Ubuntu Blows

[gprellwitz]

I had a Kernighan and Ritchie book for C++. I was originally really pi$$ed because it cost nearly $100 and was about the size of a pamphlet, but by the end of the class I was OK with it because it was one of the most valuable books (in terms of content and usefulness, not dollars per page ) that I ever had.

Pretty sure you mean the same C book that I'm referring to.

C++ would be Bjarne Stroustroup.

 

[EdFred]

Who made the NIC?

I don't recall.

 

[Steve Foley]

My question still goes unanswered.

My brother-in-law owned a computer shop. He had a USB network adapter that doubled as a flash drive with the drivers on it. He plugged it into the USB port, it installed the drivers, he removed it and reinserted it, and was on line.

Didn't work with Vista. (Or linux or 98). I think it only worked with XP and 2000.

 

[murphey]

My problem is that many of the programs I normally use are Windows programs; Quicken, logbook program, Cessna performance and loading calculators, Jeppview, etc.

But I don't want to be bothered with controlling everything. I want to turn the computer on and have it work. Maybe I should buy a Mac.

I don't mind my computer with the Ubuntu setup. It's better than having a brick. I just wouldn't want that to be my only computer.

Let's see....I have WinXP on the MacBook Pro and it runs everything I can't run on the Mac - which is MS Access and Everything from Jepp.

Why do I have a WinXP tower as a separate system? To run Oracle, SQLServer and MS Flight Sim. I could run MSFS on the MBP but I have X-Plane on it instead.

In reality, I need both systems because that's what I get paid for (on the rare occasions I get paid) - being able to develop on either platform.

 

[RJM62]

I installed Ubuntu on a computer as an experiment because I had trashed the hard drive and didn't have a recovery disk. It automatically installs Firefox which works fine, however, the selection of other programs seems small and it was impossible for me to install any Windows based programs. I know there are workarounds for things but they all involve changing lines of code. When I read the troubleshooting forums the instructions are incomprehensible to me. My impression is that Ubuntu is fine if all you want to do is access the internet or you like tinkering with your computer, but I don't.

Check out Synaptic or the "Ubuntu Software Center," both installed by default on Ubuntu. Thousands of apps, a mere few clicks away. Almost all are free.

I installed more than a hundred games and educational apps on my nephew's computer yesterday. Took me about 20 minutes, at a total cost of nil.

-Rich

 

[SCCutler]

iTunes. 'nuff said.

No kidding!

I have never dealt with a less-intuitive or more irritating piece of so-called software than iTunes. It is a living hell to do the most basic things with it (except, of course, buying stuff from he iTunes Store, which they oddly enough make very easy).

 

[Everskyward]

I know you're joking, but...

While it's possible, I wouldn't really recommend it.

1) You can get Quicken on the Mac, though I think Intuit will happily take your money again for the Mac copy rather than offer a cross-grade

Would I be able to transfer the file back and forth between a Mac and a Windows computer?

2) You can get a logbook program on the Mac - But presumably you're using Logbook Pro which isn't supported on the Mac and you'd have to buy LogTen Pro, export your data from LogBook Pro, and import it into LogTen. That's a helluva lot easier than entering your data again by hand, but you won't be any better off than you were. Or, you could run Logbook Pro in Parallels or VMWare...

I use a program called Aerolog Pro which doesn't come in a Mac version. I've been using it for about 20 years so I'm not about to change unless I'm forced to do so.

3) I don't know if the Cessna software is available on the Mac, but I doubt it. Also, JeppView is NOT available on the Mac last I checked (though they do have iPad software out, so maybe they'll port it eventually).

The Cessna software is not available for Mac either.

So, if you had a Mac you'd have to run all of that software inside VMWare or Parallels.

So, in your case, with the majority of your software using Windows and you as a Windows user, it's probably not worth the expense of switching, unless the expense and time spent in maintaining your Windows machine gets to be fairly bad.

That said, there are still advantages - But the balance tilts in favor of sticking with Windows.

(See, I *can* do it! )

The strange thing is that I had been wondering about a Mac just for something to try. But at the moment I don't need another computer. I have a desktop and 3 laptops (one running Ubuntu). Maybe one of these days.

