Fourteen years of GarfNet |1995-08-18 to 2009-08-18

Amidst lots of puff & bluster, Microsoft has released a half decent Beta version of its latest Windows 7 operating system. One of the claims made for it is that it is faster than Vista. Mind you, it needed to be. I dumped Windows nearly two years ago, largely because of the slug-like performance of Windows Vista.

Installing

Well, last night, I managed to install a beta version of Windows 7 (build 7000 32-bit) on a virtual machine. Basically I used Sun VirtualBox running on Kubuntu Linux 8.04-1. I created the same sized virtual machine upon which I have successfully run Windows XP for some time. Despite being offered such a friendly environment, it took over an hour to install, which is much longer than XP in the same environment.

Screengrab of installation early stages.
Note Windows 7 is running in a VirtualBox virtual Machine on Kubuntu Linux.

Installs faster than Vista but not as fast as Ubuntu

Interestingly, at the same time I started to install Windows 7, without any additional applications, My g/f installed Goosebuntu (Kubuntu Linux c/w all the office, multimedia, programming, educational and internet application she needs) on a very humble, 2-year-old IBM Lenovo Laptop. She had her system up and running c/w all apps in less than twenty minutes. That is less than 1/3 the time it took me to install a bare-bones Windows 7.

It takes the best part of an hour before you see this for the first time!
Windows 7 running in a VirtualBox VM on Kubuntu Linux

1. For a start, today we have very good Linux for desktops. By all accounts desktop Linuxes were pretty crap back in 2001.
2. Windows 5 & 5.1 (2000 & XP) were actually reasonably good products in their day. Besides, the full horror of MS's now infamous security holes, virus vulnerability and its draconian licensing hadn't really hit home either. Therefore there was not much impetus for users to switch in those days.
3. Windows 6 (AKA Vista) has been a disaster for Microsoft. So much so that MS is rushing to release Windows 7 by the end of 2009 in order to stem the increasing haemorrhage of users migrating to Ubuntu etc - just like we did last year. If MS screws up Windows 7 too (and rushed OS's are seldom particularly good) then that is the time when I expect to see a lot more penguins invading people's desktops.
4. There is a whole new generation of computers that simply won't run Windows - or if they will, then the performance is considerably poorer on Windows than on Linux.
   
   1. Devices like the aforementioned Asus eeePC.
   2. Sub-£300 laptops that skinflints like us run our businesses on. These machines run like slugs on Vista but go like the clappers on (K)Ubuntu
   3. Android devices: Android is Google's new Linux-based, open source operating system for mobile phones & PDA's. Most major handset manufacturers have said they plan to adopt it. Though there have been criticisms regarding the nature of the license, and the predominance of Java over direct system API calls, it nevertheless means development can go ahead across many different platforms. Also means Ballmer and his buddies in Redmond really don't get much of a look-in.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(mobile_phone_platform)
5. I think the most interesting thing of all is that when you listen to the likes of Steve Jobs & Jonathan Schwartz, it seems that we are not the only people on the planet who are planning for a time when MS becomes just another software supplier.

I had Fuji S1, S2 & S3, all of which had dust magnets for sensors! They would get dirty even if I did not remove the lenses, simply from the air that got sucked in by varying the focal length of the lens. However, I cleaned them quite successfully with a vacuum cleaner. However there are some important caveats.

Most importantly,  do NOT use the cleaner to dislodge the dust. You are more likely to suck out the shutter mechanism. I never did this but a colleague did. Instead, use a fine carbon fibre brush such as a "Lens Pen" to do dislodge the dust and use the vacuum cleaner to suck the dust once it is mobile. Seems the carbon fibre brush is slightly conductive and greatly reduces static build-up on sensor.

Method

1. Reduce the vacuum cleaner's suction to a safe level by opening the little vent on the side of the cleaner tube.
2. Clean end of cleaner nozzle thoroughly with isopropanol or meths (so you don't actually introduce new dirt!).
3. Remove all traces of dust from the carbon fibre brush using vacuum cleaner.
4. Hold the camera shutter open using the "B" (Bulb) function.
5. Use the a fine carbon fibre brush on the Lens Pen to dislodge the dirt, ideally with the camera pointing downwards.
6. Immediately use vacuum cleaner to catch dislodged dust.
   
7. Release the shutter and use the camera's LCD screen to zoom- in all around the image area, looking for any signs of dust. If necessary, refit the lens and take a few snaps and download them onto your computer. Ideally photograph a plain white background so that any dirt is immediately obvious.
8. Repeat stages 3-7 several times, et voila, spotlessly clean sensor with no dangerous fluids, no smears on the sensor and at minimal cost!
   

