Archives for July, 2006
Instant Messenger (MSN) Blocked?
For the past week, I thought my Mac was starting to crap out because I couldn’t connect to the MSN network using CyberDuck Adium, which worked fine weeks prior. Everytime I launched it, I got the ‘just crashed’ screen. Well today I setup Gaim on my Ubuntu box and tried to connect to the MSN network only to have Gaim autoclose itself.
Is this a case of being blocked by Microsoft since I’m not using a supported version of Windows Messenger? At the moment, I don’t know, but it really is bothersome.
Anyone has ideas for me to try to test this?
UPDATE:
I ran gaim on my Ubuntu box with debug turned on and noticed that everything was fine until it loaded the Encarta Answers contact. I removed Encarta Answers from my Contact List and it launched without problems. Seeing as this is a Windows Messenger only feature, I don’t think removing that contact will ever be a problem.
Ubuntu Dapper Drake (Full Upgrade) Follow-Up
Now that I’m back to the install, to summarize what has happened up to this point. I installed Ubuntu 6.06 from the install CD and setup my second harddrive. I setup my shared directories using samba and setup my shared printer for my network. The following are the next steps I’ve taken (most pulled from UbuntuGuide.org):
- Install the OpenSSH server to enable SSH from remote machines
- Get and run EasyUbuntu to configure Multimedia Codecs, Browser Plugins and other miscellaneous applications that are typically used, but not included in the default installation of Ubuntu
- Install PDF Reader and PDF browser plugins
- Install gFTP (FTP Client)
- Install Azureus BitTorrent Client
- Install Frostwire Gnutella Client
- Install DVD::Rip
- Install GnomeBaker
- Setup extra repositories
- Install K3B
- Install Bum Boot-Up Manager
- Install GParted Partition Manager
- Setup NVidia configuration
- {System Updates via notification here}
Now the big question is, should I try to install XGL? It seems pretty cool and definitely outshines the Aero Interface still in the works, but XGML requires a lot less hardware. I dunno, but my box is running now, so I’m happy.
Current Computer Lineup
I try to get my hands into everything computer related so I have a good range of machines. I’m not really into gaming, so I don’t have any suped up rigs. The good news is that all of my OSes are legal versions. The bad news is that I need to get rid of some of these machines. My electric bill is probably impacted greatly by this computer lab I have set up in my office.
- Mac Mini 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo with 2GB RAM (Mac OS X 10.4)
- Custom AMD64 3500+ with 1GB RAM (Windows XP Pro)
- HP Pavilion 7965 1.6GHz P4 with 1GB RAM (Ubuntu Linux 6.06)
- Custom AMD 2600+ with 1GB RAM (Windows XP Pro)
- Sony VAIO 1GHz Pentium-M Notebook with 256MB RAM (Windows XP Home)
- eMachines W1640 AMD 1600+ with 768MB RAM (SuSE Linux 10.1) - For sale $100 plus any applicable shipping costs. Photos and specs available upon request.
Ubuntu Dapper Drake (Full Upgrade)
This morning, after confirming my backup of important files was complete, I dropped in the Ubuntu 6.06 install CD and was surprised to see how easy they made the process. The install CD is now the Live CD with an install launcher on the desktop. So for anyone wanting to try this OS, they can play around before they decide. If they want to go with it, they simply double click the Install icon on the desktop and they begin the install. When the install is complete (only took me about 8 minutes), the user is prompted to remove the CD and reboot. I do so and was up and running without a hitch and the configuration error I was getting for the past two versions was now gone. There was nothing wrong with the previous versions, but somewhere along the line, I messed something up. Within two minutes, I had my second harddrive enabled (for my music), shared directories setup (which included installing samba), and my shared Printer configured. I had to leave for work, so the rest will have to wait. Good, clean, quick install… couldn’t ask for anything more.
4th of July Bunnies
Our wildlife sitings have been very far and few between since they finished the development behind our neighborhood. Today, my wife found these two baby bunnies in our backyard when she spooked them with the lawn mower. They attempted to run, but we caught them. Once they calmed down and realized we meant no harm, they sat pretty still. The kids loved the visit and the opportunity to pet these little bunnies. After looking where they were hiding out, I determined that they had made a little burrow of sorts under our swingset, so when we were finished with the petting zoo, we placed them near their burrow. See the pic for the full cuteness.
