Tis the Season for "Lost" Mail

First off, let me set forth the following disclaimer. My opinions are my own and have nothing whatsoever to do with the politics of the subject matter. I am writing strictly from the standpoint of a consumer with no political ideologies for or against. So if you're looking for political bias to grab onto and spew the usual tired, partisan crap, I'm going to suggest that you stop reading right here right now, otherwise you'll be wasting both your time as well as mine. All that being said, let's get to the point, shall we?

Subject: The United States Postal Service

Was that a collective groan I just heard from the audience? Yes, I'm quite sure that it was since the postal service has become a political football for both sides of the political duopoly. If you haven't been following along, then let me bring you up to speed. Here's the score so far: The red team wants to privatize the post office because insert latest political ideology here. Meanwhile, the blue team says the red team only wants to privatize the mail because it hates public unions. Frankly, I don't give a toss about what either side alleges to further its own completely self-serving agenda. All I know is that as a consumer who is forced to rely on the USPS for mail delivery, I am quite unhappy given the latest post office fail.

The broad strokes are such that a friend mailed a parcel from a post office to my PO Box within the same state. This friend stood on a really long line one sunny Saturday morning, paid the extra jack for a tracking number, and, trusted the US Mail to get the package to me. The average person would assume a successful delivery was imminent. While I don't have the stats as to how frequently the post office drops the ball, if these thousands of pages of complaints are any indication, I'd say that the USPS has an awful lot of explaining to do, particularly given that a mail delivery service in the private sector with a similar track history would have been shuttered decades ago, not rewarded with a continued monopoly.

Suffice it to say, the post office received the parcel addressed to me and scanned it into its system. This was evidenced by the fact that looking up the tracking number online indicated delivery. Knowing it had arrived, I went to the post office with tracking number in hand to pick it up and was promptly told they couldn't find it. A lost episode from the Three Stooges ensued accordingly.

The initial response was to tell me that certain clerks had to be consulted as to where the parcel was put after it was checked in. Apparently, it wasn't where it was supposed to be. This required a conference between the supervisor and the clerk(s) responsible. (Or so I was told.) Of course, this happened the day before Thanksgiving and the clerks who handled checking in the mail were off for the day.

No dice, little consumer, try back later.

When I called on Friday and asked for a status update, I had to re-explain what happened and provide the tracking number yet again. I was told the missing package was being investigated, whatever that meant. When I asked for clarification, I was rebuffed.

Saturday was pretty much the same ordeal – more excuses, hemming/hawing followed by a rolling of the eyes and a shrug that I swear I could actually see and hear over the phone. I was told, “We're looking into it.” There was absolutely nothing even remotely resembling customer service – just an urgent need to make excuses and to otherwise rush me off the phone. I was told by the supervisor who took the call that day that I was “abusing” him.

Really? Asking questions about a parcel that was delivered directly to the post office and subsequently lost is now considered abuse. That's a new one on me since my job requires providing adequate responses when something goes wrong. It would be funny if it wasn't standard operating procedure for the post office to shrug off missing and lost mail.

Given that there has been no time line as to when I could expect a resolution, or any kind of follow up as to what had been done to locate my missing package, I can only hypothesize as to what happened. I strongly suspect theft. Oh yes, Virginia, mail theft is perpetrated by mail room employees more often than not. How easy is it to break into someone else's parcel in the back room, take whatever you want and then toss the box aside only to claim later, when the recipient comes looking for it, that you can't find it? I suspect it's quite easy for postal employees to steal mail and the contents of parcels since there doesn't seem to be any kind of accountability. In fact, the official response to my lost parcel was a collective shrug.

So who do we blame? What can be done about mail theft perpetrated by postal employees?

The usual excuses as to why employees don't measure up don't apply here because if you work for the post office then you are compensated quite nicely, not to mention, practically guaranteed a six figure pension upon retirement. But hey, don't take my word for it, according to an audit of the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), USPS has overpaid by $11.4 billion into its pension funds. Postal employees have very little to zero reason to be disgruntled about anything so committing petty mail theft is just apparently something that is perpetrated for grins and giggles.

Compared to private sector employment, generally speaking, compensation for college educated rank and file grunts is down. Wages are stagnant. Pensions are non-existent. Companies are stingy and make Scrooge's spending habits look like a drunken sailor. Cogs don't get raises, they get pink-slipped, instead, especially if there is a blip on the Dow with the company's stock price. Only the corporate officers see any kind of substantive raise in their paycheck. Meanwhile, the public union works quite nicely for its members whether they perform competently or decide to steal the contents of your mail. 

Members start out with living wages and their salary increases from there. Sure, there is the constant grumbling -government employees never seem to miss a break or a vacation-  but compared to private sector employment, public unions have a pretty sweet deal for their members. I can only surmise that competency factors very little into continued employment or even job performance. And from what I've seen, you can never be terminated even if you screw up because the union protects your job - Oh, you've lost someone's parcel containing irreplaceable Christmas gifts for a small child? Here's a pat on the back and a raise for you, Archie! Nice work. Maybe next time you can “lose” (wink nudge wink) Grandma's life-saving medication for the win.

This is all wonderful for government employees who can never be fired, and, political partisans who debate endlessly as to privatizing the postal service and otherwise provide a smoke and mirrors distraction for the gullible who are unable/unwilling to see what's really going on. But in the final analysis, consumers are the ones who are ripped off.

The resolution to my particular ordeal with my lost parcel is to file a claim that will take about a month to be processed. To add further insult to injury, in order to file said claim, copies of receipts from everything that was in the parcel must be included in the claim – yes, because keeping copies of receipts from items purchased and sent as Christmas gifts is foremost on the average American's mind, isn't it?

