So I already admitted to installing W7 to my desktop, and added my trusty Linux Mint desktop into it's own partition. 

I think I have now seen it all, replaced the somewhat "aged" ATI 64 MB video AGP card with a newer EVGA 512 MB card.  All seemed well.  Not much change to the Linux side of the house.  I did have to install the new proprietary Nvidia drivers to get my desktop Compiz back in high gear.  All in all, it rocks!

In Windows 7, it rocked, literally.  I now have a paperweight in the Windows partition.  I did find out int his little experiment that W7 STILL HAS Blue screens of Death.  They also have the previously shared new black screens of death.  The really newsworthy thing to this all is W7 comes with some really great support screens if your PC doesn't load that driver as well as it reported.  On my PC, it reported a reboot to use the new driver was in order.  Then, blue screen of death and about 1/2 hour troubleshooting and still no running Windows 7.  Lots of really cool options to fix the situation, and miraculously, none of them worked.

Still, it was encouraging, although fruitless on this PC.

I'm a PC, but I'm not Windows...

Surf safe,

ezsurfer

Easytether from the Android Marketplace is out, and lists Linux compatibility.  There's a deb download!

Assuming you don't have a connection, use the Droid and install the application to the Droid.  Once installed, it gives you a link for a small deb file to download.  Save this on the Droid, then you are ready to rock.

Connect your tether, and allow the Droid to mount as a USB drive so you can copy that deb file over to the PC.

Double click the deb file once on the PC and it should bring up the installer.  Select the install pushbutton.

Now disconnect the USB drive (unmount or eject).

Now, reconnect your USB tether wire, and start Easytether on the Droid.

Then go to your PC, in a terminal, type in

easytether enumerate

(this will give you an ID of your device.  Capture it and past it into the #### below)

easytether connect ################# (ID of your Droid)

This should connect to the Droid, and give a message to type in a command.  The trick here is to open another terminal window, and enter the command.   This first window must be open while browsing and connected and  active and CTRL-C used to stop your session.

sudo dhclient easytether0    (after this is done, this window can be closed)

To restat your session, merely open the terminal window and up arrow to the command you need.  Away you go!

SMILE - you're on and surfing.  Although I had issues with Easytether under Windows, it seems to work flawlessly in Linux.

Surf safe

ezsurfer

Reading a comment from Helios today, reminded me too much of the past.

"Do it once for free and you are their free tech support for life, at least in their minds. "  This is so true for almost every Windows user I have ever met.  Everyone wants a friend, who is at least a bit "geekier" than they are, to come and provide free tech support whenever the system bogs or takes a nap or just outright fails.

That used to be my life.  The feeling all tech support should be free, eventually made me realize I either had to change this mantra from customers, or close my business forever.  Adios, small PC manufacturing.  I never looked back.  Till lately.  The power of the current systems, and the low cost, if I marry this to a Linux Mint PC, I can have speed, repeatability, super stability, and wow the end user.  And still only spend about 1 hour start to finish to build a PC.  Down by at least 75% from Windoze build days.  Interesting. 

Still, I would have to spend countless hours training folks on how to do what they want to do in Linux.  Not that it's hard to show them, but it would be new to them.  There's not much to the Synaptic Package Manager to learn, just get it running and select your program and do the free download.  Then try out the program.  I'll bet everyone using a Droid and the Droid marketplace can easily get through that, and yet a similiar idea such as Linux package manager mystifies.  Go figure.

I wanted to say I have a lot more free time, now, that I don't tech support for Windows, anymore.  And I must say, I do not miss that aspect of my life. 

surf safe,

ezsurfer

OK - now I've gone and done it.  I used my W7 disk.  Oops!  Good news here Linux fans.  I was very disappointed in Linux Mint and Ubuntu not seeing my desktop due to it's RAID controller and SATA drives.  Grub just refuses to allow me to boot.  Both distros did indeed see the stripe set, and installed.  But neither was bootable, seems Grub and Grub2 both want a very distinct boot sector, which a true striped set just doesn't give it.

So after all these trials I read Debian is the answer.  Well, yes and no.  Debian also installs, and also fails to boot.  Can't get past grub.

So, desperate to try to use my RAID setup, I decide it's really easy to rebuild a Linux PC, so I will go ahead and use up that W7 disk I have.

Guess what?  The almighty W7 won't do what XP did, it can't even boot from the RAID control set.  I have to take the card out of the PC and boot from the motherboard.

So, then I finally have found the root of the evil empire.  W7 cannot even load drivers, if they are not of Microsoft repository.  Every vendor site I used to go to to get a driver to get my PC rocking, no longer works.  The download must come from MS W7 vault.  Which by the way, you can not access until after authentication of W7.  Well, that went through tonight, and the experience is much better with the network card, video card, and sound, but alas, no RAID solution.  And let's not talk about being able to troubleshoot or install drivers if I don't have a good internet connection...

Oh my my.  Linux please, freedom of choice, not just the flavor someone wants to serve...

surf safe,

ezsurfer

Just a quick hello because I have been so poor at this lately.

Anyone know how to allocate a RAID striped set in Linux at startup?  I'm working on it.  Anyway, once I figure it out, I'll let you know.

Meanwhile, the Droid still makes me smile.  What's that, yeah, a bucket of does...

Does what I need, every time.  That's sweet in a world of almost does.

Still, I am sure they will improve it, just wondering what could be next.  Kind of like the newest round of releases from Linux distros...More does, lots less doesn't, and just exciting to see how far things go in such little time.

To all the developers and support teams, we lift our glass to you!

ezsurfer