·:[ E-Musings On Web Stuff ]:·
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Every year in the last few weeks leading to Christmas I notice a sudden upswing in the number of new Linux distros available. I think this phenomenon has less to do with general Windows ennui. And more with the wanna-be geeks deciding to scope out Linux. Who schedule their experiments for the Christmas holidays.

Even I’ve fallen victim to this holiday fervor. I’ve installed two Linux distros (on separate hard drives of course) on my second computer. While you can supposedly install two distros on the same disk I found it only works if their sources are the same. These two are like apples and oranges.

Ubuntu 5.10 Breeze Badger based on Debian is the first. Ubuntu is an ancient African word that means humanity to others aka I am what I am because of who we all are. And the Ubuntu Linux distro brings this same spirit to the software world. The second, CentOS 4.2 based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 is the second.

Of the two, Ubuntu (offers a Gnome 2.12 interface) and Kubuntu (Ubuntu with a KDE interface) are closer in usability to Windows than CentOS. The Ubuntu setup begins very Linux-like. You have to configure the network card. Then decide how to partition the hard disk. And finally setup a password and verify it.

The good news is that Ubuntu coexists with Windows. I installed Breeze Badger side-by-side with an existing Windows XP Pro setup. Once the basic Q&A is completed, the install script takes over, detects installed hardware and setups the appropriate drivers. Then the system restarts and you can login to your account.

Oddly the main Ubuntu distro is not available via BitTorrent. Instead you need to download a single 600+ MB ISO file before burning it to CD-R. For some odd reason the Ubuntu DVD combining both install and live (bootable) versions is available via BitTorrent separately for AMD64, i486 and PowerPC architectures. Also available are special localized versions, including one developed for HP Laptop computers.

For the trouble of downloading the single 600 MB distro you get a relatively easy to setup free operating system. Windows users would do well to not apply their understanding of the Windows user interface to Ubuntu. As it quite different. But the developers offer crutches in the form of highly descriptive menus!

And if your new Ubuntu box doesn’t use ADSL to connect to the Internet (via the installed network card) and instead uses a dial-up connection. Be prepared for some grief. I found Ubuntu unable to detect my modem driver. But luckily I found a thread online about getting CDMA modems like those available from Tata Indicom and Reliance to work with Linux. The first is from MA Sivakumar:

Use the following command (in a single line):< /br>< /br>
“pppd /dev/ttyS0 115200 debug usepeerdns defaultroute noauth connect ‘/usr/sbin/chat -v “” at+crm=1 OK “atdt#777″ CONNECT’ user internet [password internet”< /br>< /br>
For convenience write this as a shell script and run it whenever you want.< /br>< /br>
To disconnect use “killall -9 pppd”

The second from Suraj at Symonds.net

Or simply, use pppconfig in debian and make “ppp0 auto” in your /etc/network/interfaces (or for older Debian releases, use /etc/ppp_on_boot).

And I’m not the only person singing Breeze Badger’s praises. This Linux distro won the Linux Journal Readers Choice award because (its an) … is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to run Linux on a desktop system. It’s easy to install and to administer. Everyone from beginners to experts can use and appreciate it. And it’s free. Ubuntu has also won the UK Linux & Open Source Awards 2005, Tux magazine Reader’s Choice 2005 for Favorite Linux Distribution and Ars Technica’s best distribution award.

My second favorite, CentOS 4.2, is the Linux Journal Readers Choice runner-up beating Fedora 3. CentosOS is a thinly redone version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4. And the distro’s web site is full of references to a Prominent North American Enterprise Linux Vendor which is actually Red Hat.

CentOS is actually an excellent server operating system. And my company uses it to run a staging server used to test web sites before they are published to client sites. We also use it to manage our Internet gateway. On both counts is very powerful. And today while going through the setup options, I found that it also has IBM Thinkpad and Sony Vaio laptop-specific settings! I still need to give the new CentOS 4.2 a proper run-thru. My experiences with an older version were dismal. Often runaway processes couldn’t be killed either from the shell. Forming to reboot the system, somewhat like a balky Windows system, to restore services!

Past Linux, we have the all new Firefox 1.5 just out. For those who didn’t download and install the three past Release Candidates, this new version offers an integrated software update, Opera-type Back / Forward page navigation, a separate option to clear private browsing data, drag-and-drop reordering of browser tabs, redesigned Options/Preferences window and better popup blocking. Standards support is much improved and the browser now supports Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), JavaScript 1.6 and enhanced CSS properties. The memory leak that plagued the Betas seems to have been partially resolved. Firefox 1.5 is still resource hungry and even with just 4 open tabs consumed 40 MB of system resources. But don’t let that stop you, download a copy immediately.

Do also consider installing the IE-Tab Firefox extension. So you can now open IE from within Firefox. And IE-centric web sites like Windows Update (which use ActiveX) will now run from Firefox. A principal advantage of this approach is you browse the web safely while not being restricted in the sites you visit.

And finally a cautionary tale. Two days ago one of my company’s developer systems nearly crashed irrevocably when a new rogue spyware tried installing itself. The crash occurred after Microsoft Anti-Spyware blocked the install attempt. If you use Microsoft Anti-Spyware. Are worried the software will expire in December. But have been quite unsuccessful in updating the product to extend your free subscription.

