NOT new to GNU/Linux

[Welly Wu]

I purchased Mathematica 10.2 64 bit and Matlab R2014b 64 bit for GNU/Linux and they installed and they run successfully.

[Welly Wu]

It seems that System76 was right. Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS 64 bit GNU/Linux forgoes older software packages, libraries, and dependencies for the new hardware enablement stack. Take a look at this terminal output.

wellywu@IdeaPadY510P:~$ sudo apt-get install libx11-6:i386 libc6:i386 libasound2:i386 libuuid1:i386 libssl1.0.0:i386 libidn11:i386 libstdc++6:i386 libxcb1:i386 libxau6:i386 libxdmcp6:i386 zlib1g:i386 libxext6:i386 libgtk2.0-0:i386 libp11-kit0:i386 p11-kit-modules:i386 libgl1-mesa-glx:i386 libcanberra-gtk-module:i386 xdg-utils lib32stdc++6 xfonts-75dpi xfonts-100dpi lame vorbis-tools musepack-tools
[sudo] password for wellywu:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
libasound2:i386 is already the newest version.
libasound2:i386 set to manually installed.
libp11-kit0:i386 is already the newest version.
libp11-kit0:i386 set to manually installed.
libstdc++6:i386 is already the newest version.
libstdc++6:i386 set to manually installed.
libx11-6:i386 is already the newest version.
libx11-6:i386 set to manually installed.
libxau6:i386 is already the newest version.
libxau6:i386 set to manually installed.
libxcb1:i386 is already the newest version.
libxcb1:i386 set to manually installed.
libxdmcp6:i386 is already the newest version.
libxdmcp6:i386 set to manually installed.
libxext6:i386 is already the newest version.
libxext6:i386 set to manually installed.
zlib1g:i386 is already the newest version.
xdg-utils is already the newest version.
xdg-utils set to manually installed.
libc6:i386 is already the newest version.
libssl1.0.0:i386 is already the newest version.
libssl1.0.0:i386 set to manually installed.
libuuid1:i386 is already the newest version.
libuuid1:i386 set to manually installed.
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
libcheese-gtk23 : Depends: libclutter-gtk-1.0-0 (>= 0.91. but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libcogl15 (>= 1.15. but it is not going to be installed
libcheese7 : Depends: libclutter-gst-2.0-0 (>= 0.10.0) but it is not going to be installed
Depends: gstreamer1.0-clutter but it is not going to be installed
libclutter-1.0-0 : Depends: libcogl-pango15 (>= 1.15. but it is not going to be installed
Depends: libcogl15 (>= 1.15. but it is not going to be installed
libgl1-mesa-glx:i386 : Depends: libglapi-mesa:i386 (= 10.1.3-0ubuntu0.3)
Recommends: libgl1-mesa-dri:i386 (>= 7.2)
E: Error, pkgProblemResolver::Resolve generated breaks, this may be caused by held packages.
wellywu@IdeaPadY510P:~$ sudo apt-get -f install
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
wellywu@IdeaPadY510P:~$ sudo apt-get install libclutter-gtk-1.0-0 libcogl15 libclutter-gst-2.0-0 gstreamer1.0-clutter libcogl-pango15 libcogl15 libglapi-mes:i386
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
E: Unable to locate package libglapi-mes
wellywu@IdeaPadY510P:~$ sudo apt-get install libclutter-gtk-1.0-0 libcogl15 libclutter-gst-2.0-0 gstreamer1.0-clutter libcogl-pango15 libcogl15 libglapi-mesa:i386
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
gstreamer1.0-clutter is already the newest version.
gstreamer1.0-clutter set to manually installed.
libclutter-gst-2.0-0 is already the newest version.
libclutter-gst-2.0-0 set to manually installed.
libcogl-pango15 is already the newest version.
libcogl-pango15 set to manually installed.
libcogl15 is already the newest version.
libcogl15 set to manually installed.
libclutter-gtk-1.0-0 is already the newest version.
libclutter-gtk-1.0-0 set to manually installed.
The following extra packages will be installed:
libegl1-mesa libegl1-mesa-drivers libgl1-mesa-dri libgl1-mesa-glx
libgl1-mesa-glx:i386 libglapi-mesa libgles2-mesa libllvm3.4 libopenvg1-mesa
libwayland-egl1-mesa xserver-xorg xserver-xorg-core xserver-xorg-input-evdev
Suggested packages:
libglide3 xfonts-100dpi xfonts-75dpi
The following packages will be REMOVED:
libegl1-mesa-drivers-lts-utopic libegl1-mesa-lts-utopic libgbm1-lts-utopic
libgl1-mesa-dri-lts-utopic libgl1-mesa-dri-lts-utopic:i386
libgl1-mesa-glx-lts-utopic libgl1-mesa-glx-lts-utopic:i386
libglapi-mesa-lts-utopic libglapi-mesa-lts-utopic:i386
libgles1-mesa-lts-utopic libgles2-mesa-lts-utopic libopenvg1-mesa-lts-utopic
libwayland-egl1-mesa-lts-utopic libxatracker2-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-core-lts-utopic xserver-xorg-input-all-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-input-evdev-lts-utopic xserver-xorg-input-mouse-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-input-synaptics-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-input-vmmouse-lts-utopic xserver-xorg-input-wacom-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-lts-utopic xserver-xorg-video-all-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-video-ati-lts-utopic xserver-xorg-video-cirrus-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-video-fbdev-lts-utopic xserver-xorg-video-intel-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-video-mach64-lts-utopic xserver-xorg-video-mga-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-video-modesetting-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-video-neomagic-lts-utopic xserver-xorg-video-nouveau-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-video-openchrome-lts-utopic xserver-xorg-video-r128-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-video-radeon-lts-utopic xserver-xorg-video-savage-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-video-sisusb-lts-utopic xserver-xorg-video-tdfx-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-video-trident-lts-utopic xserver-xorg-video-vesa-lts-utopic
xserver-xorg-video-vmware-lts-utopic
The following NEW packages will be installed:
libegl1-mesa libegl1-mesa-drivers libgl1-mesa-dri libgl1-mesa-glx
libgl1-mesa-glx:i386 libglapi-mesa libglapi-mesa:i386 libgles2-mesa
libllvm3.4 libopenvg1-mesa libwayland-egl1-mesa xserver-xorg
xserver-xorg-core xserver-xorg-input-evdev
0 upgraded, 14 newly installed, 42 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 14.7 MB of archives.
After this operation, 15.4 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] n
Abort.
wellywu@IdeaPadY510P:~$

