OpenCD Project
Posted on April 30, 2002
One of the things that many people don’t realize is that open source software is neither bad, nor is it just for Linux. The Open CD Project is setting out to prove to Windows and Mac users just how powerful and useful open source software can be. More info here and here. It looks like they are planning on using OpenOffice, Mozilla, and Gimp, plus some others as well. The idea is to make some CD ISO images available online where people can download them and burn them to a CD-R, not to physically distribute them in stores and such. People will be allowed to burn them and give them away and/or charge a minimal price to cover the cost of the CD.
Personally, I think they should put them in stores, such as Best Buy, because it will give the software more credibility among computer novices. Charge something like $20 for a pretty box with a couple of CD’s in it. Or charge $10 for a single CD, with no packaging other than the case. Since most open-source software projects are non-profit (by design or not), use the money to fund further development of the software or open-source causes.
Heading for the big time
Posted on April 28, 2002
With my tax refund in hand (or bank account), I finally registered the gottahavacuppamocha domain name and signed up for hosting with phpwebhosting.com. As I write this (28 April2002), there isn’t much going on. The domain is registered, but very little of it is instantaneous. Sure, they’re happy to take my money in an efficient manner, but getting some of the other stuff setup will take a few days. A few notes about the whole process that are worth mentioning:
When I saw I had my tax refund, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it. I thought about buying some more computer stuff, but that would have eaten the whole refund (or cost me more). I could have saved it, which would have been the wise thing to do, but that’s not my style :-) Last night, I was surfing the web, and opened up my web browser which has my localhost webpage (this site) set for the homepage. I thought about it for a moment, but just as quickly went on to browse the web. Today (28Apr), I was reading Slashdot, and someone there had asked about setting up a website w/regards to hosting, equipment, costs, etc. That is where I found out about phpwebhosting.com. It seems like a good deal, if it isn’t abused (No porn, warez, etc). Unlimited email accounts, unlimited subdomains, PHP, MySQL, etc, for $10/mo. I also saw that Network Solutions had a deal where you get three years for the price of two!
Anyway, here I am, typing this article on my computer at home. I already put up a basic index page saying that the site is coming soon. I am thinking about how to get the site up and working and online. Most of it is logistical. The site on my computer is optimized for my computer. Putting the site on a host means I’ll have to rework some of the code to make it run there. Mostly, it’s a matter of making sure everything is pointing the right directories, etc. I did find a cool FTP program that came with SuSE Linux 7.3. It’s called IglooFTP (for Linux, naturally). It actually has a really good interface. I recommend it if you have Linux and are in need of a good FTP program that’s easy to use.
That’s all for now, I have some work to do.
