as you know, I run slackware on my asus 1005ha... and since slackware is what it is...i pretty much do not spend time upgrading or patching anything... stable release install.. configure and that’s it... however something have called my attention with the new release of kde 4.8.0
While running win7 or winxp, this little machine is able to do 8 hours of usable battery life thanks to asus superhybrid engine (a proprietary under-clocking management system) ... on linux... I barely do 4 and half hours.... that pissed me off as I know it is related to configuration etc.
Back on the day I bought this machine I tried (as in miserably failed) to match battery life on slackware; however, there is a point where you really don’t care. 4 hours is good enough if compared with several other machines around + the fact that I run kde with full eye candy... who in fact consume resources.
Kde 4.8.0 is supposed to have a better adaptive power management... so I went to the upgrade... compiled packages like an idiot for a couple of hours and then BAM... alienbob (a known slackware contributor) made some slackbuilds... and the packages for slackware-current... so eventually I ended up updating the whole thing as the new kernel 3.2 series features called my attention.
I haven’t done any benchmark or anything alike but according to kde battery monitor, usable computing time has been up to 6 hours and something... and kde4.8.0 is fast. I’ve read somewhere that it may be as fast as xfce.... however, on the netbook is not really noticeable the speed boost it feels very responsive!
Time to make a backup and a clean install of slackware-current + new kde 4.8.0 apparently...
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
The future of computer devices
Couple of years ago, the world entered on a devastating
financial crisis.. I’ve blog about it as well as many others…
Interestingly enough, by that time asus “invented” the
netbook… a cropped version of a laptop with sucky capabilities that were “just enough”
to do basic computing task… That was the only sector of the computing industry
that actually grows within the financial crisis…. That was the deciding fact of
why Microsoft had to extend support for windows XP... THE NETBOOK
By the same time, people started to demand more
functionality on their smartphones… up to the point that we no longer
understand where it stops been a smartphone (or a tablet for the sake of my
point) and start to become a computer. Virtually everything that could be done
on one device is doable on the other… Before that, the software companies (you
know which ones) make bloated os with fancy eye candy that require more
processing power to make you throw away your hardware in order to update to
current version of something that wasn’t well design to begin with…
Friday, January 13, 2012
About the panamanian "Metro Bus" failure
I've been thinking about if I should blog this down or not; however, somehow I’m bored at a Systems and logistics lecture given by a respectable professor from Louisville... so I’m saying ...what the hell!
Panamanian public transportation sucks. I don't use it as I have a car.. however, thousands of people day in and day out had to ride buses that wasn't secure, had no insurance etc etc... in a vial network that has developed wildly with apparently no planning at all.
Martinelli's government made the change... “diablos rojos” are becoming history as I write down these words.... people are riding new and modern urban buses... however... the system still not functional by several factors.
Anyhow, the idea behind this post is to point out a simple, yet important condition I've seen (from the outside) of why the “metro bus” system is miserably failing.
Old “diablos rojos” are “school buses” which capacity is between 48 to 77 passengers depending on the bus model... however, the buses were usually modified indistinguishably and would accommodate 80 passengers (all “seated).
Metro buses are Marco Polo Gran Viale with a similar capacity, however, because “diablos rojos” charged 25 cents per ride and the new “metrobuses” charge around a buck... people is reluctant to go standing... The users are demanding seats.
This basically means that their capacity has been cropped to something around 30 passengers (manufacturer claims 25 seats)
One of the routes that has been completely taken over by the new system is the one from “Don Bosco”... which had over 200 “diablos rojos” at service... Today, there are around 110 “metrobuses” servicing this route. Assuming that the total capacity of each unit is in use... we are still short on the amount of buses... so guess what. THE SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK.
Some has reported that they could stay waiting for a “metrobus” as long as 45 minutes... and when it comes in... it is already full (no seats available).
I have no idea of how the system was designed and the specifics of why it is not working... however, just by observing the amount of people going on the buses each day I ride from home to work and viceversa I could easily say that the amount of units should be doubled to match the service that old diablos rojos provided.
and yes... I'm glad I own a car!
Panamanian public transportation sucks. I don't use it as I have a car.. however, thousands of people day in and day out had to ride buses that wasn't secure, had no insurance etc etc... in a vial network that has developed wildly with apparently no planning at all.
Martinelli's government made the change... “diablos rojos” are becoming history as I write down these words.... people are riding new and modern urban buses... however... the system still not functional by several factors.
Anyhow, the idea behind this post is to point out a simple, yet important condition I've seen (from the outside) of why the “metro bus” system is miserably failing.
Old “diablos rojos” are “school buses” which capacity is between 48 to 77 passengers depending on the bus model... however, the buses were usually modified indistinguishably and would accommodate 80 passengers (all “seated).
Metro buses are Marco Polo Gran Viale with a similar capacity, however, because “diablos rojos” charged 25 cents per ride and the new “metrobuses” charge around a buck... people is reluctant to go standing... The users are demanding seats.
This basically means that their capacity has been cropped to something around 30 passengers (manufacturer claims 25 seats)
One of the routes that has been completely taken over by the new system is the one from “Don Bosco”... which had over 200 “diablos rojos” at service... Today, there are around 110 “metrobuses” servicing this route. Assuming that the total capacity of each unit is in use... we are still short on the amount of buses... so guess what. THE SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK.
Some has reported that they could stay waiting for a “metrobus” as long as 45 minutes... and when it comes in... it is already full (no seats available).
I have no idea of how the system was designed and the specifics of why it is not working... however, just by observing the amount of people going on the buses each day I ride from home to work and viceversa I could easily say that the amount of units should be doubled to match the service that old diablos rojos provided.
and yes... I'm glad I own a car!
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