Another Url, Another Planet

Ubuntu Karmic Koala 9.10 is released today, Thursday 29 October. Ubuntu has been around for a while, of course. I've been using it as my operating system of choice for about four and a half years and I'm writing this post because I'm so totally impressed with the new version. I just want to say thanks, properly, to the developers and everyone involved in producing this great free alternative to Windows and Mac operating systems. But before I get into that, I just want to put my experience into some perspective.

Breaking Windows

Back in 2000 had my first home computer running what I guess must have been Windows 2000 (or it might have been Win 98?). I knew how to do the basics - email, browsing the internet, office applications, playing football manager - all of which I'd learned in jobs of variable satisfaction. I was on dial-up with about a 10GB hard drive, so photos, music and video were not a viable option, then. I didn't know anything about firewalls, viruses, trojans and all those little nasties that soon downloaded themselves on to my system and rendered it slower and slower until it finally stopped altogether and became almost unusable.

Learning From eXPerience

This was around the time that Windows launched XP and I wanted the new, shiny operating system and a new, shiny (well, matt black) Dell Dimension 2200 PC. I still didn't know anything about nasties, although I was about to learn, and fast. I got broadband, too. As soon as my new PC launched itself and connected to the web I was informed about Windows Firewall and Norton Internet Security. So far so good. I had to learn how to adjust the settings on the security features so that I could use the applications and that enabled me to learn a bit more about why that's important. So important, that I would have to pay Norton to continue to use my computer safely. Oh, well, that's how it was.

Discovering Free Software

Now, I used my new PC for all sorts of things that I won't go into here, or anywhere else for that matter, but along the way I learned quite a bit more about how the internet works, made some new virtual friends through massively multiplayer online role-playing games and discovered that, amazingly, I didn't have to buy any software at all if I didn't want to. There is tons and tons of what is called freeware out there. Some good, some bad and some just plain ugly. So I tried out various free firewalls and anti-virus programs and even some spyware masquerading as anti-spyware. It wasn't long before my shiny, new XP was chugging along like my old and not long since dead PC.

By this time I'd learned enough to know that I could reinstall my Windows and start again, which I did. Only I didn't realise that in doing so, as soon as my machine switched on and connected to the internet it would be inundated with viruses and trojans that literally caused my computer to stop working withing a matter of seconds. Crap! I managed to resurrect my old PC somehow in order to Google my problems and spent several hours if not days getting my XP system working again. Next time I did a clean install, I was going to remember to switch the broadband off and manke sure I'd got copies on CD of all the security software I needed to install in advance.

Cutting Out The Crap

I must admit, I got a bit obsessive about security. But I heard so much about the dangers of viruses and spyware (and the vulnerabilities of Windows and its endless updates) that it seemed like sensible advice to follow. The downside to all of this, of course, is that I spent so much time and energy locking down my computer, I hardly used it for anything else. Not to mention that if I did want to use it for anything it was so slow because the security software was using up so much of it's relatively limited power. Christmas 2004, I ended up borking my system using something called CrapCleaner rather foolishly - with the benefit of hindsight - to clean out my entire Windows directory. I can see the funny side of it now, but at the time I was ever so slightly annoyed.

Karma And Dumping Linux

By this time, in my job, I'd had my Linux virginity rather brutally taken by a couple of hairy bikers in leather pants. Not a pleasant experience, I can assure you. However distressing it had been, I did learn about the ethos behind Linux - open source - and liked the idea of it, if not the reality (which, oddly enough, is how an ex-girlfriend once explained to me why she was dumping me). So, I reinstalled Windows and researched how to get Linux on my home PC. That's when I discovered Ubuntu and I was soon downloading and burning it to CD.

Now, my first taste of Ubuntu Warty Warthog 4.10 was not that great. While I was able to follow the instructions and install it, I couldn't access the internet as it didn't recognise my network connection. Nevertheless, I was impressed by the sheer speed of the damned thing compared to what I'd been used to with Windows and this was with all my basic software needs and more pre-installed and free. But I was back to XP for the time being. I decided to order the free Ship-It CDs of the next version of Ubuntu Hoary Hedgehog 5.04.

Feeling Part Of The Ubuntu Community

Hoary worked! I was now officially an Ubuntu novice (or an Ubuntard, if you prefer). My Ubuntu experience was not without problems, such as figuring out how to play MP3s, videos, Flash, etc., all things I would expect to be able to do on my Windows machine. But the solutions were very easy to find via the Ubuntu community forums where there are so many responsive and helpful people as well as many like myself having similar issues. So it wasn't long before I could do everything I could do using Windows - and a whole lot more besides, without having to spend half as much time and certainly no money on the software I needed or wanted to try. Not only that, but I didn't have to worry about firewall, viruses and spyware any more, or at least, not to anywhere near the same extent that I had done with Windows. An added benefit to me, but one that for others may be the opposite, is that I learned a bit more about computers, Linux and, of course, Ubuntu, as well as feeling part of something - the Ubuntu community - along the way.

Never Trust A Leeds United Supporter

So, back to the present. Along the way, I've upgraded Ubuntu through all the new releases (with plenty of problems caused by my Ubuntardness) and learned that the best way (for me, at least) is almost certainly to do a clean install. I've also learned the importance of backing up my personal and data, settings and applications, and found plenty of options for for doing this using external drives and online services - my current favourite being Dropbox. So, why do I love this latest release? Well, it's funny, really. I had no plans at all to upgrade to the new version, at least not for a few weeks, to see how it was going and all the major bugs that tend to happen with any new release were ironed out. I was happy with my Jaunty set up and had overcome problems with my new PC hardware not being recognised by any Linux kernel after 2.6.27.

