Upgrading to SuSE 9.3 from 9.1
I just upgraded my desktop machine from SuSE Linux 9.1 Pro to 9.3 Pro.
It took a little over an hour, and nothing particularly horrible
happened, so far as I can tell.
I did run into two problems:
1. The Shuttle SS51G that I have uses the Intel 8×0 sound driver.
Since 9.1, the driver has dropped support for the “joystick”
parameter, but /etc/modprobe.d/sound still tried to set it to zero,
which gave me an error about no volume controls being present, as well
as a huge pile of errors in dmesg. A German website had the answer:
http://suse-linux-faq.koehntopp.de/q/q-suse93-snd_intel8×0.html
For those of us who don’t know German, the answer can be summarized
as “delete joystick=0 from /etc/modprobe.d/sound.”
2. The second problem I ran into is that like Red Hat, SuSE is worried
about getting sued by Fraunhofer, a German company that owns several
patents involved in mp3 encoding and decoding (licensed through Thomson
Multimedia in the US). As a result, they do not include software that
decodes mp3s in SuSE 9.3 Pro. However, SuSE does allow you to download
packages from their FTP site that add the ability to decode mp3s. I
don’t know whether they changed their minds after the CDs were
pressed or whether there is some legal difference between me downloading
the files from them directly instead of from a CD that they made.
Unfortunately, I was a coward when I started ripping my CDs a few years
ago, so I didn’t rip them to .ogg, which is similar in quality and
compression to mp3, but not encumbered by patents. On the other hand,
the ipod does not and may never support .ogg. On the third hand, at
least one of the mp3 patents expires in 2015.
SuSE 9.3 is pretty slick. An SVG icon theme is included, which is fun to
play with, even if the icons look like bitmaps once you stop stretching
them. Beagle, the new desktop search program is reasonably functional,
at least at first glance, although I have not figured out how to make it
index cached chats in Chatzilla (possibly because Chatzilla may not
cache chats).
So, with that done, I’m going back to counting down the days until
Firefox 1.1 is released with native SVG support sometime in June. Since
I don’t actually know when it will be released, I’ve decided to
count up instead.
Ubuntu Hoary Hedgehog on a Sharp Actius MP30
I just installed the default Ubuntu "Hoary Hedgehog" release on my Sharp Actius MP30 laptop. The results were about the same as with the preview release-- still need to add a kernel option to get the trackpad working, and I still haven't managed to get the built-in wireless working.
I still have some hope: some guy named Carl at Cameltail has managed to get the wireless working under Slackware 10.0.
Some details about how to add the kernel boot option in GRUB:
Open Applications > System Tools > Terminal
sudo -s
Type in your password.
pico /boot/grub/menu.lst
Add i8042.nomux to the nonaltoptions line so that it reads:
nonaltoptions=quiet splash i8042.nomux
Save the file and exit pico.
update-grub
Restart your laptop. If you hit ESC as it's booting, you will be able to check the GRUB kernel options to see if what you did worked.
There's a good burrito at Rengstorff and Middlefield
La Costena, Los Altos Taqueria, and La Bamba
These three burrito shops all do business at the same intersection in Mountain View, CA. Los Altos Taqueria is my default choice-- an excellent burrito and horchata for cheap, plus free chips and decent seating. La Costena has the best carne asada burrito I've ever eaten, but they're slightly more expensive, and your seating choices are either inside a convenience store or on a narrow walkway next to Rengstorff. On a warm day, you can sit on the grass at the dental plaza across the street. La Bamba is not a favorite of mine-- it's generally cold, the seats all face the wall, and the burritos are both slightly pricy and slightly spicy for my tastes.
Ramon's El Burrito Real
Rengstorff Avenue, Mountain View, CA
Employing some of the same fine burrito makers as La Costena (e.g. "Catarino"), Burrito Real is somehow not as tasty as La Costena. They do have a lot of seating though, so it's a good place on a rainy day with friends. It's too bad it doesn't rain very often in California, and I have so few friends.
Mariachi's
Valencia between 16th and 17th in San Francisco, CA
An excellent burrito. After they wrap up the good stuff in the tortilla, they put the burrito back on the grill.
Gordo's
A series of 7 outstanding taquerias around San Francisco and the East Bay.
Andale Taqueria
University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA
Expensive but crowded.
The Treehouse
Stanford University, next to Palo Alto, CA
Vile--do not visit. A Stanford tradition since 2000.
Senor Taco
El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA
On the way to Fry's Electronics, but not that great. Not too pricey and yet not that crowded.
High Tech Burrito
Solano Avenue, Berkeley, CA
A decent burrito, if you don't mind feeling like a cog in a robot's intestinal system.
Anna's Taqueria
Somerville Avenue, Cambridge, MA
Anna's is a decent taqueria, even by California standards. I read in the MIT newspaper that Anna's is run by a relative of the family that runs Gordo's in the San Francisco area.
Boca Grande
My favorite taqueria in the greater Boston metropolitan area. Their carne asada is not particularly good, but the guacamole is outstanding. $5.51 for a great super burrito. I heard a rumor that Boca Grande was run by an estranged relative of the people who run Anna's.
Tacos Lupita
El Salvadorean burritos. Like Boca Grande, the carne asada is not that good, but the guacamole is great. Generally, I don't think the people at the counter understand my order, but they usually bring me something tasty anyway.
Karlita's
Redwood City, CA
A great burrito, but not open late. Karlita is the daughter of the family that runs the restaurant. I met her once.
Del Taco
S. Euclid Avenue, Ontario, CA
Strangely, this franchise is where my burrito addiction began.
