So I've been playing my PS3 with no sound for a couple of weeks, and to understand why you need to delve into my understanding of HDCP.
It was my initial thought that HDCP was preventing my monitor from decoding the audio signal from my PS3. This is because HDMI cables have several signals that are encoded, including video and audio signals, and should, for whatever reason, something not be working correctly, any one of those signals can be interrupted.
HDCP is ostensibly to prevent video pirates from copying movies using run of the mill Blu-ray copiers. Should the receiving device not recognise the signal, it will simply refuse to play it. This leads to occasions where you can see video, but can't hear anything, because the audio signal isn't being processed.
The reality is that these measures have been implemented to enforce region locking. If you have an Asian TV and a European player, you may not be able to hear the audio, or see the video; or maybe nothing will work.
I assumed the reason I couldn't pick up an audio signal was because of this 'content protection,' and gave up trying shortly after I couldn't get it to work. My plan was to purchase an extra cable, and run the audio through that, into a separate set of speakers.
As it turns out, the reason for there being no audio was much less sinister, and frankly more stupid than HDCP.
In Korea, a speaker 'mute,' symbol is the reverse of England. A speaker that is crossed out means the speaker is, in fact, not muted. A speaker that appears to be blaring out music, with the three curved lines, means mute is activated.
...
I honestly don't know what possessed me to try it out again, but I'm glad I did, as I learned a few important lessons. Firstly, Sony isn't always as sinister as its' competitors. Secondly, Asian logic is backwards. Finally, always try for a few minutes to get something working, before you give up.
Saturday 24 July 2010
Friday 23 July 2010
Good Old China Does it Again.
Not two weeks after the latest spate of forced evictions, the report into the 2008 Tibet demonstration massacre is released.
The chinese government officially killed seventeen people, and unofficially murdered two hundred. A particularly charming murder occurred when a woman was detained for eight days, after tearing down a poster on a police station. Her crime, that of defacing a piece of paper, earned her torture and beatings so severe, that she couldn't eat without vomiting, she was unable to speak, and she had difficulty breathing. She died twenty two days later.
Another fantastic example of human rights comes courtesy of the same event, as people were left to die on the doorsteps of hospitals. Why weren't they treated? All hospitals in the area were told to lock their doors, and accept no-one on the days of the riots.
Classy.
When talking about china, it's often mentioned that america, and indeed the west at large, should force change upon them; presumably through some economic measure. The blind hypocrisy of the west when condemning these acts of violence on the one hand, and supplying them with raw materials and purchasing from them with the other, is not lost on those I talk to.
To understand the reason no-one in the west cares we should look at the latest governmental evictions in Shanghai.
Tens of thousands were forced to leave their homes, not to make way for a fantastical government project, like the thousands who were made homeless by the Beijing Olympics, or the thousands more who were made homeless by the recent Trade fair in the same city.
No, these people have been evicted by Disney. They're building a new Disneyland in Shanghai, and thanks to the american mega-corporation, thousands of essentially harmless chinese people, depending on subsistence farming and basic wage jobs, are moving into destitute tenement blocks to live out their lives in poverty.
Way to go Disney. While Obama condemns chinese co-operation with North Korea, his country funds Billions of dollars worth of investment in the same government he condemns.
Hypocrisy 1 Sanity 0
The chinese government officially killed seventeen people, and unofficially murdered two hundred. A particularly charming murder occurred when a woman was detained for eight days, after tearing down a poster on a police station. Her crime, that of defacing a piece of paper, earned her torture and beatings so severe, that she couldn't eat without vomiting, she was unable to speak, and she had difficulty breathing. She died twenty two days later.
Another fantastic example of human rights comes courtesy of the same event, as people were left to die on the doorsteps of hospitals. Why weren't they treated? All hospitals in the area were told to lock their doors, and accept no-one on the days of the riots.
Classy.
When talking about china, it's often mentioned that america, and indeed the west at large, should force change upon them; presumably through some economic measure. The blind hypocrisy of the west when condemning these acts of violence on the one hand, and supplying them with raw materials and purchasing from them with the other, is not lost on those I talk to.