One little application I liked using, however, is CheckGmail, which - amazingly - checks Gmail for you, stopped working for me a few days ago. Richard Cutts kindly offered me some help and advice about how to fix it (which didn't work) and from that moment on I was quickly able to undo all my previous good work and totally screw up my system messing around with things I shouldn't be messing around with. So, thanks to Richard, I decided to try the Ubuntu Karmic Beta. What a fail! It recognised my hardware and network card, but I couldn't connect to the internet. Crap, again! Bollocks! Shit!

Thank You!

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I had to reinstall Ubuntu Intrepid 8.10, update and upgrade to Jaunty, then update and upgrade to Karmic to make it work. And how it works! I still cannot get over just how fast it is, how smoothly everything works, how well integrated the design is (from an aesthetic point of view - I like brown), but also from a functional standpoint. I'm no expert, but from my perspective this is a tremendous leap forward for Ubuntu and makes using it even more of a pleasure than it was before. So, once again, thanks to all involved in making it happen!

My desktop - trying out Windows 7 in VirtualBox on Ubuntu Karmic:

This is just weird.

I got this via @Poshify, which seems to be some kind of TwitBot, and "who" "replied" (https://twitter.com/poshify/status/4930121264) to my dent/tweet (https://twitter.com/dmarsd/status/4804423370) about liking crumpet.

This is the third time in recent weeks I've been called for being posh for eating certain foods.

The others were on Facebook for liking "cucumber sandwiches" and "oatmeal-crumbed haddock with new potatoes roasted in chilli-infused rapeseed oil and organic green beans".

Thanks to @Marvin for inspiration to organise and caption! :-)

I'm posting this to give people who want to write some idea what you can say to personalise your email. The quoted bit is Reprieve's standar email. I added the bit below in bold.

From David Marsden <david.marsden@enfieldclubhouse.org.uk>
To Andrew Love MP
Subject URGENT: protect Akmal Shaikh
Message Dear Andy Love, MP

I am very concerned at the plight of Akmal Shaikh, the British national who is facing execution in China. Please can you urgently contact the Foreign Office and urge them to do all they can to protect him from execution. Please ensure that the Government immediately files a legal pleading as a friend of the court on Mr Shaikh’s behalf in the Chinese Supreme Court.

I understand from Reprieve that the Chinese legal system has not taken into account his serious mental illness, bi-polar disorder. Anyone with experience of this illness must understand how it can affect someone’s ability to behave. Whatever Mr Shaikh may or may not have done, it is very important that this be considered in mitigation.

I'm writing as the Director of a local mental health charity, many of whose members are mental health service users with bipolar disorder among other mental illnesses. As I'm sure you know, while these people are capable and talented in many ways and want nothing more than to live ordinary lives in the community, they are also vulnerable to people who wish to take advantage of them.

When people are mentally ill, they often hold grandiose delusional beliefs like Akmal Shaikh, who I understand believed he was a rock star going to China to find fame and fortune! It seems clear to me that his delusional state of mind made him an easy target for abuse of power by those who should rightly be facing charges instead of him.
I feel sure you will do your best to stop Akmal's execution if you have not already done so.

Many thanks.

Yours sincerely,
David Marsden
Director
Enfield Clubhouse
41 Ridge Avenue
Winchmore Hill
London
N21 2RJ

020 8360 6660
www.enfieldclubhouse.org.uk

I am rapt!

Tight and warm in my sleeping bag, I stare out at the night sky.

Everything is perfectly clear.

My fellow hikers are nearby and in the distance we can hear coyotes. They are neither barking nor howling, something in between. Calling to each other. Louder. LOUDER!

In the corner of my eye I can see our food in white plastic bags, hanging from a tree.



The coyotes are running. They are beating a path towards us!

My heart races and pounds with excitement and apprehension, and the effects of ascending so quickly to nine thousand feet. My head aches and I feel sick. Tomorrow we go higher.

The conifers that shelter us are twenty feet tall. Their tops dance in the wind against a backdrop of stars on a moonlit stage.

There goes a shooting star!

It is too much! My head spins.

Sleep is not easy. There is a low rumbling like distant thunder. Then - as if the whole mountain is collapsing - a gust of wind sweeps through the trees, passing us by. It sounds like a train. The gusts become stronger and more frequent as we lie on the tracks of the mainline. This is a ghost train! The trees bend while I lie rigid, waiting for the crash.
I rise with the sun.

This gives you an idea what it was like:

The hike up is long and arduous in driving winds.

This is where we camped. The Boulderfield base camp right beneath Long's Peak itself:

The wispy cloud in the morning sky turn huge and dark. Powdery snow swirls around us, then bites into our faces. We Struggle with freezing hands to set up our tents. The slightest effort saps our strength and leaves us gasping for air. We are losing water with every breath and sweat.

"Wail winds, wail, All along, along, along, The Colorado Trail"
This is like it was when we were there in late November, 1989:

We attempt to melt snow for drinking and cooking food. It takes two hours to produce one litre. Each of us - all for of us - needs for litres a day to survive at thirteen thousand feet above sea level. Even with two stoves, it is impossible.

I have no appetite. I manage to eat something. My legs and feet are cold.



We try to get some sleep. It's warm in our bags, but the fierce wind outside makes sleep a distant dream. My throat, mouth and lips are dry. The insides of the tent are wet with the moisture from our breath. As it freezes, it slaps us back while the blizzard that is battering us threatens to take us away at any moment.

The night is endless. I am waiting for the train to take me out of here. But it's a ghost train that doesn't stop. It's an express train, speeding through to deliver the news.

We will not climb the peak. We will go down.