What –you mean you haven't kept your receipts from the past year from all the year-round Christmas shopping you've been doing?

Too bad so sad sayeth the USPS.

But let's just continue to be distracted by the non-issues:

Blue Team accusation: You want to privatize the postal service because you hate unions!

Red Team response: We do not! Privatizing every governmental service is the answer to America's problems!

And on it goes.  Meanwhile, mail is pilfered by postal employees, and, the USPS continues operations in the same shoddy, half-assed manner it always has year after year.

Eye roll.

Shrug.

***

UPDATE (as of 12-8-14)
A complaint was filed with the OIG however, little did I realize that obtaining a copy of it would necessitate (according to the USPS) a FOIA request, which opens up a whole other issue.  Stay tuned to Twitter @bikinit for future updates as I intend to provide another installment so that the public may gain a better understanding of (1) FOIA requests and (2) how the Government, specifically, the Office of the Inspector General and the US Postal Service handles complaints about mail theft perpetrated by US postal employees.

©2014 GreensleevesBikinIt. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from GreensleevesBikinIt is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to GreensleevesBikinIt with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Linux Mint 13: Package Refresh Error

Today brought another opportunity to tinker with one of my Linux distros in order to resolve a problem.  (Note:  If you haven't been following along, I have a triple-boot beater laptop that I described here.)  

At any rate, the issue in question was with the update manager.  I noticed a red X across the normally green checked shield located in the taskbar to the left of the date.  A green check usually signifies the system is current with updates and so the red X was problematic.  When I clicked on the "info" this was the error message.

After checking around various Linux Mint forums and attempting various suggestions, including the following command to clean up (and remove thereafter) existing outdated repositories the red X persisted. 

sudo apt-get -f install

Following is another error.  

Ok, so evidently, the problem is with the repository index.  Another check on the web yielded this fix, so it was off to a terminal I went and input the following commands.

sudo rm /var/lib/apt/lists/* -vf
sudo apt-get update

This seemed to resolve the red X problem.  The customary green checkmark was visible in the shield, but ten minutes later, although the system apparently updated, the problem has returned and the red X is back.

I'm sure there is a simple fix for this problem (hopefully) but as of this writing, I haven't yet found it.  Stay tuned.

Trusty Tahr Chokes on BCM4313

Another Ubuntu 14.04 LTS installation on a client machine has brought yet another issue I wanted to bring to the forefront.  If your system is using a Broadcom BCM4313 wifi card, you may encounter some issues getting it to work with your router.

From what I've researched, apparently the BCM4313 is giving the Ubuntu Community seizures in trying to successfully write code to get an open source driver to work in Trusty Tahr.  On the other hand, the proprietary driver -provided you didn't goof like I did- will work.  And if you did zig when you should have zagged, as is almost always the case with Linux, there is a fix.

In order to avoid the problem, here's what you should not do:  Enable updates while installing the OS.

Doing so apparently blacklists the brcmsmac kernel and nukes the driver.  Or so sayeth the Venerated One in this discussion.  However, once you perform a little sudo apt-get and sudo su echo action to de-blacklist it, wifi connectivity with the BCM4313 chip is supposed to enable in v.14.04 LTS.

I haven't put it to the test as of yet on the client system in question, but when I do, I will be sure to report the results.  In the meantime, if your system is using the BCM4313 network controller, and you're about to execute a dual-boot installation of Trusty Tahr, remember to uncheck the enable network updates options.

Just as a refresher, to check what the name of the network controller is in a Linux OS, type the following command into a terminal:

lspci -vvnn | grep 14e4

If you're using Windoze, and plan to partition the HDD for a dual-boot install, just go into Device Manager to get the name of the controller.

Happy Linuxing!

UPDATE:  10/10/2014

Since I was able to get the customer's wifi working using Broadcom's proprietary driver using the commands from the above referenced brcmsmac discussion, it's safe to confirm that the de-blacklisting does in fact un-fubar the fubar that occurs to the proprietary driver if you select network updates during the OS installation.  Lesson learned:  If you know that you pc is using the BCM4313 network card, be sure not to select the network updates until after you've installed the OS.


©2014 Greensleeves. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Greensleeves. is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Greensleeves. with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Eight Types of People Who Rent Out Rooms

What You See Is Not What You Get

As it turns out, looking for a room to rent is an entirely new level of Dante's Hell.  To be clear, I am not referring to renting an apartment, which, as tedious/expensive as it may be what with filling out rental apps, paying an astronomical deposit and paying for the credit check, is still a lot more pleasant than the process of finding a room.  At least with an apartment, you know that when all is said and done, you got what you thought you were paying for.  And if there are any schizzo roommates in the equation it's because you signed a lease with them or invited them to live with you to help with the rent. (Mileage may and does vary.)  

When you rent a room out of someone's home, however, while you may be avoiding having to sign a lease or permit a peek at your credit history, the aggravation you miss in the usual process is more than made up for elsewhere.  Case in point:  the kinds of people you will inevitably end up dealing with.  Once in a very blue moon you may get lucky and find functioning people, but that does not seem to be the norm for those who advertise a spare room for rent.

In fact, renting a room is kind of like using public transportation.  You hope that you don't find yourself seated next to that guy on the bus with the inexplicably enlarged pupils  who waits for you to nod off  and then beheads you and eats your organs.

How Psychotic Are They?

