tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-367223942024-03-13T05:37:20.224-07:00Uber Geek Inc.Ever sit around the table with a bunch of ties and realize not one of them understands a word coming out of your mouth? I do. How did I get here?Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-29907247363430926322008-09-11T09:52:00.003-07:002008-09-11T11:33:50.241-07:00DRM Kills Spore (for me)Four days after it was released in my area, the much anticipated game Spore has, in my opinion, failed due to its draconian DRM. I purchased a copy after returning from France (where it had been released already), how could I not - my ten year-old son had been counting down to this date for 126 days. And in all respects, sounds like a great game that interests my son as well as mine. Little didJeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-87013672080563462552008-06-06T11:36:00.005-07:002008-12-10T11:16:30.174-08:00No Love for the HP2133 MininoteMaybe I should have called this post, I Hate Closed Hardware instead.When I attended Linuxfest NorthWest 2008 I stood before the HP booth and fondled the HP 2133 Mininote. A bit larger and heaver than the EeePC that was in my bag at the time (running Ubuntu Gutsy, thank you very much), but with more of everything (CPU, drive, resolution). It was perfect for my summer of traveling, I convinced Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-62873321412355031772008-05-29T08:42:00.005-07:002008-12-10T11:16:30.345-08:00Considering JoomlaNeed to retool our corporate website - and a contractor recommended Joomla as a solution. Joomla is an Open Source Content Management System (CMS) written in PHP and will run on a variety of environments.My first impression is that Joomla is very nice - slick - I play around on the demo site. So I, naturally, want to give it a try on my own box and am surprised that such a large project does Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-78817875079774185602008-04-30T09:26:00.006-07:002008-12-10T11:16:30.751-08:00Dell ships to CASome time ago I voted on Dell's Idea Storm website. Bring us Linux on the consumer products, give me Ubuntu I voted! Dell listened (thank you!) and started to do limited releases out, what feels like, the back door of their site - but only to the United States but there were promises to (eventually) come to Canada.Let me get one thing straight - I am not a patient guy.I tried to order a laptop Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-76587118703884946492008-04-30T09:07:00.003-07:002008-04-30T09:59:22.417-07:00Linuxfest Northwest 2008!I do not attend many Linux conferences but have known about the event just south of the border for me, called Linuxfest Northwest. At this time of year (as well as the fall), work is especially challenging as I have to put on the tie as well as act the part in numerous corporate events. It was nice to steal away for a weekend to attend this affair.Last year I attended Ubuntu Live. It was fun, Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-14090434134152481972007-12-15T09:50:00.000-08:002007-12-15T09:56:23.323-08:00Where is Vista at the Office?A year ago I purchased a single volumn license of MS Windows Vista and decided that we, the company I work with, was not ready for migrating to this new version any time soon.Over that year I've kept my ear to the ground, regionally I mean, speaking with other IT leaders in my area - the larger, well established, vendors - what are others doing with Vista in the workspace? Across the board, Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-73033153979314967642007-12-15T08:55:00.000-08:002008-12-10T11:16:30.890-08:00Asus Eee PC 701 ReviewI will admit that I had not heard any of the hype associated with this device until I read an online article - a quick check of my preferred corporate vendor, a couple clicks, and ordered. I received two days later.The Asus Eee PC 701 is very very cool - I am extremely thrilled with this new device and have yet to wet my appetite for tweaking it. Having purchased the Nokia N800 as well as the Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-65081487216633720392007-12-05T15:56:00.000-08:002007-12-15T09:57:15.253-08:00My Day to Day ComputingI've been asked a couple times what do I use for hardware and operating systems on any given day. Those that know me would not be surprised that the answer is not a little one.I use two laptops every day: an Apple MacBook Pro with OSX Leopard and a Zareason MegaLap with Ubuntu Linux. I have been trying to move much of my day to day work to OSX, so the Linux laptop is there for the things that IJeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-62667246184556868742007-12-05T15:36:00.001-08:002008-12-10T11:16:31.157-08:00Zareason HomeBox ReviewAfter the positive experiences of purchasing a Linux laptop from this small company, I emailed Zareason to see if they would customize their HomeBox for me.What I wanted was a stripped down machine with a second network card as I wanted to use this box as my gateway at home. The box (or cube) is beautiful, a small silver computer that tucks neatly into my shelf and does the job I intended Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-38216323306508333172007-12-05T15:20:00.000-08:002008-12-10T11:16:31.373-08:00Zareason MegaLap ReviewDuring Ubuntu Live 2007 one of the exhibitors was a small company called ZaReason. They had a host of systems on display but the one that caught my eye was the MegaLap running World of Warcraft with Compiz (it was running with Wine but what really caught my eye was the ability to move between desktops and task switching effortlessly).This laptop is a generic Asus Z84J - 17" LCD display, 2GB RAM,Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-27788179864545419072007-07-26T07:57:00.000-07:002007-12-15T09:57:37.894-08:00Ubuntu Live ThoughtsIts been two days since I returned from Ubuntu Live 07 and wanted to give my thoughts on the conference.Overall, a great collection of people and minds - I enjoyed it very much and came away pleased with the experience.Sessions were too short, too high level, that I came away with less than I could have seen after 30 seconds reading onlineDisappointed that there were not more non-linux people Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-3532315273045534012007-07-26T07:44:00.000-07:002007-07-26T07:56:06.483-07:00FSF - Got the tee-shirt!Okay - I've had to get defencive when someone called me on wearing a FSF tee that I purchased at Ubuntu Live.I purchased two tee-shirts and the book "Free Software Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard Stallman" - but stopped short from purchasing membership into the FSF. The Free Software Foundation aren't the bad guys - philosophical differences aside. (read my rant on GNU GPL v3)Where Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-76777663541739725032007-07-24T05:35:00.000-07:002007-12-15T09:58:59.127-08:00Ubuntu Live KeynotesI've seen all the keynotes for the conference and each was great in its own way. From Mark Shuttleworth's introduction, to Matt Asay's warning to Ubuntu, Eben Moglen's eloquent description to our state of affairs to Tim O'Reilly's excellent out-of-the-box thoughts.It was great to listen to these gentlemen, as well as all the others, I really owe each of these guys a beer!Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-75829232413225214272007-07-23T22:54:00.000-07:002007-12-15T09:58:08.582-08:00Hello from Ubuntu Live 07!I'm here at my first Linux (specific) conference and greatly enjoying it! Hitting all the keynotes as well as many sessions as possible. I'm meeting some great people, shaking a lot of hands and doing a lot of thinking about Open Source and Linux.Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-86291926167702806632007-07-03T13:24:00.000-07:002007-12-15T09:58:16.494-08:00GNU GPL v3What can I say? Have you heard that the Free Software Foundation has released the newest incarnation of the GNU GPL version 3? If you don't know what this is, skip this entry. And if you do know, what do you think?Me, I think its a mistake. I really do.Version 2 of the license is about the software, encouraging success through sharing. Take from the source but give back your changes for the Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-75268417055831086042007-03-20T09:08:00.000-07:002007-03-20T14:10:55.994-07:00Upgrade Debian Sarge to EtchI have a Debian server that has been around for 6+ years. Oh sure, the hardware has changed, even failed and replaced, but the OS has been going this whole time. I have used the DEB packages almost exclusively, maybe even religiously on this box - using whichever flavour of package management application I felt like at the time (apt-get and aptitude are my preferences).After a Debian machine Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-4337368540581281922007-03-07T10:50:00.000-08:002008-12-10T11:16:32.178-08:00Review: Lenovo ThinkPad X60As a long time Thinkpad user, my vendor convinced me to try the Lenovo ThnkPad X60 Tablet out (I didn't make it very hard for him).The short and dirty specifications are:Intel Core Duo processor L2500 1.8380 GB hard driveGigabit ethernetBluetoothIntel Pro/Wireless 3945ABG12.1" screen at 1400x1050x32 resolution2 GB RAMThe first thing