2012 May 06 archive at Robert Pogson

Archive for May 6th, 2012

New Toy at My House

Published by Robert Pogson May 6th, 2012 in technology. 2 Comments

Well, I finally broke down and decided to buy a new roto-tiller. The old one was bought in 1987 and has served us well, breaking ground on several different yards. The present yard has killed it off. Yesterday, as part of the preparation for a birthday party, I attempted and failed to buzz a weedy patch next to the dining room. The transmission made alarming loud “clacking” noises, the drive pulley on the transmission wobbled so badly the belt tensioner could not work and I got only about half done the job. I had welded the cracked frame and replaced several sheared-off bolts over the years but I just cannot keep the thing going. The engine still purrs but it’s getting harder to start, needing “choking” even when hot now.

I was happy with the company MTD but they don’t make anything like the old model any longer. I shopped around the web and found this item.

Sears.ca: $399.97 and shipping is free to a local Sears store where I can pick it up.

It has the same power and weight, is sold by Sears but is made by MTD and is ~$200 less than the nearly-identical model sold by Home Depot.

Home Depot: $549 +$44.49 shipping

Since most of the “wild and wooly” stuff has been done and most of the rocks have been hit repeatedly and collected, and the region that won’t be lawn is now reduced, this machine may well last as long as I do. The only things I don’t like about the design are that the engine has to be lifted to replace the belt and the wheels are on very slim members (being a welder, I can fix that…). I take that as a sign that the belt, being totally enclosed lasts a bit longer than mine which was showered with dirt and stones every use.

So, for a little bit of “Googling”, I saved $200, becoming a hero to “the little woman” who counts every penny I spend…

- Robert Pogson

7 Reason Why Linux Flies on the Desktop

Published by Robert Pogson May 6th, 2012 in technology. 41 Comments

GNU/Linux distros that work on desktop PCs have been around for 15 years or so. They are polished and effective. Still, some people think there’s no real advantage over the MacOS or that other OS, but I disagree:

Cost: $free licences are just the tip of the iceberg in savings. Re-using code is efficient so the cost of production of the software is much less than non-free software. Having all your compatibility issues dealt with by the up-stream packagers is even larger. Instead of you having to hunt down drivers, updates for individual applications, security updates, upgrades to new versions, the package managers of many distros like Debian GNU/Linux allow you to update one machine by a simple command:apt-get update;apt-get upgrade. That’s all there is to it. You get the latest driver, kernel, applications, security updates/patches, bug-fixes for documentation, applications, services and the OS. Have a 1000 machines? No problem. Continue reading ’7 Reason Why Linux Flies on the Desktop’

- Robert Pogson

My Mission

My observations and opinions about IT are based on 40 years of use in science and technology and lately, in education. I like IT that is fast, cost-effective and reliable. I do not care whether my solution is the same as yours. I like to think for myself.

My first use of GNU/Linux in 2001 was so remarkably better than what I had been using, I feel it is important work to share GNU/Linux with the world. I have been blessed by working in schools where students and school systems have benefited by good, modular software easily installed in most systems.

I have shown GNU/Linux to thousands of students and hundreds of teachers over the years and will continue in some way doing that until I die in spite of the opposition.