Homeowners fall into multiple categories, sometimes simultaneously, each one more spectacularly bad than the one before it.  Invariably, these people have been told, or have read some corporately consolidated media fucktard writer's thoughts about all the nifty extra cash they can be making by renting out the spare room in their home.  The thing is tho that few of these people looking for easy money ever think past their own noses.  All they can see are the dollar signs.  And regardless of location, nowhere else can you experience firsthand the unchecked, undiagnosed mental illness/dysfunction of the average American than by renting a room.  College roommates be damned.

I would surmise that approximately 95% of those who rent rooms out of their homes fall into one (or several) of the following categories.

Passive-Aggressive:  You are enjoying the extra money renting out a room brings in each month, but you resent that a stranger occupies your household. 

Because you believe that you should be issued a check every month and not otherwise be inconvenienced by the boarder's existence, you make it a point to wake up at the ass crack of dawn on your days off and make as much noise as you can.  You call this "housework," but what you're really doing is channeling your inner cunt.

Bizarre:  A "partitioned" living room with zero privacy for the "low" price of $650.00.

And why would I pay that price to sleep on your smelly sofa and be subjected to you walking around in your stained skivvies?   

Fuck You Pay Me: Can't use kitchen, laundry, or ever be present.  

Really? Why don't you include your address right there in the ad with instructions to just mail you the monthly rent check.  Or provide a Pay Pal account? That way the boarder doesn't even have to bother moving in. 

Unrealistic: Must fill out a credit check and have references.

This one always makes me LOL - Newsflash, Pollyanna:  A person who is seeking to rent a room isn't going to have good credit and references.  And if he did, he would just sign a fucking lease for his own apartment and have roommates.  

Unreasonable:  The "room" is actually a glorified closet in the attic that is accessed by climbing up a vertical, rickety ladder and can only be "enjoyed" by lying on your back because the ceiling clearance is 3 feet.

Seriously? I think the homeowner would have better luck buying a casket and renting it out from the living room.  The casket would be a lot more comfortable/cooler and at least pick up the wifi signal better. 

Unstable:  Lifestyle alternates between 72 hours of mania followed by an additional 72 of crash caused by the ingestion of psychotropic prescription pills; may or may not have been 5150'd several times before.  

Ah yes, my particular favorite. You know, I was just saying the other day that there aren't nearly enough attention whores popping pills in this country. There really needs to be a lot more people threatening suicide and pretending to be depressed sufficient so that their friends/family are duped into buying the bullshit and end up calling the cops in a panic for help with an involuntary psychiatric hold.  

Assholery:  Sets an appointment and then in the meantime, rents the room to someone else. 

You don't find out that you're shit outta luck unless you call to confirm the appointment.  And that's only IF the asshole takes the call/bothers to call you back.

Extreme Assholery Coupled with Douchebaggery:  (EACD) Shows you the room then takes over an hour to assess whether or not your money is good.  Bloviates to you that there have been many calls about it but the homeowner is being picky and wants to find the "right" fit. After boring the shit out of you about gosh, gee how fortuitous it was to find such an excellent boarder as yourself, thereby convincing you that you have the room, you get a text msg the next morning stating that it was promised to someone else. Thanks for playing and good luck to you!  

The level of douchery involved in this particular scenario is truly astonishing. If you promised a room to another prospective boarder, then WHY would you keep taking calls and showing the room to others?  

Because you are an unethical, self-serving, opportunistic piece of shit, that's why.

These are just a few of the highlights, boys & girls.  I'm sure more will be discovered as time passes.  If you do happen to  find yourself looking at the room rental ads, there really is no tried and true way to know in advance what level of douchenozzle you'll be paying rent to since they are all on their very best behavior.  It isn't until after you move in that you find out you're living with a sack of shit who should be sterilized to prevent the reproduction of another generation of worthless assholes.



©2014 Greensleeves. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Greensleeves is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Greensleeves with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Using Ubuntu: 4 Practical Steps You Should Execute On Your System Immediately

If you are an open source software ("OSS") enthusiast like me, then you have probably already skimmed a fair amount of additional software to install lists after having installed Ubuntu itself. While those suggestions are constructive, they are entirely subjective and based on the wants of the person who wrote the list, and, who, in all likelihood has not bothered to qualify exactly why the software was chosen. (Most likely because the writer is being paid by a corporate brand name to play the part of and publish feel-good pieces about being an OSS enthusiast rather than for the sheer joy of it, which, in my opinion, makes a vast world of difference for the average end user.)

Following are some of my own suggestions, based on the following criteria:

(1) You're a n00b;
(2) You know you need/want comfort/security/privacy, but you're just a n00b;
(3) You're a n00b.

One:  Disable Search

First and foremost, you need to know that Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu (and the biggest distributor) has pulled an interesting little end run around user privacy by enabling by default the sharing of both your hard drive searches as well as internet searches to a third party. I covered this cute little stunt previously. As a result, the very first recommendation I can suggest is to disable the web search from the Unity taskbar by going into System Settings > Privacy & Security by clicking the cog on the upper right hand side next to the date & time.  Select the Search tab then click the slider firmly into the OFF position.  This will stop your system from transmitting your search data to the Mother Ship that Canonical so thoughtfully enabled by default for you.

You can also go one step better by disconnecting your system from Ubuntu's ad servers just to make sure your searches aren't being collected in order to sell to a con artist's favorite resource, the Direct Marketing Association. The DMA would dearly love to hijack/clog up your system with viriii/malware and otherwise suck your bandwidth into a black hole all the while bloviating to you about how wonderful and useful it is.  Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney Micah Lee tells you how to disconnect here.

