I first heard of Linux years ago, when I was on a crash course through the digital divide (I used a manual typewriter until I was 20). It was all new to me, and the idea that there was an operating system out there that was cobbled together by hackers excited me. A DIY computer system – how cool, right? It ran against the overwhelmingly profit and business-driven world of computing. It was totally free, and most of the software for the platform was free, too. It was popular in developing countries, and the pet system of hackers and hardcore computer geeks.

Alas, despite my now nearly constant connection to these devices, I have always liked doing things with computers more than computers themselves. If spending hours on internet forums just to learn how to do simple things like run a program or move files around wasn’t your thing, Linux really wasn’t for you. My first experiences installing Linux distros (customized versions of Linux that vary in size and nature) were futile. The sluggish old PC I was trying to turn into a Linux box would sputter helplessly and become completely unresponsive.

But these days, things are changing. Linux is increasingly functional and user-friendly. Pictured below is the main navigation screen of Jolicloud. Jolicloud is built on top of a version of Linux called Ubuntu Netbook Remix, a version with easy navigation for tiny netbook computers like mine, and it looks very similar.

What makes Jolicloud so cool is that it makes Linux 3 things it was not: easy, web-oriented, and aesthetically pleasing. It makes things that were a pain in the ass in Linux simple, like adding programs. Not only that, it remembers your configuration – all the programs and web apps you have set up. So if your computer dies, you can have the exact same version of Jolicloud on your next one. Pictured is the installer you use to manage your programs and apps.

Installing programs and web apps is easy. The essentials are: Dropbox, for sharing files with your home computer; Google Chrome, super fast browser; and GIMP, a free version of Photoshop, which of course is not as slick, but if all you need to do is some light photo editing on the go, it’s fine. OpenOffice is also essential, which is free software similar to Microsoft Office. If you really need to run other programs on your laptop, you can install WINE, a program that supposedly lets you run Windows programs on Linux.

But is that really even necessary?

So much of what we do these days is online, and Jolicloud is built around this assumption. A lot of the web apps are really just websites that do a whole lot, like Google Reader. Like on a phone, these apps have shortcuts, like programs, on the home menu. One click and you’re there, doing what you need to do.

Even though Jolicloud is in “alpha mode” (not quite ready for prime time) I haven’t had a single problem with it. It automatically scans for wireless networks, and once I log into one once, it remembers the password and logs in again automatically. It also tells you when updates are ready for the system or for apps.

You may have heard that Google is coming out with an operating system. When it does, it’s going to be very similar to Jolicloud. Basically it will be a very functional version of Linux, slimmed down to work on cheap, lightweight computers. But if you hate Windows like I do, and what you want in a mobile machine is something super-cheap, lightweight, and durable, Jolicloud will give you what you want right now.

Since it’s only available now in an “alpha mode”, you go to the Jolicloud site and enter your email, then they send you a download key. You install it on a thumb drive, put it in the USB and there you go. Don’t forget to give the online forums a read – this is the only part that gave me a little difficulty – if you decide to install it on a thumb drive (you need to make sure the BIOS is looking for a drive on your USB ports).

Even if there are small inconveniences (I haven’t found them yet) what Jolicloud represents makes it worth it to me. It’s a step away from the corporate behemoths of IT and towards a more customized, small-scale, internet focused world of using computers. It’s lower-cost, less copyright-obsessed. And friendlier.

(Justin Allen)

Related posts:

1. Punk Blog Bonanza

After surfing online I came across some like-minded individuals who felt the same way, and by using the accessibility and popularity of blogging have managed to create a community dedicated to freely sharing their love of music and undermining the prestige of pretentious record collectors and dealers alike. Similar to any blogging community, there are countless amounts of blogs about punk. The ones I’d like to share are few I felt post not only quality selections of music, but do so on a fairly consistent basis.

One of my personal favorites and a great starting point is Punk Not Profit, they post a good mix of hardcore, international, power-pop, and ’77-sound punk. I’ve gotten everything from the nearly impossible-to-find Egg Hunt record (Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson’s short-lived side project) to The Cramps discography, to a David Bowie/Iggy Pop 1977 live album I had never even knew existed.  I Have A Brain In My Ass is another pretty solid blog, a collection of obscure and hard-to-find releases from predominately American punk bands; if you like them I would also recommend Last Days of Man on Earth, where you’ll probably find some more albums you’re bound to enjoy. Always Searching For Music has a good assortment of 7” and 12” EP vinyls definitely worth checking out as well. Finally, Punks on Postcards is a newer blog that’s had some choice picks as of late, and looks to be heading in a good direction.

