OS Revolution

Linux has made me aware of something. I realized I don't use the computer for much. Those categories present in the Application tab showed some of the possible uses of the personal computer and I have become aware I only use a few of them. And I suspect that's the case with most computer users. Hence the purpose of this poll. I don't know if there has been one before, but, if there has, it's outdated. This will just be a new one.

I'm curious to see what do you use your computer for. How many things can be done with this machine? In how many unusual and unexpected ways can it be used? Does it do your laundry or cook for you? :)

Just to make things simple I will give an example of my daily uses in order for you to get an idea of what I'm talking about. I will also keep the afore mentioned categories so as to keep some organization.

Office: I write my daily journal and occasional articles, I
watch slide shows
Internet: I check my email box and send e-mails, I read the
news, I watch videos and listen to music, I read
comedy and information about books, I download
stuff, I chat with my friends, I browse through
different other types of sites
Audio & Video: I listen to music and rarely watch films

Other: I read books, I rarely play games, I rarely edit photos

That means I use Open Office Write and Presentation, a web browser and an IM client, a torrent client, a pdf reader, an audio and video player and a photo editor.

I use Ubuntu 9.04.

How about you?

After barely scratching the surface on my first day of using Ubuntu, I decided to start to get to know it deeper. You know, just like when you meet a hot girl and want to know more about her before you let her to sleep with you.

So, I started playing with all the settings and buttons I could find with Deedee's voice continually sounding in my head. I didn't think anything could go wrong (the presence of Deedee's voice could have suggested otherwise). I started going through the System > Preferences menu. But a hidden enemy was lurking in the dark waiting for the wrong move. And when I got to the Screensaver options it hit.

The cursor started moving in slow motion. First I thought it was some minor glitch. “Ah, it will recover in a sec” I said to myself. But after a few more seconds it completely froze. I was in denial. My Ubuntu can't die. It's ubercool and indestructible. Finally, it took me a minute to believe it. Ubuntu was stiff and I could hear the flatline.

Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip.

I hit the Reset button and decided to try again and see if it was just an accident or really a bug. And it happened again only faster. The AntSpotlight screensaver hit swiftly injecting it's lethal venom and crashing Ubuntu.

It turns out this isn't something new. The bug was reported a few years ago and the problem is with my VGA card (Gigabyte K8M800/K8N800/K8N800A) and it's drivers. Now I can't run any 3D graphics. Tough!