Two:  Enable UFW to Auto-Start

UFW stands for uncomplicated firewall.  Unless you're a security pro and/or work in I.T., all you really need to know as an end user about a firewall is that it slows down the bad guys from hacking your system. Sure, you could learn more about configuring rules and become an advanced user, but for our purposes here, all we want is to ensure that it is in use.

But wait, you may be asking - I thought Linux was secure?

Linux is more secure than Windows, that's for sure, however, an apt analogy to bear in mind is that even if you live in what you consider to be a safe neighborhood, you still lock your doors to keep out the neighbors.  Your computer is no different.  You don't want some random person rifling through your files simply because they can. (Note here that I advocate the use of the UFW even if you are using a router.  This will come into play later when you inevitably use public wifi, in which case you will want to enable ssh, but that is another segment.)

You can enable UFW by opening a terminal and typing the following command:

sudo ufw enable

Now we want to make sure UFW auto-starts when you boot into Ubuntu, so click on the search icon located at the top of the vertical Unity taskbar and type in startup applications then click on it when it appears.

Click on Add then type in UFW and the command listed above.

Now whenever you bootup into Ubuntu, the UFW will start automatically without having to manually enable it each time.

Three: Use TLP

As versatile as Linux is, the dirty little secret nobody likes to talk about is that it tends to overheat the hardware that houses it like a 1979 Ford Granada otherwise known as the grenade of its time.  Ubuntu (and Mint) are not exceptions.  Don't be surprised if you notice your laptop's battery seems to discharge a lot quicker than usual.

The reason? I suppose Linux can best be compared to the replicants in Blade Runner.

Supposedly, TLP is a utility that tweaks power consumption (among other power management activities) thereby preventing the CPU from overheating, which, happens frequently on my system to the extent where it locks it up.  After a time (usually ten minutes or so) it usually snaps out of it but the other half of the time it does not and I have to cold boot.

But does TLP actually have any substantive effect?

Well, actually, I haven't used it long enough to speak intelligently about it.  I have noticed that when booting into Ubuntu, I see random commands referencing battery power flash through the splash screen, but have not noticed, however, any cooling down inside of the case.  (You can install a utility called sensors to see what the inside temp is.) 

I use TLP in both Ubuntu (and Mint) and the system still locks up.  Now whether this is due to needing more RAM, the energy consumptive habits of Linux, a bug in LibreOffice and/or Chrome (v.35) or a combination of all of the above, I cannot attest.  All I know is that my system inexplicably locks up/experiences distorted graphics (especially in LibreOffice) and otherwise slows down my productivity.

I've browsed the system logs and spotted the lockups followed by a re-initiation of processes, but the jury is still out as to whether this is attributable to TLP or just the system self-correcting itself.  (Check back here for a followup by subscribing via email or hey, just follow my Twitter feed.)
 
You can install TLP by typing the following into a terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linrunner/tlp 

sudo apt-get update 

sudo apt-get install tlp tlp-rdw

Remember to let the system do its thing after each line.  

When it finishes, you will want to start TLP.  Supposedly typing the following ensures that TLP will auto-start at bootup, but I have my doubts.  So type the following into terminal and then put it in startup applications. (See step two detailed above.)

sudo tlp start

Four: Install a Bottom Taskbar

If you are a post traumatic stress disordered refugee fresh from the ever despairing trenches of Windows users, then Ubuntu can be a little confusing initially particularly if you are accustomed to having multiple windows opened at the same time and seeing them displayed in a taskbar.  Ubuntu's only native taskbar is Unity, but fret not as there is a fix for that.

Tint2 is a windows-like taskbar that can be added to Ubuntu.

Type the following into a terminal:

sudo apt-get install tint2

After it installs, put it in startup applications just as you did for the firewall and TLP.  Make sure you use the word tint2 as the command.

Lot out then log back in.  When the system intializes, you will see an opaque taskbar at the bottom of the screen.

Stay tuned for a future article detailing the installation of some completely subjective apps including a network monitor, weather and Google Drive shortcut.


©2014 Greensleeves and GreensleevesBikinIt.  Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.  Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is giving to Greensleevs and GreensleevesBikinIt with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Ubuntu: FOSS Trojan Horse?

When I installed Ubuntu 14.04 LTS as one-third of a triple OS boot on my beater laptop, I hadn't bothered to conduct any due diligence on it the way I would have for a Windows installation.  Since Ubuntu is a Linux distro, and, Linux is better known for security and privacy, I didn't see the need.  But a disturbing new discovery (more insidious than the Chrome browser gaffe)  has recently come to my attention that I feel compelled to warn you about should you be considering installing Ubuntu on your own system.

The Unity Dash is a vertical taskbar that has incorporated a hard drive search as well as a web search from the same location. It is a feature that makes Search convenient since you need not open a browser. The only problem is that Ubuntu has enabled by default its shopping lenses, which is a Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu) euphemism for spying on your search data in order to serve up third party advertisements to you. (As an aside here, I did find it strange that a shortcut to Amazon was placed in Unity by default, and, having noted this oddity, immediately disabled the www search feature from it following installation of the OS.)

Now you may be wondering what is all the hubbub, bub? Windows places shortcuts to third party software all over the desktop.  It has become standard operating procedure to fill the Start menu with trial offers and such, the likes of which when they expire, continue monitoring/tracking your every click of the mouse.  And that, dear audience, is exactly why Windows is a bloated, spyware/malware filled piece of crap OS that slows down substantively over time as you use it.  Prior to Canonical's little end run around user privacy & security, you didn't have to worry about Linux taking note of your internet searches (or anything else) and sharing that info with unknown third parties for unknown reasons.  That is exactly why informed users turn to Linux in the first place. But given Ubuntu's increasing popularity with the mainstream, Canonical's management evidently decided that it would slip into the OS a seemingly innocuous spying mechanism, and, when it was called out by Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney and CTO of Freedom of the Press Foundation, Micah Lee, Canonical resorted to behaving like a trademark bully over the use of its name and logo on Lee's site called Fix Ubuntu.

