adewale: Alrite then, this is my take on gimp. it's very cool! I think you should give it a try. I used to use it back in school for some designs (something to keep afloat). While it may not exacly measure up with Photoshop, it's really very usable and you won't notice the difference except if you're a very very intense digital photographer.

bigrovar: about your project in Auchi, I'm really curious. Do you have plans for intergration with Windows clients? People sure still use Windows. Nway, since I don't know much about what is being done, I guess my opinions will not count.


One more thing: does anybody know where I can get boxed edition of SuSE 11.0. I really want to get it. Cheers!!!

Hello guys! It's great to be back to nairaland. I can see that a lot of progress has been made especially with the Ubuntu thread. I sure hope to give quality advice that may help (I'm still in love with Suse). adewaleafolabi and bigrovar: you guys have really improved. That's really nice.

Wow! I feel like I'm lost with all this linux gist. I've been outta town (in a remote village) for a very long time. I sure hope to make some useful contributions when I settle. Keep the fire burning

@Ifex. Yeap, it is so brand new as in tear rubber kinda new. Infactm that is what I'm using right now to send this thread using GPRS and Blazer. I'm yet to get my Opera Mini to work effectively. Tungsten aint bad. That's what I really wanted instead of the Sony.

Hey! I just got myself a treo 680 @ 35k. It came with a free music pack (1GB MMC, stereo headphones and extra multimedia CD). It was a great offer. For those interested, go to OJ's Communication @ 8b, Otigba Street, Off Awolowo Way, Ikeja. Believe me, others will NOT give you the music pack free of charge.

As per if the Treo is a great machine? You need to get one for yourself to know.

@adewaleafolabi. Thanks for welcoming me. You don't have to tell me that you've improved. I can see it from the threads that you've sent. Cheer m8!

Thanks a lot. Actually, I really prefer Palm PDAs to Pocket PCs. I just love the simplicity of the Palm PDA. I'm still searching.

@SHOT
If I see I buyer, I will holla @ you. What's your price?

Hi! I just fried my Sony Clie NR70V PDA (or palmtop if you will); and I'm in desperate need of a new PDA. I want to get a Palm TX PDA but I don't know where to get it in Lagos. Nairalanders, I need your help.

Thanks for your usual support.

Hmmn. Installing Suse 10.1 is very easy if you want it as a standalone, which I doubt. It can, however, repartition your disk if you want but I really dont support this because it usually leaves little space left on your Windows partition.

If you can deal with these challenges, you're ok. Another thing you'll have to deal with is how to update it on the internet as Yast doesn't do the job well. That also is not a very serious issue. Suse 10.1 is really nice and I love it on my laptop. Be sure to take advantage of the security features.

Oh! Forgive me, I didn't introduce myself. I am a Suse fan - 10.0 on my AMD powered desktop and 10.1 on my Sony Vaio laptop.

Nairalanders, I think I need help I've been posted to Rivers State and I really don't like the idea. Why? Simple! I heard that the Governor doesn't want any oil company to take NYSC personnel. Like that's not enough, I heard that all NYSC personnel are to be assigned community service like teaching, ,

Can you just imagine? Just when I thought that it was my chance to share in the Black Gold spoil. What's your advice for me?

Hmmn!! Neural networks and G.A? Nice combination. I used ANN for my project thesis to forecast Stock price and Traffic Vehicular movement. I also used a fuzzifier to decode the output from the A.N.N. I was hoping I could implement a G.A. for the network cause of local optima trapping.

allonym:

And to select the right tool, you need to have some objective comparison between a few.

this reminds me of another saying: "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail".

We are on the same page. That is why I left my dream of working in Microsoft one day But you know, I may still do - Microsoft Embedded Linux.

I'm thrilled by your insight.

@allonym

allonym:

I use windows and i've used linux (on a cluster that I used for some research work). I did not require a machine to disabuse me of an grandiose illusions I may have had of myself. In any case, my extensive use of DOS made my transition to using linux (the first time I'd seriously used the OS for anything) for my research work very easy.

You're better than me! You actually used DOS that well, at least well enough to use a Linux shell without stress. I guess I prefer a lazier approach - using Bash.

allonym:

Like I've said, and many others have said here, you use the right tool for the job.

I couldn't agree better with you

Hmmn! About this Linux/Windows thing. I have always believed that it is not right to bash Windows/Linux (except for fun). We should all use the right tools for our jobs. I'm an engineer and, from my experience, I think Linux is the best for our kind.

It is important to note that the main advantage of OpenSource is sharing knowledge. Using Linux gives you knowledge about your computer devices while Windows doesn't. I have a wild guess that many Windows administrators don't have an idea of simple things like disk partitioning. You may say that it's not important but wait until you have critical data on a drive with a failed partition table, without RAID to help out, and out of reach of "friendly" partition recovery tools; then you can decide how important it is.

Some say Linux does things the hard way and Windows is the easy way out. Well, I partially agree. What I need to understand is the definition of "hard". Hard is when you stress yourself in accomplishing something without learning anything, which is not the case for Linux. If you've ever tried to solve a problem in Windows manually, then you'll know that Linux is far easier than Windows. For instance, my Windows has failed to go on Standby/Hibernation. I have browsed forever about it and tried so many of the tips but it's still not working. I have an updated OS (as of two-days ago) but the problem is still persistent. To solve the same problem in Linux is a breeze for me. All I have to do is to edit some text files and everything works well. I remember when I had to crack a virus on Windows manually, it was hell but I learnt so much from the experience after succeeding.

My point is simple: getting knowledge doesn't come easy. Windows gave me an illusion that I was smart, Linux (OpenSource tools generally) revealed my ignorance. The great part is that I have used that knowledge to improve my computing experience because I can figure to a great extent why and how things are happening.

