The GNU/Linux User Show #28!
The GNU/Linux User Show #028 (MP3 20MB - 59min)
The GNU/Linux User Show #028 (OGG 17MB - 59min)
MP3: LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE
OGG: LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE
It occurred to me (OK, Kelly told me) that while it was all fine and well that I was going to do a mail merge show using a database in the near future, many people don’t know what a database is. Therefore, this show is a primer on databasing. It’s high on the theoretical side because OOo2 Base crashed and burned so many times that it was nigh impossible to do anything with it, but hopefully there’s enough information in here to get people comfortable with the ideas and concepts.
Topics:
- How to tell when it’s time to put away that spreadsheet and move into a database
- The philosophical differences between a spreadsheet and a database
- The front end/back end concept
- How (kinda) to build a database with OOo2 Base
Minutes:
- 00:25 Show intro
- 03:44 Freecasting: Podcasting for the Masses
- 06:20 Magnatune albums to give away: Nova Express Gimme Some(x3), Shiva in Exile Ethnic(x
32), Artemis Gravity (x3). Email me if you want one! - 09:20 Justin’s HOWTO on suspending an Ubuntu box using Suspend2
- 13:10 I have a spreadsheet. Why do I need a database?
- 17:56 Entities and how to dissect data
- 22:33 Table relationships
- 28:00 The front end and backend concepts
- 32:47 Create a database in OOo 2 Base
- 34:00 Create some tables
- 44:38 Commence crash and BURN!
- 46:12 Trying to use the Form Wizard
- 52:00 Suspend a no go. Downloading SuSE! (yes, I’m a distro-whore)
Can you believe I FORGOT to play a song at the end of the show after all the talking about it on the blog? Sheesh…next time, I promise!
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December 20th, 2005 at 12:33 pm
I’m of the opinion that the only way to get a Linux desktop distro that does everything a specific user wants is to pick a distro that gets close, and tweak it till it’s perfect.
I understand that you don’t have a real problem changing distros all the time, but why go through that? Surely you don’t enjoy installing new distros? I used to like trying many distros too, but that seems to be a newbie phase. The fun dies out, and eventually you want to settle down with one. (That sounded so geeky.)
If I were you, I’d just install Linspire again for its working suspend, and then carefully add standard Debian repositories to apt to get a “mutant” distro that has OO.o2 and other new software, but retains that suspend feature.
That’s basically what I did on my 2 Linux desktops, except I used Mepis (another Debian-based newbie distro) as the foundation. The one feature of Mepis that made me choose it was that it had ndiswrapper out of the box, with drivers for my D-Link DWL 520+ card. Back then I didn’t want to learn how ndiswrapper worked, and just wanted a distro that took care of it for me. As my Linux knowledge grew I removed almost all of the packages Mepis came with, using the Debian repositories and apt to install software that I wanted instead. I haven’t used KDE or GNOME seriously in years, for example.
If you were to look at my box today you’d see a Linux box that meets my needs and preferences perfectly, but that happens to have ndiswrapper built in. It resembles neither Mepis, nor Debian.
This post is a lot longer than what I normally write, so I think I’ll get back to my point, which is that no OS will meet all the needs and tastes of a particular user immediatly. It always takes some customization.
December 20th, 2005 at 12:52 pm
Heya Mandeep.
You’re right - this is a lot longer than your usual posts :)
You may have something about picking one that’s close and then tweaking it. Part of the reason I like switching distros is because (as mentioned) it’s almost trivial for me to do so. I literally have NO data on my system partition that I want. My home drive is on another partition and everything else I own is online. The worst part about switching distros is the download.
Hmmm….I’m off to think about your idea…
December 21st, 2005 at 8:05 am
Hi there Jon,
another cool show! Just wanted to show a little appreciation on the work that you are putting in for us all. I haven’t tried it yet but version 2.01 of open office came out today and there appears to be a number of bug fixes for base included, it might be worth giving it a try. Anyway the show was a good primer for users looking at using a database, the distinction you made about spreadsheet and database use was well thought out also. I think this podcast will be useful for many people looking at trying to configure their first database.
I also tend to agree with Mandeeps comments above Jon that you will never find the absolute perfect distro. Distro hopping can distract and just tends to leave you with the mindset of waiting for the next best thing rather than evaluating what you have at hand. Anyway Jon thanks for another great show, happy Christmas to you and Kelly.
John Mills
December 21st, 2005 at 8:14 am
Hi John,
Thanks - glad you enjoyed the show. It wasn’t terribly ‘Linuxey’, but I thought some would find it interesting. I love databasing. I don’t know why, it just appeals to me.
I agree with you about agreeing with Mandeep. I’ve taken his advice and chosen to go back to Linspire and I will tweak it to (hopefully) get what I want out of it. One thing Linspire taught me was that suspend is my killer app. Now that I’ve had it on my laptop, I don’t want to live without it. Since Linspire seems to be alone in the ability to deliver suspend to me - it only makes sense to chose it and then try to mold the rest of the system to what I want. Plus - the CNR is freaking cool even if it is horribly behind.
Because of what I do I always feel obligated to try as many different distros as possible. You’re right that is a bit distracting, but not terribly. I just feel guilty when I don’t know how to do something on an RPM system or in Gnome or something like that because I don’t use that stuff very often. It’s the age old problem of no test machine :)
Happy holidays to you and yours as well, John.