problems.

Without it, the Internet is all but meaningless. Without a browser, you got nothin'. Without CMS, you got nothin'. Without Facebook you got....uh, large chunks of your life back....

But that's not the point.

The Point is, software and network engineers will find a way around this. It's what they do.

Be it a browser extension or a VPN solution, people will access what they want to access. What the **AA's and Congress fail to realize is that the Genie is out of the bottle. The Internet is what it is and some bought-and-paid-for congressional quisling isn't going to legislate it otherwise.

From my point of view, Congressman Lamar Smith is that congressional quisling.

Has any industry leader figured out that if you make the latest episode of Dexter available after network airing, people like me would pay to watch it? No....that would mean changing their business model to fit within the 21st century. Deity Forbid....

Ok, so they write the law stating that designing or using a tool to bypass these "laws" are themselves illegal. They will be made available off the US shores in such abundance that no one will shut them all down or for long. Where is the enforcement? Tens of thousands of users of such tools become a darknet and they get the content they want, with nobody the wiser.

And I am personally willing to teach anyone wanting to get to a "rogue website" exactly how to do it.

See, there are some extremely brilliant people out there who have just a little bit of renegade in them. SOPA wont stop them....it will be a challenge. Just like DVD Jon took care of bid'ness, so will these hackers and engineers smash the SOPA barriers and allow the free flow of traffic.

Some would argue that Jon Lech Johansen became such a painful thorn in the side of Steve Jobs, it ultimately led to him throwing in the towel on DRM music. Another such pioneer will do the same thing to Lamar Smith. Smith has such utter contempt for his constituents that he all but refused to hear testimony from security and network professionals opposing SOPA.

You cannot convince me that Lamar Smith is not under intense pressure from the **AA to get this law passed. He is willing to pass a law so disconnected from Internet technology, that it will most certainly fragment the Internet as we know it today.

That doesn't take into consideration the harm he is doing to US relations on a world-wide basis. Already the EU has taken a firm stand against SOPA. But all the protest in the world, literally, in the world, cannot blunt the dreams of Congressmen sitting in their counting rooms, raking in the campaign contributions from the likes of Time Warner and Comcast.

Of course, I would normally take some satisfaction in knowing that he will probably be thrown out of office on his a$$ come 2012, but given the fact that Chris Dodd is there to catch him and offer him a cushy job offsets that warm fuzzy possibility.

So yeah, we're being told to email our representatives and protest SOPA.

Don't bother.

You will receive the same thing I received...a form letter mechanically stating the reasons to support SOPA. Jobs, yada, yada, yada. Protecting American IP, yada, yada, yada....it takes a staffer about 30 seconds to scan your email and hit send on their boiler-plate response.

You and your "opinion" are forgotten in less than a minute.

Get that person on the phone and raise hell. Remind said staffer that the congressman from X state is going to lose his job over support of this bill. Don't let them lapse into talking points. Sure you are going to spend some time on hold but outside of a personal appearance, your phone call is the most effective way of getting your message across.

Regardless of what happens to Lamar Smith personally or professionally, he will forever be known as The Man That Broke The Internet.

Of course, how a man can usurp the US constitution and be clapped on the back for his efforts is beyond me.

It always has been.

All-righty then...

2011-12-25T21:19:00.000-06:00

Christian Rock Hard
Get More: SOUTH
PARK more...

We Bet on This Wallpaper....

2011-12-23T05:12:00.001-06:00

Back in the early part of November, we asked our readership to help us design a default wallpaper to go out on our HeliOS Computers. Submissions were slow at first, with only three people submitting their work, but as November morphed into December, we began receiving several a day.

In most any situation where you have artists of any sort presenting their work, there are always one or two that jump out and shine over the rest. This wasn't true for our little contest. Every week, I would guess to myself that a particular entry was the winner, just in time to receive another one that I liked better.

In no particular order, I would like to thank John Chival, Sean Robinson, Mark Adams, Jeremy Gooch and Clayton Ramos. My sincere thanks to everyone who submitted their work for HeliOS. Please pardon the fact that I did not assign author names with particular entries. This is the busiest time of year for HeliOS and working just myself this year has me counting minutes. I will correct this as soon as time allows.

And the winner?

After what can only be described as "spirited discussion", the kids that received HeliOS computers in the month of December have voted for a submission by Mark Adams. We've named it "Chips In"

You can see the finalist submissions here. And again, thank you to every one of you for helping us do what we do. We will alternate these wallpapers from time to time and all of them will be used.

All Righty Then...

Throughout this week.....

2011-12-20T08:51:00.002-06:00

Regardless of your religion or culture, let us take December 25th as a universal moment.

A day to re-evaluate our priorities, our biases and ultimately, how we affect the world and those within it. Our time here is short and sometimes our daily challenges can blind us to what is really important. How we treat each other.

Merry Christmas from all of us to you.

Of Penguins and Presents.....

2011-12-17T08:59:00.003-06:00

I have the best job I can imagine.

I have the opportunity to give computers to kids that cannot afford them.

It isn't often easy...there is a lot of physical work, and as my neck injury deteriorates into Chronic Disk Disease, I am relying more and more upon our great pool of volunteers to do the literal heavy lifting. But all things considered, I am probably at the best place ever in my life.

Can you imagine having a job that frees people from proprietary operating systems and presents them with a whole new perspective on technology? It really is a dream job.

So, last week I visited with a single mom family of four. Shannon works two jobs to keep a roof over their heads. Her kids are Aaron - 14, Hope - 12, Devon - 9 and Joshua - 4. Dad is serving a 30 year sentence in a North Carolina penitentiary for killing a family of 3 while driving drunk.

They died on December 23rd, 2006.

He won't be home any time soon.

So while sitting at the computer, showing them their new Linux system, Joshua asked me plain and simple:

"Does Santa come to your house?"

I opened my mouth to answer, then closed it and opened it again to speak...much like a fish out of water. I glanced over at Shannon and she looked at me, obviously amused at my discomfort.

"Why yes Josh, he does visit my house."

His eyes grew big as if he was happy to get an answer of any sort.

"Does he really give you presents?"

I just nodded and smiled then looked back on the computer screen. See, personally; and even at an early age, I've been uncomfortable with the whole Santa Claus thing. Again, it's a personal thing and I don't judge or begrudge anyone for perpetuating the tradition. It just sits inside me wrong. But then I came upon the answer I wanted to give him.

"You bet he does Josh. He brings me all of these computers to give to kids like you."

And he does.

Sometimes Santa is dressed like a company CEO, sometimes she is acting as the IT manager for her company, and other times he is simply someone who hears about HeliOS and donates their usable but unused computer to us.

Santa Claus has many identities, many stations in life and lives in the most unusual places. Sometimes, Santa shows up at our door with their toolkits, ready to spend the whole day getting computers ready to go out to our kids. Often, we can't even buy them lunch for their efforts but they come anyway. Regardless of who she is at the time, Santa is the linchpin of this whole HeliOS thing. Without him, there wouldn't be any HeliOS Project.

So to all those who have been Santa for us, I want to give you our most heartfelt thanks. See, as I said above, this is probably the best my life has ever been. No, I don't make a lot of money and the hours can be long and odd at times, but the sense of purpose I gain from doing what I do offsets that by a huge margin.

And to the many of you who have asked me what I wanted Santa to bring this year?

Nothing.

I have a great job, a warm place to live and work and I have loving people that surround me. To ask any more of The Universe would seem selfish to me.

For those that insist, HeliOS is always accepting of gifts, but personally, for me....

I can't think of anything I want more than what I already have. Regardless of your religious or cultural holding, I want to wish you nothing but good things in your life and I can only hope than everyone in the world could be as content as I.....

And behold the wonderment of this season through the eyes of Joshua.

All-Righty Then...

So Let Me Tell You What Happened Next.....

2011-12-15T22:14:00.000-06:00

First off, I want to thank the hundreds of you who emailed or responded to the 12 year old girl's plight, after her mom's boyfriend hijacked her HeliOS Computer.

We talked about it here.

I was extremely uncomfortable in the actions I had to take in this drama. From my perspective, there was real trouble in this household and I did in fact contact a friend at CPS.

I probably shouldn't reveal all the facts due to pending legal actions but as it was investigated, there was abuse taking place in that house and the girlfriend-beater boyfriend was arrested. He was strongly advised by the mom's father to find residence outside of Texas and Florida has accepted his probation terms and he now resides there.

It is extremely uncomfortable to find yourself in a position like this and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Child Protective Services has a reputation of being heavy-handed here in Texas and removing children from homes on the slightest whim. Fortunately in this case, the spidey senses were correct. I don't think I could sleep very well if I had initiated an investigation where things were not as they appeared.

At any rate, this is posted just so all of you who inquired would know that things worked out ok for Marley. Her and her mom are doing fine and now residing at a different place with a different and unlisted phone number.

I for one feel that the good guys scored one here. My thanks to PI Rich Hector for stepping in and lending me a hand.

All-Righty Then...

What Was Geek is Now Chic.....

2011-12-10T22:04:00.008-06:00

I ascribe to the theory of "Trickle-down Technology".

What once resided in the Realm of Geeks, ultimately flows down to those less than technically-astute. Fact is, the technology isn't really any different from top to bottom, but the way of presenting it to the user is.

The perfect example is The Evolution of Linux as an operating system. And yes, I frequently commit the faux pas of referring to the entire operating system as "Linux"...knowing full well that Linux is the kernel.

God knows I've been bludgeoned with the distinction over the years.

And please...not Gnu/Linux. For better or worse, that battle is lost. Let's move on.

But my point is this. What used to be accomplished only at the command line now has pretty, blinky, wobbly, transparent GUIs to get the job done. Why? Because normal people don't think in one's and zero's. They don't connect with cryptic lines of archaic symbols and letters.

They relate to a graphical environment, and intuitive ways of interpreting data.

So, one of my pet peeves over the years has resided within the browser experience. Be it Firefox, Internet Exploder or any other browser, page load times, even with the fastest available broadband has been, at times, abysmal.

Used to be, only those comfortable in about:config, text editors or viewing page sources could suss out the root of the problem. The rest of us had to tolerate the myriad of ads and flash junk loading before we could get to the meat of the page.

That's changed for the better and while such options are just now becoming apparent to many everyday computer users...they are in fact becoming apparent.

As I've mentioned in the past, I will spend some of my down time watching TV or movies at fastpasstv.ms. These days I don't pirate movies or TV shows much any more. I let others do it for me and reap the benefits. The problem is, many of these pages "can be" rift with gnarly java scripts and pop ups that appear so fast, they could induce a seizure for some.

There are two tools in my Firefox arsenal that combat these nicely.

1. Adblock plus

2. Ghostery

Now, Adblock Plus is old news for the most part. Many of us have been using it for a number of years and wouldn't think of browsing without it. Yes, I know there are others out there but to keep it simple, I'm just going to talk about these for the time being.

But Ghostery is something I've missed in the past. Where Adblock did fail me from time to time, Ghostery filled in and does a great job. How? From their website:

"Ghostery sees the invisible web - tags, web bugs, pixels and beacons. Ghostery tracks the trackers and gives you a roll-call of the ad networks, behavioral data providers, web publishers, and other companies interested in your activity."

Not only can you see who's tracking you, bothering you and slowing you down...you have the opportunity to block them from your browsing experience. You can leave the ones you think you want or are benign and block the rest.

Take a look at the graphic here. When Ghostery is active, it will give you a ten second popup, telling you the bugs, trackers, and other nuisances that are slowing you down. I won't name the site taken here but trust me, with Ghostery as an active extension, the page load time dropped by sixteen seconds.

That's amazing....and infuriating at the same time. Look at the garbage that loaded with that web page.

Please note, even the ageless and infamous DoubleClick is shot dead in its tracks. That is a beautiful, beautiful thing in itself.

Unfortunately, one of my very favorite websites gives me these sort of problems from time to time. LXer.com uses Tribal Fusion to serve their ads, and hey...ads done in moderation are not a bad thing. Every website needs to At Least cover their costs of hosting and maintenance. I don't begrudge anyone that. What I do take issue with is an ad server blocking the page load for 1 to 2 minutes at a time. It doesn't happen all the time but when it does, it is excruciating.

I just won't tolerate that and I don't think it's fair for any website to expect it of you or me.

Don't even get me started on Daniweb or LinuxToday.

So, while Tribal Fusion might be the only ad server active on LXer, it is one of the most annoying and unfortunately, I turn on blocking for LXer when it seems to be choking. I don't have all day to wait for an ad to load.

And you don't either.

So yes, the everyday user is getting hip to their choices and I am seeing it more and more every day.

And that makes me feel great. The geeks have done good.

All-Righty Then...

Suicide by Silverlight?

2011-12-03T22:44:00.009-06:00

Muktware caught my eye this morning via Google reader. the title?

LoveFilms Goes Suicidal, Ditches Flash For Silverlight

Say what? But, but....I thought Silverlight was dead?

Apparently not.

As quoted from the Muktware article:

"LoveFilms, an Amazon company, is ditching the dying Flash technology for already dead Microsoft's Silverlight. The move gives indications that Flash will soon lose its significance on the PC as well. Adobe recently announced killing Flash on mobile platforms.

The bad news is the insecure Hollywood studios are going with Microsoft's non-standard technology Silverlight. I wonder if Microsoft pushed for Silverlight as it sees Adobe killing Flash fo good."

So which is it? Is the rumor of Silverlight's death grossly exaggerated or does LoveFilms know something we don't?

It's obvious that the MPAA has their greasy hands all over this decision, and there is probably little doubt that any licensing agreement between LoveFilms and the content owners was contingent upon them switching over to Silverlight.

Duh....I figured that all out on my own.

Let me 'splain something to those that demanded this change-over.

The people that are "stealing" from you are going to do it regardless of whatever bullpoot DRM you put up as an obstacle. Fact is, there are streaming websites that locate themselves WAYYYY out of the legal reach of the "AA's" and US law. Some of the servers are physically located in places like Tonga, The Bahamas and Sweden. They show stuff literally minutes after its first premiere or showing.

I can usually watch a television show that aired PST just minutes after it airs in my time zone...without the bloody commercials. You have no idea how much that in itself is of value to me. I despise television commercials, almost as much as the ones they now want me to watch in a movie theater.

The particular site I use does not actually host any files but acts as a link page for those that do....and there are a lot of them. One movie or TV series episode might be listed under 10 or more servers showing the same program. Recently this "linkpage" was taken down by British authorities and the site operator was arrested. No sooner did he make bail, he purchased new servers, registered his website under a .ms domain and they were back in business. Downtime?

About 4 days.

At this moment. I have 11-11-11 paused as I write this entry.

Yeah, it might be a cam or a screener but as one who boycotts the movie houses anyway, I get to watch it in the comfort of my home, and with the aid of a certain Firefox extension, I can slide the burned disk of said infringement into my "playsanyformat" box and watch it on a 42 inch TV screen.

These devices were, at one time, considered illegal via the DMCA for import into the US but said laws were challenged and they are available in some stores and most places online. I payed 45.00 for mine but prices range extensively so shop cautiously.

So what good does this move to Silverlight do....I mean outside of the Microsoft Counting Rooms?

Again, DRM hobbles the legitimate user and provides a few giggles for everyone else. See, I never "pirated" a thing until 2000. That's the year Metallica and Dr. Dre sued Napster and the whole filesharing thing got dragged kicking and screaming into US awareness.

I made it a point to download every single song I could possibly consider enjoying that same day. My entire music collection consists of 419 illegally downloaded songs...songs that I still play on a weekly basis. I would no sooner purchase a major recording company CD or a movie DVD than I would girl-slap Mike Tyson.

When the artist gets a more proportionate share of the sale, then, I will re-examine my stand. But while the RIAA siphons off the real money percentage-wise...well, I personally cannot condemn the practice regardless of how wrong it might be. My last foray into the seedy world (sorry) of music downloading?

Nickleback. That gives you an idea of what I think of most commercialized music since then.

Case on point, I've bought The Who - Who's Next album/CD six times in my life. It either gets scratched, lost or just plain worn out. Since the year 2000, I haven't purchased a replacement copy once. My opposition to a heavy-handed RIAA saw to that. So instead of discouraging pirate behavior, you've encouraged it? How many other customers have done the same thing worldwide? I would guess a bunch.

