Five things the Linux community doesn’t understand…

I just read this very interesting article (link below) about why Linux still has only a minority of the operating system market share. Kingsley-Hughes’ observations pretty much match up with my experience and though I disagree with the comment about Ubuntu updating (I use Ubuntu on my desktop and I’ve found that updates are painless) I pretty much agree with everything else he says in this article. It’s nice to see someone take an honest look at the state of Linux popularity without falling into either the Slashdot it’s-the-year-of-the-Linux-desktop or the bunked-Slackware-install Linux-is-too-hard extreme.

I would also like to say that while Kingsley-Hughes’ point that for the average computer user, Linux might not be that appealing, the real market for Linux/OSS is the new generation of bloggers, ex-TechTV-watchers, and anyone interested in experimenting with new ways of using their computers.

Link: Five crucial things the Linux community doesn’t understand about the average computer user by ZDNet’s Adrian Kingsley-Hughes — Question: Why is it that the average computer user still chooses to spend hundreds of dollars on Windows or Mac when there are countless Linux alternatives that they could download, install and make use of completely free of charge?

Save Net Radio!

Important news: A bill has recently been passed by Congress that will effectively destroy independent internet radio. What the bill does is change the royalty collection policy for independent casters to one that requires ridiculously high rates that most individuals or small business even would never be able to afford. I can’t say much more about this than this excellent page has already. For some info about what you can do to stop this thing, check out KCRW and savenetradio.org. Please; I cannot stress this enough: If you are reading this page, stop what you are doing and visit the above links (especially the first one). Do it for the freedoms of music and the Internet.

Also see boycott-riaa.com and this video for more (somewhat related) stuff about intellectual property rights abuses.

More Summer Updates

I’ve narrowed my long-term summer commitments to three main ones:

• Working – It’s most likely going to be the Hollywood Bowl.
• Volunteering – I’m going to try to apply for the Cedars-Sinai program, as they are pretty flexible in their shifts. Hopefully I’ll be able to crank out about 70 hours in total. (I’m also still considering something more chill like working at an elementary school or wildlife park).
• Driving lessons – I really need to stop putting this off.

This is all in addition to the summer assignments I have to do for next year’s classes, and the usual recreation. I’m looking forward to a great vacation!

Bose QC3s vs others

I’ve been using our new Bose QuietComfort 3 headphones for a few months now, and they’re pretty good. They deliver solid sound quality and very good noise reduction.

You should not, however, buy them. They cost a whopping $350 (I was given a set as a gift).

There is no doubt that they are good headphones, but they are nowhere near worth the price. And the patented noise-canceling technology they use does not, as one might expect, cancel all outside sound; it cancels noise only. I understand that it would be an engineering miracle to cancel all outside sound, but for $350, expectations are pretty high.

My point is that if you are search of a new headset, find a good one for under $50. I’ve been using the Sony MDR-XD200 for a lot longer and the sound quality is just as good as Bose’s. And guess how much it cost me? 20 bucks.

Note: Bose also has QC2s which are slightly cheaper ($300, I believe), which have the same level of quality and noise-canceling, but are of the large, ear-cup variety, not the small travel kind used in the more expensive counterpart.

i has a questions bout catrday

“Caturday,” or “lolcats.” WTF!? I recently found out about this thing when my cousin’s Gmail status contained this link. I don’t need to tell you that this shit is hilarious, but I do have some questions about it. (I guess this means I really am in mai blog, postin bout cats.)

Summer Updates

Because of my commitment to Boys’ State, it looks like I won’t be able to take Spanish 2 over the summer. It shouldn’t be a big deal, though, as I know people who have gotten into UCs without the recommended three years of a foreign language. Boys’ State also eliminates the possibility of the counselor-in-training program, which is unfortunate, but I’ll still have the Hollywood Bowl, Kaiser, and Cedars Sinai left to me for work/service learning. I guess this actually is a good thing because before I sat down and looked at all the dates, I was swamped with possible programs to do, and now I have less choices, thus simplifying things a bit.

I did add another possibility, though: the West LA College summer orchestra program. Dr. Steinberg sent out an email about it, and from the site, it looks to be interesting; I wouldn’t mind doing a summer music camp as I tend to get pretty rusty between regular orchestra seasons.

Update: Because of Boys’ State I’ll also no longer be able to take Spanish, but no big deal.

Ubuntu impressions

I’m not going to attempt an in-depth review of Ubuntu Feisty Fawn; plenty have covered it pretty well elsewhere. Overall, my experience has been pretty sweet (note: Automatix helped me a lot), especially coming from Slackware, but, since I’m such a cheery, positive thinking person, I’m going to list the few problems I’ve had and my status in resolving them.

Summer Plans

I hope I actually stick to these, since summer plans have generally been for me like new year’s resolutions. Okay, my main goals are to work, to take Spanish 2, to get service learning hours, and possibly to start driving lessons.

I want to work at either the Hollywood Bowl or at this Kaiser Permanente youth employment program I heard about in which I’d apparently get to work in a lab. It would be really nice if could do both, though.

I’m going to take Spanish 2 at LAVC if I can get high school credits for it so that I’ll have three years of Spanish by the time I graduate.

For service learning I just heard about the Burbank Parks counselor-in-training program. I really need to get more hours (shooting for 100+) and working at a summer camp seems like it will be fun.

My dad said he wants to start teaching me to drive, so I guess I’ll do that too. When I have enough experience I should be able to take a bit of official behind-the-wheel training and get my license.

New lounge and Spanish stuff

Just a quick list of some new (mostly) Spanish-language artists I recently found out about who have some interesting electro/lounge music.

• Belanova
• Julieta Venegas
• AIR
• Kinky