Grande Prairie is going green!

On the way to Grande Prairie, Alberta we saw Golden Sheep Power making our county a better place, by installing 20Kwatt generators.

$180,000.00 vs Free -- Not a hard decision.

McDonalds plans to stop charging for its Wi-Fi in mid-January in the US. you aren't even required to make a purchase — 'free is free,' With around 20,000 free hotspots between McDonald's and Starbucks (who went free[ish] earlier this year), anyone still charging for Wi-Fi is going to look foolish, if not downright greedy. Compare this to Rogers (see chart) $3/MegaByte -- plus plus plus. I think when I am in the US I will just use wifi. So instead of paying Rogers and Microsoft to get information. I will use McDonalds and FON wifi and use Open Source software. I guess I need to donate more to FON and Wikipedia and Ubuntu. Better than paying Rogers $180,000 for my 60 gigs of data I normally get in a month. How can the same data be charged at so different a rate?

Skype vs Jingle (Jabber)

Every time a big company like Google backs a standard it becomes the standard just because Google backs it. Google has now bought Gizmo and with this comes Google's entrance into the SIP/Jingle protocol.
Their are quite a few advantages of using Jingle over Skype.
Here is just a few:
1. Off-line message - If the contact you are trying to reach is off-line just send them an email. In Skype you can't send emails.
2. You can use your domain name as a address. In Skype you have to use Skype's domain
3. It is part Multi-protocol client list. In Skype only the Skype protocol is allowed.
4. The software is Open Source-- it can be checked by someone not working for Skype to make sure there is no spy-ware in it.
5. It supports fast file exchanges, I think Skype doesn't have enough money for good proxy servers.
6. Remote Desktop is just a click away in Empathy. Skype needs third party software like yuuguu.

Dell's Canadian Ubuntu Laptops

In the US, Dell is listing 4 different Ubuntu systems for sale. In Canada they are listing only one. Like most retailers if you move lots of product the mark-up can be small, but if the returns are high then the mark-up has to include the product to offset the cost of processing those returns unless you are using it as a lost leader. The problem Dell has in Canada is not the return rate, but the fact that Microsoft pays for the sys admins to manage dell.ca for the price of an add on every page. Yes, the ad says something to the effect of buy M$ latest software. So to encourage Dell to make Ubuntu more prominent on their website I propose the following:
1. Offer Dell a less than M$ return rate or
2. Have Ubuntu Laptop sales go to another product dispenser. However, Dell has been doing a reasonable job. Like my friend Norm says "Dell is trying hard within the constrictions of the North American legal system"
3. Have Canonical host the selling system Dell is using. Forcing M$ to pay fair market value for advertising.
Every time you sell a new product there are lots of risks. It's sad M$ would sue Dell if they pre-installed Ubuntu-restricted-extras and Dell has to pre-install the fluendo codecs. So, let's keep on buying from Dell and hopefully pre-installed Ubuntu laptops will be a money maker for them.

People who search for "Ubuntu" who live in Alberta

I was thinking this year as we head south for warmer weather that we would stop in at the towns who use "Ubuntu" in their googleing. You know me I am willing to talk to anyone about Open Source. If I wear my Ubuntu shirt with my Ubuntu bag slung over my shoulder and lots of stickers on my laptop, who knows we should be able to find lots of people to talk to.

Facebook vs Twitter vs Jabber

Today I was online with Empathy and chatting with people from 5 of the 7 continents (5 different countries) I have yet to achieve that with skype even though I have been a skype user for over 10 years and only a voip jabber user for 1 month. This happens so quickly because a lot of my gmail users have already been invited to chat (see my online presence). A lot of teenagers have moved away from msn to use facebook to chat with their friends. Some are even using Twitter. Both facebook and twitter and jabber use XMPP as their server protocols, but that is where their similarity ends. Jabber can be used on any domain, but Twitter and facebook use walled gardens locking people in ie. I can send messages within their domain, but not to other domains. A twitter person can't message a facebook person and vise versa. Reminds me when an CompuServe user couldn't email a Prodigy user. Where are these companies today? I update my Jabber status 3 times as often as my Twitter status. Facebook is using too much deceit by saying only "friends" can view your updates" The reality is far different. I use it as a police line up to tell me the quality of my future renters. It is getting to be better than equifax. As time goes on more and more will be using twitter rather than facebook, because it represents the headlines of a person's life, with a short link, Blogs can be used to fill in the details.