[Welly Wu]

Upon closer investigation, it seems that Codeweavers needs to update their installation script for CrossOver for Ubuntu 64 bit GNU/Linux to make it compatible with Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS 64 bit GNU/Linux. The installation script points to deprecated software packages, libraries, and dependencies.

[Welly Wu]

I contacted the webmaster at Ubuntu Forums to explain my permanent disability and the steps that I have taken in the past few years to treat my diagnosis and the remarkable improvements that I have demonstrated. I directed the message to Elfy. Now, I have to wait for the webmaster and specifically Elfy to respond to my request. If I am denied, then I can accept it and move on, but I did request another chance to rejoin the Ubuntu Forums community after rehabilitating myself. We shall see. If given another chance, then I will demonstrate the same focus and determination to adhere to the terms of service and the Ubuntu code of conduct at all times. Wish me luck!

[Welly Wu]

Codeweavers responded to my support ticket and Mr. Balfour wrote that they will try to replicate these software package dependency issues on their QA system and get back to me when they have more information. So, they are investigating this issue for me. I'm going to wait. Hopefully, they will be able to fix these software dependency issues and perhaps they will teach me a solution or workaround or they will update their CrossOver software package to make it fully compatible with Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS 64 bit GNU/Linux.

I am still waiting for the moderating staff at Ubuntu Forums to make their decision regarding my request to re-enable my account. If they approve my request, then I plan to become more actively involved in Ubuntu Forums on a regular basis as well as here at Linux MInt. Again, I have learned my lesssons the hard way and I will re-read the terms of service and Ubuntu code of conduct carefully again and I will adhere to the rules.

