Nuclear Accidents, Fire Hazard, Electricity Supply and Global Warming

Now that the Cricket World Cup is over, it is time for me to concentrate on more important issues relevant to safety at home and on the road.

Before that I would like to make some passing reference to why we lost.

I should pen it down here since our journalist are the worst stooges of the politicians and won't make the comments I make below as points of reference in their daily chores.

I may become very unpopular but I am not a politicians vying for votes rigged or otherwise.

First reason is Sri-Lankan we never united after the war whereas Indians were all behind the Indian Team and Sachin.

Indian papers were critical but were not destructive.

1. In our case one of the government channels run by political stooges raised a claim that Mahela played to the hands of Pakistan deliberately. What I understand now is that this was done by players rejected or not selected to the team with political intent.

Of Mahela answered the critics with his bat like Ponting and that was the very best of Mahela after his 167 odd runs in his first appearance against India in home soil.

What is important this time is, it is on Indian soil with nobody behind him except his team mates.

2. We were not ready for the world cup and we did not have a regular team up for the finals and poor Sanaga had to fiddle round and use his gut feelings. While playing on the round robin stage he had to select the players in best form from the makeshift team given to him by the selectors. There were only four or five who were worth the mettle and naming them here is not appropriate and others were filling the numbers from 6 or 15.

3. Then come the crunch game and politicians get activated and like after the war they want to reap benefit at the expense of cricketers and bloat their image while failing in their duties at ground and grass root level.

4. Now come the big political manoeuvre and Randive catapults into World Cup stage and comes home wicketless.

5. I have my praise for Gary Kirsten, graceful South African opener who did all the ground work for the victory after 2008 debacle. There were no politicos influencing him. Similarly the praise should go to Alan Donald the South African fast baller lifting the New Zealand team up to the Semifinals. The difference here is everything form ground construction to ground preparation to celebrations has to sanctioned by politicos or their stooges.

Everything is politicized and corrupt.

6. I feel sorry for army man Ajantha and poor but big ball boy Dilhara who was worse than a political stooge. He was the one who could have taken the wicket of Tandukar in a crunch game. Yes, he might give some extras and few no balls but we did not want him to ball full quota of 10 overs. Three overs form him would have been better than full quota of Randive.

This whole episode destroyed both the big boy Dilhara and new find Randive.
Who is to blame I leave it open.

Lesson from Dhoni is that he took the full responsibility of Srisanth's selection and he managed him accordingly but did not break his backbone like what we Sri-Lankan do. We win the war and then break the backbone of soldiers.

That is the way we go up the ladder.

It is cut throat politics, even in sports.

This one for the Indians. In the built up to the semifinals there is a little consensus among few of the intellectuals that if we win the World Cup, the government will increase the price of petrol and with it all the other commodities and Sri-Lanka should not win.

I also subscribe to this especially as teaser, something that I enjoy when spirits are high and I was the only one in Sri-Lanka who supported New Zealand on the day. I went on to say to irritate my close friends if we played on a neutral ground we would lose knowing very well New Zealand would not make it through.

This is like a Sri-Lankan government official who votes for the opposition on the day of the election and goes to work on the next day attired in a blue dress and a red or gray tie.

In my case if somebody volunteered money I would have put a bet for Sri-Lanka to win and support New Zealand in front of the TV.
Here money and win matters but usually it is the Santhosum or political bribes that do the job.

In India the commodity prices may not go up but cricket corruption and betting will surge with this win. Even though I subscribed to the view that petrol will go up in price after New Year and before New year if we win the World Cup as a teaser for my friends, I was of the strong opinion that our politicians are only sensitive to the voter only before and during election, that they are so insensitive they will increase the prices whether we win or lose.

In that context it is better to support our team irrespective of political realities and that is what we should do come finals.

I am of the strong opinion politicians and religious dignitaries should not get involved in sports.
Leave them to sports specialists and the coach and pay them well and on results basis like top CEOs and not to political bum suckers.

And come win or lose be prepared to tighten our belts for another 5 or 10 years and the promised land may never come true with global realities and food prices going up by the minute and production not keeping up with the demand from banis, bananas to political bana.

Safety First.
That is almost like a lecture in point form but we never correct our mistakes but the one I am going to write below if you do not take notice one might lose everything including life.

It is the fire hazard that we go through in March to May.
There are two factors one is external and other is internal.
External one is global warming and Sri-Lanka included and exaggerated by our Coal Power Plant going into operation soon.
The other is lightening and fire crackers.
I was happy that we lost the Cricket and if we won the fire crackers would have ignited few fires burning even our precious forest reserve too.
I am the one for banning fire crackers in entirety. It serves no purpose and many of our dogs die of fear during New year festivals when owners go out on holidays leaving vulnerable dogs to fire crackers and thieves (they poison dogs).

Other one is internal. That is our Electricity Supply which fluctuate in voltage. This risk is increased with thunder that accompany rain.
One computer and two voltage stabilizers busted from the month of January.
This not the first time and some time ago I lost almost everything(electrical equipments that included a TV, a tumbler dryer and a washing machine) including 2o odd bulbs in one night and morning due to power surge going above 400.
The has become a perennial problem now. If not fire one can get electrocuted.
The only way I have saved few equipments is by using UPS not voltage stabilizers (two of the Sri-Lankan voltage stabilizers caught fire and there is no alarm. system). At least the UPS has the alarm that goes up and we cannot buy any imported voltage stabilizers in Sri-Lanka now.

This New Year I decided to work on reducing fire hazard.

1. I have three or four digital thermometers.
One is on top of the computer I am working now. The other is on top of the switched off computer. The temperature difference is 7 degree F and time is mid night.