Since the usage of a trademarked name & logo is completely legal for the purpose Lee has used it, and, falls under Fair Use provisions of copyright and trademark law, Canonical has demonstrated itself willing to abuse the law in order to silence critics. And that makes it no better than Microsoft or any of the other for-profit Fortune 500 companies that own the US government.

Lee has since included the following disclaimer which may be the only time in history that the word idiot has been used to nicely remind a trademark bully like Canonical that Fair Use is in fact legal.

<Excerpt from Fix Ubuntu>

Disclaimer: In case you are either 1) a complete idiot; or 2) a lawyer; or 3) both, please be aware that this site is not affiliated with or approved by Canonical Limited. This site criticizes Canonical for certain privacy-invading features of Ubuntu and teaches users how to fix them. So, obviously, the site is not approved by Canonical. And our use of the trademarked term Ubuntu is plainly descriptive — it helps the public find this site and understand its message.

That the search can be disabled from within Ubuntu (Lee's site tells you how here) isn't noteworthy; The problem is that the most popular distributor of Linux has decided to spy on its users and compromise their security in the first place. This is the very antithesis of what free open source software is all about. But then again, that's what happens when a software company hires for the CEO position someone like Jane Silber, whose sole qualification for the job was writing spyware for military contractor General Dynamics C4 Division.  ZSmith.Co has more.

<Excerpt from the General Dynamics website>

General Dynamics C4 Systems is a trusted leader in the development of intelligence and information gathering systems for national defense and homeland security. These systems are designed to receive, process, exploit and disseminate information -- in different forms and often from different networks -- and distribute relevant information to operators, both in the field and at higher headquarters.

Canonical has long since issued what is tantamount to a public apology, but I won't be swayed by such an obviously calculated mea culpa and neither should you.  Now that it has fired its first shot across the bow, there is nothing stopping Canonical from issuing via future system updates some other piece of spyware integrated with the OS originating from the devious mind of its former spyware writing military contractor CEO.

Incidentally, if you're not using Duck Duck Go for your internet searches, then you should be.  Chrome extension found here.

©2014 Greensleeves and GreensleevesBikinIt.  Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.  Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is giving to Greensleevs and GreensleevesBikinIt with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Google Chrome: The check's in the mail

Having installed and then embarked on (what I thought would be) an exciting odyssey to configure two Linux distros on different partitions on the same laptop, and, upon having successfully resolved the initial challenges, such as finding the correct video driver, I find that I now look to the more subtler hiccups that seem to appear just as I am wrapping up the previous ones.

This particular stone in my shoe comes in the form of Google Chrome browser's infamous waiting for cache error.  It has invariably been described as a bug, but upon further investigation, I don't think that is accurate. Let me explain.

First off, if you don't know what cache is, then this entire article (as well as the title) will be completely lost on you.  Cache is basically a repository of temporary internet files.  It exists because back in the days when we accessed the internet via a dial up connection and paid through the nose for the privilege of obtaining very slow speeds (Hey, exactly like today!) cache was necessary so that our internet pages would load a little more quickly.  Cache is still necessary today, however, since our connections have improved (somewhat) it is no longer important to have a gargantuan sized cache file. Enter the Google Chrome browser.

The Problem

Once my attention was diverted from the fundamental configurations of my Linux distros, I noticed when I was browsing the web that the connection would often falter.  Of course, a certain amount of congestion is standard today given that everyone and his momma is online AND streaming bandwidth-sucking media AND the providers are all too happy to throttle your connection thanks to the lapdog tendencies of the FCC to its corporate masters.  (You didn't actually think that because you paid for the highest priced tier of internet access from one of only two providers (cable & DSL) in any given American market that you would actually get it, did you?) 


What I found was that this problem has been plaguing the Chrome browser dating back to 2009.  And while there have been fixes various & sunder , the silence from Google on the matter has been deafening. You'll not find a resolution on Google Groups, but, instead, you will find page after page of complaints about the issue.  But then this was to be expected.  You see, Google makes its money from advertising, and, if your cache size is gargantuan, and users are unable to set the size (unlike other browsers) then Google's business model is golden.  The browser reads your cache, makes note of where you've been and serves up all the appropriate ads accordingly. 

Were you conducting some research on self-publishing your novel?  Great!  Google will gladly display ads directing you to everything from publishing houses to agents. Were you then also searching for a homeopathic cure for that bothersome wart that has been squatting at the base of your index finger?  Fantastic!  Google will also cream itself to display wart-curing medicines and laser treatment centers for your viewing enjoyment.  

The Symptoms

When the connection was delayed, I noticed in the bottom left hand corner of the browser the words, "waiting for cache" and so decided to check it out further.  Essentially, the freeze is generated because Chrome's cache size is colossal by design. According to the httpCache page, cache is 33124585, or approximately 31 gigabytes.  Thirty one gigs is quite large to have to consult with for each and every click of the mouse when browsing the web. Imagine plugging in a thumb drive that size (which you can purchase relatively inexpensively) and with each internet URL you access, the connection must first scan the drive before it will load.  This is exactly the situation with Chrome. No wonder the browser sits there spinning.