I think that I will wait until April 2016 which will be my 39th birthday to get a second PC. By then, Intel's 6th generation Skylake Core i7 quad core with Hyper Threading CPUs will become available. Perhaps nVidia Corporation's 1000 series GPUs will become available as well. I'm also waiting for USB 3.1 Type C to become available for desktop and notebook PCs. I do want Intel's Thunderbolt and I want Display Port technologies for my second top of the line gaming notebook PC and only System76 sells their Bonobo Extreme notebook PC with such a configuration that comes with Intel Thunderbolt. It's an intriguing technology since I never had it and I also plan to get a Western Digital My Passport Pro 4.0 TB RAID 0/1 Thunderbolt portable external hard disk drive just for my new System76 Bonobo Extreme gaming notebook PC. It's blisteringly fast and it provides up to 4.0 TB of semi portable storage capacity, but it only works with Intel's Thunderbolt technology. It's pricey too, but I can afford it later in 2016 after I get my System76 Bonobo Extreme gaming notebook PC.

As for the System76 Wild Dog Performance desktop PC, it's too big. I measured the dimensions of both the mid tower desktop PC and the 27" monitor and I don't have enough desk space to accomodate it. I'm going to have to purchase a second top of the line gaming notebook PC in order to conserve on desk space. I only have one wooden desk and a small nightstand next to my bed where I plan to put my Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P. It has a Kensington desk anchor so I can lock my PC to the nightstand inside my locked bedroom within my locked apartment.

When I do purchase and receive safe delivery of my System76 Bonobo Extreme gaming notebook PC, I plan to re-install Ubuntu 16.04 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux and I will enable full-disk encryption without encrypting my home folder as well to prevent double encryption from occuring. I'll lock it to my wooden desk that has one Kensington desk anchor and one Targus desk anchor. I have three Kengsington laptop locks including two Click Safe Keyed Ultras and one MicroSaver DS Thin. I have the master keys to my apartment and bedroom. My parents have a backup copy of my master keys at their apartment.

Physical security trumps data security. I have a Schlage Camelot keyless door lock on my bedroom door. It requires both a key and one of two 6 digit PIN numbers to unlock the door and open it. When I close my bedroom door, it automatically locks the door closed.

I have a few tens of thousands of dollars worth of cash, jewelry, official US government documents, important documents, PCs, electronics, and other valuables in my bedroom. This is why I paid so much for multiple layers of physical security products. This is also why I decided to switch to Ubuntu 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux because it is the safest, most private, and secure general purpose desktop operating system compared to Microsoft Windows which is inherently insecure and Apple Macintosh OS X which I consider to be an expensive luxury and ecosystem. I don't plan to get a MacBook Pro with Retina display notebook PC. I can't afford the Mac app ecosystem over the long run.

Otherwise, almost everything is working properly regarding Ubuntu 14.04.2 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux. Once Codeweavers fixes CrossOver, I'm good to go. At least almost all of my CrossOver Microsoft Windows software applications installed correctly and they work correctly for now. I just need to finish installing the required software packages and dependencies completely and I'll be happy. CrossOver is critical software technology for me and I use it daily. I plan to keep my support entitlement active by renewing each year at a deeply discounted price forever. I also plan to keep Private Internet Access VPN, LastPass Premium, Spotify Premium, and CrashPlan+ subscriptions active and valid forever. I really like these companies and their products and services. I use them daily and I enjoy them very much. They are critical for me. They are also very affordable given I live on a fixed income monthly budget that is modest.

I don't plan to use Linux Mint again in the future. Cinnamon is a good desktop environment, but it's not as reliable as Ubuntu's Unity. I know this may sound controversial here in the Linux Mint forums, but that has been my case with frequent Cinnamon crashes. I don't have time to keep fixing the same problems after restarting my PC from time to time. Ubuntu Unity is a clean, modern, effective, and efficient desktop environment that is a model for convergence across different devices and form factors including desktop and notebook PCs, servers, smart HDTVs, smart phones, tablets, and other computing devices of the future. I find that I have fewer keystrokes and less mousing and clicking within Ubuntu's Unity compared to Cinnamon. One of the biggest gripes I had with Cinnamon 2.4 64 bit is that I can add application shortcuts, but they consumed more screen real estate on my taskbar combined with the fact that each open software application window took up its own screen real estate on the taskbar which lead to overcrowding. Microsoft Windows 7, 8.1, Apple Macintosh OS X, and Ubuntu Unity have an effective and efficient graphical user interface that allows application shortcuts to be added without consuming more screen real estate while managing open software application windows. Combined with multiple virtual desktops available in Ubuntu Unity desktop environment, this makes for incredibly effective window management capability given the fact that I don't have multiple monitors in my bedroom due to limited physical space on my wooden desk. This helps me to be more productive and efficient right now. I can't wait for Microsoft to release Windows 10 just to get access to multiple virtual desktops later this year when I can get the same feature in Ubuntu Unity right now. Cinnamon handles multiple virtual desktops and it's clean and modern, but frequent crashes and inefficient multiple window management combined with an ineffective usage of application shortcuts prevents me from using Cinnamon in the future. I have found that Ubuntu Unity can not be installed alongside Cinnamon or MATE without conflicts in software packages, libraries, and dependencies. I'd rather stick to Ubuntu's Unity and one desktop environment in order to learn how to master it and bend it to my will rather than installing multiple desktop environments and getting confused with different design paradigms and user interfaces. Ubuntu Unity is now my preferred desktop environment of choice with Cinnamon being a distant second runner up.

