Kiowa Linux and Free Comics!

My cartooning friend and colleague, Polly Keener, sent me a few photos from the Free Comic Book Day event we attended this past May 5th.

Although it was a rather gray and rainy day, the weather didn't get in the way of lots of comics fans turning out. Not only did Polly and I draw a lot of cartoons and sign many a cartoon reprint, I had the opportunity to talk about Kiowa Linux.

I brought along my Kiowa Linux Laptop and set it up to display a slide show of all my cartoons (and Polly's). I used DigiKam to create the slide show. It's a terrific photo management program and worked equally well when I imported all my cartoons.

I have to tell ya, folks were really impressed with Kiowa Linux! When the Operating system was in action, the first thing they asked was, "What is this? Is it Windows? " Their own question cast doubt about it being Windows because they could see that Kiowa was doing things a bit differently from Windows. It looked cleaner. It looked cool. They also noticed that there was a greater stability, a familiar interface, ease of use, and lot less strain on system resources. Applications booted quickly! When I showed all the features of multiple desktops, free software (OpenOffice, Gimp, etc.), full customization, and other goodies, many commented that they wanted to toss their Windows system and get Linux ASAP!

In the above photo, I'm demonstrating The Gimp and how I use it to help create my cartoon features. (The laptop's display in these photos looks darker than it actually is. A photographic problem with lighting in the room) The Gimp is really a terrific application. I met a lot of parents who wanted to know what sort of graphics application they should buy for their son or daughter. These kids usually attend these events with their sketchpad to show me the cartoons they've created. They want to take the next step and get their cartoons into the computer so they can work on them digitally. That's when I pulled the laptop front and center to show them Gimp. Gimp comes with every Linux distro and does everything PhotoShop does and the cost is...FREE! The simple solution is to grab that old Windows box that no longer works due to virus infection, download Linux, and do a complete install. You wipe out Windows and you gain Linux security, Gimp and other terrific apps. And for the family on a budgt, this is a perfect solution. You can also buy a system pre-installed with Linux. Either way, you get cutting edge technology to do everything that Windows and Mac do. but the price is much more agreeable.

Get Linux and get creative.

'Ol Blue Eyes and Gimp

I've always been a huge Frank Sinatra fan! I've got too many Sinatra CDs to count and my Cell Phone's MP3 area is loaded with Sinatra hits like "The Coffee Song", "I Love Paris", "Saturday Night is the Loneliest Night of the Week" and many others. Heck, my cell phone's ring tone is "Can I Steal a Little Love."

So, during the entire month of May, Turner Classic Movies is saluting the man and his music. This is why I've embedded the widget above. It'll give you some great vocal performances by Sinatra and allow me to segue into a Linux subject for this post.(By the way, check out the duet with Bing Crosby from The film High Society.)

A couple of weeks ago, a sales rep came into the office and remarked that his wife was taking a continuing education class on digital photo editing. The class was working in PhotoShop and he asked me to recommend a comparable program. I immediately downloaded The Gimp, burned it to disk and handed it to him to give to wife. She was delighted! Not only can she edit all the instructor's PhotoShop files, but the tools, look and feel are quite similar.

I explained that Gimp comes standard with just about every Linux distribution.

Well, the current assignment the class appears to be working on is adding color to a black and white photo.

The Sales Rep's wife has been having a bit of a problem understanding some of the concepts, so I colored in a file to show how Gimp handles this task.

I downloaded a B&W Sinatra photo from Amazon.com.

Basically, all you're doing is creating new transparent layers on top of the original layer. You add color to specific areas of these new layers and then simply toggle the layer's atributes to create an overlay that blends into the orignal B&W photo.

By playing with the attributes setting and adjusting the opacity of the layer, you can create a realistic color photo effect as I've done with the Sinatra photo.

You can even copy layers, change the color on those layers, and try out different looks.

Gimp is easy to use, incredibly powerful and FREE! It comes free with Linux and it's free to download for your Windows or mac sytem.

But why stop at just getting Gimp? Get Linux and experience some of the most powerful and wonderful software available today!

