Hello From Elkhart

[cjm5229]

Hello, I've been using Ubuntu since May 2005, Version 5.04. Didn't have a real good install until Breezy came out. (Resolution issues) It just keeps getting better every release. Already have Gutsy 64bit installed, so far so good:) I just signed up for the newsletter, and I was wondering if there is anybody else from Northern Indiana here.

As an Introduction; I am 55, a truck driver, Married, Father of Four, Daughter, 26, living in Raleigh NC, Three sons, 20, 17, and 11. My Wife and I homeschooled the three boys, so we have computers in every room. 4 PC's, One Imac, And a Dell Laptop should be joining the collection shortly. All have Ubuntu installed, 2 are dual booted with WinXP. (Teenagers and their games) and I have Vista dual booted in mine. (Confined to a 16GB Partition, so It can't contaminate the rest of my Computer:) ) They all spend the Majority of their time in Ubuntu.

I hope We can make this Chapter grow quickly.

[simon.a.ruiz]

Hello! Welcome aboard!

I myself am from the Fort Wayne area, originally from the Bloomington area. My impression (though I haven't done any sort of real quantifiable analysis) is that we've got a pretty well dispersed population, with people from all over the state.

I myself am tolerant of a Windows XP partition solely for the gaming aspect of it, though today I'm going to be working on giving it a Human/Tango makeover. It's the least I can do to hide the shame ;-)

Gladly, I see more and more companies realizing that it's in their interest to design their games from the ground up to be easily portable (not relying on DirectX). Doom 3 and Neverwinter Nights (though not NWN 2) are two very popular mainstream games that run well on Linux. There's also a company, Introversion Games (Uplink, Darwinia, DEFCON), that's commited to porting every game it ever makes to Linux.

The day when the default will be Linux-availability for commercial games is on the horizon.

[WheelDweller]

Well I'm from Evansville ('toe of the boot') but I've always loved the Elkart area...not so much for the culture, tourism or anything...but instead the trailer factories.

I've spent a huge part of my life on the road, seen 46 states before I was 15, and as soon as I'm no longer a caregiver, I want to get back out there. RVs are something we used to have...but now I'm making my own. ('cause I hate plastic doorknobs and cardboard-with-contact paper...). It's at http://CounterMoon.org. It's using Dapper on a fanless Celeron for the onboard computer.

(And yeah, my gallery's gotten into a little disarray; sorry)

What I'd love best, I'd imagine, is the chance to use Ubuntu in the trailer-making business, in Elkart. Any chance of that, do ya suppose?

--WheelDweller

[irish_flu]

Howdy cjm5229, nice to meet you.

I'm originally from North-central IN myself, but I've lived in Bloomington since '94.

Nice to see some truckers on here! I'm a professional geek myself, but most of my family (my mom, my dad, both grandfathers, one grandmother, and an uncle) all truck or have trucked in the past. My mom drives a milk truck, and my dad is OTR out of Chicago.

[brink]

Howdy, I'm a new member myself. Live in Goshen, so I'm right next door :)

I'm a developer, switched to Linux at work last November after a Windows update broke networking for me. Switched my home machines over shortly after that.

I've had a windows partition on my laptop and desktop for close to a year, just in case there's some file or program I forgot about; but I'm fixin' to just wipe them since I haven't needed them this far.

Been spreading the linux love. Got one of the new developers at work to run Ubuntu -- "Best decision I've made", he said. Currently he's running Suse, but recently he stated that it doesn't feel as complete for development work. More difficult to get dev work set up as far as packages and whatnot. And Yast (Suse package manager) is apparently slower than you would believe.

Anyway, hey.

[Xyphus]

I'm from the South Bend area. (just a mile or two from the University of Notre Dame campus). Up until just a few months ago I worked in Elkhart, and made the drive back and forth every day. Got a new job here locally in South Bend however...

I've been a lurker here on the forums for a couple years, but just recently decided to switch over from SuSE Linux to Kubuntu. If I would have known then what I do now, I think I probably would have switched over long ago. Apt-Get/Synaptic rocks compared to YaST.

Every time a new version of Ubuntu came out, I'd try the Live CD but always found some hardware that wasn't working so I'd stick with SuSE.

