Geekons.com: Christian Technology Podcast

Show Notes

36: These Boot Records Were Made For Walkin

2008-12-15

Pop-Up: Ubuntu 8.10

4 Stars

  • Ubuntu is a Gnu Linux operating system.
  • Designed for personal desktop use.
  • Better out of the box driver support.
  • Easy to install
  • Easy to install "Restricted" drivers for graphics.
  • Partition manager needs better graphics.
  • The same software management tools.
  • Still easy to update.
  • Audio is a little quarky until you tweak it. (I got it working using these instructions: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=789578 )
  • Really fast boot and shut down.
  • Community is as helpful as ever.
  • Have not tested on wireless yet.
  • Networking and sound worked out of the box.
  • Not an LTS addition.
  • Some packages didn't work for me.
  • 4 out of 5 stars - A great OS that just has a few tiny issues before being ready for your grandparents to use.

Geek-Tweak: How to convert CDs and existing audio files to mp3 using iTunes

  • Update to the latest version of iTunes. Configure iTunes to import using mp3.
    • Click on Edit>Preferences.
    • Click on the Import settings button.
    • Choose mp3 from the drop-down menu.
    • Choose your preferred quality.
    • Click OK.
    • Click OK.
  • Right-Click on any audio file in your library and choose convert to mp3.
  • When you insert a CD and click on Import CD it will import to mp3.

View-Source: The Linux nut and the birth of Christ

  • Ahh the Linux nut... a correction, the GNU Linux nut, who enjoys various distros but has chosen a favorite.
    • Never invited to parties
    • Social interaction not quite his forte
    • Has a specific purpose in life and finds other distractions a burden
    • Good at what he does, but nobody quite appreciates what that really is
    • Kind of like Rudolph, but not a reindeer and no red nose, just some LED indicators.
  • The birth of Christ.
    • The entry of our Lord and Saviour into the physical World!
    • The bright beacon fire that Salvation is on its way!
    • A wonderful event warranting the Heavens and Earth to rejoice!
    • A new King, above all kings, has been born and is due a proper announcement!
  • What happened (in modern geek parallel-land)
    • The King above all Kings, to rule all people from every nation, to share the Truth that God has shown his Grace and Mercy on us, joins a developers channel in IRC with only a few developers awake during the day.
    • Angels, with obvious authority and power join the chat. (Newbies that are already ops)
    • They private message a few guys (that are of course using irssi on a command line they are SSH'ed into remotely) to let them know that Jesus has been born!
    • Disrupted from their conversation on the latest Kernel module they are working on, and how glad they are Linus stuck with GPL 2 instead of 3, they subside the four-letter-word-laden conversation long enough to take in what they are reading.
    • The Angels, who have already gained ops, posted the developer's root passwords via /msg, and may have appeared physically next to them once they got over the digital shock, drop the news and tell them not to be afraid and that they will find a baby in cloth strips lying in a manger.
    • The developers then hear an audible chorus praising the newborn saviour, and probably wet their pants.
    • They compose themseleves, and decide to hop in their car, type in the GPS coordinates the Angels gave them into the GNU-Linux based nav-system they've been working on, and quickly found Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus lying in the manger just like the Angels described.
    • They quickly realized the significance and immediately proceded to twitter, blog, podcast, and even MySpace about the situation. (all their replies, direct messages, and blog comments were of amazement)
    • After they finished telling people, they returned back to Jesus to exclaim their praise: WOOT!
  • The significance to us:
    • The first people outside of his family to interact with Jesus were the outcasts of society.
    • Jesus not only humbled himself to a human level, but to a poor human level born in what appeared to be the worst circumstance.
    • Despite the circumstances, it was a joyous occasion that cuased the heavens to rejoice.
  • How are you responding to the birth of Christ this year?
  • How can you, regardless of social standings, share the love of Christ with a perfect stranger?

Key Verses:

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