2. I do not switch on any equipment if the outside temperature is above 88 degree F except the fridge.

3. I use the computer in the night and who is going to go for air conditioning with electricity bill above Rs.6000/=

4. I use UPS. Recent ones have better quality internal circuits and integrators.

5. Check all the connectors and replace them with sturdy not cheap ones.

6. Be vigilant and safety first from kitchen to to bed room to living room.

7. No fire crackers.

8. Switch off all the equipment not in use.

9. Emergency lamps all diodes ones and keep them charged for emergency.

10. Keep an eye on the meter and the monthly bill which is going up by the minute.

Microsoft, TV Cards, Drivers and Cricket World Cup

I was little lazy this time unlike the last time and I was ready for with all the analog and digital paraphernalia to record all the World Cup Matches irrespective of who was playing who. I was expecting Sri-Lanka to win but wanted to record the Sanath, Brian Lara and Mavan in their last World Cup appearances.

There were hiccoughs in early stages when two matches were held on the same day, one game was not broadcast live due to broadcast rights. Anyway after some protest all the games were broadcast live and I recorded all the games with several TVs one with DVD recorder attached and some with VHS Video recorders and for digital recording an old capture card and a TV card in to other computers. The capture card and TV cards were not very effective but my analog DVD recorder did all the important work.

TV antenna were all over the place since the TV signals were very poor.

Everything went all right except the computer with the capture card went bust half way through the games, probably due to combination of factors which included inadequate RAM and poor power supply and BIOS virus (windows were a pain in the neck anyway).

Home was like a little studio for the entire period of world cup games.

But we were very unlucky and the rain interrupted the game when the players had a spirited start for the run chase. Unfortunately Mavan was not there to open but one who replaced was no match and the middle order caved in and we lost the match on Duckworth Lewis Formula.

This time I was not very keen supporting any team except perhaps New Zealand and South Africa but when both were eliminated and when we were emerging as a probable finalist, I came out of the hibernation and decided to record the final games.

Went and bought a TV card with no support for Linux and had to go back to windows for recording.

I got hold of a computer I used for testing Linux and installed windows and the TV Card and for three days I could not get the sound working. This was an old computer and I do not keep any windows drivers with me now and Linux automatically configures sound and codecs and there was no need for me to keep any drivers.

I went and bought a USB sound card and tried to link it with the TV card but could not. Actually the output from TV card could not be linked directly to the USB and without the internal audio codecs configured, the sound won't work.

Finally I got the OEM's name and went to the Internet and after about half an hour of search found a place to download several sound drivers and after another one hour got two drivers downloaded.

With a little bit of luck one driver was OK and I was able to configure the sounds and codecs and integrate with the TV Card and had a test recording of the replay of the semifinals with the New Zealand.

Thank god they had two to three rest days between the matches that I could do all this while going to work with some important meetings in between.

Otherwise, having paid for a card if I was not able to use it without all the windows drivers was not something I bargain for.

I will list the problems a Linux / Widows user has to go through.

1. The Chinese / Taiwan OEM guys of the TV Card (good one) did not provide drivers for Linux.

2. Microsoft guys do not have the ability to detect sound cards automatically of different OEM guys and one has to find the drivers.

3. If internet connection was not there one is not able to search for a driver. I did it with my Linux box.

4. I had a similar problem with a secondhand Laptop (Japanese) I bought for my son and I had to use a USB card to get the sounds while Linux automatically configures the sound. I could not get a driver through the internet since the Laptop was old (discontinued providing drivers for windows).

5. In spite of all the hype with new versions there is no coordination with OEM guys and operating systems.

So if you buy second hand computer make sure you have all the drivers and motherboard and driver CDs and OEM names for graphic and sound drivers before you pay cash even if you may save a lot on the bargain.

Like Sinhala language which was neglected by Sri-Lankan government as far as Linux operating systems are concerned the Sri-Lankan TV regulators have not provided the necessary frequencies and the systems (pal B) for Linux developers to work on.
Linux has the TVTime Viewer and without the frequencies and pal system information the Linux developers cannot accomplish any workable solution to my problem.
I hope by next world cup they will provide the technical information to a Linux Group that could coordinate with Debian to do the honours like they have done for Sinhala.

OEM guys also should do the same in future productions.
Why drivers only for Microsoft users.
It is unfair trade practice.
Only one more match and after the finals that I will format and erase windows anyway.

Edited on the 2nd of April.

Congratulation to Indian players especially the younger ones Gambir, Kholi and Raina who lifted the cup when Sachin and Shrwag were failing due to age.
Unlike Indian selectors Sri-Lankan selectors (for the final-sitting Mendis and Dihara on bench was unwelcome and mind you we did that to Mavan last time round) had done lot of mistakes which I have decided not to talk about in public and when politicians also get involved there is no transparency in Sri-Lankan cricket and politics.

I have lot to say about Sri-Lankan cricket and cricket in general but it is a waste of time and is like drumming or music to a deaf elephant. We won't change our corrupt ways. It is probably true for India too but with the win lot of things will be swept under the carpet.

You may now understand why a cricket frantic person like me was less than enthusiastic this time round-in fact for the past 2 years.
I.P.L is going to corrupt players and cricket and I won't be watching those games, anyway.

Be watchful young cricketers, it is not going to be the same with cricket with India lifting the cup and I.P.L guys making money, round the corner.
There will be many more burnt out cricketers at the end of this year.
There is a limit a sportsman / woman can do for a given time period and if s/he exceed the limits nothing a doctor or trainer can do.

That is the advice of a doctor (who was a sportsman in his days who still has niggling stiffness due to injuries sustained when young) who love sports and hate injured players whatever the game they play when young.