The biggest push for me though was when SuSE and Microsoft got all buddy-buddy. It left me with a sour taste in my mouth. So, here I am now a full-fledged Ubuntu/Kubuntu advocate.

I'm guessing that I'll be much more active in these forums now...

[cjm5229]

Hi, It's nice to meet all of you.
irish_flu, I drive locally in the Elkhart area now, but I did about thirty years of the OTR thing, I really enjoy being home with my family, also gives me more time to work at my computer. WheelDweller, You are going to have to come up and check out the new "RV/MH Hall of Fame" It's just off the Toll Road at the CR 17 exit (Elkhart East exit). I actually live in Bristol on CR. 19. The other side of the street is Elkhart. I'm about three miles from the RV?MH HOF. Simon.a.ruiz personally I have more games installed in Ubuntu I like to play than I have in Windows, but like I said, I have three boys, and while they do use Ubuntu more than Windows they still have a lot of Windows games. Brink and xyphus, Howdy Neighbors! I have also tried SUSE, loved every thing about it except YAST. gained twenty lbs. going and getting something to eat while I waited for yast to update everytime I tried to install an app., and again after it finished. I tried Fedora Core also, never could get it to install on my computer. Mandriva wasn't bad, but I was dual booting with Ubuntu and sharing my /home partition. Mandriva didn't like to share so I took it out. No manners what so ever. ;) I've tried several other Distros also, but Ubuntu is definitely "The Best" as far as I'm concerned. Well, except maybe, the Flight Gear Live CD. but then that is only a game. :popcorn:
One other thing I've lived in Northern Indiana for twenty years, but I was born and raised in northern Wisconsin. A little town named Argonne, smack dab in the middle of the Nicolet National Forest. 125 miles north of Green Bay, (Go Packers!) I really love it here in the subtropics. Still talk funny sometimes though, I do. :)
See you in the forums.

[dlsmith]

Hello. I'm also a new member and Ubuntu user. I'm 57 and have been using computers since I first bought a Radio Shack Model 1 back in the 70's. I bought an IBM PC as soon as they came out, and have been addicted ever since. I loved DOS, so I'm not afraid of the command line, so I'll just have to learn all the new Linux commands and syntax. I have become increasingly dissatisfied with Windows and especially M$ over the years and have played around with a few distros (Suse, RedHat, Xandros) over the last five or six years. Last night I installed Ubuntu on a new XP Pro system I have built and will using for work. I am also in the trucking industry, running two of my own trucks and three owner operators hauling flatbed freight in the Great Lakes region. At this point I will have to use the dual boot feature since I have two applications I use full time, Quick Books Pro 7 and PC Miler, that aren't available in Linux versions. Actually PC Miler is available, but only in a 5 user version for $3500. ALK Software won't sell PC Miler in a single user version.

cjm5229, we are practically neighbors, I live on CR 23 a mile south of US 20, only 3 miles or so from you. Small world, eh?

I have been looking for some local people that I might be able to turn to for help if I need it, and hopefully I will be able to get it here.

Well it's late and the eyes are trying to slam shut on me, so I'll check back later.

Clear skies.

Dennis

[cjm5229]

Dennis, Tell Pete and Albert I said Hi, I'm Carl, Pete's Brother-in-law. I used to to haul for you with Mike Wogoman. If you need any help with Ubuntu just let me know. It is a small world!:)

[simon.a.ruiz]

Hahah! It definitely is a small world.

Welcome to the team, everybody!

And—definitely—if you have any questions, drop them here or/and on the mailing list. We're all here to help each other out!

Simón

[Newbird]

Hi from Osceola !!

Very much a newB to Linux but I like what I'seen.
A friend at church gave me a copy of the Christian version of UBUNTU and I have it loaded on an old Pentium III 850MHz. It installed without any problems and I have been playing around in it.

Much to learn !!! :)

[simon.a.ruiz]

Excellent, welcome aboard, Newbird!

[irish_flu]

Good to meet you, Newbird! Hopefully you'll find these forums a friendly and helpful place.

[cjm5229]

Hi Newbird,
Glad you liked it! See you at Church, if you need any help just ask. We'll see if we can get some of the others at Church into it.
Carl

[heathenx]

Interesting thread. I guess I didn't realize that many of you are this close to me. I'm over here in Middlebury...all alone...no one to play with.