The Lost Leonardo

Last night, 60 Minutes had a terrific story about a lost DaVinci painting and the art detective who is very close to finding it.

Using 21st century computers and other digital tools, the mystery may very well be solved this year.

I can only wonder if Linux is a part of this project.

Enjoy this 60 minutes story by Morely Safer.

Kiowa goes KDE!

If you follow this blog, you know that I'm a huge fan of Kiowa Linux. Kiowa is going through various stages of development. The last release was a Gnome desktop environment that really booted fast and featured LinDVD and other goodies.

Matt now tells OneClickLinux that, "Due to popular requests we are bringing back Kiowa Kde edition featuring Kde 3 as well as the Kde4 Edition...a Kde edition Beta coming soon!"

So now, you have your choice. Either Kiowa Linux with the Gnome desktop or the KDE desktop!

And since its KDE 3, the menus are cutting edge. I've attached a couple of snapshots of things to come. (Click on the images to see a larger view) Note the really nice design of KDE's launch menu. It's quite easy to navigate with a neat little routine to help find your most used/favorite apps. I run an earlier beta of Kiowa KDE on my laptop and am really excited to have this KDE upgrade. As soon as download links for Kiowa KDE are available, we'll provide them here. Stay tuned to get Linux.

More from Mike

My nephew Mike, an Ubuntu Linux user, has a rather unique auction on Ebay.

Hopefully, he'll make a lotta mula...and then be able to buy his 'ol uncle Mark a new Linux system.:);)

(EDIT - The auction is over. There was very little interest resulting in no sale...Oh, well. No matter. Linux is still free and anyone can obtain it.)

A Quick Break From Linux Talk

Last night, I saw one of the funniest bits on Saturday Night Live. It was "The Walken Family Reunion." It featured guest host Christopher Walken attending his family reunion where all family members walked, talked and acted like Christopher Walken. VERY funny. enjoy!

The Newest Ubuntu

I haven't posted on this site for some time due to a couple of new projects I've been working on. One involves Linux and the other is a new cartoon feature I've created called, I Knew That. I'll talk more about these down the road.

In the meantime, I wanted to pass along a video my nephew Michael sent to me. Mike is a Computer Science major at bowling Green State University. he recent;y decided to set his Windows Vista desktop aside and give Linux anothr look. he chose Ubuntu's Beta release 8.04, aka Hardy Heron.

Mike said that set up and installation was easy. He found instructions online on how to install Ubuntu next to Vista. He emailed me, "Since this was the first time dual booting with Vista, I went online for some help and followed the guidelines for shrinking my Vista partition here:
http://apcmag.com/5046/how_to_dual_boot_vista_with_linux_vista_installed_first"

After Mike got Ubuntu installed, he then used its Add/Remove software installer and installed Compiz Config, the 3D desktop. Mike then added plug-ins like 3D Windows and his desktop really came alive. You'll also note that in the video, Mike is running a game called Full Tilt Poker. This is a Windows program that he's running in Linux using Wine.

It's all easy to do and the folks on the Ubuntu forums will help you achieve the same result with your computer.

Enjoy the video. Then, get Linux.

The Big Snowfall!

Northeast Ohio got pounded with a huge snowstorm this past weekend. Everything closed down and I was holed up inside for the duration. When the snowfall had subsided, I was finally able to get outside and dig out. With my trusty Nokia phone, I snapped a photo of the piles of snow alongside the road and captured some video of my dogs romping around in it (video is at the end of this post).

Luckily, I had power and was able to log on to Kiowa Linux Beta 3 and surf the internet for weather updates and just use this great operating system. And Kiowa really performed well! Despite the fact that this is a beta release, it's incredibly stable! I talked with Kiowa's founder Matt several times during the weekend and he alerted me whenever a new package came online in Kiowa's repo. Pidgin Messenger works wonderfully well! XMMS is simply great! But the big attraction for me is how terrific Kiowa's version of Wine is!

If you've never used Wine, or are unfamiliar with it, Wine acts as a translator of sorts so you can install a needed Windows application. The absolutely great thing about Kiowa's Wine is how it works invisibly in the background. Just pop in your disk, find the Windows .exe file needed to install, double click, and Wine takes over. The software installs just as if it were on a Windows system!

