06.04.08: The Hampshire Linux User's Group and Formula One

Streaming Song Of The Day: Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones

So, the reason there is no blog post from yesterday is that I spent most of the day at the Hampshire Linux User's Group.  It was stunning.  This is something I have been missing from my life for about 10 years.  I used to study Computer Science at college, and we used to sit around and discuss computer things.  One of the things which stick in my mind is when we sat around discussing MP3 and whether or not it was the future of the music industry.  This was 10 years ago.  There were a ton of discussions yesterday.  Like the hypocrasy of the BBC refusing DRM free downloads of their show to Linux users, but when Steve Jobs asks for it for the iPhone it's granted.  We also discussed the security on the BBC iPlayer site ;-)  Then there was my attempt to get Puppy Linux working with networking on the eee PC.  It never did happen, but one guy must have spent about half an hour throwing commands at it.  Another guy offered help whilst trying to get his Kubuntu distribution not to die after the power went out 99% of an update (due to his power cord not being in far enough and the battery dying).  Which led me to experiment.  I asked the guy if he had finished with his Ubuntu CD, which he had, and I tried installing it on the eee PC.  Both he and the guy who tried to help me with my Puppy Linux problems said they thought the eee PC wouldn't be able to take it.  At least not modified.  But the only concession I made was to drop it down into safe graphics mode.  And it worked.  For a little while I had Ubuntu running on the eee PC, not eeeBuntu, full fat Ubuntu.  It was slow, but it worked.  I can't wait to go again.  The people were nice, and I was definetly made to feel welcome.  A lot of fuss was made over my eee PC, which was nice, and a lot of people wanted to know what it was all about, how I found it for use, and things like this.  Plus I learnt a few things.  Like people don't bring food there for others to share, so I didn't put mine out either.  Also I'm going to take a few blank CDs next time, as the Puppy Linux thing could have been up and running with networking on the eee PC for the want of a blank CD.  Also, I'll take something to eat next time, as there isn't anything much you can eat there.  Well, nothing more substantial than chocolate bars and crisps.  And a flask of hot water, because the coffee is fine, but I hoped there was hot water to make a cup of Yerba Mate.  Anyway, I am definetly going to be going again in 2 months time!

Then there was the F1 race at Bahrain!  How awesome!  Now, however unpatriotic it may be, I did give a huge cheer when Fernando Alonso tapped the brakes and made Lewis Hamilton smash into the back of his car.  Yes, he hurt his own race, but man, the rivalry remains!  Ok, so, Kimi Raikkonen wasn't as dominant as he usually is, but hey, he was still good.  And 2nd is better than Hamilton could have produced.  For those not familiar with why I hate Hamilton, the answer is simple - he hasn't earned his place at McLaren.  He hasn't driven for the lesser teams first, and yes, Ron Dennis might have paid for that to happen, but I feel they should do a few years in lower league teams then try for a bigger team.  Just like my man Raikkonen did...
Permalink
Tags: hampshire linux user group, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, IHKimi Raikkonen
|