 

[mantakos]

... Would not find/recognize the NIC ...

What led you to believe that it was not "recognized"? What did you actually observe?
-harry

 

[murphey]

Would I be able to transfer the file back and forth between a Mac and a Windows computer?

I use a program called Aerolog Pro which doesn't come in a Mac version. I've been using it for about 20 years so I'm not about to change unless I'm forced to do so.

The Cessna software is not available for Mac either.

The strange thing is that I had been wondering about a Mac just for something to try. But at the moment I don't need another computer. I have a desktop and 3 laptops (one running Ubuntu). Maybe one of these days.

Next time you have some free time, call me. I'll bring the MacBook, and we'll go somewhere for lunch, either in my airplane or just somewhere close to APA.

 

[EdFred]

What led you to believe that it was not "recognized"? What did you actually observe?
-harry

It's been two plus years, I can't quote verbatim what it said. Whether the term was actually on the screen or not, it basically said not detected.

 

[Everskyward]

Next time you have some free time, call me. I'll bring the MacBook, and we'll go somewhere for lunch, either in my airplane or just somewhere close to APA.

Ahh, trying for a convert.

 

[colohan]

Instead, let's debate emacs/vi!

No contest. Emacs is wonderfully powerful when you have it available. Vi is useful for all the times when emacs is not there. Many folks believe the reverse is true, and they are right too.

I still remember trying to learn C by reading Kernighan and Ritchie! Not for the faint of heart!

Huh. Is there a better book? I learned C from K&R when I was in grade 8, and I have to admit that I found the book short, to the point, and it explained the whole language quite elegantly.

Now C++ is another beast. I still have not found a good book that explains that monster to my liking (and this is coming from someone who used to write C++ compilers for a living).

Chris

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Pretty sure you mean the same C book that I'm referring to.

C++ would be Bjarne Stroustroup.

Naah, I had a K&R book that looked exactly like that (later edition, though - "Draft" ANSI C? That's old!) but I was using it in my C++ class. I'll have to dig it up sometime.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

I have never dealt with a less-intuitive or more irritating piece of so-called software than iTunes. It is a living hell to do the most basic things with it (except, of course, buying stuff from he iTunes Store, which they oddly enough make very easy).

Oh C'mon Spike, you know you hate Word more than iTunes.

(But seriously - What's so hard? )

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Would I be able to transfer the file back and forth between a Mac and a Windows computer?

That's up to Intuit - They'd need to keep the files compatible.

From my experience with Intuit, I doubt they do so. They make things as incompatible with each other as possible (even between versions on Windows) so that you have to buy new software from them.

I use a program called Aerolog Pro which doesn't come in a Mac version. I've been using it for about 20 years so I'm not about to change unless I'm forced to do so.

Wow - 20 years is about three lifetimes in the software world!

The strange thing is that I had been wondering about a Mac just for something to try. But at the moment I don't need another computer. I have a desktop and 3 laptops (one running Ubuntu). Maybe one of these days.

Wow - I think 4 computers qualifies you as a geek!

If it's a "just to try" thing and you don't need it to be your primary machine right away, then it is worth a shot. An iPad might be something to try as well...

 

[Bob Noel]

No kidding!

I have never dealt with a less-intuitive or more irritating piece of so-called software than iTunes. It is a living hell to do the most basic things with it (except, of course, buying stuff from he iTunes Store, which they oddly enough make very easy).

MS Find.

MS help... try getting help on do something if you don't already know the name of the function

The latest MS Office.

MS Project

If you want irritating, try the MS Office Paper Clip

and then there was DEC's Teamlinks.

 

[RJM62]

MS Find.

MS help... try getting help on do something if you don't already know the name of the function

The latest MS Office.

MS Project

If you want irritating, try the MS Office Paper Clip

and then there was DEC's Teamlinks.

Actually, I kinda liked Clippy... is he still around?

-Rich

 

[Everskyward]

Wow - 20 years is about three lifetimes in the software world!

I started with that logbook program a long time ago. I think it's one made for computer geeks because you are able to customize it a lot and come up with all kinds of reports... if you can figure out how. I've only used it in its basic form.