Now, I'll caution you that not all applications are going to work. You'll have to check the Wine application database to see which applications work and which are still being worked on. But PhotoShop 7 installed in a snap! As did the compression utility Expander and Dropstuff (for when my Mac friends send me a stuffit file).

I've used a few versions of Wine and have found that Kiowa's version of Wine is by far the easiest to use. Get Linux, get Kiowa and get Wine. Then say goodbye to Windows.

Linux For Mom.

As many readers of this blog know, I absolutely LOVE Linux. Mainly because it really is so easy to use and the price simply cannot be beat. And, of course, the Linux community is just an email or forum post away if you need help.
But you probably ask yourself if Linux really is that easy and if others in your family would be able to make the switch. The answer is YES! And there are so many resources on the web to help you and your family make the switch.

For instance, the folks over at VirtualHosting.com have a wonderful article titled: How to: Create a Linux Box for Your Mom (50+ Resources).

The article gives links to popular Linux Distributions, software, and How to Guides. In no time, you'll be armed with valuable information which can help you set up a Linux box for mom or any family member. It's worth the visit and the read.

You can also search my blog for other ideas in getting a Linux box set up.

Above all, get Linux, get involved with the Linux community (an example would be the Kiowa Linux forums ore.the Freespire Linux forums), and move away from Windows and it's viruses and spyware.

My thanks to Amy S. Quinn of VirtualHosting.com for emailing me about their article.

A better Sound Mixer

I'm continuing to explore Kiowa Linux Beta 3 and am delighted by all the neat features the GNOME desktop offers. In the above screen shot, you can see Kiowa's sound mixer application (GNOME Alsa mixer) . Now, compare this sound mixer with the ones you've used in Windows XP. You can clearly see that Linux is head and shoulders above Windows. Every aspect of sound control can be tailored and tweaked to your heart's content. You can control each and evey nuance of the sound eminting from your PC's speakers. need more 3D control? Simply check the box and adjust the mixer settings giving your music a more spacious feel. Easily adjust surround sound settings if you have these kinds of speakers set up. Does your sound card support 5.1? There's an adjustment for this, too! Adjustments for microphone, video, center speakers, etc. It's all there! In addition, if your PC is equipped with two sound cards, GNOME Alsa Mixer can select either card right from the file menu. It gives you total control!

And this is the great strength of Linux. It's totally customizable to YOUR liking and tastes. From the desktop tool panels, sound, video...all aspects of the Linux operating system can be customized and tweaked to your exacting standards. With Linux, you no longer have to rely on Windows' "one flavor for all" approach. Linux is real computing power!

Get Linux. Get Kiowa!

LinDVD for Kiowa!

If you're new to Linux, one of the first things you're likely to do is pop in a commercial DVD and attempt to play it. You'll find that, just like Windows, unless you install a legal DVD player on your Linux system, you won't be able to play the disc's content.

Here in the U.S., circumventing DVD playback is in violation of the DCMA. and Windows and Mac have legalmethods to bring DVD playback to their desktops. this is something Linux has worked towards for the past few years.

So, I like many others, was excited to hear the good news! Kiowa Linux has legal DVD playback! Kiowa founder Mathew Portner made the following announcement on the Kiowa Linux forums:

"We are pleased to announce legal DVD playback for Kiowa! We have made available LinDVD to be purchased through our new site. Till then, if anyone wants to purchase a license before the new site is live we can surely make it available. Just PM (private message) me. The license fee will be $29.95 per unit and comes with 1 year LinDVD support Via Kiowa support Help desk (coming soon!)...and the forums still of course! LinDVD for Kiowa how exciting! Works very well and has been fully tested."

And I can attest to the last statement. LinDVD is a rock solid, stable DVD player that plays wonderfully well on Kiowa. It's a fantastic, full featured DVD player with such features as time compression playback (speed up the video while maintaining the audio's proper pitch), bookmarks, step frame, full audio support (dolby Surround, 5.1, etc.), full screen playback, parental controls, and much, much more!