My Selection of Linux Productivity Utilities that Should make a Standard Distribution-04

My next category should be Internet if I am a young enthusiast but I prefer the office packages that one has to use daily before we browse the Internet since one tends to waste, me too, waste lot of time browsing rather doing some real work.

As a writer, again I go for light weight Abiword and I should look for Sinhala font at the outset.

Its light weight character makes it suitable for CD version of a distribution keeping in mind the download speed is painfully slow in the third world.

Downloading a DVD takes days and even the Simply Mepis 11, I downloaded today with 1.2 GiB took 22 hours. In this contest for the third time the point to point download link broke down for Pocketwriter (Slakware) and currently downloading at 5.5 KB per second and the overnight downloading touched 125 MiB. We are pretty efficient in the third world. That is why I included K-Torrent first which is very good.

I have now changed to LibreOffice since Oracle is trying to make some investment (which it never contributed at the beginning)on Sun Java products including Vesta1. I must congratulate the Open Document team for the excellent work they are doing and I love the French accent of it. It should be a multinational effort and it should include Sinhala capability soon, taking a leaf out of Debian 6.0.0.

Sad to say OpenOffice, I used from its from version 1 and used in the latter part of my thesis completion also is the third due to its heavy consumption of MiBs and commercial take over. It has multi-language capability and that is the reason it is consuming so much of precious MiB and the need a DVD for inclusion in a distribution.
The biggest hindrance is it's Gorilla size weightage and I never see it goes on a diet.
I hate Mega images especially the political type.

Mepis-AntiX-Linux Extras-14

Mepis is a Debian base Linux distribution with KDE desktop which very good. Except for its KDE front it inner works are like Debian.

One of its features is it has a light weight version which is called AntiX and boots up live easily and can be installed in old computers from 486 to 686. Its latest 686 id pretty good.
With 128 RAM it can boot up.
KDe DVD version has k3B and sweeper which can be used to clen up temporay files which is utility all Linux desktops shod have.
PCLinuxFullMonty also incorporate it but not in other PCLinux versions do not have this but it lets you activate clen up activity at boot time (lets you activate it at installation.

Current test version 11 is out in 32 and 64 bits and I am currently downloading it .

It has LibreOffice.
I will update you the moment I have it for testing.

Comment on best 7 Linux distributions

Top 10 or 20 in any category (food for example) has a false sense of security and it applies to Linux too.

For example Coca Cola is on top of the list and as a doctor I would say it is the worst drink (Pepsi included) a cricketer can drink (with World Cup Cricket which is on now) while playing.

See what the Indian advertisements are doing on our TV and how rational and sensible human beings are?

We are only sensitive to taste but not sensible and that is my assessment.

It is true when they bomb Libya too.
When we bomb in Sri-Lanka it is human rights violation but when NATO bombs Libya it is called UNO convention.

Bunki Moon should be ashamed now being a puppet on strings.
All these comments applies to Linux top 10 to 20 too.

1. If one has used only one or two Linux distributions on a regular basis and writes an article on top 10 it is not valid scientifically. It is like somebody who used Microsoft or Apple Mac all his life says they are the best.

2.If somebody who works for a Linux Enterprise Company either part time or full time makes statements about Linux does the same mistake.

3. They must say I have tested 10 (not 100) and these are my subjective assessments and should not make statements as if they were objective.

4. Unfortunately the word GURU has come into Linux and it has no meaning scientifically or metaphorically. They distorts the facts.

5. The reason why I tested 100 and more (dalmatians) was to get this unscientific tradition out of the way and out of the fray.
We are not going for a talent contest.
It is the use and the utilities that are incorporated in Linux distributions that matters.
That is why I try to highlight the utilities presently instead of trying to win a talent contest.

6. Other point is that Linux developers are poor CEOs and they do not know how to market useful and good products but get involved in flame wars like politicians.

Flame wars are killing Linux and Microsoft also add to this to the confusion.

We must start with the saying "Microsoft sucks your energy and money but Linux stands tall and delivers the goods", no matter what distribution you may use.

That is the starting point and Linux really work for me and saves time in the long run.

That is why I use it daily.

One has to learn the basics and get the tradition of computing out of power politics and money.

Below is a comment I made about 7 distributions listed.

Thanks for updating the article but no thanks for the recommendations.

I can agree with Knoppix and Backtrack only.

SuSe is beautiful and still clumsy and slow. 

I have stopped using it from this month.

Ubuntu is popular with lot of useful utilities but stability is a problem with frequent release cycles.

Redhat is rock solid but its service is poor like SuSe.

Ubuntu Studio I have not seen because of its very slow download speed and is painfully slow even with torrents.

Knoppix can be installed now without a hassle and it has extremely beautiful graphic features.
It really rocks!

I have downloaded Vesta 1 today and it is sleek and has plasma effect but cannot be installed.
 

It took 3 days to download it.

This is Java based and Oracle is promoting it and due to its ownership claims I am not prepared to recommend it.
It looks like everything is Java and it could not configure internet (router) automatically which any good Linux distribution does automatically.

Only kernel is Linux and the rest is Java and it will have stability problem since who is somebody anybody can write Java to upset its inner work and that is going to be the biggest problem a user may encounter.

Like Microsoft Visual Basics it has all Java platform development kits and eclipse.
If you are a Java man or woman, Vesta 1 is for you but remember it does not have a script for installing.

None of them support Sinhala installation except Debian.

The latest version of Debian 6 is pretty good and I have all the assortment of Live and Installable CD and DVDs.

It is taking a leaf out of PCLinux and spending time on light weight distributions. It has packed in one CD, LXDE, XFce and Rescue and that is what I recommend for users in the third world with little money and has Sinhala capability too.