[Fred Barclay]

I have a few tens of thousands of dollars worth of cash, jewelry, official US government documents, important documents, PCs, electronics, and other valuables in my bedroom. This is why I paid so much for multiple layers of physical security products. This is also why I decided to switch to Ubuntu 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux because it is the safest, most private, and secure general purpose desktop operating system compared to Microsoft Windows which is inherently insecure and Apple Macintosh OS X which I consider to be an expensive luxury and ecosystem. I don't plan to get a MacBook Pro with Retina display notebook PC. I can't afford the Mac app ecosystem over the long run.

Amazing, isn't it--physical security costs so much, while OS security via Linux is free!

Sorry to hear about your troubles with Cinnamon. No problems or crashes here.

[Welly Wu]

My friend Vincent wants me to purchase The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing I & II: Complete Franchise Pack including all of the extra DLCs from Steam for him. I authorized his HP HPE-107E desktop PC to my Steam account so that I can share my PC game library with him. I will wait until the Steam Summer 2015 sale to get all of the PC games that are on my wishlist. I'm getting closer to having 500.00 Steam PC games on my list which is a moderate amount. I consider Steam libraries with 1,000.00+ PC games to be large. Someday, I'll get there.

I downloaded and installed a bunch of FLOSS software packages for Ubuntu including OpenShot, Scribus, Okular, Dia, GIMP, Handbrake, Miro, Dream Chess, Inkscape, Veracrypt, Encryptr, FileZilla, Codeblocks, Netbeans, etc. They all work.

Now, I sit, wait, and hope that I maintain my Ubuntu 14.04.2 64 bit GNU/Linux desktop operating system intact. I will wait until August 2015 for Ubuntu 14.04.3 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux to be released and I will wait one week thereafter to collect intelligence about how to install the new hardware enablement stack safely. It should work if I research carefully and I stay patient before committing to the upgrade. If it does work, then that will be good. In any case, I'll download the ISO file and use startup creator to make a USB 2.0 thumb drive that is bootable so that I can perform a clean installation just in case the upgrade process fails. As a last resort, I'll perform a clean installation from scratch.

We shall see.

My best friend Robert visited me at my apartment today. We chatted for 45 minutes in my living room. He sees me once per week. I gave him my System76 Lemur Ultra Thin (lemu4) notebook PC with Ubuntu 14.04.2 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux. I'm the one that persuaded him to switch from Microsoft Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium SP-1 to Ubuntu. He loves it a lot. It's helped him to save his money too. Now, he doesn't worry about viruses, spyware, root kits, or malware. He's pretty careful when he uses his PC especially when surfing the World Wide Web on the Internet. When I purchase my top of the line System76 Bonobo Extreme gaming notebook PC, I'll give him my Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P notebook PC and I'll reinstall the latest version of Ubuntu 16.04 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux on it for him. I have the original packaging materials. I'll also give him my Anker high precision USB 2.0 wired gaming mouse as a free bonus.

[Welly Wu]

I've been playing Dream Chess quite a bit lately. It's an older PC chess game that is FLOSS software and I use the stock dream chess engine. I also installed polyglot, crafty, stockfish, fairymax, fruit, glarung, and toga2 chess engines, but I am not ready to play chess even at easy difficulty setting. Dream Chess is a wonderful chess program and it's rekindled my interest in playing chess. My friend Robert installed it as well and I am going to research how to play with him over the Internet. I'm sure that he can beat my pants off quite easily. He's been playing chess casually for years. I find that playing chess is more interesting than playing Steam PC games because it's simpler and more intellectually challenging.

