I’ve embarked on a new quest to write a story. This one is going to be extremely unique, however. I’ve decided to do it by using a blog. The blog will be “kept” by the so-called vampire that the story is about. The posts will be about this vampire’s daily activities, his past, his observations, etc. You can find the blog/story here: http://wechselfaelle.wordpress.com

I’ve only just begun the project and I have no idea what to expect from it, but hopefully it will turn out decent. I’ve never done anything like this before and I’ve never actually seen it down before either. We’ll see how it turns out though.

Again, the website is here: http://wechselfaelle.wordpress.com

Well, I can’t say I’m actually all that excited about the new theme, but it’s better than anything with idiotic flowers on it. Going through the themes offered by WordPress really tells me just how much I really really liked “Neat!” until they ruined it with flowers (see: Ruined “Neat!” Theme).

I’m flat out angry about that. If I had an e-mail address or something for the creator, I would send them a nice e-mail about it.

RIP Neat!.

[digg=http://www.digg.com/design/Ruined_Neat_Theme]Whoever makes the theme called “Neat!” on WordPress, which I have used for this blog for so long, has just ruined it entirely. They have added really stupid looking flowers to the sidebar (see below).

I think I’m going to change themes now because of it. I figure a mostly tech blog doesn’t need flowers to adorn it. Somehow that just doesn’t seem to fit…

It’s really too bad because I really like the “Neat!” theme. I just can’t stand the stupid looking flowers. They had to ruin it by adding something so simple and so stupid.

RIP Neat!.

[digg=http://digg.com/linux_unix/Thinking_of_Linux_Pt_2]First of all, I would like to thank everyone who gave me feedback and suggestions on my last post concerning moving to Linux.

Since then, I’ve done quite a bit of research and looking around at various manufacturers, prices, configurations and options available out there. After quite a bit of research, I think I’ve come to the same conclusion that most people seem to come to: I’ll partition the hard drive and install Linux on one partition and Windows on the other. I really don’t want Windows Vista as that’s nothing but bloatware, so I will probably install Windows XP Pro. That seems like the best option as then I can run Reason as well as other various programs that might not have a Linux equivalent.

The other option I was considering was using Wine, but I’m a little weary about using something like that though. I will probably try it as well as partitioning my hard drive, but I don’t really want to just have to rely on it. If you’ve used it before, let me know. I would like to know how well it actually runs applications that demand quite a bit of a computer’s resources (such as Reason).

I think the only thing that remains now is to find a manufacturer and the best bang for my buck.

[digg=http://digg.com/software/Review_AOL_Mac_Beta_2]After years of neglect, AOL has finally decided to update its client software for Mac OS X. The last version of their software released for the Mac was so woefully out of date, that they decided it would be best to rewrite it from the ground up. Just to feed my curiosity, I decided to download it and play with it for a while and I found that I was actually pleasantly surprised. After signing in with my AIM screen name and password, the first thing I noticed was the use of a flat neutral gray main toolbar and the use of Apple’s white “unified” look in the toolbars in each of the different windows. Although going out of date with Apple’s release of Leopard, the unified look is common in programs such as Mail 2 (Tiger’s version; not Leopard’s) and several third-party applications. The icons on the toolbars are all updated as well and look far more professional and clean than the old ones. The updated look is a great improvement over the old blue pinstripped toolbar with the jelly toy-like icons of the last version.

(Above: AOL’s old client software)

(Above: AOL’s new client software)

The next thing I noticed was that the familiar “Welcome” screen is missing. It was replaced by a regular browser window directed to AOL’s homepage. As mentioned above, the browser itself sports the white “unified” look and includes some major enhancements over AOL’s last browser. Under the hood, it is now powered by the same engine that powers Apple’s Safari which is a major improvement over the outdated Gecko engine the old version was using. Another obvious improvement is AOL now comes with support for tabbed browsing. That means you can have multiple windows, which is typical AOL, and you can also tabs. The actual layout of the browser is familiar to anyone that uses Safari or Firefox with your standard browser buttons, address bar and search bar. Clicking on the small heart icon below the back button will open your favorites. Unfortunately, this appears to be the only way to access your favorites, as AOL has removed favorites from the menu bar.

