I've edited boot.ini thusly:

9c9

< F:\ubnldr.mbr="UNetbootin"

---

> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\ubnldr.mbr="UNetbootin"

9c9< F:\ubnldr.mbr="UNetbootin"---> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\ubnldr.mbr="UNetbootin"

This -should- allow me to boot into ubuntu.  Fingers crossed.  Will edit if not.

EDIT1: This did not work.  Windows' bootloader thought unetbootin was a Windows operating system, and was therefore expecting files which are clearly not present.  I'm therefore re-installing unetbootin in the vain hope that it will work.  Will edit again when it doesn't.

EDIT2: This did not work.  Windows' bootloader STILL thinks unetbootin is a Windows operating system despite several variations in my installation procedure.  I think the only way to convince my computer otherwise is to take the decision out of Windows' hands.  That requires waiting for Mike to wake up and give me a blank CD though (his LiveCD of Ubuntu is 64bit and my processor is somewhat deficient in bits.  It only has 32, bless it...)  Another edit will follow with tales of my success once I have a CD in my hands...

EDIT3: Day 2 of using Ubuntu again and I can honestly say I couldn't be happier.  Windows XP is probably never going to see the light of day again.  I'm home!!! SO happy!

Note that this whole procedure would've been a lot easier if I had a blank CD or a LiveCD of Ubuntu to hand, but I don't, so never mind.

Ok, so when I hit the error I gave it time to complete what it was doing, it was definitely hung.  So I rebooted back into Windows and tried a different .iso image.  Same issue.  So I tried a different wubi.exe (specifically, the one on the 10.10 i386 iso rather than the one you get if you choose to download it from ubuntu.com).  Same issue.  At this point I ran around the net in circles for about an hour getting nowhere fast but eventually stumbling upon some people reporting the issue affecting EasyBCD.  So I looked into what exactly EasyBCD was, it turns out it's a way to modify the Windows Vista/7 bootloader.  Since the SP3 bootloader is nigh-identical to the Vista/7 one, I thought EasyBCD might help.  Unfortunately, it's only superficially identical, and despite following a "howto use EasyBCD on Windows XP" tutorial, I managed to completely remove the Windows XP bootloader menu, replacing it with a black screen that flashes for a second then boots into windows.  Great.  So now I can't even -try- to boot wubi.

It was at this point I hit the 'net again, and after another hour or two of circular google-forum-google work I eventually hit upon "Unetbootin".  I knew of Unetbootin before but only very vaguely, had once used it to try out a few OSes.  It turns out that Unetbootin can mimick wubi, almost, but in a much more sane way.  What Unetbootin does is perform a 'frugal install', in other words using your hard disk as a LiveCD.  Sort of a LiveHDD idea.  Perfect!  Once you're in the Live environment, performing an install to an already-prepped Ubuntu partition (which I just so happen to have) is trivial.  I'll post a follow-up detailing my success with this (it's currently halfway through installing).

Check back later!

Ok so in lighter news, I've made some new friends, discovered a love for Bon Jovi and that's about it.  Still no direction in my life, but I'd like to take an LPI exam so I can become a Linux System Administrator.  That costs money though, and I really don't know where I can get £120 from.

So yeah, life is still its usual roller coaster.  Everything broke in the last 2 months or so, and I'm gradually fixing what I can - my desktop was the first to officially be labelled "mended".  My phone, my netbook and my relationship with Rachael have all be written off as irreparable.  Next thing to work on is my ability to finish projects (something I've never really had fixed).  Any help with that would be appreciated, but I don't know who I'm talking to.  I don't really have a support network.  Oh well.

I'm a constituent living in Tewkesbury, trying to decide who I should vote for on thursday.

I would like to know each of your opinions on the Digital Economy Act. I would like to know your more general opinion of Copyright vs Copyleft, and whether internet censorship is a justifiable enforcement of copyright law.

I would also like to know what operating systems you are each familiar with and to what extent you are familiar with each. After all, if you are passing legislation regarding digital media and the use/abuse thereof, I should hope you are at least aware of a significant range of operating systems, their distribution methods and their compatibility with Digital Rights Management.

The Internet, and legislation surrounding it, affects us all. I would like to be reassured that those who are creating this legislation understand the core principles of it. Concisely, what is the internet for?

Cybercrime and cyberterrorism are also immediate threats to the safety and welfare of United Kingdom residents. What safeguards are being taken to ensure users of the internet are protected against security crackers, malicious software, privacy invasion and internet-based attacks; do you feel the current legislation is sufficient? Does it protect without infringing on civil liberties?

Remote devices - such as smart phones, tablet PCs and laptops - often include Digital Rights Management software to prevent users from infringing copyright. Have you ever been unable to use any device in the way in which you want to due to this software? Do you think the software is justifiably restrictive?

There are many software platforms available on the market today, but the main three are NT (eg Microsoft Windows), BSD (eg Apple Mac OSX) and Linux (eg GNU/Linux). Which of these (or any other) do you use? Which of these (or any other) do you think represents the most accurate analogy for your political party, and why?

