Linux projects updates

RE: The Cloudbook
Well, XP installed successfully but I can't find my product key. Even if I did, I'd still most likely have to call Microsoft for a new one as I'm installing it on completely different hardware. (It's the copy I got with my TabletPC which is now running Vista so I assume installing it on another computer is kosher.)

RE: Linux media server
This project is DOA. I got the new hard drive, WiFi card and another 2x128MB of RAM. Everything worked but 320MB RAM is not enough to run smooth video on a 233MHz processor. Oh well, it was a nice try.

Linux trials and errors

So, I'm currently in the middle of two Linux-based projects. One is going well, the other, not so much.

Project #1:

Two weekends ago my Cloudbook offered to update itself to the new version of Ubuntu (which the included gOS is based on). I ran that update and after several hours I was told I needed to reboot to finish. It was at this point that the touchpad and keyboard were unresponsive. The power button was equally unresponsive. So, I pulled the battery and turned it back on. All I got was a memory test. Seems that reboot was needed to tell the computer that there was actually an OS on the drive.

Today I finally got my hands on an external CD/DVD drive and went to install Ubuntu 8.04 from scratch totally erasing gOS. (I'd been meaning to try that anyway.) Well, the install CD runs and gets just so far then I get the amazingly colored flickering screen. Seems it doesn't like the video driver or something. So, I'm now downloading the ISO of the original gOS install and going to try restoring to factory just to get it up and running. (Really, I'm not complaining, this is a learning experience now.) Anyone want to suggest a good Linux distro other than Ubuntu?

Project #2:

For about a year now I've kept my Vista laptop hooked up in the living room connected to my HDTV. This has been great for watching TV and Video podcasts but there are some down sides. First, I'm running the laptop in dual-screen mode so as to not have to watch something on both the TV and the laptop's monitor. Unfortunately, this causes some programs to run on the laptop screen and need to be dragged to the TV. From the sofa, this isn't always an easy thing to do. Second, the laptop's drive is quite full so I can't put much on it at one time. Third, networking between XP (my base machine in the basement running BitTorrent) and Vista (the laptop) isn't as reliable as I'd like so transferring from one machine to the other usually involved sneakernet. In the end, I've been meaning to buy a box just to hook to the TV. Last night, I hit on an idea.

I've got an old beige box from 2000. For years it ran Windows NT4 very reliably but I didn't hook it back up when I moved to Nebraska a little over a year ago. Hmm. I keep telling people that Linux will run well on old hardware, let me prove it. Install Ubuntu 8.04 I did. It runs, but a smidge slowly on this box. The specs? 233MHz, 96MB RAM, 10GB hard drive. Yep, top of the line eight years ago.

So, Ubuntu runs and Web surfing is fine but video's going to need a little more behind it. I've ordered a 200GB hard drive, another 256MB RAM (the motherboard will only handle 3x128 max) and a wireless card for the networking. Grand total, just under $100.

Once the parts arrive the plan is to install them, get it to talk to my Windows workgroup, and install the USB Bluetooth dongle for my wireless keyboard. Assuming all goes well, I should have a Linux-based media box in my living room within a week or two.

I'll keep you posted on both projects as events warrant.

Open Office 2007 Documents in OpenOffice

I don't use OpenOffice much but it comes installed on the Cloudbook so I think I'm going to start. (Though I also plan on using Google Docs a lot more too.) Anyway, since most of my current files are in Office 2007 format I was concerned about moving between the two programs. Well, a solution is now available: the Open XML Translator.

Expand OpenOffice.org's document opening, saving, and conversion powers to Office 2007 documents with the Open XML Translator, a free plug-in intended for Ubuntu systems.

lifehacker also says that "conversion from Microsoft Office-authored files remains hit-and-miss, but it's a nice step forward for the free and open-source office suite." I'll have to give it a test when I get my Cloudbook.

(Oh, and I'm officially declaring this my blog post for Thing #7: Blog about anything dealing with technology.)

Cloudbook Update

Nope I don't have mine yet. Here's the full e-mail update from ZeReason:

Dear customers who have been waiting for the Cloudbook for far too long.

For the sake of clarity, here is what you need to know:

* Two days before the initial date the Cloudbook would be available for shipping, we opened for pre-orders. We were told the Cloudbooks were off the coast of CA and would be here in about 48 hrs.

* On shipping day, we found out that the Cloudbooks had been pulled for "minor tweaks" and it would be about a month until they were done.

