Updated Progress: Ubuntu 9.10

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Jesse Zylstra

So far, so good.
I have been keeping top of the bleeding edge nightly updates for the BETA operating system. Ubuntu 9.10 is really undergoing quite a bit of active development.
I have noticed stability increase quite a bit, though Telepathy is still not working, and I have been unable to play my one video game, The Sims 3 under PlayOnLinux.
I’ll be reinstalling it and trying again by the end of this next week.
We’ll keep you posted.

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Ubuntu 9.10: Stable?

Posted on October 11, 2009 by Jesse Zylstra

Okay, I got Ubuntu 9.10 working, and have started restoring my lost files.
After re-arranging my drive architecture 3 times and slowly moving files over, it’s all in place (for the most part).

The Verdict:

It’s kind of stable. I would definitely not run it on a production machine, or your grandma’s new computer yet. I do think it’s safe to test out and have a little fun with. For the most part, it’s the same as it was before. I do get quite a few program crashes, but it hasn’t stopped me from being able to work.

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Pandora Alternatives

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Jesse Zylstra

Pandora has recently (probably a month ago or so) started doing video advertisements.

If you are a frequent Pandora user, you know that quite a while ago they started doing audio ads — that wasn’t so bad. The video ads have a real problem though: Not only are they long, often loud, and annoying, but if you select the wrong station the station buttons disappear until the ad is over and you must wait an excessive period of time.

I found a good alternative though:

Last.fm

You do not have to register to try Last.fm, which is great if you just want to try it out and see how it works.

Chances are, you have run into Last.fm at some point in time, specifically while Googling music. Here are the features:

Integrated with RhythmBox (in Ubuntu Linux),
No audio OR video ads (just site ads around the player, they don’t get in the way)
You can use without creating an account (I tried it out for a few days before I decided to go ahead and register)
If you do register, it’s pretty much like Pandora allowing you to create stations based on songs or artists.

Con:
While listening to my Frank Sinatra radio, I have gotten a lot of Christmas music (but, Frank did cover a lot of Christmas music)

So, give it a try. Last.fm (as in, www.last.fm .. no .com needed)

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Ubuntu 9.10 Progress…

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Jesse Zylstra

Okay, the progress:
The upgrade of 9.10 from 9.04 failed completely. I don’t know who to blame it on yet, however it is not an issue that an average home user would be able to easily fix themselves…
Anyways, I am going to attempt again to do an upgrade from a fresh install of 9.04. I have to wait for my drive architecture to be re-arranged (which will take a while).

Overall, I should have stopped trying to install after the upgrade was unable to continue. I was able to do a partial upgrade, however. What caused my system to become unstable was when I forced packages to install through my terminal… it didn’t go so well.

Remember: You can subscribe to us for more updates as we move along.

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We're Going to be Testing Ubuntu 9.10

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Jesse Zylstra

We are going to be testing Ubuntu 9.10 (on “the” laptop, not the server yet…), and we plan on making this a progressive update.

Once we actually are able to get the download going, and once we get things running and test out the new features, we will tell you ASAP if we consider it stable on our hardware. Basic hardware specifications:

1.73GHz CoreDuo (32 bit)
2GB of RAM
120GB HDD
nVidia GeForce GO 7300 Graphics Card
Manufacturer: Dell
Model: Inspiron e1505

Special testing software:
Email connected to Gmail, the new messenger program using GoogleChat, MSN/Live, and Yahoo Messengers.
Also, The Sims 3 PC Game on Ubuntu 9.10 under PlayOnLinux and WINE.

Main focus at this time: Getting it installed and finding out if it’s “stable”.

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Basic Ways to Prevent Your Computer / Server From Being Hacked

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Jesse Zylstra

When it comes to computer hackers, there are a few very basic ways to prevent your home computer or your server from being hacked.