I can name one sweet old lady who did the same thing.

As soon as I get some clarification on certain statute of limitation laws, I will tell you a story about something I was involved in between 2001 and 2003. I am proud to have been a part of this "project", although I've never talked about it publicly.

But I will if I can. I think you will like it. Stay Tuned.

All-Righty Then

Homecoming

2011-11-30T05:13:00.001-06:00

This entry has nothing to do with HeliOS or Linux but it's something that is important to me and I wanted to make sure I share it with people.

I have a friend of 22 years who came home safely from Afghanistan yesterday. He crewed on a C-130 gunship and spent over a year doing so. Yesterday he came home to a large contingent of friends and relatives. He has a family of 3 waiting for him, a wife and 2 children, ages 8 and 12. From what I understand, the airport reunion was touching and there probably wasn't a dry eye in the group when 8 year old Cyndi exclaimed as she ran to him and jumped into his arms:

MY DADDY'S HOME, MY DADDY'S HOME....

Well, unfortunately there wasn't any video shot of the event but there is one video I want to show you.

As I am both a war veteran and someone who has waited for someone to come home from war, I know the feelings that prevail within. Sure you tuck that worry and fear deep inside you and try to go on day to day, but you always keep hope and you always prepare for that day that someone is going to tell you something horrible that will change your life forever.

I know there are a million of these on youtube but this one reunion video between father and daughter is the best one of all of them. She does what has to be the best classic double take of all time and then........

All the fear, all the worry and all the nagging anxiety drop away from her like a mercury overcoat as she sees her dad in her classroom. This precious little girl has her daddy back. You can see the entire range of her emotions in a few split seconds. This is what life is all about. It's about love....it's about keeping the porch light on until someone you are waiting for comes home. And it's about unabashed emotional release when your daddy comes back.

Watch and you will see.

The HeliOS Project Has a Gas Problem

2011-11-29T21:15:00.001-06:00

Thanks to this community, we now have enough money for our delivery fuel this holiday season. I want to personally thank each and every one of you for getting us out and about this season. You folks rock. - Ken

No, not that kind of gas....we'll on a personal level, maybe at times with Diane's chili and all, but as a group...no, that's not what I meant.

We have now stopped taking requests for computers from the 1st of December until Christmas day. We now have 29 families verified as qualified recipients of a HeliOS computer and starting the 1st day of December, we are off to the races...so to speak. We will deliver and install 29 computers between those dates. Two of them will be on Christmas Day.

10 of these computers will go to foster kids via Lutheran Social Services of the South. All the kids in this group will be "aging out" of the system within the next few months and they will need computers to help them step into adulthood. We are proud to affiliate ourselves with Kelli Redd and her organization.

With the old Explorer picking a bad time to need an entire front end rebuild, we're going to be short on funds needed for fuel during the holiday delivery period. It figures out to $12.89 per delivery but that number is skewed by seven of the deliveries being on the very edges of our service radius.

So, as much as I hated to even sit down and write this, I found it necessary to ask the community to give us a hand in getting it done. Some of you make monthly donations to HeliOS and I want you to count yourselves already done. We appreciate your help more than you know. It's often your donations that get us through from day to day.

This isn't really "news" so it won't be posted on the various Linux news websites, I would appreciate you passing this along through your G+ and Facebook posts.

You can donate via SPI here, or if you'd rather do it via paypal, contact me for details at helios attt fixedbylinux dott kommm.

Once again, let me thank you for helping us do what we do.

Ken

Want My Help...? Take The Test.

2011-11-29T12:22:00.003-06:00

My friend and colleague Carla Schroder made a statement a few years back that invoked my best John Belushi imitation. I only raised an eyebrow because as statements go, it seemed pretty silly if not outright insulting.

"Some people should never be allowed to own computers." She went further in an email exchange and instead of maybe tempering her statement, she narrowed it.

"Some others shouldn't be able to sit down at one without taking a test."

As much as that may have rankled me at the time, I now join the small but firm minority in this belief. Most anyone in tech support might have stepped over this belief line from time to time. For me, it's no longer a line...it's where I live.

Belief hell, it's a matter of mental health survival.

So you might remember, last week I lamented about a father who took control of a computer we had given his daughter via The HeliOS Project. Within two hours of us leaving his house, he was on the phone with us, complaining that no matter what he did, he couldn't "download anything".

He was confusing the act of "downloading" with "installing". He was chapped because graboid.exe wouldn't install. This after a 90 minute instruction session explaining that Windows apps do not run natively on Linux. In the first place, we do not place these computers so the parents can download pirated movies and music. In the second place, we give these computers to the children, not the parents.

Unfortunately, we cannot control the moral compass of those within the family of that child. This isn't the first time this has happened but it is the first time that a parent or guardian has so blatantly claimed ownership of a computer we have given to a child. I was prepared to deal with this in a few days but we had our hand forced last Friday.

Dad called us and informed me that he had indeed installed Windows 7 over our Linux install but he was having problems. He no longer had wireless, nor was his screen presenting itself in the correct resolution. He also complained that the educational programs that were previously on the computer were now gone.

This guy didn't understand that replacing one operating system with another would yield such results.

He was clueless even to the concept of an "operating system". I withered at the possibility of explaining to him the entire issue of hardware drivers. If he couldn't understand the concept of an operating system, I wasn't about to suggest to him that getting the needed drivers would have been a good thing to do before he blew away his system.

Can you imagine sitting on the phone, trying to coax him into finding out what the model numbers and chipsets were on his hardware?

So I did something I rarely do...something I make it a practice NOT to do.

I left to make the 1.5 hour round trip to his house while I was angry. But before I set out upon my trek, it dawned on me that The Solution to this problem sat upon my desk, three minutes from my house. I made a two minute stop at our facility and took a deep breath to get a better grip on my anger.

He answered the door like I was a neighbor. He offered me coffee and a comfortable chair. I wasn't in a cordial mood so I asked if his daughter was home and would he call her into the living room. What happened next gave me a better idea of the dynamics within that household.

Instead of going to her room where she was, he bellowed for her like she was cattle. She came into the room quickly and appeared apprehensive but when she saw me there, her face and body relaxed. She was obviously frightened of this man.

With them both present, I reached into my pack and pulled out an envelope that contained a legal document and I explained it to him as I handed it over. It is a simple instrument, calling upon the 2005 Texas Property Code CHAPTER 141. Transfers To Minors.

I told him in no uncertain terms that the computer we gave his daughter is her property and that his only interaction with that computer was to insure her safe and monitored use of the machine. I informed him that as her dad, he most certainly had the right to see what she was doing on it but from a legal standpoint, he could not alter the contents or operating system of that computer, nor could he deny her the use of the machine to complete her school work.

I was prepared for him to give me the "while she's under my roof" sermon but wasn't prepared for what she was about to say:

"He isn't my dad."

When I initially installed the computer, he had assured me he was. I looked at him for a long ten seconds while he figured out he was busted.

So again, we have a case of a bully live-in boyfriend pretty much sitting on his a$$ at home while the mom works to support him.

I patted the sofa cushion beside me and invited the 12 year old girl to sit next to me. Reaching into my pack, I pulled out the new Asus netbook and opened it on my lap.

"This is your computer now", I told her as I looked at the live-in. "It has the same operating system and games on it that your big one had plus it has a private password so no one can make changes to it. Do you want to know what that password is?"

She smiled as I leaned over to whisper to her. She giggled when I told her what it was.

"Now, you have to ask permission to use the computer and if you get into trouble, your mom has the right to ground you from it. Do you understand that?"

She nodded solemnly as I opened the netbook and began making changes to it so it was hers. I took 20 minutes to reinstall a fresh copy of our remix and when I was done, I handed the computer to her. I pulled out my phone and held it up as I again glanced over at wife-beater.

"Do you know your mom's number at work? Can you call her?"

She took the Droid from me and once she had her mom on the line, she handed me the phone. I explained to her why I was there and what I had just explained to her daughter and Mr. Abuse-R-Us.

She was quiet for a long minute then simply said "thank you".

"Now"...I said, after putting the phone away. "let's get this other one unplugged and out to my car. I'm going to leave the monitor with the keyboard and mouse so you have a bigger screen and I'll show you how to hook it up."

Boyfriend got up without saying a word to either of us and disappeared into the back of the house. Little girl happily crawled under the desk for me and unplugged all the plugs and wires and walked out with me to my car.

I took a minute to speak with her before I got into my Explorer.

"Are you going to be OK when I leave?"

She shook her head and stated that her mom was getting off early because it was Friday after Thanksgiving and she should be home in less than an hour. I handed the child my card, feeling a bit uncomfortable about leaving. I've known guys like this and they are cowards. I then figured out what to do.

"Hey, I've got an idea. Whaddaya say I teach you how to play Tux Racer until your mom gets home? I can show you some other stuff too."

She smiled brightly and almost skipped to the front door. We sat the monitor and keyboard up on her desk and I took her through some of the functions of the netbook, taught her about fn keys and then we launched into the dozens of games that we include in our remix. We were totally immersed.....

Immersed to the point that neither of us noticed when her mom walked through the front door.

Editor's note: Upon getting the confiscated computer up on my work bench this afternoon, I found it indeed have a copy of Win7 on it. Of course the screen was devoid of wallpaper, showing nothing but black and in the lower right hand corner of the screen was a message proclaiming this copy of Windows does not pass the Windows Genuine Advantage test. Go figure...

All-Righty Then...

Thanksgiving In Reverse.....A Geek's Perspective

2011-11-23T20:07:00.001-06:00

Most Americans recognize Thanksgiving as the starting line for our holiday season dash. A time where many of us forget the real reasons we mark these days on the calendar and spend them over eating, over spending and over extending ourselves.

I tend to take a more traditional view during this part of the year and I wanted to spend just a few moments in reflection and mention some important things that have happened.

Things for which I am deeply thankful.

Most recently, we installed a small 4 computer center at Furaha House. Coming to a strange country and falling into a completely foreign culture is most usually a shock. Furaha House is a non profit organization that aids African refugees and immigrants in learning the language, customs and all the while striving to be productive citizens in their new country.

Joshua Vaughan, a Rotarian and the Director of Global House had contacted us after we spoke during a Rotary meeting and asked us to help this great organization. We of course were happy to help. The computers will be used for both education and helping new arrivals learn about their surroundings. Some of them cannot even write in their own language. These computers will open educational doors for them as well.

I want to personally thank Solange Woodson of Furaha House (pictured above far right) for her warm and sincere welcome of HeliOS as we went about our task there. I also want to thank Josh Vaughan (next to her) for introducing us to this opportunity to help.

And to the City of Taylor, a small, growing and friendly town that I now call home...I want to not only thank them for the opportunities they've provided us to be of service, I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude for giving us a place from which to work. Where a city of over 1 million couldn't find us a place to operate from, a town with humble means and a struggling economy saw our value and made us neighbors. Thank you Taylor Texas. Thank you Jeff Straub and Bob Van Til.

To the one hundred and six families we have been able to help so far in 2011, I want to thank you for not only allowing us into your home but providing us with a way to give back. Personally, I now find it hard to tell where Ken Starks stops and The HeliOS Project starts, but regardless of where that line is, I am comfortable in knowing that what we do as an organization defines me.

I have no problems with that.

And I think the most important thing I can mention here are the volunteers that have stepped in to help us do what we do. We would not exist without the likes of Ron West, Carolyn and Jason Smith, Andy Krell....I could go on for an entire page and not mention everyone, but you know who you are. And I know who you are. Thank you.

So with a roof over our heads, and the bills somehow getting paid month to month, I don't think I could ask The Universe for anything more without coming off as greedy.

It has given me what I think we all desire and need as human beings. A sense of purpose.

And for that, I am most thankful.

All-Righty Then.

Microsoft and Some Press Catch Up to the 21st Century

2011-11-22T20:33:00.006-06:00

It's hard to make blanket statements and still be correct, yet; it is heartening to see people in the position of reporting news finally see what's happening.

Finally.

Here's the first of the real shockers...

Microsoft has decided that Windows 8 should ship with it's very own, tied-in, tied-down, bundled, ne'r-to-be-separated anti virus.

Who'd-a thunk it?

While many of us do simultaneous facepalms and giggle at a decade-late decision, others question the legality of doing so. A multi-billion dollar industry has grown, based on the absolute porous operating system that is Microsoft Windows.

I'm sure Windows fans will protest, saying such things as:

"Well, I've run Windows for years and NEVER had a virus".

Of course, when he says that, he should also hold up a sign to identify himself as belonging to the 1%.

Personally, I cannot suss where this will land legally. It's hard to argue with the fact that MS is finally going to at least try to address the issue of virus/trojan/malware security. But then again, we all know most anti virus "protection" is a reaction to something that's already happened on the system....

Most recently, my friend Adam who uses Windows from home for work purposes and casual use contracted the AV Security 2012 malady. He had MS Security Essentials installed along with Malware Bytes free version. Neither did anything to stop the bugger from infecting him, it simply and without gracious attempt, informed him he was infected. Then they unceremoniously told him that removal failed.

He now sports a spiffy, spotless install of Linux Mint 11 on his desktop and is loving it.

Still, I don't think the likes of Kaspersky and AVG are going to take this news quietly.

In other news....Business Insider/SAI leads with the headline:

What Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, And SAP Don't Tell Customers

On the Microsoft front and in a nutshell, our reporter warns us that Microsoft is trying to protect its monopoly by convincing the enterprise that a 100% Microsoft shop is a good thing. It goes on to tell the MS strategy for doing this.

Um....no, thanks really for informing the 8 people on earth that didn't know this, but for the rest of us, it ranks right up there with the news that Milli Vanilli were actually lip syncing their performances.

Don't get me wrong...I appreciate the fact that The Gartner Group releases this news to CEO's who probably don't really know better but for the rest of us, it seems as if time has taken us back to 3 lb cell phones and Boy George albums.

Ah...Boy George. At least he knew what innovation is.

All-Righty Then

Want My Help? Speak My Language....

2011-11-21T17:45:00.001-06:00

I do my best to stay away from rants. I've found it to be a truism...no one takes an angry person seriously unless they are brandishing a firearm. Any common sense or important point the Raving One offers is lost on their less than stable presentation of that point.

I know...I've been a "Raving One" from time to time.

There comes a time though when you either have to get it out or implode. I have way too much to do this next month to do the implosion thing and I'm not one to leave others to clean up my mess, so I'll do this as delicately as possible.

It was a pretty simple thing. I sat with a 12 year old girl and her dad as I explained how to use their new Linux System. I spent the better part of 90 minutes working with them and felt confident that I had done a good job when I left.

Uh....apparently not.

I wasn't back at the shop 10 minutes when my phone rang.

It was Dad.

"I can't download anything", he complained. "Everything I try to download won't download."

When I left there, the Internet was working fine.

"So, do your websites load? Can you get to different websites?"

"Yes".

"But when you try to download something, it won't download to your computer?"

"No".

So I started at the beginning. I had him make sure he wasn't getting cached pages, I had him trace the network cable from the router to the computer, we did the ping thing both from local IP and to the network. I had him open up the Firefox preferences and checked is proxy settings and download settings.

Everything was fine.

"What is it you are trying to download?"

"Uh, just stuff."

"Are they images or music? I need to know the size of the files and where you are trying to download them from."

Well, as it turns out....he was able to download fine. It was "what" he was downloading that was causing him problems.

He was trying to "download" graboid. For those that don't know...graboid is the GUI front end that you install on your computer and pay a monthly fee to use. It is the evolution of the old Usenet news group movie program. Back when newsgroups were still hosted by the ISP's, you could find a newsgroup for just about anything you could imagine. From high speed goat porn to Ford big block engine rebuilding, it was available. Once the ISP's began to feel the horrible bandwidth drain these newsgroups were causing, they shucked them off like a dirty shirt.

Apps like graboid took their place and basically they are just bit torrent files that have already been uploaded. The software simply makes sure the movie/music or file you are downloading are somewhat working.

So I had two problems here. I'm pretty sure that a 12 year old girl wasn't "downloading" graboid.....dad was and secondly, when he said he couldn't "download" anything, he meant that the downloaded .exe files were failing when executed.

So this guy lunches on 20 minutes of my time while I chase around phantom Internet problems and then tells me he is using a computer given to his gifted child for movie piracy.

