BunkBlog

Friday –

There have been a series of articles on ZDNet (and therefore on Yahoo Tech) about Linux and Open Source vs. Windows and Shared Source.

I am still amazed, after so long using Linux and Windows (as well as Solaris and Xenix) that the two sides are so entrenched that they can’t even have a rational discussion.

The Linux fanatics (not users, just the fanatical ones) automatically associate anyone who doesn’t call Windows Windoze or Windoofs with the evil empire. Apparently it’s some sort of requirement to put dollar signs in all things MS-related in order to show one’s disdain for the company and their (obviously) inferior products.

Meanwhile, the Windows fanatics (same disclaimer) portray all Linux users as programming geeks, with some strange communist or socialist bent. They further seem to believe that Linux users are like children, and should be shown the error of their ways, since they obviously don’t understand how business works.

I think it’s all quite apparent. The two sides have nothing in common. I don’t mean that completely literally, since they obviously both are looking at the prevalence of their favorite operating system in the market (or community, depending on your bent). When I say they have nothing in common, I mean that they are approaching computing from two completely different philosophies, and neither set of fanatics is capable of seeing that there may be others who don’t find their views completely transparent as soon as they’ve been explained forcefully enough (preferably with cursing or semi-random spelling errors).  

Linux is a good OS, and it keeps getting better. It is stable, although not as stable as BSD. It is fast, and it has decent support for hardware and various filetypes. Its adherents are generally propellorheads, but not exclusively. They know it is a solid system, and it can do great server things and decent desktop things. They also are unconcerned with market share, because it fits their needs now, and they don’t care if grandma uses it or not. Basically, there is no desire to dominate the marketplace. To Linux adherents, there is no marketplace

Windows is a decent OS, with an amazing amount of cruft built up over the years of backward-compatibility. Linux does not need to be backward compatible, since it has no “market” to worry about, and there is no company running the show. Windows is slow and unstable, but supports every file format around, and is easy to use. The Windows zealots are sure that Linux is run by some secret communist cabal, and the sole purpose of any software is to own the market. The fact that Linux is not trying overtly to conquer the desktop market just means they don’t have the strength to do so yet.

Where it gets entertaining is when people talk about the “ease of installation” problems with Linux vs. Windows. HA! Linux takes me 30-45 minutes to install, and Windows 2 hours or more. The reason people can continue to get away with claiming Linux is a bear to install is because almost nobody outside of powerusing geeks ever installs Windows. It came on your machine, and it stays there.

But, you must install Linux on most machines, and so you can see how annoying installing an OS can be.

Other fun things to think about are when folks claim that there is no problem with GNU/Linux as an OS, the problems are all in poor support from hardware and software vendors. Sorry to tell you zealots, but that’s irrelevant to Joe User. If he can’t watch 405 the Movie on his system, he doesn’t care that the real blame lies in the patents behind the Sorenson codec. To him, Linux sucks.

That’s about all I can come up with today. Hope you enjoyed this short primer on Linux-vs-Windows.

Saturday

bq. Sorry if this isn’t 100% coherent. I just realized I’ve got thoughts about the RIAA, Napster and other music-related things spread out across too many sites to follow. Here’s a relatively complete posting of what I think about the whole mess.

Those silly silly people running the music "industry" (like there are factories and stuff?) just can’t figure out how to not blow themselves up. Napster offered them 200 million dollars per year for the next 5 years, if the RIAA would just not try to destroy Napster, and maybe even try to play nice with them.

The RIAA, being the old greybeards they are, couldn’t bring themselves to approve such a scheme, so they’ll probably end up winning the court battle and shutting Napster down. Of course, since Fanning and Co. have a deal with BMG records, they’ll stick around as the front end for ONE record company’s electronic distribution system.

Meanwhile, the other companies in the RIAA are working on their own systems, which they’ll probably screw up royally. Anyone else remember the awesome Personics systems from the 80s? You could go to a record store kiosk, choose your personal favorite songs from the playlist, and have a cassette created with only music you wanted, with a nice laser-printed jacket and labels. The record companies made royalties, and the consumer got a product they truly wanted. Of course, the industry let that system die from lack of attention, and it was too late anyway, with the CD revolution in full swing.

