Showing headlines posted by helios

I've often stated that if we were to take measure of the average US citizen's IQ, based on their television viewing habits, they would place comfortably between a bag of hammers and....uh, Kim Kardashian. Don't laugh, I don't think there is much of a spread there at all. Remember folks, every time Jersey Shore airs, billions of brain cells die. Which is probably fine since they weren't being used anyway.

The Point is, software and network engineers will find a way around this. Be it a browser extension or a stand-alone VPN solution, people will access what they want to access. What the **AA's and Congress fail to realize is that the Genie is out of the bottle. The Internet is what it is and some bought-and-paid-for congressional lackey isn't going to legislate it otherwise.

"Does he really give you presents?"

I just nodded and smiled then looked back on the computer screen. See, personally; and even at an early age, I've been uncomfortable with the whole Santa Claus thing. Again, it's a personal thing and I don't judge or begrudge anyone for perpetuating the tradition. It just sits inside me wrong. But then I came upon the answer I wanted to give him.

It's obvious that the MPAA has their greasy hands all over this decision, and there is probably little doubt that any licensing agreement between LoveFilms and the content owners was contingent upon them switching over to Silverlight. Duh....I figured that all out on my own

Instead of going to her room where she was, he bellowed for her like she was cattle. She came into the room quickly and appeared apprehensive but when she saw me there, her face and body relaxed. She was obviously frightened of this man.

Most recently, we installed a small 4 computer center at Furaha House. Coming to a strange country and falling into a completely foreign culture is most usually a shock. Furaha House is a non profit organization that aids African refugees and immigrants in learning the language, customs and all the while striving to be productive citizens in their new country.

I was pretty firm, if not too much so in explaining to him....again...that Windows programs did not work on Linux. I made it a point to remind him that I spent well over an hour going over this stuff with him then spent another 10 minutes on the phone with him explaining the difference between "download" and "install". I thought I was done. No.

Here's the first of the real shockers... Microsoft has decided that Windows 8 should ship with it's very own, tied-in, tied-down, bundled, ne'r-to-be-separated anti virus. Who'd-a thunk it?

Peter Hewitt is a retired educator and IT professional who came to us not particularly interested in helping develop Meacher the Mouse Teacher, but in rebuilding his mouse teaching program Mulawa Dreaming Easy for Linux. As it stood, it was a Windows only app but having over 200 thousand downloads of his varied projects, Peter believed that it was worth expanding to the Linux world. He emailed me and told me that when he had something ready, he would email me.

I think it took him 3 days.

In the six years The HeliOS Project has been in business, we've applied various and sundry wallpapers to our outgoing computers. Some, we've just picked stock work from what is already available, some we've found on the Interwebz, and I've even tried my hand at creating an "official" wallpaper for our machines. Think six year old with dull crayons when you envision my renderings. That being said, we are hosting a contest and asking our readers to submit their work for consideration as the wallpaper that will go out on our HeliOS machines.

An Australian retailer is defying Apple and the courts by continuing to sell Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 to Aussies, despite the temporary injunction.

While Thomas goes about his business in this world, acting all normal and everything, he also dwells in a world where Evil Warlord Wizards cast mayhem and misery on the land. But all things in balance, Good battles evil, sometimes with ambiguous results.

Thomas is the author of a new book, The Time Weaver.

Look, I'm an old Dungeon Master myself. I've contemplated and fondled my share of eight-sided dice and I've created worlds where madness is the norm.

But nothing like Thomas weaves.

HeliOS has been criticized from time to time for giving computers to kids that probably wouldn't use them to their full potential.

I'm not going to argue the point. the criticism is more than likely valid.

But we don't operate on "mights" and "could be's"

We work on the assumption that with the right encouragement and strong parental guidance, the child will excel once given the right technology tools.

A precocious, smart and goal-oriented 10 year old has helped prove that

After 3 weeks, we have the semblance of a Development Team for an application that will help autistic kids learn how to use a mouse.

One thing I notice over and over when showing people Linux...they cannot wrap their heads around the whole "No antivirus needed" thing. I take the time to pull up various articles encouraging computer users NOT to use Windows to do their banking. That usually does it.

She told me that even if she could not run her apps in Linux, she would like Linux installed as a dual boot so she could bank with confidence on the Internet.

Done deal.

That should be the end of the story but it isn't.

Many of you know that I've raised he!! over goofy, hurtful and esoteric software names in Linux. While many think little of this, many more have stepped forward to agree that if Linux is to even think of gaining market share, we have to think more in lines of Market instead of Me. Well the shoe's on the other foot now.

Being as impartial and honest as I can be, the basic Linux gamesphere, to include the educational applications, fall short of the Autistic child's needs. Of course, I understand that it was never geared for this, but I believe there needs to be some awareness of the condition and a way we, as an Open Source Community, can help.

Scheduling the classes wasn't easy at first. We wanted to hold the three day, one hour a day classes for every other week. They run from Tuesday to Thursday, 7-8 PM. That would have been a doable thing until Diane suffered two strokes and renal failure. As important as HeliOS is to me, I cannot in good conscious leave her alone when she needs someone there with her. So what were we to do? Thanks to several community-minded folks that have worked with HeliOS in the past, we are able to offer our classes on the above schedule, with a qualified and dedicated instructor for each night. Let me introduce you to the HeliOS Project Instructors.

We talk a lot about the Linux computers we install for disadvantaged kids. Most of the time, it is deeply gratifying and it assures me that I am in the right place within The Universe. But it ain't all Unicorns, Glitter and Rainbows...

She went on to share with the class that from time to time, she would inadvertently hit that key, making the screen go full. Of course, she had no idea what key she had pushed.

Honestly, I thought she was going to cry.

No one in the assisted living center knew how to bring the menus and task bar back and she was frozen in place, unable to do anything.

In desperation, she would reinstall Windows from scratch. Not knowing anything about data backups, she would lose everything she had accumulated.

Just because she did not know that the F11 key was the culprit and the cure.