A few interesting links to close or kick-off the week. (Note I am still on family leave.)

1) John Hunter comments on my Dell / Ubuntu post, a very short post, that seemed to get people’s curiosity aroused. John’s blog entry on Dell and Ubuntu and what he would have done if they had offered it sooner.

2) Caller ID spoofing cards comes to the masses in digital card format- voice changing, id spoofing, recording etc. Yes- for real. The technology is legal, but how it can be used is the tricky aspect.

3) Mark at 3pointD.com reports on RuneScape hitting one million online subscribers. Even more interesting given that Sam reports on Chase’s Word of Warcraft credit card being released. Have we finally entered into the era of the Avatar? Are MMORPGs and virtual worlds now being realized for the economic power they command? Will we see a Second Life credit card next?

4) Trendio offers RSS. What is Trendio? If you are a hard-core mover of “words” this simulation game, based out of Stockholm, might appeal to you. Trendio is a word-driven stock market where the stocks are words from the news: politicians, celebrities, companies, sport events, etc… The price of a word is relative to its popularity in the media. Three thousand news sources are scanned in real time to calculate the prices of all the words on the market and as is in the real stock market, you compose your portfolio with words that you believe will rise. You “win” if your predictions prove to be right…now they need a gadget or a widget…

Popularity: 9% [?]

Share This

Dell shipping Ubuntu- this is truly the technological war of my generation… You don’t have to be a genius to see where this all leads.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Share This

Ubuntu, the Linux distro led by Canonical Ltd., a private company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth- a South African entrepreneur who was the second self-funded space tourist and first African national in space- has launched a community magazine called Full Circle. (Mark also gets my Kwisatz Haderach seal.)

The current issue of the magazine is available as a seventeen page PDF [Click to Download Issue#0 of Full Circle PDF]. Full Circle is easy to read, chock full of color (really) and a great introduction to Ubuntu newbies. e.g. myself

Issue#0 covers the history of Ubuntu’s various releases running all the way up to Ubuntu 7.04, a.k.a. “Feisty Fawn”. There is also an installation guide and an invite to contribute section.

The name of the distribution comes from the Zulu and Xhosa concept of ubuntu, which means “I am what I am because of who we all are”.

Ubuntu’s slogan – “Linux for Human Beings”, encapsulates one of its main goals – making Linux more available and easy to use.

Yes even Waynebuntu can do it. So can you. Have an ailing box? Try Ubuntu. It is like a B12 injection for your PC.

I want my hat Sam…wait- three converts and then a hat. heh- my kids are in for a treat.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Share This

I just finished up a post at Revenews on Google’s CPA moves inspired by Sam’s CostPerNews post.

After that Sam and I were doing some late night twittering and he made note that Twitter had sprung Adsense ads. I was floored.

Read the write-up here. I find the “targeting” interesting to say the least.

I posted what I figured were for sure “stop words”, like train wrecks and carnage, to see what Sam would get. I figured a PSA. Nope.

“@samharrelson- let’s try train wrecks, tragedy, death, horrible carnage..how does it like this?” and Sam get’s targeted with an advertisement along the line of- Are you gay and offers a link to take a quiz. Turn off that personal search Sam…

Then this twitter: Amazon, Amazon, Amazon. A trademarked term, you usually don’t see any returns for “Amazon” when searching Google.

- Sam gets nothing.

- I get an ad for: Take the Irish IQ Test: Take the St. Patty’s Quiz How Irish Are You? which led to “http://20questionquizzes.com/irish?category=irish&source=google”

Overall Impression

Sam gets Adsense ads in IE 7.0 AND FireFox. Also in Ubuntu.

I do not get ads (yet) in IE 7.0, I do get them in Flock.

The only difference I can tell in our IE configuration is Sam is using Windows Vista and I am using Windows XP. It could be Geo-targeted too.

More on this later…check your twittering and see what turns up. I really don’t mind them using ads to turn a buck, I really dislike how they place them under someone’s picture as if they were almost “endorsing” an ad. That bothers me.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Share This

Hat Tip to Sam.

Free Ubuntu Themes for Firefox. Everything is so color coordinated these days.

Per the post.

For those of you using some of the default Ubuntu themes (Human, Tango or Industrial) there is a package that will match those same themes for your Firefox browser for a more consistent overall look. I’ve got a screenshot below and how to install. Lets get started!

To install these themes you will want to install the following package via command line or your favorite package management tool:

sudo aptitude install firefox-themes-ubuntu

Consistency…That and I need to pickup some Ubuntu fan gear while I am at…out with the Google gear…in with the Ubuntu. I don’t want to be evil…and tired of hanging up crosses in my closet…

I am now Waynebuntu…now to find a cave with power…

Popularity: 5% [?]

Share This

Sam Harrelson (Pastor Sam?) has converted another to the ranks of the “will not be undead soon”….

early this a.m. I said:

I am already looking at converting my Ibm X40 (backup lap) to Ubuntu now…still thinking on it. I know I have to spend some up front time, but I have to wonder if the long term pay off is worth it….Learn more about Ubuntu.