What beats everything for me is Mepis which also has assortment of distributions (namely AntiX) that support 486, 686 to 32 and 64 bits. One need not throw away an old computer because win 2007 is there.

Its test version (11) is out for testing now. I have downloaded and tested it and has a big face lift this time. Download it and enjoy it.

I have dropped SuSe and have gone back to Debian (AntiX too) in my office because of its versatility.

It has over 60,000 packages (for every one from a kid to a scientist) and one rarely use all of them in one go.

Mind you it is the God Father of Linux and Ubuntu is the most successful derivative of Debian.

This article is useful for a newbie if he reads it with my comments at parafox and asokaplus (Linux 100) written in the same tone and flare of as Fortune 100 (or is it 500) companies.

Other option is to have several distributions installed in one computer and that is what I usually do.

My Selection of Linux Utilities that Should make a Standard Distribution-Support for Visually Handicapped-Orcas and House Keeping-03

One of the features I always look for in a distribution is whether it supports blind and the visually handicapped persons.

Ubuntu is well known for supporting blind users with Orcas which is a Debian based utility for keyboards and Linux support for braille is unsurpassed by proprietary operating systems. Most of the stable version Debian support visually handicapped users.

Along with this facility multi-language support is essential and many Linux distributions are only in English and some are only in French or Spanish.
But lately many distributions are supporting several languages. Debian is the leader in this and it now supports Sinhala too.

Third utility should go with this is virtual keyboard.

Often with the frequent use keys of the keyboard some of them get stuck and if this happens when entering a password one may not be able to get started which is a little embarrassment to say the least.

Virtual keyboard is value added utility.

All these must be bundled out in the accessibility corner.
I am not sure where the sweeper, the cleaning utility should be placed and I prefer it with the accessibility option. The sweeper removes unnecessary and temporary files and the history tree which tend to accumulate and get bigger and bigger in almost every Linux distribution.

Only in PCLinux I find the utility that removes temporary files at boot time which one can select at the time f installation.

Unlike servers where every data and every little movement are necessary for recovery purposes when a servers fails but all these details of history tree are not necessary even though very valuable when break into a system is suspected for a desktop.

Archiving utilities are universal in Linux distributions and if one uses them judiciously may be able to save disk space.
In my case it is not the hard disk (which I format once a year) that I use but CD and DVDs and burner utility either K3B or Brasso is essential for this purpose.

So I have lumped all the good housekeeping utilities in one category which are useful if one is using one computer for all the day to day activities.

Cricket World Cup-Final Count Down

Well before the Cricket World Cup, due to many a reason, I decided not to write about Sri-Lankan Cricket.

This not the time to list them except to say, there are many who have never played or watched cricket except on TV (armchair cricket pundits) who have entered into cricket fray and making money at the expense of poor cricketers in the Asia subcontinent.

IPL can be taken as an extreme example but what I mention here is much more subtle and lot of politics involved.

Cricket is going to enter into a different era with all the contenders of the West except New Zealanders have been eliminated and gone home already.

I feel really sorry for Strauus, who played a gem of an innings at the beginning and showed all the signs of long winter of cricket and petered away in an almost burnt out or run out of steam fashion.

He has lot of cricket left in him and all the cricketers except a few in the team deserve the respect they deserve for trying out hard under extreme whether conditions. It is easy for the normally grumpy (politicians and diplomats included) Britishers who sit like potatoes in front of the TV with an ancient Axe in hand and try to destroy them.

I was expecting some unruly Sinhalayas with anger towards harbouring LTTE in their political and diplomatic folds make some unwelcome gestures towards the team. Nothing like that happened but they expected a real beating at the hands of Sri-Lankan cricketers.

When several catches were dropped, it was uneasy for everybody watching but England failed to capitalize on them but capitulated themselves.

Our boys were ready for Australians but since weather prevented it and India had done the honours, the cricketers were ready to pounce on England as an alternative.

It is as if we wanted England to score over 200 hundred (only a wishful thinking, catches were badly dropped) and getting two centuries was a record that is going to be in our memory for a long time.

As for Ricky Ponting unlike Strauus, time has come to say good bye to Asian Subcontinent and his century was glorious. We want to remember him for that century and as a cricketer of high caliber, somewhat steely like Steve Waugh, and not as a rugged Australian who lost the Ashes.
Good luck for his future.

For Graham Smith, I was thinking that they had a chance of lifting the cup but when they lost to England, I knew something nasty will happen eventually and I was actually banking on New Zealand to do that.

I like Smith's demeanour very much and he was my most favorite captain of this world cup even surpassing Sanga for that category.

In my mind he made the mistake of opening the innings and he would have come down the order, may be one down or two down. If he was there in the middle when chips were down, unlike the younger players, the outcome would have been very different.

We are going to miss hm as the most amiable captain of the world cup.

Now there are only four of the captains left to prove their mettle and Daniel Vittory is an ace who may even challenge Sri-Lanka when chips are down.
Watch out for him. even with injuries.

He was of the same caliber as our Murali when injured and even though he was not our captain he (Murali) was the one who every opposition captain envied and every Sri-Lnkan captain revered, as a god send messenger of cricket.

He is our ambassador of cricket and long live his memories, only the good ones not the bad ones that come from Australia.

Luggage and Laptops

It was World Cup Cricket Saturday.
I got up late decided to stay at home but did not want go out thinking I might get late and miss the first 10 overs where the game seems to be decided.

I was almost confident Sri-Lanka will be in the semifinals barring bad weather and poor ground preparations.

