USB Booting with Linux

USB Booting with Linux

This piece long overdue.

The real reason is our strike and I was doing three times the work I had not done at home and was organizing my living room and workshop.

These were done on a leisurely pace not in a rush as when I was working.

My dog took a lot of time of me which he really enjoyed and the little squirrel is a bundle of energy.

All the same I got all my computers USB bootable one by one.

I have used only two methods.

Method 1

I. UnetBootIn and get the stuff copied to a USB stick.

this has disadvantages.

UnetBootin takes over the flash drive entire and one cannot have storage space except of course home folder.

It uses only FAT partition

One cannot get the GRUB installed with your existing operating systems in the hard drive booted.

The real advantage is one can make any iso image bootable provided that one has enough space in the USB stick and your RAM is at least 1 GiB.

Anything less is not advisable.

Method 2

This is the method I prefer since in an emergency, the hard drive systems can be booted in a breeze or if they are not working one can boot up with the external hard disk and start doing repair work from there if the operating system used in the USB hard drive is packed with Rescue utilities .

One can use Rescatux.

But here I will take PCLInux as an example.

Its USB Creator is now solid and very good (latest download after Texstar took a back seat).

One has to use the PCLinux USB Creator

1. The advantage is it uses Linux Partitions.

2. It writes the GRUB already in the Master Boot record.

3. One has to do the installation once one has finished all the installation in the Internal Hard disk/s.

4. It has storage more space.

5. In my case my archived isos reside on the spare NTFS partitions

6. It is easy carry in your front shirt pocket and one cannot lose or misplace it like the Flash Drive.

7. Password protected and safe with your critical data 

I have not given the details since all that is there in this blog under different titles.

Other reason is to thank the PCLinux team for doing a good job without making a big ha ho.

Thank YOU PCLinux Guys and Girls.

Pooches, poo and "crottes de chien"

Dear Friends.

Since our strike is suspended and in suspensions (not underwear) for now, till the real budget comes in November, let us read some real news.

If we continued with the strike we would have had POOS up to our BRIM not dogs of course and I get the information, they we collecting by the buckets.

Years ago Kandy had Bucket latrines and thank god the Municipality discontinued this procedure.

We had to go to Guha Goda- (I think it was derived from Gu Goda which the British could not pronounce and went as Guhagoda) in our public health appointment and unfortunately when we reached there they were unloading the Municipality products.

That was the first and the last day I went there.

But it was a good opportunity for me to put some insight into practice later when I started as an intern.

At Ratnapura Hospital, The Children Diarrhoea Ward was no different from Gu Goda or Guha Goda.

I requested that it should be cleaned on several occasions but the staff took me as joke, it was never cleaned it continued to be Gu Goda.

I came home for weekend break and returned on Monday in probably five or six buses (all the bridges were blasted by the JVP from Kegalle to Darniegala to BulathKohupitiya).

I gave instruction for it to be cleaned when I return on Monday

I went straight to the  diarrhoea ward to see it was in the same mess as it was on Friday.

I talked to few of the mothers told the nurses to get me some KOSU (Mops were not known) and I myself changed to a short (not a trouser) and started cleaning it from one end to the other.

Then, the laboures came and chased them away saying I do not need them.

This was hot news that day and children were piling up in the main ward not seen by (the other guy who was from Colombo did not turn up on time and came only at 11 A.M.) a doctor.

I only saw the diarrhoea patients till the other guy came.

When I got the news that the other guy came. 

I went to my room had a bathe and a cup of tea.

I used to make my own cup of tea.

I had a brand new electric kettle (these were the time we did not have tooth paste) which my brother brought from UK.

Mind you all the doctors in the hospital had Infectious Hepatitis in that year. except me.

I believe I was the only one who practiced simple hygiene.

This was many moons ago and we would been in a mess, like Guha-Goda, if we continued on our action and could have got Infectious Hepatitis instead of a salary hike.

READ MORE,

Dogs and Digital Tombs

Dogs and Digital Tombs

This is the best feature article I read during Christmas,2011.

Unfortunately it is taken off the main page and I had to search for it today.

I have some extracts below for your perusal.

I have a suggestion for French and People in Paris.

Instead of stoned tombs in the cemetery, they should have a server with DIGITAL TOMB with all the photographs and videos of the dogs when they were alive and well for not so dog lovers or dog loving Sri-Lankan administrators to see.

For the poo ("crottes de chien"), I have suggestion, they must send them to Sri-Lanka as fertilizer for the Banana Plantation we are growing in the thick of virgin forest to feed American entrepreneurs.

We love anything including "poo", if it is foreign but make sure they are scented with French cosmetics for poos, please.

This is good for our City Planners in Kandy and Colombo where dogs are rounded up and slaughtered and some end in dinner plates as "chicken substitute".

It is no point saying all the beings be happy and content like a mantra.

Without them (dogs) we cannot protect our things from petty thieves.

Extracts

The pampered pooches of Paris

By Joanna Robertson Paris

Pet dogs in the French capital appear to enjoy the freedom of the city, accompanying their owners just about everywhere - and even have their own cemetery.

