Month: April 2008

Bluehost has a new system of WordPress install called Simple Scripts. I have heard this makes it easier to upgrade the install and it is simpler to manage than the current Fantastico install. So now, I have to back up my blog, delete it from the server, reinstall Word Press with Simple Scripts and restore my data.

This is a bit of work, but the new release of WordPress is supposed to be better at handling widgets and plug-ins. The second reason I am reinstalling is to move the blog off the root directory. I originally installed Word Press on the root directory to make sure it would work. I now want to have a more organized site with permanent pages and a link to the blog.

I am finding that people who are not familiar with blogs do not go to my static pages, which contain the background and general information about the project. I moved them to the top left in the hope they would be more appealing, but often they are ignored. Instead readers become confused by reading the posts only and sometimes are not getting the idea of the entire project at all.

I will have to whip something up to act as a repository for the static pages and link to the blog to avoid this problem. Those of you who have looked at my pages know I like colour and design and I have tried in a limited way to colour code WP pages. A new site splash page and static information pages will take some time to design, but I think the result will be worth it.

So far, my efforts have not inspired any funding, so I am having to work at my day job for more hours than I originally planned. Maybe an improved web presence will help me with funding, as I think the scope of the project is not clearly laid out in the blog, especially if the static pages are not viewed.

The tour is getting closer and the book is taking up a lot of time. I have to post an update because I realize I have been slow to enter information. When I am streaming real time it will be immediate, but the webcam I bought will not work in Ubuntu so far.

To take on the tour I bought an ASUS notebook and I am downloading the Ubuntustudio Gutsy distro to load on to it. It will be a dual-boot with the absolutely legit copy of Vista that came installed on it. I managed to crash Vista three times installing firefox, anti-virus and a firewall. Thank you Microsoft. I now own legitimate copies of Microsoft software stretching back from DOS (1998), Windows, Windows 95, Windows 2000, two copies of XP and now vista. I also owned Apple Basic, OS9 and OSX 3.9. No wonder I am getting into Open Source. I am tired of continually having to buy new operating systems!

The ASUSTek A8M_A8T Series Notebook came with a built in webcam and mic so streaming should be easy — if I can get Ubuntu to recognize the hardware. It is a dual-core AMD Turion 64×2 TL-52 803 MHz mobile technology chip (AMD K8 Processor), 32 bit operating system, ACPI mother board, NVIDIA GeForce Go 6100, 120 gig HD, bluetooth, SD card reader and DVD burner. It is not the most blazing fast computer, but with the fan it runs really cool and it has connectivity with 4 USB, mini firewire (will need a special converter jack), S-video out and a jack I don’t know what it is for yet. Although I believe I can run the 32 bit distro, I read some forums and found that some people have more problems with it. I haven’t decided yet if I am going to go that route. More research is needed, maybe I will post on the Ubuntu forum.

The notebook is originally from Korea and so has all the characters still on the keyboard. My friend Allen is Korean, so even though the drive was wiped, I will probably be able to get him to type something in Korean for me. Even though this notebook is two years old there is still one year left on the warrantee — I did my research ASUS makes good computers. I have owned several of their mother boards and my current XP and retiring Win 2000 computers both run very well with Intel chips. The AMD 1.5 GHz desktop I used for a few months before passing on to my oldest son, is standing up well under his neglect, although I do still service it.

The thoughtful Korean fellow motorcyclist I purchased it from had already partitioned the drive, so I plan to put Ubuntu on the 2nd partition. The Vista partition uses 21.6 GB for the operating system and 3 internet utilities. No documents, no programs just a very large OS. I have a copy of DOS OS for the very first IBM notebook I [still] own — it is on a single-sided low density floppy disk. I think they can do better, so I will compare how much space the Ubuntu distro takes. The shot below is trying to show the HD space used, but I had to use a flash to get a reasonable photo and it is hard to see.

I had to do some work on my Gutsy desktop today because I wanted to take some screen shots. It is not that easy in Ubuntu, no Grab in utilities (Mac) no shift-prtscrn key (Win). I am downloading a Gnome plug-in called “Go” .

I hope this will allow me to capture some of the song score from the .pdf file I am working on. I may just use the mac at the studio to Grab the score right from Finale, the notation program I am using to produce the score. I am trying to do this whole blog in Ubuntu, but it is a challenge. I am learning a lot though and hope that I will be able to do all of the graphic and book design in Unbuntu using The Gimp and Scribus. The multi-media part will involve the Mac G4 Powerbook as Finale and the audio tools I use are Mac OS. However, I hope this Ubuntustudio version is more supportive of my needs and by the time I am on tour I can erase the Vista from my drive.