Im a big fan CrossoverLinux. This is the commercial implementation of WINE by CodeWeavers. For many Windows apps it works very well indeed. In many ways I prefer it to using a virtual machine (VM) because firstly one does not have to start a VM just to run an application and secondly, Windows apps behave exactly as if they were Linux apps - thus integrating seamlessly into Linux. Here's a list of all the Windows apps I have made run using Crossover:-

• http://www.garfnet.org.uk/joomla/index.php?
  option=com_content&view=article&id=67&Itemid=58

In fact, I am one of Codeweavers so-called advocates - users in charge of little sub-projects to get certain favourite Windows applications working well under CrossoverLinux, whilst documenting and sharing this knowledge with other CrossOver users. I've even got some pretty obscure stuff working such as the software for my Icom IC-R20 communications receiver. And I like the concept of WINE bottles - little preconfigured Windows subsystems that can easily be transported to other Linux boxes - thus making installed Windows apps effectively portable.

Windows 7 being installed in a Sun VirtualBox virtual machine

Trouble is there are some apps that simply will not run on WINE whatever you do with them. Example, VideoReDo, an excellent linear MPEG editor that does not require transcoding before editing - ideal for topping & tailing (& removing commercials from) TV programmes. Despite many requests on its user forums for a Linux version, seems we are stuck with Windows for the time being. In this instance, a virtual machine is the only answer until a either VideoReDO's developers get their act together or an open source Linux equivalent becomes available. That's when the ability to run Windows in a virtual machine becomes very useful. And one of the most interesting products around is Sun's VirtualBox.

I just completed my UK tax return on-line today. At the end of it all, HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs) ask for some feedback. I thought that fans of open source software might be interested in my response:-

"This is certainly a great improvement over previous years. It actually saved me a lot of time. It took me a little under three hours from start to finish - though obviously I had already prepared my accounts in my accounts package. 

I was glad that the old paper-based tax guide calculation form was redundant. That was very time-consuming and error prone. I think the fact that your online system automatically does the calculations is a very good feature indeed.

However, the "help" system was not particularly clear. The explanation of cash vs GAAP was unintelligible!

Moreover, I was annoyed to find that the server was down on the day I had taken off to do my return 2009-01-09. Considering the amount of money spent on this system, such failures are inexcusable.

On the bright side, I run a non-Windows business and use no Microsoft products at all in my book keeping. So I was delighted to find that all the features on your site required to complete my return worked perfectly on Ubuntu Linux c/w Firefox. So it is good that HMRC has not forced its users to use Windows. I was even able to copy and paste figures from GnuCash (an excellent free open source double entry accounting system) straight into my on-line return.

Overall I think this year's on-line service was fairly good. If you can improve the help system and the server reliability then you'll have a very good system indeed.

If your engineers need more information then please contact me via my site:- http://www.garfnet.org.uk/contact"

Now, I'm not a big fan of Government IT. But when you consider the problems that some other countries have with submitting returns on line using open source software. e.g. Hungary then I think HMRC has actually made a failry reasonable job of it this time.

We all have our favourite methods of data backup. Certainly DVD is a good archiving and distribution medium. But for routine backup, I look for reliability, low cost, ease of use, high-speed, high capacity and redundancy - so I am not reliant on just one device.

One of my favourite methods is a complete off-site dataset consisting of a hotchpotch of USB/eSATA/Firewire disks. Only disadvantage is that they live 20km away and are only updated every couple of weeks. So I keep a further two 1Tb Samsung disks with recent data in my camera rucksack. These are updated daily. Cost around £80.00 each. (So no excuse for not backing up!)

But considering HD failure is the most common source of failure and that I am a naturally lazy git, my backup methodology needs to be really really easy and almost instant. Also I have become very reliant on my media server and my business can't really function well without it. So I figured I needed a more radical solution...

Nowadays, one reads a lot about open source equivalents of proprietary software. Often these are described as poor substitutes for the real thing. However, some open source apps are starting seriously to outperform their proprietary counterparts. Mozilla Firefox is a classic example of this phenomenon. GNUCash is another. 

Gnucash Splash Screen

Then you can either use the Synaptic package manager or in this instance it is probably quicker to install from a Terminal window. First we make sure the system is fully up to date. Simply type one line at a time followed by the return key...

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

Usually the camera manufacturer will  provide software that handles raw files from your camera. However, several problems can arise:-

• You change computer and loose the original software.
• You have several cameras made by different manufacturers but want to use the same application to deal with their raw files.
• You don't use Micro$oft Windows.

So what can you do?

Before you stump up any hard-earned cash, I would suggest you download and try GIMP image editor c/w either UFRaw or DCRaw plugin:-

• http://www.gimp.org
• http://ufraw.sourceforge.net
  

• http://cybercom.net/~dcoffin/dcraw