Flattened again

[altivo]

There's just something about starting the day as usual at 5 am and having it last until 10 pm that is beyond my stretchability.

Did get a few minutes to try the new camera with Linux apps. It works with libgphoto2 and gtkam provided they are recent enough. The versions on my Wolvix are too old, but when I tried it with Debian Lenny (current stable release) it was fine. Looked into just upgrading those two packages but it won't work, Current versions require other things to be upgraded too, and it adds up to serious issues. Unless I find another set of apps that work in this older version, I'll have to finally get around to a complete upgrade. I suspect that Kodak's own software isn't going to work with wine because it needs USB access.

Can't stay awake any longer, have to be back at work in the morning to get some network things done while the place is closed. At the moment, it looks as if I may be the only one there in the morning. I need to do some updates to the firewall, apply Windows updates, and move a couple of machines around.

Comments

[moonhare]

At the moment, it looks as if I may be the only one there in the morning.

Enjoy that! I'll be getting to work around 7:00 a.m. to do both building and pc maintenance (gotta see if the scheduled updates came in and the automated DeepFreeze commands 'took'). I love being there alone, nothing against my co-workers or the public but I just would rather work quietly and in solitude ;o)

[altivo]

It was good. I did some network maintenance without having to worry that someone's internet session would be interrupted, and some software upgrades too. And I didn't answer the phone even once. We're officially closed on Thursday mornings, and if no one picks up in four rings they get a recorded message telling them the library hours followed by a chance to leave a message. Instead of hanging up or leaving a message, many will punch "0" to "ring for an operator" and since we actually have no operator, that just returns to ring the main line again. Some will even go through that twice, despite the message telling them we are closed. It's a sort of "I know you're there, you bastards, now pick up the phone" I guess. The boss can't resist and will pick it up every time. It amuses me to not do so and let them stew. They can leave a message or call back when we're open.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Love the icon there :D
Sorry about your camera issues, I suppose that's always been an issue with going with linux, older hardware tends to not be supported even faster.

[altivo]

Actually the issue is the other way around: NEW camera, OLD linux. And of course the fact that manufacturers never bother to provide Linux software. That's particularly amusing since they often do provide a Mac alternative now, and Linux has about equal market share with Mac these days.

Fortunately Kodak's newer cameras all use standard PTP and one universal driver works for all of them. Their standard is an open one, not a proprietary secret, so current Linux software works beautifully with it. I'm running a Linux kernel that is three years old, so I'm due for an upgrade. As it turns out, the PTP software even in my old setup is fine. The only issue is getting the camera mounted so the software can use it. A newer release will make that much smoother. In fact, the Xubuntu live CD I tried last night even recognized and attached my UPS, which took a lot of fiddly customization on the old version I've been running.

The big obstacle to Linux for non-technical users has always been the complexity of configuring the system for the thousands of possible hardware variations, something that Windows [mostly] does automatically [if not optimally.] Ubuntu has probably done more to get Linux over that installation/configuration hump than any other distribution has ever managed.

The last Ubuntu I tried on this particular machine was a while ago, "Dapper Drake" I believe. It failed to install the correct video and sound drivers, and took more fiddling to get going than even Slackware would. This one is "Karmic Koala" so it's eight releases down the road and obviously much more polished.

Oh, the icon. That's a picture of a sugar cookie in the shape of a pony. I use it in my signature file sometimes, with the quote "Have patience with me, I'm only half-baked so far."