Linux, Google, and Blue Lasers

I've spent a considerable amount of time in Linux these past few days. When I ran the x86_64 architecture FC5, it had been quite some time since I had run Fedora for more than a dedicated server. A long time ago, I had been using Fedora Core 4, and I really loved it. One of the things I liked best was its yum repositories. I only had to type a line of text to get MP3 support for XMMS, or whatever else I needed. Version 5 still has yum, but when only half of my favorite repositories worked in FC5 x86_64, I had hoped that it was only because I was running the 64bit version and that everything I needed would be available for the 32bit version. To my dismay, I was wrong. The yum repositories are a bit lacking in FC5. On the other hand, it gave me a good excuse to re-install the x86_64 version. (The fact that I intentionally corrupted my installation with incompatible drivers was another.)

I've been keeping a list of all Google's projects in a thread over at the Maximum PC forums (LINK). That, their recent purchase of YouTube, and their brand new AJAX office suite gave me an idea for them. They could create their own Linux distribution. It could have their software fully integrated and have small, unobtrusive text ads in strategic places in the system. If they could get a large install base, it would absolutely demolish Microsoft once and for all.

Speaking Google Docs & Spreadsheets, I just used the new document editor for the first time the other day. I wasn't thrilled with the concept when they first announced the project, but I now must admit that I'm very impressed with it. It's very fast, stores all of your documents online, and even has a feature to collaborate your document with your friends and co-workers. It doesn't have all of the features a full office suite has, including in-line spell checking (although Firefox 2.0 remedies this with the built-in spell checker), but it has a file menu that allows the user to download their document as a PDF, Word document, or even an OpenOffice file! Color me impressed.

Google never ceases to amaze me. When I first became a PC enthusiast back in 2001, I was a hardcore Ask.com junkie. I thought Google was ugly, so I didn't use it. But in the past couple years, Google has continued to deliver product after product, each even better than the last. I am now a sold Googler. Much of the software I use is by Google: Earth, Picasa, my e-mail - even the blogging software I'm typing this in right now. The Godfather of Open-Source some call them. I've devoted much of my time to studying the way they operate, from their business decisions, to the freedom they give their employees, to the way they write their software. I'll tell you what, I'd love to work for them.

I've been keeping one eye open while I sleep to keep close watch on the optical format war. The entire situation makes me sick - all of the Digital Rights Management bull and the politics. To me, the choice between 15GB per layer and 25GB per layer is simple. With almost twice the capacity, Blu-ray is the obvious choice. Why in the world would anyone want to settle for HD Disk? It's total nonsense.

I'm sick and tired of DRM. The way I see it, if you want me to pay for permission to use your media, you must give me the freedom to use it. It's called fair use rights, and it's unconstitutional for anyone to take away our freedom. It's unconstitutional to pass a law requiring Podcasts to be crippled with DRM. If I own my show, then I have the God-given right to do whatever I want with it. I don't care whether someone rips my streams. More power to them I say. The harder Hollywood pushes this bull on us, the harder pirates will fight back. It'll escalate.

I finally finished scanning all of the photos for my grandma's slideshow project. I've been scanning them for almost a year now, and I'll be glad to be done with it once and for all. It takes precious time away from my other, more important projects.

I'm working on a new article for HardwareLogic. I'm calling it "Clucking With Penguins; Linux For Noobs". I'm going to put more effort into this project than any other article I've written. It's my first Linux-related article, and I want it to be well-written and accurate.

Someday, I want to write for Maximum PC. It's something I've wanted to do ever since the first time I picked up a copy of the magazine. I really respect the editors for their talent not just for computers but for writing. Their grammar isn't always perfect, but their articles are always easy to read, interesting, and informative. I've been studying their writing techniques very closely, and I hope it shows in my work.

My work for HL all started with a review I wrote of Office 2007 Beta 2. It was very green, and several weeks later, I had nearly forgotten about it. That is, until I came home one night to see I had an instant message from Paul Lilly. My heart jumped into my skull when I saw the username One4yu2c in the title of my Gaim window. Before then, to me, Paul existed as an immortal, all-knowing being that wrote for Maximum PC. I didn't know he knew I even existed. So boy was I shocked when he offered the position at HL. He asked me if I was interested. Interested? You can bet your Bunson burner I was "interested"! Writing PC articles was all I wanted to do.

I started off with a couple of software articles. A few days later, Rich (the owner of HL - my boss, and even Paul's boss) sent me a case for my very first hardware review. I was ecstatic when the FedEx man dropped it off (even more so than when he brings me stuff from NewEgg). But as much as I was excited to be writing a real hardware review, I couldn't get past the fact that the case was an absolute POS, and my review was very negative. So negative, in fact, that Paul asked me to send the case to him so he could see the problems first-hand before publishing such a negative review. I was disappointed with myself for writing such a bias review, and I vowed I'd never again make that mistake.

Not too long after (much to my surprise, actually), Rich gave me another chance with some hardware reviews. He showered me with the stuff this time - thermal grease, the Ultra-120, a north bridge cooler, and the 1GB Flash Voyager (which I desperately needed, too). Although they weren't perfect, those reviews were much better than that of the case, and I was somewhat pleased with them for the most part.

The north bridge cooler was the last article I wrote for some time. I've been really swamped with the photo project, school, staying up-to-date on the PC market, and the library website, so I haven't really had time for writing. Now that I've got some of those things out of the way, I finally have time for some more articles. This round, I'm putting more effort into the writing quality of the articles. I've learned some new techniques since my last article that I will put into practice. I've also recently recovered from a nasal surgery, and my mind is more alert than it has ever been, which will help considerably.

As for right now, it's very late, and I need to get some shut-eye.

Good night.