No 3G if you buy Windows 7

I found this out yesterday while helping a friend setup a Bell usb stick. This is the first kink in Microsoft's armour that has effected me. Normally if your manufacturing a usb 3G cellular modem you make sure you have the driver perfected for M$ computers. Or,I guess Qualcomm never got the memo from M$. They might have switched sides to support Goggle, IBM and other open access companies. Even Dell doesn't bow to M$ any more, Every since Michael Dell can use Google Android platform to sell their smart phones they don't care how much M$ threatened them. In fact, every day that goes by it is Steve Balmer bowing more and more to Michael Dell. His method of manipulation is coming to an end.
If you need Internet and want the 3g usb modem to work either use Ubuntu or buy a fon router. Most 3g usb modems just plug into the router and work.

Instant Messaging is now open

I am starting to enjoy Empathy and the features it now offers. Remote desktop being the most important. Not having to worry about Network Address Translation or router configuration in general makes Ubuntu people able to help other Ubuntu people easily. Even newbies helping newbies Talk about a receipie for success. With Yuuguu you have to setup another account and install one more annoying application. Yuuguu almost is as bad as Skype for this, both default to automatically boot when your computer starts. Mind you they both aren't as bad as MSN that you can't remove from your start-up process. Mind you most people who use M$ programs don't worry about quick boot times. Many features of the popular chat clients (Yahoo, AIM, MSN) are not available in the alternative clients. And implementing them is not only difficult, but the companies would/will try to prevent this via technical and/or legal means. That is why I stick to Empathy. I find, it is better to encourage people to stick to the standards (jabber/voip) and make them easier to use. Maybe even integrate Pidgin/Kopete/Empathy with Ekiga or some other voip client to make this happen with standard protocols. Open Instant Messaging has been in dark ages for quite a few years. It is time for it to be opened up like email was 15 years ago. Join gmail.com or other domains that federate with Google and lets get Instant Messaging on the road to usefulness.

As for supporting the additional features in MSN/AIM such as voice calls and video and what not is a wast of time IMHO, because you would need to reverse engineer much of it only to have them change the specs to cut you off. The solution to that problem is making them work with Wine. So if you absolutely want/need proprietary stuff you can use the original program.

It's my birthday. - A day in the life of a King

Well, let me see, it is 2009 years since Christ was born and I was born in 1964 that means I have circled the sun 45 times, but more importantly I have been using the x86 architecture for over 30 years. Who says computers change daily. LOL I know a lot of people would want my blog to be about technology and how to exchange info easily; but it my birthday so I don't care how many people I help.--lie LOL. I will tell you about my day yesterday.
November 21, 2009 start with me trying to track down a moose, with our dog Chika being great at sniffing out where the moose went,and me being to old to run though the deep snow. We never got the moose and Chika was confused at how I wanted her to help me. Then after feeding the cows I went in the house to my $300 x86 3GigHz computer, read my rss feeds and watched some NCIS while Judy and I ate cream of wheat with blueberries. At noon I took 2 power-saws and fell 3 dead trees. One busted my fence even though I was standing 8 feet off the ground cutting it off at over 10 feet up. The base fell 2 feet away from the stump so the tree top touched the wire, ok the top was over 10 feet past the wire anyways. It is hard to tell how tall the trees are when they are standing or to fall them the way they are not leaning. Alan called from Ecuador so I spend 2 hours helping him. The first hour was done via chatting without seeing his desktop. In Ubuntu 9.10 the easiest Remote Desktop comes via Empathy Messenger. After entering his Gmail credentials it took 20 minutes to get him to figure out how to answer the empathy voip phone. We need to work on Empathy Usability for newbies. (make it flash more where the user is to click to accept calls). After seeing his desktop we did a desktop / networking lesson. He was using free Internet at McDonald. good enough for VoIP and Desktop Sharing, but hard to send Video and every 10 minutes, if too many Mcdonaldites were online, the VoIP would degrade. I had to hang up because the basement window was open and the 3 trees I fell weren't getting into the basement without human intervention. The temperature was dropping a degree a minute. I finished up in the dark and closed the basement window before the 20 below hit this morning. After eating pizza for supper it was on to helping my other brother Ed who has a decent Internet and has Empathy figured out -- almost. We transferred Farmer Joe -starring King Arthur if you haven't watched it yet your missing out. I had to use Yuuguu for remote desktop for some reason. The audio via google talk was better than through the cell phones even with the blackberry. We enjoyed reading craigslist together trying to buy up Fort St. John. Almost as good as garage saleing together. We never bought or sold anything. Then Mark trying to remotely view my 24 inch desktop on his 7 inch eeepc. Empathy handled the info, but the scroll buttons on the eeepc got worn out being dragged back and forth. Saturday are usually my time to watch hockey, but laughing with my brothers can be just as enjoyable. I got to bed before midnight. Thanks for spending the day with me.
Happy Birthday from Lorna, from Charlene

Windows 7 and the blue screen of death.