I was pretty firm, if not too much so in explaining to him....again...that Windows programs did not work on Linux. I made it a point to remind him that I spent well over an hour going over this stuff with him then spent another 10 minutes on the phone with him explaining the difference between "download" and "install".

I thought I was done.

No.

"Tell me how much memory is in this computer."

"2 gigs."

"2 gigs...that's not even enough for one movie."

I wanted to run my face into a wood chipper, but instead I patiently explained the difference between memory and storage. But then it kind of got on top of me.

"Randy", I said. "We brought this computer to help your daughter in her school work. I'm getting the feeling that she's not going to have access to this computer. Can you assure me it will be available to her for the purpose intended?"

There was a long silence and just when I was going to reassert my question, he asked me:

"So you mean that if I double click this icon, it won't download?"

I hung up the phone and went to see if the wood chipper had any fuel in it.

I'll revisit the child after Thanksgiving and see if I can't talk to the Mom. Mom's most often are the brighter of the couple.

All-righty Then...

Mulawa Dreaming Easy Comes to Linux

2011-11-13T14:41:00.005-06:00

It wasn't that long ago that we announced a collaboration between behavioral health professionals, academics and coders that would ultimately produce a Linux program to help autistic children learn the mouse.

That work is still in the developmental stages within our academic team...they are gathering resources and forming the framework for that software.

An unexpected benefit of this effort was forthcoming soon after we announced it.

Peter Hewitt is a retired educator and IT professional who came to us not particularly interested in helping develop Meacher the Mouse Teacher, but in rebuilding his mouse teaching program Mulawa Dreaming Easy for Linux. As it stood, it was a Windows only app but having over 200 thousand downloads of his varied projects, Peter believed that it was worth expanding to the Linux world. He emailed me and told me that when he had something ready, he would email me.

I think it took him 3 days.

Mulawa is a simple program but within that simplicity lies its beauty. It is primarily designed to help the physically or mentally challenged child understand how a mouse works, but should do nicely for the very young as well. There isn't a lot of distracting noise, either visual or in the audio. It rewards by sound and signals an incorrect choice with another sound. Peter is no stranger in working with children and children's software. He has developed over 30 activities for the OLPC program and continues to refine his other work.

The program comes within a simple tar file with the data file and an executable. Ideally, this would be deb-packaged as well as packaged for the other installation formats as well. You can find Mulawa to download it here.

Peter asks that you test the dickens out of it and post your findings here. Hopefully that will lead to more work being done on Mulawa and further spread its use within the various Linux Distros. If I remember correctly, Peter said it was tested and worked fine on Linux Mint, Fedora and Debian.

Test drive the wheels off of it and let's see if we cannot add one more great program to the educational software packages within Linux.

No one loses.

All-Righty Then

HeliOS Seeks Official Wallpaper

2011-11-10T08:48:00.004-06:00

In the six years The HeliOS Project has been in business, we've applied various and sundry wallpapers to our outgoing computers. Some, we've just picked stock work from what is already available, some we've found on the Interwebz, and I've even tried my hand at creating an "official" wallpaper for our machines.

Think six year old with dull crayons when you envision my renderings.

That being said, we are hosting a contest and asking our readers to submit their work for consideration as the wallpaper that will go out on our HeliOS machines.

I tend to like the reflective, glossy type stuff. If I've learned anything, first impressions make a huge difference and if we can get the "ooowwhhhh, shiny" reaction, then we've captured the attention we are looking for.

The only requirement is that our logo is prominent on the submission. You can add any other graphic you wish. Of course, the wallpaper must be distro agnostic and designed with the knowledge that children will see your work constantly.

Please feel free to sign your name to your work...we will retain it on every use.

Prizes? We're not sure yet. There will only be one as we don't have that much to offer but it may range anywhere from an older small shuttle PC to a repaired laptop of dubious origin and quality. If nothing else, it will be something to hack on.

You can get our official logo here in svg format. Make sure to right click the link and choose "save link as". Everything else is left up to your imagination. If the svg doesn't seem to render in Firefox with the chrome ring, open it in Blender.

You can send your 1280X1024 submissions to helios at fixedbylinux dott kommm or upload them to a place of your own choosing and send me a link. You may enter as many as you like.

And once again....thanks for helping us do what we do.

All-Righty Then

The Time Weaver - Where FOSS Meets Fantasy

2011-11-06T11:17:00.003-06:00

Thomas is a busy guy. A father of two, he and his wife live in a small town in Ontario Canada. He holds his college degree in Network Engineering and currently works as a software developer for one of the leading vinyl siding manufacturers in the world.

Sounds like a fairly well grounded guy huh?

Don't bet on it.

While Thomas goes about his business in this world, acting all normal and everything, he also dwells in a world where Evil Warlord Wizards cast mayhem and misery on the land. But all things in balance, Good battles evil, sometimes with ambiguous results.

Thomas is the author of a new book, The Time Weaver.

Look, I'm an old Dungeon Master myself. I've contemplated and fondled my share of eight-sided dice and I've created worlds where madness is the norm.

But nothing like Thomas weaves.

Thomas has not only written a great book for Fantasy fans, he managed to do it using only FOSS tools to get it done. The humbling part of this...Thomas has pledged a generous percentage of every book sale to HeliOS.

I'll let Thomas tell you about it as his hand wove this book together:

"Every tool used to create this novel, from beginning to end was Free and Open Source Software.

My day-to-day writing is done in LibreOffice, Which has all the features required to produce a print quality PDF output, and a properly formated eBook source file.

To convert the final ODT file into a .MOBI eBook file, I used a great piece of software called Calibre. I can't stress enough how much I love this software. It takes the pain out of the eBook formatting process.

A special font was used to put the time symbol in all the chapter headings and scene breaks. The Font was created by me, in a tool called FontForge which is a great program for creating TrueType fonts.

My cover art, web graphics, logos, and illustrations were all done in either Gimp, which we all know, or in InkScape, which is a great vector graphics program. My wife is a graphic artist, and did all of the graphics and artwork for my book and website.

All fonts used in my book or on my website are free or open source fonts, available for commercial use.

In order to export my final cover art as a CMYK image for printing, I used a special Gimp plugin called Separate+, which does a wonderful job of this. The color profiles used in this process were obtained from Adobe, and are freely available on their website."

"I've been playing fantasy tabletop role playing games for almost twenty years, and for a long time have wanted to take some of my characters and write their stories down. In November of 2010, I heard about an interesting contest/personal challenge called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). The idea is to write 50,000 words in the 30 days of November.

So I signed up figuring this would give me the motivation I needed to get my book written. Alas, it took me until Nov 25 to finally find the inspiration to write something, and it took me the next eight months to finish the first draft. Why open source? Because like Ken, I believe that software should be free, as in freedom.

I don't believe in locking people down and forcing them to use software in the way that I say they should use it. I believe that people should be free to use it in any way they see fit. And if that includes giving them the source code so that they can change it to do what they want, then perfect.

Why support the Helios Project? I've always been a supporter of this project, and believe that Ken and the Helios team are doing some amazing work. They truly deserve all the support we can bring them."

So here's where the fun starts:
Time has stopped...

...and thirty-year-old Seth Alkirk doesn't know why. A car accident that should have killed him instead leaves him wandering through a town frozen in time. When a vicious creature attacks and knocks him out, he wakes up in the world of Galadir with an unknown companion and no memory of how he got there.

Sworn to protect Seth, Malia Corsair believes him to be the last of a race that can control time. She has been tasked with getting him to the safety of Findoor castle. The two journey towards their goal, plagued by attacks from the evil wizard, Grian, who is determined to capture Seth and use his powers to exact revenge against Findoor.

When a greater evil is resurrected, all of Galadir turns to Seth. With dark armies invading Findoor, and a portal rupturing out of control, he is their only hope for salvation. As the last Time Weaver, Seth must learn to control his powers and fight back, or watch the whole world fall to ruin.

Links:
My website: http://thomasaknight.com
My email address (author): taknight@dragon-wing.net
Direct link to my book on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/The-Time-Weaver-ebook/dp/B0061GJX0U/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_1
You can purchase my book in EPub format here.

So spend a couple of bucks and immerse yourself in a great fantasy for a while. There's not a loser among any of the choices here.

All-Righty Then

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM HELIOS

2011-10-31T06:48:00.006-06:00

As my second favorite horror movie host would say.....
Ooowwwwwwwhhhhh, Scarrryyyy.

My thanks to Adam Schneckloth for carving the HeliOS pumpkin this year.

Now carry on and pursue your annual sugar rush. That is all.

Oh, and my first favorite horror movie host? Did you really have to ask?

All-Righty Then

Natalia's Path

2011-10-30T09:27:00.002-06:00

It feels good to get it right.

HeliOS has been criticized from time to time for giving computers to kids that probably wouldn't use them to their full potential.

I'm not going to argue the point. the criticism is more than likely valid.

But we don't operate on "mights" and "could be's"

We work on the assumption that with the right encouragement and strong parental guidance, the child will excel once given the right technology tools.

A precocious, smart and goal-oriented 10 year old has helped prove that point.

To say that Natalia is bright is by all measure, an understatement. Natalia was doing extremely well in public school, but she was bored. One of the biggest mistakes we can make as parents and educators is not recognizing this. If a child isn't challenged, she isn't going to learn.

Natalia's mom, Maryanne; recognized this and she applied for enrollment in the KIPP Austin Public Schools. While KIPP isn't a private school, the staff and teachers within a KIPP school take a different approach to how they teach the child. It is also a college prep school. The Austin Independent School District reports that only one in five students go on to college. KIPP students can boast an 80 percent enrollment rate if the child stays in KIPP through the 8th grade.

You can learn more about KIPP by following this link.

Natalia has flourished there. She not only learns Spanish while attending KIPP, she has been chosen to learn Chinese. Natalia shows a strong aptitude for languages and that aptitude has been recognized and channeled.

In our regular public schools, I doubt that would have happened. Natalia has also been chosen to be an American Child Ambassador next year where she will travel to England and France to exchange ideas and cultures with children her own age.

Now, how has giving a computer to Natalia helped? According to Maryanne:

"We would make daily trips to the local library so that Natalia could do her online research and assignments. She is such an inquisitive child that she would often have to be told that her time was up and another student was in line for using the computer. Her assignments were always completed with extra credit given for the extra effort Natalia put into her work. Having a computer at home has not only lessened a burden of daily travel to the library, it has increased Natalia's exposure to her research assignments. Having a computer in the house has definitely aided Natalia personally and scholastically."

On using Linux instead of Windows:

"Oh Linux has been great. Even the tech from Grande Communications commented on how good Linux was when he came to hook up our Internet. It's been such a blessing not to have to worry about crashes and slow computers. I've come to love the stability of our computer and am amazed at the amount of free software available. I couldn't come close to being able to afford comparable software on the market."

Maryanne is completely immersed in Natalia's school and her life. We can give thousands of computers away but in the end, parental involvement in a child's work and life is what makes the difference. Maryanne is singularly focused on Natalia's education. She is also teaching her the importance of community involvement. Maryanne and Natalia showed up yesterday to help with our HeliOS organization day.

Oh and by the way...Natalia is not allowed Facebook exposure.

I wonder how many more Child Ambassadors we could create if more of us did the same.

All-Righty Then...

Living Without My Shadow.

2011-10-27T17:26:00.005-05:00

I don't think I've dreaded a day more than I dread tomorrow. If I were to list my schedule for October 28th, 2011 from bottom to top, it would look like this:

3. Do Margret's install
2. Pick up donated computers from Renew Data
1. Take my oldest and best friend to the vet and have him put to sleep.

My oldest and best friend is Shadow.

First off, my Shadow isn't "just a dog". He has been part of my life for 15 years and he has seen the good and the bad in those years.

There were extremes of both.

Let me tell you something about the bond between a person and a dog. it can grow just as deeply as any other relationship you might have in your life. The main difference you must understand is that your dog is dependent upon you for both his health and happiness.

His happiness.....

If you chain a dog up in the back yard and neglect him, you should be beaten to the point of physical therapy.

And those of you that state a dog does not feel emotion...you lose on two counts.

You are wrong and you have not been blessed by the love of a dog.

Shadow was with me when we had a nice house, new cars and exotic vacations several times a year. He was also with me during a homeless period shortly after my divorce. He has been by my side as I lay sick unto death, and as I failed time and time again to accomplish my goals. And ultimately, when I gained some measure of success.

And through it all, he was my dog. He tolerated others in my life, but that's all he did. He stayed at my side, slept in my bed, rode shotgun in my car, ate with me at the kitchen table and waited for me to come through the front door every time I left.

He is fiercely independent, and is what I refer to as a proximity dog. He doesn't necessarily want to be touched, but he does want to be close. He moves from room to room as I go about my business. Now he lays two feet away from my chair, not quite sleeping but resting and ready to get up as I go out to the kitchen or living room. Unfortunately, now he cannot. Shadow has been that way all of his life.

It started out with what I thought was simply old age and arthritis. He hesitated briefly to get up into a standing position and was careful as to how he laid down...always favoring his right side. As the days and weeks past, it got worse and soon he would struggle for several minutes on end until he could gain his feet. Last week, I began carrying him outside to do his business as he could no longer walk or stand. I had to physically hold him in position so he could go to the bathroom. It broke my heart.

The vet was compassionate but no amount of compassion could blunt his diagnosis.

Spinal nerve disease was creeping surly from back to front. He has lost all use and feeling in his back legs and eventually, the paralysis will attack his vital organs.

As of now, he is in no pain, but when it reaches his organs, it will be hell on earth for him. I cannot allow that.

So my little guy, born from Corgi and Border Collie stock...with those short and stout little legs, will take one last car ride with me tomorrow morning at 10 AM. I will give him a strong sedative beforehand as he despises the vet. He will be sound asleep as the needle slides into his vein and the chemical will painlessly and quickly stop his heart.

And in many ways, it will stop mine.

Let me ruin what should normally be a joyful experience for you. The next time you go to the local shelter to pick out a puppy or a kitten for your family, keep one thing in mind above all else.

You will outlive your pet, and you will have your heart broken when the time comes. That's why I follow the Dog Lovers Ten Commandments and I will share them with you now. And please. You can be a "dog owner", but that doesn't mean you are a dog lover. Your dog will know which one you are before you do.

Keep these things in mind as you contemplate adding a pet to your family:

A PET OWNER'S TEN COMMANDMENTS.........

1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you will be painful.

2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.

3. Always remember that I trust you without reservation. If you call to me from across a busy street, I will come without looking. I know you would never do anything to hurt me.

4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you.

5. Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.

6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.

7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you.

8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.

9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.

10. On the ultimate and difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so.

So now I am going to go stretch my creaky, overweight body down on the floor one last time and lay with my dog for a little while. I'll whisper nonsensical things and stroke his ears. He likes it when I do that. I do so wish I had done more of it.

Ken

I Can't Believe It's Almost Here

2011-10-21T10:54:00.001-05:00

We Central Texas denizens, after weeks of straight 100+ degree weather, have just experienced our first cool front of the year. It was welcome with or without rain. This summer has been the most brutal in Texas history and it spawned the largest wildfire ever recorded in the state. The final count? 1500+ homes destroyed and the cost of this catastrophe is in the billions.

So after this, a cool front is a blessing. But it served as a reminder to us HeliOS folks of one thing...

Christmas.

Last year as Christmas approached, we crossed from apprehensive to accepting the fact that we would not meet the annual hard increase for computers. With only a couple of weeks before Christmas, St. Jude Medical stepped forward with a 70 laptop donation and we were able to fulfill all requests. We did 19 installs in the last 4 days.

I personally did 3 installs on Christmas Day. It was an extremely good day.

We've had a good year for equipment donations this year, but we've also been challenged several times within that year. Most recently, we found ourselves in an Autism resource database that all but wiped us out of equipment and resources. Last week, we found ourselves without gas money to do any deliveries. Fortunately, some good Ebay sales came through and we got out of that jam.

Unfortunately it did leave our cupboards all but bare. We have about 19 machines that are repairable, maybe 15 monitors and mostly empty RAM bins. We predict at least double that in requests this holiday season

If you are local and work for a company that is close to doing a computer refresh, please let them know that we will most certainly take those machines off their hands. For the record, we did approach Dell about this but the best they could do was offer to sell us refurbished ones at their listed price.

