The Best Linux Distribution 2013: Netbooks and Old Hardware

Welcome to 2013!
It's a new year and this means that your netbooks and old towers are another year older. The eternal struggle to maintain you hardware's relevance has crept on into another long year of recession. Someday you will have bags of money to buy something new, but for now you need to find a way to get that slow old laptop to feel a bit more springy.

Not all Linux distributions are created equal. There are so many options to choose from and so many acronyms that it can be hard to get a straight answer on what the hell you should download!

The first big thing you need to ask yourself:
"Does the computer I want to use have modern 3d graphics hardware?" 
(aka a nice graphics/video card)

If you do not have a graphics card in your computer, as is the case with many low end and older netbooks, then you need to stay away from distributions which use Gnome 3 or Unity. Unity 2d was an option in previous releases of Ubunut, but has been dropped from current releases. You have heard that there are other lightweight distributions, but don't know much about them or you haven't found any that are actually lightweight enough.

Well this year looks a lot like last year's lineup with one exception! A new minimal debian based distribution has stolen my heart and is being recommended as the first choice for linux fans who do not want to build and compile their own Arch distribution.

Read on to see the new year's recommendations!

UCSD Protected WiFi & Linux

So this one is just for the immensely frustrated UCSD students who cannot get their linux laptop connected to the university's protected network.

This is a really simple fix...

Pithos - The best Pandora client in Linux!

I was thrilled to find this great little app! Seriously, I cannot applaud it enough!

Photo borrowed from Kevin Mehall's Pithos site

For many years I used the Radio Tray app in linux to listen to internet radio without having to keep a resource heavy browser window open on my little netbook. The radio tray app was great, but I have always wanted a way to listen to pandora from my tray as a native application.

Simply put, Pithos is the solution to a problem you probably didn't know existed. Sort of like, you might not have known you needed antibiotics before Alexander Flemming discovered penicillin, but now you realize that it is very freaking essential!

So why am I still talking right?
GIVE ME INSTRUCTIONS DAMMIT!

Fixing your Computer - How to format your slow computer and install Windows [Sendables]

Formatting your computer and installing a fresh operating system is a must have skill for the 21st century.

There are only three basic steps to formatting your computer:

1. Backup your files and write down the software you will want to re-install.
2. Format+Re-install OS
3. Restore your files and programs.

This job will take 2 or 3 hours to finish...

Humble Bundle VI is here!

The geek favorite, Humble Indie Bundle, has just released a new pack of games! After collecting an assortment of indie style games from across the web, the Humble Bundle sells the entire collection to you, the fans, on a give what you can basis.

This means that you can pay whatever you like for the entire collection of games!

The Best Linux Distribution 2012: Netbooks and Old Hardware

As always this is a hugely popular debate topic, but I am writing this post to help linux beginners pick a distribution that is right for them.

Not all linux distributions are created equal. There are so many options to choose from and so many acronyms that it can be hard to get a straight answer on what the hell you should download!

The first big thing you need to ask yourself:
"Does the computer I want to use have modern 3d graphics hardware?" 
(aka a nice graphics/video card)

If you do not have a graphics card in your computer, as is the case with many low end and older netbooks, then you need to stay away from distributions which use Gnome 3 or Unity. While Unity 2d runs fine (that's fine, not quick and smooth) on most netbooks, it will not be included in the 12.10 release of Ubuntu this October.

Becoming a Media Pirate God...

Anyone who reads this type of blog is probably completely aware of how to download TV, Movies, and Music for free using bittorrent or usenet. But, just in case you were recently hit on the head and developed retrograde amnesia, here is a fairly thorough guide to becoming the target of an RIAA/MPAA lawsuit!

Start up your Incognito modes... enable your peer blockers... fire up your VPN's... we are jumping right in!

Home Servers & NAS devices: an overview

(QNAP TS-410 ~$299)

You might be considering building a NAS or a Home Server, but you are unsure what is right for you. It is important to first ask yourself exactly what you plan to do with your new toy.

Getting Started With Linux 2012

So you've finally decided to take a look at getting started with a whole new operating system!

Congratulations!

Whether you choose to proceed or not, running a linux based OS is one of the tenants of classic geekdome. It immediately grants you 1,000 geek points (completely made up) and causes others to think of you as a Wargames style computer nerd who can hack in and give the hot girl at school an "A" on the test she just failed... then she will totally take you for a ride on her sweet moped!