Well I got to fix a Windows 7 machine yesterday. It couldn't connect to the wireless network. It was asking for the Router's number instead of the WPA2 password. It would have only been a 5 minute job if it handed given me the blue screen. A slow reboot got it running again. It still takes over a minute to start-up Windows7. If this is the best M$ can do I would look elsewhere. Ubuntu boots in 20 seconds, doesn't have all those pop ups / ads /crap-ware installed. This poor product by Microsoft will make Canada and the USA less competitive in the world. Maybe I should move to where people make good products and enjoy helped each other out. Any ideas where? Someplace where Andre isn't the only one working.

Top things to do after installing Ubuntu 9.10

Most of my day today was spent installing Ubuntu on older computers. Microsoft's software had crashed and they needed their computer for checking their email, banking etc. After updating the restricted hardware drivers I fix the most common issue people have with Ubuntu-- "Not being able to play protected formates." To fix this the terminal command is.
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras
Enter your password and you are ready to use your computer. I like to copy more then one item so I also install parcellite.

Remote Desktop - Yuuguu vs Empathy

With Yuuguu releasing their 64 bit version of Remote Desktop, I thought I would give them a link to increase their page ranking on Google. So here is where you get the file. I havn't been having any remote desktop support issues with Empathy, but Empathy only runs on Open Source Kernels so Windows 7+/- and Leopard 10.5+/- are out of luck. This probably explains why I have been setting up a new Ubuntu 9.10 system daily. Ok maybe it because it is new and everybody wants to try it out--Not! Most people don't like change. Watch this movie if you don't believe me. Yuuguu works well if you you have to remote into a Windows 7+/- machine but I prefer Empathy. Empathy allows for talking as your helping the other person out. It even supports file transfer.

Gmail vs Hotmail vs Skype - Instant Communication

As more and more people avoid answering unknown callers, people will use online presence indicators more and more. The most common ones are Gmail, Hotmail and Skype. Which one is the best / worse.
Worse -- Hotmail -why?
1. In email, it spams all your contacts. Everytime you send out an email along with it another Microsoft ad is attached. I remember once having a virus that did that. SAD. Microsoft is saying in effect "Spamming your friends is the price you have to pay to have this 'FREE' email account." People who don't care about their friends getting spammed should use this. Skype and Gmail don't do this.
2. You have to use Microsoft controlled domains in order to exchange chats / talk / video. They do, however, allow emails to be exchanged. Skype is guilty of this also.
3. You have to use Microsoft software to exchange info. There is no video client for Linux and the Mac client has issues.
Best-- Gmail -Why?
1. It allows for Google wave.
2. Spam control, no more worries.
3. Email IM all in one place.
4. Remote syncing - no more having to bring your device into the shop to get reprogrammed (synced with Outlook).
5. Jabber (XMPP) can be used on any domain.
6. You can host your own Jabber server.
7. Too many more to mention.

What 25 years can do. Live and Learn

In 1985 I was at NAIT taking Electronics Engineering. The Internet hadn't been invented yet and we were busy sharing our excitement of unseen forces - electrons. The thought of hiding the results of the gold leaf experiment was a foreign to us as stealing the gold. We just assumed everyone had our best interest at heart and for the most part they did. Fast forward 25 years and we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of software freedom. Thanks in a large part to Richard Stalman and Linus. Now days it seems it is ok to steal the gold as long as you don't get caught. Music and DVD's are dangled in front of us trying to get us to buy and then if they get our attention they throw in Digital Rights Management. It is like taking your shirt off to enjoy the Sun and the Sun then charges you. Ubuntu doesn't get caught in with this deceitful practice. The developers release the best code for all to enjoy and that is why I try to help them out whenever I can. Sure I could be installing Vista +1 on everyone's computer, but as soon as people try to use it they will run into DRM. Life is about learning to live peacefully with others. Every time someone sues me I have a harder time giving that person my blessing. Microsoft is now trying to protect their Market Share by giving away their anti-virus code. The freedom here is to use the code for free, but not to modify it. Mind you Microsoft's suing potential is not as strong as it once was, now that nobody needs their software and people who run Ubuntu only save regularly 50% on their information exchange costs. I am hoping that I can be instrumental in helping people exchange info. Too bad it is so hard to tell who is trying to help you and who is trying to hose you.