If you've ever used WinDVD, LinDVD is very similar, easy to use, but runs on a much more stable platform, Kiowa Linux!

So, if you were worried about Linux and legal DVD playback, worry no more. Get Kiowa Linux, LinDVD, and sit back and enjoy the show!

Kiowa Ease of Use

As I take this new Kiowa Linux through its paces, I'm delighted to see features that make the overall computing experience a pleasure and ease to use. One of these features is quite simple, but oh so necessary if you're moving over from Windows.

When I first moved to Linux, the biggest question I had was, "How much of my hard drive is being used?" Linux gave me the information, but graphically, it fell a bit short in giving me a familiar interface. But, thank goodness this has improved ten fold. And Kiowa has it! In the above screen shot, you can see how easy it is to get this information. Simply right click on your drive, select properties and new window comes up displaying a pie chart showing drive usage and available space.this is brilliant! It's easy to find, pleasant to view, clear and informative!

I was on deadline last night and used the new Kiowa Linux to get my comic strip completed. I'm happy to report that Gimp 2.4 and Xsane (scanning utility) worked wonderfully well! (both are included in Kiowa.) Things went so well, that I not only completed my comic strips, but got wrapped up in using and exploring Kiowa. Which is why there was no blog post yesterday.

My Kiowa Linux Beta 3 Desktop.

As I mentioned yesterday, I have Kiowa Linux Beta 3 (GNOME edtion) installed on my system. It installed in a flash and boots in a blink!

I've been playing with some of the features the GNOME desktop has to offer. Changing the desktop background was a snap. And since my nephew has been sending me information on the upcoming Ironman movie (you can see the latest trailer here), I decided to grab one of the Ironman movie images floating around the web.

All I did was right click on the desktop and selected "Change Desktop Background." A new window appear and allows the user to add images form anywhere on the hard drive and then select these images. I added the Ironman image from my Pictures folder, it then became part of the wallpapers dialog, and I simply highlighted it and pressed "Close." The background changes! Very easy! And there are other tools to tweak the size of the background image, adjust fonts, and choose themes.

In a word,this new Kiowa Linux Beta 3 release is Sweet! I'll be posting more information as i continue to explore this exciting Linux distro!

Get Linux.

Kiowa Linux Beta 3

Last night, I downloaded the new Kiowa Beta 3 and installed it. It all went quite well! The installation was the smoothest and easiest I've ever experienced. And it was fast, too! Speaking of fast, I'm most impressed at how fast this new Kiowa Linux boots! If I miss my guess, in less than 25 seconds, I'm up and running.

I'm a KDE fan myself, but this Gnome desktop is quite nice. It really is a nice interface. Very user friendly. I'm able to find all needed utilities and tools without any problems.

The first thing I did was go into the repo and install the Nvidia drivers. Wow! My wide screen flat panel just jumped to life! It looks gorgeous!

Really, folks, get this distro while you can. I don't think you'll be disappointed. So far, I'm loving the experience. I'll be working on my comic strip George over the next few days and I'll be using Kiowa Beta 3 to help me along. Kiowa Beta 3 has the latest Gimp (ver. 2.4) which is a huge improvement over 2.2. Also included are the latest stable versions of Firefox and Thunderbird. So, it'll be nice to try out some new toys.

Matt and the entire Kiowa Linux team have done a nice job with this release. If you're new to Linux or a seasoned Linux user, no matter. Get Kiowa Linux and take it for a test drive.

Kiowa Linux and Gimp 2.4

The Great thing about Linux is how cutting edge it is. And a majority of it is due to a community of people working together to produce not only an advanced OS, but some of the most advanced software for your desktop computer. And, the majority of this software is free!

An example of this, is the latest and greatest version of Gimp. Gimp 2.4 boasts some amazing tools! One of these tools is shown in the Google video above. Perspective Cloning! Perspective cloning is available in PhotoShop CS, but that program costs $600.00 or more. Gimp is Free. and the perspective cloning tool is awesome! There are other new tools in Gimp 2.4 and these are quite remarkable, as well. You can see video demos of these at the Gimp's site.