I may get Fritz 14 from Steam and install it using Codeweavers' CrossOver. It's kind of dicey right now because the Codeweavers C4 database doesn't list it so I'd be the first one to try it and if it works, then I can submit an application for review to be added to the C4 database. I'll have to research it carefully to see if other GNU/Linux users have installed and played it successfully using WINE or CrossOver. Fritz 14 is a premium PC chess game. I'll add it to my Steam wishlist soon.

For some reason, my Steam PC game library doesn't hold my interests any longer. I pretty much stopped playing PC games except for Dream Chess for quite some time now. The itch is scratched for now.

It looks like older Fritz 10 and below are highly compatible with WINE:

1. https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager. ... n&iId=1139

[Welly Wu]

Per System76's advice, I successfully added the X.Org Edgers PPA and I successfully upgraded to nVidia 340.76 64 bit graphics drivers for Ubuntu 14.04.2 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux. The X.Org Edgers PPA lists nvidia-346 and nvidia-settings available for Ubuntu 14.04.1 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux at this time; I will have to monitor this PPA carefully and wait until the maintainer makes nvidia-346 and nvidia-settings available for Ubuntu 14.04.2 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux in the near future. When that happens, I plan to launch the Additional Drivers within Software & Updates to upgrade to the latest nVidia 346.45 64 bit graphics drivers. This should include a raft of bug fixes and performance improvements for my DUAL nVidia Geforce GT 755M 4.0 GB GDDR5 video RAM GPUs. We shall see. I plan to test some Steam for Ubuntu 64 bit PC games tonight with the more up to date nVidia 340.76 64 bit graphics drivers to see if there are any improvements.

[Welly Wu]

I will need to do a ppa-purge to remove the X.Org Edgers PPA and its' software packages prior to updating to Ubuntu 14.04.3 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux in August 2015. I will have to revert back to the proprietary nVidia 331.113 graphics drivers. Then, I can update and upgrade to the new hardware enablement stack. Once that is done, I can re-add the X.Org Edgers PPA and upgrade to the latest nVidia graphics drivers again. I'll have to repeat this process when Ubuntu 14.04.4 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux is released in February 2016. I'll have to repeat it again when Ubuntu 16.04 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux is released in April 2016.

Be sure to read the release notes for either Ubuntu or Linux Mint prior to doing and upgrade. There are important pieces of information that need to be read and understood before proceeding with an upgrade. Failure to read the manual may result in a broken Ubuntu or Linux Mint desktop operating system.

So far, knock on wood. Everything is working just fine right now.

[Welly Wu]

Linux Voice issue four is now available via CC BY-SA: http://www.linuxvoice.com/download-linux-voice-issue-4/

[Welly Wu]

I removed the X.Org Edgers PPA successfully. I figured it would not be worth the time and effort to add and remove it when it comes time to update or upgrade Ubuntu to a newer version in the future. I'm using the proprietary nVidia 331.113 64 bit graphics drivers again. Simplifying my software makes my Ubuntu desktop operating system more reliable and stable. This is a good thing.

[Welly Wu]

CrashPlan sucks. I stopped using it and I cancelled my monthly subscription. The problem with it is that it keeps backing up my data to the root partition when I choose to select a folder which is one of my external hard disk drives as a destination. Consequently, my root partition gets filled up with the same data. So, I decided to use Deja Dup again. I'm backing up to my WD My Cloud NAS drive right now and it works. I am going to stop using CrashPlan permanently. I've had enough of it.

I am keeping my Spotify Premium monthly subscription active though. It does work. I listen to music not every day, but I do like to listen to classical music using Spotify Premium. There's nothing like relaxing to music and drinking black coffee especially Java Love. It's refreshing during my reitrement years.

Getting rid of the X.Org Edgers PPA was a good decision. I don't need to mess up my current Ubuntu installation. It's a known good configuration.

Now, I have to wait for Elfy to decide to let me back into the Ubuntu Forums or not.

I also have to wait for Mr. Balfour to let me know when Codeweavers is going to fix CrossOver.

