We Are Back, Baby!

[rabid1st]

So far, so good on Ubuntu! It is a little weird. And there were some glitches the first day. But one thing I do love about Ubuntu, it corrects issues like gangbusters. Say, you find you can't watch a video...or log off...so you do some complaining. Windows would send you a load of "updates" that stop your computer from working properly, slow it down and take up most of your day...until you manage to get your settings all back where you like them. Ubuntu...says..."Oh, here's the fix for that." And it IS the fix for that. It is lovely. No long waits for patches to install. No fussing about with settings that I don't understand. I just say..."Hey, I want to watch this video." Ubuntu says, "Well, it looks like you can't. Shall I fix that?" And I say..."Fix it, Felix!"

And voilà! Fixed! I am watching the video. None of that "Oh, now you need a Java update. Now you need a spanner" nonsense.

I am sure that there will be niggling things that annoy me as we go on...maybe not having proper vidding software...but, as I said...for now...We are back in the blogging business.

Rae

Comments

[keswindhover.livejournal.com]

Hoorah!

*pats Ubuntu's sweet little head*

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

*Ubuntu head-butts your ankle*

Awww!

[auntiesuze.livejournal.com]

Woo hoo! Welcome back! :D

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It is good to be seen among the bloggers.

[astitchintime-9.livejournal.com]

Well, hey!

I'm not familiar with Ubuntu! How do you have that and not Windows? Or do have both?

Do you need to add programs such as openoffice to Ubuntu as well? How does it integrate with malware protection/firewall programs (norton/mcafee/avast/symantec/etc.) or does it have its own?

I'm Googling it up now, but I'd love to hear your first-hand experiences and opinions. Please do tell!

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I have what is called a Dual Boot system. So Windows is on the machine, but dormant, until I want to use it. Hopefully, I will never want to use it again.

And, Ubuntu comes with a full set of free software. Including LibreOffice (which is a sort of upgrade to Open Office...it is Open Office by different people, but supported currently). You don't need virus protection or malware protection on Ubuntu, because it runs on a non-compatible platform. So, that means you can't go to the store and buy a game or software that you like...but also that your average virus or malware won't run.

Malware and viruses are generally written on a Windows platform, because they want to attack the most people. If a program runs on Windows it won't run on Ubuntu. So your viruses are out of luck. This also means neat programs, like my vidding software, won't run either. But a lot of the same software is available, for free, in the Ubuntu Software Store. Some of the software, like hp-split costs money, just like for Windows.

I think if you are a gamer Ubuntu would not work for you, because you would be cut off from most games. But, Windows is now linking up gamers to a online experience that is frustrating many of them and trying to squeeze them for money. So, I imagine some game programers might grow tired of Windows soon, too, and branch off into Linux.

I basically need a computer to write, watch streaming video, blog and chat. And all of that I can do in Ubuntu for free with ease.

[susanb03.livejournal.com]

welcome back!

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It is good to be here.

[wickedgillie.livejournal.com]

::waves hello!::

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

*waves back and grins broadly*

[soophelia.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're back!

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I am glad to be here.

[dragon-bait21.livejournal.com]

Welcome back. My dad keeps trying to talk me into Ubuntu, but because it's my dad ,I of course, do the opposite.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

That is about how I was with my brother. He's a bit of a computer geek, and he just kept saying I should switch whenever I would ask him for help with my computer. So, finally, I gave it. So far, I have very little to complain about with it.

It is different, so you have to pay attention when opening and closing screens at first, but we both picked it up easily. And the writing software is just like Windows Office, without the annoying upgrade to contend with from last time out.

Rae

Need some advice

[dragon-bait21.livejournal.com]

OK guys, I just sucked a friend into the Whoniverse and judging by by her chewed-off fingernails after The Doctor Dances she is going to be a wreck by Doomsday and comatose by End of Time, heck I'm not even sure she can handle POTW. So the question is, do I keep her away from spoilers or do I let her acclimatize a little bit at a time. Also do you think I should tell her the "Martix upload" solution before she starts Series Five so maybe she won't hate 11 and River Song with quite the deep and abiding passion that I do. I figure at the rate she is going I only have about a month to decide.

Sorry, I'm not trying to hijack your thread but she is already a fervent Rose/9 shipper and I figured she would be in good company here.

Re: Need some advice

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

She is in excellent company here. There are a few 9/Rose shippers among my readership. And I think the Matrix Upload solution is a good idea, to help her cope with the losses that canon makes us deal with, but then, I would think that. :grin:

I believe the best time to break the bad news about JE is...just after JE...because you simply can't explain such a screw up beforehand...but you can point out that there are extenuating cirumstances that might come into play. Ten is not himself in two of the specials, weeping in End of Time over his bad choices. You could brace her for the idea of 10.5 as a vessel, if you point out the Matrix idea at Human Nature and Utopia. You could even take a look on YouTube for the few Old School episodes like Trial of a Time Lord story "The Ultimate Foe" which shows you alternative versions of the Doctor and takes us inside the Matrix.