To understand the reason no-one in the west cares we should look at the latest governmental evictions in Shanghai.
Tens of thousands were forced to leave their homes, not to make way for a fantastical government project, like the thousands who were made homeless by the Beijing Olympics, or the thousands more who were made homeless by the recent Trade fair in the same city.
No, these people have been evicted by Disney. They're building a new Disneyland in Shanghai, and thanks to the american mega-corporation, thousands of essentially harmless chinese people, depending on subsistence farming and basic wage jobs, are moving into destitute tenement blocks to live out their lives in poverty.
Way to go Disney. While Obama condemns chinese co-operation with North Korea, his country funds Billions of dollars worth of investment in the same government he condemns.
Hypocrisy 1 Sanity 0
Thursday 22 July 2010
Entering the Wireless Free Zone
It has recently become painfully apparent to me that wireless technology needs to improve quickly.
The main purpose of wireless in the UK is to enable many devices to connect to the internet, without the need for extremely long cables. This is fine in the UK, where the current fastest internet tops out at a notional 50mb/s. Korea doesn't have wireless. Wireless routers are sold in the shops, but nowhere near as heavily. I don't know the reason for this, but I would imagine it has something to do with the 100mb/s internet connection I'm using at the moment.
In the big cities they can get gigabit internet. Wireless technology is about a decade away from a sustained throughput of this magnitude. Supposing I obtained the latest N router, and a wireless card of the same ilk, I could reasonably expect a burst throughput of 100mb/s. That would be sustained for all of a nanosecond, before the connection settled down into what could be reasonably expected. This equates to a fraction of that, so all that extra speed would go to waste. If you connect a second computer, then the overheads of constantly accepting, verifying and error checking both streams would take a percentage of the throughput away again. Forget about media streaming, at least of any high-def content.
So I'm stuck with wires all over my room. My complaint isn't aesthetic, I could care less what my room looks like. Besides, the wires are primarily hidden underneath the piles of clothes. It's the ever present trip hazard that concerns me. I've fallen over dozens of times, even though I've routes the cables to the very extremities of the room. This problem would be solved should I get a bone-fide router, instead of a 1980's styled single output modem, as I could tape the myriad wires to the floor and be done with it. As it stands, I'm too tight to procure a router.
Thinking about it, I could play on my PS3 and talk on MSN at the same time if I did that... Maybe I should invest in a dodgy old second hand junker.
In reply to the anonymous poster on an earlier thread, apparently you can't escape reality. Or maybe I haven't tried hard enough yet.
The main purpose of wireless in the UK is to enable many devices to connect to the internet, without the need for extremely long cables. This is fine in the UK, where the current fastest internet tops out at a notional 50mb/s. Korea doesn't have wireless. Wireless routers are sold in the shops, but nowhere near as heavily. I don't know the reason for this, but I would imagine it has something to do with the 100mb/s internet connection I'm using at the moment.
In the big cities they can get gigabit internet. Wireless technology is about a decade away from a sustained throughput of this magnitude. Supposing I obtained the latest N router, and a wireless card of the same ilk, I could reasonably expect a burst throughput of 100mb/s. That would be sustained for all of a nanosecond, before the connection settled down into what could be reasonably expected. This equates to a fraction of that, so all that extra speed would go to waste. If you connect a second computer, then the overheads of constantly accepting, verifying and error checking both streams would take a percentage of the throughput away again. Forget about media streaming, at least of any high-def content.
So I'm stuck with wires all over my room. My complaint isn't aesthetic, I could care less what my room looks like. Besides, the wires are primarily hidden underneath the piles of clothes. It's the ever present trip hazard that concerns me. I've fallen over dozens of times, even though I've routes the cables to the very extremities of the room. This problem would be solved should I get a bone-fide router, instead of a 1980's styled single output modem, as I could tape the myriad wires to the floor and be done with it. As it stands, I'm too tight to procure a router.
Thinking about it, I could play on my PS3 and talk on MSN at the same time if I did that... Maybe I should invest in a dodgy old second hand junker.
In reply to the anonymous poster on an earlier thread, apparently you can't escape reality. Or maybe I haven't tried hard enough yet.