Rogers 3G comes to Grande Prairie County

Coming back from the Alberta Community Futures Symposium I was delighted to see 3g coverage just pasted the Little Smoky River. Now I am typing this from the farm which has been spiting back over 1 mb/sec via speedtest's website. This is good news for all of the county residence. Looking back at when I was trying to get wireless into the county and the hassles we had 3g seems like a great service. I had my 3g phone for over 1 year before I made real use of it's 3g capabilities.

First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win

Well, it looks like Microsoft has come out fighting with Windows 7. Will 2010 be the downfall of Microsoft. When Microsoft forces you to choose sides a lot of customers with fight back. Thanks for the competition Microsoft you gave your shareholders a good ride. 2009 you have lost 40 billion dollars from your war chest after having laid off 5000 people. If you only lose 40 billion in 2010 Ubuntu will have done its job. People will be better off because off Open Source software. We all know the viruses pre-installed in your software.

Rogers and Tethering Access

I got my bill from Rogers today. Hopefully I have highlighted tethering enough so your eye is attracted to that area of the bill. I have been tethering my Ubuntu computer to my Roger's Iphone for quite a while now and I hear that they will allow it until December. If you need to learn how to do that just share your desktop with me via Empathy. I tether my laptop via bluetooth. And after pairing the iphone with your computer type "sudo pand --connect 00:26:4A:64:??:?? -n" into terminal, enter your password and type "sudo ifup bnep0" It works great, but as you can see I don't get close to my allotted 6Gigs. VoIP doesn't really work over the cellular network :( Too bad I can't get rid of this Iphone garbage and get a Android, I could I guess, but I still have 2 years remaining on my contract.

Empathy vs Skype vs Yahoo talk

Empathy is already starting to save me gas.. --No pressure from outsiders any more. To help another Ubuntu person out you just load Empathy, log into your favour jabber enabled account, (I use gmail) and click share desktop as you are talking to your friends via lib-jingle. Remote desktop and computer training are getting easier.

Rogers, Bell or Telus?

Must be using Ubuntu 9.04 or later


Tried to setup mobile Internet on Roger, -no luck- could not get the radio to be recognized as a non-usb stick via the program ozerocdoff. So M Bailey went to get a stick from Bell and it just worked. I have found that Telus's Stick just works also. Here is the info you need to know.

Empathy now has Desktop Sharing

I thought I would give the beta version of Ubuntu 9.10 a try this morning. Wow was I impressed. Empathy is now version 2.27.5 and it has remote desktop sharing. Just right click on the person you want to share with and click share desktop. The remote viewer can now just click on the invitation and violla he sees your desktop. This is very helpful and it runs at the core philosophy of Ubuntu --people helping people. Most of us Ubuntu lovers will wait another two months to see this, but I just couldn't wait. Mind you, I just finished setting up a Windows 98 on 15 Mbits/sec Internet today. So we all are at different stages of our software use abilities. I even had to use IE6 which isn't supported by a lot of websites any more. I think that is one of the reasons why I don't mind using Open Source software--It enables everyone to use the same software without financial restrictions. The best reason still is it is free to change to suit your needs. All righty then

13 people 340 km up (only one toliet)

With 13 people 340 km up and only one toliet you got to have good communication. I can see the 2 Canadian Astronauts
having Empathy for each other, but all 13? Ever since my motorbike accident, I have gastro-intestinal challenges, so I know what personal pressure Astronauts can feel. It is now 40 years since Neil stepped onto the moon and we have 13 people flying around the earth. Wow this is something to blog about.

Jabber and file transfer

Today marks a major breakthrough in information exchange. You can now be chatting with anyone of your gmail contacts and then send them a file (picture, movie etc) that you have been working on. The 10 Mega Byte limit has always be a hindrance to the amount of data you can exchange. Now this paper cut is forever gone in the Open Source World People that learn about computers from now on will aways think this was part of the computer experience. Come join gmail and start enjoying what Google can do for you.