The pampered pooches of Paris

By Joanna Robertson Paris

Pet dogs in the French capital appear to enjoy the freedom of the city, accompanying their owners just about everywhere - and even have their own cemetery.

There are hundreds of thousands of dogs in Paris.

They can be chosen from puppy-shop windows or ordered from countryside breeders.

They are seen traveling about the city, nestled amongst the groceries in shopping trolleys or peering out of handbags.

Dogs perch on the running boards of mopeds - ears flying in the wind - or sit, swathed in blankets, in bicycle baskets.

They are petted on the bus, the tram and the metro and, for a flat-rate ticket costing 5.10 euros (£4.25), the smaller ones can escape the metropolis and take the train to anywhere in France.

Access all areas

When on all four paws, dogs in Paris can choose from 72 gardens to walk in - from formal palace grounds to tiny urban squares.

In between, they can mark lamp-posts, trees, ornamental masonry and the corners of Art Nouveau metro stations to their hearts' content.

Paris dogs snooze under cafe tables and sit politely in restaurants.

They are allowed into shops - even when officially not - and, from time to time, sneak into cinemas, usually for a matinée on a wet afternoon.

Each dog has its own preferred vet and there are hundreds to choose from.

Each vet has a preferred dog diet. Calves liver, braised. A little "blanc de poulet" (white chicken meat) or a slice of rare roast beef.

What goes in must come out, and Paris dogs apparently drop 20 tons (20,000 kg) of "crottes de chien" (dog poo) on the city's streets every day, although who exactly weighs it remains a question that even the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall) cannot answer.

From time to time, the city's more creative residents have used the crottes as pavement art, sticking them with coloured flags, photographing and painting them.

My Dear Friends
There is good news for you.
Read the article

Chocolate Consumption, Cognitive Function, and Nobel Laureates

If you eat  lot of chocolate (I am not sure dark / or milky) one day you will be a Nobel Laureate before you even become a professor.
It is a good idea to increase its consumption before the examination.
The secret of success is that you have to share half of the chocolates with me who has send this good news.
My dog will get the Nobel price for Wisdom for sharing chocolates with me daily before my name is proposed for similar purposes.

My daughter and my wife tell me he will get cataract before the nomination day.

But he gets dark chocolate too.

I think mango (Mango Friends) is the best (I think it has more flavonoids which I gave him today for test trial of cognitive functions after a dose of dark chocolates.

He actually talked today and said " ...... This part is withdrawn on the advice of my friends but it starts with M M but not 3 M of Minute Metta Meditation------but one can substitute one’s own original thesis in expectation of Nobel Nomiation (NN for SHORT).

Unfortunately I could not record it.
Keep this as a secret until he and me gets the Nobel Prize before the world ends this year in December 12-12-12.

Rebirth, Recycle, Reality and Politics in Cricket

Rebirth, Recycle, Reality and Politics in Cricket

It is rebirth and recycle of life the fundamentals of Dhamma.

It is fact not fiction in science.

It is fair play and prompt action but not protraction, convolutions and distortion in law.

It is procrastination and distortion and power not prudence and wisdom in politics.

It is money and corruption and not spirit of the game in cricket.

Booting Problems with Linux

Booting Problems with Linux

I have been formatting and updating my IDE and SATA IBM computers lately.

I have come across a booting problem with GRUB Script of Ubuntu and Knoppix.

My problem was not new.

This had been the  case for years and I have found a way out.

I will tell how to overcome this problem in a minute.

Only a few Linux distributions can detect automatically all the other Operating Systems.

Debian is the only distribution that has sorted this out at installation time.

Knoppix even though, Debian derivative thinks there is only Microsoft (Windows) there.

No other Linux distributions exist in this world for their liking or ignore others by defaulting.

It is true with Ubuntu and all the Ubuntu derivatives.

But Pinguy is the only Ubuntu derivative (version 10 and 11) which can easily detect all the operating systems in your computer.

PCLinux too ignores other Linux distributions and gives heavenly regard for Windows.

Then, if there is no windows in your system as in my case but have ntfs partition to store data like what Ihave, these distributions go into panic mode and only guess which is C or D partition in window’s terminology.

I must tell you why I use NTFS partition if I use only Linux.

That is a good question but I have my reasons.

Valid reasons.

Linus is very protective of its partitions and need root or su for access of these partions.

Only Knoppix and Puppy ignore this rule.

Linux boots these ntfs partitions as almost like junk partitions which one can fiddle around.

I store the images of all the distribution which are my favorites in NTFS partitions, which are not protected by Linux rules but easily accessible for writing to CD or DVD.

Other reason is when my home partition is chockablock I empty them to NTFS for safe keeping, (before formatting is due at the end of the year).

Coming back to booting problems, they can only GUESS ntfs' nomenclature, in spite of me making them sda1 and sda 2 when partitioning with another SMALL Debian Utility called Gparted.

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why not use a reasonable GRUB script?