(Above: AOL’s browser now has multiple tabs and a sidebar for favorites)

Aside from the missing “Welcome” screen, the rest is fairly familiar to those who have used AOL’s other software. The Buddy List list is still in tact, although seemingly not functional at the moment. It also sports the new white “unified” look and the chat windows themselves also now have tabs so you can have one window open with multiple conversations going at the same time.

(Above: Chat windows now have tabs, but the Buddy List does not appear to be working yet)

As I continued using the program, I was unfortunately constantly reminded that this program is still in a BETA version. There were several important things that just didn’t work and also several bugs that I ran into. When I tried to add a favorite, it only told me that it had an error communicating with the AOL’s server and the buddy list just flat out doesn’t work — just to name a few. Unless you really like BETA software and are willing to deal with the bugs, I wouldn’t rush out to download the new version of AOL just quite yet. It looks really promising, but I would wait until AOL has released a more stable version to adopt it as your primary web browser.

If you would like the take the BETA version for a spin, you can find it as a free download on AOL’s website here: http://beta.aol.com/projects.php?project=desktop_mac.

[digg=http://digg.com/linux_unix/Thinking_of_Linux]I haven’t always been a big Mac fan. As I think it is with most people, I used to use a Windows PC, but unlike most people, I quickly realized how much I wanted out of the world of Windows. Even as early as high school, I began to look for alternatives to the Microsoft horror that is Windows. The obvious conclusion I came to as a completely broke high school student was Linux.

At the time, I was running a Gateway PC with a 433mhz Intel Celeron processor. I don’t remember any of the other specs at the moment, but I do remember that it had a sticker on the front saying that it was specifically designed to run Microsoft Windows 98, which dates it quite a bit. I had already upgraded from Windows 98 which the computer had come with to Windows 2000 and despite the noticeability in improvement, I still wasn’t satisfied with my computer’s reliability and performance.

Of course, I had heard of the Mac and had even used them in school. I was extremely interested in trying a Mac (at the time that would have been the classic Mac OS 9), but considering I had absolutely no money and the computer I was using was already a hand-me-down, I had to find another solution. Searching through the internet, I learned about this great operating system called Linux. I looked through several distributions and had no idea what I was looking at or what any of the terminology meant. I made my final distribution decision purely out of aesthetic reasons. My decision was Red Hat Linux 7.

Of course, I also had no idea how to download it and install it. The term “ISO” meant absolutely nothing to me, much less knowing what to do with it once it was finally downloaded. I decided instead that I would go get a Red Hat Linux 7 book that would explain everything. At the bookstore, I chose Red Hat Linux 7 for Dummies because it came with installation CDs of the operating system. I made the purchase because it not only explained how to use Linux, but also rid any need of downloading ISO’s and then trying to figure out what to do with them.

After coming home from the bookstore, I quickly backed up any files on my Windows PC that I considered important, then I wiped the hard drive and installed Linux. By then I had had enough experience formatting and (re)installing Windows, that I was comfortable with that part of the procedure. After successfully installing Linux and running it for the first time, I was brought to the terminal. I was also fairly comfortable with terminals because I had used a lot of MS-DOS machines. Given, I didn’t really know any Linux/Unix commands, but that’s where that handy book came into play. After playing around in the terminal for a while, I decided to give the GUI’s a try. In the installation, I had been given the option to either install GNOME or KDE or both. Not even having the slightest clue as to which one was better, I installed both. This might seem extremely redundant to any casual Linux user, but I was new. I first chose to run GNOME. Of course, I played around with GNOME for about an hour and then I tried KDE. After playing with both and going back and forth for a few days, I decided that I liked GNOME better. The only reason was because I thought it looked better. (But then again, what is a GUI if it doesn’t look good?)