Hug Empathy Day

Making useful food can take quite a long time to grow. Making useful software like Empathy can take longer. With -4C on June 8 and a the same temperature expected 2 months later, you have to be on the ball here if you want farm fresh produce. It takes a minimum of 60 days to grow lettuce, peas, onions and beans. It has taking over 3 years from when Google released libjingle and Nokia released Telepathy till we now have an open source voice/video communications like skype. In that time skype users have doubled. I still think open source will be able to take back the Voice Video exchange of the Internet. If some people want to become hip now you can join early. By joining early you can help make Empathy better by join the Ubuntu Global Jam.

Tips for those humans who desire more.

Helping people isn't always about the money. Every time we go out to a fancy restaurant I wonder if the waiter/waitress is being nice because they are being real or if it is because she might get a bigger tip. Or does the employer have a knack for hiring people that actually care for the people they serve food to a few time per life. How are these servers different than the ones at McDonalds who don't get tips. They make 3 times the money for the same amount of work. With more self esteem you can demand more money. I just sometimes feel guilty for giving more tips to the higher paid person.

Shareaholic for Firefox :: Add-ons for Firefox

Shareaholic for Firefox :: Add-ons for Firefox

Empathy is a software program

I guess my last post used too many strange words like Speex, Theora and Jabber. What is Jabber and why should I care. Jabber is a method of connecting people via a packet based networks. Gone are the days when running 2 22 gauge copper wires to your business meant people could use your services. Jabber is built on XMPP The last 2 Ps stand for Presence Protocol which is an idea that copper wires don't afford. If my icon is green then I am available, if it is yellow then you take your chances and if it is black then you can't get a connection. It makes a lot of sense if you are trying to get a hold of someone in the morning and you are not sure if they are awake and the other person after waking up goes online to read the news. At the bottom of this post is a little green light if I am available to chat and hey you don't even have to sign up. You will just chat with me as guest.
Arthur Amendt

Speex + Theora = Empathy

Ok, ok you might need telepathy and few other files like telepathy-sofiasip if you want to make sip calls. Guillaume Desmottes does a nice job of updating the empathy personal package archive. Google search It sure takes a lot of time to get all the parts of the software together. We are almost there. Christian Schaller is even doing video already. I have been using it for file transfer and chatting. In 2.27.2 it shows that option, but there are some bugs. By the time Ubuntu 9.10 is released we should be communicating via open source files like Speex and Theora.
To install the latest Empathy software just search for "ppa empathy" in google which will take you to launchpad. Add Desmottes ppa to System > Administration > Software Sources. Click on 3 party and click add. Copy and paste. Remember to add both
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/telepathy/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/telepathy/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
Remember to add the public key which can be found at Ubuntu key Server here The advantage of adding a repository is that the developer's improvement are automatically updated on your computer. If you want to watch a nice video of someone doing this click here.

Android vs Iphone

Well, I just got off the phone with Rogers. There is nothing I can do short of buying the Android out right to get one of those phones. O well I guess I am going to add the word Android into my Grande Prairie kijiji rss feed to see if someone has one for sale. Maybe I can swap someone for my iphone or Black Berry. This is the last time in human history that open source will lag behind proprietary companies.

How to setup Ekiga - VoIP

I usually register Ekiga with link2voip because it offers Quality Voice and only costs $2.50 per month. As I told in the Video, the registry info is sip.ca2.link2voip.com or sip.ca1.link2voip.com The port VoIP usually runs on is 5060. Gone are the days when you have to spend $500 /month on communication. A laptop and a Fon Spot are all you need.

Will Ubuntu be the best for body repair?

Well tomorrow I will be converting an auto body repair place over to Ubuntu from Windows. No knowing all the hicups before your start can get a person up tight. Having been wrestling with computers and for quite a few years I figure I can tame this steer and put the automotive buisness on the right track for profitability. On a side note I wasn't sure if Ubuntu 9.04 would work with the Telus Sierra Wireless USB Card, but it was just plug and play. Now if I could just get Telus to update their website.