Wednesday 21 July 2010
Summer Holidays and Games
So I've somehow started playing an absurd amount of table tennis.
I always assumed china was the hotbed of table tennis, but Koreans quite enjoy a game or two. They all use the pen grip (I may have made that name up) just like the chinese, and the national average ability is pretty good, assuming the four Koreans I've played are indicative. One man said he started playing in the army, and based upon how good he was, I can only assume he didn't fire any guns; he was ridiculous. We played in a relatively confined space, with walls along two sides. I would knock seven bells out of the ball, with the craziest spin I could muster, and he would hit it against the wall onto my side of the table. When someone starts doing that, you know you're beaten. His service game was impenetrable, and after only three points, he realised I was not Asian, so toned his game down somewhat. He still played off the walls and ceiling though. He's the general manager of the gym, and is generally an awesome guy. He was generous with his praise, and not once did he lord his dominance over me - verbally anyway.
The ultimate aim of these games being my matchup against the landlord. He set the game up between me and a couple of other teachers last week, and I was chomping at the bit. The first game was a complete washout, in his haste to play against me I was abruptly awoken from a pleasant evening nap, my eyes were still bleary when he won. I can't remember the score, but it was (probably) humiliating. What I didn't expect was his reaction. Every point was accompanied by myriad noises from his end, ala womens tennis. Not only did he play more seriously than a professional, he wasn't quite as gracious about his victory as one might expect from the Asian tradition. His words during the match ranged from: (Exact quotes) 'Wow bad shot,' to 'wow you bery bad.'
It was on.
The second game I took the lead, he took the lead, we were tied on a number of points. It was intense. Every point I won I shouted in his face, the same way he had done to me; I think this got the point across, as he was completely silent after that.
So he was leading 20-19, match point. I served a net, so we replayed the point. Everyone was silent, the atmosphere intense. I served a humdinger, it completely threw him off. He scrambled across the table, hitting the ball with his finger. The point was over. Except he hit the net, and the ball crept over. It hit his hand, and he fluked it over the net. For the record, he fluked five points by hitting the net in the game.
So he beat me with some Korean Jam on top. His exact words after the match: 'Wow, you bad, me good.'
Mum would be proud for the restraint I showed. All the foreigners just looked at me with a combination of fear, for I might decapitate our landlord, and wonderment for not doing so.
I'm going to purchase a bat, without the extra lumpy pen grip thing, and rubber on both sides (western style) and play against him again. If I win, I will rain the foulest abuse unto his ears, and maybe, finally, at age forty, he will understand that there is such a thing as being a terrible winner.
I always assumed china was the hotbed of table tennis, but Koreans quite enjoy a game or two. They all use the pen grip (I may have made that name up) just like the chinese, and the national average ability is pretty good, assuming the four Koreans I've played are indicative. One man said he started playing in the army, and based upon how good he was, I can only assume he didn't fire any guns; he was ridiculous. We played in a relatively confined space, with walls along two sides. I would knock seven bells out of the ball, with the craziest spin I could muster, and he would hit it against the wall onto my side of the table. When someone starts doing that, you know you're beaten. His service game was impenetrable, and after only three points, he realised I was not Asian, so toned his game down somewhat. He still played off the walls and ceiling though. He's the general manager of the gym, and is generally an awesome guy. He was generous with his praise, and not once did he lord his dominance over me - verbally anyway.
The ultimate aim of these games being my matchup against the landlord. He set the game up between me and a couple of other teachers last week, and I was chomping at the bit. The first game was a complete washout, in his haste to play against me I was abruptly awoken from a pleasant evening nap, my eyes were still bleary when he won. I can't remember the score, but it was (probably) humiliating. What I didn't expect was his reaction. Every point was accompanied by myriad noises from his end, ala womens tennis. Not only did he play more seriously than a professional, he wasn't quite as gracious about his victory as one might expect from the Asian tradition. His words during the match ranged from: (Exact quotes) 'Wow bad shot,' to 'wow you bery bad.'
It was on.
