BlogBarley

20081006

Can't wait for Ubuntu 8.10

Verified and runs great in 32-bit and 64-bit on dual boot Apple OS 10.5 13" Macbook with 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo and 64-bit with dual boot Vista on MSI P6N Diamond Mobo with Nvidia 8800 GTX, X-fi Audio, qx6850, 4GB RAM, 200 GB HD.

20080603

DD-WRT: best software for your router

I've been using this impressive software on my old Linksys router for three years now and it is much better than the stock software.
DD-WRT homepage
make sure your router is compatible:
Supported routers

20080508

Ubuntu 8.04 on Macbook 13"

Ubuntu on Macbook

The above link covers all the steps necessary to install Ubuntu on a Macbook 13" except:
upon a boot into rEFIT I had to enter its partitioning tool and synchronize the boot table otherwise I got the sad "No Bootable Device found. Insert Disk and press any key" when I would attempt to boot my Ubuntu partition. All you have to do is press the down arrow in the rEFIT boot menu to the Partitioning Tool then just synchronize the MBR.

Ubuntu Documentation

20080314

Vampire Weekend

20080125

How to access NAS with Vista

Network Attached Storage from Vista:
In Vista, don't access the NAS from your Network because authentication may fail as it has for me. Instead, in a window and not from Internet Explorer, put the IP address of your NAS (for me: \\182.165.1.3) to display the authentication window of your NAS, at that point insert you username and password for the NAS and you will be connected.

20071125

Leopard 10.5 on Macbook with cracked screen

How to install Leopard on a Apple laptop with a broken LCD:

I used an external monitor which required me to purchase a mini DVI to VGA adapter ($19 at Best Buy) in order to connect to my old CRT. Once I booted the computer to the Leopard DVD the Apple display drivers would load and default to the primary and broken LCD therefore I could not read any of the installation instructions. The trick is to close the top of the computer as soon as you power on the laptop in order to cause the Apple drivers to default to the external monitor. This method works every time but only after too much time spent with trial and error figuring it out.

20071110

Computer History Museum

The Computer History Museum

Tons of information on the rapidly changing industry

The mission of the Computer History Museum is to preserve and present for posterity the artifacts and stories of the information age. As such, the Museum plays a unique role in the history of the computing revolution and its worldwide impact on the human experience.

20070913

Open Office

I have been using this software from Sun for a few years now. Open Office is the best FREE office suite around. In my opinion it competes well with Microsoft Office, it can even save and open Microsoft Office documents.

Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It is hard for me to spend money on an office suite when this great package is available. Thank you Open Source and Sun Microsystems

20070813

Cell Phone Hacks Galore

Tons of great cell phone mods and hacks as well as software links can be found:

HowardForums Link

Use At Your Own Risk

20070809

Ubuntu Graphic Card Install Help Using Envy

Great program if you aren't comfortable with a manual driver install and xorg.conf setup using the terminal.

This worked well for me in order to install legacy Nvidia drivers on an older Ubuntu Personal Computer that had incorrect screen resolution.

Envy Link

Nice work and Thanks to Alberto Milone

20070623

KRAZR K1m Hacks

Some great hacks for your cell phone. These tricks worked for me and now I'm using my own mp3, jpeg, and gif files uploaded with only a usb cable.

Mark Venture's site

So many good files!

Use at your own risk, voids your warranty.

20070417

Nvidia PCI install over Integrated Intel graphics with Ubuntu 7.04

I had a very difficult time finding a way around an Nvidia PCI card crashing my Ubuntu 7.04 install. My motherboard has integrated Intel graphics but I wanted to use an inexpensive Nvidia card. Nothing worked until I found a couple of very helpful How To pages:

sorry dead links (10-20-07):

Link 1

Link 2

Once I followed the directions my problem was completely solved.

HP Pavilion 7940: Integrated Graphics replaced with Nvidia 5200 128MB PCI

20070211

Xubuntu Linux

A light weight Ubuntu that works well on older machines.

I was recently given an old Gateway 9100 laptop and I figured that I'd experiment with a new operating system. Pentium II 266Mhz, 192MB Ram, CD, floppy, 6GB HD.

Completely wipe your old drive with (OS X from Apple zeros data too): killdisk
Running killdisk will delete all data on your drive once you run it so make sure you have important info saved before using it.

Download Xubuntu .iso CD (available for your Apple PPC architecture too): Xubuntu home page

Burn .iso (disk image) to a CD with disk burning software like Nero for Windows.

Boot your computer to CD and wait a long time then install to your drive.

This is an OS that I'm very happy with so far and it comes with a ton of software. I would say that it runs pretty even in speed to Windows 98SE but it actually found and installed all of my hardware! Once you are online try the Synaptics package manager for a huge amount of applications for download. If you are on a tight budget and have some free time this is the way to go.

20061115

Ubuntu Linux

http://www.ubuntu.com/

I have tested this OS extensively and it appears to work well and cover all of the bases. If you are looking for a free Operating System for your Microsoft or Macintosh this is the best one I have found.

Additional Installation Wiki:

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Main_Page

Just remember not to be afraid of the Terminal!

20060615

Random Computer Links:

http://www.theoldcomputer.com/MainMenu.htm

The Above Link sends you to a great site that contains ROMs for NES, Coleco Vision, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Commodore 64, and more. The site has a few Emulators too.

http://www.bootdisk.com/

The Above Link takes you to a place that can really help if you are in a bind and have a floppy drive to rescue you from a crash or assist in an OS install. Contains boot disks for Windows 98 to XP and a bit of Linux and others.

http://www.linuxiso.org/ Dead Link
http://www.linux.org/

Linux distributions Above. This download site is top notch with tons of content. Yellow Dog on my old Mac Wallstreet (now DEAD due to a design flaw in the power cable) and Debian on my Dell. Tons of .iso image file downloads to create install discs. Linux is some great stuff and I never got a virus!