Update

WOW! It's been a well over a year since I last posted on my blog. I'd like think it's because I've been busy, but it's mostly a combination of being busy, being lazy, and not finishing what I started.

Well, based on a suggestion from my former CTO, it would be good for my career to get back into blogging. However, I'll be changing what I'll be posting. Instead of concentrating about my life and personal stuff, I'll be blogging more about technology and programming problems in hopes of helping out other people who have run into the same problem and are looking for a solution. That's not to say I won't be blogging about my life completely, I'll just be blogging about the cool and interesting events.

Alot has happened in the past year-and-a-half, so here's a quick run down:

• Got a new job at Integrated Services, Inc. in October 2006 to take on a more senior role and work on some cool technologies like Eclipse RCP and SWT.
• Went on a bunch of hiking and camping trips (be sure to check out my gallery).
• Went on a Summer vacation to Guam after seven long years. Had some of the best times of my life while visiting some relatives and old childhood friends.
  
• Got a new job at ARRIS as a Software Application Engineer in April 2008. I felt like I've done and learned as much as I can at ISI. "If you find yourself the best person in the band, it's time to find a new band." - Pat Metheny

That's where I stand right now, starting the new job and getting ready for the Summer. Oh, I forgot to mention, I was able to partially tear my MCL while skiing this pass Winter. My knee still hurts and it will be another couple weeks until I'll be able to start doing anything intensive. During my recovery, I'll have alot more time on my hand, so be sure to check back for updates to my blog!

Snow Storm

The past week saw cold spells in the NW causing temperatures to drop at or below freezing. Where I live and work in the Beaverton/Tigard area, temperatures got as low as the teens (Fahrenheit) at night; the day didn't get much warmer. The one good thing about the cold spell was that it was pretty sunny during the day with very little wind.

That all changed today. Around 5:00 AM, the Portland-metro area woke up to a blanket of white snow. It snowed pretty heavily for most of the day and afternoon - some places saw around 3-5" of snow. It was the most snow I saw in the metro area since I moved here 6 years ago.

The roads were pretty bad, so I decided to skip work and stay home (I doubt my Z would have made it through all that snow). For the better part of the day, ODOT even required all vehicles to be equipped with chains or traction tires. All schools in Washington Co. were closed, along with other schools in the surrounding area. There were countless fender-benders across the area, many road closures, abandoned automobiles, and minor injuries caused by this snow storm. The worst part of all this will be when the snow starts to melt in the next day, but then refreeze at night, causing dangerous black ice.

You can take a look at the pictures I took around my apartment in my album.

OpenSUSE 10.2 Overview - Part 1

The following is a summary of my experience with the latest versions of OpenSUSE, 10.2, which was released on December 7, 2006. I'm splitting my "review" into two parts - this first part focuses on the installation and initial startup and usability. Then, sometime in the future after I've actually spent some time using the new OS, I plan on writing a follow-up of my experience.

MEDIUMS

Users have two options of obtaining OpenSUSE 10.2 - via download or purchasing the boxed retail version for $59.95.

The download version comes in five CDs or one DVD. In addition to the installation discs, there are two optional discs available, one for language addons and the other for non-OSS software.

The retail version is identical to the download but with a nice user manual, 90 days of installation support, and security patches and bug fixes for up to 2 years. For less than $59.95, this is a great deal and alternative to other more expensive OSes.

For this installation and overview, Iĺl be using the download version.

SETUP

The following computer was used as my test system:

• MSI MS-6712
  
• Athlon XP 2000+
• GeForce 2 MX400
• 512 MB PC 2100 DDR
  

INSTALLATION

Like previous versions of SuSE/openSUSE, installation was a breeze. It started off with the license agreement and then medium verification to ensure the ISOs you downloaded arent't corrupted. Then, YAST2 (Yet Another Setup Tool) gave the option to specify any add-on products, such as non-OSS software and additional language packs. You then move onto timezone selection and finally the desktop selection before the actual installation begins.

In the desktop selection, you have the option of selecting Gnome, KDE, or Other (text mode or minimal GUI). Although you can only select a default desktop at this screen, you are able to add other desktop environment when adding software packages. Something new in KDE is Kickoff, a new usability and productivity-centric KDE Menu designed by openSUSE.