  1. Use a secure password
    1. Any password should be at least 8 characters long.
    2. No password should ever be on OR contain a dictionary word
    3. You should never use keyboard sequences (eg: qwerty, qazwsx, 987654321, 123) in any part of your password
    4. Never, no matter what, never ever share your password
    5. Change your password frequently (monthly is recommended by many, however I think every 4-6 months is fine)
    6. Never use passwords with just numbers. A  computer will start with the number 1, and add up to quickly figure out number passwords
  2. Use Anti-virus and Anti-spyware
    1. Keep anti-virus and anti-spyware updated
      1. Subscription expired? No worries. Just get a free anti-malware program. I recommend Avast for Anti-virus first and foremost, and AVG second. AVG has fairly good anti-spyware protection built in. Microsoft Windows Defender is basic, but fine spyware protection.
  3. Use a good firewall
    1. Both software and hardware firewalls are great to have.
      1. If you are on a high-speed Internet connection, make sure you have a good router with port filtering
      2. Make sure the password on your router is also just as secure as your computer’s password
    2. Windows XP and up have good built-in firewalls. You don’t need any other “special” firewall software.
  4. Never leave unnecessary ports open, and never run un-used services.
    1. Close any un-used ports at a firewall and software level
    2. If you have a service, such as FTP on your server, and you do not use it at all (and you don’t plan to use it any time soon), disable it. Find other things such as this to get rid of as well.

Amazingly, things that you can do to protect your home computer are also the same things you can do to protect your server… and vice/verse.

For even more information about computer security, check out this website:
http://www.staysafeonline.org/

Basic firewall ports scan:
http://www.auditmypc.com/firewall-test.asp

Edited Last: December 1, 2009 at 11:24AM
Reason: Fixed URL Issues on a few links
http://www.staysafeonline.org/
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Accordion Fingering Chart (bass)

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Jesse Zylstra

If this is what you were looking for, please comment below and let us know!

I finally found an accordion fingering chart. See it here:
http://www.accordionlinks.com/play.html (Under; “The Bass”> “Layout”)

I also found this on that same page:

“If your accordion has more bass buttons, 80, 96 or 120, then see Hans Palm’s Stradella basses layout page; the extra columns are simply copies of columns that are there already: e.g. the next column on the right would be the C sharp column. But that is simply D flat under a different name. (an 80 bass accordion does not have the diminished row)”
From “Accordion Links — How To Play”
http://www.accordionlinks.com/play.html

Please visit their website, it looks like it has many useful resources.
I am not associated with the linked content in any way

Additional: Wikipedia.org has a nice layout chart that is quite easy to read as well, visit it here (click the image to enlarge).

A 120-button Stradella bass layout chart. Rast...

Click to Enlarge (Image via Wikipedia)

November 2009: This page becomes most popular, most requested page on ZylstraBlog.

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Updates to copyright / citation policy

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Jesse Zylstra

I updated my copyright/citation policy.
I consider copyright a very serious matter, even on such as small blog as mine. See the policy in detail here:
http://zylstrablog.co.nr/wordpress/?page_id=150
This also includes information on how to take excerpts from my website.

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Uncommon Instrument

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Jesse Zylstra

I ran across a relatively uncommon instrument, called the “Thumb Piano”.
It’s actually called a Mbira, but we’ll call it a thumb piano since it’s just easier to remember that way.

Its a small portable essentially acoustic instrument, requires no tuning (its a fixed-tune instrument).

This is one example of the instrument, it is a bit more traditional looking, and the prongs are made of wood. (Image belongs to public domain, original: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/87/Mbira1.png/180px-Mbira1.png)

This second example is actually a home made one, by Makezine.
The prongs on this instrument in specific are metal, the sound probably resonates and is louder on this instrument. The hole in the middle of this particular kind can be covered to alter the sound.

Image from Makezine, you can learn how to make one at the Makezine website.

Also hear this recording of a basic Mbira/Thumb Piano

And a recording of an Array Mbira (more advanced, more octaves, better sound. Great for a jazz environment)

I do not own copyright to the images or videos included on this page.

You may not copy this article (or any other articles) without proper citation.
My citation requirements:
You must link back to the actual post (not just the blog)
You must include my copyright (C) 2009 Jesse Zylstra
You may not copy more than one paragraph of information from this article in particular.

I only include copyright notices on articles that I have spent more time researching. Copyright and citation requirements apply to all of my articles, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

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