It's not in Google's best interest to allow the user to adjust the cache size of Chrome, so you're stuck with the problem.  Don't wait for a fix because it won't be forthcoming any time soon.  Sure, you can use Mozilla, which has recently joined the ranks of the undead, ass kissing, sychophants of the Big Entertainment cartel, but let's face it, if you're using Chrome, it's because you like being able to log into the browser and have all of your bookmarks, extensions and other customizations available at your fingertips and not tied to any one device. 

The Resolution

Chrome flags

Ostensibly, in Windows, you could try this fix, but I haven't noticed any substantive result that wasn't achieved by installing the Click&Clean extension.  Note:  The extension is rather tedious as you must flush the cache respository manually each time.  And while it would be nice to think that Linux has the answer, the fact is, it does not.  At least not an obvious one. 

Linux has tricks that Windows users can only imagine, but trying to get help is like asking for a loan from a bank.  My experience with those who participate in Ubuntu Forums has varied from indifference to contempt.   The impression I have is that it seems to exist for the sole purpose of expressing condescension and disdain towards the person asking a question.  Unless, of course, you are properly reverential and metaphorically toss roses at the feet of the Venerated Ones. Perhaps then, you, worthless worm shall be acknowledged. 

While this group of self-important twits shall remain nameless, the fact is, a great majority of the so called moderators don't even know their ass from a hole in the ground, but as is typical of certain personalities exhibiting narcissistic tendencies, once they have a title (such as forum moderator), they then go tripping on it. In fact, I think that all forum moderators (particularly in the Linux world) should be given the title of Mr. Pink by default until it is decided by popular vote that they are not channeling their inner asshole.

If you didn't know, Mr. Pink was a character in Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992) movie. He was the cheapskate who refused to pitch in a $1.00 tip for the waitress, and, his 'tude pretty much exemplifies some of the illustrious global Linux Community's demeanor towards anyone who doesn't know as much as they do.

©2014 Greensleeves and GreensleevesBikinIt.  Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.  Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is giving to Greensleevs and GreensleevesBikinIt with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Linux: Video Adapter Blues

Having previously configged a beater laptop with the ability to triple boot, and, having enjoyed satisfaction oozing from pores while simultaneously thanking the Linux gods, it would only follow reason that now comes the tweaking, or, if you prefer, the tinkering.  After all, why the hell else would you have been interested in Linux in the first place if not to muck about?

But given that two of the three OSs on this laptop are fresh installs, the sum total of the tweaking has been limited to finding & installing the correct drivers, particularly for the video adapter, which, to my knowledge, has traditionally been a problem for Linux distros mostly because the video adapter manufacturers (such as nvidia) didn't want to play ball and acknowledge that (gasp/shock) consumers would actually want to use an alternative OS to Microsoft Windows, and, therefore, did not bother with providing its pain in the ass proprietary drivers to be even a little bit compatible with open source. As a result, open source had to code its own video drivers which did not always work.  In fact, back in 2005, I once spent 80 hours (yes, I logged my time) attempting to find the correct video driver for yet another beater Dell laptop in order to get Mepis and/or Kubuntu to render correctly.  I searched and spent hours upon hours trying various suggestions offered by the global Linux Community, but in the final analysis, it was a spectacular failure. The experience left me very frustrated and wanting to toss the computer through a window. Fast forward nine years and here we are today with similar frustrations caused by the damnable video adapter.

As previously mentioned, the hardware on this box is legacy, so finding drivers can be somewhat of a challenge, but on the other hand, what I've determined is that the age of the hardware and the search for the correct drivers for it seems to be six of one, half a dozen of the other in that don't go thinking that just because you may have a brand spanking new $3k laptop that finding and installing the appropriate video adapter will be a cakewalk. (Hint:  It may not necessarily be so.)  Conversely, just because you may have a legacy video adapter (in my case) don't assume either Linux (or the video adapter manufacturer) has an open source version for it.  Do you see the conundrum here?

My particular situation is thusly - Although I have previously determined that in order for successful video playback to occur, I would need to install Nvidia's legacy drivers.  After a few days of struggling with choppy video, I did just that.  And it worked out but only because the manufacturer had such drivers available.  The problem now is do I want to take the plunge and install the updates?

You may be wondering why I would hesitate, after all, you as a Windows user (most likely) would ask why not?  The answer is because sometimes, newer is not always better.  And in Linux, this is especially the case.  Sometimes you just have to be happy with what you've got.  If it works, then why fix what is not broken? While I tend to agree, it's not that cut & dried for me. You see, my Linux Mint partition is the Cinnamon edition desktop, specifically, version 1.4.0.  (the latest is 2.x). Cinnamon is to Linux Mint what Unity is to Ubuntu.  I don't actually have aspirations of upgrading to the latest/greatest version of Cinnamon simply because it probably wouldn't render correctly (if at all) on this box anyway, particularly given the legacy hardware.  However, I would like to upgrade Cinnamon to (at the very least) v. 1.6, or, if possible, even v. 1.8.  That way I would be able to take advantage of the improvements in those editions.  I want to use desklets, in particular, but v.1.4.0 does not support such a feature.

What to do...what to do...

I suppose I can bite the bullet and just install, but then I would run into (gasp/shock) the desktop possibly not booting up and the last thing I want to do is screw around with having to fix it.  Note here, I say this as if I would know how to do so off the top of my head. (I don't.)  A screw up caused by an incorrect/incompatible video adapter driver would entail some research how to fix it and I'm just not very keen on having to do such a thing.

Yes, well, that's what the users forum is for, eh?

