Compiz Fusion for fun and profit

Yo!  I just got done spending several hours playing with Compiz Fusion.  Wow.  I mean, WOW!  I was looking for something to show off my GeForce 8400 GS card in Linux, and, man, did I find it.  I have played with Compiz before - while I was running video off of my integrated intel i810 on my mobo.  No joy.  But on this nvidia, it is a beast.

You can get sucked into the tweakability so easy.  I honestly fiddled with sliders and plugins for several hours.  I finally settled for the pentagonal "cube", and pretty much default everything else.  Makes it speedy, yet still impressive.

There are lots of addons - a screensaver called atlantis that can be incorporated into the volume made by the desktops sounds the coolest.  Maybe my next project.

My dual boot box

Here's some info about my box.  I got it used, about nine months ago, for $160.  It is a Dell Dimension 3000, 2.8 MHz Pentium IV, with 1.25 GB RAM, and a PNY Verto NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS PCI video card.  It has a 40 GB Western Digital and a 13 GB Maxtor, and a DVD-ROM and a DVD+RW optical drive.  The mobo doesn't have a AGP or a PCIexpress.  For the little I paid, I've already gotten my money's worth.  I dual boot Windows XP and Mandriva (2008.1 as of today!).  I've booted Puppy 4.0 Dingo, and had everything work, as well as some other live distros, like DSL, Mandriva One, et cetera.

I installed the NVIDIA drivers using the install script from their web site.  I had to install binutils, gcc, linux -devel and something else to get the installer to complete okay.  I've had pretty good luck with NVIDIA video cards and linux, and will probably stick with them.

Initial entry

This is my blog for GNU/Linux.  I've been using it for a long time, off and on.  I've been advocating it, not fanatically, but when the opportunity comes to advocate it.  Usually, when I'm helping someone with their computer problems (almost always Windows machines, since almost all "average" users use what their machine came with) I'll mention the option of GNU/Linux.  Those interested, I'll assist in learning more about it, and will offer them a live distro cd.  I'll mention the option of dual booting, and emphasize that it is no cost, and suggest they glance at the GPL.  I'll also mention the ubiqutity of GNU/Linux - DVRs, satellite and cable boxes, mp3 players, mobile phones, GPSs - many use GPLed software.

Anyway, this is more a repository for me and my linux notes, but if you got here by a websearch, I hope the information helps.