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After falling in love with Ubuntu 7.10 Gusty Gibbon and getting it to run silky smooth with my setup (AMD Athlon X2 64 Processor 4800, 2GB RAM, 320GB HD(Ubuntu)/500GB HD(Windoze) and a Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950gt Graphics Card. Under Gusty Gibbon I had accomplished getting the 3D effects to run under Compiz Fusion. My desktop had the rotating cube [awesomeness!], plug-ins, widgets, etc. I even had Mythbuntu running. You had to see how nice it was and how great my setup was. I was ready to make Ubuntu my primary OS.

Then day came where I was prompted to update to Ubuntu’s latest release.

One of the beauties about open source operating systems are the improvements, patches, and added features that are packaged in them. There is absolutely no charge to upgrade to the next version. I began the download for Hardy Heron 8.04, after a few bumps with the install (loosing GRUB, menu.lst debacles, etc) I was finally able to complete the install. But boy was it a letdown.

My main problem with the latest install was the fact that I could not find any proprietary or open source drivers for my video card! A later upgrade to Feisty Fawn 9.04 still did not resolve the problem. After several frustrating days of searching, I gave up. If I could not get the display to work and things just worked better in Windoze, I totally ignored the Ubuntu side of my machine.

Several months had passed before I ventured to boot into Ubuntu again. About two weeks ago I saw that there was a new release that had some intriguing features, so about two weeks ago, I backed everything up on both drives (just in case) and began the install for the latest and greatest – Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala. Needless to say there are a few more sets of frustrating problems cropping up.

For one, the issue with the driver for my graphics card still has not been resolved. Turns out that if you want to mess around with Linux, being an ATI graphics card user only complicates things. ATI seems to have a fickle relationship with the Linux community and they drop support for their graphics cards under Linux after about 3 years. You can read about that here. In addition to this, I have a new problem to research. Seems that when you want to mount a non-Linux file drive, its prompting for authentication – something I have not encountered in the other two incarnations of Ubuntu I have used.

So, I guess the lessons learned here are if your gonna run a Linux system and want to take advantage of the 3D goodies, then your gonna be an Nvidia graphics card user, and that Ubuntu constantly pushes the users to research and experiment in order to get things running the way you want it to!

-ZQ

Have you ever felt like you arrived late to a party, but when you finally got there it turned out to be an incredible party? Well that’s how I feel about the iPhone. After being out for almost two years, a few significant price cuts, AND my Sprint contract coming to an end and I decided to make the jump to AT&T (for the phone, not the service).

At one point in time, I was one of those gadget people who carried around minimum of three electronic devices in her purse – a first gen Nano, a Palm Tungsten, and a cell phone. Upgrading to a Palm Centro two years ago eliminated two devices. I was a long time Palm owner and the Centro was my third. Basically I stayed with Palm for a long time because of their OS and the variety of free open source apps that were available on the net. When Sprint decided to release the Palm Pre, I was not that excited about it. It reminded me a bit of an egg and was clearly trying to be an iPhone imitator. Palm has since release a couple of more phones that look like Blackberry wannabes and that just don’t have all that attractive of a design aesthetic. But enough of me berating Palm devices.

I love when a cell phone not a cellphone (hence, a “smart phone”). Already being an iPod owner, I had perused Apple’s App store and was amazed at the number of apps available for free or for a nominal price. There are so many apps out there, the iPhone actually makes life easier. So far I have spent about $5 on apps and have acquired a Checkbook app, a Fast Food Calorie Guide, Social Networking apps and the list goes on. Add to this I have an iPod, PDA, and cell phone in one sleek unit! Honestly I am very happy with my purchase (16GB 3GS refurb – a steal for $149!!!).

Of course, I have a couple of gripes about the iPhone. These will probably be resolved with time, updates and competition. One major problem I have with the phone is that if you hide your network’s SSID, the phone doesn’t “remember” it when it is again in range. Seems that this is a common complaint with firmware 3.1.2. The work around is either that you broadcast your SSID, or you can try “reminding” your iPhone of the name of your network without retyping your password, it should then reconnect. However, with wireless networks & devices just about ubiquitous, the inability to connect to an already discovered network is a bit dumbfounding on a smart phone.

Another gripe I have about the phone is the inability to lock notes. By default there is a ‘Notes’ app on the phone. I am used to having the ability to conceal individual notes on my PDA. As a work around, the phone (not the Notes app) is setup to prompt for a pass code after five minutes of nonuse. Lastly, can we talk about AT&T requiring $30 data plan for the phone?! ? You want texting? Sorry, you’ll have to pay for it in addition to the data plan!

A bit about accessories.  There are some good ones out there especially if you don’t want to break the bank. For my first iPhone I decided to go for CaseCrown’s Polycarbonate Glider. They are very inexpensive retailing for around $10 (Go here for a review). I love this case’s finish which slightly rubberized). There is no bulk to this case and it feels very good in the hand. The case is also lined with a velvety material, so as you slide the case on, it will not scratch your phone. I also added one of their static screen protectors (available for $7) and I figure I have some decent protection for my iPhone (tip: if you happen to get some lint on a static screen protector, just take some Scotch or packing tape, apply to the “sticky” side of the static screen protector, smooth, and separate. It should grab all the lint).

Lastly I picked up another set of Tunebuds from Griffin. I had my first set with my iPod nano and have since bought a couple more. They come with three ear insert sizes, and have a pretty good sound (much better than the standard earbuds that come with the iPhone).  Sure they're no Beats by Dre, but they are every economical at $23 off eBay.

Well, that’s about all for now, I’ll post more of my insight and experiences with the iPhone as they develop. Chow!

-ZQ