In any case I bought a new TV Card (PCI plugging) with facilities for recording (compressed images) and tried it on one of my Linux computers BUT unfortunately even though it had a TV software it did not configure the new hardware.

Then on second thoughts I thought of trying the LAPTOP I was using for testing Sinhala Linux and few other new Linux distributions on which I installed Win 2007 starter pack.

While I was doing this I counted the number of little, little gadgets on the table and there were 12 in all which included the power pack and the USB battery I used in case of power surge or drop in voltage due to everybody watching cricket.

This is one thing I hate about laptops, so many luggage, in fact a gunny load of gadgets.

The list goes like this.

1. Battery cooler (one USB port used).

2. Extension for extra USB ports (two USB ports used).

3. USB Mouse (now three ports used and adorned).

I hate fiddling with the laptop flat mouse. I prefer a real meaty mouse. which I can grip and squeeze when I am annoyed which is generally the case until windows find a driver.

4. Power connector and step down transformer

5. UPS battery.

6. Power connection cord with multiple plug holes

7. TV USB Kit

8. Antenna

9. Mouse pad

10. Microphone or Speakers

11. USB extension cord to prevent clutter and get the antenna cable well away for clear TV signal.

12. CDs to install drivers and any instructions that come with the gadgets.

With all this I managed to get the TV signal with cricket (except other channels) but I could not get Microsoft to configure audio codecs and a message that the audio was not available was on the screen when I open the software.

This is something I hate, the drivers with Microsoft and OEM vendors.

It used to be the story with Linux 10 years ago but Linux will identify and configure audio automatically and sound quality is pretty good too.

I hope by next Cricket World Cup Linux will have a search engine to detect any TV single over the globe especially in villages areas where TV signals are weak and after the cricket the Linux box can be used for education and games for children with TV channels providing services instead of advertisements which galore!.

Any way I did some home work which I had learned from win 95 (42 to 45 CDs then) days and got the audio working (AC 97) with TV channels all received except one just in ready for the semifinals.

I must state how we got the win 98 work.
1. Prepare hard disk with FAT partition.
2. Install with many restarts.
3. Install graphic driver.
4. Install sound driver
5. Install virus guard
6. install media software
7. Install office.
8. Install any other software you paid for including TV software.

It was apin in the neck and I went through this rigmarole many a times to get it in working order.

Now I do not have to do any of those donkey work. Put a live Linux CD/ DVD on the CD/DVD ROM and check the media and run Linux sometimes lighting fast booting with 1 GiB RAM.

I thank Microsoft million times since it was not for such a pain (getting the computer in working order) I would not have discovered Linux in its early and formative years.

Anyway for three cricket matches I can go through the pain again.

I love cricket much more than Linux or Microsoft.

SwiftLinux Diet Edition-Linux Extras-13

After 40 or more goes at downloading (point to point) finally I manage to download 400 odd MiB of Linux iso. That is also not the full version but the diet version.
Glamour version is TaylorSwift Edition but I am still trying it.
This is the classic example of how poor is over Telecoms to connect with a distant server on the other side of the globe.
I am a fan of Mepis especially its tone down version of Anitx.

They are light weight in spite of being of KDE variety and also specializes on old computers with 128 RAM.

I still have an old computer with 233 speed, 128 RAM and 4M on board graphic capability which is still working with Redhat 9 and that is why I love this light version which boots up nicely and run fast. I still use it for demonstrations of old Linux versions with lot of nostalgia.
One need not throw away an old computer since the latest Microsoft cannot be booted on it, especially in the third world and kids can use them for DOS games and other fun.

Coming back to Swift Linux it is simple and attractive and have lot of utilities including Abiword and CD burner. If you have an old computer in the attic take and dust it out and boot with Swift or AntiX.
It (Antix) can be used in 486 too.

Sinhala Linux Update-Sabayon-5.5

I am pleased to inform you not only Debian but Sabayon which is a Gentoo based Linux distribution with many excellent graphic features let you install Linux on a laptop in Sinhala.
it has XMBC.
Unfortunately Gentoo Live DVD has not got a script to install on a computer.Make sure you have Sabayon but not Gentoo but if you want to demonstrate Linux features especially XMBC use Gentoo but I prefer Sabayon.

Thanks Guys and Girls at Sabayon for introducing Sinhala capability.

Edited on the 26th March
I have to confess now even though Sinhala is there for installation, in two installation incidents in my laptop the translation was not complete or not available in the DVD (probably one has to download the script from the repository which is the way Gentoo and probably Sabayon operates and I did not want to try because of slow speed of our Telecoms.
It states the availability of many languages and whether one needs to remove them during installation.
I would be happy to hear from anybody who had the time to try this facility.

Why I have reserve a FAT pattion in my hard Disk

I reserve a FAT partition of Generous 20 MiB in my hard disk would be mystery for you since I do not install Microsoft even for testing now.
I will list few of the reasons.

1. Sometime back when (I was not testing live CDs then) I lay my hands on a new Linux distribution I try to install them and many had no methods to install and some had what is called persistent and try to install in a FAT partition.
Two of them come to my mind, one was Knoppix and the other was GoBo Linux. Now of course both of them can be installed into hard disk.

2.Since I had many distributions in my hard disk most of them ran short of space in home partition and even writing an image was not possible. The Linux has the habit of collecting junk called history in tmp folders without automatic cleaning. So I used to take all my data files and place them in the FAT partition. External drives were expensive and i could not afford them. So FAT partition was the temporary shelter for my data till I write them to a CD or DVD.

3. Third reason was when I started downloading Linux Live images I use to shift them to a folder in the FAT partition when home folder was full. By doing this I was able to remove most of the tmp files cluttering the Linux system.

