The Restart Page - Reboot your favorite old OS.

I stumbled across a unique website a couple of days ago.

This website let's you "reboot" old vintage operating systems.

It's actually just well choreographed pictures and audio, but it totally feels like the original reboot sequence for the operating system of your choice.

And they have some slighty old OS's, but they also have really old OS's like the Apple II GS and the Amiga Workbench.

My favorite has to be the Windows XP reboot, because they added the usual crashy XP bonk noises as XP crash reboots, pretty common for XP. XP never did have any easy shutdown/reboot it seems.

Here is the link:
The Restart Page - Free unlimited rebooting experience from vintage operating systems

Computer Deals

I usually don't post computer deals here...

I was pulling together a quote for a customer, and thought I would share it with you.

My biggest shocker is that I found some of the best deals at Walmart.com.

I am usually a 3BTech.net man, simply because I have worked with them for about 10 years, and they have been trustworthy, which is very valuable to me. (And there prices are pretty good too.)

Here is what I found for my customer:


HP - Pavilion Desktop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive
Model: p2-1124 SKU: 5563034

299.99

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+Desktop+-+4GB+Memory+-500GB+Hard+Drive/5563034.p?d=1218661380542&skuId=5563034&cmp=RMX&ky=1whxm51gbOgORrn6M8JOUlLjDtR0yY7Rx

-Next Model-

This model is an excellent buy because it comes with a 20” monitor in the bundle.

Acer Black eMachines EL1360G-UW12P Desktop PC with AMD Dual-Core E-300 Processor, 2GB Memory, 20" Monitor, 500GB Hard Drive and Windows 7 Home Premium with Windows 8 Pro Upgrade Option

$365.00

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-Black-eMachines-EL1360G-UW12P-Desktop-PC-with-AMD-Dual-Core-E-300-Processor-2GB-Memory-20-Monitor-500GB-Hard-Drive-and-Windows-7-Home-Premium/19714391

-Next Model-

Now for some laptops

This model is a good buy because of the added case.

Compaq 15.6" Presario CQ57 Laptop PC with Windows 7 Home Premium bundled w/ case and USB Drive with Windows 8 Pro Upgrade Option

$315.00

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Compaq-15.6-Presario-CQ57-Laptop-PC-with-Windows-7-Home-Premium-bundled-w-case-and-USB-Drive-with-Windows-8-Pro-Upgrade-Option/20510725

-Next Model-

Acer Black 17.3" AS7250-3821 Laptop PC with AMD E-Series Dual-Core E-450 Processor and Windows 7 Home Premium with Windows 8 Pro Upgrade Option

$398.00

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-Black-17.3-AS7250-3821-Laptop-PC-with-AMD-E-Series-Dual-Core-E-450-Processor-and-Windows-7-Home-Premium-with-Windows-8-Pro-Upgrade-Option/20863723

-Last Model-

This last model I added because I know how you like a tidy workspace. With this model, their would be nothing under your desk. Everything would be right at your fingertips, and yet compact and out of the way. (Note to my customer, but still relevant.)

HP Black Omni-120-1026 All-in-One Desktop PC with AMD E-450 Processor, 4GB Memory, 20" LCD Monitor, 750GB Hard Drive and Windows 7 Home Premium with Windows 8 Pro Upgrade Option

$458.00

http://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-Black-Omni-120-1026-All-in-One-Desktop-PC-with-AMD-E-450-Processor-4GB-Memory-20-LCD-Monitor-750GB-Hard-Drive-and-Windows-7-Home-Premium-with-W/20904069

I never charge my customers more than what I can get it from the manufacturer, as it states on my company's website, DennyPC.com.

So these prices are the ones at the linked pages.
-Denny

Why Linux is better

I found a website that is excellent for the beginner Linux user, or for those who are curious.

The reason this website is excellent is because it takes a slow, easy big push button approach to it.

Iron clad, long time Linux geeks like me seem to scare people away from Linux with tons of jargon, and a "flame war" (a rift in the Linux community over versions of distribution and desktop environment) that has been in existence for far too long.