My guess is that they ignore other Linux distributions just to promote only one type of Linux, that is only their distribution.

This is a bad PLOY and not in the true spirit of Linux comrade.

GRUB file is very important to be messed UP and it should not behave like Windows 8 UFI.

My solution is simple, if you have as many distribution as five to six as in my case.

Some for testing and some for looking for fancy utilities bundled with the distribution.

STEPS.

1. Install Windows if you want or Apple if you have lot of extra cash.

2. Then install Knoppix.

3. Then Install PCLinux.

4. Then last of all install Pinguy, my current favorite (apart from Puppy and Knoppix).

If you follow this method, you do not need to configure the GRUB file after installation, that can be something difficult and intimidating for a newbie.

Even though I mentioned Debian, my favorite last installation is AntiX or better still, Mepis (KDE with lot  of useful utilities) distribution.

AntiX is light weight Mepis.

So my recommendation for you if you get into trouble is to download Mepis and install it as the last distribution.

It needs two partitions one for root and one for home.

It is one of the distributions that installs very breezily.

That is the third reason for its use by me apart from its utilities which includes sweeper, a cleaning agent for junk files..

Family Crisis, TRINGO the Trigger Mechanism of the crisis

Family Crisis, TRIN-GO the Trigger Mechanism of the Crisis

Because of our industrial action, I have decided not to share publicly, except privately, any humor, anecdotes and many amusing stories that crop up when we do not CARE for WORK, like politicians, take a real vacation even though, it was premature by 6 months and enjoy the life as if there is only a few days to live in a year when the world is predicted to end from news from an Oracle.

But the focus was only on the STRIKE in spite of many obstacles and telling all my near and dear do not get depressed but try creativity which politicians lack and teach them a lesson, even it is not the time and the midterm of a aimless regime except glorifying and consolidation of the power base.

I was of the opinion that midterm was the best time to take industrial action since one can get a sleeping, lethargic and partisan administration to change its ways and be responsible and responsive.

There was no pressure for those in power politically in midterm and extract what ever it may be desirable.

Equally, one can test the mentality of those in power and their corrupt officials giving them wrong and ill-advices strategically.

I also warned them that it will take a political trend which I am technically or strategically against but not morally though, since there are many who will piggyback on US and take political mileage. 

In a democracy if we remain silent and passive partners, the the cradle of democracy will crumble.

It crumbled since Tamils were silent when atrocities were enacted on them from both sides of the divide..

It is going to crumble if Muslim and Sinhala communities remain passive participants.

Thank god Muslim community has realized it even very late.

They are been globally and systematically suppressed by American and British engineered propaganda which France is cohesively and covertly participating.

All due to OIL but nothing but OIL, the energy crisis looming.

I also told when politics not policies takes precedence, the final outcome is dicey and it will be a long drawn out and painful STRIKE for both sides and there is no win-win situation, the longer it gets into the deep end of the rotten and muddy pool of politics.

Slowly and surely the bureaucrats have muddied the pool.

All my predictions have come true except a viable solution.

This preamble is to explain the newly coined name of our newly adopted grandson who is a squirrel who even had not opened its eyes.

Again the full story will come after the strike is over and one has to wait.

We have kept a diary of him and that will come out when we are back at work, academically.

I need some diversions from the main stream to wear my creative HAT when in full gear.

After I have attended to the emergency need (half my wife and I was out in the town enjoying the new found FREEDOM), I let the tiny one relax and go to sleep since my wife had frightened it so much, only sedative I could assure was dark room conducive for sleeping.

I went to sleep myself and when I got up, the next thing was to name it.

GO was vital and I had decided that it had to GO when he is ready.

I won´t get attached to it.

TRI is that it had to survive the from CATS, and my DOG and Ants.

It also has stripes not three but many on its back.

I made a note on a little notebook for my daughter to attend and again went back to town to find a suitable PEN.

Quite by accident the name rings on me the way we handle RECONCILLATION.

We are like CATS, DOGS and SQUIRRELS,

They cannot live in one house or a PEN.

We are so deeply divided, this country will never prosper.

TRIN-GO reminds me, the election results of the TRINCO, too.

Without any amendments the new name was endorsed by the adopted family and the poor  squirrel family has to be satisfied one minus but soon the juvenile will be roaming on rooftops and trees.

The question is why cannot we enjoy our new found FREEDOM?

Why it is only for ONE Dominant Party?

Why there is no reconciliation but only power politics?

Political power when absolute takes away prudence and cohabitation.

We are worse than CATS, DOGS and SQIRRELS.

In spite of the oddity in nature they somehow survive near human habitation.

Only rarely one has to intervene, when one is young, blind or injured we have to help.

Soon he has to be released to the mother nature.

That was my resolve and no attachment.

One should not get attached to POWER too.

Even our Buddhist monks are deeply entrenched in this POWER game.

That is the sad part and we do not have philosophers to take their place.

Even the philosophy of live and let live is hijacked by the modern Buddhists. and their political leaders.

Why?

I do not know.

