#grumpygit

Well hello out there it's time for my cynical view of the tech world. If you disagree to be honest I don't really care....

Linux is dying...

Well for all that every year is allegedly going to be the "Year of the Linux Desktop" it seems the figures contradict that. Sure every time Ubuntu update their release schedule you see a minor bump in uptake but overall Linux on desktops has consistently dropped over the last few years.

Now I do use Linux but it's still too geeky for the average Joe our there. it's perception is still seen as for the geeky and tech savvy. Sure it has over the years got much easier to use and install.

However it still has a heavy reliance on the terminal. Even the Arch based systems which are using Pamac making installation and upgrade mainly graphical. Still occasionally have you needing to dive terminal wise.

Now some will say you have more control over your system if you understand how to use the terminal. This is true but equally it proves how much it will be seen as overtly technical by the general populous.

The likes of Windows and MacOS can do 99% of their things without using a command line. They do have them such as Terminal and Powershell but the likelihood you need to resort to them as a regular user is very remote.

Don't get me wrong Linux now has many useful tools and to be honest can run many things the above two operating systems can and some would claim and more. However it still can be archaic when things go wrong or certain things need setup. Requiring diving into config files and the likes.

Now don't get me wrong Linux dominates the server market and even the mobile market due to Android having a Linux core. But Linux needs to go a long way before it will be considered a desktop friendly environment for the non tech user among us.

So the year of the Linux desktop will not be this year just like it wasn't last year, and very unlikely to be the year after that. Sorry to be the bringer of bad news but it's getting less and less likely each year.

Statistics back up this evidence that slowly each year Linux as a desktop environment has slowly been going down consistently every year.

Even Microsoft can't seem to elevate Linux trying with such tech as WSL ( Windows Subsystem for Linux) and in attempting to do so is equally fragmenting an already very fragmented user base.

So it seems that for all Microsoft and Apple are known to spy on and restrict their users. That is not enough to get most people to shift. This is because virtually every major corporation out there is now keeping tabs on people in someway be it Google, Amazon, or even your local branch of Tesco.

People know their data is been monitored and collated but to be honest they don't really care. It's just the way it is to them. Is that a sad state of affairs. Definitely but they accept for some degree that everything comes with a cost and to most their data is expendable.

Yes it does prove how much people are happy to be lead by the nose, but until the day they decide that enough is enough on that. Linux will remain a largely tech based environment for the geeky among us.

Well, Hello people. It seems that now I am back in the possession of a PC.  I have had a number of issues, but it seems to be working for now.  oh what fun was to be had.

It started when the machine in question was over fife days late due to a delivery problem.  However I am now in possession of a Dell Optiplex 780 with a Core 2  clocked at 2.93 GHz.  The machine has 8GB of RAM, 1 TB hard drive and a Nvidia GT710 Graphics card.

This graphics card has been a bone of contention.  When it works it is magical and I really can’t complain.  It will run the games I want to run at reasonable frame rates.

However there was an issue if you tried to watch YouTube videos or open a web browser.  It seemed the driver kept reporting a crash which it had recovered.

Normally meaning an video you were watching would freeze or page just turn black.  Restarting the browser seemed to get the driver back but you could not watch anything for long.

So I tried installing the latest driver which I pulled from the Nvidia website.  Attempt install to which it fails and closes itself.  Off to the Interweb I go.

I find a program called DDU or Display Driver Uninstall to give it the full title.  Sure enough it restarts the PC in Safe Mode, removes the driver and restarts so the driver can be installed.

Driver installs and seems OK until I open the browser and once again crash and recover.  after a bit of reading I discover this is a known issue with the TDR service.

DDU ran again and reinstall the driver.  Still happening.  A few people on the net recommend checking the card for dust or reseating.

Shut down PC and open case.  sure enough the card is not screwed in.  Just pushed under a slight metal casing to hold it, which it is obviously not doing as soon as I lift the clip the card virtually falls out.

OK one possibility found.  I refit the card and screw it in place.  Hopefully the issue should be resolved.  sure enough the browser seems to open fine but as soon as I start to watch a video.  Crash of driver.

DDU the driver again.  This time I install the driver on the MSI driver CD that came with the actual card.  Once again seems to install fine.  I even manage to watch a video and all seems to be good.

I close down the machine for the night.  Following morning start up, open the browser, all good just then crash.  Christ on a bike so off I go back to the forums.

After fiddling around in Nvidia’s forums I am finally redirected to a Microsoft wiki page.  Explaining the TDR system and how it works.  I add a few registry keys and restart the PC.

first time I start a video the screen locks and refuses to let me get to any application.  Restart time.  Change the keys so that the TDR process does not cut in after 5 seconds move up to 10 seconds.

This seems to have stopped the crashing for now.  It seems my machine takes longer than the 5 seconds allocated for the CUDAs of the graphics card to respond.  So far it seems to be working but this may still be a work in progress.