This past week, the RIAA started going after OpenNap servers, which are equivalent to Napster, but without any company to sue. Next, I’m sure they’ll attempt to sue the users of Gnutella, who are individuals operating out of their own homes. This is basically the music companies suing their own customers. I wonder how they justify that business model.

Really should have made that deal with Napster, RIAA. It was the best chance of getting any money at all without suing your own customers. This should be an entertaining year.

Just saw the RIAA representative talking outside the courtroom on CNN. She really sounds petulant. Of course, Napster can stop people from trading songs based on a simple filter. But, you willfully ignorant twit, that doesn’t mean people will not just rename files with funky characters to get around the filters. Here, try this example: Prinse n da rebolushun - Boyz und Girlz.mp3 would slip right by the filtering system, but would still be a pirated song. The latest info says the Napster folks will be using "fingerprinting" technology to check on songs regardless of filename. So, if I rip a song at 192kbps, is that the same fingerprint as someone who ripped it at 64kbps or one of the VBR algorithms?

Of course, the RIAA also claims they had a horrible 39% decline in CD sales last year, but it was actually a 39% decline in CD single sales. Um, who buys CD singles anyhow, especially with the ability to preview individual tracks at CDnow, Amazon, or Tower Records stores? Slashdot had a great story that tore apart the RIAA numbers.

Oh, and Courtney Love, after how record companies screw artists, is suing her record company for the indentured servitude forced on her, as with any other artist. But, she can afford to make noise about it. Cool.

According to this article, many car CD players will refuse to play new copy-protected CDs, as will all "multimedia PC" systems. So, let’s assume I’ve got my big Altec Lansing subwoofer hooked up to my PC, and it’s the only CD player I own (not really, but many of my friends in the army only have their PCs to play CDs on, to save space). Now, I can’t play any new CDs on this machine, because I MIGHT copy them? Well, I can’t even listen to them "wherever I like" so I’m not going to buy them either.

If I put this CD in my new RioVolt MP3/CD player (the only CD player in my car), will it cease to function? Now, I’ve got a portable CD player (RioVolt) that can’t play audio CDs of the new style, I’ve got a home audio system (MPC) that can’t play the new CDs. And, this somehow does NOT infringe on fair use?

I know plenty of college students and soldiers that don’t buy stereos, because they have computers. These happen to be the ages that buy the majority of popular music as well. I imagine the RIAA is not so smart on this one.

OK, here is MY EXPERIENCE with MP3s. I can’t possibly speak for everyone, but this is me. I am 30 years old, I was a soldier for 12 years, and I have been a computer geek since I was 10. I listen to MP3s, mainly from Usenet postings of unreleased albums. If I like the album, I buy the CD.

As an example, when the last "No Doubt" album was released, I was at the store on the first day of issue, so I could buy one. Three weeks earlier, I would never have imagined I would buy it, but it was a damned good set of songs. If I had not sampled it via Usenet, I would not have bought the CD. Seriously.

Another example is Metallica. Except for a track here and there, I’ve never been a huge Metallica fan. I grabbed about 3 or 4 tracks from the S&M album off Usenet, and then bought the double-CD set. Even Metallica has made money from MP3s.

If the RIAA would consider MP3s to be advertising, or radio-like, they may have a chance to make money off them. So far, the digital distribution schemes seem to involve charging as much or more for the privelige of downloading the tracks, rather than going to the store and getting cover art and a jewel case. Personally, I’d be very inclined to use an industry-approved download system, if they guaranteed quality-of-service (not an option with the P2P systems obviously), and if they charged LESS than the physical CD.

As it is now, I tend to listen to music from internet radio stations, check out random tracks from Usenet or Gnutella, and buy CDs from CDNow.

I buy a lot of CDs, and I burn many of them to MP3 format to listen to in my MP3/CD player, so I can have 10 or 12 hours of music on one disc. Makes those cross-country car drives much nicer.

So, don’t paint everyone with the same brush, but realize that at least some of us are really not just out to be thieves. YMMV

After a conversation with an old friend today, I revisited Gnutella. There’s a program called BearShare that acts as a frontend for Gnutella, and allows searches to be performed without the pain of a few months ago. Just played with BearShare tonight, looking for common and obscure tunes, including some George Carlin and Bill Cosby tracks. Great selection, which indicates that all the publicity that CNN et al have given Napster has raised awareness of such things to the point that Gnutella is actually useful finally. They have definitely hit the critical mass needed to be a decent search tool.