With my handy book, I used Linux for quite a while and loved every minute of it. I used the Mozilla suite for my internet needs and I used the GIMP for my photo and image editing needs. Most of my basic computing needs were taken care of with freeware that either came with Linux itself or that I downloaded and installed. The problem that I ran into, however, was the other software that I needed, but wasn’t available for Linux. At the time, OpenOffice.org really didn’t exist, so there was really no comparable software suite for Linux to Microsoft’s Office. There was something called StarOffice that I tried to use, but it never really did do quite what I wanted. I also made (and still make) a lot of music and there wasn’t (and still isn’t) an equivalent to Propellerhead’s Reason software which I use to make a good portion of my music.

In the end, I decided to go back to Windows. Fortunately, it was only temporary because not too long after I moved back to Windows, I was able to buy my first Mac. I bought an Apple iBook with a 700 mhz G3 processor. It came with OS X 10.1 installed. In 2005, I upgraded to a PowerBook G4. Considering that was almost 3 years ago (which is a very long time in technological terms) and this laptop has traveled faithfully with me to several different countries, it’s about time to buy another computer.

When I say this, I’m not saying that I don’t like Apple anymore, but they aren’t the company they were when I bought my first Mac and the change hasn’t exactly been for the better in my opinion. The success of the iPod has brought about a certain prude air to them that I’m not really a fan of. So, naturally, I’m looking for alternatives while still avoiding Windows. This obviously brings Linux back into the picture. I have done quite a bit of research into Linux distributions and this time I know (for the most part) what I’m looking for and what all of the terminology means. The Linux distribution that I decided on was Ubuntu Linux. It fits pretty much all of my needs and also looks good.

There is still a problem, however. Compared to when I first tried Linux, the amount software available for Linux users and the popularity of the operating system itself have increased tremendously. One of my two major problems before has been solved with OpenOffice.org (which I have used on Windows PCs when I am forced to use one for some reason or another). The other problem, a Linux equivalent or replacement for Propellerhead’s Reason, is still not solved. This software is crucial to me and my music career. If you know of an equivalent or something, please let me know.

That should just leave one problem, but actually there is a new need involved that wasn’t a factor last time I tried Linux. Since I am a college student and I travel all of the time, I really need a laptop. As far as I know, and correct me if I’m wrong (please!), the only way to get a laptop is through a major distributor which also involves purchasing an OEM license for whatever the preinstalled operating system is (be it Windows or Mac OS depending on who you buy the hardware from). I don’t know of any laptop makers that sell laptops without a preinstalled operating system or with a Linux distribution as an option for the operating system.

As I said before, if you know of an equivalent or a replacement for Propellerhead’s Reason (click on the name for more details on what it is), PLEASE tell me. I would love to use Linux, but that is the primary reason I am holding back. If you also know of a place where you can buy a new laptop without an operating system or with Linux preinstalled, please let me know. You can send me an e-mail at seifertalex [at] gmail [dot] com or just leave a comment here. Thanks!

[digg=http://digg.com/apple/Impersonal_Corporations]It amazes me at just how heartless some corporations can be sometimes. What I mean by that can be easily demonstrated in the now famous case of Apple sending a cease and desist letter to a nine year old girl. If you are unfamiliar with this, let me explain quickly. A nine year old girl sent a letter to Apple explaining some of her ideas of how they could improve the iPod Nano. Plain and simple. A couple of months later, the girl received a reply letter from Apple’s legal department telling her that they do not accept unsolicited ideas for their products and that she should not send anymore letters to Apple.

I understand that is a standard procedure and everything, but in order for them to have known what the contents of the letter the girl sent were, they would have had to open it and read at least part of it. Since it was a handwritten letter, immediately they should have seen by the handwriting that this was a letter sent by a little kid who only wanted to share some ideas with the company. Now, I wouldn’t expect Apple to send back a letter specifically written for her, but frankly no letter would have been better than a cease and desist letter.

The impersonality and indifference of large corporations is often times quite irritating to me. I’m not even sure if good for people to be handled in such a robotic way. I understand the need for the impersonality with large corporations because they have to deal with so many people on a regular basis, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

If we go back 100-150 years, we see the beginning of large corporations, but at that time, the average person didn’t deal with them most of the time. If we go back 200 years, we find that large corporations as we know them today simply didn’t exist. If people wanted something, there was either a local store or manufacturer they could get it from or they made it on their own.

What do you think? What’s your opinion on large corporations?