Linux + GNU = Humans Enabled

UPDATE (06-10-09) - Apparently CNN received my message and changed their website so that now CNN Live works great with the Flash Player on Ubuntu GNU/Linux 9.04! You can get to CNN Live by clicking the "Live Video" link at: http://www.cnn.com/video Great job CNN!! Way to support diversity in operating systems. Enjoy your new GNU/Linux viewers. This is what I see when using an Open Source Operating System to view (LIVE) PUBLIC information that is disseminated from our American President!! Is this America or what? Why should I BE REQUIRED to use a PROPRIETARY OPERATING SYSTEM to see what our Government (and current PRESIDENT) is trying to deliver via press conference to me, an American? If this is required, where is the Microsoft/Apple federal tax, that will at least give back to America for the restrictions it provides? How is this Freedom in the United States of America?? I was so ticked off by this that I sent an email to the Antitrust investigation department of our Federal...

OPEN LETTER TO WIRELESS CARRIERS ( Verizon , ATT , Sprint , et. al.): Please give us Android phones ASAP!! HTC and T-Mobile made mobile phone history yesterday(09-23-08) by providing us all with the Open Source Android Operating System on the elegant HTC G1 handset. DON'T GET LEFT BEHIND!! It would be too bad for you if all of us started switching over to T-Mobile just to get the Android phone, but this move may become a reality if you don't catch on quickly to the Android phenomena , and start providing this awesome phone very soon. So that's it, GIVE US ANDROID AND Let FREEDOM ring!! Good day. Shannon VanWagner GNU/Linux Evangelist

Here's something my 11-year old son ferreted out by using GNU/Linux: So you're looking for a cool online RPG game that will work with GNU/Linux? Then you should checkout: www.dragonfable.com dragonfable even has a special player in it named "Linus", here's his bio: "Your tiny penguin pal, he gets confused alot and likes cleaning... but will not do Windows"(see screenshot below). GNU/Linux gaming is alive and advancing! Go GNU/Linux!!

So recently I was working on a computer for a customer of mine who wanted to replace Vi$ta on her computer with Ubuntu GNU/Linux Hardy Heron. The customer really, really doesn't like Vi$ta, and I don't blame her, but that is a story for another day. The real reason for this posting is to hopefully alert the D-Link company to a problem that us GNU/Linux users are faced with when using their products, in this case the D-Link DWA-130 Ver:A1 USB wireless adapter. First of all, I believe D-Link products are good products, I really do. However, for some of the D-Link products to work on GNU/Linux, we are forced to use the ndiswrapper because there are no Linux drivers available(yet). As for using the ndiswrapper, the ubuntuforums.org says we can use the ndiswrapper for the DWA-130 here . Using the ndiswrapper is not a big deal to me, since I simply fire up the sudo ndisgtk utility to then load the *.inf (win) driver. BUT THE PROBLEM IS D-LINK DOES NOT LET ME DOWNLOAD THE *.inf and *....

Digg is a vast database of really, really good stuff. Imagine an Army of Diggers, by the thousands, scouring the Internet everyday, finding the best stories and submitting them to digg. This is a massive, massive resource of information. Unfortunately, if you're like me, you haven't had much luck with the search tool on digg. So of all the awesome information that's available on digg, it's a shame we can't search through it better, or can we? That's where our good 'ole friend google comes in... We can use google.com to search for key terms only on the digg.com site, and reap the benefits of the best information that's submitted to digg! It's easy, check out the examples below. Just paste the search term into google.com, or click the link provided, and you'll be amazed at how easy you'll find what you're looking for. Click some of the examples below to see how it works. how to reset windows administrator password site:digg.com best file r...

As an avid Linux user and promoter, I am frequently faced with the pessimistic viewpoint of the minuscule market share that the Linux Desktop occupies. And although Linux on the Desktop will continue to move in positive direction of a mainstream Desktop Operating System, I'd like to share my view as to why this process has not been the Mushroom Cloud of expansion that us Linux lovers would like to see it be. The problem is very simple actually. The Linux market share is currently limited by the lack of support for it from computer hardware makers. That's it. Plain and simple. Since hardware makers do not help make drivers for GNU/Linux, the GNU/Linux community has to use a lot more time to "catch up" in the development of drivers. And if playing "catch up" isn't bad enough, In some instances, the hardware makers make it even harder for Linux, by using some wonky tactics to store pictures on a flash chip for instance (enter the world of Professor Theodore...

So the other day I was making my routine perusal of the computer merchandise at my local retailer (OK so I admit it, I was at Wal Mart). While walking through the aisle of peripheral devices I was thinking to myself, what is the most problematic device to get working in GNU/Linux? And that's when it hit me... it's USB WebCams. Linux is arguably the most compatible operating system for just about any type of typical computer hardware out there. What this means is that a great number of all types of devices already work with Linux, ranging from a multitude of CPUs/Motherboards, to wired/wireless networking, to disk drives/RAID controllers, to external drives and media, to audio/video/playback devices, and the list goes on and on. With that being said, when I think of what type peripheral device that is comparatively lacking in functionality and drivers for GNU/Linux, it is the USB WebCam. So after I inspected every USB WebCam available on the shelf at Wal Mart, the "system ...