Entries this day: Computing Scrubbing

Computing

9:24am JST Monday 31 August 2009 (day 14404)

Yesterday was a computer day for me! I chatted with Sabina, who was all worried about virii on her computer, so I turned her on to the world of Linux via Ubuntu (which I think has reached the point that a smart non-computer (slightly computer-phobic) person can get it installed). She's obviously doing great research because (though I only told her "ubuntu",) she's come back with questions like

I discovered that ubuntu is like a branch of Linux or something like that. I don't fully understand
the details of their relationship, but I was wondering, what is the relationship of Linux/x86 and
Linux/x64 to Ubuntu and will a program that will work on one of those two Linuxes work on Ubuntu?

It turned out the program she wanted to run on Ubuntu is BOINC, so she can have her computer crunch Seti@Home data.

and this morning

So why is Ubuntu so great, anyway? What makes it better than Xenix or Dnix or Inix or Solaris or
LynxOS or Integrity or Haiku or just regular Linux? And what is a kernel, anyway? It seems to me
that the operating systems that release their source codes to anyone who cares to see (like ubuntu)
would be less safe than the ones that don't because somebody could just use the source code to write
a virus tailored specifically for that OS. They could probably write a virus that could completely
unravel ubuntu and leave me with a black screen and no operating system at all!

I replied:

Short version:

Ubuntu has a huge community of supporters.  Proof of betterness by democracy??

kernel is the core core core program that makes Linux run

Open source allows people to see the errors.  Because there are more
people who want things to run smoothly, they outnumber the people who
want to muck things up.  If *everyone* can make changes, then the good
people win because there's more of us.

Long version:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_Open_Source_Software
Look up Free Software Foundation as well.

You research on this should give you a great footing from which to
make your decisions.  :-)

I also got a great chat with my Dad!

Shama got the shorter end of my time because I had just been online all morning + mid afternoon with Sabina and Dad so I didn't speak with her very long, but we did test a new theme on her site and it seems to work okay, though needs some help with default text.

In the evening, Kevin and I worked on his website

Scrubbing

9:18am JST Monday 31 August 2009 (day 14404)

Yesterday was almost entirely focused on my computer, though I also cleaned the stove in the kitchen. (as opposed to the stove in the hallway?)

Stove cleaning involved taking the whole thing apart and hopping into the shower room and scrubbin' it all down. I may have scrubbed a bit too hard in some places cause I can see the bare metal. But I guess that's better than grease!

I'm trying to get the house all clean for Soness when she gets back. Woo!