Alternatives to Windows

Alternatives to Windows

There are lots of alternatives out there and many of them are free of charge so there’s no excuse for not trying something different than Windows. Linux-based operating systems often have a lighter footprint and can therefore breathe a new lease of life onto older machines that would struggle to run the latest Windows versions. Security is a consideration too as the majority of malware is still targeted at almost all Windows systems. You might also want to put a PC to more specialized uses – as a file server on your home network for example or as a media center or firewall. Linux is still the most popular alternative to Windows and it comes in lots of different flavors. While traditionally it’s used desktops like KDE or Gnome that provide a Windows-like experience for the user, that’s beginning to change. The latest Ubuntu Linux has a look that owes more to tablet systems and indeed is similar to preview versions of Windows 8. You can even get a version of the Android OS for mobile and tablet systems to run on your PC.

Linux Live USB
Most Linux distros give you the option of creating a live CD so that you can boot from the disc and not affect the contents of your hard drive. On modern systems that can boot from USB you can install the OS on a USB drive, allowing you to just plug it in and restart the PC. There are programs to help you do this, like Lil USB Creator (www.linuxliveusb.com) for example.

WUBI
There are also options to allow you to run another system within Windows. We’ll look at using virtual machines later, but if you’re running Ubuntu you can take advantage of WUBI. This is included in Ubuntu and can also be downloaded separately from http://wubi-installer.org. This WUBI allow you to install Ubuntu inside Windows, setting aside a portion of the disk space as a virtual drive with the option to add a boot loader allowing you to choose which OS to start when you switch on the computer.

UNBUTO
Separate editions are available for use on netbooks and for running servers. You can install Ubuntu alongside Windows using the WUBI option. You can find much more information about the different versions at www.ubuntu.com. The website also gives you access to help and support as well as free documentation. If you need to tap into the expertise of other users you can access the Ubuntu forums at http://ubuntuforums.org/ where you’ll find a wide range of discussions on the operating system and related topics. 

Puppy Linux Free
If you want a lightweight alternative that can be run from CD, installed on the system or even run from a flash drive, then it’s worth taking a look at Puppy Linux (www.puppylinux.org). It’s ideal for older machines that may not be powerful enough to run the latest Windows or even larger Linux distros like Ubuntu.

Live Android

Live Android You may already be familiar with the Android operating system from mobile phones and tablet devices. The version on this issue’s coverdisc allows you to create a live CD which you can use to try out the system on your PC. Android is designed for touch screen operation, so navigating the interface on a PC takes a bit of getting used to. You can click icons with the mouse to load applications – you only need to single click – and you can move up and down menus using the arrow keys. To page back through screens use the Esc key. Because it’s designed for mobile systems Android is very light in its use of system resources so it will run well on older PCs, netbooks or in virtual machine configurations.

The Live version includes a small number of apps that allow you to access the Web for example, it should be able to use your machine’s network connection, though you’ll find you get the mobile version of popular websites. Its practical purposes are quite limited but Android is interesting to play around with and a useful tool for would be app developers. It’s also fast which makes it good for surfing the Web on lower powered systems. See the website at http://code.google.com/p/live-android/ for more information on using the OS and configuring it to work with networks as well as loading it to run from a USB drive. 

PROGRAMS

• System Price Website Damn Small Linux Free http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/
• Live Android Free http://code.google.com/p/live-android/
• Puppy Linux Free http://puppylinux.org/ 
• Slax Free www.slax.org
• VirtualBox Free www.virtualbox.org
• Puppy Linux (www.puppylinux.org)

Photo Copyright Waiver at WalMart, Walgreens and CVS???

If you need to print some photos taken by someone else using print services at places like Walmart, Walgreen and CVS; be careful!  Why? Well if the photographs look “too professional” for them, they will ask for copyright information.  Some places will require a printed copyright release before allowing you to pick up the prints, even after you’ve paid for them.

The Consumerist has a story of a woman named Jessica who ran into problems at Walmart after collecting photos from a couple pro photographer friends for a friend’s funeral:
See, Jessica’s friend was a professional photographer, as is her friend’s husband, who had e-mailed Jessica the photos to have printed. “So even their candid pictures appear professional,” she explains to Consumerist.
[...] In addition to those photos, Jessica says that Walmart wanted copyright info on a couple of shots that had been taken at a pro studio like Olan Mills back in the ’70s.
“There was no mark on them to indicate where they were taken, and my friend’s mom had sent me those,” writes Jessica. “She paid for them back in the day when they were taken, and she scanned them for me last week. How am I supposed to get written copyrights for every single picture?
Jessica had also checked a box affirming that she had permission to print the images while on Walmart’s website. Protecting copyright is a good thing, but having employees make decisions on whether photos are “too professional” after they’ve already been printed and paid for doesn’t seem like a very good system.
I will not use WalMart or any other Photo Printing Companies to printing & I do not encourage any of my friends to use WalMart for printing. It has happened to me as a rookie photographer, they were my images, and I needed the copyright release printed out on a business letterhead, such a pain!