Knoppix 7.0.4-Update

Knoppix 7.0.4-Update

Knoppix 7.0.4 is the new kid in town for the new kid/s on skateboard/s.

Not for oldies like me.

If you want to try do not ask your friends.

First read the Linux magazine.

The first DVD that came out of  with the magazine had hardware faults (DVD writing) as well as glitches in the script for hardware installation.

Edition 7.0.3 also had similar installation problems.

Latest edition will have problem if you have an old hardware (DVD drive) or if you have a very new DVD drive with fast writing speeds.

Klaus himself (the creator of Knoppix himself) recommends writing on a slower speed as low as 4X.

It is a huge file compressed with Knoppix own technology and the decompression can be draggy and can give problems when installing.

That problem is not there with Live session.

You will encounter none of these problems with the CD if you have at least 1 GiB RAM.

To me the CD is all that is necessary.

I am even happy with 10th anniversary Edition 6.7.1 which is an old classic, now with 7 on skateboards will be forgotten by many.

The novelty of the current edition is it has 4 desktop types to boot  in one live session and it is the best product/development at a time when everybody is trying to develop a fancy desktop including Gnome 3.

It has LXDE which I love.

KDE.

Gnome and few more desktops even in the live CD.

I think it is the best Live  session experience where choice is also given to the user at a time when the controversy about which is the best desktop is ringing in one´s ears till one is almost stone deaf.

What matters is not the desktop but the utilities big and small wrapped in a nice gift wrap called a desktop.

I do not care which desktop they come with, as long as they do not tap heavily on the resources and a hindrance to productivity and functionality.

That is why I like the light desktops.

With this report Knoppix jumps up from 8th to 3rd place in my list.
Puppy is first.

Pinguy is second.

Why it is third is, it is for kids with new computers and not for my own old computers.

One must not forget one can use a computer for 10 years if not 20.

New Knoppix cannot be booted with my new but old model of netbook.

I hope the developers go back to the drawing board and develop a mini knoppix on a mini CD for the old netbooks that are in use.

Mind you Linux became famous with netbooks and Microsoft killed the bird in the NEST by dishing out outdated XP with OEMs.

They are trying the same ploy with Windows 8.
The so called UFI

My advice, if you are downloading a DVD are as follows.

1. Use  K3B of Linux and not NERO.

2. Use a good quality DVD medium.

3. Use slower writing speed to suit one´s own hardware.
Even one has new ones use a slower speed (that is Klaus recommendation). Reading speed depends on the RAM.

4. Have plenty of RAM,  if it is a laptop.
The minimum is 1 GiB.

5. Use torrent file and check the data integrity before (torrent lets you do that) and after writing, especially if you are installing it.

Above all one must patient like I have when I test a new CD/DVD.

I was very impatient few years ago and if something did not work I panic and jump to wrong conclusions but not any more.

Like the proverbial spider my intention is to climb the steep learning curve which is getting easier nowadays.

Not 10 years ago.

In my case I have to try two DVDs.

First one had a fault at  three fourth the way even though I used a high quality DVD, even for testing.
Second time round, I also checked the torrent file before writing.

None of these problems were there  with the CD.

My other recommendation is to go and buy a DVD from a reputed dealer. in the WEB.

Worst scenario one can return it and ask for a new one.

It got to be 7.0.4 and not 7.0.1 or 7.0.3.

Finally thanks a lot for the developer team for listening to the user feedback and improving Knoppix by leaps and bounds.
Overall KNOPPIX 7 is an excellent Live DVD that can be installed if one wishes.

But you cannot beat my love for dogs and Puppy is mu first CHOICE.

Dingo is my best friend in the live CD series and mind you Slacko has cloud capability too.

I forgot something and there were lot of mistakes in my writing.
SORRY.
I did it at 3 a.m, just before dropping to sleep.
If you are installing the steps are
1.Microsoft or any other proprietary Installation.
2. Knoppix Second.
3. Any other Linux distribution (Pinguy, PCLinux or Sabayon).
WHY?
Knoppix only detects Microsoft and its GRUB cannot detect other distributions,especially Ubuntu derivatives.
It gives you that option when installing and unless one is confident in configuring the BOOT LOADER please accept the default given by Knoppix.
Most of the well known distribution has a good GRUB utility and automatically detects Microsoft and Knoppix while you are sipping a cup of TEA or COFFEE.
I have about six (no Microsoft) in my laptop with 500 GiB hard disk and there is Puppy also in a tiny partition.
I am now even changing that.
I use UnetBootIn and make Live USBs to boot.
That is the fashion nowadays.
There is also Live USB creator which is much better as far as the security of your USBs are concerned and they use partitions other than FAT partition for installation.
I may write a brief, if I recover from my slumber and laziness due to prolong industrial action which is heading for the fourth month,
It is good for my soul and I am enjoying life, even though my purse is not bulky.
My dog loves my new found freedom and I hope this strike will drag on till next year (waiting for the WONDER Budget) and I have re-formatted all my computers and installed new versions except the computer I use for downloading.
I might STOP even downloading and format that computer too and have an extended vacation till Christmas and also without Linux and any updates.
However, I will carry a few USB Sticks around my neck for emergency help if somebody who has a computer with Microsoft which won´t boot up and is STUCK.
I will restore it with Linux and carry data round my neck.
I will charge for this service until the strike is over and after that all my services will be FREE.
After all we are fighting for FREE EDUCATION in the same spirit as FREE SOFTWARE.