Not so fast.

Although the Linux Community is famous for the breadth of issues posted and solved, and is used as a selling point for installing/learning Linux, I have personally found that the problems I have posted specific to my system seem to mystify the illustrious Community.  In fact, I have determined that while I am by no means a Linux Guru, I seem to be the only one who can resolve my system's issue(s) because when I post, the questions usually go unanswered, or, if answered, are done in a half-assed manner and/or contain incorrect information and/or are delivered with unmistakable contempt. So much for that whole The global Linux Community is there to help you sentiment.

So allow me to include the following disclaimer -you, dear audience, should know that if you're going to opt to use a Linux distro, altho you've got the esteemed above referenced Community to turn to for help (allegedly) as in life, you are, largely on your own when it comes to certain situations.

©2014 Greensleeves and GreensleevesBikinIt.  Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.  Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is giving to Greensleevs and GreensleevesBikinIt with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Nux Nirvana

My Ubuntu desktop

I've done it.  I have achieved nirvana.  That is, sort of.  And in the alternative operating system realm, which has the ability to generate an entirely new level of philosophizin' debate at least among you gadfly types, but that is another write up and won't be discussed here right now.  Nevertheless, I suppose one out of two ain't so shabby.  Personally, to steal a mc-frankenfoodism, I'm lovin' it!

Ubuntu and Linux Mint are currently two of the most popular Linux distros.  I've already reviewed Mint found here, so this piece will be a concise but educational comparison. (If you're looking for something more comprehensive, internet search is your friend.)

Let's begin with logistics, that is, where I've installed Linux.  I have a beater 64-bit Dell brand laptop, age indeterminate. Let's just say legacy hardware and leave it at that. It's from the business class (as opposed to consumer class) and in its day, was probably kick ass.  Now it's just, well, legacy.  It has an 80 gig HDD and a measly gig of RAM, which used to be sufficient for a 'nux distro, however, what I've seen in having evaluated both Mint & Ubuntu, is that both have developed a distinct taste for lots of memory, as in at least 2 gigs. (Windows is still the reigning RAM glutton, hands down.)

The beater also has the usual ports -four USBs (most likely 2.0), a VGA (for an external monitor), Ethernet (for a wired internet connection) and RJ45 (for a modem/old school dial-up connection). It even has a serial port. I don't think anyone under age 25 even knows what that particular port was for, actually, but it puts into perspective the approximate age of my laptop.  By the way, for you brainwashed young 'uns in the audience, there is nothing wrong with older hardware. Newer does not always equal better.  In fact, the practice of having to buy a brand new computer (to the tune of $3k or thereabouts) with each new release of Microsoft's ever craptacular OS treadmill is a steaming load of consumerism.  On the other hand, if you enjoy being molested through the wallet, and further polluting the planet with your heavy metal rubbish, then have at it.

Grub loader

My beater is now a triple boot OS.  Triple boot! What that simply means is that I've taken a used Windows 7 box (that was originally an XP box) and transformed it into what is tantamount to a geektastic sixth heaven level.  (Seventh heaven was not achieved due to the piddling one gig of RAM.) Linux Mint occupies a partition, Windows 7 another, and Ubuntu is residing on yet another partition.

Basics

While some would surmise that Ubuntu and Mint are nearly the same OS (having been based on the same kernel), I would have to agree, but only in terms of architecture.  In other terms, namely, practicality/usability.

Mint is more for those end users who like to pop the hood and take a look around.  Shake things up a bit.  Try out different tweaks/customizations and do not fear the dark. Ubuntu, on the other hand, is for those end users who simply want an operating system that works without having to attend to and/or tweak it so much if at all. Think of it as a kind of iProduct only without the ridiculous price tag and a lot less pretention.

Differences

All that being said, if you, as a Windows user, are accustomed to using say, OpenOffice, VLC player and Chrome, if you decide to install Ubuntu, then you will have to not only install all three, but also accept that LibreOffice, although nearly identical to OpenOffice, has rendered the latter the bastard, red-headed, stepchild of open source business productivity suites. (Thanks to OO having been abducted by Oracle, and, subsequent to not being able to monetize software that has been free since inception, Oracle sheepishly re-homed it like an unwanted black furred animal to Apache.) Now LibreOffice comes bundled with both Ubuntu & Mint, which isn't a bad thing, but still chaps my ass simply because OpenOffice didn't deserve being kicked and otherwise discontinued in favor of trendy buzzword titled younger siblings named LibreOffice and NeoOffice. But I digress.

Terminal in action

Whereas Mint uses Synaptic Package Manager which is for installing, removing, upgrading & downgrading, Ubuntu uses its own software center.  While both perform almost identical duties, I prefer Synaptic, which, by the by, has to be installed in Ubuntu.  You can also use Terminal for the same functions, but in Ubuntu, you will have to dig for it and then pin it to the launcher. Incidentally, Ubuntu has to be the first 'nux distro that caused consternation when I couldn't find what is largely regarded as the scary black box. But Terminal has been inexplicably hidden probably because of the revulsion it inspires particularly in Windows users.

Unity launcher

Another big distinction is that Ubuntu has embraced Unity, which is a desktop environment used for application, system and notification indicators. It should be emphasized that it requires at least 2 gigs of RAM in order for all the snazzy effects to execute expeditiously else you will spend a lot of time waiting on your system to get up off its knees.  I have to say, lack of RAM sucks the fun right OUT of the overall experience, which is another point of contention for me because Linux wasn't meant to be starved for memory. Linux has traditionally been the OS of choice for those of us without a money tree growing in the back yard. (Perhaps Ravenous RAM Beast can be the oh-so-witty moniker for the next Ubuntu/Mint upgrade?)