I should get my Linux Mint stickers for my Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P notebook PC this Monday. It finally arrived from Milan, Italy in New Jersey. I've been waiting the better part of one month to get them. I ordered them from Unix Stickers website. I may get some more Ubuntu stickers from the same website in a few more weeks, but this time I'll pay more money for faster shipping. We shall see.

I'm still saving up for a second more modern and powerful Ubuntu GNU/Linux certified gaming notebook PC. I don't like 17.3" notebook PCs because they're heavier and bulkier. I prefer 15.6" gaming notebook PCs. It's a good trade off of size, portability, and power. System76 told me they may release a high end 15.6" Ubuntu GNU/Linux certified gaming notebook PC during the holidary season this year. We shall see. If they do and the features and price are right, then I may make my purchase. Then again, I may wait until Canonical releases Ubuntu 16.04 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux in April 2016 to make my purchase. I plan to keep my Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P as a backup Ubuntu GNU/Linux gaming notebook PC just in case one of my two notebook PCs gives up the ghost. It's always nice to have a backup PC for sudden and unexpected emergencies.

Next month, I will renew my Private Internet Access VPN annual subscription. I use their service daily. It encrypts my network traffic and it gives me anonymity and privacy. It's also affordably priced with advanced cryptographic features and capabilities. I'm waiting for the official stable PIA VPN GNU/Linux desktop software application to be released. When it does get released, I plan to follow the instructions carefully and install it and use it daily. The PIA VPN beta desktop client works well, but not with 700 permissions or ecryptfs encrypted home folders or partitions. They're working out the kinks in their software, but they can only do so much. Their company is pretty small with limited resources.

[Welly Wu]

I'm doing a little experiment for this week. I've decided to combine TOR and VPN together. I use Vidalia to connect to TOR and Privoxy first and foremost. Then, I connect to Private Internet Access VPN second. In the Network Proxy section, I configured it to use the SOCKS proxy so that Ubuntu connects to TOR and Privoxy using Vidalia. I reconfigured Mozilla Firefox to use the SOCKS proxy as well. After I connect to TOR, I make a second connection to my VPN. This helps to encrypt the exit node with my VPN. It's a bit complicated, but it does work. Performance is quite a bit slower because I'm using multiple layers of encryption and proxies, but it's acceptable for me. Now, my real IP address is completely hidden. I'm getting anonymity, privacy, and security combined at the cost of performance. There are some websites that won't load properly, but they are relatively few and far between.

[Welly Wu]

1. http://www.unixstickers.com/stickers/li ... d-pins-kit

My shipment is coming today for my Linux Mint kit. I should get it later this afternoon via US Postal Service. When I get it, I'll shut down my Ubuntu and clean the surfaces of my Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P notebook PC and put the stickers on my PC. Then, I'll boot up and enjoy. I may order some more stickers or kits in the future. This should be fun.

[Fred Barclay]

Can you post a picture?
Might have to buy some myself someday...

[Welly Wu]

I don't own a digital camera and my LG dumb phone won't connect to Ubuntu to allow me to transfer pictures to my PC. I placed another online order at UNIX stickers for these items:

Tor project rounded logo shaped sticker tor-rounded-6 1 2.69$ 2.69$
Bitcoin shaped sticker bitcoin-shaped-6 1 2.69$ 2.69$
Linux inside logo shaped sticker linuxInside-shaped-6 1 2.69$ 2.69$
Copyleft shaped sticker copyleft-shaped 1 2.69$ 2.69$
GNU project shaped sticker gnu-shaped-6 1 2.69$ 2.69$
Android Os shaped sticker android-shaped-6 1 2.69$ 2.69$
Sub-Total: 16.14$

These are in US Dollars. I should get them by the end of this week because I paid a premium for UPS global express delivery.