How special.

At any rate, the season is almost upon us and we need to gear up for it. If you have video cards, RAM (especially PC2 4200 1 giggers), USB flash drives, old laptops or desktops, please keep us in mind. We do have minimum requirements for machines and you can see those here. If you care to make a financial donation, you can do so as well electronically here. Your donation will go towards component purchases or fuel for delivery vehicles.

We will do our best to get your donations into the hands that need them most.

And as always, thanks for helping us do what we do.

Meacher the Mouse Teacher - Meet the DevTeam

2011-10-15T22:35:00.007-05:00

After 3 weeks, we have the semblance of a Development Team for an application that will help autistic kids learn to use a mouse.

My thanks to Ken Jennings for coming up with a name for the software. As many of you know, I have real problems with goofy or esoteric names given to some applications, especially in the Linuxsphere.

However, I did get a taste of just how difficult and frustrating it can be. After this, I doubt I will be as harsh on those naming their own apps. Just when you think you have the perfect name for your project, a Google search proves it unusable because someone else has it.

Or close enough to warrant a cease and desist order. That can mess up your whole day.

We had some great suggestions but there were several things to consider in naming the app. Not only does the child/parent/teacher/caregiver need a simple yet descriptive name, it needs to have keywords that are descriptive and searchable in the different software databases. I had originally asked for a simple one word name, but taking the above parameters into consideration, I was convinced otherwise.

As an example, I will use the Python app, Pydance. It is obviously some sort of app that deals with dancing, or one would think. A simple search in your repository should provide Pydance as one of the possibilities. On the other hand, apps like Pysycache give you no clue as to what it is or what it does. Pysycache is a mouse learning app but if one was to scan the list within the repo...how would you know?

I'm sure that this will be boiled down to just "Meacher" over time, and that's fine. As long as it can be easily found and understood for what it is.

There are actually going to be two programs, Meacher and Meacher lite. The lighter of the two will probably be programmed in Python and used for older machines with less resources. Meacher full will probably be programmed in C, C++ or Java. We are still waiting for our Academic Team to give us a starting point for the software map, and that is work that cannot be rushed.

DPR stands for Dancing Ponies and Rainbows. This is how I describe the glitzy, shiny and slick full version we will try to create. Linux has a reputation of providing software that is "just good enough" and often this leads others to think that it is inferior. Of course nothing could be further from the truth but there are enough examples out there to substantiate the claim if someone wanted to make the case.

The lite version or NHD (No Horrible Distractions) again will probably be coded in Python and as noted by several people in the original blog, sometimes the glitz gets in the way of the AC and can do more harm than good. Hence, the two versions. As quoted from the aforementioned posting:

"I am "on the spectrum" myself. I remember my childhood as a time full of awful noise. Imagine trying to study at a desk in the middle of a dance floor, and you get the idea."

Having promised this.....Let me introduce you to the current members of the Meacher Development Team.

David Ashley - Project Manager

David is no stranger to HeliOS. He currently teaches one or two nights a week at the HeliOS 101 classes at our facility. David is also putting together the curriculum for our 102 classes to be offered beginning next year.

David has almost 30 years of IT experience on a wide range of platforms. He has worked as a software developer, consultant and IT instructor during that time. David currently works for IBM in Austin as a software tools developer for AIX and Linux. He is also the project lead for the Open Object Rexx Project (http://www.oorexx.org/) which is an open source implementation of the Rexx language and contributes to other open source projects as well.

And no...I have neither the time or talent to manage a project like this although I will participate as the Program Originator and do what I can to help. David knew that without me having to say it and graciously volunteered to lead the effort....

Thus assuring it will probably get done and everyone will still be speaking to each other when we are finished. With me? It would have been a crapshoot at best.

Iffat Jabeen - Academic Team Lead/Software Mapping

Iffat is our Academic Team Lead for Meacher. While our project will teach the Autistic Child (AC) how to use a mouse, it will incorporate life skills training to do so. This way, the child learns while he learns. I had the sincere pleasure of working with Iffat when Don Davis (see below) headed a Documentary Team on free software and Internet access for the less fortunate. Iffat is THE consummate professional and she will head the software mapping part of our effort. Iffat will supply the DNA, so to speak for this application.

Iffat Jabeen is a Doctoral student in the area of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching. Her experience in the field of education spans over a decade and she holds a Masters degree in Special Education and another in Educational Technology. In the course of her career she had the opportunity to work with children in the general education system as well as in special education, specifically children with autism and those with intellectual disabilities. Iffat is a true believer that incorporating technology in instruction can enhance the learning of students with special needs.

Don Davis - Talent Coordinator

I've known Don since the early days in his graduate studies. Don is a long-time friend of HeliOS and a personal friend of mine. Don will be helping us find graphic artists, will aid Iffat in locating voice talent, and help fill in the gaps when our developers need to step away from the project for a time. Don will also solicit other professionals in various fields as needed. Don knows a lot of impressive folks in the academic world and his participation is golden.

Don Davis, M.Ed.

Don Davis is a PhD student and former teacher. Previously, he facilitated the acquisition of academic English language use in recent immigrants at a Texas high school (i.e. he taught English). He also worked with students in setting up a community mesh network and was able to introduce students to Alice - the visual programming language, GNU/Linux, and Python as well.

He’s currently involved with research examining computational thinking. He’s an avid supporter of GNU/Linux and sees free (as in freedom …and cookies…) software as a tool to promote social justice through equitable access to our modern information society. He’s the guy that interjects “not all students have access to computers and the internet.”

Sean Robinson a.k.a. "Nz17" - Software Developer

Sean was the first coder to volunteer for our project. Sean's code of choice is Python. While he has a TON of irons in the fire and cannot contribute to Meacher as often as he would like, he has volunteered to help us get the project off the ground and act as an advisor if needed. He looks forward to contributing to Meacher.
Sean is 29 years old, and has gone by "Nz17" on the Internet since 1997, he is a self-taught programmer, wrote his first program in fifth grade, and previously contributed to other FLOSS projects (voice work for the announcer on PyDance, bug fixes for countless others), and he created and produce the longest-running anime podcast in the world (started in 1999). Sean will also supply male voice talent to Meacher.

Karim Lalani - Software Developer

Karim was quick to answer our call for help in developing Meacher. Karim brings multiple coding talents to this effort and will be key in writing the full version of Meacher. As I mentioned earlier, there will be two different versions of Meacher. Karim will lead our effort on the DPR version. His numerous coding skills include C, C++ and Java. This is one of the reasons why Karim is so valuable to the team. He will be able to look at the software map and make a decision as to what language would best suit the application.

Karim lives in Smyrna Tennessee and is currently employed by Wipro, a global information technology service. As you can see, his skills are impressive:

"I am a software programmer and a long time Linux user. Linux and programming are both also my hobbies and my passion. Lately
I've been contemplating on combining these two passions of mine. I have also been thinking about getting active in the community. While I am not a kernel hacker or any sort or have tens of years of experience writing software, I can find my way around other people's code, and whenever necessary, I am not afraid of creating new code. I can work with most C style languages like C# (for .Net/Mono) and C++ (on Qt framework) and Java."

Peter Hewitt - Software Developer

Peter has done some impressive coding work and as a new Linux user, he came to us interested not so much in being a major player in Meacher, but porting and rewriting some of his existing software with the AC in mind.

Peter is the author of Mulawa Dreaming Easy activities. Currently Mulawa is a Windows-only app but after hearing about our efforts, Peter thought his own efforts would be better spent getting Mulawa written and available in Linux. I appreciate his thoughts and dedication to this effort. As Peter told me:

"My background is a mixture of secondary teaching and IT. I retired in 2006 and now spend a lot of my time in volunteer work.

Three years at an Aged Care facility using my computer for diversional therapy - while there I developed "Mulawa Dreaming Easy" - a suite of Windows activities for folk with no previous computer experience and for folk with limited physical mobility.

I work with children in care - again using the computer but in this case more for intellectual development than diversion.

Over the past year I've developed over thirty activities for the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) Project - these are all written in Python using Pygame - nice match with Sean there. Total downloads are currently in excess of 200,000. Their main attraction is that most of them use no words so they are truly global in reach."

We also have several other people who have volunteered to do coding and testing. As this project evolves, we will introduce them to you along with the work we've done so far.

I want to personally thank the Free Software Community for their participation and interest in Meacher. From what I can see, this project could have an impact not only on this generation but the next one to come.

And really, isn't that what our work is about?

All-Righty Then

Small Victories? I'll Take 'Em...

2011-10-09T11:24:00.001-05:00

I took the call late last week. It came in on the HeliOS Solutions side of the fence. HeliOS Solutions is the small company I set up to help fund The HeliOS Project.

A local business woman had just installed Windows 7 and was disturbed by what she was being told on the screen. After installing Win7, she went about installing all the applications she used to conduct her business. The computer she had been using ran Vista Business and she had come to depend on this group of freeware apps to do her job. Of course, she had a licensed copy of Microsoft Office 2007 along with some Adobe apps.

But now, after she installed her freeware apps, Microsoft Security Essentials was giving her dire warnings about viruses...three or four of them according to her and would I come and look at her computer.

You bet.

What had happened is all too common in the Windowsphere. Many of the developers for freeware apps she used had signed deals with advertising and marketing agents. Developers have to eat too, but in order to do so, these apps now come bundled with "toolbars". My customer insisted that she had check marked against "Install MyWebSearch search bar."

Along with other nuisanceware offered to her in the other programs.

I guess in this case, no doesn't always mean no.

This is nothing new, but this had not been present in the apps she had installed on her computer 3 years ago.

How things change.

Some of these bars are tough to get rid of...even to the point of editing the registry, but after an hour or so, I had both MSSE and Malware Bytes reporting a clean machine.

While I took the time to do the security and service pack installs, I told her about Linux and how it could save her a lot of headaches. I explained to her that she could run her Windows7 in a virtual machine or use Wine or Codeweaver products to get individual Windows apps working in Linux. Once I had the machine updated, I slid in a Linux live CD and gave her the tour.

One thing I notice over and over when showing people Linux...they cannot wrap their heads around the whole "No antivirus needed" thing. I take the time to pull up various articles encouraging computer users NOT to use Windows to do their banking. That usually does it.

She told me that even if she could not run her apps in Linux, she would like Linux installed as a dual boot so she could bank with confidence on the Internet.

Done deal.

That should be the end of the story but it isn't.

She told me that stability was essential to her business and that she did not want any further changes made to her computer. She asked me if there was a way to make sure updates did not occur without her knowledge. I explained to her that Microsoft had a nasty habit of changing the option back to daily checks and installs but we could set it up anyway. I had her watch me as I did it.

She called me yesterday, absolutely livid. Not with me, but with Microsoft. Windows 7 had indeed went in and changed her options for updates. She had spent two hours on hold or on the phone with MS support and the eventual answer was that it might possibly be a pirated copy of Windows. In all likelihood, Windows had sniffed this machine as having a pirated copy and changed the settings to install the infamous KB971033.

Livid turned to near-rage as she spit the licensed serial number out at the tech. She had paid 130 dollars at Best Buy for the licensed copy and could not believe someone would accuse her of having put a pirated copy of Windows on her computer. She asked for a supervisor and was told that if she wanted to file a complaint, he would give her the URL to do so.

With that she slammed down the phone and called me back.

Unfortunately, one of her most counted-on apps will not run in Wine or Crossover. Efficient PIM is a great little all-around calendaring app with a ton of features. She has now upgraded to the full version just so she has a license, should she ever have to reinstall. I had a legit license for WinXP SP3 and I installed it via VirtualBox on her Linux side.

From what I understand, she is now working more than half the time in Linux. Microsoft is in the position to abuse their customer base this way because people think they have to endure it to access their computer.

I am glad to report there is one less of them today.

All-Righty Then...

Can You Name This App?

2011-10-05T21:08:00.006-05:00

Many of you know that I've been critical of goofy, hurtful and esoteric software names in Linux. While many think little of this, many more have stepped forward to agree that if Linux is to even think of gaining market share, we have to think more in lines of Market instead of Me.

Well the shoe's on the other foot now.

We recently announced a project going forward that addresses the need for a Linux application that teaches all levels of autistic kids how to use a mouse. We are talking to several software coders, with one already on board. We have Ph.D's and a Masters of Special Education working with us to begin mapping out this software.

It truly looks to be moving forward.

So the question is, what will we name this software? It would be nice to have a cognitive path between the name and function but I realize this is much easier said than done. It should also be one syllable if possible and easy to pronounce. I've racked my brain trying to come up with cute acronyms and names...to no avail.

It would seem that naming a software app while traversing the minefield that is trademark and copyright law is harder than it looks.

So, the best thing to do now is turn it over to the community...people much smarter than me will find a name for it. We've asked the slashdot community for help as well. If you want to vote for the article to get full exposure, you can do so here.

On that I would bet a week's pay.

All-Righty Then...

Autism - Where Linux Falls Silent

2011-09-30T16:33:00.016-05:00

In the 6 years we've been doing what we do, we've installed computers for kids from every race, origin and background. Recently though, we found ourselves in the Pflugerville ISD Autism Resource Database. How that happened, I haven't one clue, but we are there none the less.

The phone calls and requests for computers for Autistic kids has been overwhelming. I don't mean "overwhelming" in an off-hand way nor am I engaging in hyperbole. I mean the requests literally pushed us to the limit of our resources and abilities. I've had to say no to more people in the past 15 days than I've done in the past 3 years.

Unfortunately, we've run into an inordinate amount of people who cannot or will not understand that we serve the financially disadvantaged specifically. Some teacher(s), somewhere, sent a memo home with the kids saying that Autistic children qualify for a free computer.

Many have been angry with us for denying them a free machine but what can I say when there is a 2010 Volvo and a 2009 Ford pickup in the driveway? We offer to sell even financially stable people a complete computer syatem for 100.00, but many are unhappy with that. Regardless of their positive financial circumstance, the note little Johnny sent home said it was "FREE".

We're basically out of stuff, trying to make everyone happy.

For those we could help though, it's been a reciprocal exchange. While my educational background is in behavioral psychology, I knew little of Autism or those who care for the Autistic. In my mind, it was some poorly defined and abstract condition that came up in the news, in overheard conversations or fund raising events. It did not have any tangible impact on me, my organization or my psyche.

Until now.

And I'm not sure who I have the most sympathy for, the Autistic or those charged with their care.

Let me state for the record here, I am not an expert in Autism and in no way claim to be. What I say is based on the few weeks I've been exposed to it and the reading I've done on the subject matter.

But to my point.....

Teaching people to replace the operating system they know with one they do not has been a challenge in itself. The resistance is often strong but the majority of the time, we are able to help our clients find their confidence and comfort level and we all move on.

However, when dealing with an Autistic child, the variables change drastically. Autistic children, for the most part find great comfort in routine and rote. Getting them to move on to another level of their self-care or education is one of the largest hurdles the caregiver faces.

Being as impartial and honest as I can be, the basic Linux gamesphere, to include the educational applications, fall short of the Autistic child's needs. Of course, I understand that it was never geared for this, but I believe there needs to be some awareness of the condition and a way we, as an Open Source Community, can help.

Autistic children respond to constant and positive verbal reassurance/feedback. The Gcompris and Childsplay packages, while approaching these needs, are not quite there. Sure there are visual cues and cute little sound effects but it needs to go further. One application that has received raving accolades is Zac Browser.

Zac Browser is designed for the Autistic child, it provides much of the stimuli needed for growth and learning.

It almost runs on Linux...almost.

In both Wine and the Codeweaver products it will load but ultimately, it hangs, freezes, jumps and almost always a hard shutdown is necessary to get out of it. I've tried it on several machines with various distros and the results have all been poor.

Linux, as in many other areas, just doesn't quite measure up here, and I think, at least in this case, we can fix that. When you are dealing with special needs children, the model of "good enough for me" won't work. I understand the whole scratching an itch thing, but we're dealing with kids who must use Linux because that's all they can afford. I believe we have the talent pool to at least match the proprietary apps out there. Yeah, I'm talking sparkles, dancing ponies and rainbows...

Autistic kids particularly have problems understanding the workings of a mouse. Many teachers, parents and professionals fall back to touch screens to accommodate this shortcoming but in reality, it isn't addressing the issue or blazing fresh synapse trails into the new learning experience.

