Today the Free Software Foundation has released a video starring Stephen Fry explaining why Software Freedom is important. To view the video you will first need to fix the video issue and as the audio is rather quiet I would recommend headphones and fixing the speakers issue. Free software is not just cheaper software. It is about Freedom as Stephen Fry explains with his usual eloquence:
Hi,
Love this blog.. i think Ubuntu is new territory for a lot of people taking up Carphone Warehouses offer of getting the Webbook, so something like this that reads like an idiots guide is invaluable in persuading people to move way from Windows.
For instance the 4 hours I spent in the pub last night trying to get wireless to work. The enable menu option was grayed out and I eventually worked out after trying every single option in the menus and then trawling through the help pages and using terminal that radio was “off”, apparently as default… the answer I found out on an Elonex forum was function and F1! So simple but hard to guess (OK if it wasn’t so dark in the pub I may of noticed the blue writing on the buttons and the picture of a transmitter?!).
Anyway, one other question… is it possible to upgrade the RAM and would this make much of a difference?
Thanks
I have asked the hardware/production people if they can ship them with wireless turned on in future. It really isn’t the most intuitive icon, it only makes sense when you know what it means! You can upgrade the ram, but only to 1GB. Doesn’t make a lot of difference really, but on the other hand it doesn’t cost much.
Thanks Alan,
Just one more question then please. What exactly should I ask for when ordering the RAM?
Cheers
Don’t stop! Keep the questions coming. You should order a 1GB PC2-4200 200 pin SO-DIMM non ECC and let me know if it works or not. Some people have reported some 1GB chips only working to half capacity.
Is there any way to open up a linux word proccessed document or datasheet on microsoft office and visa versa?
also is it possible to connect with ichat on the mac if i buy a webcam?
@Steve, I don’t think so, you can probably use Skype, but I don’t think iChat connects to anything else for video. For chat it uses the AOL protocol so you can use the Pigeon client to connect to AIM.
@Steve, sure, just save a file as a .doc or .xls file if you want to use it on Microsoft office. The next version of Microsoft Office should have support for the new international standard ODF format. You can also install OpenOffice.org on Windows for free so you don’t need Microsoft Office at all.
thanks for the reply, doesn that mean there is no way to have a video conversation with a mac?
well like I said, Skype might work, I am pretty sure you can get Skype for the OS/X. There is never “no way” to do something with Linux, sometimes it just requires more effort than you are prepared to put in! iChat encodes video streams in the H.264 codec, you could do something with the code from avidemux http://www.avidemux.org/admWiki/index.php?title=H264 to capture encode and stream out your camera to the iChat thing if you can figure out the rest of the protocol. This would make an interesting project, a little beyond my abilities I am afraid.
far beyond my ability i think, still very green with linux, but thanks
sorry for all the questions but if using skype on linux would i need a very good broadband signal, my mobile broadband doesnt get very good signal in my house
no idea, try it and tell me how you get on. In fact if you write up your experiences with some screenshots I will post it as an article.
ive tried installing a game but when i try and play it the screen just has lots of lines going across and i cant do anything except shut the computer down.
does this mean that it is not compatible with linux or that the graphics card isnt good enough, its only an older version of championship manager so its not high graphics
I guess you are running this under WINE? if you check the application database you will find this entry http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=9792 which seems to indicate that it should work. If it is a 3d game you might have better results with the via drivers enabled (see the Compiz articles). Why not try posting a detailed report to the Wine appdb or try the mailing lists or irc channel.
does the linux operating system update to newest version for free? i.e with windows it might come with xp but to up grade to vista you have to pay
Upgrades are absolutely free, Ubuntu is Free as in Freedom and Free as in no cost. In fact there are four fundamental freedoms
* The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
* The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
* The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
* The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
http://www.ubuntu.com/community/ubuntustory/philosophy