I couldn’t think of a better title, so Fun Weekend it is. Yes, there is a hint of sarcasm in there. So, what does it take to make a “Fun Weekend?” Read on and find out.

This past Friday, I was planning to release my HEKA OS. However, the build sizes were changing by 200-ish mb at random just by adding or removing a couple of 20k scripts. I was also experiencing random lock-ups after a recent update, and some really strange config issues. I’ll assume it’s a Debian Squeeze thing…again! So, HEKA OS is on hold until things get sorted. I also moved the HEKA OS build to a new dev PC I pieced together. I needed my main PC back, for paid work. Well, as luck would have it, the new dev PC motherboard blew a cap on Saturday. Not a problem as I have spares. I repaired the motherboard and got it working again, but later that night the hard drive started making the click of death sound. Again, not too much of a problem as I have extra drives and the HEKA stuff is backed up elsewhere. Just need to set it all up again.

On Sunday, my main PC started having a noisy fan issue. It sounded like a small turbo-prop plane taking off. So, I disassembled said fan and lubed the bearings. That lasted about three hours, then the fan died a horrible death. I just unplugged it and decided not to worry about it, as I still have seven more fans in the case. This was one of the fans on the top part of the case (there are two). Well, about two hours later the other fan on top started making a noise. I guess it had to work harder? It’s not near as loud as the one that died, but still annoying! So, yesterday I ordered a bunch of new fans (I figure there will be more failures soon). I guess I can’t complain. The fans have been spinning nearly 24/7 for about a year now.

I also had planned on building my custom PC over the weekend. But no….the new case I had ordered came in the wrong size. The size was clearly stated on the invoice that was in the box! So, I am waiting on the replacement. Also, the slot loading DVD drive I ordered showed up as a regular DVD drive (tray type, not slot). So, I am also waiting on the correct drive. Maybe the dark cloud over me will lift and I can get started on this project this coming weekend? Time will tell.

I was using my HEKA OS as my main and only OS on my main PC. Sometime over the weekend (I forget which day as it’s was all a blur) I updated a thing or two on my personal HEKA, and it trashed almost everything. Sound stopped working, couldn’t start X, etc. I was not happy! All my data is backed up, so it’s just a matter of a re-install. But, I’m getting sick of it all. Debian is really starting to make me question a thing or two these days. So, I decided to just install a different distro on my main PC and keep my development distros on the dev PC. The new Ubuntu seems to be all the fuss lately, so I tried it. I will admit it’s better than it used to be, but still sucks IMHO. Sure, it sets up my hardware painlessly, but that’s where the fun ends. Constant lock ups, sound randomly stops working, Debian packages modified by Ubuntu..removing features (for example HPLIP…they removed the fax feature for my printer…WHY? It works great under Debian!), and it’s slow / sluggish…still! So, in all fairness I rolled it back to Ubuntu 9.10. I also selected ext3 instead of the forced (*ahem* default) ext4. Fewer lock ups, but everything else the same. So I decided to try Linux Mint 8 and got basically the same results. I finally decided to visit DistroWatch and just go down the list. It seemed like just about every distro had some quirk that struck a nerve with me. Personally, I think Linux in general is in the toilet these days. The devs can’t seem to get there acts together. The past year or two has seen many changes that have basically broke things instead of making them better. It seems that Linux is trying to dumb down for those migrating from Windows or OS X, and for that I blame Ubuntu! I don’t want my OS dumbed down! One of the many reasons I switched to Linux is because I had freedom of choice. I could use my computer how I wanted to, not how some OS maker wants me to. I was in control. These days it seems that, we as devoted Linux users, have less control over things. It seems that the Linux devs are more concerned with making Windows users happy instead of the Linux users that have kept them going all these years! So, where does that leave me? Well, before anyone starts rumors…I am NOT dumping my Linux projects! However, Linux is no longer on my main PC. After trying several distros over the past couple of days it is clear to see that there is a lot of breakage out there. In the past, it wasn’t this bad! So, for now I’ve gone back to my Unix roots, more or less. My main PC now runs BSD, PC-BSD to be more precise. I’m running version 8.0 and it is freakin’ sweet! I have all the apps I normally use on a daily basis, and all the games I like to play are there as well. It recognizes all of my hardware and sets it up OOTB. It’s fairly quick too. But, the best part is that it’s stable! For now…I am happy!

Well, there is my Fun Weekend! My Linux projects are still on…just waiting for some stuff to get sorted and then they’ll be back on track.