reviews

CategoryTitleRating
Review of "Build Your Own Ruby On Rails Web Applications" by Patrick Lenz
Rating: 7 of 10
Book Review of O'Reilly Book, "Build Your Own Ruby On Rails Web Applications" by Patrick Lenz, Reviewed by David Brown, Linux developer and enthusiast 7/14/2008. This book provides an introduction to Ruby and Rails using a hands-on approach by walking though a single in-depth example application. Some areas well covered: 1. Setup/installation instructions for Ruby, Rails, and MySQL on all 3 major platforms (Linux/Windows/Mac). 2. Introduction to the Ruby language. 3. Introduction to Rails 1.2. 4. Introduction to the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture.
Book Review of O'Reilly Book, "Fedora Linux" by Chris Tyler
Rating: 6 of 10
Book Review of O'Reilly Book, "Fedora Linux" by Chris Tyler, Reviewed by David Brown, Linux admin and enthusiast 1/4/2007.
debian etch
Rating: 10 of 10
iv tryed a bunch of distroes and debian etch is by far my faverite .i liked the last debian but this is so cool. i installed it useing the miny iso or net install watever you want to call it it took about 2 hours on my cable modem aproximatly 48kbs .the drawback with this was it only installs gnome ... but it worked fin evrthing you need to get started worked fine . since i dont like gnome i imidiatly installed kde with synaptic package maneger ok that took abot 1-2 hours . then i installed nvidia graffics driver on it with some pointers from this sight and wala now i got a fully working debian etch desktop .it has evrything you could ever want allredy there and if there happens to be somthing alse you want then you can installit very easlily with ether synopti or kpackage handlers or apt without woring about the dependecy problems also you can enst alien to convet rpms to deb packages very easilt you got firefox right frome the start and can get a bunch of diferant browser if you want you get evelution for email and can get eney or all of the deferant ones easly.
Linux Cookbook (1st Edition)
Rating: 10 of 10
Linux Cookbook By Carla Schroder First Edition November 2004 Series: Cookbooks ISBN: 0-596-00640-3 592 pages While few of us call ourselves chefs, we are all able to open a cookbook, locate a recipe, follow simple instructions, and get acceptable results – unless we're trying to cook lobster thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce served in a Provençal manner with shallots and aubergines, garnished with truffle pâté, brandy, with a fried egg on top and SPAM ™ right off the bat. Master sugar cookies first. Start with a simple recipe, then try something else. The process of incremental building will make you a more competent and confident user with each step.
GeeXbox 0.98.5
Rating: 7 of 10
GeeXboX, like WOMP and Movix 2, is a LiveCD version of MPlayer which turns any computer into a multimedia station without needing to install to a hard disk. Of the 3 distributions mentioned, it is the slickest in appearance. It has a beautiful bootup sequence which ends with the disc being ejected automatically. Put in a DVD, VCD, etc., and the player begins automatically. Of the 3 distributions, I also found it the most buggy and least forgiving of wrong keystrokes. It did not recognize my mouse so I was forced to use the keyboard for everything. The built in help screen was impossible to read because the TV-out on my video card alters the display size on my monitor as well. You can use the arrow keys to muddle around with GeeX menus, but if you press the wrong key (or the right key too many times) the software will lock and you'll be forced to reboot. Also, with repeated use, GeeX sometimes likes to start in a middle chapter instead of from the beginning of a disc. It does not use DVD menus, and this can make it extremely difficult to select a chapter, or to know where you are on the disc should GeeX start in the middle.
Movix 2 (0.3.1 rc2)
Rating: 9 of 10
Movix 2 is the X Window System based version of Movix, which is a tiny bootable Live CD that transforms your computer into a multimedia player. Essentially, it is a micro distribution that launches MPlayer. Similar distros include WOMP and GeeXBoX. Movix 2 actually allows you to switch over to text-based Movix mode should you prefer to, but Movix is also available as a separate product and is still being developed. Of the distros I've mentioned, Movix can boast to be the most "MPlayer-like". In fact, it is almost indistinguishable from having it installed in any regular Linux box. Right click your mouse and you get a pop up menu of options (DVD, VCD, Config, etc.). Select one, and go.