[Welly Wu]

1. http://www.pcbsd.org/

PC-BSD is a free, libre, open source desktop and server operating system based upon FreeBSD. It is designed for ease of usage and it is one of the most user friendly in the BSD UNIX ecosystem. I decided to download the PC-BSD 10.x AMD64 ISO torrent. I plan to install it using VM Ware Workstation 11.1.0 64 bit. I have not used BSD desktop operating systems extensively in the past as my main focus has been to stick with GNU/Linux distributions, but I thought to give PC-BSD 10.x AMD64 a fair chance by trying it out for this week. It should be an interesting learning project and it should be fun. I don't plan to install it bare metal on my Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P notebook PC in the near future. This is just for experimentation and learning purposes. I do plan to stick with it for a bit of time to refresh my memory with using BSD and to gain more knowledge about it until I am very comfortable with it. It may be possible that I switch to PC-BSD AMD64 in the long term distant future, but this will take a good deal of time along with trial by error before I can even contemplate such a decision. I am looking forward to it. In general, BSD UNIX desktop operating systems have come a long way and they tend to be safer, more private, and more secure by default compared to GNU/Linux distributions. Both BSD UNIX and GNU/Linux desktop operating systems tend to work better on fairly modern to legacy PC hardware components like my Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P notebook PC which was released back in June 2013. I will let you know how it goes with future updates.

[Welly Wu]

I wanted to describe my headphone system in detail. Mind you, this is a personal observation based solely upon a headphone system and it does not pertain to high fidelity audio in general. In a word, I would describe it as sounding natural to my ears. The most immediate impression is that the music sounds tonally well balanced with rich harmonics and immense resolution with pinpoint micro dynamic detail retrieval. A large contributor to that sonic signature is the source material itself. I find that switching from spinning discs be it Compact Disc, Super Audio CD, or DVD-Audio to audio files especially on solid state disks has lifted a fine mesh over the music. The immediate direct connection to the source material or the music is striking in its more natural, dynamic, and effortless reproduction of the artist's original intentions for his or her sonic artwork. This becomes especially apparent when playing high resolution 24 or 32 bit PCM FLAC lossless audio files or DSD 64/128/256 audio files. I'd say the differences between high bit rate and sampling frequencies between PCM and DSD are akin to heads or tails on a coin. PCM sounds livelier with greater energy and emphasis on macro dynamics with a wider dynamic range and it reproduces the master tape more accurately and completely. DSD sounds more like the master record with smoother dynamics and outstanding micro dynamic detail retrieval that sounds more realistic and natural. On the whole, my headphone system sounds more like live music being played. The bass is taut with just the right amount of attack, bloom, and decay in the bass without sounding too forward or recessed. Bass textures and notes are well congealed without losing pitch accuracy. The mid range is the heart of the music and here it sounds natural with effortless pace, rhythm, and timing. Here, vocalists shine if they are performing at their peak with an authentic sound that comes across as unadulterated. Trumpets sound like trumpets. Piano sounds like a piano. Guitars have a natural acoustic or electrical twang. The mid range sounds full bodied with rich tonal colours and harmonics delivered in an effortless manner that sounds natural and full of vibrancy. The treble is airy with an openness and seemingly unlimited space with which to reach the top most octaves without sounding shrill or peaky. The sound stage is deeply layered with a holographic three dimensional width and depth. My Sennheiser HD-800 headphones really do sound like full range floor standing loudspeakers in this sense that it captures the majesty of the music with an out of the head sound stage. They are extremely accurate and precise in terms of sound reproduction and they are truly faithful to the original mastering quality of each song and album that I listen to.

I've learned that simplifying my headphone system by carefully researching and purchasing top of the line electronics that compliment each other produces the most satisfying listening experience currently possible with today's available technologies. Minimalism is best in headphone systems and careful system matching is key in any high fidelity audio system and this fact is particularly true for headphones, headphone amplifiers, DACs, and cables. It's a true joy to listen to my music without having to worry about the front of the house electronics now that I stopped purchasing new audio components. I can concentrate my time toward building up my private music library carefully knowing that my headphone system is up to snuff.

[Welly Wu]