Late this P.M. after a long day of security research…

It is DONE- the dirty deed is done dirt cheap andquite complete, Thanks to Eric G. for assisting! Ubunta advocates are everywhere. I have been absorbed into the world of Ubuntu…

My old IBM Thinkpad X40 (story below) now sports this O/S and it screams like a bat out of hell (you might try Ubuntu 6.06 if your PC is rather dated)….so far so good…. I feel like I have been unplugged from the matrix and spat out into a giant toilet bowel of jelly slime…now I wonder if it can push Second Life? Doubt it. I do feel some machinima widgets coming on though.

BTW this is filed under deals and steals too- no coupons needed, no discount codes- Ubuntu is FREE…Grab the .iso and burn it to CD or order it if you wish…or if you like getting stuff in the mail or want to send a gift…here are some Ubuntu things that are DIRT CHEAP. Burn it or buy it for your friends, your mother-in-law, man it beats MonkeyPhoneCalls even…well close.

Seriously- Do you want a cheaper laptop? Start with a different O/S and different office tools- and your laptop is already far cheaper and more for the price- think about! Open Source is like a giant raging coupon on steroids. Plus- you can actually work with it- you know- like the cars we used to own that didn’t require a Cray to analyze and fix an oil leak.

Burn it or get it…or start your own production outfit and become an evangelist. Just don’t go all Conservapedia on me (sounds like Briticanna propaganda to me.)

While we are on innovation- I just watched and reviewed two great pieces on learning in the Second Life Metaverse on learning and plasticity while surfing YouTube (widgets coming)…here’s your guide.

Sam writes…

Wayne and Jon … install Ubuntu so that we can start a Guild. Forget Second Life, this is where the action is (literally!)…

Yeah Sam-I know, I will get around to WoW- one day. It has kickass machinima too at a huge adoption rate, but I don’t need any more games and I am more into social diving. Anyway Innovation Island needs to be built. Let’s start that Guild. Jon???

Also check out:

Book Description (Spotted use for as low as $0.74 in Aftermarket)
ThinkPad: A Different Shade of Blue tells the exciting inside story behind the creation of one of the most successful brand names in computing. Through interviews with the ThinkPad Team and IBM executives, and access to internal documents and memoranda, the book provides a rare inside view into the workings of an IBM brand team. Here is the inside scoop on the cultural and personality differences that almost killed one of the most significant development efforts in IBM history. More importantly, it offers valuable lessons on what it takes to build a world-class, enduring brand or product.

BTW- Did I mention I now have Skype on this puppy? VoIP…now I find myself wanting a TOR server…

Not sure if Google Earth works yet- I’ll find out. Heck- I’ll try the pack!

Del.icio.us Tags:
ubuntu, ubuntu_6, second_life, thinkpad, ubuntu_thinkpads, x40, amazon_deals, converted_to_ubuntu, Sam_Harrelson, WaynePorter.com, IBM, emerging_brands, web2.0, OS2.0, ubuntu_6.06, kubuntu, ubuntu_install, world_Class_brands, enduring_products, thinkpad_laptops, x40_series, lenova, lenovo_laptops, save_money_on_laptops, VoIP, Skype_for_Ubuntu, Google_for_unbuntu, Google_Earth_ubuntu, Google_pack_ubuntu, Conservapedia

Popularity: 16% [?]

Share This

Yet one more reason I am even considering going the Open Source route- or tasting it again. Where has Ubuntu gone right and other flavors of Nix- well, maybe it is the whole Unix CLI days made it terrifying to some. For some unknown reason “Ubuntu feels Open Source” it feels- “open” whereas I have spent countless hours watching USENET wars blaze on the Windoz versus Nix war…who cares. Ubuntu feels like community- global community.

“Ubuntu Studio aims to be a multimedia editing flavor of Ubuntu for the Linux audio, video, and graphic enthusiast or professional who is already familiar with the Ubuntu-Gnome environment. Ubuntu Studio is currently in planning.”

UbuntuStudio.

Naturally they have a wiki.

Here is the primary driver I see for this build- JOAN. Technical by nature- hacking with a kernal won’t freak her out.

From the wiki

John wants to create a mobile studio setup for audio and/or video casual editing. It should be easy enough to setup so he can focus on the work, rather than the tools themselves.

Jack is a musician interested in doing serious audio production work. He has a specialized hardware (i.e. a multiple input/output soundcard), and expects his system to provide him with the lowest latency possible, avoiding any hiccups.

Joan is an avid video producer who needs a responsive and stable workstation. She requires features like: fast I/O, working with big files and perfect sync between audio/video.

Books About Ubuntu- I cannot recommend them- as I have not read them, but if the online docs aren’t enough (and you prefer paper like me) here is what I have found at Amazon.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Share This