Chris Moates’ adventures in the land of Mox

I wanted to write up a quick post about this, since I had searched in vain for information on this when I was fighting with it last night.

I just picked up a Gateway LT3103u which comes with Vista. Reports say that Windows 7 runs far better on netbooks than Vista, and I had a shiny new Windows 7 RC DVD that I got from the NECC 2009 trade show.

Upon installing, everything worked except for the wireless network card, and trying to find drivers seemed hopeless. Gateway has nothing on their site at all. The machine appears to be a rebranded Acer of sorts, but the drivers from their site didn’t work either.

So, in the original Vista installer, there’s a Gateway Recovery Application which allows you to burn a driver DVD as well as system restore DVD’s. I’d recommend doing both, in case you ever want to revert, but for Windows 7, you will need to burn the driver DVD at a minimum.

Once you have said DVD, install Windows 7. After you are booted up, put in the driver DVD, and let it run the Autorun application. From there, select “Contents” and then scroll down to the Atheros Wireless LAN HB95 driver, and install it. Note that there’s also an HB63 driver, as well as a Broadcom driver. Neither of those is what you want.

After installing, your card should be working. After allowing Windows to update itself a bit, the ATI graphics driver will also be installed, providing for proper screen resolution.

So now I have Windows 7 on the machine, and Device Manager shows all hardware as working properly with drivers installed.

If I find other things that should be mentioned here, I’ll add them as they come up.

Update: I also needed to install the Synaptics Touchpad driver from the Driver DVD in order to get scrolling to work, as well as the multitouch gestures.

June is always a busy month for me, with a trip to Jamaica and all the requisite running around that preceeds and follows. Here’s the highlights, some of which I’ll post in more detail about later:

* Standing on a postcard perfect beach taking pictures of sunsets is great, unless your batteries die.
* I picked up a Gateway LT3103u netbook. I love it so far.
* You know what’s better than going to Jamaica each year? Going to Jamaica twice each year.
* I’m not sure if I want to do a CPOSC talk this year, things are just so busy, and I might be past the deadline at this point.
* Lots of concrete is really expensive.
* NECC 2009 was awesome, but boy do my feet hurt.
* Gaggle sure knows how to throw a party.

I guess that’s a good summary. I want to especially come back to the netbook and my experiences with Windows 7, but that will have to wait until I have a bit more time.

That was the question posed today on rec.games.pinball by some poor fellow who’s frustrated with whatever current problem his Windows machine is giving him. Naturally, the Mac zealots came out in full force, telling him to drink the kool aid and be one of the cool kids. I decided that I should try to put my views on the subject into words, and this is what I posted:

Since the Mac zealots are out in full force, I guess I better chime in
quickly.     This is a very long post, sorry for that, but I'm trying to
be as thorough as I can be.

I am an extremely savvy computer user. My day job is managing a very
large server farm. I've been doing this stuff for nearly two decades.
You could argue somewhat that "I'm set in my ways" but I like to think
of it more like, "I know what works for me."

I didn't start out on Windows like most folks. The first "non-toy"
computers I learned on were UNIX systems. I later moved to Linux and did
start using Windows at the time Windows 95 came to be. I used (and still
use) Windows primarily for the purpose of playing video games. I have a
high end PC for this purpose.

For "real work/everyday use" I've primarily used Linux desktops. They
afforded a good set of features and stability, and I had the expertise
to tweak and maintain them the way that I wanted to work. I still use
Linux every day, and my wife does too. She'll tell you that she'd never
ever go back to using Windows or a Mac (she had both). The stability
coupled with the features she requires truly "just works." Her computer
usage is limited though; she surfs the web, reads email, posts on
forums, uses AIM, edits photos, etc. Just the basics. Any platform can
provide these things without too much difficulty.

In December of 2007 I purchased a 17" MacBook Pro; aside from the Mac
Pro, the highest priced machine available at the time. I was starting a
new job, and figured I would start out on the new platform with a clean
slate. I bought high end because I didn't want the "low end Mac" to
hinder my experience. I maxed out the memory in the system because I
wanted the system to run as smoothly as possible. Apple provides a
workflow and an application set, and they are, overall, not bad. But
they work a very specific way. If you don't want to work in that manner,
that's too bad. I found that very frustrating. Day in and day out I felt
like I was fighting against my computer. I'd try to do it "The Apple
Way" but I felt like it was just slowing me down. Mac laptops (in
specific, because you can't change their keyboard) have their "meta"
keys laid out differently than a PC. I found this very frustrating when
switching back and forth between systems. If you get a desktop, you can
replace the keyboard with whatever you like, if you don't like their
re-layout of the standard keyboard. There were a few applications that I
felt were really nice on the Mac; none of those were provided by Apple.
After 10 months of using the machine day in and day out, I was still
very frustrated multiple times a day with the machine. I decided to sell
it, and thankfully didn't lose my shirt. I still have a few Macs lying
around the house here, but none have been powered up in months or years.