To me, it's a way for the caregiver, teacher or professional to "park" the kid while they go see to the other children. Caring for a classroom full of Autistic kids is the toughest juggling task I can think of.

Number one, we cannot keep regular flat panel monitors in stock, not to mention the expense of purchasing touch screens. Number two, let's teach the child to use a mouse.

What I would like to see is a sparkled, verbal, full screen application that teaches the child how that mouse works. "Hey, YOU DID IT" resounds when the child gets the task right. Or..."Not quite but close, let's try that again".

Tuxmath or Tuxtyping comes to mind in style and purpose. I've tried to contact the developers about this several times in the past two weeks but as of yet, there has been no response.

I don't write software and I don't have time to learn how to...not at this level. I am imploring those who have the skills to contact me and let's talk this through...at least to see what can be done or if it can be done. Maybe it's already out there and I missed it. If you need money to do this, I will find you a sponsor or if I can't do that, I will take on side work to pay you what I can.

What I do know is that Linux can make a difference in the life of an Autistic child and those who care for her.

I'm simply asking for a few people to help make that difference.

Edit - within 48 hours of this posting, we have a python developer and several professionals in the autism field who are being pulled together as a DevTeam. We will publish the early team members here by mid-week. Hopefully, we will also have the beginnings of a software map for this project...yet unnamed.

All-Righty Then

What is The HeliOS Project?

2011-09-15T08:49:00.001-05:00

Many people are already aware of what we do and how we do it, but there are many more that are not. Our friends at reddit may want to learn more about what we do, so we post here to greet them and welcome them to our effort.

The HeliOS Project accepts broken or decommissioned computers, refurbishes them, then gives them to Central Texas kids that cannot afford them. Since 2005, The HeliOS Project has distributed 1329 computers to local area children.

HeliOS is a non profit organization with three directors and a volunteer pool that well exceeds 100 folks. We have built learning labs and community computer centers in several locations around Austin and have done the same for some of the smaller towns in our area. We have three directors that lead our project.

The HeliOS Project depends on the generosity of the Linux and tech community to help us do what we do. All donations of equipment and money are tax deductable and 100 percent of donations recieve go straight into the project. Directors are not compensated in any manner...well except for the satisfaction of doing the right thing.

You can see the HeliOS Project website at http://www.heliosinitiative.org

Halle-Freakin-Lujah We are Out of Here

2011-08-23T21:25:00.002-05:00

"It's like someone turned off half of your body."

That's how Diane describes the physical disability of a stroke.

Her balance is completely gone, as is most of her eye sight and physical coordination. We currently live in an extremely small living space, about 400 square feet. The 4 inch step-up into the kitchen and 4 inch step-down into the bathroom presented Diane with some severe fall opportunities and I held my breath every time she got up to move from one place to another.

We have made arrangements with her son Adam to rent a 3 bedroom, two bath house about 3 blocks from the HeliOS shop. Having her son there will be a great relief for me. There will now be two people helping to look after Diane's needs. Trust me...I am thankful for the help.

There is no way Diane was going to be able to recover fully, living in the cracker box that is our home now. Thanks to Carolyn and Jason Smith and a few other friends, we should be out of this "closet" by the end of the weekend.

A few people that knew ahead of time that we were moving asked if there is any thing we will need. If anyone local has any usable furniture, we can more than certainly use that. What we have now is serviceable but not enough to furnish our new place. A decent vacuum cleaner would be fantastic as well. We fully plan on having a house warming party in September so those that wish to attend, can email me and let me know. We will announce the date a week or two in advance.

Again, thanks for helping us with this move. Diane should be able to more fully do her physical therapy with the additional room. Plus, the psychological chains this cramped and dumpy place wrapped around her will be gone. Oh, and the picture on the left? That's Skip Guenter's immediate reaction after I asked him to help us move. I'm not feelin' real good about my chances here.

Did I mention it's three blocks from the shop? Now I can go to work without worrying about not being there when she needs me. That in itself is uplifting.

All-Righty Then

HeliOS Teaches Computer 101 - Meet the Instructors.

2011-08-21T22:27:00.001-05:00

When the City of Taylor donated HeliOS a 2200 square foot building for our use, we were stunned. I had personally spend 3 years begging and pleading dozens of Austin business owners, property managers and private individuals just for a corner of some warehouse for our use.

Of course, there was always the danger of the same thing happening there that happened in the shared space at Lakeway. As their business grew, we got squeezed into such a small space that it became unusable. It was simply a place for us to store stuff. We did most of our real work out of Skip Guenter's garage and workshop.

So when we began construction and renovation of the new place in Taylor, we realized we had a HUGE amount of space that would not be needed for storage or physical work. So instead of traveling all over the greater Austin area to give classes, we set up this large left over area for our classroom. While we do concentrate our efforts on Eastern Williamson County, anyone who wants to make the drive is welcomed to attend.

Scheduling the classes wasn't easy at first. We wanted to hold the three day, one hour a day classes for every other week. They run from Tuesday to Thursday, 7-8 PM.

That would have been a doable thing until Diane suffered two strokes and renal failure. As important as HeliOS is to me, I cannot in good conscious leave her alone when she needs someone there with her.

So what were we to do?

Thanks to several community-minded folks that have worked with HeliOS in the past, we are able to offer our classes on the above schedule, with a qualified and dedicated instructor for each night.

Let me introduce you to the HeliOS Project Instructors.

David Ashley

David Ashley has almost 30 years of IT experience on a wide range of platforms. He has worked as a software developer, consultant and IT instructor during that time. David currently work for IBM in Austin as a software tools developer for AIX and Linux. He is also the project lead for the Open Object Rexx Project (http://www.oorexx.org/) which is an open source implementation of the Rexx language and contributes to other open source projects as well. He has been married to his wife Lynn for over 40 years and they reside in Austin, Texas along with a house full of dogs and cats.

David also volunteers for the Dogtoberfest of Austin and the We Are Girls Project of Austin. It is a common thing to see one of David's Shelties pacing the floor with David as he teaches his class.

Carolyn Smith

Carolyn is a PHP developer with Drane Associates here in Austin, She lives in North Austin with her husband Jason. She has been an invaluable volunteer asset to HeliOS for two years now. The term "invaluable" gets used and tossed around a lot but in our case, the term invaluable is far from hyperbole. Carolyn has been a part of the past 7 major HeliOS events and she now teaches the Thursday evening class for our 101 offerings. She is professional, phenomenally intelligent, witty and probably the most important to me, Carolyn is dependable. We would be hard pressed to do many of the things we do without her.

Justin Carnahan

I know I will pay for this in the most extreme of measures but I've got to be truthful here.

In reality, Justin IS Batman.

When not fighting crime, he spends his time doing web development.

A few years ago, we were offered 65 Sony 21 inch Trinton monitors by the gaming company Edge of Reality.

Bringing those 81 lb monitors down three flights of stairs brought me to my own Edge of Reality. Had it not been for Justin:

)1. - I would not be vertical and expelling carbon monoxide today

)2. - getting those monitors into the possession of HeliOS just would not have happened. Justin was the only one in the position to volunteer that day to help me get them picked up.

So thankfully, we have the instructors we need. Of course, Skip or I can fill in when needed.

If you would like to look over the pdf version of our class material, you can download it from here.

I want to personally thank these great folks for not only bringing a whole new level of professionalism to our project, but allowing me to spend more time at home with someone who needs me.

All-righty Then

Thank you

2011-08-19T21:32:00.000-05:00

Many of you lifted Diane's spirits while in the hospital and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. Phone calls came in from 4 continents and she was a bit emotionally overwhelmed by your concern.

She was released and is home resting comfortably. If you still want to call her, you can do so at 512 291 6137. She would love to hear from you. If a phone call isn't good for you, you can email her at dianekfranklin@hotmail.com.

Again, thank you very much.

Ken

I Guess a Stroke Wasn't Enough.....

2011-08-18T15:35:00.000-05:00

As if we didn't have enough going on in our lives right now.....

Diane collapsed on the floor yesterday early afternoon, writhing and crying out in pain. Her entire lower back felt as if it were on fire and her legs ached to the point where she couldn't stand.

Diane has suffered renal failure.

She is again in the hospital and depressed beyond our comprehension. I've spend the day with her and am now at home tending to the dogs, washing clothes and cleaning up the house a bit. I have a speaking engagement I cannot cancel but it's only for an hour, then I will go back up and sit with her.

She was beginning to recover nicely from her strokes and now this. If you have time, I am sure she would be comforted by a phone call or two. Many of you know her, some of you don't but it doesn't matter.

She just needs to know that someone cares.

If you want to just say hi or offer encouragement, you can call her room directly at 512 324 4532....that is the Williamson County Seton Hospital.

While they were doing an MRI, they also found some fairly severe disk damage in her lower back so she has that surgery to look forward to but first, they have to get her kidneys functioning again.

If you have time...let her know there is someone out there thinking of her.

I would consider it a personal favor.

Ken

Konnect a Kid This August

2011-08-16T00:24:00.000-05:00

With school starting soon, we are gearing up for the demand that is sure to come. So far in the month of August, The HeliOS Project installed 16 computers. The area we serve is significantly depressed and the need for our services is great.

As of now, we have the machines to meet these needs, at least through November, with current stock. Fortunately we've done well in collecting useable computers and monitors for our kids.

Unfortunately, about 60 percent of the computers we've installed over the summer months are without Internet service.

For a while, we operated under the premise that we should find ways to pay for a year's Internet service for our kids but as we mature as an organization and come to understand out clientele a bit better, that well-intended idea isn't as good as we thought it to be.

Given the fact that many of the kids we serve are in their teens, they are entering into the part of life that begins to teach them responsibility.

You can't teach responsibility by giving a kid everything without any effort on her part.

That's why HeliOS has changed our philosophy a bit when it comes to getting Internet into these homes. Now, we're talking about 35 bucks a month here, give or take a dollar or two. We know full well that 35 dollars is pretty easy to earn in a 30 day period. Lawn work, babysitting, shopping for shut-ins...there are plenty of opportunities for a kid to make 35.00 a month.

HeliOS has decided that we can prime the pump so to speak, but we won't haul the water over the entire year for them.

Through our Austin Prometheus Project, The HeliOS Project strives to raise enough money to pay 3 months of Internet Service for our families. After that, it will be up to them to pay their way.

I think it is one of life's truisms that no one appreciates a hand out...especially one that is constantly given. It becomes expected instead of appreciated. In that spirit, we ask that you come together with us to help us kick off our Austin Prometheus annual drive. A donation of $35.00 will represent one month's service for one of our computers. The drive is from the middle of August until 1 September. Hopefully in that time, we will be able to raise enough to get 3 months internet service to the families we provide computers for.

If you are interested, you can simply click this link and it will take you to our non profit donation page, and of course, you will receive an electronic receipt for your donation. If you prefer a paypal method, contact me directly for that information. helios at fixedbylinux dott komm will get to me.

As well, the few dollars we generate by our adsense ads being clicked will go to Austin Prometheus.

I will pledge and donate the first 300.00 to this effort in good faith.

We are working with a couple of small businesses in Austin that encourage their employees to donate to Austin Prometheus. I want to personally thank them for recognizing the need in this area.

We'd appreciate your help in getting the word out of this effort. This isn't really "news" so it won't get posted to any of the Linux sites. We will depend on our readers to pass it along via Google + , Facebook and Twitter.

As always...thanks for helping us do what we so.

All-Righty Then...

When Children Attack...

2011-08-14T18:21:00.000-05:00

We talk a lot about the Linux computers we install for disadvantaged kids. Most of the time, it is deeply gratifying and it assures me that I am in the right place within The Universe.

But it ain't all Unicorns, Glitter and Rainbows...

Many of you may remember that I suffered a minor knife wound when an angry and intoxicated uncle cut me for not leaving a computer in his nephew's home. They had a new car, a large screen TV and every family member was doing their best to imitate Mr. T's gold necklace collection. The family may not have had any "conventional" income, but there was a money pipe gushing cash into that house somewhere.

I'll leave it to you to figure out how.

We've run into stuff like this often in our work. Since 2006, I've been stabbed, had guns drawn on me three times, a door slammed on my face, a rock thrown through the back window of my car, I've been bitten by the family pet pig and gang members have demanded I pay them to come into "their" housing project to do my work.

When you work in rough neighborhoods, you expect rough behavior.

But not in the suburbia.

Mom has a tough gig. She is the single mother of twin 6 year old boys exhibiting obvious symptoms of ADHD. On top of that, she has an 11 year old son and a 16 year old daughter doing her best to emulate Paris Hilton.

Mom is herself disabled with a severe back injury and lives on Social Security and a meager child support payment every month. When MHMR contacted us, we of course responded.

I brought the computer into the house while the boys circled around me like twin tornadoes. It was all I could do to get into the home without tripping over one of them and taking them down with me. The mom stood in the kitchen watching the whole thing, seemingly unaware of the possible danger of me dropping a 25 lb piece of hardware on one of her little sweetheart's head.

I sat down at the desk in the living room she had set up for the machine and began hooking it up. One of the little cherubs kicked my heel rhythmically and asked me questions as I worked on my hands and knees under the desk.

"Does that puter have race cars on it? I want race cars. Does that puter have race cars on it?"

The evil twin yelled back.

"No! Dinosaurs. I want Dinosaurs on it. MOM!!!!! Make him put dinosaurs on it?

The first twin started screaming at his brother, demanding race cars. He picked up a boot from behind the front door and chased his brother into the nether-regions of the house. From the sound of it, the boot did find a soft, fleshy target.

The cable guy had been there at 10 AM that morning to hook up Internet for them. We had paid for 90 days of service for them through the Austin Prometheus Project.

After 90 days, they would start paying for it themselves.

I sat at the computer, changing some themes and wallpapers, enjoying the relative quiet of my immediate surroundings. I was just drawing a breath to tell the mom to bring the kids in so I could start showing them how to use the computer when I felt the nasty sting in my back.

"I WANT RACE CARS!"

Those were the words the first twin screamed just before he shot me in the back with a pellet gun.

I jumped up from the chair and turned around as he was trying to cock the pistol again. With one move, I snatched the gun from him and firmly belt-carried him to the living room sofa. I pointed my finger at him and told him firmly.

"If you get up from that couch, I'm going to take the computer away."

With gun in hand, I looked up and over to the kitchen to see if Mom was going to threaten him with time out.

She wasn't there.

I walked down the hallway and stopped at the first open bedroom door. The daughter sat at her mirror applying makeup with a trowel.

"Where's your mom?"

She shrugged without turning around and met my gaze via the mirror.

"Probably taking a nap". She made a pouty lip face and went back to her construction project.

I knocked on the bedroom door at the end of the hallway, guessing it was the master bedroom but no one answered. It was locked when I tried to open the door.

I went back to Madonna's bedroom and told her to watch her brothers while I made a phone call. I called CPS and told them the situation. It was less than 15 minutes before the caseworker arrived. I answered the door, gave her my business card and told her to call me if she needed any more information.

So yeah, our work is gratifying, but there are those days when you wonder how things can become so unbalanced in any given environment.

If anyone wants to start a pool, my bet is that the computer I left will be broken in 3 days from this post.

I'm just sayin'.

All-Righty Then...

Through the Eyes of Henry

2011-08-12T00:35:00.001-05:00

The HeliOS Project is both honored and happy to offer computer 101 and 102 classes in our home town of Taylor Texas. We've ranged from a full classroom to only two students attending. Between the summer doldrums, folks on vacation and quite frankly, more enjoyable things to do than sit in a computer class...

We haven't exactly had them beating the door down to get in.

But we're just getting started.

The city has begun announcing the availability of our classes in the monthly water bill for Taylor residents. They are encouraged to call HeliOS and insure they have a seat for the next session.

Today, I got a call from Henry.

Henry has never touched a computer. He is like many of us...unwilling or simply unaware of how important learning something new can be. Henry called me today to secure a chair in the next class. He said his grand kids and his great grand kids want to send him pictures from Idaho. Henry wants to see them as well.

Henry is 93 years old. Henry has never touched a computer.