4. When I do cleaning up job for my friends with rotten Microsoft hard disks removed from the computer and mounted on a external drive, it was easy for me to transfer the data file to my FAT partition after doing the cleaning up process for cutting it to a CD or DVD. Then I give them the CD / DVD with data and freshly formatted disk and say I don't install Microsoft any more and don't come back again with Microsoft problems to me and virtually chase them away.

5. The latest is a very delicate issue. With data security paranoia most new Linux distributions let you encrypt your data (asks you whether you want to do that while installing) in home folder. This I did recently and took some photos of my dog and nephews and nieces and saved them. So after that I did testing Sinhala Linux and for some reason forgot about the whole issue. Then when I wanted to boot that image it had some problems with it's boot file. I could not get those photos. I tried many methods and I could not open the encrypted photos.
This was where I had to sit back and work out a strategy to recover the encrypted data (six photos). This was a Live distribution and I tried to recover the files while Live CD was running but could not.
Then finally I reinstalled the distribution without formatting the home partition (this is the value of home partition) with the same password and booted it up and formatted a free Linux partition to FAT transferred the opened photos to FAT partition without encrypting. The job was done and I recovered the encrypted photos. I also copied the encrypted file to another home partition of my computer using some devious methods to see whether I can open that in a another Linux distribution. I could not.
This was the longest period for me to solve a simple problem without using unencrypting software (which I am not interested and I am not in the habit of cracking passwords).

So do not be paranoid when encrypting your data. If you forget the password the data is as bad as in the dustbin or thrash.

My Selection of Linux utilities that Should make a Standard Distribution-GParted-02

Even though I started with K-Torrent for its global utility factor and demand by many a mile my best utility is gParted, apart from Damn Small Linux (D.S.L-only 50 MiB).

I used DSL for two main reasons.

1. When one of my (not that it happens) computers gives problems or I am cleaning them up and reformatting. I use it for formatting the hard disks.

2. Browsing the web to see whether internet line (wiring) is broken or is it a problem with the (external as opposed to internal) service provider before giving a call to the Telecoms.

Both these utilities (browser and partitioning tool) and many other little ones are there in DSL.

With my general inquiry into the best Linux distributions for my use (family) long before writing on the 100 Linux distributions.

When I discovered many distributions I thought I should share that knowledge with a wider audience mainly locally and now of course globally.

It is evident more foreign visitors hit my page than locals and thank for keeping my interest alive and well.

There are of course days with very few visitors and then I reflect on the reason of drop in page hits and try to change my strategies.

Mind you I have been talking about Live Linux over a year now, even I need a diversion to keep my inner senses sharpened.

That is why I decided to write on the different utility packages in Linux.


1. Gparted is a Debian derivative and for that reason it is stable and reliable.
2. It updates frequently and improve almost every 3 months.
3. It is light weight and one can carry in ones front shirt pocket like DSL and Puppy Linux.
4. With its popularity every good Linux distribution includes it by default but there are some who do not.
5. So much so that if it is not included I have a tendency for dropping that in my personal list. Suse is one of them which does not have it (KDE version) and restricts the partitions to 15 even though Linux is capable of having over 60 partitions.
6. It is graphical front make partitioning a simple job. Good old days I used to install win 98, then a virus guard and thirdly partition magic for partitioning. After that only I Install Redhat Linux.
7. New versions can handle hard disks over 160 GiBs.
8. It is amazingly fast compared to DOS. In 5 to 10 minutes it can prepare a disk.
9. No defragmentation necessary (cleaning) like what you have to do religiously in Microsoft systems.
10 It looks after the health of the hard disk and its long life. I have used many hard diks discarded by others and have the best use of them for years. Of course once a year I erase everything and reformat to get the best use and that is why I use gParted.

Mind you other factor is Linux does not harm the hard disks and keep a watchful eye every second and boot time.

There are many other partition utilities in Linux but if one has used it once you do not need another for your life. I have said good bye to partition magic, the windows utility.
I must tell you it is better than the Knoppix partitioning (GParted in it) tool.
One simple advice before I wind up is, make sure you have at least one 20 MiB FAT (32) partition in your system free and in the next writing probably I tell you why.

My Selection of Linux utilities that Should make a Standard Distribution-K-Torrents-01

My Selection of Linux utilities

The list can be an endless stream of creative packages that makes Linux as versatile as it is today. There are over 33,000 of them in one repository constantly updated and maintained at cutting edge mentality but my selection is based on their utility value rather than face lift value that Microsoft always add to its Office Package and other ubiquitous utilities (which can be found in any Linux repository free) . 

I believe this can be easily accomplished with a paint brush but not with any worthwhile code. Any face lift that does not add to the functionality or productivity is a waste of computer resources only fools will try to keep in their armory of battle fatigued foot soldiers.

The are not commandos with swift command line direct action but fringe dresses to cover the ugly functionality.

So let me introduce the first of many such Linux Utilities.
K-Torrent comes to my mind for its versatile and nanosecond functionality.
This is something one should have in the third world (but would be a workhorse in the developed world) since our Telecoms are one of the worst (other two are water and electricity) Service Sectors for which we pay through the nose and get 10% of what they have promised. Right now I am paying for 56 bits for second and i get only 5.7 throughput. There are no regulatory bodies monitoring this or provide remedy for the users.
If I make a complaint, the context become even worse and there is vilification and victimization.
This is true for election malpractices too, if one reports an abuse of power or subdue of power of authority, there is no mechanism to address or redress. that is wished for.
There a re no good Umpires or Television reviews even though we a cricket frantic nation.