I look forward to hearing from you before the general election. I appreciate I may not receive my answers until after I have voted due to the busy nature of yourselves at this time.

Regards,

Christopher Browne

Ossum has changed its name to Enosis and still hasn't been worked on very much; but the infrastructure is now in place so the next step is to write a plan and then a tech demo.  Fun, fun, fun!

I've received four 7"x5" canvases and finally dug out mum's old acrylics (of which there is a disappointingly small pallet, but it should be significant for the work I have planned); I will be painting four abstract works entitled "Battlefield of the Mind".  Pictures once I've actually done it.

I have also begun thinking about considering contemplating starting to ponder the possibility of organising a "Geeknic" over the summer, so if you're a geek in the Tewkesbury area (or a geek who can reasonably travel to the Tewkesbury area) then get in touch, the more the merrier!

Very excited about finally having my desktop back...  And my whiteboard, for that matter!

Oh, and started work on a computerised Rubik's Cube solver with the ultimate goal of making a robot that will solve rubik's cubes (hopefully to be shown off at the geeknic).

w1zard:

• Intel Xeon 3.2GHz (/proc/cpuinfo reports 2 cores)
• 1024MB of RAM (free reports 1023012 bytes)
• 73.1GB 15k RPM SCSI hard disk drive (df reports 67456272 bytes on /)
• 2x1Gb ethernet (both identical Intel 82541GI Gigabit Ethernet Controllers)
• Floppy disk drive, CD ROM drive, front-availability VGA and 2xUSB

w1tch:

Same as above

W1zard is already up and running, serving you this webpage!  W1tch will be up when I work out how to configure the network (I'm thinking internet->router->w1zard->w1tch->war1ock for the time being, with w1tch and war1ock later becoming siblings in a w1zard-controlled network).

Problems encountered so far:

1. Missing kettle leads for both servers (borrowed a couple, ordered some from Ebay so I can return the borroed cables)
2. W1zard's RAID was set to RAID 0, but the second disk had been removed - so I got a RAID error on first boot - solved by switching RAID off in the BIOS.
3. Minor damage to w1tch's front mount thingy, fixed by bending it back the couple of mil it was out by.

They are also very noisy, and very big; which doesn't matter in the long run as their ultimate location will be the attic, but for now they are on my desk and very much in the way.

Both servers also came without any software, but the MBs support PXE; but it was a quicker job to use a Ubuntu 9.10 server edition disk on w1zard - I may experiment with PXE when I get w1tch up and running.

Any questions?

Now on the bright side, I got my netbook from ZaReason! It is everything I expected and about three times faster than I thought it would be. The webcam isn't quite as high quality as I was expecting, but that's no big deal really and the battery life is a bit shorter than I would've hoped but there's not much can be done about that now.

There seems to be some minor shipping damage as well, the shift keys are a bit dodgy and the left speaker seems to have a loose connection or some interference or something. Thanks to the open hardware warranty, however, I can fix these myself or get a local shop to do repairs without having to send the thing back halfway across the world, probably picking up more shipping damage along the way.

Speed-wise, I couldn't be happier, the Intel Atom performs exceptionally and the 2GB of RAM is barely used by Ubuntu Netbook Remix (about 200-300MB in use most of the time).

Also, the 'book runs almost silent, drowned out by the noise of my typing on a keyboard whose own sound is drowned out by gentle background conversation. Even under heavy usage.

I've also set up Citadel groupware on my server to replace the postfix/dovecot solution, making it easier to share calendars and other stuff, and giving a more extensive web interface for local users. I will be looking at bundling Citadel with my SMART system when I get around to it.

On a far less disgusting topic, I found a brilliant little niche business yesterday which I am extremely glad to pledge a large portion of my recent paycheque to in return for nothing less than -exactly- what I wanted.  I've yet to receive the netbook, but based on the description and reviews I am confident that I will be singing its praises once it arrives.  Even if I'm not, though, they have a 30 day money-back policy which would see an almost 100% refund (they charge a nominal restocking fee).  I can't see myself returning it; let's go over the spec together:

• 2GB of RAM, which is more than my desktop so quite extraordinarily healthy
• choice of black or mocha (ubuntu coloured) case, I chose black
• Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor
• 10.2" 1024x600 screen.  For those who don't know this is towards the top end of netbook screen sizes, which are normally between 7 and 11 inches.
• Draft-N WiFi, which is good because I don't plan to get a mobile broadband connection for it.
• 3 USB ports, unbelievably, that's more than I've seen on most laptops!  I don't know what netbooks are like for USB support but I thought it'd only be 1 or maybe 2 tops; well, there's no CD drive so I suppose they have to make up for that but still...
• 640x480 webcam (not the best in the market but definitely good enough as far as I'm concerned)
• 3.5 hours battery life

And by far the best bit, the "windows" key (technically the Super Key, but everyone calls it the Windows key) has an option of either the Ubuntu or Tux (Linux penguin) logo emblazoned for all to see!  And the attention to detail doesn't end there!  The Made For Windows sticker has been replaced by a Ubuntu sticker, and according to one review they replaced the Windows Product Key with a Ubuntu Product Key.  Note that Ubuntu does not need a Product Key like Windows does, and will not nag you to activate your copy of Ubuntu within 30 days after you've already put in the damn key 15 times (and that was on XP, not their newer, more bug-ridden versions of Windows!).

