simplify

I always figured I could accomplish everything i needed using only ubuntu and a five year old laptop. Everything else was just indulgence. So far i have only run into a couple massive roadblocks

1. My frigging film scanned is about six years old, and will not comply with my lifeboat here. The device activates, but ubuntu cant seem to see it at all. I had to use some workarounds just to get it running under windows seven. All the internet can teach me on the subject is that scanners are an endless vortex of proprietary software which is almost never supported for more than a year or so.

2. ​iTunes does not currently make a linux version of their software. There is pretty much no hope of apple ever investing any time on that particular project. I don't really care about the store, but currently my phone and pad are stuck with no way of loading or unloading data. There are workarounds for this, but the music and photos are pretty much stuck on the devices until i either sync or reformat.

3. The read/write speeds on usb devices is shockingly slow. This is making backup an issue. I have a 500gb external that i rarely use, but getting data off of it with my laptop is a nightmare. It seems to work fine on my mothers apple, so i guess i will seize her machine this weekend.​

​This has forced me to prioritize my work. I have been cleaning up and organizing all my scans, and put the new film acquisition on hold.  Every time i get frustrated, i remind myself how i could have left my laptop at home while i was in Canada, and come home to a completely dead workspace.

I will say this has been weirdly satisfying. My system of backups functioned correctly, sort of. It is nice getting a taste of what computing might be like if i was a homeless person.​

ubuntu

Ubuntu is a free operating system based on Linux. Linux is a sort of relic of the early 90s. Back then, everything had open doors, inviting you to mess around with the coding. Every computer was a bit like a Jenga tower. It was totally stable, but if you messed with it at all, well...​

The real kicker is how the only functioning machine I have left is the weakest of the lot. Any enthusiast will ​have a minimum of two functioning rigs, and my third was really just an experiment.

So, there always existed an increasingly marginal group of computer enthusiasts who want to build their own roads and bridges wherever possible. It exists out of spite, in a sense. The coders want a sandbox badly enough to create it themselves, and offer it for free to anyone who wants it.​ This is admirable.

From a frontier perspective, Linux is fantastic. It satisfies ones' need for tool creation, while also offering all the convenience of massive online knowledgebase. ​

From a user convenience perspective, Linux is kinda testing my limits. Did I mention my windows boxes are dead? I save everything in triplicate, so currently my laptop running ubuntu is my lifeboat.​

Why we backup

Ten years of personal computing and only once have i ever had a catastrophe close to last week. I was out of town, and best i can figure, lightning struck my house. Lots of circuit breakers were switched, and my modem from Brighthouse was fully dead.  ​

The more exciting bit was what happened to my system, which is still kinda being decided. I have two rigs at home, and one laptop for travel. My secondary system is a dual core gaming rig from 2007, with an LGA 775 socket motherboard. My primary system has the 1155 socket with a quad core 3ghz processor. Both are currently completely unresponsive.​

My secondary system houses a copy of my music and pictures, and is capable of minor gaming.  My primary system is the nicest computer I have ever owned, and it has around 300gb of data that I cannot currently access. I think both have lost their motherboards.

Pretty much every major computer issue begins with an error message onscreen. Barring that, the motherboard comes equipped with lights, and sometimes numerical displays, which indicate where the problem lies. If the motherboard shows no life at all, then it could be a faulty power source.​

The method for diagnosing a dead psu is fairly entertaining. It involves plugging the box into the wall, then using a paper clip to connect two protruding wires. Fear not - electrocution is unlikely. Sadly though, both my psus work fine, and the problem lies elsewhere.​

Lacking a motherboard, I cannot continue with diagnostics. This means lightning has cost me atleast 300$, possibly more. Theres no reason I need two systems, but a single motherboard is gonna run me around 150$, and that might only buy me the ability to learn my hard drives, video card, and cpu are all cooked.  ​I can't believe that I could become a person who needs to buy computer advice.

This is a blog post

This is me posting something to my blog. This is my second sentence. Here comes a third. And now, the show.​