Linux jobs

Well, since I have been in the market for computer jobs for six months to a year. This blog is pretty simple. I have a lot of knowledge in general about computer systems with a good amount of emphasis in the networking side of it. After completing this class I definitely have a better understanding of how Linux based software works and understand how to get around. As far as jobs that are currently available there are not many that only require basic Linux knowledge most employers want several years of experience and more than just some basic Linux experience. Some jobs that are available like Best Buy require Linux knowledge because that is the software that they use to troubleshoot with. Other companies that use Linux/ Unix software that I am aware of are some bank companies, mainly in their networking department, but there are no current available positions at this time, at least not in the Reno area. What I have realized is that the economy sucks and all though there may not be any available jobs at this time, hopefully in a year or two there will be. So until that times comes I will continue gaining as much knowledge as I can in all aspects of technology, so I will have a better chance of getting a job in the future.

The Linuz Mascot

So we have all seen the logo, mascot, for linux. Have you ever wondered where the ideal came from. I assumed it came from the creator of Linux but I don't know why he would like it. So after doing some research I found out that sure enough the idea did come from him. There is no definite reason why but there are a lot of assumptions. My theory is that the penguin is a fat and happy animal that has no cares in the world and just does his own thing no matter what is going on around him. He doesn't care what people think of him and doesn't give in to the norm. Linux is similar, it was built to just work with out all the hassle. If you wanted to do something with it, you made the change you wanted to it and made it work for you. It wasn't built to make a huge amount of money or to force you to think a certain way. So I think the penguin should is a perfect mascot

Net Neutrality

The basics are as follows, Com cast wants to have the option to do what ever they want when it comes to internet service and how they control it. The FCC however feels that they have the right and responsibility to regulate how that is done. The FCC wants to have neutrality when it comes to broadband use, allowing everyone to have the same access with out being slowed or blocked all together. Com Cast reasoning why they have to do this is because if they don't take certain steps to control there network, it will affect their network in a whole. One prime example of what is really going on is the fact they slow access, or maybe even block access to file sharing sites that interfere with there business, such as movie sharing websites. Now I agree that they have no right to block or slow connections down to charge more money for those faster speeds. I don't necessarily agree that the FCC should regulate it either. I am not a fan of government controlling the internet because then they will try to control the content that is out there. My personal opinion is that everyone should have access to the same internet at the same speed no matter where you are or who your provider is. So I guess I am on board for Net Neutrality as long as they keep it that simple and it doesn't cost me or any other taxpayers anymore money.

Why I wouldn't buy an Ipad, yet

Although the Ipad is very cool after reading this article, http://blogs.computerworld.com/15871/the_ipads_linux_competition, I would not buy an Ipad. The biggest thing this article talks about is that Apple is trying to create a lock door policy towards developers and their Ipad applications. It looked as though in the beginning that there wasn't going to be much competition for the new product and would just have to deal with Apples policy's and try to find a work around. But after all the buzz about the Ipad, the competition changed their mind and it looks like they will be more developer friendly and cheaper to boot. The biggest down fall is of course waiting for this to happen.
However if you are a person that loves new gadgets and have to have the newest technology immediately after it comes out, then regardless of the price or possibly limitations you will buy one and I am sure that Apple will broaden their policies to aide in selling there product once the competitors products are out. But as for myself I will wait and see what the future holds.

SCO vs Novell

On September 19, 1995, the Santa Cruz Operations (SCO) and Novell agreed on an Asset Purchase Agreement (APA) Several years later SCO stated that they owned Unix and wanted to start charging licensing fees. Novell claimed they never sold the copyrights to SCO, therefore SCO has no right to say they own Unix and have no right to charge licensing fees. SCO was standing there ground saying that they had documentation to support these facts. Novell continued to run business as usual, and started copyrighting the Unix product. Shortly thereafter SCO filed a slander of title. After a lot of battles in court and many years Novell ultimately won a judgment of two point five million dollars. The total process took about seven years. (References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCO_v._Novell)

Google looner x prize

The object of this project is to get a working data transmitting rover to the moon. The average team is made up of multimillion dollar companies with a lot of resources. Then there is FredNet that wants to win this project but has no real backers and needs a lot of money and is depending on people from all over the world to pull this off by donating there time, and money. It sounds interesting but with out real employees, only volunteers and no real money backers it probably won't happen. You may get a lot of good suggestions and some cool designs but when it comes time to build and launch the device, I don't see anyone donating the kind of money they will need. The commercial launch is 6 - 10 million dollars by itself, let alone everything else. Personally I think it is a waste of time and money.