A lot of folks will use the dual boot or windows emulation layer
arguments for "why you should get a Mac whether you want Mac or Windows"
but that's a fallacy in my opinion. If you do that, you're now
maintaining two operating systems, instead of one. Dual boot means you
have to shut down and load the other OS, do what you want, then shut
down and boot back into the one you started with. Personally, I find
that maddening. I don't want to have to reboot on a regular basis. If
you run the emulation route, your performance is hindered (though not
badly these days) and some things run a bit wonky. Overall, you can get
your Windows apps running without rebooting, but it'll cost you for the
application and it won't be the clean experience that running it
natively on Windows would be. So, if you "want" a Mac but "need" one or
two Windows apps, it's a good solution. If you are going to run a bunch
of Windows-specific applications all the time, buyer beware.

As some others have said, a lot of the "Windows problems" stem from
using the wrong software. Don't surf with IE. Don't read mail in Outlook
Express. Don't click on random attachments. Etc, etc. Choosing the right
software to accomplish your tasks in Windows may be all you need to get
the experience you're looking for, at a fraction of the cost of buying a
new computer.

Along those same lines, Linux might be a viable solution as well. The
big plus here is that Linux is "free" in that you don't have to pay
money to use it. You can download an Ubuntu Linux CD image, burn it to a
disc, and install it on your current hardware. You can play with it for
a few weeks, decide whether it's for you. If you do like it, you've
saved a ton of cash, again. If not, you've put off buying a new computer
for a few weeks. In the Apple world, that's never bad, since most of
their computers are not upgradeable, and updates happen reasonably
often. Worst case, you get the same computer you would have gotten a few
weeks ago, best case, you get new fancier hardware and aren't kicking
yourself for getting "screwed" by Apple's secret release schedule.

So, I guess, in some sort of bullet point form, here's my advice:

* Make an inventory of software you "must have" and make sure it or an
equivalent is available.
* Find a Mac that you can use, if at all possible. Try to use it
yourself, not just let someone else drive for you. The Apple store is
better than nothing, but someone's home is even better.
* Try Linux, if you're willing. You might be surprised.
* Don't give up on Windows before you have tried the "better" software.
* If you purchase a Mac, be prepared to feel lost for a little while.
The system is not a Windows clone.
* Don't think for a minute that OS X (or Linux) is "bulletproof." They
all have bugs and annoyances.
* Make sure you're OK with the glossy Mac screen. I find these maddening
to use in my room, because I have a lot of windows and love having
sunlight in here.

If money is absolutely no object, picking up a Mac Pro isn't a bad
choice. It's fast, powerful, expandable, and can run Windows if you
decide to go back. It'll also set you back $3k+, but we already said
money is not an object.

A lot of people will never open their computer to do anything. If you're
one of those people the iMac and MacBook lines are not bad choices. but
they are very limited in their ability to be upgraded, expanded, and
reconfigured. USB expansion can help a lot with this, but you can't use
USB to get a nicer monitor, video card, CPU, etc.

I've rambled on long enough so I'll try to wrap this up. If you choose
to use OS X or Linux, realize that you're voluntarily placing yourself
in a minority. Minorities aren't supported like the majority. You aren't
going to pick up the latest whiz bang software at your local Target
store. You'll have to be far more intelligent about buying hardware to
expand your system, and verify compatibility.

Hopefully some of what I've written above will help you. I've tried to
avoid telling you to buy X or Y. I think it's arrogant and foolish to
presume that I know what will work best for you. Teaching you to fish is
far more useful to your selection process, I think.

Cheers,
Chris

I’m building a custom Live CD for a friend, it’s basically an automated custom Linux installer. Anyhow, after the disc has been created, I needed some files on the ISO filesystem (not inside the squashfs filesystem). There’s a program for windows called Power ISO I think, that can do this, but I wanted to do it in Linux.

Turns out, Andrew Smith has written an app called ISO Master. I guess it was originally Linux only, but he now offers a Windows port as well. Editing the ISO image using his application is a piece of cake. You can even edit text files inside the ISO on the fly (great for poking at the syslinux.cfg, for example). It’s the perfect open source app; it work well, does what it advertises, and doesn’t try to do a bunch of other things.

According to his web site, he charges $20 for the Windows version, but the Linux version is free of charge. If you’re in the market to muck around with ISO’s (putting your serial number on a CD, for example) I’d highly suggest you check ISO Master out.