that I notice is the weight - not even 4 pounds, easy to hold inJeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-77916948029499978452007-03-07T10:16:00.000-08:002007-12-15T10:05:52.132-08:00Virtualization on the ServersI attended a virtualization conference with VMware presenting here in Vancouver.I have used virtualization for some years on a desktop environment. On your OS of choice, setup VMware Server (or Player), then install any other OS of choice into a virtual environment. Very slick. Run your desktop of choice, a Linux distribution I hope(!) and then if you must, run Windows XP within a virtual Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-29626282213969745472007-02-11T10:30:00.000-08:002007-03-20T10:09:29.608-07:00Review: Nokia N800In an earlier blog post I reviewed the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. Nokia has come out with a new version in January and I promptly ordered the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet for myself.This sexy little device is what the 770 should have been. With updated memory, new OS version and some exciting new features - this is the device that I wanted when I purchased the earlier version.I took my family to Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-33687647088578367672007-02-03T16:39:00.000-08:002007-12-15T10:05:29.770-08:00Two Days with VistaAs many MS Windows users know, after a period of use you will need to reinstall your operating system. This happened to me at work - where I was running Microsoft Windows XP Professional. Being the little dweeb that I am, I thought to give this Vista thing a try - the designate test dummy for our corporation.Microsoft Windows Vista is the newly released product from the Windows operating systemJeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-1169404214664866882007-01-21T10:25:00.000-08:002007-03-20T10:11:07.152-07:00Review: System 76 Gazelle PerformanceI received my System76 Gazelle Performance laptop in November. Since the first day I received the laptop, it has become my primary machine away from the office.Lets look at the statistics first.Display: 14” Widescreen WXGA (1280X800)Graphics: 128 MB nVidia GraphicsSound: Intel High Definition AudioNetworking: 10/100/1000 (LAN)Wireless: Intel 802.11 abgCard Reader: 4 in 1 Card ReaderExpansion: Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-1168619475545353482007-01-12T08:19:00.000-08:002007-12-15T10:02:44.112-08:00Vista Released, Does Anyone Care?I have been pondering the release of Microsoft Vista. November 30 2006, Microsoft announced the availability of Vista for businesses (and broadly available on January 30 2007). The excitement (at least in the trash tech media) leading up to the initial release was in full swing. All the gears were in motion for another industry sweeping product from Microsoft.So what happened?Was there any Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-1166723412173477452006-12-21T09:11:00.000-08:002007-12-15T10:02:28.564-08:00Microsoft MVLS and OEMBefore I start, I warn you I'm cranky!Okay, our company has a small host of IBM workstations which come with Microsoft OEM software. Some of the products installed are based on our corporate Volume Licensing (MVLS) purchases.Lets look at the two in general, high level terms (as I understand them as a end-user with purchasing power):OEM - comes bundled with your new hardware. Licensed only for Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-1166330853747899612006-12-16T20:35:00.000-08:002007-03-20T10:13:10.754-07:00Review: Nokia 770 Internet TabletAbout a month ago I received my Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. For those not in the know, it is a portable device allowing easy web surfing, email, multimedia and even phone access. What drew me to this device was not this list of items, but that it ran Linux under the hood - specifically the Debian distribution.Before I get into it, here are the highlights. Weight: 8.1 Ounces Size: 5.5 x 3.1 xJeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36722394.post-1165353462229745672006-12-05T13:15:00.000-08:002007-12-15T09:47:10.666-08:00Implement: Starting a Rails ProjectSo you got Ruby on Rails (RoR) installed on your computer - now you want to start using it. There are a couple things I do when starting a project that may come in helpful for you. They may not be for everyone - so give them a read before you implement.# lets start our project named 'myproject'rails --database=mysql myprojectcd myproject# I use Subversion, so lets import into a new svn Jeff Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04658717556600124567noreply@blogger.com0