Snow Leopards are cold and scary

I got Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard today. $35. Was it worth it? I'll find out soon enough.

Arch Linux 2009.08 Review - Part 1 of 2

Here is part 1 of my Arch Linux 2009.08 review. First, a bit of background info on Arch Linux. Arch Linux is a rolling release that tries to keep things simple following the KISS approach. Rolling Release means that the packages are brought up to date as long as you run an update from the package manager. This means that you can install Arch once and never need to install a new version. The only difference in each new install media is a newer snapshot of the "core" repository, and some changes within the installer itself. For example, Arch Linux 2009.02 added support to format a partition with the Ext4 filesystem, while 2009.08 replaced the old framework from the installer with a newer version called AIF (Arch Installation Framework). This is in contrast with Ubuntu in that Ubuntu has a new version every 6 months and only provides updates for bug fixes within each version. Arch has what the developers call "The Arch Way" which follows the KISS approach. Now, in this case, Arch isn't "simple" as in easy to use, but in cleanliness. For example, the larger of the 2 installation media types (Core and NetInstall) is about 350MB. It only contains what is necessary to get a usable system running in a CLI (Command Line Environment) and to get a working internet connection. Any changes to the operating system are done by the user. If the user wants to have a minimal CLI environment only running the Apache Web Server, the MySQL database, and an FTP server, they can set it up to do that. If one wants to install the KDE4 desktop and use a mix of web browsers such as Konqueror, Midori, Firefox, and Opera, they can do that as well. The choice is completely up to the user.

Whoa! Something is different around here.

"The Linux Action Show" (Linux AC-shonn showw) is now called "The Computer Action Show" (COM-puter AC-shonn showw).

It's no longer just about Linux, but about general computing topics. During the current episode, Bryan and Chris talked about Jolicloud, which is an Ubuntu-based cloud OS. It's supposed to seamlessly integrate with the desktop as well as include their own social networking service. It's meant for netbooks, which is why cloud computing can make it run really FAST!

Next episode though (in 2 weeks), they're having a topic which I think many more people would be interested in. Turning a PC into a Hackintosh!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHH!!!!

The CRTC just agreed to allow Bell's request for Usage Based Billing. What this means is that rather than the somewhat high cap (or unlimited) that small ISPs in Quebec or Ontario offer (and pay bandwidth providers for), they'll now be stuck with a 60GB cap and have to pay Bell $1.15/GB for excessive usage. Also, even though there's a maximum overage fee of $22.50, they'll keep collecting $0.75/GB after 300GB. Keep in mind that these charges are in addition to the bandwidth costs that these ISPs are already paying for. My ISP TekSavvy Solutions Inc. is not a Bell reseller, but a wholesaler. They have their own gear, but Bell's equipment gets it to the customers' residence. Now that the UBB will be in effect (in 90 days), TekSavvy is essentially a Bell Internet reseller.

I'm having trouble formulating my thoughts right now. I'm kind of... I'm REALLY pissed off.

Links:
Article from DSLReports.com . Canadian Regulators Send Another Love Letter To Bell Canada - Allows telco to double dip wholesale competitors... - dslreports.com

Angry people are congregating here. From Rocky: OUTRAGEOUS CRTC Descision - dslreports.com

Article from the CBC. Bell to charge small ISPs by usage

This is getting REALLY annoying...

Surprisingly, I'd say Bell Internet is actually more reliable than the internet at my school. It hardly ever works.
Internet that doesn't work within an IT program. Crazy, eh?

Arch Linux 2009.08

The Arch Linux 2009.08 installer is now available to download, so... that's what I'm doing now. Downloading the i686 and x86_64 versions of both the core and netinstall isos. 4 in total. I'm going to be seeding them (the webseeds will cause a bit of trouble with that because their upload bandwidth is a tad higher than 60KB/s which is what I usually seed at when I'm not throttled (which just started when my last file was at 99% downloaded). I downloaded the 2009.08-RC1 installer a few days ago and there were some nice changes to the installer since 2008.06 which was the last one that I used. I skipped out on 2009.02 . I'll provide screenshots along with my experiences of installing Arch in Virtualbox.

It has begun!

I am now lame as I now have a blog. It'll mostly be about Linux, Mac, and Windows, but I'll also probably post about how much I hate the Canadian oligopolies/monopolies/conglomerates.