[Newbird]

Hi Carl and all the others.
I'm looking forward to a fresh install on a computer I'm building.
Nothing special but a lot faster than the PIII I'm using now.
I've played around with a few of the many versions of linux but settled on UBUNTU.

So I'm still a bit confused on some of the command line uses.
Is there a good beginners guide?

Thanks all !

[simon.a.ruiz]

Here's a reference: http://www.vorian.org/cli.pdf
Here's a tutorial: http://www.linuxcommand.org/learning_the_shell.php

Ask <strike>if</strike>WHEN you're confused ;-)

Concentrate on a few simple commands and master them before moving on to more complicated stuff.

The command-line is like any language, except far more logical and consistent. Learning the grammar is far more essential since computers can't accomodate accents. Like language, you will be more expressive on the command-line the more of a vocabulary you develop—the more commands you master.

I just took the Linux Professional Institute 101 exam, and before I took it I was chatting with the guy who wrote The Book (http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/lpicertnut2/)—or at least the guy with first name credit on it—who mentioned that even he had come across some commands he'd never known while working on writing the book...

Incidentally, going to community events like the Ohio LinuxFest is a great way to meet some pretty awesome people.

[Newbird]

New computer up and running :-)
Install was a breeze and updates all installed

Let the fun ( learning ) begin.
I've already stubled into an issue so off I go in search of a solution....

[jamescw]

Hahah! It definitely is a small world.

Welcome to the team, everybody!

And—definitely—if you have any questions, drop them here or/and on the mailing list. We're all here to help each other out!

Simónhello simon my name is james. i am having proplems connecting to the intrernet and would likr to know if you have any tips. i live in elkhart. i have ubuntu installed on dell with 760 of mem and two hard drives of 40 and 20 meg. i have verizon dsl and am using two ps with a linksys hub. i am an older man and i am having proplems seting this up . any help would be nice. my email is n9mzx60@yahoo.com.

[jamescw]

Hi from Osceola !!

Very much a newB to Linux but I like what I'seen.
A friend at church gave me a copy of the Christian version of UBUNTU and I have it loaded on an old Pentium III 850MHz. It installed without any problems and I have been playing around in it.

Much to learn !!! :)

hi this n9mzx60 i am having problems connectivity to the internet. can some one give me some tips to help me abit. i live in elkhart.

[visualdeception]

Do you have more than one computer hooked up to your hub? If you do you may need to get yourself a router to act as your DHCP server. If you have any more questions you can email me sdudenhoferATgmailDOTcom

[Mike54]

hi this n9mzx60 i am having problems connectivity to the internet. can some one give me some tips to help me abit. i live in elkhart.
James, this is just a suggestion, but why don't you try pulling your hub out of the line for the time being? See if you can establish a connection without the hub. Maybe you can get that working and then start adding components from there.

[cjm5229]

jamescw, Hi, Since I am a neighbor here, if you need help I can go to your place and check out your system, I sent you an email, so let me know.
Heathenx, Hi, there are more of us than you realize, if you need assistance let me know.

I haven't been on the forums much this week, That Shooting in Crandon, Wi. involved some of my family. I graduated from Crandon High School in 1970, One of the girls that was killed was a cousin, the boy that did the shooting was a cousin of my first wife, and my niece lives right across the street from the house the shooting took place in, so I've been a little distracted all week.
Carl

[simon.a.ruiz]

jamescw: Without knowing more specifics about your set-up I wouldn't know where to begin ...did you have the connection working before? are both computers running Windows? are you using the modem Verizon sent you? USB or ethernet?

cjm5229, thanks for stepping up on that.

And wow, I'm sorry to hear about how that affected you and yours. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

[cjm5229]

Thanks, Simon, I didn't know any of these Kids because I moved down here nearly 22 yrs ago and they were all born after I left, but This picture kind of hit me.http://news.yahoo.com/photo/071008/480/39dc1c868bf342bf9f0a5fee6177b968 The Lady on the left is my cousin, Janette, The grandmother of one of the girls. and the one on the right is My niece Brenda. I did know the parents of most of these kids though, and it's for them I am praying. Thank's again and as I have said, anyone that needs help in this area with Ubuntu I will be happy to give what assistance I can. :)
Carl