Stupidity that goes with Windows and Proprietary Installations

Stupidity that goes with Windows and Proprietary Installations

I will be brief.

Whether it is Microsoft or Linux Proprietary Installation, one is handicapped from day one.

It was true with SuSe installed as OEM on a netbook.

I got rid of SuSe Enterprise with the first opportunity I had.
I had to find a good alternative from my archived distributions and unfortunately I found only a few.

There is no excuse for me with Windows 7 starter pack.

I bought a  Microsoft Starter pack for Rs10,000/= in case my daughter´s netbook packs up (this was a netbook with OEM XP introduced sometime ago to counteract Linux popularity) but I never used it for that purpose.

So I had it on my laptop which I rarely use except to demonstrate Linux on workshops or to my friends.

My workhorse is old IBM desktop with various Linux installed.

I wanted to upgrade my laptop with new stuff and I did all that last night including downloading the packages I wanted which were missing with the iso.

Today I was busy preparing USB boot up hard disk with UnetBootIn and the USB creator pack of PCLinux and accidentally formated the partition where windows was installed and another partition where Ubuntu/Super OS was installed.

This is something I do but never worry about it.

Since I can simply plug in a USB KEY with Live Linux or live CD to get the system running.

But, alas, not today.

I got my other Linux running and happily switched off the computer.

Since we are still on strike I attended to some gardening and came and switched on the computer.

It started up and got frozen  at the first page looking for Windows 7 and won´t  switch off the computer.

Won´t boot on with Live CD or the Live USB hard disk.

I was in a bit of a panic mode not knowing how to switch it off and thinking I have burned something by overcooking and overclocking the laptop.

Normally when I press hard on the on button for a few seconds it switches off but not today.

I removed all the USB sticks DVDs and waited for a while but it won´t switch off.

Well. I took the battery off as the last resort which was not a thing one should do in this type of situation.

Having  checked that nothing running, no kernel or init or hardware except the DVD ROM running, I did the unthinkable as the last rescue effort.

When I put the battery on, the above scenario repeated with no possibility of booting a Live Linux to repair the MBR I have willingly damaged.

I removed the battery again and had a complete survey of all the components and all of them were in good condition to my satisfaction and waited for one hour for the RAM to discharge and in the next time round put the windows DVD and switched on the computer on.
Presto!

It booted up and this is the trick Microsoft does to OEM if ever one boots a window´s starter.
This is the computer I bought while on a short holiday without an operating system and booted up while waiting in the airport lounge with Linux and used it till its battery went dead and I was coming home safely only a laptop as the hand luggage.
I tested it with a Puppy Linux pocket CD and a Live USB which I prepared while in transit, before buying it.

In my case I was prudent never to register with Microsoft, I could boot the DVD 100 times or more if there need be.

This is a dirty DOS Trick and with Windows 8 coming there will be much more dirty tricks up their sleeves and I won´t boot up Windows 8 even to have a  look.

OEM guys and girls BEWARE the DIRTY TRICKS! 
Well yesterday, I did installed my favorite but light weight Linux on a pocket and portable USB Hard Drive and copied the GRUB file to it and this will never happen again with Microsort for sure.
One has to have a laptop that boots up with a USB Key.
There is a problem with the USB key.
Anybody can destroy the data with a USB key, unless you lock your laptop with a chain.
That is why I prefer a full blown operating system with root and user password.
Never leave a laptop unattended specially when abroad and on holidays.
Skinheads are there for your Money, Laptop, Master Cards and the Cellphones ( four digit passwords for your cards can be easily cracked).
BEWARE.

Linux Distribution Update = Very Subjective = Poor Productivity

Linux Distribution Update = Very Subjective = Poor Productivity

Nobody should get offensive of this post.

I have deliberately excluded Teeny Weeny Linux that are in my book except Puppy Linux.

This is the consumer world and I have my own choices to make when on STRIKE and in Holiday MOOD.

Strike is also a demonstrable, democratic, consumer activity which politicians do not see that way.

They have instead a Commonwealth Conferences to beg for AIDS, the Disease.

Education is a Common Wealth in this Country, not Private Property!

The views expressed are very subjective and won´t have any bearing to statistics of current Linux usage.

In fact I am more concerned about why Linux penetration is not active as it used to be than its user activity.

Would be writing a book on Quality Systems that should be in place in a successful Linux Distributions, soon when I get over the laziness and the mental intransigence I am going through.
I am getting used to the RUT due to procrastinated and prolong (intellectual) lightening strike or the general use of the term, the industrial action.