Even better, the RIAA can now only sue individuals, cuz there’s no server. So, the record companies are going to take their own customers to court? Hehe

As of the middle of April 2001, many (maybe even most) radio stations that stream their signal on the internet are silent. The AFTRA is demanding 300% more money for the stations’ sending audio outside their broadcast area. I don’t get how that makes sense, and it was obvious to anyone that the only result that such a threat would have is the complete shutdown of those streams, meaning that AFTRA members don’t make any money from them anyhow. I’d think you’d negotiate from a position that seemed at least close to reasonable? More here.

It’s not completely new, but I know not everyone reads and pays attention to the latest news from techno-geek lands like Salon and /. Anyway, there’s a new music distribution format that the RIAA (motto: we’re not an evil entity, but we play one on TV) actually likes for a change: Dataplay.

Basically, the DataPlay disks are 500 megabyte CD-R disks that are downsized to a miniscule 1-inch wide platter. BUT, what the RIAA wants to do with them is to put not 500 megabytes of actual CD-DA audio on them, but 500 megabytes of compressed audio, with most of it encrypted when you buy it. Say you buy the latest Madonna album on DataPlay disks (let’s call them DP for short :)). It may well include the Immaculate Collection on it as well as Like a Virgin. But, you can’t hear those other albums until you pay the label for them. You connect the DP to your computer, and send an electronic funds transfer to Warner Bros. In seconds, your DP has had a few more bytes written to it, and now you can listen to all three of those albums, from a disk the size of a quarter. Pretty neat, in my opinion. Obviously, with compressed music you get some lower sound quality, but not enough to hurt sales. After all, MP3 is amazingly popular, and you can fit about 8 albums in 500 megs with that format.

Here’s the deal, though: chicken and egg. When CDs replaced LPs (don’t complain, the vinyl record is as near dead as makes no difference), they had the benefit of being smaller and better-sounding, with no pops or hisses or crackles. They are also, of course, much more durable than vinyl. Although many don’t take care of their CDs very well, if you remember to put them back in their jewel cases instead of using them like coasters, they should last much longer than vinyl would under normal usage. Where are the players for the DP disks? If you look at the DP site, it seems that all the players are portables, and most are made in Korea (whatever that means).

So, is the rationale here that we would use CDs at home, and then burn our own DPs with 5-6 albums on them for our portable use? The RIAA makes money on the blank DPs, I’m guessing, just as they do on blank DAT tapes (a great format that the RIAA nearly killed 15 years ago). (They must, if the disks are going to cost 5-12 bucks each for blanks. Of course, remember when CD-R disks were that expensive?) Sounds good to the RIAA, and maybe it will even work out ok for consumers, so long as we can burn whatever we want to the DPs and not need permission for each file, etc. I’d hate to be strangled by Windows Media Player (wimp) or the abominable SDMI when I just wanted to take my entire Concrete Blonde collection on one disk when I went for a bike ride. Perhaps this is an idea whose time never quite came, and is long since past?

Keep an eye on the DataPlay format, it may turn out to have better legs than MiniDisc and DCC (anyone besides me remember that one?)

Why are there so darned many Canadians on Live Journal? I realize it’s a full-sized country and all, but it seems the Canucks are represented pretty darned strongly here.

Of course, one of my more . . . adventuresome friends tells me there are a lot of online swingers that are from Canada, so maybe it’s just cold and dull? I know I’m gonna get hit for that one.
current_music:
current_mood: curious

Saturday –

There are some strange new businesses popping up in cyber-land. One that I recently became familiar with is Customatix. They make unique shoes. That’s right, they’ll produce a pair of nice comfy new shoes designed just for you, to your specs. I first saw the company named in Wired, and after checking out some of their references, I bought me a pair of shoes. I figure I might as well, I needed new running shoes anyway (shut up Walt), and the company will possibly end up bankrupt and gone in a year like most startups. Gotta strike while the iron is hot, and all that.

So, how’d they do? I ordered them on the 11th, they were shipped on the 15th, and (UPS blows for West Texas) I got them on the 21st. Apparently "2nd Day Air" means something completely foreign to UPS.