* A month later, on Valentine's Day, we found out that due to the snowstorm in China which bumped up against the Chinese New Year, Everex had gotten only a portion of the systems built. We were given only part of our initial promised allotment. The Cloudbooks that should have gone to fulfil the rest of our preorders were sent on a truck to Walmart.

* We shipped out our portion of the initial allotment, fulfilling orders in chronological order so that people who had waited the longest got theirs first. We shipped the Cloudbooks on the first day they were available, no delay for transport since we are located near Everex headquarters. The rest of the Cloudbooks that sat on a Walmart truck took a little more than a week to get to their destination and are now available for purchase.

* Walmart is doing now what we did on Feb 15th, shipping out their initial batch of Cloudbooks.

To those of you still waiting from the initial batch (the later part of the initial batch), we apologize profusely. We are so deeply sorry that the deadlines have dragged on. The deadline was supposedly this Tuesday, 2-26 and has slipped to Friday, 2-29. We anticipate that it will not come as a surprise to anyone.

Our solution, as a solid, trustworthy little company is to:
1. be as transparent as possible
2. grant you a full refund for pre-orders, if you are even slightly unhappy, and
3. to refocus our company on our own ZaReason laptops that have an ultra low return rate of <1%, with shipping deadlines we can control and honor.

If you wish to wait for your Cloudbook as many others have done, we can reassure you that it is a great little machine for the price. For most users' needs it is sufficient and travels well. If you can wait a few more days, your Cloudbook will ship out from our shop in CA and you'll be using it soon.

*** Please note: All Cloudbook sales are final. Everex is not giving refunds for returned working CloudBooks. They will repair any faulty systems, but will not give a refund for a working system. If this worries you, we ask that you cancel your order before it is shipped. We cannot accept returns for working CloudBooks. This policy is only for CloudBooks. For any other ZaReason system, we have a generous return policy.

If you wish to cancel your order, feel free to simply email us at orders@zarason.com Your refund will be processed the same day it is received.

Whatever you decide, we wish you the best,

--Cathy Malmrose, CEO ZaReason, Inc.
www.zareason.com

I've got to admit that at first the revised return policy made me a but nervous but then I thought for a minute and realized that if it works but I just don't like it all that much, I probably wouldn't have returned it anyway. So, I'm sticking it out. I really want this computer for conferences so for another week I wait.

I'm gettin' me a Cloudbook

Yesterday I broke down and decided to use a small portion of my recent larger-than-expected royalty check and ordered a Cloudbook. This UMPC is only available online at ZaReason and, get this, WalMart. (Yes, you'll be able to purchase these off the shelf in WalMart. I ordered mine from ZaReason.) Here's what you get for just $399:

• 1.2 GHz
• VIA C7-M Processor ULV
• 512 MB DDR 533MHz
  (expandable to 1GB)
• SDRAM
• 30 GB Hard Disk Drive
• 7" WVGA TFT Display (800x480)
• VIA UniChrome Pro IGP Graphics
• VIA High-Definition Audio
• WiFi 802.11 b/g
• (1) 10/100 Ethernet Port
• (1) DVI-I Port
• (2) USB 2.0 Ports
• (1) 4-in-1 Media Card Reader
• (1) 1.3 Megapixel Webcam
  (commonly misreported as "0.3")
• (1) Headphone / Line-Out Port
• (1) Microphone / Line-In Port
• (1) Set of Stereo Speakers
• (1) Touchpad
• (1) 4-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery
• Software: gOS, Mozilla Firefox, gMail, Meebo, Skype, Wikipedia, GIMP, Blogger, YouTube, Xing Movie Player, RythemBox, Faqly, Facebook and OpenOffice.org 2.3 (includes WRITER, IMPRESS, DRAW, CALC, BASE)

Yes, I know that some of that "software" isn't software. The point is that there's one-click access to those services via the Mac-esque dock at the bottom of the screen.

I also considered an EeePC but decided that for the same price I'd rather have a 30GB hard drive rather than a 4GB solid state drive, a 5-hour battery instead of a 3-hour one and an adult-sized beyboard. I've been playing with the Ubuntu-based gOS and I've got to say I'm liking it so my intention is to keep it running Linux and soo how it goes. (It will run Vista should a user choose to install it.) Having no optical drive will be interesting but there are other ways to get movies onto it which then saves me from having to bring discs on a trip. (I could always plug in an external USB opti-drive if I get desperate.)

Oh, and they've already sold out. Of course, complete unboxing photos will be posted when it arrives sometime around the 18th. (It comes out on the 15th but I only paid for UPS ground shipping.) I will be bringing it with me to CiL so those there can corner me for a demo.