I'm Stuck

Go ahead and say it: "Well, get unstuck."

I returned yesterday evening from Pampanga with a new desktop PC, a 19-inch LCD monitor, other peripherals, a free computer desk and a free office chair. The chair is crap, so I won't be using it.

After sleeping longer than I anticipated (driving the highways here in the Philippines is excruciatingly tiresome), I put the desk together, hooked up all the computer stuff and proceeded to install Debian Linux. I can't use Linux. Yahoo Instant Messenger with voice is the show stopper. I installed the only package that was supposed to support it and it didn't work. If you've followed along for a few months, you'll know that I and my wife use that to talk just about every night. My wife is not computer literate and she doesn't even have her own computer back in the states. Yahoo IM is all she can use right now.

I couldn't get the resolution correct with the monitor, but I probably could have fiddled with it until it was right. I'm no dummy — I've done this before. With that show stopper, however, it's not worth messing with until she's back here in the Philippines. I'm basically stuck with Windows XP for the time being. I'm installing it on the new computer now.

As soon as everything is set up the way I like it, I'll move everything into place and snap a picture of the new UV command center — heck, I might even squeeze my own body in there.

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• The UV Command Center
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• Computer Reminiscing
• Tomorrow's Trip To Pampanga
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October 14th, 2007 By RT Cunningham | Untwisted Vortex | Philippines | Categories: Computers | Tags: desktop, hardware, Linux, monitor, Philippines, sleep, software, traffic, Windows, Yahoo | Full Article Feed | Summary Article Feed | Comments Feed | Full Articles by Email | Respond | Trackback URL

2. MrCorey on 2007-10-15 at 6:48 am (Reply)

   You know that you could dual boot…

3. Matthew Jabs on 2007-10-15 at 11:04 am (Reply)

   What about GAIM w/voice? Not sure it this will tickle your fancy, but it's worth a shot.

   Did you try PCLinuxOS? Kopete is the IM client that comes w/PCLinOS. It works great w/YIM (which is what I use to communicate w/everyone from work) but I don't think voice is an option…maybe it is.

   What about Skype on Linux?

   What up RT?? Long time no comment!

4. maurizio on 2007-10-15 at 10:00 pm (Reply)

   You installed the wrong Distribution.
   You should try Ubuntu or Kubuntu. They are like Debian (edge?) but more easy to use/install etc.

   Give it a try.

5. RT Cunningham | Untwisted Vortex | Philippines on 2007-10-16 at 12:32 am (Reply)

   I'm not going to mess with any Linux distribution until the voice issue is resolved. My wife is in the U.S. and my older son is in Germany. Long distance calls between the Philippines and either of those countries are prohibitively expensive. They both use Yahoo with voice and webcams.

   Getting them to change is harder than changing my OS. I now have XP running flawlessly on this machine (but I need more memory). Moving over to Linux is going to be further along in the future.

   2. Matthew Jabs on 2007-10-16 at 12:30 pm (Reply)

      Sounds good. XP is the be OS MS has ever made anyway & no matter how much us geeks love Linux & the idea of it "taking over the world" as the best desktop OS…MS still has the cat by the tongue on this discussion.

      Anyway…if I come across a Linux distro that suites your said needs, & if I remember, I'll post it here. Good luck my friend.