This website gently helps people to see why so many people are happy to be Linux users instead of Windows or Mac Os.

Here is a link to the website: Why Linux is better

I also like the "One day with Linux (a screenshot tour)!" Because it let's people see how polished, and fully functional the operating system is. (In  this case, it's Ubuntu.)

If you are trying to help someone see why Linux is a viable, excellent choice for operating system, I suggest you tell them about it, or send them the link.

I think with an approach to Linux like this one, we can start to help people to relax their fears and hopefully get them to consider Linux for their next operating system choice.

The history of Denny's Home World

I was being nostalgic about my first website, also named Denny's Home World.

Pretty cheesy looking header image, aye?

That was back in the days of GeoCities, when GeoCities was actually used on a regular basis.

I really did not know what direction I wanted to go with DHW.

For the longest time it was completely useless.

It had little more than information on how to contact me on the net.

I then decided I would put it to use, even if it was entirely for myself.

My old Denny's Home World, still standing because my old ISP has decided not to clean house, is available here: http://www.dwave.net/~denny/

It's a good representation of what I was trying to do.

I think I was too lazy to write my own articles back then, so I tried to shove it as full of self replicating content as I could.

Denny's Home World had it's start in 1995, when I was working for Software Etc, and had nothing to do during the slow hours. So I used the company computer to monk around on the internet, which was still very new to me.

The closest I had gotten to the internet was our local bbs, WoW, or "Wausau online of Wisconsin".

In 2005, I started really digging into Linux. I had goofed around with it since the late 90's, but I really found a passion for it in 2005-2006.

At the time, Denny's Home World was sitting stagnant, doing next to nothing.

I had people coming every month, but as a friend told me, it was for the free email offered by everyone.net, and that somehow I had become the portal to gain access to the email addresses used for unsavory internet usage.

How that happened, I do not know. I am assuming it's because I advertised my site a bit, and since it did almost nothing except house links to real content providers, it was a shady dark corner in the back of the net, and easy enough to use.

In 2008, I was starting to really get into blogging, simply because the websites looked decent, you could modify the site to look how you wanted, and the price was right. (Hard to beat free.)

I also wanted to share my passion of Linux, and especially Ubuntu, to the world.

So the blog representation of Denny's Home World came into being in early 2009.

As for the name of my little website, That came about back in 1995 because my coworkers and friends thought of me as not being from this planet.

I was a geek through and through, loving computers, star trek, and wishing I was spock...

My friends of the time where not at all interested or knowledgeable in computers.
I was certified and certifiable, and talked their ears off about everything that came to mind, techwise.

Even though I don't get millions of users, I finally am putting Denny's Home World to good use. I have helped people with tech issues, and have actually seen my url, http://dennygoot.blogspot.com/ in forums and other internet media. Seeing "Denny's Home World" on a forum makes me smile a bit.

DHW will most likely never get tons of hits, but it has a positive affect on the IT world and people in general, and that's all I ever wanted out of it in the first place.

So I end this little article with a happy heart. Thank you for stopping by DHW, and I hope you will visit in the future.

Please feel free to email me with questions or comments! dennygoot@gmail.com.
-Dennis Andrew Gutowski Jr.

P.S., if your interested, here's the way back machine data for Denny's Home World, from the time it was housed at dwave.net..

http://wayback.archive.org/web/19960601000000*/http://www.dwave.net/~denny/

I also managed to dig up old t-shirt's and mugs and stuff I had developed for my website.
http://www.cafepress.com/dd/3580291?pid=4740463

So now you too can have a cheesy alien t-shirt, LOL!

VBA 32 Rescue, a usb key/cd virus tool for Windows

I love it when Linux technology is used in unique ways. 

This is one of my favorite ways, taking Linux, and a handful of apps, and repairing Windows.

I do this all the time. Usually I use it for checking internet connections, or saving otherwise irretrievable data, such as pictures, music, videos and other documents.

VBA 32 is my favorite version of anti-virus on USB stick because it is light on both ISO size and on processor power. Using a totally non graphical, text based menu system means that VBA 32 will run on the older machines as well as the newest in tech.