But, what do you really want to see, but pictures. So, here is the image that the handy-dandy Customatix Java applet produced:

And, these are the shoes as photographed by my Canon digital camera:

Although I did wear them a bit before I took the photo, you can see they’re pretty close to what the screen showed before I plunked down my credit card. The "royal blue" webbing is a bit less vibrant, and the "navy" soles are not terribly cerulean, but overall it’s a good match. Maybe if the web had a standard for color-matching we’d be good. And, yes, the left shoe does say Andy on the back. 🙂

The shoes are quite comfortable, they came with a second set of laces (in a less vivid shade of blue), and they come with a money-back guarantee if they turn out horrible or the wrong size.

I can’t imagine this business model can be profitable as yet, since the shoes cost about the same as good running shoes in a store, but there is no economy of scale. We’ll see. In the meantime, I’m thinking that I need some new boots too…

Does everyone need to go to a shrink, and some just don’t? Or, is it just everyone I know?
current_music: Metallica – Master of Puppets
current_mood: tired

Sunday –

OK, here we go. I believe I may have alluded to the fact that I’m attempting
to figure out this whole dating thing. There is something very wrong with dating
in the Naughty Aughties (Hey, somebody has to name this decade). Once upon a
time, guys got women’s phone numbers, and then failed to call the women. This
system seemed to work for years.

But, not today, oh no. With the rise of psycho stalker/rapist types, women
cling to their phone numbers more tightly than to their virginity. In exchange,
we dumb men get to wait by the phone and wonder.

Now, here are some of the excuses for being stood up I’ve heard in the relatively
short time I’ve been out and about, and my smartass responses that I wish I
had thought of at the time.

So, women of West Texas, take this as a warning. I want new excuses. I’ve heard
these, so they shouldn’t work again. At least keep me entertained if you’re
going to be a schmuck.

I’ve had a couple conversations about the whole “she’s a 10” thing lately. Kind of odd, but I really don’t fit the stereotypical mold of “rating” women on a scale.

Can’t we just tell people we find them attractive, without having to compare them to previous people in our lives?

I have, however, spent a few hours playing on Am I hot or not lately.

And, when did the term “hook up” go from meaning meet to get some? It’s not right to redefine cliches on the fly like that…
current_music: Doug E. Fresh – The Show
current_mood:

“El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles” can be abbreviated to LA. Is that the most efficient abbreviation known, or what?
current_music: Howard Jones – You Know I Love You, Don’t You?
current_mood: goofy

Wednesday –

How in the world did the US end up having an election this close? Wow. Let others ruminate on it, I’m thinking of more important things…

West Texas has snow. This is akin to Hell having snow, and about as likely in most minds. Of course, there are no snowplows, and all schools and even the local military base (I call it work) are closed for the day. Snow Day! Woohoo!

I have nothing to talk about, but I got some cool new eye candy for my computer. Traci Lords is going to be on First Wave next season, so I felt a strong urge to have more SciFi Channel stuff. Here’s my desktop as it looks today (800×600 or 1152×864). Probably change it soon, since I usually like more minimal looks, but I’m feeling frivolous today.

OK, it’s snowing in West Texas. They closed the schools, the military base, and people drive like shit.

Dogs and cats, living together!
current_music:
current_mood:

Everywhere in West Texas is at least 90 minutes from anywhere else. ICK!
current_music: Marilyn Manson – Disposable Teens
current_mood:

Thursday –

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect to get Pizza at Pizza Hut, do you?

Went to lunch at Pizza Hut today, not by my choice (I hate buffets). But, off to the Pizza Hut buffet we did hi. They open at 11:00am, for the lunch rush. We arrived at 11:03, ready for some pizza moshing action.

But, hark, there is no pizza on the buffet, only a salad. Hmm, says I, where might the flatbread with goodies be? Oh, not to worry, says the matron, we’re baking it up right now.

Well, since I can get a pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less, certainly it takes less than 30 minutes to make the ‘za, no? Apparently Texas time really does run slower than the rest of the world. After 20 minutes of breadsticks and soda, we wonder again if they knew that lunch had started.

Oh, the pizza is almost done, we are reassured yet again.

tick
tock
tick
tock

11:30, and a steaming mass of Italian food arrives at the buffet, with a large mass of massively large people elbowing to get some. Ziti? I was hoping for Pizza, not ziti!

