LinuxPlanet Blogs

Episode 079 is available.

(Shortest blog post ever).

Based on the great constructive comments on my previous post from Thorsten and Troy about Lumiera's new logo concept, I thought I'd make another slight tweak to what I had already posted and came up with this:

I added (somewhat crudely) the additional film sprocket hole and used the mgOpen Cosmetica type with slighter tighter tracking (which is the spacing between letterforms across the whole word). I think it looks pretty cohesive as a logo. One of the things I liked about the winning concept was its simplicity and the way it could be used on both dark and light backgrounds.

Anyway, I'm not sure what the Lumiera guys will end up doing, but I think it's an interesting and attractive concept nonetheless.

Summary: As a contractor, I spend a lot of time dealing with email. One of the recurring conversations I have with my clients is the reliability of email and why it should not be used for time critical stuff. I recently wrote about the fact that email is insecure and pontificated about some of the reasons [...]

I decided to get with the program and create a blog.

Let's see what crazy things I can come up with.

One goal for 2009 is to help a friend convert his medical practice to a
Linux based operation, so if anyone knows of any Open-Source programs to submit
Medicare payments via Internet or modem, please let me know.

I'm at setbit.org

Thanks!

Verbal

*The Resolution*

/I, threethirty, do resolve to use free software more in 2009 than in
any year before and if possible, to implement new systems, features, and
capabilities with 100% free software./

That means if you're looking for a new web browser, you'll consider Firefox.
If you need to open one of those weird .docx Word Documents, you're going to
use Open Office. And finally, you're going to try GNU/Linux. There are so
many ways to try it that one of these has got to be for you.

*Start 2009 out right*

1. Order a free Ubuntu Live CD from http://shipit.ubuntu.com [1] and boot up
your computer with it. Voila! You're trying GNU/Linux.

2. Ask your nearest techie to download and burn Ubuntu or Fedora to a CD for
you. Pop it in your CD drive and reboot. Some would call that trying
GNU/Linux.

3. Ask your nearest techie to install GNU/Linux for you and see the world of
computers with fresh eyes as you try GNU/Linux.

4. Download the source code to Azureus, configure and build the package, then
use it to download Arch, CrunchBang, or SlackWare and run that baby in a
virtual machine using VirtualBox OSE.

5. Finally, if you need help with any of the above submit a support request
at http://trygnulinux.com/getsupport.php [2] and we'll do our best to help
you with the next step.

With this New Year's resolution, 2009 can be a spectacular year for free
software so try to stick with it. Next New Year, we're hoping to find a
fitter, healthier, more-free-software-using you. Happy New Year from everyone
at TryGNULinux.com.


[1] http://shipit.ubuntu.com
[2] http://trygnulinux.com/getsupport.php

*The Resolution*

/I, threethirty, do resolve to use free software more in 2009 than in
any year before and if possible, to implement new systems, features, and
capabilities with 100% free software./

That means if you're looking for a new web browser, you'll consider Firefox.
If you need to open one of those weird .docx Word Documents, you're going to
use Open Office. And finally, you're going to try GNU/Linux. There are so
many ways to try it that one of these has got to be for you.

*Start 2009 out right*

1. Order a free Ubuntu Live CD from http://shipit.ubuntu.com [1] and boot up
your computer with it. Voila! You're trying GNU/Linux.

2. Ask your nearest techie to download and burn Ubuntu or Fedora to a CD for
you. Pop it in your CD drive and reboot. Some would call that trying
GNU/Linux.

3. Ask your nearest techie to install GNU/Linux for you and see the world of
computers with fresh eyes as you try GNU/Linux.

4. Download the source code to Azureus, configure and build the package, then
use it to download Arch, CrunchBang, or SlackWare and run that baby in a
virtual machine using VirtualBox OSE.

5. Finally, if you need help with any of the above submit a support request
at http://trygnulinux.com/getsupport.php [2] and we'll do our best to help
you with the next step.

With this New Year's resolution, 2009 can be a spectacular year for free
software so try to stick with it. Next New Year, we're hoping to find a
fitter, healthier, more-free-software-using you. Happy New Year from everyone
at TryGNULinux.com.


[1] http://shipit.ubuntu.com
[2] http://trygnulinux.com/getsupport.php

Back in mid-November, I posted about Lumiera's logo contest over on the screencaster's blog. I made several entries, some of which are below:

The winning concept (which I really liked) was this one by anamii:

Now the aim of the contest was to select a "concept", so there is some ongoing discussion about tweaking the logo. While I loved the concept and it's simplicity, I never really liked the typeface that was used. It seems somewhat unbalanced or unfinished to me. Over at Thorsten Wilm's blog he proposed using a significantly heavier typeface. I wasn't crazy about the results. And he also made some alternative suggestions of a slightly lighter weight. I would propose something light too but definitely thicker than the type originally proposed. I've shown two options, one using mgOpen Cosmetica, and one using Gentium. I like both.