Here is a screen shot. Not pretty, but very very useful!

Here is what they have to say about themselves:

"The line of products produced by VirusBlokAda is based on the antivirus engine developed by our specialists. Vba32 Personal is recommended for home users. It's a reliable and, it is crucial, quick tool to detect and neutralize computer viruses, mail worms, trojan programs and other malware (backdoors, adware, spyware, etc) in real time and on-demand at computers running Windows.

The following advanced technology is used in our antivirus program to provide reliable and effective protection of your computer against malicious programs:

Heuristic analyzer allows our products to detect unknown malicious programs and the dynamic code translation processor emulator effectively handles complex-polymorphous viruses, packers and cryptors.

MalwareScope™ , the technology of malware detection, considerably improves the efficiency of the Vba32 products.

Automatic Internet update of program modules and antivirus bases using the "delta-patch" technology which diminishes Internet traffic and update time.

Integrity control and automatic restore of damaged modules improve reliability of the Vba32 products."

*These excerpts where taken from http://www.anti-virus.by/en/index.shtml

The other reason i like VBA so much is that they develop their software for multiple languages, making it much easier for everyone to use.

If your purpose is to clean an infected Windows machine of all viruses and other mal ware types, this is an excellent solution.

The version I like to use is VBA 32 Rescue, which is free.

You can get it here: http://www.anti-virus.by/en/vba32rescue.shtml

CrunchBang Linux, its the #!

"CrunchBang is a Debian GNU/Linux based distribution offering a great blend of speed, style and substance. Using the nimble Openbox window manager, it is highly customisable and provides a modern, full-featured GNU/Linux system without sacrificing performance."   -http://crunchbanglinux.org/

I decided to give CrunchBang a try because Ubuntu was a tad bit slow on my netbook.

I have to admit, while I am a ardent Ubuntu fan, I found myself liking the much improved speeds I recieved using CrunchBang.

I am not a fan of Openbox anymore though, so I installed good old XFCE.

To my delight, CrunchBang didn't loose any speed using XFCE instead.

I always like to add some pics, so here are some screenshots from http://crunchbanglinux.org/wiki/about

After reading the boards, CrunchBang seems to have 3 groups of users. The old hardware group, the minimalistic operating group, and the "it's easier debian" group.

I feel I fit into all 3 groups.

If CrunchBang would fill the needs of my customer base, I would be very tempted to switch.

If you feel like giving it a try via usb key or cdrom, remember the default language setting for the keyboard is german. To switch it to the US in the live session, find the keyboard options program running on the top left section of the screen.

To end this article, I would like to let the CrunchBang people speak for themselves.
This is an excerpt from the about page at http://crunchbanglinux.org/wiki/about

"Features:

Speed

CrunchBang Linux uses the Openbox window manager. Openbox is lightweight and speedy, and as a result, CrunchBang Linux is fast. Also, while CrunchBang Linux is not primarily designed for old systems, it has been reported to operate very well where system resources are limited. Once installed, CrunchBang Linux should boot-up and operate faster than a regular Debian GNOME/KDE installation.

Compatibility with Debian

With the exception of a few packages, CrunchBang Linux is built entirely from packages available from the Debian repositories. CrunchBang Linux uses the same APT package management tools and update manager. If you are already familiar with Debian or Ubuntu, you should have no trouble working with CrunchBang Linux.

Ease of use

CrunchBang Linux comes with the ability to play most popular media formats, including but not limited to MP3, DVD playback & Adobe Flash. CrunchBang Linux also comes with many popular applications installed by default, including but not limited to Iceweasel browser , VLC media player and Transmission BitTorrent Client.

Highly configurable

 CrunchBang Linux is infinitely hackable, this is mainly due to the standards compliant light-weight extensible window manager that is Openbox. CrunchBang Linux also comes installed with Conky, the customisable lightweight system monitor, and Thunar, a very popular and highly configurable file manager."

If you would like to give CrunchBang a try, here is the link: http://crunchbanglinux.org/