PC-BSD 10.1.1.0 AMD64 shares some similarities and several key differences from GNU/Linux. Some of the same software applications are available to both of them like Mozilla Firefox, Thunderbird, Evolution, Pidgin, etc. Some are mutually exclusive like Novell AppArmor and Warden jails. Overall, I can see why GNU/Linux is more popular: the community is much more vocally active in promoting it worldwide and it enjoys faster support for some cutting edge technnologies. Most of the big GNU/Linux distributions already support UEFI and Secure Boot (with the exception of Linux Mint for the latter technology) while FreeBSD and PC-BSD do not offer built in support for both technologies at this current time although work is being done to fix that problem. Another key differentiator is the support for modern 802.11 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 cards; GNU/Linux supports most of the Intel and some of the Atheros or Qualcomm wireless NICs while FreeBSD and PC-BSD has good support, but it does not offer full compatibility with the latest NICs right out of the box. Both offer good support for AMD and nVidia graphics cards, but both don't offer full support for dual graphics switching or CrossFire and SLi for mobile platforms yet compared to Microsoft Windows or Apple Macintosh OS X. In terms of software, I have to give the advantage to BSD. BSD is conceived as a complete desktop operating system with the source code, software packages, and dependencies built together as a complete whole. PC-BSD offers PBI or push button installation and removal of software applications. This greatly reduces the likelihood of holding broken software packages and dependencies. Furthermore, it offers the ports tree which allows BSD users to easily add and remove software applications including all of their software dependencies piecemeal or for mass installation or removal of a set of software applications. GNU/Linux is a worldwide community phenomenon whereby mostly volunteers and a few large corporations are behind it working 24/7/365 to build a great desktop and mobile operating system. Software code is written in source code which gets compiled into binary blobs and software packages and dependencies are uploaded to software projects by maintainers and committers all of the time. Unfortunately, some software dependencies are missing which leads to broken software packages. BSD is different in that there is a more coherent and focused effort to create, build, modify, share, and maintain complete software packages and dependencies together as a whole desktop operating system. Building from source code is largely unnecessary since most of the interesting software applications are available in the ports tree or through the App Cafe in PC-BSD via PBI. BSD is much more modular and it is more flexible in terms of turning on or off specific features quite easily via compiling from source code or through careful configuration of the ports tree package management system to install software applications, packages, and dependencies. In my experience, BSD is easier to learn how to use compared to GNU/Linux because it is more natural and intuitive, but GNU/Linux is a more popular competing desktop and mobile operating system. Canonical is pushing their convergence theme quite hard with Ubuntu and they are building one operating system that can span across different devices and form factors be it desktops, laptops, smart HDTVs, smart phones, and tablets while mostly remaining true to their principles of open source software philosophy. BSD is a terrific desktop operating system and it has evolved to a point where end users don't need to be frustrated by quirks associated with GNU/Linux in order to get right down to work or play. It gets out of the user's way and it empowers them with numerous choices without encumbering them with highly technical decisions (at least that is my impression of PC-BSD thus far). BSD just makes more sense to me as a die hard GNU/Linux user. The choices that it makes and the manner in which it functions are simple yet elegant.

On another topic, I've finally decided that I will get a 2015 or 2016 Apple MacBook Pro 15" with Retina Display with a nVidia Geforce GTX GPU notebook PC during the holiday season. I need access to tier one closed source, proprietary, and commercial software applications that just work right out of the box and I'll save more money by getting this specific laptop compared to the pricier GNU/Linux certified notebook PCs that I was considering in the past. I also don't want to lug around a heavy, bulky, yet extremely powerful notebook PC any longer. My Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P weighs 6.4 pounds and it is 1.40" thick and the 170 watt power brick looks like a brick and it weighs 2.5 pounds and I only get up to two hours and ten minutes of useful battery life. This is not acceptable or competitive in 2015 or beyond for my personal needs. I do not mind paying top dollar for PC hardware components, high fidelity audio components, or software applications over time. I am pragmatic and I will choose the best option currently available and I believe that the Apple MacBook Pro 15" with Retina Display with a nVidia Geforce GTX GPU is the best choice for my large personal budget and usage case scenario. Apple Macintosh OS X is beautiful, clean, features rich, and it has advanced unique capabilities. It is safe and somewhat secure and my top secret data will be protected to a certain degree if I practice due diligence and good operational security habits. Really, the desktop operating system is becoming less important nowadays as most of my core functions only require an up to date modern web browser and reliable high speed Internet connection that employs strong public ciphers. I've never owned an Apple product in my lifetime yet and I want to change that hopefully by the end of this year or next year. Macs make a lot of sense to me and I don't care what anyone else thinks of them good or bad; I'm getting my own Apple MacBook Pro 15" with Retina Display with a nVidia Geforce GTX GPU high end notebook PC model as soon as possible. I'll keep my Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P and the latest current version of Ubuntu 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux, but this will become my secondary notebook PC and it will stay in my bedroom in my apartment locked and secure at almost all times.