Just before installation begins, YAST2 will present to a default selection of software to install and a proposed harddrive partition - both of which can be modified to your liking. One thing different in 10.2 is that the default partition type, which was previously resierFS, is now ext3. I'm not sure why they decided to go this route, but since it's the default, I left it as is. I made a few software package additions and went on with the installation.

After about 45 minutes of installing the packages, YAST2 went on to the basic configuration of the system - root password, hostname and network setup, etc. - nothing really special here. One thing I did like, though, was the ability to disable IPv6 right there in the network configuration - now you no longer have to dig deep into configuration files to disable it. After adding users, you're given the option to configure your hardware - again, nothing really special here.

After all the configuration, the system will load into the login screen.


INITIAL USE

I logged in using KDE, which was at version 3.5.5 "release 45". The newest feature I noticed was SuSE's Kickoff menu in place of the default KDE "start/application" menu.

The Kickoff menu is pretty intuitive and setup in a nice logical way. The menu is basically divided into five tabs, each with applications or sub categories that best fits the main tab category. The way the sub-menus work is Mac OS-like, meaning clicking on a sub-category will move the menu to the right to another menu, or back. Although it's an obvious rip from Mac OS X, I like it.

Something I noticed right away with OpenSUSE, as with pretty much all other Linux distros, is the ugly default fonts especially when browsing the Internet. Even with anti-aliasing enabled, fonts looked rough and jagged. The reason is because of the lack of good font support for Linux.

To solve this problem, I had to install the Microsoft True Type core font via YAST2 and its Online Update feature. In order to do that, though, I had to configure the installation source and online update to point to a mirror since, by default, no mirror is selected, which I thought was weird. After agreeing to the license and installing the MS fonts, I had to log out of KDE and log back in to notice the changes - the new fonts looked MUCH better.

The other changes to KDE are not really SuSE-specific, ergo, I won´t go over the new features since there are many reviews already on the Internet.

Something I won´t be able to test is Compiz because of my crappy video card. If I upgrade to a compatible video card, I´ll be sure to get back with my impressions of Compiz.

SUMMARY

The download and installation of the OS was a breeze, I didn´t have any problems whatsoever. My initial login and use of KDE was nice, I really like the KickOff menu, and overall speed seemed pretty good.

That concludes my initial installation and overview of OpenSUSE 10.2. In the next parts of my review, Iĺl briefly go over the new Gnome features in OpenSUSE, YAST2, and other new features I encounter in the next few weeks. So be sure to check back soon!

It's Been a While...

Wow! So much has happened since my last post on Labor Day! I've been so busy that I haven't had much time to update my blog, I did manage to post new pictures in my album, though.

Like I mentioned before, a lot has happened in the past few months - a new job, new apartment, new friends, and of course, lots of partying! I'll be filling in the details of what has happened in the next few days.

I have lots of stuff planned in the upcoming weeks including a redesigned site for PuguaSoft.com, continuation of existing projects, and the creation new projects. It'll be real hectic, especially with the holidays coming up, but that's the way I live!

Be sure to check back soon.

Labor Day Week

Wow, and what a week it was!

It all started on Sunday, the 3rd, where I met up with an old college friend visiting from D.C. We then headed to Vancouver, WA. to celebreate Labor Day - Guam Fiesta style! It was held at a farm where people from all over the state (both Washington and Oregon) came together, brought in their favorite Island dish, socialzied, and of course, danced the cha-cha! It was great, the people were great, and the food was AWSOME! I haven't eaten such good Island food in years - I was stuffed!

After the Guam Fiesta, we headed East to the Columbia Gorge where we watched the sunset - it was beautiful site (and the company was great too =).

We headed back after sunset and met with another friend to play cosmic bowling. It was my first time going cosmic bowling - it was different, but really nothing special. We had a lot of fun, though, and that's what counts. It has been a while since I last bowled, but I think I did pretty well - I'm still working on my spinning/curving bowl. The other ladies did pretty good too.

Later that night, we met up with my other friends to karaoke! We all had a great time, but we didn't stay too long, because we had to wake up early for the next day's adventure.

For Labor Day, we went on a day hike at Silver Falls, located East of Salem. The falls were nice, but it wasn't as runny as it was during Spring (you can see it in my other pics from the last time I went to Silver Falls). What made the trip special, though, was the company - I had such a wonderful time there with some of my closest friends.

You can check out the pictures in my album.