Yes it is very difficult to penetrate a good idea like Linux to ordinary masses.

It is also difficult to penetrate an idea the Education is a Common Wealth our people (If one is not using it prudently, that is his or her onus or responsibility) or the name sake FREE EDUCATION we enjoyed and want to foster in this century too.

It is very difficult to deal with politician with DUD BRAINS, just like it was very difficult for me to try to introduce various Linux distributions for general use in our school system and classrooms.

Yes, there is Hanthana Linux, a derivative of Fedora out there but it is very difficult to get a copy or download in this blessed country in which we pay through our noses for the services for which we pay dearly and get only 10% output or throughput, the productivity which is less than 10%.

We had been boasting about war victory for last three years but the productivity has hit rock bottom except for few privileged personalities with political connections.

In the University for the first time the productivity almost hitting the ZERO rating.

That ZERO rating made me to venture into many uncharted territories but relatively minimal political involvement but my POLITICAL STATEMENTS at the time of Commonwealth Conference is loud and clear.

Politician cannot produce productivity but only we can do it for them but they have to tore the line with the global trends.

We cannot reinvent the wheel.

Productivity comes with only good pay.
 

If you pay pittance the returns is a pittance.

Let me come to Linux, I was reading the Linux Magazine today but there I always read the editors page before even glancing on the FREE Distribution and this time it happened to be Mageia.

He was commenting on the news item that Google is paying 50% of the salary for 10 years to the dependent, if an employee is deceased.

WOW but his comments on this deal, an intellectual exercise by itself which I won´t repeat here.

A lesser politician cannot understand his logic but go buy the Magazine and read it for yourself, it is his intellectual property.

Now to my list in order of my preference.

1. Puppy Linux for its minimal use of resources and awesome collection of utilities including cloud compatibility.
There are many derivatives, for Games, Cloud, Netbooks, Laptops and Desktops.

It is easy on you and can carry in a Pendrive.

2. Pinguy Linux is the only one which has a current derivative for old (netbooks) and new computers.
It is very pleasing experience.
THANK YOU Guys/Girls.

3. Ubuntu for its bold steps, moving with the trends and cloud capability.

4. Ultimate Linux/TANGO / STUDIO and now KIWI and SUPER OS. The last two integrate classic genome with Unity.

This is what I said when Ubuntu was contemplating on Unity (provide Unity and Gnome in one distribution and everybody will be happy).

So Ubuntu derivatives will do what Canonical won´t do!
Canonical has abandoned Kubuntu and NetRunner is a good hit with Netbooks

This is a good lesson to FEDORA and Mandrake and Mageia.

5. Five has to be ARCH LINUX for its VISION and Dedication to produce a minimalistic Quality Product without fringes.

They are command line experts but why work only on black and white. Introducing a minimalistic desktop to play few games (4M Linux tradition) will make its global penetration cakewalk and in no time, when one is fed up with the black terminal, who would not play few at least DOS game?

Light desktop like DELI Linux will make a huge impact globally and will make it climb up in popularity almost like Puppy Linux.

Having said that Bridge Linux, Archbang and Criunchbang (Debian derivative) have done the honors for ARCH Linux.

6. Number six is Debian for its enormous resources, one will never be able to tap in a lifetime.

7. Sabayon comes seventh and it is Gentoo based and beautiful with many desktop versions including KDE and Gnome

8. Knoppix has come down below Debian simply because I had to download it for the third time.

The graphic installer for demonstration purposes to Linux newbies is still not working to my satisfaction.

It has followed KIWI and Super OS and actually do it better than Ubuntu with multiple desktops.
I am sure by Christmas time KNOPPIX will climb up to 3rd if not fourth place.

9. PCLinux and it is lacking in innovation even though the KDE is solid.

10. Korarra Linux Fedora derivative and not Fedora 17.

11. Even though, SuSe has not kept its place in the top 10, it is beautiful but heavy and lack simple utilities.

12. Linus Mint, has dropped in my list and unfortunately it is in its 13th edition.
It is trying to do too many things in one go.
Ubuntu is focused on its Vision for Future but Linux Mint is not.
It is playing an open market game which is a spoiler for me.
It is not a game-changer at all.

13. Mandriva  / Mageia / ROSA and I wish them good luck and they should follow Knoppix, KIWI and Super Os examples to get back on track.

It is humanly possible but Russians are not creative nowadays unlike in the nineteen sixties when cold war was in full swing.
I did not want to have 13th but decided to include Mageia since the copy I got with the Linux Magazine did not boot up with my old IBM which I have hacked with various new additions.
It does not have auto-detect utility for hard disks.
I want recommend it for general use yet.
They say number 13 is unlucky, may be so for Mandriva and Mageia

There won´t be 14th in my list it is for YOU to decide the next in the list.

I must tell you why I use Linux.

Number one is FUN now.

It used to be SECURITY when I started it.

I have used my Main Linux  Box for over one year day in and day out (more because of the strike action) but I never used any changes after Firewall was configured.