Everyone is different about Spoilers. I don't like them at all, thinking they ruin all the fun. But some people have no trouble with them and seem to prefer knowing so they don't invest completely. I think Billie Piper said it best, "It is never really over between the Doctor and Rose."

Rae

Re: Need some advice

[dragon-bait21.livejournal.com]

I was thinking something along those lines about JE. I feel like a truly evil person just introducing her to the series because she explicitly said she hates shows where the writers screw it up. I didn't know how to categorize DW, its a show where the writers are superb, except where it is a complete clusterf***. She loves Douglas Adams though, so she had to be introduced. As for being a Rose/9 shipper, we are scheduled to watch BW/POTW tomorrow night. Then we'll see if she becomes a Rose/10 shipper after she meets 10.

Thanks for telling me which old school episodes dealt with the Matrix, I never knew that. I was bored by the episodes dealing with Gallifrey when I watched them as a child so I never figured it out. Now as an adult I am curious.

As for spoilers, she already found out that BP is not in all the episodes and that much information has already traumatized her. I was evil and told her to avoid more spoilers.

You are not the only person who has pushed the Matrix solution, (just the most interesting). I have seen a couple variants on it. from different writers, (what can I say I am a fast reader). They even touched on it a little in SITL/FOTD. There is a lot of talk about how uploading River into the computer was a stupid solution, but it would be perfectly logical for The Doctor to do that if he came from a culture where that was a normal practice. "Hey, someone is regenerating/dying, upload the ego to the Matrix" so I think it's convincing if non-explicit explanation.

Re: Need some advice

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Some people miss the smoldering, forbidden love appeal of 9. But Ten has such a besotted way about him, he quickly won me over. There are people who think he doesn't love Rose. But to me, there is no doubt she was the only thing holding him in check. He wasn't a naturally nice guy.

In fact, I feel, one of the best ways to deal with the sadness after Doomsday is to take note of how David plays Ten as continuing in his deep love of Rose. I was just looking at a video or two spanning the entire relationship and I paused on that drawing of Rose from Human Nature...and I love how they note that the Doctor knows, even when he has forgotten himself, that he loves Rose. "Girl. In my dreams she keeps walking away. She is dressed in a most immodest way and she will not answer me, she keeps walking away. I know her. I know her well. She is my s..." Sweetheart, Soul Mate...? Whatever. He is still obsessed with her through S3, as Martha points out to us over and over again. And then, when all hope is supposedly lost to him, in the Specials, he really does go nuts.

"He needs you and that is very me!" I mean, there is little doubt that Ten didn't do well leaving Rose behind, so all we need to assume is that he found some way to be with her. I think most of the Ten 2 people view Ten 2 this way...as the only way Ten could be with Rose. But, there is the possibility of archiving and, as you note, some people have gone that way. Until Moff or someone else forces us to accept another explanation, that one is as good as any.

HumansRSuperior has a great video called "Suddenly, I see" that captures the Rose/Ten dynamic, if your friend is reluctant to accept it.

And, after End of Time you can always show your friend Animal...which has a Ten 2 as vessel storyline...and could very well be canon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAj1BO6yocY&feature=share&list=PL6D64AE47608AC5D3

It assumes Ten 2 was a vessel from the moment he is first created. You can make an excellent case for that...because...again...the TARDIS door closes, all Time Lines went there, he is a complex event in time and space and...he is strangely compliant as he is shuttled off to Rose's world. Perhaps, because he was indeed the full Ten but didn't want to tell anyone. Maybe what he whispered to Rose is..."Rose. It is me." That scenario also accounts for the TARDIS explosion in End of Time. It is caused by a loop in time to when she was burning in the Crucible.

Re: Need some advice

[dragon-bait21.livejournal.com]

OK I feel a little weird hopping in here and hijacking your thread like I have been doing just so I have someone to talk DW with. Until I get my friend caught up all the fans in my vicinity are under 16.

I do think that most of the people who claim 10 is less enamored base it solely on TGITF, an episode that tells us a lot more about Moffat than it does about the Doctor. I enjoyed the episode (I'm a sucker for mindp**n) but in my head I tend to exclude or at least downplay it in canon for a couple of complicated reasons which I might write an essay about someday if I'm really bored. Every other episode CIN to Doomsday has them batcrap crazy for each other. RTD also states they were crazy for each other. I think in his mind 10.2 was The Doctor and some of his sloppiness in writing during the specials was based on an internal feeling that his Doctor was settled with Rose and the character he was writing for now was the pseudo-Doctor. This does not excuse his stupid ending but I can feel some sympathy. I just wish he had given us some of that resolution.

The good news is I don't think Moffat cares enough about Rose to bother ruining that premise. He would just as soon never mention her again, which is fine by me. I almost hope he fails to include any RTD characters in his 50an special as he appears to hate them all and we would be subjected to 90 minutes of them being plot devices and acting out of character. This would be so his characters could come in and save the day.He even spent a good portion of SITL/FOTD tellin g us how much better his Doctor was than 10, using River Song as a mouthpiece. That attitude will probably come back to bite him someday as several people I know have cited the 50th as their watershed date. If it doesn't improve by then, they are out. The admittedly vocal group that prefers Moffat's style is not enough to maintain the viewing figures.