If you’re more into hardcore there’s also a HUGE community for that as well. A blog I’ve found that usually chooses some good stuff is Out of Print Punk, which posts some great hardcore (and occasional metal) by some classic and lesser known 80’s and early 90’s bands. Some of my favorite downloads from there have been Jawbreaker’s Busy 7” and The Dwarves’ She’s Dead single b/w Fuckhead. System//Sabotage//Chaos is another really great hardcore blog that has some of the most obscure bands you’ve never heard of, but nonetheless spotlights some first-rate records. You should also check out Blogged & Quartered, where you can find some super-rare live recordings and compilations by groups like Gorilla Biscuits, Negative Trend, and Damage, in addition to tons of other unknown regional bands.

It was refreshing to come across some blogs that focused on power-pop, new-wave, and UK groups too. Some of the bands you’ll find on Power-Pop Criminals range from Captain Sensible to The Flamin’ Grooves to The Plimsouls. In addition, Shotgun Solution features a genuinely diverse catalog of records on their webpage, even posting a few garage and proto-punk bands every once in a while. Of course I have to mention Short Sharp Kick in the Teeth, a haven for any pop-punk or new-wave group who put out 7” between ’77-’84. And lastly, The Post Punk Progressive Pop Party, which does a good job of loosely encompassing the sounds and styles of the above sites on their own blog.

In addition to all the subgenres and types of music I’ve listed, there is also a number of blogs that cater to certain niches within the world of punk fandom. Not surprisingly, there is a vast community of international punk blogs available. One of my favorites is Crucified For Your Sins, and despite being completely in Spanish, they post not only some excellent Latin American punk but Euro and even some US too. Cosmic Hearse usually falls in more in line with German, Swedish, and UK punk groups that have a slight metal-tinge to their work, and I believe the guy who runs it is from the Bay Area. Moving back to more specialty blogs, The Blasting Concept is devoted only to releases put out on the legendary SST records, the label created by Black Flag founder Greg Ginn, and you’ll undoubtedly find something new there. Finally, there’s Symphony of Ghosts, which is a great place to find live bootlegs, demos, and peel session albums, and as of late has been doing discography spotlights on bands like At The Drive-In and Die Kreuzen.

In my opinion the internet is the ultimate forum for punk music. While shows, record shops, and distros are unquestionably the foundation of the punk scene, they do have their limitations. Furthermore, what about all the great bands that have come out in the past that are destined to be forgotten once their original fanbase has moved on? That’s where blogs and sites like these come into play. These digital communities aren’t here to replace the traditional means of spreading music, but rather to act as supplements to it, giving that little nod or bit of recognition to bands that have fallen by the wayside or simply out of the current consciousness. This is how punk music was always meant to be shared—-with passion, dedication, and most importantly, without a price tag.

(Sean Logic)

Related posts:

1. Superfinos VTO | The Tinman’s Last Request
2. Kepi Ghoulie
3. Lubricated Magazine #2.5

Drop 7
When you start to see the shifting patterns of Drop 7 on the back of your eyelids as you go to sleep, you know you may have a problem. It looks, at first glance, kind of boring. Little bingo-ball looking things dropping into a grid like those discs into Connect – Four. Since when were numbers anything I dealt with by choice? Yet the hypnotic simplicity of this game draws you in. It’s easy to pick up and hard to put down. The design is elegant and seductive, and the gameplay is deeply satisfying. It is, as one reviewer on the iTunes store says, the best puzzle game since Tetris.

Edge

You are a cube, exploring a cube world. Traps, trolleys, catwalks, elevators, and platforms of huge variety compose the eerie landscape, floating in space, that the cube navigates. Right in between Super Mario Bros. and Tetris, there lies Edge. Why? Because it is half platformer, half puzzle. Because it has a cube-based design. Because it is composed of tons of mini-levels. Because it is addictive. Edge might be the best iPhone game yet in terms of pure entertainment, because it strikes a near-perfect balance between being easy to pick up and play a quick game and offering continuity with lots of gradual stages to increasing levels of difficulty.

Eliss

A gorgeous interactive art piece that is also a game, Eliss is completely unique. As a work of design, it is flawless. As a game, it is challenging. Basically you move colored cells around the screen, splitting them apart and grouping them together, then mating them to a network of light that dissolves them. It’s sort of like cellular mitosis. The music is great, and the ease of the interface and simplicity of the concept, combined with the difficulty of execution, is something I’ve seen 3-year olds entranced by and 40-year olds frustrated by.

Ragdoll Blast

Over a crumpled piece of graph paper, you solve puzzles by blasting a ragdoll out of a cannon. The object is to get the ragdoll to the target, but elaborate traps and obstacles make this a challenge. The flawless physics, super cool aesthetic, and plenitude of levels make this kinetic puzzler a solid damn game.

Enviro-Bear 2010

What can one say about Enviro-Bear? It’s ridiculous, it’s a joke, it’s a horrible game, yet it’s one of the best games ever invented. It’s a lucid dream, a strange hallucination. It might be a meta-game. I can’t play it without laughing, wanting to throw it down, then finally have a kind of quiet uneasy feeling that makes me wonder what I’m missing – not in the game – but in life.

(Justin Allen)

No related posts.