The second game I took the lead, he took the lead, we were tied on a number of points. It was intense. Every point I won I shouted in his face, the same way he had done to me; I think this got the point across, as he was completely silent after that.
So he was leading 20-19, match point. I served a net, so we replayed the point. Everyone was silent, the atmosphere intense. I served a humdinger, it completely threw him off. He scrambled across the table, hitting the ball with his finger. The point was over. Except he hit the net, and the ball crept over. It hit his hand, and he fluked it over the net. For the record, he fluked five points by hitting the net in the game.
So he beat me with some Korean Jam on top. His exact words after the match: 'Wow, you bad, me good.'
Mum would be proud for the restraint I showed. All the foreigners just looked at me with a combination of fear, for I might decapitate our landlord, and wonderment for not doing so.
I'm going to purchase a bat, without the extra lumpy pen grip thing, and rubber on both sides (western style) and play against him again. If I win, I will rain the foulest abuse unto his ears, and maybe, finally, at age forty, he will understand that there is such a thing as being a terrible winner.
Monday 19 July 2010
Overtime. Oh wow.
So it's 8:30 PM.
Where am I? I'm at work. I've been here since 8:20 AM. Twelve hours of work at this place. No lunch, because it was primarily tentacles (I'm tired of tentacles now) and I'm just about done.
The amount of work we put in here is, frankly, insane. Eighty students each, speech contests, schoolwide competitions, handouts, certficates, endless meetings. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid with a normal job... On the plus side I get to ass-around for most of the day, while everyone else screws up their plans, and makes me stay until 9PM.
So tired now.
Hungry too.
Where am I? I'm at work. I've been here since 8:20 AM. Twelve hours of work at this place. No lunch, because it was primarily tentacles (I'm tired of tentacles now) and I'm just about done.
The amount of work we put in here is, frankly, insane. Eighty students each, speech contests, schoolwide competitions, handouts, certficates, endless meetings. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid with a normal job... On the plus side I get to ass-around for most of the day, while everyone else screws up their plans, and makes me stay until 9PM.
So tired now.
Hungry too.
Saturday 17 July 2010
Fixed
So I got the computer working again.
It took a bizarre, unconventional approach but it worked. I won't go into the details because they're boring, but it means I will be able to take my laptop with me when I go to Seoul next week.
I've been three times now, but only for the weekend. The Summer holiday is fast approaching, and I'm determined to take a full tour of the city, seeing everything it has to offer. I'll have a camera too, which means I will have something more interesting to offer; the last few weeks have been rather uneventful.
We have a half day on Wednesday, and then it's free time for a couple of weeks. I can't wait to see some more of the island, and some more of Seoul. I think after this break I'll start exploring Busan next.
It took a bizarre, unconventional approach but it worked. I won't go into the details because they're boring, but it means I will be able to take my laptop with me when I go to Seoul next week.
I've been three times now, but only for the weekend. The Summer holiday is fast approaching, and I'm determined to take a full tour of the city, seeing everything it has to offer. I'll have a camera too, which means I will have something more interesting to offer; the last few weeks have been rather uneventful.
We have a half day on Wednesday, and then it's free time for a couple of weeks. I can't wait to see some more of the island, and some more of Seoul. I think after this break I'll start exploring Busan next.
Sunday 11 July 2010
I'm Scared
I'm writing this on my playstation so forgive the brevity.
I finally got my playstation working, albeit with no sound. Then my laptop died. It will not start. Then the right thumbstick on my ps3 controller broke, so I can type messages (exceedingly slowly) but not play games. Then my toothbrush broke. I'm afraid of what might break next.
That took 15 minutes to write...
Bedtime methinks.
I finally got my playstation working, albeit with no sound. Then my laptop died. It will not start. Then the right thumbstick on my ps3 controller broke, so I can type messages (exceedingly slowly) but not play games. Then my toothbrush broke. I'm afraid of what might break next.
That took 15 minutes to write...
Bedtime methinks.
Friday 9 July 2010
Long Time, No Posts
So it's been five or six days since I last posted.