Born on a farm outside of Atlanta Georgia in 1918, Henry was raised in what he refers to as indentured servitude. The third oldest of 9 children, Henry's family raised and sold peanuts, blueberries, peaches, assorted greens and cantaloupe to survive. By the time Henry was 12, his family had yet to purchase a car, enjoy indoor plumbing or piped water. He, along with 1 older brother and 1 younger sister rode the same horse to school.

The horse returned home after depositing the kids and was released from his plow harness to pick them up after school. He did so every day with plodding predictability.

Henry said the horse was named Moses. And no, he had no idea why.

He joined the navy on his birthday in 1942 and was assigned to a gun crew on the USS New Jersey. Henry's gun team pounded the island of Guam in preparation for US Marines and Soldiers landing on the beach. Henry remained in the service and saw combat during the Korean conflict, but figured that two wars in the same 10 year span was enough for him. Henry met and married a young USO volunteer after leaving the Navy and settled down with her in Taylor Texas.

He spent the next 40 years working for the railroad.

Talking to Henry, I came to realize just how much life Henry has lived. He has seen our country go from horseback transportation to putting people into space. He's seen a dozen or more presidents come and go and most importantly, he's seen the explosion of world technology.

And now he wants to be part of it.

So when the volunteer instructors for The HeliOS Project stand before their class, be it two or ten people, they know that many of them are taking a big step in their lives. Henry outright admits he's scared to death of a computer. He has no idea of how it works or why it works...to Henry, it's dark, smokey magick. But he's willing to look past the smoke and mirrors and learn how the gears turn. He says he's willing to give it a try.

Henry is 93 years old.

It will be a pleasure to show him the gears....but more so, it will be an honor.

All-Righty Then...

Community to HeliOS - We're Burnin' for You

2011-07-28T14:00:00.001-05:00

Throughout my life, I've heard the term "It's either feast or famine".

And in some circumstances, I agree. The Fates seem to amuse themselves by surprising us with an abundance of stuff, or stifle us with complete inertia.

In this case, we've found ourselves behind the 8 ball of sorts. We have recently experienced 70 - 80 percent class sizes and have been asked from outside agencies for help in getting several computers either fixed or diagnosed.

What we don't have is the time to get the Linux live cd's burned. Looks like we are going to need upwards of 50 for our immediate needs.

If you have time and the resources to help us burn these disks, we need to have these disks on hand within the next couple of weeks.

I know it seems a simple thing but with Diane still in need of 24/7 care and most of our volunteers either on vacation or working long hours, we don't have the resources to get these burned.

If you need us to pay postage, we will be happy to paypal it to you. We will need about an even number of Linux Mint gnome DVD's and CD's.

And of course, thank you for helping us do this. While we have some stockpiled, it will give us a chance to burn a few here and there and keep up with the demand. You can send the disks to:

The HeliOS Project
307 Ferguson Street
Taylor, Texas 76574

You guys rock.

All-Righty Then...

Can You Teach Computer 101?

2011-07-24T12:06:00.001-05:00

The HeliOS Project has settled nicely into our new home. We've stashed, stuck, and stacked all of our computers and components in the correct places. We've built our work environments and stocked the shelves with most of the parts we need and we're well on our way to getting these computers to kids who need them most.

Another part of the HeliOS mission is to teach people how to use computers...and it's not the kids that need this help....

It's the adults.

Here are just a couple of real-life examples for you.

While we were teaching a 101 class down at the Bruno Knaapen Technology Learning Center, we covered keyboard shortcuts. You and I know how much time they can save, but the computer novice has no clue.

Many older adults finally get tired of not being able to receive emails from the grand kids and family so they grudgingly decide to at least try to learn the basics. Just teaching them to grasp the difference between left and right mouse clicks can test one's patience and compassion.

As I ran through the different shortcuts, I demonstrated the F11 full screen feature. Most everyone met the discovery with assorted "meh" attitudes but one older lady sat with her face in her hands and was visibly affected. She asked me....

"Is this key the only thing that can make that happen, I mean make everything go away but the screen?"

I assured her that under normal circumstances it was.

She went on to share with the class that from time to time, she would inadvertently hit that key, making the screen go full. Of course, she had no idea what key she had pushed.

Honestly, I thought she was going to cry.

No one in the assisted living center knew how to bring the menus and task bar back and she was frozen in place, unable to do anything.

In desperation, she would reinstall Windows from scratch. Not knowing anything about data backups, she would lose everything she had accumulated.

Just because she did not know that the F11 key was the culprit and the cure.

And this just in from the "If I had only known" desk...

You and I take the cut, copy and paste commands for granted. I think almost everyone does.

Almost everyone.

We ran into a gentleman that had no clue about these commands. When he wanted to keep or send a particular part of something on a website, he would shrink his browser to half size, open an instance of notepad and then type the text verbatim and then save it. He had an entire library of folders, based on subject and date, filled with text files of things he had copied over time .

Keep in mind, the gentleman did not touch type...it was index fingers and cramped wrists for his efforts.

I swear, when he finally grasped the concept of copy and paste, I thought the Hallelujah Chorus was going to fill the room.

And it's for reasons like this that we teach computer and Internet 101.

Our classes are held at our classroom in Taylor, every other week on Tuesday-Thursday evenings, from 7 to 8 PM. Currently, I am caught between staying at home with Diane and teaching these classes. There are some nights I am not comfortable in leaving her alone.

If you are interested in volunteering to teach for us, please contact me via email.

The very best we can offer you is unlimited cold drinks and our thanks.

Of course, you can always help us save someone from reformatting a hard drive and reinstalling an operating system out of ignorance.

All-Righty Then

Corporate Responsibility? Try Returning a Phone Call

2011-07-20T12:00:00.003-05:00

There are few things that upset me any more.

Stress, as reported, is a killer and I can attest to the toll it can take on a person who considers it a necessary part of their life. I have learned to employ "The 24 Hour Rule".

Whatever it is, whatever is bothering you or causing you angst, simply ask yourself one question.

"What bearing will this have on my life in 24 hours?"

To my experience, the majority of perceived problems or worries will have zero impact within the next 24 hours.

But there is always the exception...that one nagging thing that stays under your skin with an insatiable itch. Let me set it up for you.

A few months back, a social worker from Dell Children's Hospital called HeliOS and asked if we could supply a laptop to one of their financially disadvantaged patients. Valyncia has been beaten badly by multiple illnesses. From a previous blog:

"Three weeks ago, I accepted a reference from the Dell Children's Hospital to deliver a computer to a 12 year old girl. Valyncia is an A and B student and home schooled. She is home schooled for a good reason.

She has a rare, incurable and terminal blood disorder. She won't live to see her 15th birthday. On top of that she has Cerebral Palsy and she lives her waking hours in leg braces."

I met with Valyncia's parents the next day and delivered the laptop.

It wasn't long after that, we began receiving calls for other kids at Dell Children's Hospital, asking for desktops and laptops. I had advised the social worker to pass our name around for others who might qualify for a HeliOS computer.

In a phrase, we were slammed. It wasn't long before we ran out of laptops. I called the social work office at the hospital and spoke to another social worker and advised her that we were out of laptops and we couldn't take any more referrals for them at this time.

While I was talking to her, it occurred to me that the Dell Children's Hospital might be better served by contacting, oh, I don't know....maybe Dell? I don't think Dell runs out of laptops. I mentioned it to the social worker and she laughed. She said she hadn't thought of that and we ended the conversation.

Three weeks later, I got a call from another parent wanting a laptop for their child, I again explained that we were out and I would take her number and call her when we had more in. I then called the social work office at the hospital to remind them not to furnish our number until we called them and informed them that we had more laptops.

In that conversation, I also asked if she had contacted Dell about maybe supplying hospital kids with laptops.

She said that she had, on numerous occasions and with numerous people but as of yet, had not received a call or an email back.

This is old news to HeliOS. We have been contacting Dell since 2008, hoping to form some sort of partnership with them. To date, we have never received a call or email back from anyone. We're talking over 50 calls and emails to 21 different people.

It was a sales service rep attending the 2011 Texas Linux Fest that finally drilled down into the problem and emailed us an answer.

Dell is contracted with a refurbishing company and all old equipment, either decommissioned or broken, must go to them for repair or disposal.

Now how friggin' easy was that?

Case closed.

Problem solved.

Answer received.

Stress alleviated.

I think what chapped my nether regions the most is that we have gone through the correct channels to partner with Dell Youth Connect or the predecessor to that program. We've done so twice a year since 2008.

Nada. Not one answer, acknowledgement or response.

So as we found with Acer, not only do companies become too big to fail, they can also become too big to care. They see "global need" because it is politically expedient but they refuse to look right under their own nose. And I no longer give a flip about Dell calling us back. It is obvious that we've been put on hold for an indeterminate period.

Cue Musak.

But when Dell won't even answer inquiries concerning questions from their own sponsored hospitals....

There's something wrong there. But hey, they're taking care of kids in Kenya and India...and that's all well and good. They are doing good work. Possibly that is more important to them than tending to the garden in their own back yard.

Or maybe, the politics don't add up for them to do so.

All-Righty Then...

Butterfly Wings

2011-07-05T11:16:00.004-05:00

I grew up on a ranch outside of Phoenix for some of my childhood. As a "kid", I had few manual duties outside of cleaning the occasional stable or taking the dogs out to round up calves. One duty that I loved was "riding fence".

Not in the traditional sense, horses are far more unreliable and less tolerant than Hollywood has made them out to be. In my opinion, they are one of the most devious animals on earth. For that reason and the fact that saddling a horse is a PITA, I would jump on my old Yamaha 125 and head for the nether-regions of our property. With me I would take my holster and pistol along with a roll of bright orange rubber tape. If I found a break or a weakness in the fence, I would tie a piece of tape on the offending section and ride off in search of another breach. Others would come behind me to make the repairs.

On one such occasion, I was rolling out the appropriate length of tape to tie on the fence when I noticed a Monarch butterfly on the barbed wire. Our ranch was on the outside edge of their migration path to and from Mexico so it wasn't rare to see them in large numbers, but seeing only one was.

Upon inspection, I saw that the insect had found a way to get her wing stuck onto one of the barbs. I gently pulled it off and looked at the small, almost-perfect 3 corner tear at the edge of the wing. I let it crawl to the tip of my finger and she flew off but not as surely as most. Her pattern was erratic and stuttering but eventually she compensated for it and went on about her business.

That few minutes in time has somehow stuck in my mind and now I see a reason.

When I brought Diane home from the hospital after her stroke, I had already prepared myself for taking care of her physical needs. I knew it was going to be a long and contentious road. What I was not prepared for nor did I know anything about, were the mental challenges we were to face.

Diane began acting strangely about the 4th day she was home. Of course she is terribly weak and she is taking 15 different medications so at first I attributed her behavior to her medications, but as the week progressed, these "changes" would appear about 5:30 pm each night. She would have conversations with relatives long dead. She would accuse her daughter and me of trying to poison her.

It was heartbreaking to watch. As I researched this problem, I found a condition known as "Sundowner's Syndrome. The problem with almost every reference I found was as it pertains to Alzheimer’s victims, and not stroke sufferers.

There is, as I have found, to be a difference. My thanks to those in the medical profession who answered my request for help.

My biggest concern was that this would be a permanent condition. However, I learned that a long stay in a hospital when the patient is largely unconscious or unaware can lead to this as well.

We've been two nights now with focus and clarity.

This all brought me back to the butterfly wing 4 decades ago. How delicate the butterfly wing is, yet it carries the butterfly thousands of miles every year to migrate. How delicate the human mind is...yet it is mighty. Minds have spanned rivers, built cities and cured diseases. Minds have led with the first tentative footsteps into space and have explored the sub-atomic worlds that will ultimately surprise us more so.

Yet they fall prey to the simplest of changes and they trap whole bodies inside a black captivity.

I suppose my point is, if any...we're not always going to be able to do what we do best. Someday, we may find ourselves talking with our deceased grandmother while others look on helplessly. I guess we all might have something to get up and go do. To use our minds for good things, while we are still able.

Myself included.

Ken

Of Operating Systems and Oil Companies

2011-07-03T22:16:00.001-05:00

A recent 3 part guest article by chikauuna did an outstanding job of showing us the bread crumb trail she laid between using Windows and converting to Linux. I want to personally thank her for that contribution and the time it took to write it.

It gave many of us some things to think about. Or if you are on the development side, things to further ignore.

Either way, what is written is written.

However...in reading her work, I was reminded that human behavior of the universal type comes into play here much more than many of us might think.

I believe one of those Universal Truths is that the majority of us resist change. We have our habits and routines, and you dare not stand within arm's reach while suggesting to someone they change them.

Here let me offer an analogy...and yes, it's the best way I know to illustrate the point. (1) Because it's an analogy and its function is to illustrate a point and (2) I'm pretty much a hack. I have neither the writing skills or the desire to obtain those writing skills in order to more creatively express my point.

Gas prices here in Central Texas have, for lack of a better word...plummeted. Three weeks ago, I was paying $3.88 per gallon of gasoline. Yes I know, people in other parts of the country were paying more. I get that. And should it be a temptation, let's not let this digress into a gripe session over the child-eating oil companies or the Evil Rich that do their food shopping for them.

The price of gasoline is just a bit player in this thing.

As an aside, I will ask you to gaze intently at the price per gallon sign at your local gas station and together we'll come the realization that this is probably the first time in our lifetimes that the price of gasoline has not shot up 6-8 percent in anticipation of a major holiday. Instead, it continues to go down.

It's the 4th of July for us in the US...not such a big deal for you elsewhere. Allow us our over-indulgence in alcoholic beverages, over-exposure to UV rays and rare meat while we pretty much ignore the actual reason for the red number on the calendar.

So, I'm on my way to fill the belly of the beast. I have my favorite place to buy gas and the few "quick stop" items I may need at the time. On my way there, I passed a Shell station and noticed that they were charging $3.49 a gallon.

In itself, that price wouldn't make sense. Two blocks down the street, my place was pumping gas for $3.12 a gallon.

How does that work out for them?

Quite well as it turns out. With a little thought, it became clear.

The major oil companies spend millions in mail costs each year, in order to tempt you into applying for one of their branded credit cards. Even with the economy in the crapper and many of us with suffering credit scores, they are still offering many of us a piece of the American Dream.

Credit.

Once we get the card, it becomes too easy to pull into the Shell, Chevron or Texaco that issued you the card.

After all, it's pay at the pump...no pain, no cash exchanged and the upcoming billing statement is just a vague promise in the future.

Sure gas across the street is .25 cents cheaper, "But I've got credit!"

Interpret that as meaning I don't have the cash equivalent of that purchase in my pocket.

Not only can you purchase fuel at an inflated price on your credit card, you can buy all the handy little incidentals you might need at home. Milk, bread, a jar of peanut butter...

At about the same markup.

The oil companies, and probably to a larger degree, all businesses that issue credit cards, count on building "customer loyalty" in this manner. Soon, you stop looking at the price. Yeah, you'll pay for it soon but for right now, this is just so convenient.

Are you getting where I'm going now? I hope so...this analogy is getting wobbly legs.

Over 90 percent of the people who sit down at a computer do so using Microsoft Windows. Sure they didn't apply for it, but they sure as heck pay for the "convenience" down the road. As chikauuna pointed out, she suffered the same "inflated prices" every Windows user suffers.

The bill often comes due with the same inflated price tag. Computer repair shops more and more choose scorched earth methods to fix an infected or broken system. Being a person who partially makes their living from the same pain, it is much, much cheaper to recover data and reinstall than it is to untangle the tentacles of a rootkit or sophisticated virus from the registry.

Even when things are running smoothly, the Windows user pays for the "convenience" by updating virus software, tolerating Windows updates and suffering sluggish behavior from a system that is six months or longer installed.

Still, every now and then, someone will look at the price posted on the sign and simply say:

"Screw that."

But it doesn't happen very often.

It's too convenient to pay the inflated bill every now and then.

All-righty then...

Sundowner's Syndrome

2011-07-03T12:58:00.000-05:00

I know that we have several medical doctors and at least one neurologist that read Blog of helios. If you see this and have any deeper information on Sundowner's Syndrome aside what I can find on the net, please email me helios at fixedbylinux dott komm. Most everything I am finding is related to dementia and Alzheimer's...not stroke suffers

I would sincerely appreciate it. I don't want medical advice per se, just some realistic options.

Thanks...

