I'm an insomniac. I have been most of my life. That's half of what got me interested in neurology to begin with (it also gives me plenty of time to read about it).
As it turns out, sometimes it comes in handy. Last night was very eventful.
I said in my last blog I'd be working out my computer system, and reporting the results. I stayed up a little past midnight running terminal commands, and then I caught a post from an #Anonymous account on twitter. THIS Ustream account (run in solidarity with #OWS) was broadcasting an inside look at the Zucotti Park bust. All the footage ought to be available there... I won't get into too many details, but a judge has ruled that Bloomberg's actions were illegal, so the occupiers now have the law officially on their side.
It's all interesting, but I won't get too political here as I'm trying to keep this largely focused on art and new media. Check it out yourself if you care too.
Now~~Computery things...
About me: I probably have more expertise than the average user. I wouldn't really consider myself a developer, though I know some basic programming stuff, much more of my knowledge is math based. I'd say I probably sit somewhere in the 'power-user' camp. I started on ICON computers back when I was about 3 (my mom taught a computer class in my brother's elementary school). After that I grew up on Windows PCs (3.1 through to 98). I ran XP when I moved out on my own, then a Mac Pro with Leopard, and now Ubuntu is my main OS.
I watched the NYC stream in Ubuntu 11.04 after I installed all the proprietary drivers that don't ship with the install CDs (Flash, Divx, etc). While watching, I was able to patch up all the wireless connectivity drop issues that were plaguing me with my last install. I also fixed up my power usage settings, so now everything is much more stable. Ubuntu is not perfect on all systems, it does take some tweaking and know-how to get everything bugfree, but I'm getting closer to having what I would consider an ideal system. I should note that I am not running the standard Unity desktop (which I think is trash, sorry Canonical), I have opted for the Ubuntu Classic (gnome) layout (available through the software center).
Previously, I was running a dual boot (Windows7 and Ubuntu 11.04). I am now pleased to say that only Linux distros are currently installed, and I see no need for anything else. I've configured Wine to run any windows programs I used to have to reboot to use, and many Mac programs are also released for Linux (quite often in Debian/ubuntu packages). I'm working on getting Snow Leopard running in a virtual hackintosh anyway.
I ran a Debian installation, which, morally and practically (in terms of stability) I'd be happier with than I am with any Canonical product. I am rather anti-corporate, which you can take however you want. I follow a number of Earthship architecture blogs, and I strongly agree with anything that is peer reviewed and developed, and is free from corporate control, however benevolent it may be.
On a related note, my lady finished the latest edition of my peer-edited haircut...pics soon.
Regarding Debian, however, I unfortunately wasn't able to complete the installation because of some grub (bootloader) problems. I was able to get it running eventually through some Ubuntu patches, but even so I was locked at the login screen despite applying the appropriate bash passwd commands. It's probably a matter of a broken installer, but in my distro frenzy I ran out of burnable CDs, and I can't find any of my thumb drives either. Soon, I suppose.
I was successful with a few other installs (Peppermint, Watt, Puppy, PureDyne) but I have yet to do more testing on them. In any case, I think all those are debian-based, so it's not a huge Linux sampling.
If anyone's interested I can post details/tutorials about what fixes I ran to get my Ubuntu to it's current state (nothing too tricky). For that, or any other correspondence, just comment, send me a message/follow on twitter @AaronMacSween, or like on Facebook (the Picturesque Orchestra).
Shoutouts to my twitter, and now facebook friends The Jinxes, not sure if that link will work. They sent me a message to their new song, which you can check out. It was a nice treat to wind down to after a long night.
Thanks for reading,
Aa
PS: The livestreamer mentioned he runs an android/Redhat~Fedora setup. Free media and real democracy are Open Source.