Closing the Broadband Opportunity Gap with Comcast

Comcast's $9.99 Internet for low-income families

See about Comcast’s new program, Internet Essentials. http://www.internetessentials.com/ . They will provide broadband internet access for $9.95 per month to families whose children qualify for free or reduced lunch and will offer and internet-ready computer to the families for $150.00. It’s called the Internet Essentials that was launched a few months ago. 

Some of their accomplishments in the few months since it started are in a progress report progress report .  

According to Comcast they inform In a blog post, that they listed a litany of achievements in the first six months of the program including:

• Publicized the program across more than 4,000 school districts and over 30,000 schools, which have approximately 3.5 million National School Lunch Program (NSLP) families, of which 2 million qualify for free meals under the NSLP and, therefore, are eligible for Internet Essentials;
• Worked with more than 3,000 partners, including governors; mayors; local, state, and federal legislators, and community-based organizations, including churches, libraries, and PTAs, to promote InternetEssentials and engage eligible families in their communities;
• By the end of 2011, over 10,000 individuals and organizations had registered for the Partner Portal, the portal had experienced over 100,000 unique visits, and partners had requested 11.5 million pieces of promotional collateral —all at no charge to the partner organizations.
• Offered approximately 300 in-person digital literacy training sessions with more than 1,250 individual attendees;
• Empowered nearly 100,000 Comcast employees to directly connect eligible families in their communities;
• Connected over 41,000 families (an estimated 160,000 Americans) to the power of the Internet in their homes, some for the very first time; an distributed over 5,500 computers at less than $150 each.

This could be an opportunity for many of our students so pass the information to your neighbor so they can take advantage of this.

Some tools to put at your website

Other people have made tools to strike. Some other ways to strike:

• Zachary Johnson's blackout page
• ProtestSOPA.org
• CloudFlare's Stop Censorship app
• SOPA Strike Wordpress Plugin

Internet GOES on STRIKE to stop The Web Censorship Bills on Congress!!

Confirmed Participants:

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• Google
• Wikipedia
• reddit
• Mozilla
• WordPress
• icanhazcheezburger network sites (FailBlog, theDailyWhat,Know Your Meme, etc)
• Tucows
• VanillaForums
• The RawStory
• Open Congress / PPF
• Internet Archive
• Miro
• Universal Subtitles
• Namecheap
• TwitPic
• dotSUB
• MoveOn.org
• Gog.com
• MineCraft
• Tor Project
• webhostingbuzz.com
• RageMaker
• Destructiod
• Red 5 studios
• A Softer World
• Greenpeace International
• The LeakyWiki
• XDA-Developers
• Center for Technology and Democracy
• Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Indenti.ca
• Major League Gaming
• Imgur
• Monticello Capitol
• Crypto Cat
• Colossal Mind
• Errata Security
• FreakOutNation
• SlashTHREE
• Focus On the Facts
• City News
• Strategy Tune
• WPS Security Lock
• openSUSE
• Smirking Chimp
• Bread Without Bullets
• iSchool at Syracuse University
• nomacs Image Lounge
• ComputerHope
• PhantomTS
• News2Map.com
• Safex.tk
• DatelineZero
• Liberty Confidential
• Victor Rix
• WJSimpson
• Spurs of The Moment
• peeje
• DigiBase
• Ron Bercume Design
• Jazz Sequence
• Plague Studio
• ViperZeroOne
• Elephant Talk WikiMo 

For more information and support please go to http://sopastrike.com/

Here is a shor video preview of my Chihuahua

Portable software for USB

There are many advantages of getting a USB loaded with a bunch of portable software tools, like Antivirus, Disk Utilities, etc.. You don't need to install anything because the main purpose of these is the fact that portable software can run directly from your USB or any external drive, with no dependence on files or registry entries on the host PC. Portable software ensure that you always have access to your favorite programs wherever you are.

Here is a single application that can do almost everything you need to load your USB or external drive with almost anything you need to run your favorite applications or just fix any computer with spyware or virus.

http://portableapps.com/

Portable Applications

Portable applications can save you some megabytes on your PC plus add the availability to grab all the programs you like on the go.

Check my new video on iRig with Axiom 61 Keyboard