Showing headlines posted by DynaBMan

Open-source culture. What does this bring to mind? For some, it represents freedom: freedom to speak, freedom to share, and freedom to change. Yet, to others, the words sound a death-knell. To them, anything open-source is dangerous. Sherman Alexie, a novelist, was quoted in an interview: “With the open-source culture on the Internet, the idea of ownership — of artistic ownership — goes away… it terrifies me.” I must respectfully disagree.

As long as I am using Kopete, sending messages, etc. everything is as it should be. No connection problems at all. As soon as I let the program go idle, it starts disconnecting every ten minutes, giving an Error 17 message, like clockwork. It always reconnects on it’s own, but as you can see from the screenshot, you could set your watch by when it disconnects from the Yahoo server.

KMyMoney is a true open-source program that surprised me when I first started using it. I didn’t even know it existed until my brother told me about it and I didn’t really know what to expect from the program, but I was very pleased by it’s feature set and by it’s overall look and feel. I have not been disappointed by using the program and if you give it a try, I don't think you will be either.

I have to admit, I am a software junkie. I like good software that works as it should and does it’s job with a minimum of effort on my part. When I first started using a computer at home, one of the first things I started looking for was a software program that would manage my finances and allow me to keep up with what I spend. It is essential for me because although I do not have a lot of different finances to keep up with, I need all the help I can get.

Sometimes, a problem can be a good thing and lead you to something that is even better than what is currently taking place. Thus it is that a laptop that wouldn't work with a live CD of sidux did work with SimplyMepis 8 and convinced me to try it on my desktop. This is one problem I am glad I had because it led me to begin using SimplyMepis 8, a Debian based Linux distro that is a joy to use.

The wait is almost over for sidux users. According to good sources from inside the sidux team, KDE 4.2 will be moved to the sidux repos in the next few days.

After years of using Windows based computers and having to fight the operating system every step of the way, just to use it the way I needed, I finally made the switch to Linux a year ago. It's not been without problems, but believe me when I say, that was one of the smartest moves I could have made. I am not sorry I made the move and I certainly can't see myself ever going back to Windows.

As much as I like Opera 9.5, I have started using Firefox 3.0.3 as my default browser. It almost makes me feel guilty, because I really do like Opera. It’s a slick little browser that I still use it at times and who knows, I may go back to using it full time at a later date. However, Firefox 3 has won me over for the time being. Something my brother said sums it up. With Firefox 3, you can add as little or as much customization as you want or need and for me, that makes it a winner.

Do any of you use Linux as your primary operating system? I have been dual-booting Linux and Windows for about five years now, though it’s a rare thing, indeed, for me to use the latter for anything. I know whatever you decide to use is entirely up to you, unless you are stuck using someone else’s computer.

As some of you know, Linux is what my computers run on, and Simply Mepis is the particular distribution. I have been using Simply Mepis for a number of years, and would not go backwards into a Windows environment for anything. There is no need to, really, as all my computing needs are met in Linux: safe, secure, virus free, and easy to use. For more on Linux, you can read my post Linux - Is It For You?

First, let me clear up a mistake I made in my previous article about sidux. I used a “S” instead of a “s”. sidux is spelled with a small s. I am still trying to get around Mrs. Gibson’s High School English class. Okay, now that we have gotten the English lesson out of the way, you may be wondering, what in the world is sidux. Well, to start off, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a couple of screenshots of my desktop. Keep in mind that I like to keep my desktop simple and uncluttered. I have my icons all hidden, but as are most things in sidux, that is easily changed.