Wow - I think 4 computers qualifies you as a geek!

Nah, I just want something that works. I also have the bad habit that if something breaks I want a replacement TODAY instead of trying to fix whatever it is. It also gives me an excuse to buy something new. I managed to eventually resurrect two of my laptops after I had already bought another so that's why I have 3.

If it's a "just to try" thing and you don't need it to be your primary machine right away, then it is worth a shot. An iPad might be something to try as well...

Like I said, maybe one of these days.

 

[Clark1961]

Nah, I just want something that works. I also have the bad habit that if something breaks I want a replacement TODAY instead of trying to fix whatever it is.

Don't ever buy an airplane...

 

[Everskyward]

Don't ever buy an airplane...

I think I've already figured that out.

 

[murphey]

Ahh, trying for a convert.

Hallelujah!

Actually, I had a Cyber 6600, a Cray and a Vax long before I had a Mac. But ya can't carry one of those around in your backpack.

 

[murphey]

Don't ever buy an airplane...

But but but....the Dakota is so happy in the big hangar with all the other airplanes.

They spend every night and all weekend chatting in religious discussions - turbo or no turbo, piston or turbine, twin or single, high-wing or low-wing...

 

[OffCenter]

It's funny that this discussion of Ubuntu came up now!
I just made a bootable USB stick with Netbook Ubuntu for my Acer Aspire one using a 2 gig USB thumb drive.
(ubuntu-10.10-netbook-i386.iso)
Has anyone else played with this?

So far, it boots fine if a bit slowly. I set it for 1 gig of "persistance" and it seems to remember
my settings, homepage, wireless key, etc.
But....
Everytime it boots, it jumps to a screen asking if I want to "Try Ubuntu" or "Install Ubuntu".
I click "Try it" because I do NOT want it installed on my hard drive at this point.
It then takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get rid of that screen!
All I get is the little circle going round and round as it's doing whatever it's doing for almost two minutes!!
Finally it opens to Ubuntu and all is well.
How the heck do I get it to stop doing that??
Anyone have a clue?

Or maybe someone could suggest a different version of Linux to try?

P.S. I made the bootable stick following the instructions here:
http://www.ubuntu.com/netbook/get-ubuntu/download

 

[mantakos]

... All I get is the little circle going round and round as it's doing whatever it's doing for almost two minutes!! ...

I've never booted linux off a thumb drive, but I would assume that what you're seeing is simply the time it takes to boot, and that you'd see similar times with a different variant of linux, but faster times if you were booting off a real, spinny disk, internal hard drive.
-harry

 

[SCCutler]

MS Find.

MS help... try getting help on do something if you don't already know the name of the function

The latest MS Office.

MS Project

If you want irritating, try the MS Office Paper Clip

and then there was DEC's Teamlinks.

OK, you're right. MS Office is vastly worse than anything Apple could dream up, by accident or on purpose.

 

[jesse]

It's funny that this discussion of Ubuntu came up now!
I just made a bootable USB stick with Netbook Ubuntu for my Acer Aspire one using a 2 gig USB thumb drive.
(ubuntu-10.10-netbook-i386.iso)
Has anyone else played with this?

So far, it boots fine if a bit slowly. I set it for 1 gig of "persistance" and it seems to remember
my settings, homepage, wireless key, etc.
But....
Everytime it boots, it jumps to a screen asking if I want to "Try Ubuntu" or "Install Ubuntu".
I click "Try it" because I do NOT want it installed on my hard drive at this point.
It then takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get rid of that screen!
All I get is the little circle going round and round as it's doing whatever it's doing for almost two minutes!!
Finally it opens to Ubuntu and all is well.
How the heck do I get it to stop doing that??
Anyone have a clue?

Or maybe someone could suggest a different version of Linux to try?

P.S. I made the bootable stick following the instructions here:
http://www.ubuntu.com/netbook/get-ubuntu/download

It's probably having to setup a bunch of stuff and build out a big ramdisk. It most certainly isn't the most ideal installation and installing on a real hard disk will resolve the issue.