Worst scenario is that I have forgotten the password (I haven´t had any need for one year and I simply forgot it but no harm done yet) for root and I forgot the user password briefly yesterday.
That was unintended disaster!

I was up all night and doing sorting out of all my Linux distributions for installing on my laptop, three months in advance of the December recess from academic activities (again due to strike action and no creative work to do). and I could not start the computer after restart having tested a Puppy Linux derivative.
Absentminded prof!

I have now decided to write all my passwords in a book including my email passwords.

I also forgot the email password and Ubuntu One password too in a momentary loss of my intellectual capacity due to (no sleep at all) any valid reason just gone blank (not a stroke) and I was working nonstop on a Sunday from  2 p.m till Monday morning, knowing very well,  I do not have to worry about work on Monday.
Mind you Sunday is my SLEEP DAY.

So if you are on a Holiday or on industrial action, take care of your intellectual capabilities and passwords.

That is called disuse atrophy in medicine, in my case it was the BRAIN.

It is time for my brain to DRAIN, possibly abroad.

I recovered from this ordeal in a matter of one hour without sleeping or having a break and that will be another piece of writing, soon.

Last time when I forgot the email password I had to toil for solid three months to get back to base, nearly a decade ago.

It was horrible and I instituted a protocol that ran good stead for me due to mental apathy and lack of sleep this time round.

All these due to lethargy and industrial action and disuse atrophy.
Strike is not a good recipe for intellectuals and only good for political purposes.
Our strike has taken a political trend and a turn unfortunately.
God blessing we have a Commonwealth Conference now.
Hope it will be an eyeopener!

Update on Linux on Netbooks

Update on Linux on Netbooks

This little  writing would not have come if not for our industrial action.

First of all, I must thank my young colleagues for initiating and prolonging the action for the third month without a break.

I must thank my bank manager for extending a loan to to buy the netbook with SuSe Enterprise 10 on it. 

Mind you we are without a salary for 3 months.

I would not have found this net book lying in a corner, if not for the strike.

Everyday I come out looking for a new adventure and window shopping and getting involved in a long conversation (used to be very brief when we were working) with anybody and everybody was a welcome change.

The extra time was utilized to find the appropriate Linux distribution/s for the new netbook.

What you need apart from the netbook and money are as following

1. Gparted, an old version (new one might not boot in a netbook).

2. Pinguy Eee (It is actually a PIN GUY in Sinhala-Pinata Pahalawela)

3. Easy Peasy-2009-Ubuntu derivative

4.Puppeee a Puppy Linux derivative especially for netbooks

5. Couple of 8 GiB Flash Drives

6. Couple of Mini DVDs  and a USB DVD Writer.

7. Ideally on strike and sleep well on day time

8. Do all this when everybody is sleeping and Internet is not very busy

STEPS

1. Boot up and erase the hard disk with SuSe for good with Gparted and prepare the hard disk the way you like.

2. Install Pingue Eee with a relatively large home partition to place the images of the distributions mentioned above If one is downloading them.

I had all of them in my my CD/DVD collection downloaded over the last three years (for testing) with images as well as Live DVDs.
One needs the images or convert it/them to image/s using K3B, if UnetBootIn used for preparing Live USB.

Pingue 11.04 has Live USB/CD-DVD Creator instead of UnetBootIn.

3. Download NetRunner 4.2.1 and copy the image to  Download folder.

4. In my case I copied it to a DVD

5. Boot Up Pingue Eee with 8 GiB Flash Drive ATTACHED.

6. Open the UnetBootIn

7. Give the path to the NetRunner Image or  Easy Peasy Image.

8. Click OK and go and make a cup of good coffee if you an impatient guy / girl.

9. Before  you can finish the coffee the Flash Drive will be ready for booting.

10. Why did I select the latest NetRunner?

It has GIMP the latest 2.8 version which is pretty good.

Depending on your liking  the other distributions can also be run live or on a Flash Drive which I have done and they all work OK.

But take care with Puppy Linux since one is not able to reverse any action committed by you except reinstalling the distribution one has downloaded.

I have tried Joli OS, Cloud USB and PCLinux 2010 and all of them work OK.

All new versions of Ubuntu, SuSe, PCLinux and Knoppix do not boot and have left YOU with no choices.
They have become hunky dory!

However I copied Knoppix 7.0.4 CD to a download folder and prepared a Live Flash Drive to boot with my other computers.

It looks like images over 1 GiB cannot be copied to a netbook but downloading an image (large) by torrent may be a way round that problem if one has a fast Internet connection. 

If you are pressed for time, form a TRADE UNION and go on strike for at least 3 months and all your creativity will be recharged in no time.

GOOD LUCK with your FREE TIME on Linux FREEDOM.

One can boot Linux from a MicroSD card but I use them for loading photos from my digital camera /or from the phone.

Linux Distribution for Netbooks

Linux Distribution for Netbooks

I have some bad news for netbook users.

If you are a Linux user, the community has left you high and dry.

Thankfully only two distributions that came out three years ago and Netrunner Linux would support the netbooks.