Ken

Hope and Change Inside My Computer - Part III

2011-07-01T20:39:00.000-05:00

Prologue: In retrospect, I have recently read a large amount of comments and articles on how Linux is not ready for prime time. Honestly, if I had read even a fraction of these articles, I doubt I would have installed it, even with Mark's endorsement. In the past two months or so, I can honestly say I can not understand how these writers came to such a conclusion. Linux works extremely well for me.

With that being said, there are things in Windows I miss.

I find myself in the clumsy position of having to do some last minute editing. As if mentally linked, my friend Mark and the host of my article, Helios; almost simultaneously informed me that if there is anything I miss about Windows software, we can be happily reunited via a program called VirtualBox. I have since rejoined the few Windows applications I mention below. I thought I should bring this up before any readers feel the need to recommend this solution.

Having a second degree in marketing, the advertising duties for my newspaper have been delegated to me. They are not strenuous or over taxing, but they remain a duty. In executing that duty, I used Microsoft Visio almost exclusively for that task. I have to create many charts and graphs to accompany the dog and pony show that most marketing meetings actually become. Visio was perfect for my purposes. Plus, please note, I don't have to purchase any of these applications, they are supplied to me by my employer.

One of the first things I did after getting settled into my new system was to search for alternatives for the software I used in Windows. Say what you will about Microsoft Office and their operating systems, once you have a great amount of time and effort invested in learning a complex piece of software, it's hard not to resent having to learn something else.

Thus I think I have accidentally exposed one of the major stumbling blocks to Linux adaptation. Sorry, I am the queen of digression and stating the obvious.

Google has become a close friend in the past couple of months. Doing a search for "Linux Visio replacement", I found a few candidates, those being Dia, LibreOffice Draw and a KDE application called Kivio.

I'm still working with a couple and again, the learning curve has me leaning sideways a bit, and it is not comfortable. Dia has some promise, Draw makes me want to bang my face into my desk until all goes dark and Kivio has been changed and is now being worked on under a different name. Since it too is an under cooked chicken, I will wait until the insides are no longer pink before I go there.

My hesitation with Kivio was that it is (or was) a KDE application and to be honest, I don't want to muddy my pristine Gnome home with a ton of long-staying visitors. I have heard both pro and con for mixing the two but my Linux mentor and friend Mark has advised against it, at least until I have some more experience and have learned to fix what I break by myself. He won't fall for the helpless damsel in distress schtick any more unless I buy the pizza. Mark can eat a lot of pizza.

Another application I used heavily in Windows is Skype. I used it both professionally and personally and I love it. The recent bad news that Skype has now been acquired by Microsoft makes me a bit nervous. I have gotten it to work in Linux and under several distros but in every one of them, I had to fiddle with the sound and mic settings for a long time before I was able to get it to work to my satisfaction.

"Can you hear me now" is not funny anymore.

Neither is the fact that Microsoft now has complete control of Skype. My worst fear is that Linux support will either stagnate or completely disappear. I have a couple dozen friends who reside overseas and I've established communications with them exclusively through Skype, both with video and audio. I am now experimenting with Linux alternatives but the thought of asking all those people to change protocols is not reasonable. I sure as heck would not do it if asked.

Then there is Photoshop. Again, as a marketing employee, I must do a large amount of graphic creation. I have been using Photoshop for my entire college and professional career. Of course, I immediately found Gimp in my menus and began exploring the possibilities.

Before I say anything that can or will be perceived as negative, let me say that I can do everything I need to do in Gimp that I could do in Photoshop. I don't have complex photography tasks nor do I need CMYK+ support. What I do need is a decent working interface. Anyone seen one for Gimp?

I apologize now in advance for stepping on delicate toes but Holy Cow, what a mess! I know a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into developing Gimp and I do not mean to denigrate those who have excreted aforementioned liquids. From searching the forums on Gimp tutorials, I have found literally hundreds of complaints about the "floating" menus. That being said, I am settling in with Gimp and no doubt will overcome the menus. If the rumors ever come to pass that Gimp will have a unified menu, I will be happy. The name however may take a bit longer.

Outside of these picked nits, I am a happy girl. My computer does not freeze, I am not nagged by update cues and for the love of Pete, I can stop worrying about opening every little Windows attachment that comes my way. Of course, I am a gmail-ite because I travel extensively and need my email available to me via a number of portable devices. Since my laptop has gotten extremely long in the tooth, I am looking at the new Samsung Galaxy 10.0. Mark is buying one when he goes into Forth Worth on the 5th of July so I will see what it is all about then.

I mentioned that my computer does not freeze. It darn well shouldn't. It has a 64 bit dual core quad processor with 4 gigs of RAM. Windows 7 infuriated me just as much as Windows XP did with it's intermittent stalls for no obvious reason. To be fair, a few Linux distros had momentary freezes with a slight darkening of the screen but after a bit of research, I turned Compiz off and it stopped doing it. Personally, I don't see the point as I didn't find it useful, just wobbly and shiny.

Well there it is, for what it is worth. That is my journey thus far into the world of Linux computing. If I may, I'd like to add an observation. Given what I have read, it is going to be ignored or put off as impossible but here it is anyway.

Please stop this incessant chest-beating over what Linux distro you use. When I was doing my research and learning how to use Linux, It never ceased to irritate me, the amount of "mine is bigger and better than yours" I encountered. The problem seemed to dominate in two of the top five distros and no, the distro I use isn't included, at least not that I noticed. Look at it through my eyes as a new Linux user and you might get a new perspective. Of course, a lot of it borders on religious zealotry so I say let those zealots fight it out until attrition wears them down or weeds them out.

Again, this comes from one of the great unwashed. For what it is worth.

I'll be around.

chikauuna

Hope and Change Inside My Computer - Part II

2011-06-30T19:49:00.001-05:00

Prologue: I can't tell you exactly when I made the decision but somewhere between playing with LibreOffice and the webcam software, I found myself dropping and dragging important files from my Windows world onto a portable hard drive.

It was about 6 PM that evening, roughly 9 weeks ago, I double-clicked the "Install Linux Mint" icon.

I will not bore you with the installation experience except to say that I hesitated for a while as I pondered "partitioning". Since I was going to use the entire 120 gig hard drive anyway, the instructions were straightforward and understandable.

However, since I was seeing the graphical representation of my hard drive, I wanted to see what my options were. It took me a short time to really understand the bars at the top of the partitioning program as they related to the partition on which I was focused. Later, when I experimented with other Linux distros, I learned how to build partitions on which to install them.

For reference to anyone developing partitioning software for installs. Try to find a way to let people know they have multiple partitions installed. The drop down menu I saw only showed my primary partition of sda something-or-other and I didn't realize it was a drop down menu. It was only a month later when experimenting with new distros that I discovered clicking the arrow showed me all my partitions, where as before I had only one. It's just an idea for what it is worth.

Honestly, I can see where this would intimidate the uninitiated. I am the youngest of four kids and all of my older siblings are brothers. I learned a long time ago, never let them see you sweat.

Speaking of worry, thanks to those who create Mint and other distros for reminding me that I am proceeding without a swap partition. That halted me long enough to scratch out a note for research later. I ended up doing the install, then when finished, finding out what a swap partition was. I found the partitioning tool and resized my partition to include it. During the install, there was nothing telling me how important it really is.

Since my initial exposure to Linux, I've seen a few different representations of the partitioning process, different tools and different ways to represent the space that is or will be partitions. In my opinion, PCLinuxOS and Mandriva have about the easiest partitioning tools for the new user, but given most any of them, a bit of caution and careful reading should get even the most timid to the next screen without ~~hosing~~ messing up their existing installs.

It was less than 15 minutes later, the monitor screen told me my install was done. Yeah, right. How many more reboots, question fields and more reboots until I was really finished?

I clicked restart and less than 10 seconds later, my DVD drive slid open and I was instructed to remove the disk and hit enter. How cool is that? The DVD drawer actually closed shut after I hit enter. Less than a minute later, I was a Linux user.

I understand this is old hat to most of you. To you, a Linux system installation is a matter of course, but this girl has battle scars from Windows installs and on more than one occasion, it has taken in excess of 6 hours to get the system to a usable state. The fact that I had a connected, fully functional, ready-to-go system in less than 30 minutes amazed me. It still does today.

One thing that I noted as I explored my new system; there was nothing there that wanted me to sign a trial offer, remind me that a subscription would be needed in 90 days or offer me software that I didn't need. Sure, there is a TON of programs in a Linux DVD that I would probably never use, but there are many included that I look forward to using, or at least give them a measure of experimentation.

I truly appreciate the lack of pop-ups and circus-like pages that try to entice me into their software tent. No, I do not like trialware.

Please do not get me started on wireless drivers in Windows. It has been explained to me that this used to be a source of great angst for Linux users but installing a distro called Pinguy on my laptop produced immediate connection ability for my ancient Thinkpad. It is dependent upon a USB dongle wireless device and I take a deep breath of fresh air when I realize I don't have to dig through a pile of disks and flash drives to find those drivers anymore.

For me, my initial install of Linux Mint had everything I needed to get to work. As a Microsoft Office user, I found LibreOffice to be competent but different enough to have a modest learning curve. The word processor is smooth as silk. The spreadsheet solution was an entirely different story.

It is vastly different than Excel. Once I got the hang of it and began learning the differences in how to do things, I stumbled along until I was able to use it but it's not intuitive at all, at least for me. It took me forever to figure out how to get it to simply keep running tabs on an ultimate total for an invoice. I have also learned that conversion between file formats can be greasy if using complex tables or graphics.

My Editor called me and said that it looked like the document had "been under a terrorist attack". It looked fine on my machine as an .xlt file, but the email delivery fairies must have decided to rearrange it prior to it arriving in the Editor's email box. It was truly a mess. I had to come into the office and redo it on Microsoft Office.

I am not a database person so I am completely unqualified to remark on the LibreOffice database. I do however find the presentation tool completely competent and have used it twice and saved it to Microsoft format without problems.

I am almost enamored by the clean, professional look of most Linux distros. The clarity and crispness of both visual representation and physical response is, to me, far superior to Microsoft Windows. My friend Mark has since explained to me that the quickness of the system, even in a full Gnome desktop can be attributed to not having any antivirus software running in the background. That is another glorious freedom I enjoy. That is until a friend or relative sends me something "I just have to see" as an .eml file. I have not found a way to open them.

In Windows, I used Windows Media Player to play my music and VLC to watch clips and movies. At first I was a taken aback slightly by the choices of media players for Linux. I am not particularly thrilled with Rhythmbox or Amarok. I have since settled on Clementine for my music collection. It just seems to be a cleaner, more productive and easy interface.

Speaking of interfaces. Even though I have only used Linux for a short time, I could not help finding myself bogged down by the hurricane of dissent concerning things like Gnome, Ubuntu Unity and KDE. I have spent some time in each type of desktop and find strength and weaknesses in all of them but I will admit a bit of confusion over Ubuntu Unity.

I use dual monitors and for the life of me, Unity refuses to work with them. As well, it seems to take forever to click through to what I want to do. I personally find it a hindrance more than a help. I cannot see myself using it much at all. I do not understand how clicking two to three times in Unity is a better choice than having to click something once in Gnome or Xfce. Possibly if I had a small laptop or netbook it might work, but for my two big rigs, it fails immediately.

In all, I suppose I prefer the very first desktop I used and that is the Gnome desktop in Mint. I hear the roar of the crowd concerning the new Gnome and downloaded Fedora 15 to see what the fuss is about. In my opinion, all the fuss is about an under cooked chicken. If the developers have put it out there for ongoing user improvements or "further cooking", then I understand. If they think that is the finished product, then I will stay an old Gnome user. Xfce is something I have on my list to use should the old Gnome go away.

In my travels down the Linux Path, I also developed a curiosity to explore KDE. It is my understanding that there has been a major change within the past couple of years within KDE. I downloaded the live DVD of Open Suse and took some time to work with it. KDE is stunningly beautiful but complex. It has components to it with names so out of sync with what they do, that it was difficult for me to understand their purpose within the environment.

The first time I encountered the Akonadi server, my initial reaction was to ignore it because I didn't need a server on my desktop machine. I had no idea how important it was to KDE as a whole. There were others that left me scratching my head as well but I cannot bring them to mind at the moment. I for one like the "K" naming scheme within KDE. It lets me know during software searches via Synaptic that it is a KDE application. On the whole though, KDE is a bit complex for my needs. There seems to be too many ways to accomplish the same task within that environment and it can be confusing. Again, this is from a complete new user.

It used to be that I would turn off my computer every night. I would prefer to leave it on simply for convenience but even Windows 7 has a habit of degrading in performance rapidly if I left it on more than three days in a row. Sometimes I would have to do a hard shutdown because it would not respond at all. I would always end up rebooting it to get a "fresh" desktop, and then it seemed to take forever. I think the last time I turned my Linux computer off was three weeks ago and its performance is as crisp and sharp as it was the day I installed it.

There is a lot to like about Linux. I am now an official convert. Fortunately, my co-worker and friend Mark has about half the staff using Linux at the office. Do not get too excited, there are only 11 of us. As I understand it, all of our server software is Linux as well. As I hear it, we are an anomaly in the business world. At least our anomaly does not crash minutes before a deadline.

In retrospect, I have recently read a large amount of comments and articles on how Linux is not ready for prime time. Honestly, if I had read even a fraction of these articles, I doubt I would have installed it, even with Mark's endorsement. In the past two months or so, I can honestly say I can not understand how these writers came to such a conclusion. Linux works extremely well for me.

With that being said, there are things in Windows I miss.

part III and the final entry to Chika's notes will be posted late tomorrow. - HeliOS.

Hope and Change Inside My Computer

2011-06-29T15:43:00.002-05:00

In a thread on LXer.com I became acquainted with a lady who I only know as chikauuno. Yeah, I didn't know how to pronounce it either. It's simply a modified Spanish term for one girl (una chica), and as she admits, not a very good one...

It's the only one gmail said wasn't taken but she now chooses to use it online for her nomme de Internets.

What drew my attention to her was the fact that she is a new Linux user and during email conversations, I discovered she has some insights many of us might find interesting.

The copy she has given me is just a bit long for one blog posting so I will post this in two parts, possibly three, one day apart. She's given us the entire journey from Windows to Linux. I normally don't like doing so but it's simply too long to publish at once...please bear with me.

One request before I paste her article and comments here and hit the publish button. Let's put away our fanboy flags and just listen. She has no allegiance to any distro or desktop environment. She simply talks about her experiences thus far.

You have the floor Chika.

I have used a computer since I was 10 years old. You might say I was born into the Internet Age. I am probably a bit younger than many of the people who will read this. I am in my first job fresh out of college and I make my living as a staff reporter for a small newspaper in Texas. I have the luxury of working from home as the paper that employs me is 70 miles away. That's why a computer is so important to me.

To say it is important to me is an understatement. The professional Me lives and dies by my computer so it goes without saying that I need a reliable internet connection and a system that stays out of my way and lets me work.

Like many people, I grew up using Microsoft Windows. I think the majority of people who sit down behind a computer did as well. All throughout high school and college I lambasted every computer I used when things went badly. I have probably done more re-installs of Windows than two-thirds of the people who use a computer. Looking back on it, it wasn't a computer crash or a system glitch that made me look outside the Windows world for a solution. It was a Windows update.

My poor computers did not deserve the trash I verbally dumped upon them. They did their jobs perfectly. It was the garbage installed upon it that failed.

A political story of fair importance was brewing and I had talked to the one person that could "blow the lid off" of a political candidate's run for office. Remember, in small towns, big news is rare and this was, in ancient vernacular, "a scoop".

I typed the story quickly, I proofread it to the best of my ability and was about to save the document when a dialog box popped up saying that Windows was finished installing updates and it needed to restart.

Checking my watch, I clicked restart and waited for the machine to reboot.

Instead of rebooting, it went to the "almost rebooting" screen and it told me not to shut down until 18 updates were finished.

"Wait"., I thought to myself. "I thought you said you were done installing updates."

I strummed my fingers on my desk as five, ten, then fifteen minutes had passed and only 4 of the updates were complete. Knowing that there was a good chance a competitor from one town away had the same information, I just held down the power button.