 

[OffCenter]

I've never booted linux off a thumb drive, but I would assume that what you're seeing is simply the time it takes to boot, and that you'd see similar times with a different variant of linux, but faster times if you were booting off a real, spinny disk, internal hard drive.
-harry

...and Jesse said, "It's probably having to setup a bunch of stuff and build out a big ramdisk. It most certainly isn't the most ideal installation and installing on a real hard disk will resolve the issue. "


No no. It boots to the Gnome desktop quite quickly and immediately tells me it's found my wireless network. Then the desktop gets overlayed with this "installer" that won't go away!
What a pain in the .... you get the idea.
(it's as bad as Microcrap which keeps trying to install things you don't want installed)

 

[OffCenter]

.... When I read the troubleshooting forums the instructions are incomprehensible to me. My impression is that Ubuntu is fine if all you want to do is access the internet or you like tinkering with your computer, but I don't.

I agree. It seems to be written by geeks for geeks.
"ya gotta ssh the pfd with xamafrance to the wxyz"
WTF?????
Speak ENGLISH, man. Speak ENGLISH!!!

 

[jesse]

...and Jesse said, "It's probably having to setup a bunch of stuff and build out a big ramdisk. It most certainly isn't the most ideal installation and installing on a real hard disk will resolve the issue. "


No no. It boots to the Gnome desktop quite quickly and immediately tells me it's found my wireless network. Then the desktop gets overlayed with this "installer" that won't go away!
What a pain in the .... you get the idea.
(it's as bad as Microcrap which keeps trying to install things you don't want installed)

Once again that "installer" is having to setup a bunch of stuff. Install to a real disk and that problem won't exist. The "portable" thumbdrive install is just that, portable, designed to be able to take with you and use on all kinds of different systems. As a result it's not the most optimized installation.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Like I said, maybe one of these days.

For some reason, I'm reminded of a picture I saw yesterday:

On the right, the original battery-powered Mac, the Mac Portable, vintage 1989.

On the left, the new MacBook Air which is superior in every way (except for use as a counterweight). And it's cheaper, too!

 

[Maxmosbey]

My problem is that many of the programs I normally use are Windows programs; Quicken, logbook program, Cessna performance and loading calculators, Jeppview, etc.

But I don't want to be bothered with controlling everything. I want to turn the computer on and have it work. Maybe I should buy a Mac.

I don't mind my computer with the Ubuntu setup. It's better than having a brick. I just wouldn't want that to be my only computer.

That is fine. I don't want everyone to be like me. I think that if Windows works for you, than you should use Windows. I actually like both, I just like Ubuntu better for what I do.

 

[Maxmosbey]

It's funny that this discussion of Ubuntu came up now!
I just made a bootable USB stick with Netbook Ubuntu for my Acer Aspire one using a 2 gig USB thumb drive.
(ubuntu-10.10-netbook-i386.iso)
Has anyone else played with this?

So far, it boots fine if a bit slowly. I set it for 1 gig of "persistance" and it seems to remember
my settings, homepage, wireless key, etc.
But....
Everytime it boots, it jumps to a screen asking if I want to "Try Ubuntu" or "Install Ubuntu".
I click "Try it" because I do NOT want it installed on my hard drive at this point.
It then takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get rid of that screen!
All I get is the little circle going round and round as it's doing whatever it's doing for almost two minutes!!
Finally it opens to Ubuntu and all is well.
How the heck do I get it to stop doing that??
Anyone have a clue?

Or maybe someone could suggest a different version of Linux to try?

P.S. I made the bootable stick following the instructions here:
http://www.ubuntu.com/netbook/get-ubuntu/download

I have not tried to run it off of a thumb drive, although I installed it off a thumb drive, and it took a while to complete the install. I have run it off a disk, with no problems. I am not an expert in any way. I can get around on Ubuntu pretty well. I have a Dell laptop in the garage. It has both windows and Ubuntu. I ran the Ubuntu off the disk for a while before I partitioned the hard drive and installed it on one of the partitions. It takes the Windows side about five minutes to boot up. It takes the Ubuntu side less than a minute. I use the Windows side for my power commander which is installed on my motorcycle and for iTunes. I have a little EEE PC netbook. It has the Ubuntu netbook remix installed on it from a thumb drive. It did have a different Linux OS on it when I bought it, but I didn't like it. Then my son had it in Norway and installed some other weird Linux OS on it, and I didn't like that one either. I put the netbook remix on it. From the time I put in my user name and password it takes less than a minute for it to boot up and locate a wireless connection.

