PCLINUX OS 2010 - Beta 1

The new beta for PCLINUX OS 2010 is now out.  I downloaded the ISO image and burned a DVD (next time I will burn a CD so that all the machines at home can use it).  The prior versions had a problem with my Dell Inspiron 530 desktop, but, this time the machine booted up without a problem.  I am running off the live CD and it seems to be rock solid at this time even though it is a beta version. 

I launched Firefox and went over to Runescape to see how it works.  The Java runtime was not installed by default, but, after adding it via Synaptic the site loaded and I could run the game without a problem.  I have not really tried the HD mode as I don't know if the video card driver from ATI is loaded.  Using safe mode runs and I don't have any lagg issues. 

I will be trying this out for the week and if I don't encounter any problems I will be backing up the three desktops and install this.  I prefer using this distro as it is fairly solid and it is easier to support the machines with one distro rather than with the two I am running now (Mandriva is on the Dell as that works).

I launced the scanner software (XSANE) without any problems and it auto-detected the scanner.  I didn't load DIGIKAM, but, it is on the list of programs that can be installed.  Like all other distros it has a problem with my TV card, but, that is not a major issue for me as I very rarely watch TV while on the machine.

Five years of spam tracking

After 55 months of tracking spam on Yahoo I think I will finish my tracking of the mail.  Over the time I received almost 19,000 emails of which less than 7,000 were legit.  Over this year the rate has improved to almost 70% legit mail.  Spam and phishing emails are still a problem, but, with the various providers working on their filters and the authorities shutting down the spammers things are improving.

2005 - Legit mail = 1000 which was 50% of my total mail

2006 - Legit mail = 1700 which was 22% of my total mail

2007 - Legit mail = 1800 which was 31% of my total mail

2008 - Legit mail = 1500 which was 69% of my total mail

2009 - Legit mail = 1000 which was 70% of my total mail

Printer fix

Earlier this week Jane's printer stopped printing black even after we changed the cartridge.  We looked and couldn't see any reason why it would not print.  The only two things we could think of was clogged print heads or the printer was broken. I hoped that the problem was a clogged print head as the alternative was to look for a new printer that was fully supported in Linux.  Several years ago she received the Canon IP3000 as a Christmas gift from her father and I don't see it for sale in any store now.  The closest model was the IP4700 which runs about $100 (Canadian).  I did a bit more research and if I wanted to buy a new print head it would run me over $100.  As a new printer was going to cost me the same as fixing the existing printer I figured that trying to do a fix myself would not be extremely expensive.

With nothing to lose I did a Google search for clogged printer IP3000 and found two sites that had step-by-step instructions on how to take apart the head and clean it.  I followed all of the steps and then put the printer back together.  When we did a test I was happily surprised that the printer was still working.  I didn't totally dry out the head assembly and we can see wet spots on the paper when it prints, but, I figure if I print out 10-15 pages of images that it should clear up.  Total time to take apart the printer, clean it and re-assemble was 30-45 minutes.  I would recommend you use disposable plastic gloves as it is a somewhat messy process.

The only thing I could think that caused the print head to clog up was I used a generic black cartridge in the spring.  After this I will be using Canon cartridges only.  Right now I am happy that we didn't have to go out and buy a new printer and my wife thinks I am a genius on cleaning the printer without breaking anything.

Update 2009/11/26:

The printer is working, but, the photo quality is not working properly.  It appears that I didn't completely clean out the alcohol from the portion that prints black.  I don't know if it will ever clean up, but, the black is splotchy and smears when printing.  We don't have a problem if we don't use photo paper.  I will probably keep the printer for normal jobs, but, I will probably have to get my wife a new printer so that she can print off her photos. Lesson here is to completely follow all directions and to thoroughly clean up before putting the parts back together.