But something else has bothered me a bit about this logo from the start. I love the concept, but the geometry seems very non-square and maybe a little too flattened for my tastes. So as another idea, I propose simply stretching it upwards to give it a more square geometry. I think it makes it look more dynamic as well. Remember that this symbol will have to suffice from the largest graphic sizes way down to 16px favicon sizes. Having something more square in nature might help that. Here's a quick and dirty attempt at it. It would still need some additional polishing - like the missing sprocket hold near the upturned corner:

Of course these are all just opinions. But now that's exactly what blogs are for right?

They say for the average bear it takes about 10,000 hours of doing something before you become an expert. While I am not quite there yet, I’d guess I am nearing it with the many late nights and 48 hour week-end marathons I have pulled recording and editing Podcasts.

Throughout this time I have gotten my chance to try out different styles of microphones, some good and some great.

I put together quite the video, with different samples from each microphone and a bit more information than is covered in this post, so I highly recommend you check it out:

 

If you’re shooting video, especially since a lot of online video sites now support HD video you’ll want to get good audio to match that great video quality. I don’t have a lot of experience with camera microphones, but the one I current use and like a lot is the Rode VideoMic, and it does a great job. It’s a shot gun Mic, meaning it picks up audio from what it is directly pointing at. Very handy for avoiding SOME of the noise from the tap drive in my HV20 camera.

I bought mine from Amazon.com, and they say only 3 left in stock.. So if you want one buy one soon:

Next up is the Mic I like to use when I am recording in front of my computer. I have a Logitech Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000, which is a nice cam with a built in Mic… But after using the mic built into the webcam I have found the audio quality lacking. It seems to distort from time to time and does not sound great.

So I opted to pickup a USB connected Snowball from Blue. Most the time I try to have it just out of the camera shot, but close enough to pick me up decently. From a looks standpoint it might just be the coolest looking microphone I have ever seen. From a sound standpoint (which is all that matters) is it decent. The quality is not as great as some of my high-end mics, it does not sound as warm or deep to me. But when I listen to it, it may be the most honest sounding mic, the most true to my real voice. Plus since it is sort of my true to my real voice, that does give me a wider range of tweaking I can do in post editing.  I should note, that all tweaking must be done in software, since you can’t run the Snowball through a mixing board since it is USB only and connects directly to your computer.

I also bought the Blue Snowball from Amazon, where you can also read some other buyers thoughts:

My old standby, the mic Bryan and I have used for years in our shows is the MXL 990s. These are condenser mics (meaning they need to be supplied phantom power) and they have great sound. On top of the great sound, they come at a great price. You can pick up an MXL 990 with shock mount and carrying case (handy if you record at different locations) for $60.

These microphones (4 of them to be exact) are what we use even today to record our CastaBlasta podcast.

They might not produce radio broadcaster quality sound, but they will sound better than nearly every other podcast out there, and they are a heck of a bargain. Like my other microphones, I have bought four MXL 990s from Amazon:

The last microphone in the roundup is my favorite by far. The amazing Heil PR-40! I’ve always been impressed with the sound quality Leo Laporte has gotten out of 64kbps mono MP3 files that he releases for his TWiT podcasts, so I set off to find out what microphone he uses.

What I found was a whole ton of well known, long time broadcasters praising the merits of the PR-40. After doing some research I ordered mine and have been delighted.

The microphone is not cheap, I bought mine for around $330 just for the Mic, then I bought a stand for another $100 and the spider shock mount for another $100! So I could not dive right into this mic, the time had to be right for such an upgrade.

When we launched Jupiter Broadcasting it really felt like it was time to step up once more, and upgrade to something top of the line to reflect our ambitions for Jupiter Broadcasting, enter the Heil PR-40. The PR-40 is truly a modern achievement in amazing microphone design, it has amazing highs, mid’s and lows. Its top fire-end design means that background noise is cut way, way down.

The only major negative thing I have to say about this microphone is it has a major learning curve. The PR-40 requires a new technique to use it, no more sloppy positioning, and breathing. Once you get that down, and really only practice makes perfect, you have a super great microphone.

Like the others, I bought my Heil PR-40 from the store Amazon (only a few left in stock):

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Twitter me up at twitter.com/ChrisLAS and tell me your microphone experiences!

Automating Linux and Unix System Administration

I was asked to make sure I wrote some reviews of my recent review material this time so here ’tis: This book, from APress, Nate Campi and Kirk Bauer is pretty good.

This book gives decent information and goes through a lot of the thralls of basic systems administration of Debian, Solaris and RedHat based systems. The tools that are repetitively used in the book for this are ssh, which we (should) all know and love, and cfengine, which is a “pull” method of getting things done on your boxen. The book goes over many tasks that a sysadmin may have to do and specifically mentions how you might use cfengine to help.

As a sysadmin myself, I can attest to the importance of a lot of the information in the book, however, I do not personally use cfengine. The background information provided on what system administrators really do is going to be invaluable to new SA’s, so if you are in that category, read this and pay attention to that even if not interested in the “technical details”. A lot of books on these subjects tend to be quite wordy where this one is a bit more concise and practical.

This book will make a good refresher/reminder for the experienced sysadmin, a good introduction for the new guy, and a good reference for the cfengine user.