So far I have managed to watch several videos and open various websites with out the driver committing suicide.  If further issues arise I will keep you posted.

Surely Nvidia who are worth millions could have written this routine into the driver to stop having to make people enter the registry keys and do harm to their machine potentially.  But then again what do I know?

Also they have given me a USB Wifi dongle which is fine but if you must do this then make sure to stop the damned thing from powering down if idle for longer than a minute.  It’s one click in the Power management of the USB stick under the Device Manager.

Having finally sorted my power saving issues, as in turning most of them off.  As it’s a desktop it’s not going anywhere fast.  I don’t need a million power options to save battery.

I’m sure there will be more glitches to come in the future but for now it seems to be working again.  while this machine will never set the world on fire with legendary performance it is more than serviceable at the moment.

Only time will tell how long that will last.  So for now I will sign out...Nanoo Nanoo.

Well after a long absence it time to return and oh have I been having fun lately with technology. So hang on to your butts it’s going to bumpy ride…

Well my i7 laptop decided to give up the ghost with no swan song, no announcement, so sweet FA.  At 4AM it worked.  Shut it down got some sleep.  Took it out with me.   Press power button, Power light comes on but sod all else.  No error messages, no beeps just straight out nothing.

Originally thought it was a hard drive fault as it had been slowing down a lot lately.  Later test by taking drive out and testing it on another machine.  Not that.  Took the laptop totally apart examined motherboard. Can’t see any damage.  Confused.

Ok so I guess you are thinking so what…laptop died move on.  Well that is just a bit of background which started the next chain of wonderful events.  Sitting on my desk I have an Apple Mac G4 800 MHz (Quicksilver 2002 model) machine.

I had before the laptop packed in intended on using the machine with MorphOS and had only just installed the setup the day before the laptop death.

So now I had to reinstall OS X on the Mac as I knew that from previous MorphOS running it could not access my wifi adapter so it would have to go.  Cue the fun…

So I insert Disc 1 of OS X 10.4 (which is a 4 CD set) and restart the Mac.  Now to get an Old Mac like that to start remember to press the Option key to get the boot menu.  Which I forgot so several false MorphOS boots later I finally get the familiar Apple boot logo on screen.

Setup hard disk with Disk Utility.  Off we go with attempt number 1 of install. Immediately it says it fails the verification scan of the installation media.  Recommends abort installation.  Ok not a great start.  So I need to check the CD for scratches but obviously because its using this to run at the moment, the drive is locked so I can’t get the disc out.

After a bit of a think I now have to restart the machine and get into the Open Firmware.  Manage to eject the CD using “eject cd” command pretty straightforward.  Turns out the CD has something on the edge which I clean and all seems fine.  Reinsert disk, restart install using “mac-boot” this Open Firmware seems quite handy.

Attempt 2.  Disc seems to pass verification.  Install begins but fails at 35% of Asian Language Support with error message.  Says to Restart.  Back to Open Firmware and ejecting disk.  Clean disc thoroughly. reinsert, reinstall.  This happens 3 more times, each time repeat process of eject etc.  and I can honestly not see what the problem is with the disc.  Scream in frustration.

Ok Plan B, I have a copy of OS X 10.2 (Panther).  It installs fine, magical or so you would think.  Now I am using a TP Link USB Wifi adapter as I don’t have an Airport for this machine.  Wander off to use another machine with internet capability.  The machine isn’t mine so I could not just use it as a replacement to the i7 before anyone asks.

Only drivers available for said Wifi adapter is OS X 10.4 - OS X 10.11.  Bugger…

Back to the drawing board.  Now I virtually back everything to a large 3TB external hard drive surely I must have a copy of OS X 10.4 on there.  After an hour of searching the drive I find Amiga OS 3.9, Amiga OS 4, Linux ISOs,  Mac OS X 10.5 DVD ISO (can’t use as my drive won’t read DVDs), everything bar the kitchen sink but no OS X 10.4 ISOs.  Right now I am starting to get really frustrated.

Back to the internet. Manage to find a set of downloadable ISOs. I’m sure there is someone losing their shit at this point as I did not rush to EBay and order a new set of discs.  I am a man who needs things to work. I will eventually get some new discs but I was desperate at this point.

Finally managed to find a blank CD and burned new copy of OS X 10.4 Disc 1.  Sure enough this works and I manage to get OS X 10.4 installed.  Yay success.  Install Wifi driver and it actually works.  We are getting somewhere.  Or are we…

Run Software Update … Three updates required. One being the 187Mb Combo update to get the machine from 10.4 to 10.4.11.  Set it running.  Download gets about 1-2 MB downloaded and keeps stopping as connection fails.  Arse.

Tried this about 4 times every time same story.  sometimes it would even get as far as 4-5MB before failing.  At this point I am sure I am being trolled.  This is just a stupid one thing after another it’s getting beyond a joke.