Ubuntu is for Power Professionals

Adam Overa wrote an interesting article Desktop Linux For The Windows Power User for Tom's Hardware. It gives a good review of Ubuntu 9.04 and goes through the common questions power windows users have. I learned most of what Adam says here through trial and error. Using mount points instead of drive letters can be confusing as well as using the same program for adding software as you use for removing it is a little different. Adam demonstrates how to add restricted software which sometimes throws a new user. I found it well worth the read even though I have installed Ubuntu 9.04 on 20 machines, almost one per day.

6 months of a Kings Life

What do we do up north in Northern Canada. We blog and exchange info. Maybe Laugh and Cry depending on the info. I found this info interestingly Over the last 6 months 1270 people have read this blog and OVER HALF 723 use Linux as their Operating System. There are a lot of hip people around this world. As summer comes and I start spend more of my time outdoors I can't help but think of how much better life will be in the fall and Google Summer of Coding gets upload to the Ubuntu Repository. Thanks for shareing you people of the planet Earth.

I am because of who we are.

Ever wonder what life would be like without friends. No friendly communication, no word of empathy, SAD. Ubuntu allows me to help people. Sure I could help people with M$ software, but what if that company becomes insolvent? All that helping for not. Ubuntu gives me back the ability to help someone now and that person can then decide who and when they want to help not worrying about weather that software will be usable in a few years. Go ahead and join the Open Source movement your download rate will only improve.

Linux Destop Use is between 1 and 4%

Hitslink says 1% and w3schools says 4%. I am just happy that when I talk to computer lovers they are starting to understand what I am doing with my life. They might not understand the potential of computers or Open Source software, but they do ask some questions now before they hand over their cash to a box store. I am hoping this educational process will grow 1% this year. After the Olympics I expect most people to have a vague concept of Open Source.

Ubuntu 9.04 Released

If you want to get the latest Ubuntu release just go to your favorite torrent website and search for any of the following. I usually install ubuntu-9.04-desktop-i386.iso And Yes Firefox is better.

Ubuntu
ubuntu-9.04-alternate-amd64.iso
ubuntu-9.04-alternate-i386.iso
ubuntu-9.04-desktop-amd64.iso
ubuntu-9.04-desktop-i386.iso
ubuntu-9.04-server-amd64.iso
ubuntu-9.04-server-i386.iso

Kubuntu
kubuntu-9.04-alternate-amd64.iso
kubuntu-9.04-alternate-i386.iso
kubuntu-9.04-desktop-amd64.iso
kubuntu-9.04-desktop-i386.iso

Mythbuntu
mythbuntu-9.04-desktop-amd64.iso
mythbuntu-9.04-desktop-i386.iso

Ubuntu Studio
ubuntustudio-9.04-alternate-amd64.iso
ubuntustudio-9.04-alternate-i386.iso

Xubuntu
xubuntu-9.04-alternate-amd64.iso
xubuntu-9.04-alternate-i386.iso
xubuntu-9.04-desktop-amd64.iso
xubuntu-9.04-desktop-i386.iso

Please be a good citizen and seed at least 1:1.
You can always come over to my office and pick up a free disk or usb stick. Enjoy.

Finally Microsoft is fighting Ubuntu

As I and millions of others await the release of Ubuntu 9.04 I can't help wonder why Microsoft is trying to downplay the importance of this Operating System on Netbooks. Is it because $300 Laptops makes their profit margin slim. $300 for XP Professional doesn't seem like a lot of monies if the laptop costs $1000. Is it because the boot time on Ubuntu is 3 times faster than Windows? or maybe it is because the can't make money via removal of viruses / spyware when Apple and Ubuntu don't have any of those headaches. Come on Microsoft lets not use FUD.

Microsoft's G20 meeting

Microsoft requested yesterday some $20 Giga bits in bailout funds from the IMF, claiming that Linux adoption has hampered their plans for economies of scale. The cost of software duplication is too costly. The low adoption rates for Vista, the ensuing ad campaign trying to convince people that they really do like Vista, and the increased need for development resources to rush Windows 7 to market to make people forget about Vista have necessitated the monies.
In related news, Steve Ballmer will personally guarantied no more Virus and Worms in Windows and will allow Security Professionals to view Microsoft's OS code before it gets installed on your computer. Just like Steve Jobs has done for Apple's Snow Leapord.