Now, the great part is, Gimp 2.4 is availble in Kiowa Linux! Kiowa Linux is striving to make sure the latest and greatest Linux software is available in each new release.

Kiowa is getting ready to release a new beta of its Linux OS. I highly recommend that you get involved in the Kiowa community and give this Linux operating system a test drive. You'll love it! and you'l also have the latest stable version or Gimp, Firefox, Thunderbird and more!

I'm running Kiowa Linux onmy laptop and already have been creating neat images qwith Gimp 2.4

Get creative, get Kiowa, get Linux, and you'll have Gimp 2.4.

Vista Is Rubbish!

Yesterday, I talked about why I love Linux so much. I received a comment regarding this blog post from an IT professional (Screen name Toe). Toe has created a terrific site pointing out Windows Vista vulnerabilities and shortcomings. The site is called Vista Is Rubbish.

I especially like his page devoted to alternatives to Vista.

His site is worth the visit especially if you are considering buying a
Windows Vista system. The short answer is DON'T!

The frustration that many are experiencing with Windows Vista is summed up by the following YouTube video from Anthony of the Opie and Anthony Radio Show.

So before you spend all your hard earned money on a Vista system, do a little investigative legwork. Then, get Linux.

This Is Why I Love Linux So Much!

I have a rack computer system. It allows me to plug in different Hard Drives and run different Operating Systems. I run several different Linux distributions on these hard drives. Ubuntu, Freespire 1.0, Freespire 2.0, Linspire 5.0 and Kiowa Linux populate these hard drives. I've also loaded PCLinuxOS, Mandriva One, Mepis, and a few others to see how they run and how they differ from the distros I normally use.

This evening, I needed to get a file off my Linpsire 5.0 hard drive. Linspire 5.0 was the real first solid Linux distro that convinced me to switch and leave Windows behind. It was also the easiest to use and had the friendliest, most helpful user group and community.

I plugged the drive in. But this was the first time I was using Linspire 5.0 with my new 22-inch wide screen flat panel monitor.

No problem. Before you boot the OS, Linspire has a main menu that comes up in Grub (Great Universal BootLoader). Grub gives you a list of choices. The first choice bots Linspire. The other choices are for troubleshooting the operating system. The one I'm interested in is "ReDetect." ReDetect runs a scan and diagnostic of sorts and looks at what kind of hardware you're running. True to its name, It re-detects all the hardware on your system.

So, I selected "ReDetect." Linspire then began scanning all the hardware on my system. Linspire saw my brand new monitor, loaded the proper drivers and set the optimal resolution.

Then, the log-on screen came up.

When I logged into Linspire, my monitor had the proper Nvidia drivers running and was set to a nice resolution of 1900 x 1440. Wow! How slick is that?!

Compare that to the Windows experience of getting a new monitor to run. You have to load a couple of disks (usually the driver disk and Windows disk) in order to get the drivers and set the screen resolution. Then, after all the data is loaded, you have to reboot.

With Linux all I did was click the mouse and chose "ReDetect."

Just one more reason why I love using Linux. You'll love using Linux, too. Get Linux.

Overheating

I've been having car problems. I have a 1999 Oldsmobile Delta 88 sityh 187,000 miles. I bought it for $2500.00 with 91,000 miles. It looks brand new and runs like a top! It was a real steal!

Lately, though, it stalls while I'm driving. I could be clipping along at 55 MPH and the engine will just stop.

I have it in for service. After speaking to the service manager, they think it may be an Ignition Module problem. Basically, this is the car's onboard computer. In layman's terms (and if there's a mechanic out there, feel free to correct me), as ignition modules age, they develop more heat and run hotter. They overheat and fail. Since all points,plugs, wiring, etc. run into this module, all the processes needed to run the engine are cut off and the car stalls.

Why do I mention this? Because it's similar with computers. Whether you're running Windows or Linux, if your computer shuts down without warning, it may be a bad cooling fan. Your processor needs to be cooled. A fan is mounted atop a heat sink which sits on top of the Intel or AMD processor chip. thsi fan is constantly turning and moving the hot air out and away from the chip. If this fan no longer works, heat builds, the chip runs hotter, overheats and your computer shuts down.