It's been hectic once again; as we had three days of welcoming parents into our classrooms. The school holds annual open events over three consecutive days, and we had to prepare for them. The event was extremely high pressure, the pressure was entirely placed upon us by those who had previously participated, and our bosses. I went into the event expecting to be eaten alive; I come out of the event realising that the people I work with might be borderline autistic, such is their inability to communicate with other adults. Maybe, after several months of working in this field, I too will become afraid.
The way my colleagues talked about the parents was reminiscent of a first watching of 'alien,' or 'the hills have eyes.' The fear was palpable, and the smell was only superseded by the noxious insect repellent they happened to spray through our windows in the buildup to these events.
As events unfolded, my suspicions grew. Could the parents here be particularly awful? Maybe the ridiculous amounts of money they earn give them the pompous self-entitlement some of the children possess? Maybe they have acid for blood?
The school holds an annual contest between the different classes within a grade, so during the open days we were to hold in-class contests to find the most suitable combatants. The parents were tasked with the impossibly challenging: stand at the back of the class and do nothing.
So were they demons?
No. They were all just normal people. Some were extremely kind, some even smiled, believe it or not. Most just talked through the other childrens' presentations, talked on their mobile phones or talked to their own children. Some applauded after every presentation, some after their own child, some didn't applaud at all. Some left after their own child had finished, some stayed the course. All things considered, they are normal people. I don't know why everyone else is so afraid. I'm nervous that I missed something, or that my cruise-control attitude means that on Monday, I will wake up to having no job, on account of being uncouth.
Unless I am very much mistaken, they are normal people. Terrible parents, but normal people nonetheless. (Not all Koreans are terrible parents, some subdue their crying babies, some even talk to their children!)
On a side-note, I recently found out the scale of the ship building activities here. One company is currently building eleven oil drilling ships, each with a value of five hundred and fifty million dollars. These are being built concurrently, alongside container ships and oil platforms. I don't know how many other ships are being built right now, or their value. This half of the island houses the second and third largest shipyards in the world, and the largest is just up the road. I can't remember whether I mentioned this or not, but they rebuild the pavement every few months here, adding different patterns and colours. I mentioned that it is a chronic waste, but the fact is, they have too much money here.
If you've seen in the news that there's a massive oil spill down Mexico way, that drilling ship was built here too. It's an extremely interesting case of, 'I wonder why we didn't see that coming...' and the story is readily available on the internet should you want to find out exactly what happened, but I'm pretty sure if I say it here, people will disappear, only to reappear three weeks later on the beach, wearing concrete shoes.
On a lighter note, I participated in an eating contest of sorts on Wednesday. I still feel rough, and I would not recommend anyone eat too much pizza; having tried it myself I can say it was an awful, if not somewhat entertaining experience.
I vowed never to eat pizza again, only to eat it the next day for dinner.
I'll put some pictures up with the full scoop at a later date.
It's been hectic once again; as we had three days of welcoming parents into our classrooms. The school holds annual open events over three consecutive days, and we had to prepare for them. The event was extremely high pressure, the pressure was entirely placed upon us by those who had previously participated, and our bosses. I went into the event expecting to be eaten alive; I come out of the event realising that the people I work with might be borderline autistic, such is their inability to communicate with other adults. Maybe, after several months of working in this field, I too will become afraid.
The way my colleagues talked about the parents was reminiscent of a first watching of 'alien,' or 'the hills have eyes.' The fear was palpable, and the smell was only superseded by the noxious insect repellent they happened to spray through our windows in the buildup to these events.
As events unfolded, my suspicions grew. Could the parents here be particularly awful? Maybe the ridiculous amounts of money they earn give them the pompous self-entitlement some of the children possess? Maybe they have acid for blood?
The school holds an annual contest between the different classes within a grade, so during the open days we were to hold in-class contests to find the most suitable combatants. The parents were tasked with the impossibly challenging: stand at the back of the class and do nothing.
So were they demons?
No. They were all just normal people. Some were extremely kind, some even smiled, believe it or not. Most just talked through the other childrens' presentations, talked on their mobile phones or talked to their own children. Some applauded after every presentation, some after their own child, some didn't applaud at all. Some left after their own child had finished, some stayed the course. All things considered, they are normal people. I don't know why everyone else is so afraid. I'm nervous that I missed something, or that my cruise-control attitude means that on Monday, I will wake up to having no job, on account of being uncouth.