Good and Bad Jabber

In 2007 I was so happy that jabber was taking off. Now having seen jabber in use via facebook and my niece, I am wondering if when I was helping getting jabber out of beta it was a good thing. I'm saying this mostly because facebook chat is setting itself up as a walled garden. You can't even email someone in Facebook. So two steps ahead and one step back. We now have jabber working well, pretty much out of beta, but companines are trying to manipulate people still. Google to me has the right approach with jabber. It allows federation between itself and other jabber companies. The good news is that jabber and skype will be exchanging info soon.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS VERSES LOVE

You might have notices that I don't say "as people sue our lives become better". One of things life has taught me is that it is better to love than hate. Even if chocolate doesn't seem as powerful as a well placed bullet, I believe it is. Software development takes more work than song development, but the synergism developed by the GPL sounds better to me than 4 part harmony. And yet the suing that takes place because of some 200 sec sound bit is almost to the point where music is only meant for the birds. As an Ubuntu lover I am often criticized for being too vocal in my praise for GPL code developers and users. To me it seems amazing that someone is willing to sing for free, but more amazing that someone will code and allow others to code on top of his code and the program that comes out is very intuitive. How can you not give praise to that. Sure there are people who write code just to get more monies, (mostly Apple or Microsoft employees), but the people who write code with the foresight of helping others write onto their code deserve the praise. I even praise those people that only use GPL code because that creates a demand for more of it. Those that buy proprietary software hinder the love between people and care mostly about their immediate needs. We need more people donating time and monies to GPL coding. Thank you to all who have stopped buying proprietary software and look for GPL code for your software needs.

Amendt.net is now a Google Apps providor

This is how a felt the last two weeks learning how to use Google Apps. Every time I work with Name Servers or DNS settings
I feel like sticking my head into the monitor. Sure most end users are polite and curious as they realize that changing their hosting company can take some time and getting used to new software might take some time. The main reason I have been moving companies over to Google apps is because a lot more people are getting data phones and want to be able to read their email on the Android. Mobile Email reminds me of when the cell towers came to this area in 1998. It is great for communication, but a lot of the early adopters just say "Can you hear me now?"

Linux Users surpass Windows Users

Ok, Ok this might be a little premature, but with Obama as president and the good will people have towards each other right now, who knows. I know on this blog there are more Linux users than Windows users. Even in Canada of the 92 visits 45 had Linux already preloaded onto their computers. WoW To me this is quite amazing because I never installed Linux on 45 machines in December and installing an Operating System is not what most people can do. December 2008 was the first month that this blog has seen more Linux Readers than Windows Readers. If you look at the 281 visits from the world you will notice that only 1/3 are windows users. We have a lot of catching up to do in Canada. Most box stores still don't sell Linux pre-installed. Oh well, I will have to keep getting my computers from Dell or HP and keep on converting virus infected Windows computers over to Ubuntu Linux

Iphone hack - stop banging your heads

Finally, 6 months after buying the Iphone, I can use it. Thanks Ubuntu help! Now my music can be put on the Iphone. Awesome If you are thinking of buy a new cell phone make sure it is the Android.

Open Source Software takes down Nortel.

If Nortel would have gotten the open source itch a while ago they would have survived. It would have been worth while for Nortel to have kept track of what Mark Spencer was doing with Asterisk Open Source software is getting more and more powerful and when Nortel made the deal with Microsoft I was glad I had pulled my shares out of the company. It will not take long for Microsoft to go belly up also as it tries to become part of the lucrative patent-troll industry.

How to make money in 2009

Making money is done one of two ways. Either you sell someone your product/service or you force them to buy your product/service. Forcing is usually done via hidden manipulative techniques or via armies (big corporations). One forcing technique is to control the market via digital formats. If you want to view my movie you have to allow for DVD encrypts. The best hardware example I can think of is, all parts for your car have to be certified by the car’s manufacturer thereby making sure the manufacture makes money by building end of life cycles in to products only they can sell. Most humans don’t intentionally force someone into buying a product unless they are used to living above the law. In the world now there are over 180 country laws and most of the legal systems of those countries just enforce laws onto their own citizens and not onto other countries citizens. If one country is being bad to another country the United Nations or Arab nations is suppose to solve the issue. See war in Palestine. If they can’t solve it then we are back to the time of the Judges where “every man does what is right in his own eyes.” . If you see an ineffectual legal system or 180 bosses then manipulative techniques are used more. (drunk drivers not getting punished) then an entrepreneur will try to make money via that discrepancy in the law. With the US copy-write laws being ignored more and more by China and other countries you can make more money via deals with China than dealing with the US