Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Phones and Computers...the Modern Dilemma


Just to let everyone know: This is basically an email I sent my family and close friends. It is copied to here as an introduction to what we are doing with phones and computers. The necessities of the modern world. I will follow up with more whenever I can get a chance. Now, to Quote:

Well, it's that time. The land line is dead. We cut the strings and retired the land line. We have two cell phones to handle things. Fiona handles the house and herself at her number. And I handle work and me at my number. I guess this is the way of the modern world.
No strings (or lines) attached. Both phones are simple smart phones, nothing fancy. We are using Straight Talk for service. We've used it for a couple of years. We don't do videos, etc., so I can't vouch for intensive use. But for $45.00 every 30 days, we have unlimited nationwide calling, text, data, etc. For $60.00, you can go international. We're happy with the service.


 I wiped my computer's hard drive over the weekend. I re-installed Windows. Not by choice. I still need Topo North America and it is a Windows program. I haven't been able to find a Linux version yet. If I can find a way to get it to run under Linux, then Windows will die, also. I can not see paying the MicroSoft tax to have a computer. The Linux operating system is free to download and use. The programs are free. The updates are free. The learning curve can be "different" because we have been programmed to Microsoft's way of doing things. I am thousands of dollars happier over the last few years. The Microsoft tax is why Bill is worth billions. And every couple of years, he dips into our well of money to replenish his well. And all of his tag-a-longs will get their share, also. Because their new programs don't work on the old Windows system. It took over eighteen hours to reformat the computer, install Windows, and get all of the updates. There were 187 updates. (Windows 7.) The download was 5.5 hours. As it went along, it slowed down downloading. Then, during the updating, it would error out and I would have to start again. I finally did the updates ten at a time to get them to work! 


 Actual message on Fiona's laptop before she gave up on Microsoft!
This photo has NOT been Photo Shopped. On her laptop Microsoft actually said 2 days to install "important" updates!

 After completing the Windows fiasco, I went to work on Linux. I repartitioned the hard drive to move Windows over out of the way. I reformatted the new partition, installed Linux Mint, did 399 updates (as one continuous update, not ten at a time), downloaded my programs (office, Internet, sound, photo, Google Earth, email, graphics, games, educational, etc.).  



The Linux and all programs were free (except for my time and the Internet time and the DVD it was burned to. I have 8 music/video players, 5 TV/video players, 3 CD/DVD burners, FreetuxTV and XBMC media center and others for Internet radio and video and TV from around the world, 3 e-book readers/organizers, 3 office suites (I didn't need one of them and deleted it), 2 email managers (this is being done in Evolution), 5 web browsers, a couple of Internet chat and torrent and other programs I seldom use (but I have them for the occasional use and they were free),6 photo programs for handling and manipulating my photos, 3 image manipulation programs (think Photoshop and above levels)(I don't use them - Fiona does - but I have them because they are free and just in case!), scanning programs, 2 planetarium programs for the skies, 2 Bible programs, a bunch of utility programs, etc. All are free, along with thousands more. Some are high quality, some aren't. But, they ARE free!!! Except for the Internet and your time. No CD/DVD needed, just download. Free updates. Oh!!! Comparisons!!! Windows (including 187 updates)- 18 hours. Linux - 1.5 hours (including 399 updates). Windows - no additional programs (costs up to  thousands more). Linux - about two additional hours of downloading additional FREE programs. Difference - hours and thousands of dollars. And thousands of more Linux programs are available for me to download for free at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE! I can change Linux operating systems and programs daily if I want (or sooner). Linux is like cars in a lot of ways. You can choose the size and color you want. They are all cars and they all work; but, yet, they are different. Some people like Fords, some Chrysler, some Chevrolet, some Cadillac, and some like Ferrari. I did not get a warm, fuzzy feeling doing Windows. But, I did get a warm, smug feeling after installing my FREE Linux system and realizing the thousands of dollars I potentially saved. I am still glowing warmly!!! As if you couldn't tell.



 Why do I have so many programs that do the same thing? Like Windows, each program approaches the job from a different angle. It just doesn't cost me $50.00 to find out I don't like the way a program approaches a job; hence, the deletion of the above mentioned program. Music/sound: If I am just playing some background sounds/music while working, rhythmbox handles playlists quite well (it is playing in the background right now with a 280 song, 14 hour, playlist). But, it doesn't have the ability to do an instant 10 second backwards leap to replay a phrase. SMPlayer does. If I am listening to a blog that I might want to replay a conversation (or word), I use SMPlayer. I can back up 10 seconds (or multiples thereof) to replay a conversation or parts of it. It does it for YouTube and videos, also. It will also advance multiples of 10 seconds at a time into the future. Playlists are not one of its strengths.

Enough soapbox. Have a wonderful day.



Ralph


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16 comments:

  1. Wait....what? You lost me after the first couple of sentences, We cut our land line months ago along with the satellite TV. We use trackphone and it costs both of us 14 bucks a month. Kept my land line number, too. I don't have a smart phone cause I don't like being watched. We leave our phones home when we go out....just like to old days

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    1. Ahh technology. Straight Talk is a Division of Trac-phone. Ralph wants to share some of the knowledge he has with the Linux based operating systems we use on our computers. More people use Linux all the time but we both feel we want to share what we like about it. I have to admit I was the holdout on the land line. I like the idea of leaving a phone at home...do we need to be in contact 24/7/365?

