The Death of Windows? Not by the hands of Cheap PCs

Sears Says, "Let the Games Begin!"
LinuxHow2 - Saturday, 26 January 2008

© LinuxHow2

Some people seem to think that Windows -- specifically, the larger hardware, and by proxy greater cost, exacerbated by the needs of Windows -- is getting hurt greatly by the cheap PCs.

I have to severely question that premise for some obvious reasons. One is the growth of Apple computer sales. In this case, Apple is enjoying growth in spite of (IMO) selling computers that are up to 5 times more expensive than a Dell or Systemax. Hey, It's ok. One can always get a Mac Mini...

The second reason to question the premise is the people who are putting Windows XP on all these low cost PCs. I don't care where one gets the license to do such things, but I'm certain it's still not hurting the pocketbook of those same people.

No, the market will still buy whatever the heck it wants, and those people who want only web, email, chat .... well, consider these cheap PCs to be the stepping stone to the next mid grade PC. Eventually, even the poor ailing college students will want more. Sub $200 PCs won't take over and squash Microsoft. It's just alternatives.

Something about Mac OS bothers me...

Update: I just learned about Quicksilver. (and Spotlight) Still, it's something I learned about after I wrote this.

Let's begin at the beginning... The keys are wrong, ok? So wrong that the standard keystrokes that I can use in Windows and Linux for browsing the Internet are ... well, let's just say misplaced. They aren't intuitive and they don't work.

I'm trying to work on MacBook Pro with the keyboard. Maybe I miss something, but at least in Windows, many of the normal keystrokes are given to you because the appropriate letters are underlined. Such as Alt-F for File. I am so keyboard centric because it's easier for me to blaze through what I need; and yes, I mean it's easier and faster for me to Alt-F, N or Alt-V or whatever than it is to change my thinking patterns around how to work the touchpad and oh, it's two fingers and that single button for a right-click ... Where is the Alt-D to get to address bar in firefox? Why can't I simply Flag-R, Firefox, ok and run the app I want? Or even Flag-Q

I think the point is that Mac is OK for people who must have a mouse to do everything. For the rest of us who really really can type faster than they can mouse, amnesia or no, I find the interface for MacOS disconcerting.

Yes, I tried RocketDock and tossed it aside because it occupied too much screen space. Yes, I know you can auto-hide it, but then what's the point? I don't care to look at a bunch of pictures that have no mnemonic value to me. If I wanted it, I could have oh, I don't know, a QuickLaunch bar. Or *gasp* icons on my desktop! Except I don't. Want icons on my desktop. Except what I am using. If the dock auto-hides, then why, why should I need it? By the way, autohide inhales forcefully in the case of RocketDock. Because it's either always popping up when I don't want it (top or right autohide) or it's on a side that doesn't matter to me.

I just tend to expect when I hit the key to the left of the space bar, and the F key, I get to see what the File menu says. I feel confident, between Windows and Linux, that certain things work the way they feel they should. Maybe that *is* why I like the default Ubuntu so well.

Hrm. It looks like I might need to check GnomeDo out as a SlickRun alternative.

Anyway, that's my rant for the moment. Otherwise, MacOS is a fine, fine OS if clicky is your thing.

Will a Vegan eat organic Animal Crackers?

Heh :) Just kidding. Rhetorical question. Unless you care to opine.

Getting nothing for nothing

I feel reasonably happy. I don't have to tweak Wine to run my Windows apps. I have Windows running my Windows apps. On Linux. Virtually.

I have *one* outstanding issue at the moment. The Gateway box has a video capture card that only has Vista drivers. And Virtualization doesn't deal with the card. In this case, I'll likely have to get a Hauppauge card to run natively in Linux. *fake sniff*.

If I need to run it, I'll start my VirtualBox up. Otherwise, it sits...patiently.. in save-state mode ... as an icon on my desktop. In 10 seconds, I have a working Windows XP "box".

Sometimes, a different look at free versus what you've already paid for is enough.

Watching MediaPlayer 11 on Linux

*Yawn*
VirtualBox + XP + WMP11 + Seamless + full screen = movies.

In my case, though, my 1650x1050 full screen seamless tended to drop a frame or two, but the audio was quite good, and didn't skip a beat.

Windowed Virtual seemed to be smooth and right on target.

If you want to watch Netflix Watch Instantly on Linux, why not give virtualization a try? It's not that hard.

Oh, and for the naysayers: Who cares? Chances are you bought a box with XP/Vista on it before you installed Ubuntu. Also, what do you think Parallels is?

PXE, DHCP, and no DHCP

I just read about Installing Linux with no CD and a comment asks about PXE without DHCP.

From other comments I've read, and my own personal experience, there just isn't a way to do PXE without DHCP. PXE is built into the network card's interface. It's pretty much as hard coded as the MAC Address (at least, until you boot your OS). At the risk of oversimplification... OK, I'm risking it... the basic operation of PXE goes like this:

1. Boot
   
2. Boot order...Network
   
3. PXE ... seek out BOOTP/DHCP broadcast offers
   
4. get an IP address
   
5. find out who handles tftp (perhaps from the DHCP server itself)
   
6. boot from the tftp server
   

No, seriously, read the link above.

In any case, one might cringe and say, "I can't have another DHCP server on my network!" Well, if you're actually attempting what is described in the above link, the thought in my head is simply that you probably don't need to worry about that.

In essence, there are only a few barriers, most can be summed up by creating a DHCP server in your zone.

The barriers (as I understand them):

• You have a router that doesn't pass DHCP
  
• You have an administrator who doesn't want another DHCP server on his LAN
  
• You feel that DHCP has its own administrative nightmare
  

It's ok. If you're already trying to install LINUX, chances are you probably are game enough to run your own DHCP server. But you don't have to do a big range. Just set it up with some settings like this:

host apxecomputer {
hardware ethernet 00:15:FF:FF:FF:FF;
fixed-address 192.168.1.49;
}


The point *is* PXE install of Linux, isn't it?

OK, if not, an alternate bet in this day and age is to boot locally with a Live USB Distro. What? You can't afford $10 for a 2GB USB flash drive?

I am blogging ... from my Wii.

I have purchased for my Christmas presents, among other things, an Adesso wireless Keyboard. WKB-3000UB. It connects to my Wii with a USB dongle and seems to be quite capable of interpretting my keypresses as I sit 10-12 feet away from my television, above which sets my Wii.
I decided to take a chance and see what happens. I am, obviously, pleasantly surprised.

I should mention that the mouse functionality of the keyboard that I'm using doesn't work. However, I think that I have a reasonably competent way of blogging if I want to do so from my couch, when I'm not on my laptop.

One of the downsides of this, though, is that I lose the Blogger save-as-I-type, as well as the convenience of the WYSIWYG editor for bold, etc. As well, I don't have the freedom of looking up a link as I'm typing, so I can include it in what I write. Home, End, Page Up/Page Down do not work, either. However, the arrow keys do function properly. It's funny watching the letters on the on-screen keyboard flash as I type.
Well, thanks for reading. This is proof of concept. I can't recommend you try this on your own Wii, or at least, don't blame me if you try it and it breaks your Wii, or simply doesn't work. And don't go buying this keyboard, first. You probably have a wireless USB keyboard. It might work. I can't vouch for what you, gentle reader, have in your possession.
:)
Have a great day!