WOMP! Multimedia Microlinux 0.6 beta 3
Rating: 9 of 10
WOMP! is a tiny bootable Live CD (13-30 MB depending on the flavour you choose) that instantly transforms any computer into a DVD/VCD/CD/MP3 player. Similar distros include Movix 2 and GeeXBoX. There are 4 variations of WOMP, from a basic package with just media players, to ones with optional text-based or graphical web browsing should you need it. For the longest time, I've had an ancient Pentium II/300 collecting dust. Its only real advantage was its 24x DVD-ROM drive which I've been unable to remove and put in a better computer due to its custom bezel. It was originally a Windows 98 computer, and I swapped its original video card for an ATI All-in-Wonder, in hopes of using it as a DVD/VCD player to hook up to the TV. As you might guess, ATI's proprietary driver software prevented me from using it in this way. Whenever I had anything hooked up to the video card's composite output, the drivers would disable them if I was trying to watch a DVD. I guess the assumption is that I was trying to record the DVD, rather than trying to enjoy it on a larger screen. Guilty until proven innocent? Thank you, corporate America.
Ark Linux Home Edition 1.0
Rating: 9 of 10
For those of you on the lookout for a completely free, easy to install, Windows-like Linux distribution -- for yourself or a technically challenged loved one -- I've finally discovered one worth recommending. Ark Linux boasts that it can be installed with 4 mouse clicks -- no other typing required. Is it true? I had to find out. Ark, like Xandros and Linspire, is especially designed for people with no experience with Linux, who don't want to learn Linux, or for that matter, don't really care what their computer is running so long as it allows them to write an essay, get the internet, and play a CD.
Ubuntu Linux 4.10: The Warty Warthog Release
Rating: 6 of 10
Having recently tried the latest Debian testing distribution (pre-3.1 "Sarge"), I was curious to try Ubuntu, which, like Debian is completely free of charge. As their site proclaims: 'Ubuntu will always be free of charge, and there is no extra fee for the "enterprise edition"'. Always a plus, when you're choosing a distribution to stick with long term. Ubuntu is Debian based, which should say something for its inherent stability. It shares Debian's power of package management and upgradability, while adding some extras that standard Debian doesn't use like the 2.6 kernel and X.org X Window System (due to a licensing change, developers seem to be moving away from XFree86).
Kubuntu 5.04: The Hoary Hedgehog Release
Rating: 6 of 10
Despite a less than stellar experience with the previous version of Ubuntu (read it) I decided to climb back on the horse and mosey down for a visit with Ubuntu's fraternal twin, Kubuntu. Kubuntu is what Ubuntu would look like if he decided to abandon the patent leather shoes and forsake all corduroy and khahki and opt instead for snakeskin cowboy boots, lamé, metallics and sequins. No, I'm not a fashion expert. But I can Google. Kubuntu uses the oft-criticized-but-oh-so-kewl-looking KDE desktop. Should you prefer something tasteful and understated [read: dull] fear not -- the Kubuntu and Ubuntu releases are identical save for the desktop environments. Thus, like its twin, Kubuntu offers the same features that have made Ubuntu a household name... at least among technically savvy [read: nerdy] households. They share the same bleeding edge features (inherited from their psychotic cousin, twice removed -- Debian Sid) with well chosen packages (office software, media players, printer drivers, etc) so that your main hurdle is just installing the software itself. Once it's loaded, you're ready to use it. For this, Kubuntu borrows the Debian pre-release of the Debian installer. While text-based [read: boring], it is simple and efficient, and if you intend to install Kubuntu as your only operating system, you can do so by selecting the installer's default options (i.e. spend most of your time pressing the 'Enter' key).