With that type of service available for one to download an unbroken data image and check integrity as it is downloaded and after the completion of the download we need a utility which react to sudden breakdown which include electricity supply.
We are heading for the Month of April which is the month of thunder and downpour and lot of computers burn down including processors and lot of little breakdowns in between and if we do not have UPS to support, I would have lost all my computers,
Even the laptop I provide power through another battery (UPS) and the standalone battery won't last its lifetime if that protection is not taken. Power surges and voltage drops are universal and no instrument is safe.
Worse scenario is that I have to get up and switch on and switch off the systems in the thick of my sleep when alarm bells go up.

With point to point download every time it breaks down I have to start again.
I was trying to download Taylor Swift which is a Mepis derivative for the last 3 months (unfortunately no Torrents) and it had broken down almost 40 times, sometime in the last few megabytes. I am trying it now to see how long it will last to report you like the ball by ball cricket commentary.

All these hassles are not there if one uses K-Torrents and that s why I use it.
If I list the its virtues for quick look at for a busy body, it goes like this.

1. It monitors the speed to nanoseconds.
2. Graphic face lets you instantly detect when it is broken down.
3. Integrate with the download folders instantly.
4. There is no repetition and once downloaded one cannot download it again.
5. It goes to check mode to see whether the existing image is not broken and report to you in graphic mode.
6. In the last few seconds of a download it had some problem and I ignored it's report (Image size was OK) and burned an image and it did not boot properly. I wonted to restart a fresh download and within seconds it cheeked everything and downloaded the tiny fragment missing and when I burned the image again everything was in working order.
7. If a file is moved it lets you reconfigure with the torrent so that seed activity is kept alive.

True to its form and as a literal illustration of the points raised, suddenly without thunder electricity supply was disconnected (I will write what i did during that period late at night with clouds covering the moon at leisure) and it came after an hour or so (guess work) and quite fortuitously , when it came sever providing connection to the wider world (Internet) was not switched on till late this morning.

In this country we pay a salary for those doing night work for sleeping and there is no supervision at night what they really do including some doctors too.

So my train of thoughts were rudely interrupted to add the last 3 points regarding K-Torrents which I have to do sometimes later, once my anger dissipates.

Mind you I was up till 4 am tidying up some (recovering some photos) computer configurations of my laptop including deleting Sinhala Linux etc.

As I expected Taylor Swift and MacPup were rudely disconnected without completing the downloads (point to point) and I did not have any K-Torrent downloads too.

Edited
Now I must add the missing points.

8. K-Torrent lets you control the download and upload speed and if like in house other members are using the same network it reserves bandwidth for other members. This is really handy in a community network, say in a school. I use this when I download point to point download through Firefox of small files or browsing the web and email.
9. It estimates and time the download and you know depending on the seeders (country and from where) how long it takes.
10. It lets you download several files at the same time and adjust according to the speeds of others. When some seeders become inactive it go for the active seeders of the other files. It is better to download at least two files and the best throughput is achieved but I generally use three.

You may wonder why I used K-torrent as the number one. Worldwide it is the most used utility apart from Flash and it is generally used for downloading films and TV programs, sometimes violating the copyright law. I have never downloaded a song or a film since I do not like to steal and not because I fully endorse the copyright law.

Sorry for the broken file and every minor irritation I take as a challenge and try to overcome my frustrations.
Next one would be on gParted.

What to Look for in a Standard Linux Distribution

I have talked about practically all the possible combinations of Live and Standard Linux it is time for me to wind up with a guide for selection of a distribution without giving a particular distribution.

I will not go into hardware compatibility even though it is a major issue since what innovation are round the corner is difficult to predict after this ipod and mobile utility craze is over and done with it.

But before that I must tell you my favorites without any order of merits.

I go for several light weight distributions and for one Gorilla Edition.

The Gorilla Edition is PCLinuxFullMonty which is almost comprehensive and lacks only XBMC but that also can be downloaded.

For Sinhala Linux Lovers (SLL) it is Debian 6.0.0

They are as follows

1. Puppy Linux and its various editions. you can simply carry in your front pocket (carry when I go abroad-an use it as an Acid Test of the computer, laptop or netbook I may buy-not that I want any more with all the assortments i have at home an office.

If I cannot boot it it with Puppy, I won't consider buying the stuff, whatever the vendors gimmick may be.

2. Knoppix the 10th anniversary edition to show off its graphic capabilities including compiz and cheese the web camera. Now it has found a permanent place in my computers in spite of its finicky requirements for hardware configuration.

3. Gparted (Debian's), the best companion to partition my computers when I reformat. Mind you it is light weight and does not say no to any complicated partition composition within the framework of the standard laid down principles.

4. KDE base nothing to choose between Mepis and PCLinux but I prefer PCLinux since I got a good hang of its versatile performance which SuSe lacks.

5. SuSe for my long association with it after Fedora in spite of craving for RAM (the new with Venation blind appearance but in vertical orientation of strips)I. It has the the best configuration utility called YAST (I call it Yet Another System configuration and teaching Tool) but the partitioning is limited to 15 which is a handicap when I want several distributions installed in the same computer.

6. Debian for its versatility and the ability to recognize all the hard disks of various make (SATA, SCSI, IDE) and the ability to write the partition table without getting confused when a fellow like me install assortment of operating systems in my own finicky ways.

It has taken a special place now with Sinhala capability of its installation.

7. Fedora for its ability to take on board changes which commercial operating systems resit and for my yesteryear long association with it and the Hanthana Sinhala Linux which is a derivative of it.

It was the first Linux distribution that I have used which could accommodate Sinhala fonts way back when other Linux distributions were learning the tricks of the trade.

8. GoBO Linux for its innovative approach but no new version for a long time.

9. YOPER for trimming, shedding dropping extra fringes to get it running fast but it has a big problem with its GRUB file.