 

[elmetal]

iTunes. 'nuff said.

really? That's the thing you want working on Ubuntu?

 

[RJM62]

It's funny that this discussion of Ubuntu came up now!
I just made a bootable USB stick with Netbook Ubuntu for my Acer Aspire one using a 2 gig USB thumb drive.
(ubuntu-10.10-netbook-i386.iso)
Has anyone else played with this?

So far, it boots fine if a bit slowly. I set it for 1 gig of "persistance" and it seems to remember
my settings, homepage, wireless key, etc.
But....
Everytime it boots, it jumps to a screen asking if I want to "Try Ubuntu" or "Install Ubuntu".
I click "Try it" because I do NOT want it installed on my hard drive at this point.
It then takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get rid of that screen!
All I get is the little circle going round and round as it's doing whatever it's doing for almost two minutes!!
Finally it opens to Ubuntu and all is well.
How the heck do I get it to stop doing that??
Anyone have a clue?

Or maybe someone could suggest a different version of Linux to try?

P.S. I made the bootable stick following the instructions here:
http://www.ubuntu.com/netbook/get-ubuntu/download

I've done that using the Netbook and Desktop editions, mainly for data recovery, malware cleanups, and so forth on unbootable or infected Windows machines. Yeah, it's slow, but there's slow and then there's sloooow.

One problem is that it won't touch (nor even mount) the hard drive without your permission, so it all has to be loaded on a ramdisk. That takes a while. Another is that not all flash drives are created equal. Using a better flash drive may help.

I usually use an 8 GB Sandisk flash drive that also contains other stuff I use regularly. I don't use persistence because I really don't need it. It boots up in about the same time, give or take, as booting from a CD. But using a 4 GB "no-name" drive I picked up for five bucks from MicroCenter, it took forever.

Still, I only use the bootable thumb drive on machines that either don't have an optical drive, or that won't boot from it for whatever reason. No particular reason. Just habit.

-Rich

 

[murphey]

I agree. It seems to be written by geeks for geeks.
"ya gotta ssh the pfd with xamafrance to the wxyz"
WTF?????
Speak ENGLISH, man. Speak ENGLISH!!!

grep who.

 

[murphey]

MS Find.

MS help... try getting help on do something if you don't already know the name of the function

The latest MS Office.

OMG Office 2007. I shudder to think imminent disaster of 2010.

I'm still running 2000/2003 on the mac/win MBP, but I was forced to go to 2007 on the WinXP desktop to be compatible with a contract I was working on.

Great for someone using Office for the first time, but for those of us who've been using it for more than 6 months, impossible to find anything, impossible to ...oh, never mind.

 

[murphey]

Newcomers. Been playing with computers since 1969.

Round holes on a punch cards on a Univac, 1967.

I think I have a copy of that book at home. And you are correct.

Mine is easily accessible on the "programming languages" shelf in the bookcase next to me.

 

[Areeda]

grep who.

ugh

There's a guy in our club also named Murphy who wears a tee shirt that says:

There's no place like 127.0.0.1

You sometimes remind me of him.

 

[Areeda]

Round holes on a punch cards on a Univac, 1967.

Mine is easily accessible on the "programming languages" shelf in the bookcase next to me.

I'm not sure if these are bragging rights or hall of shame material.

Pretty sure the holes were rectangular but Burroughs B5500 in 1964
K&R and Stroustrup (a couple) are on the bookshelf.

 

[Clark1961]

But but but....the Dakota is so happy in the big hangar with all the other airplanes.

They spend every night and all weekend chatting in religious discussions - turbo or no turbo, piston or turbine, twin or single, high-wing or low-wing...

How can you say that? The poor Dakota is trapped in that hangar with that brazen, rivetless wonder Grumman! You know it teases the Dakota for being a tail setter for two months last year and having it's guts hanging out for a month this year...all the while preening over it's smooooth skin! IT'S JUST NOT WRIGHT!