I have been wanting to comment on my experience with the Eye-Fi after having owned it awhile now. I really love it. I still haven’t had time to get the Linux software working with it, which would solve all of my complaints, like automatic uploading to F-Spot in Linux. However, the device works perfectly, and I use it all the time. Someone asks for a picture of XYZ, I take a picture, wait 45 seconds for it to show up on Picasa, and email them the link. Yes, I could plug it into the computer, and upload it to Picasa, but that’s more work. Fire and forget is a nice feature.

So in short, I highly recommend the Eye-Fi. It’s really not terribly expensive, and has some nice features.

The second pinball machine I ever owned was a Williams Indiana Jones. We had a good time with that game, but had it for about 5 years. Maggie wanted an Addams Family, so I traded it away. Well, not 2 or 3 months had gone by before Maggie told me she regretted that we had sold off the Indiana Jones. So last night, I brought home another. It’s going to need a lot of work, but it plays and play it she did.

The basement is starting to get pretty crowded; 8 games on the one wall. And all of them are games I consider keepers. I’m gonna have to come up with something more clever for an arrangement if I get too many more games in here…

Looks like Nagios finally had someone come along to fork it; there’s a new project named Icinga which promises to have better developer involement and an improved web interface, among many other improvements. This is a welcome change, and has long been needed. For more information about why they forked and why it was necessary, read their FAQ and Fork page.

I for one welcome our new overlord monitoring services. While I will probably not switch immediately over to Icinga in our production environment, you can be sure I’ll try it at home and keep a close eye on their progress.

Had a lot of things going on this past week or so, and wanted to comment on a bunch of them, but have been slammed. So here’s my thoughts, in no particular order.

The Allentown, PA Pinball Wizard’s Convention was this past weekend. I was only able to go on Saturday, but I had a great time. I didn’t find any really great deals to bring home, sadly, but I met a bunch of great folks that I talk to on rec.games.pinball, and I got to see and play some rare machines. The only problem with going to a show like this is that now I wish it was October so I could go to the pinball show in York, PA.

I have had some more time to mess with the Arduino. Wiring is a neat language, though still lacking in some “high level” respects. Of course, you’re pushing it onto a chip with 16k of RAM, so what do you expect. I’ve been experimenting with a switch matrix, the first major component of controlling a pinball machine, I think. Progress is good, but I don’t yet have a functioning model.

I had a crazy old lady accost me at a McDonald’s on Saturday evening. It was really quite amusing, if not bizarre. First she insisted that I stole her (empty with my receipt on it) tray, then she yelled at me for sitting in her chair, then she got angry that I left before she was done yelling at me. What can you do?

I really dislike drama. I don’t watch TV shows with a lot of drama, and I have a low tolerance for drama in real life. Unfortunately, I had a run in with some friends over a misinterpretation of something I said which ended up being way more drama that I wanted to deal with. I’m sad to say that I think it’ll end up causing me to distance myself from them, but again, what can you do? You can’t control other people, you can only try to influence them. But when that is more work than fun, it’s time to walk away.

Jamaica is only 36 days away! I really need the vacation this year. It’s been a long one with a lot of new responsibilities at work and with the Spring taking forever to get here this year, I’m really ready to get out into some hot weather and chill out.

My buddy Steve bought his first house! Congratulations Steve, welcome to the world of never ending trips to Home Depot and a constant desire to putter around with something or other that’s permanently attached to the Earth.

I’m still trying to come up with something interesting to propose I speak on at CPOSC. If anyone has an idea that they think is both interesting and that I’m a good person to have talk about, let me know.

I found out yesterday that Digg uses puppet to manage their servers. So in spite of the really awful community they’ve created, underneath that is a gem.

And last but not least, my good friend Todd Zullinger has seemed to fall off the planet. I can only hope that he’s doing something interesting, which knowing Todd seems likely.

Pepsi’s got a new soda out; Pepsi Throwback. Well, ok, it’s not new, it’s old. They’ve switched the sugar back in, and taken out the high fructose corn syrup. And my my, is it good stuff. Just like I remember, it’s funny how your brain doesn’t forget. Let’s just hope it catches on so I can continue to buy it.

A fellow pinball hobbyist has been collecting pictures of the “backglass” of pinball machines, or in other words, the art around the area where you score is displayed. One of the most notable things about pinball glass is that women’s breasts are always obscenely large.

Anyhow, this guy lost his hosting, so I agreed to host for him. His website is http://mrhide.pinnesota.org and he’s got a lot of really cool art already up, with more being uploaded all the time, as he works on getting everything restored.

There’s just so much detail and interesting art in these glasses, that I figured it was worth a mention.