I will dispense with Netrunner 4.2.1 which I downloaded only yesterday.

It is pretty good if you have enough RAM. 

It comes in both 32 bits and 64 bits versions and I recommend it without any hesitation for laptops but for netbooks, make sure you have enough RAM.

It takes up over 8 GiB and hence cannot be mounted on a Flash drive below 8 GiB and I hope the developers would TRIM it down to suit for Flash Drive / Pendrive use below 4 GiB.

But my TOP recommendation is Pingue Eee which does a good job of being relatively recent and having all the software.

Eeebunbtu would boot up your Netbook but has only limited software range.

Hurry up and download Pingue Eee, my favorite and report to its home base if you have any problems.

The rest of the distributions I tested except CloudUSB is not worth any mention here.

Cloud USB is Ubuntu 10 derivative and the developers have got into a FROZEN state due to Ubuntuś Unity project which left all Ubuntu users having a Netbook high and dry.

Sometime ago I suggested the developers of CloudUSB have a fresh look at its future development and they could take a leaf out of NetRunner 4.2.1 and think afresh.

Remember Ubuntu/Canonical does not support Kubuntu now and they are doing a great job and Netrunner is a Kubuntu derivative.

Ubuntu 12.04.1, (LTS-Long Term Support), SuSe 12.2, PCLINux and most of the standard distributions do not support netbooks and one has to remember Linux took off and its resurgence was due to netbooks and abandoning its netbook base is not a good ploy and has left a bad taste with (newbies) Linux users.

This is why Linux is lately becoming less and less popular due to Desktop Development (not utility) CRAZE (I call it D.D.C for short).

Equation of 3R+4R+5R=RxRxRxRxR or R5

Equation of 3R+4R+5R=RxRxRxRxR or R5

This is an equation that resonate in higher echelons which even Einstein failed to fathom.

Einstein used only 3Rs i.e. Register,Remember and Repeat (Review=Recollect)

Then there is 3R for Reconciliation (Respect, Recognize and Review)

Then there is 5R (R-M, R-G, R-B and R-C=RRRRR= R5)

Then there is Rata, Rajaya, Ravaya and Raja Raguma played ad nauseatum!

Linux Freedom with Proprietary Distribution, namely SuSe Linux

Linux Freedom with Proprietary Distribution, namely SuSe Linux

My story with SuSe Linux is both Love and Hate but now mostly HATE.

I was looking for a Netbook for sometime to buy but did not like all the Japanese OEMs since their hardware compatibility is tricky with Linux.

Reason for me looking for a netbook is apart from light weight in money and size was that with tablet hitting the market it would be extremely difficult to buy a new one let alone a second hand one.

I was lucky to find one in Kandy city and it had SuSe on board and it won´t boot up for any demonstration and was lying in a corner.

I had a look at it and was simply attracted by SuSe ¨my old flame¨.

Yes it won´t boot up.

I quickly figured it out that it was due to its clock and (SuSE and its YAST configuration) I let it run for nearly one hour for localization and terminated its looped script after going through many cycles from A to Z godforsaken of all the countries in the world.

Then finally it booted up without any local time but USA time.

I bought it for a reasonable price without knowing whether I can boot it up with  a Flash drive.

I kept it without registering with Novel and finally wanted to install Abiword (instead of Open Office that was available with SuSe 10 - SuSe come to 12 now and this distribution is pretty old) but I could not do that without registering with Novel.

I hated going to an automated process without any personal help.

In any case I do not need any help but problem was finding an alternative distribution that fits my need.

Web search was of no help  and for a week I went through all the Linux distributions downloaded from 2009 and none of them was comprehensive.

The I finally found Pingue Eee and booted it with a DVD and was pretty impressed by it, in about half and hour.

I resized the home partition of SuSe(100 GiB- too massive for my comfort) and installed Pingue Eee and to and my annoyance SuSe won´t boot up.

There was no way I could repair (No Install CD/DVD with the Netbook) it and took Gparted and rewrote the partition table to suit my needs and with it SuSe 10 was gone with the wind.

Good Bye my old flame!
The partition table made by SuSe or its technocrat was horrible to say the least and there was 2 GiB of NTFS partition (for what purpose I do not know) and the SWAP partition for my liking and comfort was too small.

Within half an hour I upgraded the software repository and installed the latest version of Abiword.

I left a big partition for Knoppix 7.0.4 (22 GiB is enough) once it is downloaded (may take a week or more) to Install.
I left a BIG 16 GiB of NTFS partition, in case I decided to dispense it (most unlikely scenario) one day to a Windows Guy with Linux on board.

I am free again without enterprise edition of SuSe.

Pingue has Calbre, Cheesse, Clemantine, UnetBootin, Gparted, LibreOffice and many more..

Who the hell who would beg the Enterprise for these packages from an Enterprising Technocrat?

Not me.

I will write about other Netboot crafted Linux distributions when I come out of my  laziness that was due to our nearly three months on industrial action and no work. 
I am actually enjoying it (the strike) and even Linux is of low priority for me now.