PEBKAC

This is hilarious! Why is it people in power usually resort to angry threats at the slightest provocation? They take the opportunity to name-drop their apparent political clout and ties to national (federal, in this case) agencies to try and scare everyone else shitless. I can't blame the guy, though. Lots of horror stories in Windows. Maybe his 22 years of experience in "computer systems engineering" told him he should give hell at the person who caused the webpage error. It just so happened that in the process of venting he successfully made an ass of himself running his mouth off.

Welcome News

Now, here's a welcome piece of news: PalmSource Unveils New Linux-Based Palm OS . The question is if it will survive. I hope it does. I really hope it does.

Where do we turn to then?

My wife found this article at INQ7.net: When Filipino tech consumer complaints fall on deaf ears. If the Telecom industry is deregulated then where do consumers turn to when they are being abused?

I have personally seen how bad customer service gets at Smart WiFi. I've been a long-time Smart and PLDT subscriber. I've had no major complaints before Smart WiFi, except for a small billing error in my PLDT bill a few years back. Overall, I'd say the level of customer service was acceptable. That is until I got Smart WiFi.

I had mine installed September 30. That was quick, considering I applied for it a week earlier. Good times wouldn't last though. The next day, my connection unexplicably died. I sent an SMS to the service contractor. He went back and replaced the antenna and POE. That solved the problem in the meantime. October 13 to December 1, I could not connect. My connection was live,but I was unable to load any webpages. After several calls, I got a schedule for a field visit by tech support. The person who came by took one look at my monitor and immediately deduced that my computer was the problem. He only asked one question. He asked if I was using an OS other than Windows. I showed him what I was currently running -- Ubuntu. Then that was it. He left.

Took me another 4 weeks, 2 very irate calls to supervisors and several threats to cancel before I got another schedule. The new field support guys came by and replaced the damned equipment (antenna, cable, POE). The connection worked. That was December 1. From time to time I still get low speeds and typical whole day outages.

My threats to cancel were met with statements that I had to pay for the rest of the year if I cancelled. That made me feel bad. I was being shortchanged and I had to suffer more for it??? I'm really just trying to finish the year and then I'm cancelling my subscription. Overall, Smart's WiFi has been a bad experience. Six weeks and I did not even get an apology. I got a rebate but that was limited to the number of days without a connection. No free time for the inconvenience, no apology email, no nothing. I was even threatened with pre-termination charges when I called to cancel. I mean where do we go when we're being threatened with large pre-termination charges to scare us into submission? I mean aren't breachs of contract a two-way thing? If consumers have pay for pre-termination, then telecoms should pay for severe lapses in their services. Consumers like me are only asking for fair treatment and way to have our issues addressed. So here goes my question again. Where do consumers go when they're being abused?

Kanotix

Since I started Linux, I've wanted to try as many distros as I can. That is one of the freedoms that Linux users really enjoy. Freedom of choice. Now there's this analogy people like to use, saying distros are like ice cream flavors. Each one different and unique in their own way yet all are equally yummy to try. And I want to try a lot of different flavors, so that ice cream analogy really applies to me.

And since there are 400 "flavors", I usually limit myself to the top 20 and a few other specialty distributions. That's because I enjoy the support and help I get from the large communities that usually come with the more popular distros. For an idea of how popular specific distros are, check out Distrowatch.com's counter.

I'm currently downloading Kanotix a live cd just as famous as Knoppix when it comes to hardware compatibility. Its still Debian so it won't be that alien to me. If I like it that much, I might even install it. Wish me luck :-]

Dichotomy

A friend and I were talking about how there are purists in just about any group you can think about. That got me thinking. He was right. Even in the mainstream leftist movement of my student days, there were those who always thought they were above everybody else. Except to the higher ups, that is.

Well the open source movement is no exception, I guess. For the linux movement in particular, there are those who are in it for the code and those who are in it for the cause. Those who are technically adept use linux because of the challenge that it presents. Altruistic, many are. Yet there are those that feel they should be held above the rest of the general populace because of their technical adeptness. There is within this group an equally tenacious inner circle of thinkers that shun all that does not conform to their way of thinking, so called purists. They are only open to developments that conform to their mode of thought and nothing else. They also have a propensity to scoff at everybody they think is below their level of skill.

Then there are those who use Linux because they believe in the cause of open source. Many of these people have little or no technical knowledge. Many of these people did not get college degrees in the field technology. What they have is interest in computing. What they have is a respect the principles of community and sharing. What they have is an acute appreciation of open source. All heart and no head.

I am part of the latter. I believe in open source because of its promise and the freedom it represents. I am, to put it simply, not a coder. I don't tinker with kernels or apps or anything of that sort. What I do is use what is there. What I do is make open source software useful to me and in turn share my discoveries with the communities I belong to. What I lack in technical skill, I try and make up for through advocacy.

Heck, before I used linux I did not even care about piracy. Now I use that issue to make a point. Illegal software is illegal software. Proprietary software is expensive. Open source is free, owned by communities that use it. That's the complete opposite of proprietary software, whose buyers only buy a license to use it. They aren't buying the software, just a license to use it. Hence, they don't own it. The contrast being software should empower people and not enslave them to the big fat bottomlines of giant corporations. Software should benefit people paying for it, not just those who write it.

Now, please excuse me if I come on too strong. Going back to the matter at hand, purists and hypocrites (another bunch altogether) just curb my enthusiasm. They have their subtle ways of making people like me feel like we don't belong. I once made the mistake of giving up because it got to me. It ain't gonna happen this time 'round. I still feel strongly for the Left, even though I've severed all ties with them. I still feel a tinge of guilt whenever I hear news of people dying useless deaths because they heed the purists and the hypocrites.

Well this time around, in a wholly different movement, my advocacy isn't going to stop because some senseless nitpicker wants to feel good by bashing others. I'm doing this for the cause. They have their part to do, I have mine. And that is to advocate the cause of open source. I just wish they'd keep their opinions to themselves and their mouths shut, so they don't make enemies of friends. I'd hate to be caught in friendly fire, because I will return fire if I'm caught in a corner. I will. Mark my word, I will.

I was reading this article in PC World about working through the workspace limitations in Windows (PCWorld.com - Windows Tips: Break Through Windows' Workspace Limitations). The article suggested a lot of useful tips, like minimizing or removing the taskbar and toolbars, using F11 to maximize IE without toolbars, using smaller-sized system fonts and using skinning apps. For the desperately cramped users the article suggests using a second monitor, which invariably requires a video card that can handle two displays at the same time.

Now see, here's a situation where Linux could be a simple free solution. Linux users can use up to 8 (count them XPers) virtual desktops. No hardware upgrades required. Right now, I'm using 4 desktops, with 7 apps working simultaneously to handle my browsing, downloading, music, file-sharing, IM/Chat and system monitoring. All of them are launched in full windows, not minimized. Now, running with a window manager like Xfce, my current setup only uses 247 MB in memory. The bulk of that is taken up by my file-sharing app (50MB). Try that with Windows and you'll feel cramped for space and feel a bit of latency with 256MB in memory.



So try Linux and set your desktop free!