Updating

When Ubuntu is ready to be updated, a tile with the letter "A" appears in the Unity launcher.  (Note here that the launcher already has two other "A" tiles -one is an Amazon shortcut (inexplicably) and the other is the red suitcase for the software center.  The "A" tile I'm referring to is encircled to let you know it is an update notice. To update, all you need do is click on it to execute, type in your password and let it do its thing. You can also manually update via Terminal as well if that's your thing.

Speaking of updating, I just wanted to share that I was able to install the drivers necessary for the wifi to work without actually having to plug the Ethernet cable directly into the router to update the system.  Yes, feel free to worship my brilliance accordingly. 

Bugs

As of this writing, version 14.04 LTS has a problem with playing video files both digital as well as DVDs despite having installed the Ubuntu's Restricted Extras package, as well as having enabled the appropriate repositories.  I even grabbed libdvdcss with no resolution. (WTF, Ubuntu?) So if you plan to watch movies, you may want to reconsider.

Conclusion

In the final analysis, whichever distro you decide to use, the experience will be liberating if only because it lets you escape from having to keep supporting Bill Gates' bank account and otherwise patronizing a mainstream OS whose only purpose seems to be to advance by another notch the stock value of Microsoft on the altar of the god of the Dow.

©2014 Greensleeves and GreensleevesBikinIt.  Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.  Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is giving to Greensleevs and GreensleevesBikinIt with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Don't Fear the Dark

Terminal

If your heart races and feel an overwhelming urge to run screaming in the opposite direction should you see the above image on your computer, you might be suffering from terminal illness.  Ba dump bump. (A little 'nux geek humor for you.) Terminal being the correct word to describe the little black box that enables a Linux user to issue commands to the computer and otherwise interface directly with the operating system (OS).  

Although terminal is a fundamental facet of using a Linux box, you can probably get away with not having to use it, but quite frankly, I don't know why you would want to because for (1) If you are that squeamish, then you should return to Windows, and, (2) terminal is the best part of using the OS. To use a motor vehicle analogy, terminal is the difference between driving stick versus automatic. The former enabling the user to fully maximize the experience versus passively chugging along content to let the motor make all of the decisions.

That being said, let's get comfortable and try out terminal with some basic commands.

Start An App

Whereas in Windows, launching a program is performed by either finding it in the Start menu or double-clicking on the shortcut on the desktop (assuming there is one), however, in Linux, you can start an app such as Firefox, which comes pre-installed in most Linux distros.

Open a terminal window by pressing CTRL + ALT + T. 

Type in terminal:

firefox

Then hit enter.

After a brief pause,the browser will open. Contrary to the herd of Linux users, Firefox is not my preferred browser.  Google Chrome and/or the free open source version Chromium is, but installing either is another lesson.

Now that Firefox has been launched, close it out and let's try to not only open the browser but also include a web page while we're at it.

Type in terminal:

firefox greensleevesbikinit.blogspot.com

[Note:  There is a space between the x and g.] Then hit enter.

Don't be alarmed if Firefox takes its sweet time to open.  (This is yet another reason why I won't use it.)

Telling Linux What To Do

Although I've said that you could probably get away with not using terminal, the fact is, it is a very big part of operations are performed there, so get used to it.

Let's take a look at how the file system works, shall we?

In terminal, type in pwd, which stands for print working directory.  (BTW, we're not actually printing anything.)

When you do, you will see something similar to the following:

/home/name of your login

This is the directory where terminal is currently located.  To see what directories are there, type in the letters 

ls

Then hit enter.

This will list everything in your home directory usually containing: 

Desktop

Documents

Downloads

Music

Pictures 

Videos

We need to grasp the concept of flags before we continue. Flags are options that are attached to a command to extend it to accomplish another task at the same time.  For example, when you typed ls, you could have also included the flag -a to include all.

ls -a

Hit enter.  

When you do this, you will see the same folders you did above, but now included will also be folders that begin with a dot.

A single dot denotes a hidden file.  These are not displayed by default for the same reason Windows does not display hidden files in Windows Explorer.  (You wouldn't want to give a live grenade to a chimp, would you?)  Actually, I'm kidding.  In Linux, you run as a superuser rather than root (Administrator) by default to protect you from yourself. 

Changing Directories

If you type cd in terminal, nothing will happen.  The cursor will bounce to another line and blink at you waiting for a flag so type the following:

cd /usr/bin

Then hit enter.  [Note: there is a space between the d and forward slash /].

Now we're in /usr/bin.  To see which folders are located there type in:

ls

Make sure you exit this terminal and open another before attempting the next section.

Updating Linux

This is an action that you should always perform before installing any programs just to make sure you have the latest & greatest drivers.

In terminal, type in:

sudo apt-get update

Then hit enter.  Make sure you have a space between the o and a.  

Type in your password.  Linux won't let you proceed until you do.

Incidentally, if you're wondering what sudo means, it stands for superuser do.

Let terminal do its thing.  When it finishes updating quit terminal by typing in the word exit and hitting enter.

Now that you have a basic understanding of terminal, study this tutorial of commands and keyboard shortcuts to help familiarize you with your system.

Remember: Linux is supposed to be fun so don't stress if you can't remember everything.  The more time you spend with the OS, the more you will retain. Learn a few basics and bookmark the tutorial for future reference.

©2014 Greensleeves and GreensleevesBikinIt.  Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.  Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is giving to Greensleevs and GreensleevesBikinIt with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.