Download the new Anti-Spyware v1.0.701 with an expiry date of July 31, 2006. You will need to validate your Windows copy. If you don’t have a legal version use Firefox to access the download link. Then download and run the Validation software before finally being able to download the update. Make sure to install the new build over your existing version. Don’t make the mistake of uninstalling your older copy or you will still be stuck with a December 2005 expiry date.

That’s it for this time. Stay Safe until we meet again.

I’ve spent the better part of this weekend playing an old DOS-era game: Apogee’s Raptor: Call fo The Shadows. While I’ve played both this, and a subsequent Windows version, before, in both instances it was the level-, weapon- and feature-limited shareware version. But a friend cleaning out old software offered me the complete registered version on CD-ROM!

So my son (who’s supposed to be studying for exams) and I spent a weekend bonding by shout. Raptor doesn’t work over a LAN and we had to exchange notes of baddies found and destroyed, scores achieved and levels crossed by shouting between rooms! Daddy learnt he sure hadn’t lost his touch after all by managing better scores. Fewer crashes and more enemies toasted.

Raptor: Call Of The Shadows was released in mid-1994 and features highly-detailed, smooth scrolling VGA graphics, a maximum of 16 weapon and counter-measures modules, 27 missions each with at least one unique Boss enemy. And each pilot expertise level brings new enemies. In this first-person shooter you fly for MegaCorps and have to destroy all their enemies across 3 Sectors (Bravo, Tango, Outer Regions).

You have a ship but have to buy energy, early-warning modules, phase shields and weapons using money earned by destroying your enemies. There are 4 game play levels beginning from Trainer where you can fly Waves 1-4 before graduating to Rookie, losing all money and weapons accumulated at the previous level except your Magic Reaver machine guns. The Rookie level repeats Bravo Sector beginning from Wave 1 onwards but earning points and buying weapons. The next level is Veteran with the highest Elite. The last two levels offer the same weapons and counter measures. It’s just that there are more enemies to destroy. And hits to shields and ship are harder and consume more of your ship’s resources.

There are two key differences between the Shareware and Registered versions. In the former you are limited to Bravo Sector (8 waves/missions) as in your choice of weapons. The Registered version has no limitations. And once you complete each pilot level, you repeat the sectors at the next level. Until as an Elite pilot you complete the game. So far I’ve just about managed to get to Outer Limits Wave 6 (with 3 waves to go) as a Veteran before crashing in flames! My son’s a Veteran too. But is stuck in Outer Limits Wave 7.

Raptor is a one-dimensional shooter with simple controls. The arrow keys move you forward, back and side ways. Ctrl fires the chosen weapon or weapon combo (with Magic Reaver machine guns and Micro Missiles always available). Alt cycles through weapons available. And the Space bar drops Megabombs. Best of all you never run out of ammunition. But if your Phase Shields are exhausted, firing energy weapons depletes your ship’s energy levels with every shot. You can regain energy by avoiding enemy fire and not firing your own weapons. But the recharge level frequency is so low that you’ll probably die before that in any level other than Rookie!

To making this DOS-only work with full sound and weapon effects on the DOS-limited Windows 2000 was a real challenge. By default Windows NT (enterprise) and Windows ME (consumer) versions onwards, DOS support was considerably limited. Windows 2000 is no except even as Windows XP offers a slightly improved DOS interpreter. But even that can’t get the audio going.

If you don’t mind playing the game without aural (sound) effects you just need to download the shareware version (2 MB) and begin playing for your life.

Or like me, you could deploy the open-source VDMSound 2.0.4. This addresses Windows DOS sound support issues. And emulates an MPU-401 interface (for hi-quality MIDI), SoundBlaster (SB16, SBPro 2, SB2, SBPro) compatible digital sound effects and FM/AdLib music. As well as a standard game-port interface for games with joystick support (you need a Game/MIDI-out port on your PC to use this feature). And unlike Win9x SoundBlaster ‘legacy’ drivers, VDMSound is a self-contained software emulator that even works with computers without audio hardware. By outputting sounds to disk!

VDMSound is compatible only with Windows NT 4 SP3, Windows 2000 and Windows XP/2003. And won’t work with Windows 95/98/Millennium. And the utility will work with any audio hardware supported by Windows programs like Media Player and Winamp.

If you don’t have a VDMSound-compatible operating system, do try the open-source DOSBox, an Intel x86 PC emulator supporting sound, graphics, mouse and limited networking. The software is available for Linux, FreeBSD as well as Windows 32-bit. And you don’t need to use DOSBox just for games. Any DOS application will work with it.

And if you are looking to do more than just Windows stuff, have a reasonably-modern computer (Pentium III and later) with at least 256 MB RAM, you may want to check out PCBSD. A desktop port of the renowned server OS with a KDE-powered graphical user interface (GUI). As well as an improved package installation manager. Fellow blogger, Vijay Kiran D has gotten it running on his iBall laptop along with the bundled Windows XP.

So what are you waiting for? Go shoot!