Finally, at 11:33 (or so) the master of food brings out a circular object, placing it in the position of honor on the buffet steamtable. But, wait, that is not red sauce, it is some other shade. Argh, it is dessert pizza! How can you have pudding if you don’t eat your meat?

Now 11:35, the first tiny pie shows up at the buffet, followed by 20 people trying to get the 10 slices. Thin crust? Thin Crust? Why, thin crust pizza takes merely 10 minutes to bake! Why, oh, why, would Pizza Hut require 20 minutes more to make a pizza than I require at my own home?

Then the floodgates opened and, yea verily, unto us did come a multitude of pizza pies. But, I can’t help but wonder if the opening of the store at 11am was a surprise to the employees of said establishment. Naturally, it took 10 minutes to pay the damned bill, too.

Oh, yeah, I added a mini-bio to my homepage, for ease of finding my photos. Am I cool or what?

And, the obligatory screenshot du jour. I’ve returned to Windows as my primary OS for now. It isn’t because it works better or is more stable or even faster or prettier. It’s simply because employers are still focused on Windows products, so I need to get back into practice with those products. Sucks, but there ya go.

So, the standard full-size and smaller-size versions are available. Have fun.

Sunday –

Yep, feeling much better now. Went to an exceedingly loud club recently, bought real food, listening to less depressing music, and changed all my wallpaper.

Since some people come to this site just to see what my desktop looks like this week (Chip), here’s the latest. As usual, I’ve made a scaled version (800×600) to complement the full-sized version (1152×864) linked below.

I’ve been making custom tapes and (lately) CDs for years. Here’s the
latest…
VAST – Free
Cake – I Will Survive
Buzzcocks – What Do I Get
The Cult – Love Removal Machine
Dramarama – Anything, Anything
Vertical Horizon – All Of You
Everclear – Hating You for Christmas
Oleander – Stupid
SR71 – Right Now
Incubus – Pardon Me
Stroke 9 – Letters
UPO – Godless
Robbie Williams – Rock DJ
The Soup Dragons – I’m Free
Doug E Fresh – The Show (Oh My God! remix)
LL Cool J – Going Back to Cali

Tuesday –

Just some thoughts that I wrote down while driving around this summer.

He was mesmerized by the dust devils, like miniature stationary tornadoes. There were two near the highway, one on each side. With the desert heat, he thought of them as entrances to the netherworld, coughing up a plume of dust rather than brimstone.

There are many cities in the desert that post their elevation rather than the population on the city limits sign. I can only assume this is because the altitude outstrips the populace to such a degree that it looks much more impressive to outsiders.

That was the great irony of it all: As soon as there was no reason to hide, there was nothing left to be hidden.

Surviving isn’t living; it’s merely the stubborness of biology running long after your reason to live has departed.

An old friend mentioned something recently. When I was in High School, almost everyone of my friends and acquaintances were into music of some kind. It was a significant thing in our lives.

Any notes we passed were laced with poignant lyrics. We identified people by what bands they listened to: the hiphop/funk kids, the metalheads, etc.

That doesn’t seem to be the same today. I encounter mainly 19-22 year old people in my job, and most don’t really have that same burning love of music that we did as kids.

Wonder where it went?
current_music: Everclear – Now That It’s Over
current_mood: crushed

OK, so here’s some info on my recent trips around the country.

I went out to California in July, visited with an awesome girl in Arizona en route. Saw my newest nephew out in L.A., as well as a couple friends I’d not seen in a while.

Then, since I still had lots of leave days to burn, I took more time off in September. I went back to AZ to visit the wonderful girl mentioned above. Then, I went up to Minnesota to visit my sister and her family, as well as my mom.

I’ve not seen my sister’s oldest two kids since they were in diapers, so it was weird to meet a couple teenagers. All my sister’s children seem normal, but they’re still insane. Damn, how can she handle those hyper-active creatures all day long? 🙂

Now, after all this traveling, I’ve got to get back to the real-life issues of my impending separation from the Army. I can’t wait to get out, but it’s a little scary not having the safety net for a short while.
current_music: Cherry Poppin’ Daddies
current_mood: contemplative

Tuesday –

Totally freeform today. Just felt like posting part of a story I’m working on, as well as some other random bits. To be multi-talented…

He normally felt a kiss after smoking was akin to licking an ashtray, but her mouth was sweet, with just a tinge of bitterness from the tar. He wanted nothing more than to hold her close and continue teasing her lips with his own.