Back to the internet… also now getting moaned at for keep borrowing the machine that can connect to the Internet without dying.  I download the combo update from Apple and put it on a flash drive.

Insert flash drive to Mac.  Claims it can’t read it.  I could give you a long explanation but I won’t.  Lets just say I had to format it Drive Utility on the Mac and had to set it to MSDOS mode as it was set to a GPT mode from a previous install with it.

Right finally Combo Update installed.  This process has taken about 6 or more hours to put you in context.  To say patience is running thin at this point would be putting it likely.  I am at Hammers and Physical Window launching stage almost.

Internet seems slightly less wobbly but still not great however Software Update still not working correctly.  I manage to install TenFourFox (a Firefox for G4 Macs, as Mozilla abandoned them long ago).

Long story short (ha, irony considering how much I have waffled so far) I had go to support.apple.com and manually find and download the 4 needed updates listed.  Each file is average 80Mb and given the Wifi adapter is on a USB 1.1 connection. The maximum it can do is about 176k/sec so each download is taking between 40-60 minutes.  So although I have quite fast broadband it needs a USB 2.0 to use it properly which I don’t have on the G4.

4 hours later its now Midnight and I have installed the patches.  Finally the Software Updater decides it wants to work. Why has something been fixed with the updates I downloaded.  but however there is still 5 more Java updates to install and a security update.

To quote Spongebob …Two hours later …finally it finishes the Software Update.  Wifi seems to have stopped dropping out.  Did it need to warm up or something? I’m confused.

Downloaded some of my regularly used software all seems ok.  Well it worked but man it was a stressful journey to get here.  I have ordered a USB 2.0 card for it and hopefully I should have no issues.  We shall see..

Due to the joys of Macintosh Garden and a lot of slow downloading.  I have managed to get BloodRayne, You Don’t Know Jack (UK Edition).  Try YDKJ if you get the chance it’s wonderfully stupid and sarcastic.  Also Diablo (the original).  

So off to celebrate Diablo’s 20th Anniversary.  Ironically it took a journey from hell to get here but we see what happens next.  Especially as I am stuck with this damned machine until I can get a new laptop or desktop.

Here we are again… The world of computing never ceases to be a source of amusement and frustration.  Seriously I do wonder who thinks up several of these ideas.

I start with the thing every major company seems to be jumping on the bandwagon about and that is VR.  Yes it seems this nonsense is raising it's head over the parapet again.

I say again because this is not a new venture.  Some may remember the Virtuality arcade machines from the Virtuality Group in 1990.

The original machines were powered by an Amiga 3000, later models via a 486 or Pentium PC.  The idea was you stood on a platform and put a stupidly heavy headset on and then you got an alleged 3D environment to negotiate for a few minutes.

The experience was shove you in a rather disorientating polygonal environment which were crude but it was the alleged future.

Watching people play was amusing but quite cringe-worthy as you had to control your movement moving your head to see where you were and the joystick in your hand rather than walking so it was unnatural.

Strangely enough the Virtuality disappeared pretty quickly from arcades.

However now 2016 they have decided that this stupid idea is ripe for a return.  There is loads of them at it from the Playstation VR system, Samsung VR, HTC Vive, Microsoft Hololens and of course the infamous Oculus Rift.

So what the computing world has decided is they hate gamers want them to look stupid with oversized units strapped to your head and you all deserve motion sickness.

Could you imagine a room of people sitting playing these things.  I sure as hell can't.  If this is the future of gaming then let me out now as I am bad enough at games to look stupid without strapping a few pounds of plastic to my face.

I tried the Oculus Rift and I think I managed about thirty seconds before I started to feel nauseous and I don't normally experience motion sickness in games like some do.

Hopefully this will go and die quietly in a corner but it will take a while before it happens.

When I was sitting playing Manic Miner as a kid I never thought you know what.  That would be cool to see through his eyes what that's like.

Moving on … People are now prepared to bitch because both Sony and Microsoft are looking to introduce an upgraded machine to cope with the advancement of 4K video and Higher resolution screens.

Now that's all good but people are moaning because rather than considering a completely new console.  They are talking about upgrading the PS4 and Xbox One internally and not making them look any different.

However you will have to buy a completely new unit rather than being able to upgrade your existing machine.  Now I am sure that in time people will figure how to do it without buying a new machine.

However until that time, Sony and Microsoft are annoying their already fussy audience.  Given the machines are modified PC systems they should have been modular so you could have upgraded them, but that would be convenient.

Could not have that could we.  To be honest this is of no relevance to me as I have not owned a new console since I bought my PS2.  However I do feel that if you have invested £400 or whatever it cost for these machines it must be frustrating to be told after 18 months.

You want an upgrade, cough up again for a new machine.  Way to go computer industry.  Way to go…

Not bad enough they are charging £40-60 a game, which is extortion they now want you to buy a new machine or be irrelevant.  Sod that for a lark…