On a (mostly) unrelated side note. Does anyone know if the line about marrying Good Queen Bess in EOT was really RTD's idea or was requested by Moffat to tie in with the Dreamlord episode. Moffat has this incredible fetish for pairing The Doctor with historical figures. Mm De Pompadour, Queen Elizabeth, Cleopatra, Marilyn Monroe. I picture Howard Wolowittz from Big Bang Theory thinking that would be the best possible use for a time machine. So Moffat has the Doctor behaving in a manner that would appeal to a sleazy guy who lives in his mother's basement. No wonder many women don't like Moffat's writing.

Anyway thanks for the chat

PS are you even in the US? I shouldn't assume people know Big Bang Theory.

Re: Need some advice

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I am in the US and you needn't worry about hijacking my thread as you seem to be talking just to me. Unless there are other people answering and I've not noticed...in which case...I've not noticed, so again, no worries. :grin:

It could be the Pony For Christmas tendency in me, but I am not completely sure that Moff hates Rose or Ten. I do feel that Moff believes the Doctor should have the most magnificent woman at his side. And Moff sees that woman as almost a icon rather than flesh and blood.

I believe that Doctor Who fans, especially Old School fans, fall into two distinct catagories. And those catagories are represented by RTD and Moff. The first, RTD's and mine, is that the Doctor does not fit in with the Time Lords, because of his soul, his failings as an aristocrat. He is drawn to the failings of humanity. He has compassion and passion and wild creativity lurking in his soul.

For us, Rose is the perfect woman, because she embodies the human spirit, it's infinite capacity. She is not the BEST or most Beautiful or most accomplished of women. But she is the most emotionally generious. Look at HER in GITFP. Look at how she continues to believe in him despite his fascination with a beautiful and accomplished woman. Look at how SHE faces the monsters and the tasks that Madam fears and you will see RTD's vision. Rose represents what the Doctor represents to us, scrapy ingenuity and caring overcoming lack of a sad lack of strategic planning.

Then, there are the Moff-types. They see the Doctor as something beyond the Time Lords, due to some inborn magnificence. Some god-like power, perhaps. And RTD cleverly toys with that idea in his final four episodes...perhaps...as a statement about what Moff was planning. However, it is possible that RTD was also influenced by that idea, I don't know. Anyway, Moff wants a woman that is already AMAZING, because he believes no human...no being in the universe can hold a candle to the Doctor. His Doctor always wins because it is a foregone conclusion that he will. He cannot truly mourn, because true feelings are beneath him. His tragedy is that he is alone and can only ape the lesser beings for a time.

It is a fundamental difference in philosophy. To me, the Doctor is magnificent, because of what he does, his actions. To Moff, the Doctor is magnificent because of what he IS...it is inborn magnificence. That is why it is ultimately not as satisfying for the fans, because...once you've accepted that little thrill you get from having him announce that "HE IS HERE! ALL WILL BE WELL!" what else is there to feel? Certainly, he will not suffer long term pain over his loss...as Ten did. Certainly, he will not ever question his actions...as Nine and Ten did. God ape passion, but they don't embody it. And so...Eleven is a waste of my time...as are Moff's "perfect companions."

In looking at GITF...note that the Doctor thinks only of showing Reinette the stars...of return to Rose. "Always wait 3 hours" he says as he rushes to embrace Rose, leaving his momentary infatuation behind to die. To see RTD's hand, you must notice the staging, rather than the Moff concepts and words. How the Doctor looks to the stars as Rose looks at them, too. How he relies on Rose while he is elsewhere. In the Stolen Planet and in The Impossible Planet, we see similar staging. And Reinette is no more than Lynda with a Y or Martha to the Doctor. She is a fun new person, a distraction from his pain. This, btw, is also the distinction drawn around Donna...Donna is his friend...he travels with her, for her...not for himself. Until her end, when, in fact she also loses out, Donna never imagines she will supplant Rose in his hearts.

Rae

Sorry about those typos

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Most of it still makes sense though. However, I wanted to say...in The Impossible Planet...it is so very telling that RTD has the DOCTOR go for "I'd have to settle down." You and I have discussed this before...you thinking that I fell in with the idea that Rose wanted a house and babies. I don't think this is ROSE'S idea, but rather the Doctors. I think RTD shows this is the Doctor's idea all along...in School Reunion and in JE as well. The Doctor believes Rose should have a house and a life. He wants her to stay as she is as much as her mother wants that. And he wants that for the same reason...because he LOVES her as she is. He doesn't want her to change. But to RTD's credit...RTD shows that Rose HAS changed and so, as Billie Piper says, RTD leaves the door open. He makes the decision to abandon Rose...not only the Doctor's decision, but a BAD decision for the Doctor. And in doing that, RTD is basically saying that it isn't ROSE that wants a house with doors...it is the Doctor.