2009 is the year of the Linux desktop

Now that the early adopters have switched over to Linux it is time for the mass market crowd to switch. Mind you--most people will not switch until Linux is all you can buy at the box stores. People are a lot like sheep and think they can not change the world. Reality is far different. In 2008 I talked 25 people into using Ubuntu as there main Operating System. I venture to say those 25 people will have a hard time changing back into supporting Microsoft again unless Windows 7 is a lot better than Vista was. In 2009 a reasonable goal for me should 100 (4 times the number of Ubuntu Newbies there was 2008). There are two main factors that enable me to make such a bold prediction. One, people won't be able to buy Windows XP in a couple of months and Vista doesn't run on netbooks very well (at least compared to Ubuntu) and two, people are becoming more stingy/sophisticated with their money and don't want spyware and crapware (trial programs) pre-install without asking for an extreme discount.

Christmas is a time for "Giver"

File sharing has come a long way since the birth of Christ. In fact only this year has M$ given permission for the Samba team to inter-operate with windows file sharing. In Linux, Network file sharing (NFS) works good for offices, but on a home network where computers are always changing this program called Giver is what you need. It is in the default Ubuntu repositories so takes only a minute to try out. The Google team has made another useful user friendly program. It uses ports in the 45000 range so no worrying about port setup/blocking. This is a great program and if you want more help go to Ubuntuforums Just make sure you are on the same subnet. For more info see Jorge our fearless Ubuntu upstream rep.

Why Gmail is so Great

My friend Cathy came over today and asked me "Why is gmail better than hotmail" The reason is that gmail doesn't Spam your email recipients. Hotmail does. Hotmail Spams via their attachments onto your email. The bottom line on your email is where most people put their signature is now controlled by Microsoft. Let me explain it a different way. Spam is something in your inbox that you didn't request. The reason why Microsoft wants to get more monies via Spamming others is anybodies guess. Google's approach is so much more human because they let you use their email service without requiring you to spam your friends. Thanks Google So in conclusion, if you want to help Microsoft spam more people, then keep using your hotmail / live account. If you want to help people get less Spam then use gmail.

Friend Connect

I added Friend Connect to my website. This is a lot like face book, but without the ads and the stealing your pictures after upload them just to generate more traffic to face book. This is the start of a standard way to share with friends who are interested in similar info.