Technical Reviews and Geek Toys

With the release of "The Answer", (a.k.a KDE 4.2.0) desktop yesterday, the KDE Community is now confident they have a compelling offering for the majority of end users. KDE 4.2.0 builds on the technology introduced with KDE 4.0 in January 2008. I installed it on a Kubuntu 8.10 machine that I had built for a neighbor to compare it with the KDE 4.1 version that I have on my machine.

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Malware is defined by Wikipedia as a portmanteau from the words malicious and software, is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code.[1] The term "computer virus" is sometimes used as a catch-all phrase to include all types of malware, including true viruses.

Software is considered malware based on the perceived intent of the creator rather than any particular features. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, crimeware and other malicious and unwanted software. In law, malware is sometimes known as a computer contaminant, for instance in the legal codes of several American states, including California and West Virginia.

With these nasty little bugs on the rise it is often necessary to try to clean the machine offline. This was the case with a recent PC I was asked to clean up. The most annoying symptom, according to the user, was that if a search term was entered and then clicked on, the resultant page was different than the link that was clicked on. Some further troubleshooting also indicated the inability to ping certain websites. The reply came from 127.0.0.1. Therefore I was unable to update the installed anti-malware utilites. Also the machine was so bogged down I wasn't having much luck running anti-malware software. So I packed the machine back to the shop.

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Since I started this blog it has been an adventure learning about how to get more traffic. Search Engine Optimization.... Back Links.... Social Networking Sites... it just goes on and on. It goes without saying that I am still trying to figure it all out. I added Tools For Business content to the Aztec Chamber of Commerce website and discovered the Website Grader which is free search engine optimization tool that measures the marketing effectiveness of a website. It provides a score that incorporates website traffic, Search Engine Optimization, social popularity and other technical factors. It also provides a report with tips on how the website can be improved from a marketing perspective.

I ran this tool against Blog-Ga-Jim on 12/23/08 and achieved an overall score of 30. Today when I ran it my score had increased 36 points. So why the low score and what did I do to improve it?

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As I write this I am watching the inauguration of Barack Obama. There is certainly a lot of people there and it looks like it is a little chilly. I have never participated in something like that so I guess I don't understand the concept of standing in the cold to watch something on TV monitors. Perhaps it is the excitement of being there.

There has been a big to do about Rick Warren's opening prayer. Although I see the latest Gallop poll indicated that most people are not upset by it. I thought he did a good enough job blessing the ceremony. Of course there are going to be different opinions on that. So many people don't have their eyes on our Lord Jesus Christ, the author of all things and the one who is in complete control.

It is 12:05 and President Bush is no longer president. Barack Obama is just taking the oath. And there is much excitement and fan fair. The canons are presenting the 21 gun salute. People are chanting 'Obama... Obama... Obama..."

President Obama is presenting his acceptance speech. I wonder what Former President Bush is thinking. I know that I am sitting here with the knowledge that the younger generation's vote is responsible for voting President Obama into office. Many I feel acted on emotions without really knowing what they were voting for.

An interesting message to Muslim leaders. They will be judged by what they build, not by what they destroy.

So begins a new chapter in our great nations history. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I will be praying that our Lord Jesus will continue to watch over us and continue to bless the United States of America.

Out here in the "West" it is not uncommon to walk into a gift shop and see a stuffed jackalope. I often smile when I overhear "Is that for real?" from a visitor to the area.

Ubuntu 9.04 Alpha 3 code named Jaunty Jackalope was released last week. I downloaded the Kubuntu i386 Desktop CD image which creates a live CD enabling booting from the CD without affecting the installed operating system. I tried to run the live CD on an older machine and I guess the video card is not up to par because the desktop "eye candy" as well as the "K" menu did not display. This might just be the new KDE desktop. Or maybe id didn't recognize the video card.

Anyway, I then ran the CD on my HP laptop and everything displays properly. There are just a few obvious changes in this new version. OpenOffice is version 3.0 instead of 2.4. Other than a new boot screen and new desktop that is about all I see that is different.... the live CD has a limited amount of software installed.

In Mark Shuttleworth's introduction to the new version he stated that one the specific goals to be addressed in Juanty is boot time and general performance. "Another goal is the the blurring of web services and desktop applications. "Is it a deer? Is it a bunny? Or is it a weblication - a desktop application that seamlessly integrates the web!" This hare has legs - and horns - and we'll be exploring it in much more detail for Jaunty."

JJ will support the next ext4 file system. Some of the features of ext4 include:

• Larger File Systems
• Improved performance and reliability when compared to ext3
• 20% - 30% decrease in boot time on some systems

The single most dramatic improvement in ext4 is in file and file system size. Thus, the users who are most likely to need ext4 are those who have more than a few terabytes of disk space.

I have not been able to find a reference to what is happening with the "blurring of web services and desktop applications". I am looking forward to seeing what that will be all about.

Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope is scheduled to be released in April.