5+ Great Ways to Re-Purpose Old PCs

5 Great Ways to Re-Purpose Old PCs for Customers

In addition to the items listed in this article, our Linux Users Group has installed a version of GNU/Linux on older machines and then donated them to several organizations, such as SisterCare and various community recreational centers that otherwise would not have access to computers. Donations from members and the community have provided dozens of good computers that needed only a free OS.

Another idea worth considering is to advertise any unwanted equipment at freecycle.org. People will gladly come and get these computers from you if given a chance.

Cisco's "Cloud" Move is a bad idea

Cisco locks customers out of their own routers, only lets them back in if they agree to being spied upon and monetized - Boing Boing

Since when did it become acceptable for corporations to hijack equipment and force things down a customer's throat? Oh, wait … ever since Microsoft forced Windows down the throats of OEM manufacturers and made itself the defacto operating system for desktop computers; that's about the right time when this whole thing got started. Many others have followed (Apple is one example) and have gotten away with it for far too long.

But Cisco's latest move is pure terrorism on its clients. Many of us will not stand for it. Routers are not all that expensive (in the $50-$80 range) and there are several manufacturers to choose from, companies that hopefully will not follow Cisco's example and try to kidnap customers into agreements that are damaging to the Internet as a whole.

On this Fourth of July, we should follow William Wallace's (form the movie Braveheart) and shout at the top of of our lungs: FREEDOM!!!

Another computer visionary lost

Dennis Ritchie, 1941-2011: Computer scientist, Unix co-creator, C programming language designer – Boing Boing

Computer scientist Dennis Ritchie is reported to have died at his home this past weekend, after a long battle against an unspecified illness. No further details are available at the time of this blog post.

Good article concerning password strength

Change Passwords | Create Strong Passwords | Microsoft Security

Keys to password strength: length and complexity

Please note the password checker link. It is a good idea to check passwords you use.

minus

minus - A review by techlaze

Minus is a free service that lets you share files easily with your friends and family. Its goal is to make file sharing as simple as possible by allowing users to upload and share their files from anywhere, be it mobile, desktop, or web. Applications for this service are available across all platforms including Linux. Furthermore, Minus also works on popular browsers like Firefox and Chrome. Here’s a quick review of the Linux version of the application.

Being Quiet and Successful

I recently read this excellent blog (partial quote follows):

The Quiet Theory of Influence | zen habits

When everyone yells “Look at me!”, become quiet.

When others seek attention, turn your attention inward.

When everyone wants pageviews and sales, be valuable.

When others try to pull visitors to their sites, let people find you themselves.

When most blogs have popups and drop-downs urging readers to subscribe to their newsletters, get out of your readers’ way.

When others brag of their success, let others laud you instead.

When others cling greedily to copyrights, give your work away.

When others use goals to drive themselves to change the world, learn to be content, and people will ask to learn your secrets.

My friend John Fay found this excellent demonstration:

xkcd: Marketing Interview

Peace, everyone!

Emails and attachments (my gripes)

Often, I receive emails asking me to open an attachment so that I can learn details about an event/fundraiser/etc. It seems to me that it would be just as easy for the sender to paste the details in the email body and save everyone the bother of having to open a document. It would also save our email servers from having to store documents that are not needed.

While I am at it, please consider not using PowerPoint to create a fancy-looking one-slide document. We need less "artistic" and more information, more simplification and less decoration.

And let me not forget this one: I will not support a fundraiser for a "health" cause that sells unhealthy products. Selling cookies, pies, and fried chicken to raise funds for the American Heart Association makes as much sense as selling guns to promote gun control, or selling joints in an anti-drug campaign.