Apparently, the warranty is an Open Hardware Warranty as well, which basically means rather than "DO NOT OPEN THIS CASE" the warranty actually states (paraphrased) "PLEASE OPEN THIS CASE!", which is brilliant because it means I can tinker without losing peace of mind.  I ordered it with a 16GB SSD with a view to upgrading the SSD when the prices for SSD come down, and that hardware warranty will make that job a darnsight easier.  Not just the warranty being far more flexible but the fact that the manufacturer has created it with tinkering in mind.

I'm sure you're all dying to know just where you can find a linux laptop/desktop/netbook/server with all this and a techsupport email address which replied to my first query within 10 minutes, so with no further ado let me disappoint you by revealing the catch:

The company, ZaReason is based in Berkeley, California.  I've had to import the netbook which will put delays and extra price considerations into the deal.  However, I have had the idea that I shall get the first netbook, test it, trial it, make sure it's worthy and then invest some money in importing a joblot for sale in the UK.  In other words, I may start reselling ZaReason gear from a UK outlet (if I can raise the funds necessary).  I shall enter into negotiations with ZaReason regarding this in the coming months.  They do ship to the UK and they will ship with UK power cords if you ask them to, but in the interests of faster build-to-reception times, I would like to stock some in the UK on behalf of ZaReason and sell them on for price of unit + shipping + import, with maybe a shred of profit for prospective growth of ZaReasonUK.  Let's see how I like my netbook first, though, and leave the international trade negotiations for my next blog post!

Oh, and before I forget, they helpfully answered my question about a/v chat with an exciting piece of news which I think I heard drifting around the net a few months back but which now has been more or less confirmed (Alpha 5 of Karmic's release notes include this gem).

Ubuntu Karmic Alpha 5 includes the latest GNOME 2.27.91 development release.

Empathy has replaced Pidgin as the default instant messaging client, introducing the Telepathy framework.

The gdm 2.27.91 login manager is a complete rewrite compared to the version in earlier Ubuntu releases.

Exciting or what, eh?  And no, I'm not talking about the version number of Gnome being an americanised 27th of February 1991, because that is a rather insignificant date to me.  I refer to Empathy, which supports webcam!  Unlike Pidgin, who has lacked this support since it changed its name from GAIM (and yes, I am just about old enough to remember that).  The other thing to note is the new login manager, which according to the plans I read back when 9.04 had just been released (that's April this year), should prove to be far more fun and exciting than the current login manager.  And yes, I am mostly excited because I will be talking to people using Telepathy and that just sounds too cool to pass up.

Ttfn, people, and watch this space closely for updates!

In all seriousness, it is possibly the dullest, most frustrating, most tedious job I've ever had.  My job is to:

1. receive an email
2. save the Excel (or occasionally .pdf) attachments
3. open up an access database whose frontend has been coded by the three worst UI designers on the face of the planet (and I'm comparing them to whoever came up with the original Xbox dashboard! [note to younger readers: that's the -original- xbox, not the original xbox 360 dashboard])
4. copy/paste and in some cases re-type the information in the attachment into the database

Considering I could (and may well do just to prove this point) design a system that does the same job in a quarter of the time with a quarter of the clunkiness and umpteen times the user-friendliness; I'm really quite frustrated!

So my job sucks, but whose doesn't these days?  I guess I'll have to live with it for the time being, but there's not much chance I'll take a permanent in that place unless...

I had this idea the other day, that could prove to be quite ingenius (or could just become yet another abandoned idea); basically, I want to head up a new bespoke IT unit called the Alternative Operating Systems Unit, whose remit would be to:

• Promote and support the use of non-Microsoft operating systems within the civil service
• Provide services for the more technical users, such as IRC servers, forums, internal blogging, etc. [optional]
• Create and maintain bespoke software designed to integrate alternative operating systems into the (currently primarily if not wholly Microsoft) network
• Offer training to all users of computer systems for technical challenges such as basic programming, scripting and system administration.

I haven't worked out figures yet, but since a hell of a lot of it would actually be simpler to manage than standard FLITS work, I don't imagine it would cost money (in fact it may well save a lot of money in licensing fees and so on).

I shall post more on this topic later, including a link to a website that I shall start work on soon.  Watch this space!

[EDIT: I didn't finish that sentence about figures... oops!]

For those with a newsreader, here is a news link to the feed.

For those without (which will be most of you), I have setup a web frontend with a funny random headline (currently with about 8000 headline combinations available) at: http://news.pemcjd.me.uk.

Thanking you, that is all for now!  I know, it's too short; I'll post again soon don't worry!