So if you're computer is exhibiting this kind of behavior, before you try an anti-virus program or re-installing your OS, check your cooling fans. Open the box and make sure all fans on your computer are turning and doing their job. Swapping out a fan is easy and inexpensive. A guide on how to do this here. But do a Google search for "Replacing CPU Fan" and you'll have more results to choose from. If you'd rather not do this yourself, any computer shop replace your cooling or CPU fan, even while you wait if necessary.

Then, after you get that fan replaced and your system running, get Linux.

A Linux Eclipse

Last night, the lunar eclipse was visible here in the northeast Ohio area. I was able to get outside and enjoyed a terrific view of it. Conditions for star-gazing were simply spectacular! The skies were clear, but the temperatures were near zero degrees! So, my viewing time was only limited to five or ten minutes. After the dogs and I had had our fill (and our toes were sufficiently frozen), it was back inside to the warmth of the house.

Luckily, my brother Jim is an astronomer. He emailed me a link where I could view the eclipse online.

so, I comfortably sat back and booted my Kiowa Linux Laptop. I opened Firefox and enjoyed a clear, warm view of the lunar eclipse. I also "grabbed" a couple of shots from the website. I did this in Firefox by right clicking the image and selecting "Save Image As." Firefox did the rest by automatically downloading the jpeg image to my desktop.

Firefox is a terrific web browser! It's fast, lightweight and can be customized in any number of ways through additional add-ons and themes. It's the default web browser found in almost all Linux distributions. It's also available for Windows and Mac users in many different languages.

Once you use Firefox, you'll quickly say goodbye to Internet Explorer. And I hope that, simply from using Firefox and seeing how great it is, you'll make the next move and get Linux.

BTW, if you want to get a great view of the next astronomical event, check out Sky Window. Our family business manufactures this item under the direction and watchful eye of Jim. Sky Window really does a wonderful job of enhancing the world of binocular astronomy. An in-depth review can be found here.

My First Computer

I was surfing the web and came across this site which chronicles the history of computers through ads and other archival information.

I searched their site and happened on the Texas Instruments TI 99/4A. Here was my very first computer. I looked over the photos and ads and a flood of memories came back to me. Compared to todays' technology, the TI-99/4A wasn't much. But it allowed the user to program using the BASIC computer language. And using these simple commands, I was able to create, believe it or not, a few early computer games and other moving graphics.

Well, I was immediately hooked on computers ever since. And through those years, I toyed with other early PCs running MS-DOS.

Then the day came when my brother Dave mentioned that we should "go halves" and purchase a Windows PC. And Dave really wanted to get the best cutting edge technology that was currently available. To tell the truth, I was happy using a PC Clone (Leading Edge Computer) running MS DOS. I already had email and early internet access through the community based Cleveland Free-net). I didn't want to shell out the cash for a new computer. I wanted to wait for the next leap in technology.

I'll never forget what Dave told me. He said, "Mark, if you don't get on the learning curve now, you'll fall farther behind."

How right he was! I immediately saw this bit of wisdom. GROW with the technology. Learn along the way and as things develop.

As a result, we plunked down $2700.000 and purchased a Windows 3.11 Pentium 75 Computer with a 15 inch monitor, printer and HP flatbed scanner. Soon after, we had an AOL account and I was purchasing software for graphics, desktop publishing and web building. It was clear that a whole new way of computing had developed.

If the TI-99/4A opened up a new world, this Pentium system opened the universe!

And, right now, the same thing is happening with Linux. Linux is starting to explode on the computing scene. It's running desktop computers, cell phones, web sites and other devices and technology. Linux is being adopted by city governments, schools, and businesses around the world. Even top notch Hollywood effects and animation studios run Linux!

Get on the Linux learning curve now! Get Linux and grow with this dynamic and exciting Operating System. And the wonderful thing is, it'll cost you a lot less than the $2700.00 Dave and I paid to get on the first computer learning curve.