How Linux kernels are numbered.

Linux kernel version numbers are in my opinion a little weird and hard to keep up with, I would almost say they are changed as frequently as Windows has updates. When the first version came out it was version 0.01 and then ver 0.02 which made since but it changed often. Sometime in 1994 they changed the way it would be done. The first number would only change when there is a major design change in the concept, the second number changes when their is a major revision to the current concept, and the third number is when their are minor changes to the current concept and the fourth is for correction or patches. Simple right, well not really. Sometimes they add letters to the very end of the version, which indicate other information like the name of who wrote the revision. All in all I would say that their is a new version every month if not every week. A perfect example is that version 2.6.32.9 was release on 2-23-10 and version 2.6.33 was release on 2-24-10 only one day difference, why not just wait one day and release 2.6.33 and forget about the other release. (Info taken from http://www.kernel.org/)

Cathedral vs Bazaar

The cathedral vs the bazaar is a comparison of two different ways to go at designing, building and testing of the source code for a program. On one side, the cathedrals theory, is to allow everybody to have full access to the source code after each release, but restricting access to the new source code being developed between updates. The bazaar on the other hand feels that by allowing full access to the source code during development and after the release allows for a better product and allows any issues with the program to be found, and fixed quickly. The way I think of it, is if you have ten to fifteen really good programmers working on a project, it will probably be a really good design but may have a lot of weaknesses because they only have their past experiences to work on. But if you take the whole world of programmers, developers, and hackers, chances are you will have a stronger and all around better program, because of the wealth of knowledge going into the source code. I would go with the bazaar design personally just because it makes more sense, it's important to this class because with out the comparison of these methods Linux, and a lot of other programs, wouldn't be what they are today.

Chapter 8 Review Questions

1. Regarding Konqueror the file manager:
a. What is Konqueror? Konqueror is a file manager that organizes all of your files on your system into a easily readable Graphical User Interface (GUI). Some of the basic functions consist of viewing properties of files, coping or moving files into other directories, and deleting files. One of the cool features of Konqueror is instant updating, if a directory that is being viewed by another user changes the change will show up immediately with out the need of a refresh.

b. List four things that you can do with Konqueror. view text files and videos, browse the web, watch presentations, and manage files and directories. You can also access other systems by remote.

c. How do you use Konqueror to search for a file? By clicking on the search icon located in the tool bar you can search for files on your local or remote hard drives

2. What is a terminal emulator? A terminal emulator is a window that opens up with in the desktop so you can access the command line. What does it allow you to do from a GUI that you would not be able to do without one? Access the command line while using other resources in the GUI such as a web browser or a document using a program such as word or excel.

3. What is a klipper? How do you use it to cut and paste text? Klipper is a cut and paste utility, known by most as a clipboard. To copy text to klipper highlight the item and press CTRL-ALT-V or press the klipper icon. To paste you have to display the klipper utility and click on the line you want, then move where you want the text and use the middle button on your mouse.

4. What is Nautilus? Nautilus is a simple file manager that you can use to open, move, or delete files.

a. List two ways that you can open a file using Nautilus. By double clicking or by right clicking and moving over the "open with" text.

b. How does Nautilus "know" which program to use to open different types of files? It uses several techniques to determine the MIME type, typically files with the same extension in the file name.

c. What are three commonly used Nautilus control bars? What kinds of tools do you find on each? The menu bar, toolbar, and location bar. Menu bar consist of drop downs with various functions File, Edit, View, Go, Bookmarks, and Help. Toolbar consist of navigation icons, such as back, forward, stop, and reload. Location bar shows you the path of file that is highlighted in the view pane. It also hold the magnification selector and the View as a drop-down list.

d. Discuss the use of the Nautilus location bar? It can be used to show pathname of the directory that is displayed in the view pane. You can also specify a local directory that you want displayed in the view pane.

The above questions were taken from the book "A Practical Guide to Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux" by Mark G. Sobell, on page 277.

7 Things you don't need to know about me.

1. I recently got married.
2. I spend my summers on the water, at least when I am not working.
3. I ride a 100 miles on a bicycle in one day, at least once a year.
4. I served my country in the United States Marine Corps.
5. I use to be in construction until the bottom fell out of the housing market, but it pushed me to go back to school and get my degree in networking so it's not all bad.
6. I am a transplant to Nevada, originally from Illinois.
7. I am very passionate about the second amendment, and I have been known to lose track of time when I get into a discussion about it.