settling

I always mean to keep this updated. Then my woman injures her neck and then can't work; I start school; the childrens get out of school for summer break. Things just get out of control... and I forget. Not that I don't have time, I clearly do. I've been so busy getting back up to speed on the world of Linux. Specifically Sabayon Linux. It's a Gentoo based LiveDVD distribution. You start with 3.4e's live DVD for your platform, either x86 or x86_64. Boot, and play with all the toys, and install if you choose.

I finally was able to get broadband going. We went with Clearwire. I know they're not that fast. We liked the lack of a physical install; the fact that we can take the box elsewhere and use it; and it was fast enough after two years of dial-up. We went and signed up at the mall, bought a prepaid visa from the customer service booth at the mall. We original bought the card for $25 on to cover the $24 and some change the initial payment was... and it wouldn't work. You need to have like $50 for it to work. They do a series of 'test charges' and it credits it right back. We took the box home, plugged it in, and were online in about... maybe 2 minutes. Piece of freakin' cake.

So I downloaded the Sabayon Linux 3.4e liveDVD for x86_64 and booted up this HP Pavillion DV9000z. It started right up, detected both cores, brought up the NVidia proprietary drivers to make sure the video was pretty, and nearly everything worked. The only real issues were the Bluetooth and, more horribly, the fan. I didn't initially notice the fan until later but I avoided any overheats... but I can see where some will miss it... so heads up. As of 3.4e and 2.6.23-rc2-git6 the fan does not seem to work in anyway I've been able to get working... I'll update that once I do.

I updated the installer via the link on the Desktop, and ran the installer. A quick install later, I didn't note the time, and I rebooted. I sync'd up the portage tree, updated the bluetooth pieces, and in like 10 minutes my mouse was all paired up and working. I have paired the media remote, but I haven't figured out the things I need to do to get the commands recognized in any media apps. But othter than that... absolutely everything worked and just bangingly. The compiz-fusion/kde setup is just bangin'. The 3d rotating cube is loverly. I'll post screenshots in a later post.

I tried the Gentoo 2007.0 liveCD and it failed to install... so I tried Sabayon... happiest find in a long time. Once I fix this fan problem I'll be extatic.