I can hear the combination of groans and laughing already. Yes it was a stupid thing to do and yes, somewhere in the back of my mind was a voice screaming for me to not do it. I didn't listen. Needless to say, the computer rewarded my actions with a blue screen of death and I had no idea what to do. I did the only thing that came to mind and used my "call a friend" option.

Mark was at my apartment in less than 15 minutes and sidestepped past me when I answered the door. He went straight for my desktop, , inserted a CD and rebooted the machine.

As we waited for the computer to boot, Mark explained that he was going to recover my data and any shred of the document I had been working on. He explained to me that a Linux live CD was a self-contained operating system and that it was every bit as good as Windows, if not better in some aspects.

Fortunately, the document I had been typing had auto-saved itself minus the last couple of sentences. Mark opened the document in Linux and I then finished it, saved it to .doc format and printed it for me to fax. He then saved it to his thumb drive.

I suppose what surprised me the most is that he did not have to install any drivers for my printer, or my mouse for that matter. Keep in mind my resume could easily read "Professional Microsoft Windows Installer". Drivers are a nightmare when you don't have them handy. The fact that this Linux thing had mine already included was impressive.

I use an off-brand trackball wireless instead of a mouse and in Windows it works somewhat without the drivers but to get the full functionality, the drivers need to be installed. Every feature worked while the CD was running and without installing one driver.

I was intrigued. My first question to him was "How do I buy a computer with that already on it", that of course being Linux. Mark explained that it not only acted as a recovery CD but that it could be installed as a permanent operating system and showed me the icon on the desktop.

I asked him if I could play around with the disk for the evening and he of course said yes.

After faxing in my story, I logged out of work via computer and began exploring my new digital visitor. I would have occasional fits of "This can't be working." and "Can this be legal?" Of course now I know it is but from my narrow perspective, I'll ask you to understand my doubts.

I can't tell you exactly when I made the decision but somewhere between playing with LibreOffice and the webcam software, I found myself dropping and dragging important files from my Windows world onto a portable hard drive.

It was about 6 PM that evening, roughly 9 weeks ago, I double-clicked the "Install Linux Mint" icon.

Homecoming

2011-06-25T09:03:00.003-05:00

For the briefest of moments, it was as it was supposed to be. I was driving, Diane was sitting next to me, chatting about some thing or another and me nodding my head as if I was really listening...

But a glance sideways reminded me it wasn't like that anymore.

The left side of her face sags slightly, as does her left eye. Her voice is surprisingly clear and tight but an extended conversation reveals the slurred speech and the fatigue that sets in from it. Her body lists to the left because a monster within her has rendered that side of her body almost useless.

I drove Diane home from the hospital with the weight of one fact bearing down on me.

I am her primary caregiver.

I want you to remember that 3 short weeks ago, this woman was an unstoppable force as she cleaned floors, painted walls, nailed pictures and decorations, polished, arranged and rearranged computers and furniture within the new HeliOS facility.

Today she struggles just to swallow.

As I type this, she sleeps fitfully, not really able to find a comfort spot but needing rest and healing that sleep will bring. Her breathing is deep and relaxed at times, but then she will gasp as she struggles to make the muscles in her throat and diaphragm work correctly.

While Diane was in the hospital, I had the chance to visit other stroke victims and speak with doctors who specialize in treating this affliction.

No, it's not an affliction...it's a monster.

A monster that indiscriminately picks and chooses what body functions it will tear asunder...a beast that is neither predictable or gentle and one that lays waste to one's mind and body.

Diane accepts the fact that it will take months to get even 50 percent of her function back. She accepts that she is genetically predisposed to this disease.

But she also realizes that she has the power to tell this monster to sod off. She's a strong woman but the tears come when her strong will is unable to command a weakened body.

She feels the disconnect and despises it.

And I love her for it.

While she is unable to do so herself, she has asked me to thank you for what you have done for her. She had no idea that strangers would care so deeply, or even care at all. Because of you, she has the utilities and tools at home to begin her recovery. Her wheelchair and other accessories alone cost over $1200.00.

That's 1200.00 neither of us had and had it not been for you, I don't know where we would be now...or even if now would exist.

So from Diane and her family, thank you. There are still things needed, simple things really but things we will get one way or another.

One thing she has received is your love and concern.

And there isn't a paypal payment in the world that can equal that.

Thank you.

Ken

Canonical Alienates Their Major Asset.

2011-06-24T03:36:00.012-05:00

I've long lamented the fact that Linux lacks any real marketing strategy.

Of course, when a product is free of cost, there is no ROI so what's the point?

Canonical beat the odds with Ubuntu. The fan-base became so large, so fast that Universal Awareness of Ubuntu can be credited to a simple grass-roots effort that expanded across the globe.

It wasn't television or radio advertising.

It wasn't billboards.

It was good old fashioned proselytizing.

Gimmee that old-time religion any day.

And if you take some time to really look back at the process, many of us would admit it was a thing of beauty...almost a force of nature.

Ubuntu in essence, became Linux....or the other way around, depending upon your point of view. Ubuntu became the number one Linux distro almost completely on the backs of their users. Ubuntu was perceived as an entity guided and molded by the community...a true socialized effort in which every user had a stake.

Somewhere around release 9.04, that myth began to unravel.

The first threads came apart when decisions were made to remove certain keyboard shortcuts, "for the good of the new user". Ctrl/alt/delete and ctrl/alt/backspace were removed.

For the good of the new user.

If I remember correctly, this did cause a bit of a stir...I for one certainly didn't like it.

But what about the new user...? He could seriously mess stuff up if he were to mistakenly hit one of these key combinations. God forbid...

So they were axed.

And of course, either Canonical or someone in the Ubuntu Community wrote a script that would replace this lost functionality, but you really had to search hard to find it. Not a huge deal but the disturbance in the Ubuntu Force could be clearly felt.

So it has gone with Ubuntu from then until now...little changes here, stuff taken away there...navigation buttons pushed to the left side... Now flash forward to the new Unity interface which serves as the latest reminder that the Ubuntu Community isn't really a relevant force in how Ubuntu is shaped.

They are simply users along for the ride.

Now Synaptic is being removed in place of the Ubuntu Software Center. Some would argue that having the software center and Synaptic is redundant. Maybe it is, but even those who work to produce the Software Center admit it has a long way to go. The latest release is a great improvement but still...

It seriously lacks the power of Synaptic.

And please don't bring that "Synaptic is too difficult to use" stuff. I teach 12 year old kids the basic and advanced functions of Synaptic in 20 minutes. I'm guessing if there are adults that are flummoxed by it, they can always ask one of our 12 year old children.

But still, the Software Center is looking good and as long as it's for the sake of the new users...well, I guess that justifies the decision.

To be honest, it's probably a good idea.

The pews are becoming quiet. The shouts of "Hallelujah" and "Amen" are no longer raising the roof. What were almost under-the-breath mutterings about unnecessary changes seems to be evolving into sounds of slamming doors.

People tend to slam doors in anger when they leave.

So we're left to wonder at Canonical's strategy here. Are they truly trying to become the "New Linux User" distro? Are they dumbing things down to the point where a new Linux user sees enough parallels with Windows or Mac that she feels comfortable?

Are they aiming for a new crop of New Users? Ones to replace the old new users?

If so, at what cost?

A quick look into the various forums and discussions will bear out that Unity isn't well-liked at all..except by maybe a few. Very few. For many, Unity is the proverbial last straw. For others, the removal of Synaptic from the base install will be the last, last straw.

An interesting thing to note is that within the last 30 days, Linux Mint has taken the first place spot on Distrowatch.com. Mint of course, remained using Gnome 2.32 when they matched Ubuntu's 11.04 release featuring Unity.

Now, we can argue the validity of such placements and we can even argue the statistics used to measure such placements. but what we cannot argue is the fact that just about the time Unity came into the spotlight, the first to second place distrowatch listings juxtaposed. It would seem more than a handful of people dislike Unity.

You think that's coincidence? Come on...you're smarter than that.

It leaves many to wonder how many of those "losses" in the Ubuntu column were gains for Linux Mint.

It defies logic that Canonical cannot understand one simple and real-life fact: The users that leave you will not only take others with them, they will bad-mouth you endlessly.

That means no more apostles spanning the globe on your behalf.

Slam.

There have been some turbulent changes in the Linuxsphere within the past few years...KDE 4 and then the almost simultaneous Gnome 3 and Unity environments taking their places within.

I'm not sure in the grand scheme of things, that Synaptic will be missed by that many. Personally, I use Apt Cacher to do many of our HeliOS installs and Synaptic is a welded-in part of that process.

As well, the Unified Customization Kit (UCK) uses synaptic to build the new ISO's when one is doing their respin. Taking out Synaptic due to "lack of space" is a non-starting argument since they plan to go to all DVD ISO releases anyway. Oh and sure I can always add it back in if I need it.

But I don't have time to do that.

Still, I might be able to understand taking it out to lessen confusion of the New User....thus removing one instance of redundancy. I can make sense of that easily.

So HeliOS will be sticking with the 10.04 version of Ubuntu until it ends it's life and then we'll see what our options are. By then, maybe Gnome 3 will actually be something people will want to use. Maybe Unity will evolve into a usable interface for anything larger than a 10 inch screen. Maybe a reliable remaster tool will be created for Mint much like UCK was created for Ubuntu. One that doesn't throw a bazillion errors in the first three minutes.

And maybe I'll be the King of Tonga by that time

All-Righty Then...

This Was a First...

2011-06-19T11:22:00.010-05:00

I kept my mouth shut.

That doesn't happen often, especially when it comes to the thrust and parry during a Windows vs. Linux match. There was a time, I would shoulder my way into the battle and shamelessly impart my knowledge/expertise where needed. And as I've learned...cool, level-headed discourse is much more effective than the confrontational habit of calling your opponent and idiot...as difficult as that may be at times.

But in this case, my participation wasn't needed.

As many of you know, my partner Diane suffered a stroke almost 10 days ago. She is still hospitalized and she is unable to walk even as far as the bathroom without a person on each side of her and the use of a walker. Partial paralysis has manifested itself on the left side from her face to her calf but she is slowly and painfully making progress. She will more than likely remain blind in her left eye. I will post a complete update as to her condition in the next day or two.

Fortunately, her daughter Hillary was able to come to Austin and stay with us for a couple of weeks. For a while, there was a real threat of the hospital releasing her due to not having insurance but wiser heads prevailed and they decided that a fall at home would be more costly in a return visit than allowing her to stay an extra couple of weeks and receive the physical therapy she needs.

The timing was perfect as I had already committed to taking my daughter Amanda to Texas Tech University in Lubbock and register her for classes while she attended mandatory orientations.

Oh, and have I failed to mention in earlier posts that she is only 1 of 7 females out of 324 freshman accepted to the Whitaker College of Engineering?

Probably not...

It was while sitting in the TTU Student Union Building that I heard the battle brewing. There were two male freshmen sitting at different tables close to me...both had laptops open and one was complaining bitterly that his Windows 7 updates were broken. He wasn't so pissed that they were broken as he was about having had the exact same problem in Vista.

He lamented loudly to another student how he had spent $150.00 for the Vista to Win7 upgrade, hoping that would fix the problem. He also complained about the complete lack of a solution, even in the official Microsoft help pages and forums. The "solutions" Microsoft itself offered did not work. Multiple hours of re-installs netted the same broken results.

We all know the modern definition of insanity. Being a former Windows drone, I can relate.

The other young man was listening and watching intently. I won't put any dialog in quotes as this is a rough playback of the conversation, but it is fairly close.

When the complaining party was verbally spent, he looked over to him and asked:

So why do you use it?

The other student seemed confused.

Why do I use what?

Windows. Why do use Windows if it's such a problem for you?

The troubled freshman thought for a few seconds...

And what else is there, a Mac? I can't afford a Mac. This laptop was a high school graduation gift.

The wiser of the two shook his head and held up a finger as in the "wait a second" gesture then moved from his table and seated himself next to the other student.

This had Windows on it too until I took it off and installed Linux. Look...you can do everything you need to do on it and it doesn't cost anything. You're just frustrating yourself. Watch this.

The Linux user spent the next ten minutes showing the other guy his system. He fielded the "complaint" of needing Windows for certain things by opening VirtualBox and demonstrating his Windows XP install within. He let the other student navigate throughout his laptop and provided instruction when needed.

In the end, the biggest obstacle was convincing him that the entire shootin' match didn't cost anything, aside from a Windows and MS Office license for his VirtualBox and even then, it was going to be largely unnecessary.

They then retrograded into a comparison of their classes the first semester, where each was from and other mundane conversation. After a few more minutes, the Linux guy shut down his computer and stood to leave. I glanced up at him and he looked in my direction.

The smile was huge when he noticed my t-shirt. I just winked at him and went back to my work.

Sometimes, it's just best to keep your mouth shut.

All-Righty Then...

When "minor" and "devestating" are used in the same sentence.

2011-06-12T13:45:00.005-05:00

addendum: Since we cannot find a single physical therapy place to take on Diane's treatment, (the cheapest we've found is 600 dollars a day) I've found a place that will teach me in-home physical therapy specifically for stroke victims. The course costs $2500.00. I was able to make the down payment of $500.00 and we will go from there. Thanks to everyone who has helped us in this trying time. - Ken

I've had my share of health issues but I've never dealt with a stroke victim.

Until my partner suffered one.

Last week during the morning while watching TV on the couch, Diane felt an immediate need to lay down. Once she did, she experienced an excruciating pain on the left side of her head. When she became dizzy and nauseous, she tried to get up and go to the bathroom.

Her legs completely failed her. She displaced her hip when she fell.

She had to crawl using her right arm and leg....her left side was useless.

She made it to the bedroom and was able to pull the phone off the desk and she called me at the shop. I couldn't understand anything she said. It was like she was talking with a mouth full of dry bread.

I knew immediately what happened.

Her son Adam was able to get 911 notified and an ambulance on the way to our house and they were securing her to the transport when I arrived.

CT and MRI scans revealed an aneurysm at the bottom of the brain stem...an inoperable aneurysm. The exact same location and situation that killed her mother. The slight tear in the artery was what caused the stroke.

They called it a minor stroke...but the results were devastating.

However they found that both arteries feeding the brain stem were either partially or almost fully blocked and the decision was made to place stents into those arteries and restore flow to that part of the brain. Some of the tissue was already dead from lack of blood flow and oxygen.

The stents were the main plan of attack...

Until they found she was uninsured.

Diane is 64 and took Social Security retirement at 62 so she lives on 1200.00 a month. There is a no-man's land of 3-4 years where she is not eligible for Medicare so she's just been hoping for the best and that her luck would hold.

It didn't.

So now instead of surgically placing the stents, the plan is to "passively" treat her condition. Blood pressure meds, blood thinners.... The doctor said with any luck, those treatments would relieve the pressure that caused the weakening of the arterial wall.

Luck.

We went from a good surgical solution to luck.

Because she does not have insurance.

So her son Adam and I are contacting various hospitals that do take on "charity" work. So far, we've found some promising possibilities at Seton Hospital in Round Rock.

Not to be confused with Round Rock Hospital where "Luck" is considered a viable treatment plan.

She'll still need specialized in-home care. Adam's twin sister is coming down from Portland to spend a few weeks. She'll sleep on the couch and since she does from-home tech support for a living, I will set up a VPN for her so she doesn't have to lose any work time.

I am considering going back to work...I'm just not seeing any other way to help. The HeliOS Project may have to sit idle for some time. We have set up a fund for Diane's immediate and considerable medication needs as well as her physical therapy. She will have to learn to walk again or at least regain the strength in her legs so that she can. If you are interested in helping, you can do so through a paypal account we've set up. The paypal email address is dianekfranklin at hotmail dott komm

Diane has been an important part of The HeliOS Project for a year now. Not only has she organized our planning and logistics, she almost single-handedly did all the cleaning and prep work to get our new facility ready for the public.

I feel a lot of guilt in my quiet moments...thinking I let her work too hard, not knowing the results that would occur.

If you are prayerful, we would appreciate it. If not, just send your positive thoughts this way. We're going to get through this.

I'm going to see to it.

Ken

It's been a bad day....

2011-06-06T21:16:00.000-05:00

My partner Diane suffered a stroke today and we're not yet sure of the damage inflicted. This space may be quiet for a while so just know that I have business on this end that has to be my focus.

Thanks for understanding.

Ken