If you're on this forum, it because, somehow, you appreciate computing and are not like the majority that don't care about how things happen. Are you under an illusion that you're smart?

Lol! I didn't see it in that way. Computer typist? Your point sailed thru man.

@Grouppoint, I second your motion

@KAG, what's the philosophy about. Ps can you interpret your proverb?

texazzpete wow! You mean you installed linux on your ps3? I give it to you. I agree with you about Linux user-unfriendliness but I think the trend is changing drastically. Ubuntu, for instance, is very easy to use - you may not even notice that you're using Linux.

It is, however, important to note that using Linux is different from using Windows just as using Windows is different from using a Mac; all these are different platforms with uniques strengths and weaknesses. If you need the strengths of any of these platforms, you've gotta work hard at it. Remember that your computer is just a tool, use the right tool for your job.

Wish you luck man. Get your PC soon. I hope that it's not affecting your productivity?

Esquire, does your guy have more motherboards to sell? A P4 at that price is quite unbelievable. Be sure of what you're getting as afolabi as suggested. Have you tried using an AMD machine? It's really nice and I think that you should give it a shot. Been using mine for quite some time and very impressed.

@Seun, that picture gives me some quivers. Is that a child from Darfur?

Well guys, great advice. Sometimes it's a struggle I think we all go through that we have to overcome with time.

On the late evening of 21-Jan-07, after Arsenal and Man U battled, I was going to see my friend and decided to pass through UNILAG. My trip was, however, gravely delayed by what I saw. There was a man on the floor shaking vigorously, he was also salivating - he had an epileptic seizure.

From a distance I observed him (some people were around him) and wanted to pass another route because I was frightened, but I changed my mind when I saw that he had started to stabilize. As I got near him and about to pass by, I saw some tablets on the ground. Apparently, he wanted to take his drugs to avoid the seizure but was quite unlucky. I was suddenly overwhelmed with pity and decided to wait and see what would happen.

Some boys decided to lift him from the ground and they put him on a platform. Immediately he regained conciousness and saw the little crowd that had gathered, he covered his face in shame and I heard him mutter, "O God, why did this happen here and why now? God why?", as he cleaned saliva off his mouth with his tie and struggled to walk. He was visibly embarrased.

People around urged him to relax and not worry. While he was seated, two girls approached him to encourage him and they prayed for him - I joined in the prayer (my first real step in helping). But one of them did what I couldn't - TOUCH HIM! After the prayer, the reality of his wasted drugs dawned on him and he wanted to use two tablets from the ground but people discouraged him and started to donate money for new drugs. He was so thankful and pleaded for someone to escort him to the pharmacy and I volunteered since it was along my route.

As we walked, he told me about how he got epilepsy and shared his faith that God would heal him one day. I was stunned and I encouraged him to keep his faith because what I witnessed few moments ago, was God in action. We jammed one of my other friends and he decided to join us to the pharmacy. We later went to our different destinations and the man kept praising God.

"God in action? God could have prevented the seizure!", you may be wondering. Well, you're not alone. I think God wanted to show him love.

These are my reasons:
1) He got the seizure at a good place. It was a passageway and properly illuminated. Before it was darkness and after was darkness, he may not have been seen at all if the seizure came earlier or later.

2) God could not bear him lying on the ground, so He sent boys who had strength to lift and place him on a platform.

3) When the man was shameful, God sent two girls to him to tenderly comfort him; and the crowd that encouraged him.

4) God provided money for a new set of drugs to replace the bad ones.

5) Finally, God knew he would need someone to escort him and I was the perfect choice, why? Everybody around was preparing for exams. I was the only "jobless" person there that would have been patient to help and further encourage the man. We met my friend and the man had more company.

He got moral, financial, emotional and spiritual support in one package where he least expected it - in the midst of strangers. I don't know if I will ever meet that man but with what happened to him, I ask you: does God really care?

I feel you Afolabi. I really wish that the service is affordable, at least, I'm sure that I will have access to it again.

I feel you Afolabi. I really wish that the service is affordable, at least, I'm sure that I will have access to it again.

I think the reason it worked is because there's a string for the apn in the intialization string of your modem. Go to Control Panel -> Phone and Modem. Select your motorola phone (you should be able to figure it out) and check it properties. Click the Advanced Tab (or check through all the tabs, can't fully remember) and check out the Extra Initialization String. We're near the promise land concerning this issue.

Man, wassup with the suspence? Please let me know how you configured your stuff.

I can see that we are beds of a feather. I now understand the PPP error you were talking about, I also see the same kind of error when I try to connect to the internet using my PDA (via my k700i). Let's hope that Celtel will one day save us and restore internet back to us.

It's possible to recover your formatted data if you have the right tools. I suggest that you try PC Inspector File Recoveryhttp://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm tool. I have used it before.

I suggest that you get a computer technician to look into the problem. If I give you advice, you may damage other things.

My brother, I have serious reasons to believe that Celtel has singled out my number not to work for GPRS as a result of over-usage. I must have abused the thing a lot. How far with you modem? Is it still working, I would love to know the correct initialization string for your L6.

Hayprof, there's a good download manager for Linux. It's name is d4X. You can download it (do a google search: d4X download) and to maximize it's use, download the FlashGot extension for Firefox.

Welcome to linux. Well, I advise that you get linux alternatives for your programs on windows. There are some I know: Hydrogen (create beats), Muse(seq.), Rosegarden(seq), Timdity, Audacity(multitrack hdr tool). I use Timidity (it's for MIDI), Rosegarden and Audacity.

Cheers mate!