Unless I am very much mistaken, they are normal people. Terrible parents, but normal people nonetheless. (Not all Koreans are terrible parents, some subdue their crying babies, some even talk to their children!)
On a side-note, I recently found out the scale of the ship building activities here. One company is currently building eleven oil drilling ships, each with a value of five hundred and fifty million dollars. These are being built concurrently, alongside container ships and oil platforms. I don't know how many other ships are being built right now, or their value. This half of the island houses the second and third largest shipyards in the world, and the largest is just up the road. I can't remember whether I mentioned this or not, but they rebuild the pavement every few months here, adding different patterns and colours. I mentioned that it is a chronic waste, but the fact is, they have too much money here.
If you've seen in the news that there's a massive oil spill down Mexico way, that drilling ship was built here too. It's an extremely interesting case of, 'I wonder why we didn't see that coming...' and the story is readily available on the internet should you want to find out exactly what happened, but I'm pretty sure if I say it here, people will disappear, only to reappear three weeks later on the beach, wearing concrete shoes.
On a lighter note, I participated in an eating contest of sorts on Wednesday. I still feel rough, and I would not recommend anyone eat too much pizza; having tried it myself I can say it was an awful, if not somewhat entertaining experience.
I vowed never to eat pizza again, only to eat it the next day for dinner.
I'll put some pictures up with the full scoop at a later date.
Saturday 3 July 2010
The Road to Disappointment.
Korea is a strange place.
So my first American football match was today. I arrive at ten o clock, like I was supposed to. I stayed all day like I was supposed to. I trained and practiced with them like I was supposed to. I reminded them that I'm awesome at rugby, and skinned tons of them in training, I nailed a couple of guys and made them regret being opposite me. I did everything an aggressive team sport dictates.
They got me suited and booted, which is just ridiculous by the way. The pads don't weigh much, and the helmets are easy to see out of; but they quadruple your dimensions. It's impossible to go through gaps, they just don't exist in american football.
Anyway, they put me in for a play, then took me out, then put me in, then took me out, (before the play began) they did the same thing to another guy, and we were both pissed so we threw our helmets on the floor; that's sacrilege in Korea, because, according to one of the coaches, 'the helmet is team.' You can interpret that any way you want, but the upshot is that neither of us got to play because we were angry, and had adrenaline pumping through us. Two things you don't want in a physical sport like american football. Oh wait, did I get that the wrong way round? Are you supposed to be psyched to play a sport like american football, or are you supposed to tickle the opposition players? I forgot.
So I just wasted my Saturday for a bunch of assholes that wouldn't let me play, and who themselves are terrible. Seriously, people were praising a player who managed to break a single tackle, that is a staple in rugby, and they couldn't do that. There was one hit that was powerful, in the whole game. These guys are bad. Just give me one opportunity to sack the quarterback, or give me the ball once and let me run the whole length of the field.
Anyway, we got the adult equivalent of a time-out, and now I'm sunburnt, tired and, frankly, bored of the whole thing. I think I'll find out more about the rugby team.
Then again, it would be pretty sweet to win a game for these guys, and then stick two fingers up at them halfway through the season, leaving them with nonrefillable shoes. Revenge will be mine at the end of the day. That and tons of touchdowns.
So my first American football match was today. I arrive at ten o clock, like I was supposed to. I stayed all day like I was supposed to. I trained and practiced with them like I was supposed to. I reminded them that I'm awesome at rugby, and skinned tons of them in training, I nailed a couple of guys and made them regret being opposite me. I did everything an aggressive team sport dictates.
They got me suited and booted, which is just ridiculous by the way. The pads don't weigh much, and the helmets are easy to see out of; but they quadruple your dimensions. It's impossible to go through gaps, they just don't exist in american football.