10. Pure KDE without a brand name since it is the one made Linux desktop eye candy and a market force of its own and still introducing new innovation but one need at least 1 GiB of RAM and still more RAM for it's better performance.

11. LXDE is my favorite even though I am hooked to KDE and its plane and bird like logo.

12. Cloud Linux

13. MeeGo

14. Pendrive Linux

15. PureOS, Saline OS, Peppermint, LinuxMint, Console Linux, Morphix, MYAH, ADIOS and the lot I forgot because of my bad memory.

16. Scientific Linux of course is my ultimate goal and that is where I belong to as a professional and where my personal biases are rooted, which I am trying to wean off and become an ordinary man again with taste and flair.

If I have left any other distribution, it is all because of my finicky behaviour and lack of space.

It is a fact that any one of them do the day to day work for me.

Please excuse for my bias since I am an ordinary human being with lot of personal deficiencies and lapses in my memory with geriatric age approaching fast.

Young ones are the live blood of Linux, you need to keep on innovating and also have a pause and listen to ordinary uses too.

Next few editions will be based on the packages one should have in a distribution that may vary from person to person.

I will start with K-Torrent and gParted.

I am afraid I may have to group them since there are over 60,000 of them, if one takes Debian as a base.
With that exercise I may finish my engagement with the wider world and go back to my normal life of gardening, fish keeping and looking after my dog.

MeeGo-Linux On the Go-Linux Extras-12

Sinhala Linux has made me to format my Laptop and try other distributions including Sabayon, Ubuntu's XMBC (Deabian) and today after the cricket match MeeGo which is for a notebook and can be installed from a Pendrive.
 

I tried to install install XMBC on PCLinux and for 560 odd files on point to point installation was nearly 20 hours and gave up to install MeeGo.

I used the DVD image live and installed it on my laptop and it is cute and pretty good.
I really like the web cam and its effects.

The whole arrangement is with the young at heart and it took some time to get round it.
At the end of the day I feel young at heart if not physically.
I again has to ask why one has to pay enormous amount of money to get these from Microsoft guys. Makes me to run to the jungle (bush) with a solar panel on my head and a battery on my shoulder.

Installing Linux in Sinhala-Debian-6.0.0-Update

I am glad to report to the wider world that I have tested Debian 6.0.0-32 bit and 64 bit versions on my desktops and the laptop and they are running amazingly well.

Now I am getting a hang of Sinhala terminology, installing went on while watching the cricket match and without making any mistakes but "alpili" and "papili" are still in awkward places but can read them without a problem.

They are not of print quality.

Bit better than the Sinhala fonts of the government web site.
So with a sigh of relief I go to bed with our boys getting a good win at cricket,too.

Thanks to guys and girls at Debian for doing a wonderful job.

Thanks to our cricketers for a creditable win.

Make sure you download CD/DVD from LinuTracker and they are also doing a wonderful job.

Both DVD and CD (2 CDs at Linuxtracker) are Sinhala installation capable, now.
Make sure you use K3B and not Nero for image burning.

Pay Money and go through the Extra Mile or Pain in the Neck

There is so much hype about Windows 7 and on my daughter's request I went and bought a Windows 7 Starter Pack but kept on delaying opening the pack to install it since the netbook I bought her already had Windows XP.

She has a working knowledge of Linux with the desktop she had and I bought the netbook stating that if it started giving problems she has to go back to Linux for her work.

Then I wanted to repartition (re-size) the hard disk but the XP installed did not allow me to repartition unless I delete the operating system with it.

Since I have paid for the operating system, I realize it is not a wise thing to do since if she wants there are enough computers at home to try Linux including her desktop.

Then everything went into cold storage and she was down with some illness and Windows 7 was completely forgotten.

Today as part of my full reformatting exercise, I deleted all my partition and booted this Windows 7 Starter Pack to see what it has.

It immediately recognized the 20 GiB ntfs partition, the hard disk had and started giving me instruction that it can be installed in one computer only and the blah blah.

It pulled out the internet wire fearing it is going to note my laptop machine number and the details and it's identity and then allowed it to install.

Mind you this was the computer I bought in Singapore after big fight with the vendor stating that I did not want windows installed in it and I only want the machine and I know what to do with it.
Then I booted Linux while waiting in lounge of the Changi Airport with Linux DVD I downloaded in Singapore (one of my relatives residence in Singapore).

After installing it goes up several times rebooting and this is the time it gives all your details to the Microsoft head quarters to subsequently send warning after warnings to lure you to buy all the extra utilities.

Finally it booted up and this one lets you have a password facility and the system has nothing at all to work with.

I told my daughter how stupid was to buy it and booted up and showed her the latest 10th anniversary Knoppix 6.4 live with compiz and Pingus game in it and amazingly beautiful graphics.

It has enlightenment effects and LibreOffice and over 6000 t0 10,000 packages in it's DVD.

Who is stupid Microsoft or little Me I will let you decide it.

Mind you I installed Knoppix and Sabayon KDE while typing this bloggy blog and tested PCLinuxfullmonty has 64 bits capability also., in between watching the last stages of the Sri-Lanka New Zealand cricket match too.

I must tell you Win 7 took a long time to install and restarted several times.

Sabayon has a media center called XBMC and it is something windows users will never have the luxury of using.

PCLinuxfullmonty has blender and with these three distributions in my laptop I have amazing rich collection of graphic utilities.

I did not have to pay a red cent but had to spend some time downloading the 3 DVDs with K-Torrent.

Only limitation was slow download speed of Sri-Lankan Telecoms.

Good Bye to Microsoft.