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  2. There are all sorts of Linux programs out there and, yes, they are free and you are FREE from Windows! :-) I run a lighter version of Linux on my laptop. Takes about 3 minutes to boot up whereas with Windows it took at least 5 minutes or more to boot up .... the big computer takes over 10 minutes. And makes noise all the while the poor thing is trying to boot up. Mr. H hasn't used Windows in years.

    My cellphone is a go-phone. I only use it for when I'm traveling south for errands. $100 will last me a long time. The house phone is VOIP (voice over IP) and runs through the internet. We kept our house phone number that originally was from the phone company we had when we lived in the rental out-of-state. Costs a bit more to keep that number but overall was considerably cheaper than having through the phone company for the same service. The down side is when power goes out, the phone won't work but most phones don't work anyways without power. The only difference is that since it is VOIP, Mr. H set it up so that if the house phone doesn't get picked up it will roll over to either one of our cell phones or the caller just leaves a message on the VOIP server to be retrieved later.

    TV is received from an antenna. If you search the internet you can find links for streams. Some channels even play episodes online after they have been aired. MeTV has some of the older shows like The Rifleman, The Lucy Show, Peter Gunn.... Just search around and you may come across something. But who has time for sitting around watching the idiot box? ;-)

    OH, and use DuckDuckGo for your search engine. They don't keep records of what you searched for. Sometimes you may have to resort to using one of the other ones that do keep records but DuckDuckGo works pretty good.

    Congrats on your freedom! :-)

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    1. This is a great comment, I appreciate your additional Information.

      We use Duck too and have no problems with it.
      I had replied with more detail but we seem to be having some problems with blogger placing the comments.

      Thank you for stopping by!

      Ralph

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  3. OK, you convinced me. I will go and talk to the local computer geek about Linux and see what he thinks. He will have to install it cause this stuff is waaaaaaay over my head. We also use Duck Duck Go. They may not track me, but every website I click on follows me around forever. The ads are really getting to me. Even the pop up on your blog is annoying,

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    1. add Ghostery and Ad Block Plus (both are Firefox add ons) - they work

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    2. I forgot to add that the linux version I use is called Zorin and has the 'look' of Windows without the heartache ;-)

      Partition your computer - put Windows on one and you could try the Zorin in the other. Some sites (like my bank - can't use the online deposit function) won't work well with linux and you'll end up having to use Windows (or smart phone), but overall it is very user friendly. I really like it.

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    3. Partition my computer.....really?

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    4. This has been good reading...Ralph had to go to work but he is looking forward to adding his comments when he gets home.

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    5. Tewshooze, is there a pop up on my blog? Please let me know what it is....it should not be here!

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    6. yes there is a pop up. A little sign comes up asking me if I want to make some money. I have to click 'cancel' to make it go away. My popup blocker also lets me know that there is another one there that was blocked. Yours is the only blog where this happens.

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    7. It also says it is a message from the website and that it can show me how to make more money from the site.

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    8. Swear and cuss! I get that pop up on two other sites but I do not see it on mine . Back to the settings. Thank you for letting me know!

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    9. You're welcome. I really enjoy your blog

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    10. Tewshooz, your local computer geek may not know about Linux. They are usually Microsoft followers and look down on Linux. http://distrowatch.com/ has a list of top 100 linux distros. If you click on one of them, it will take you to their website. It also has distro news on that link. Most distro sites have links to reviews done on them. You will be getting into a scary world. You will feel lost and dumb. You are NOT! You just don't have the experience yet. We were all there. Fiona says she was terrified by linux and now she is better than me in most areas. It just takes time and a desire to do it. Don't be afraid. DO NOT try to partition your hard drive. Do linux in baby steps. Most linux distros have live CD's or DVD's. You download that to your hard drive and then burn it to your blank CD/DVD. This live CD/DVD enables you to take linux for a test drive - like getting a new car with lots of new gadgets in it. Put this CD/DVD in your cd drive, then turn your computer on. Click on live CD or wharever version of that it says. Make sure it says "live".Do not click on "install" at any time. You are just pretending to have linux. It will be slow. Sometimes, real slow. But linux is not on your computer, only on the CD/DVD - that is why it is so slow. It uses memory, but not your hard drive. This should not effect your computer. When you turn your computer off, take the CD/DVD out. The next time you turn your computer on, it should be the same as it was before, no changes. What I did was play around doing this or that and then stopping. Later, I would do it again. Over time, I became more comfortable with all this. Baby steps. Most distros have forums to help people learn what to do. Do some reading. Be forewarned. These are people like us. And some of them are idiots.

      Tewshooz, I will try to say all of the above as simply as I can. You are not dumb or an idiot. You were able to get on here. Therefore, there is no reason, with time, you can't do this. Just go for it. Slowly. Ask questions. Read. And, most importantly, HAVE FUN and save your money. We did!

      Best of luck and thanks for stopping by. Remember - HAVE FUN!

      Ralph

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