Anyway, they put me in for a play, then took me out, then put me in, then took me out, (before the play began) they did the same thing to another guy, and we were both pissed so we threw our helmets on the floor; that's sacrilege in Korea, because, according to one of the coaches, 'the helmet is team.' You can interpret that any way you want, but the upshot is that neither of us got to play because we were angry, and had adrenaline pumping through us. Two things you don't want in a physical sport like american football. Oh wait, did I get that the wrong way round? Are you supposed to be psyched to play a sport like american football, or are you supposed to tickle the opposition players? I forgot.
So I just wasted my Saturday for a bunch of assholes that wouldn't let me play, and who themselves are terrible. Seriously, people were praising a player who managed to break a single tackle, that is a staple in rugby, and they couldn't do that. There was one hit that was powerful, in the whole game. These guys are bad. Just give me one opportunity to sack the quarterback, or give me the ball once and let me run the whole length of the field.
Anyway, we got the adult equivalent of a time-out, and now I'm sunburnt, tired and, frankly, bored of the whole thing. I think I'll find out more about the rugby team.
Then again, it would be pretty sweet to win a game for these guys, and then stick two fingers up at them halfway through the season, leaving them with nonrefillable shoes. Revenge will be mine at the end of the day. That and tons of touchdowns.
Thursday 1 July 2010
Ubuntu 10.4 LTS (Netbook Edition)
Just to preface this post, I hate Windows. It breaks all the time, there's a particularly terrible form of DRM running through the whole thing, and I generally despise the lack of customisation available. All linux has to do at this point is work. It doesn't have to work well, it doesn't have to game, it doesn't even have to look nice or be intuitive to use. It just has to work.
It does not.
The old versions of Ubuntu (9.04 and 9.10) did not boot properly. From the outset I would have to boot the computer four or five times to get a prompt. It would then work slowly for an hour, and crash. I would then reboot four or five times and get back in. I'm pretty patient, so I was fine with wasting my life looking at a black screen holding random errors. It's been like this for a year, so I decided to upgrade to the new Ubuntu, as it's more stable, and generally much faster than the previous version where, Canonical have themselves admitted they dropped the ball somewhat.
The new version is amazing. Instead of four reboots, it now takes fifteen or more to reach the login prompt. When I do reach the prompt I can load a web browser, or I can load an instant messenger, or I can load Skype. The internet immediately becomes unavailable to all other internet using programmes until I reboot, which takes half an hour or more of hoping and praying. The whole system runs like a dog, which considering the fact that all netbooks are internally identical, strikes me as a dumb move on Canonicals' part, because the performance I'm experiencing, you will also experience on your netbook. (They're all internally identical)
I could wax lyrical about the flaws in the new Ubuntu, suffice it to say, don't 'upgrade.' You will kick yourself.
They even moved the close application 'X' from the top right to the top left, to make it more like a Mac. Alienate your Windows converts in order to grab a market share that is notoriously loyal; great move there, Canonical.
It does not.
The old versions of Ubuntu (9.04 and 9.10) did not boot properly. From the outset I would have to boot the computer four or five times to get a prompt. It would then work slowly for an hour, and crash. I would then reboot four or five times and get back in. I'm pretty patient, so I was fine with wasting my life looking at a black screen holding random errors. It's been like this for a year, so I decided to upgrade to the new Ubuntu, as it's more stable, and generally much faster than the previous version where, Canonical have themselves admitted they dropped the ball somewhat.
The new version is amazing. Instead of four reboots, it now takes fifteen or more to reach the login prompt. When I do reach the prompt I can load a web browser, or I can load an instant messenger, or I can load Skype. The internet immediately becomes unavailable to all other internet using programmes until I reboot, which takes half an hour or more of hoping and praying. The whole system runs like a dog, which considering the fact that all netbooks are internally identical, strikes me as a dumb move on Canonicals' part, because the performance I'm experiencing, you will also experience on your netbook. (They're all internally identical)
I could wax lyrical about the flaws in the new Ubuntu, suffice it to say, don't 'upgrade.' You will kick yourself.
They even moved the close application 'X' from the top right to the top left, to make it more like a Mac. Alienate your Windows converts in order to grab a market share that is notoriously loyal; great move there, Canonical.
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