She pulled him close so fast he knew she was feeling as much tension and anticipation as he was. Always agressive, she pulled his face up and kissed him, long and wet. Pushing away all doubts, especially that nagging Huxley quote, he responded quickly, pulling her up and falling to the bed together.

With as much teasing as either could stand, they pulled their clothes off and became more passionate. After several minutes, she was screaming while he was finally letting himself relax after so many years of tension.

"What do you mean, you don’t remember feeling that way?" he cried. "You said you loved me. You wanted me forever."

I should be moving on. But, I’m a sucker like I said, fucked up in the head. Maybe she just made a mistake, and I should give her a break. My heart’ll ache, either way. What the hell do you want me to say?

He drove out into the desert, marveling at the surreal landscape. Ocotillo and Joshua Trees conspired to make the view look like something out of Dr. Seuss, especially paired with the hot pink sunset. Always sunset.

Monday

Listening to Prince, thus the title of this page. Also, I’m in an uncharacteristically warm-and-fuzzy mood of late. I’m in a remarkably sane relationship, regardless of the complete lack of sanity surrounding the rest of my life.

I’m completely unable to express how totally happy my woman makes me, without sounding like a complete moron of sappiness. Since that’s not really my style, I’ll leave it alone. Just be aware that any excessive joy you may notice on the website is due to her influence. 🙂

More on the subject of web updates and such… For those 20 or so people that actually come back to my site more than once, I hope you noticed the little navigation aid I added back in May to these Thoughts pages. That was to be the first step in my complete revamping of my site, during some spare time I was hoping to have when the Army stopped jerking me around.

The cessation of jerking has, naturally, not occurred. In fact, I’ve been told today that I’ll probably be teaching new recruits up to the day I start out-processing the service. No rest for the weary.

So, no major site update for a while, but I don’t intend to stop this random webjournal. I have actually added a new page to the labyrinth: Internet Primer. For those of you who know people that still don’t understand that the Internet Button on their desktop does not contain everything that is the Net, point them to the Primer and hope they can grok it eventually.

In other news, the only close male friend I’ve made in the past ten years is getting ready to return to Korea, where I will undoubtedly lose touch with him as with so many other people in my life. (Kerry, where are you?)

Further making things interesting is the Freeservers monstrosity is having still more problems. Generally, the problems with my domain have been a blockade on my email forwarding. Some of these breakages have lasted for 3 days or more, a veritable eternity in net-time. Now, I’ve been unable to update my site for several days. So, although this page is dated 21 August, who knows when I’ve actually posted it.

The moral of the story regarding my Freeservers travails is a simple one and one you’ve probably heard before: you get what you pay for. As the name may imply, I don’t pay for my webhosting nor for my email forwarding. So, it is difficult to fault the service of a company that is giving away service. As soon as I get some real cash, I’ll set up my site on a stable, for-pay server, sans banner ads and everything!

And, since I do own my own domain name, you’ll still be able to find me with the same URL. Damn, I’m smoove.

Since I have to include a screenshot with every entry in my journal now (it’s a sickness, but I’ll get help someday), here’s one of my virtual terminals. Aren’t we adorable? Here‘s the smaller version (full-size is linked from the thumbnail).

Sunday –

Just showing off how much stuff I can have running on my machine without a slowdown. A friend was comparing his Windows experience with my Linux one. He has to reboot about every 8 hours or so. As I took this screenshot (and the 800×600 mini one), I had gone over 5 days since rebooting. And, the only reason I had reset then was because I had to do some audio editing in Windows, not because Linux crashed. Damn, I’m smoove.

I promised a big site re-write in June, but I ended up postponing my leave until July, and then leaving town instead of playing with my website. Sorry, but such is the pull of a new girlfriend in another state. 🙂

So, I may get to a reorganization in September, but maybe not. Deal.

I’m down to 8 months until I finish my indenture to the Army. I suppose that’s too early to be looking for a job, but I can’t wait!