Monthly Archives: May 2006

In a previous blog post I mentioned how much I like Linux. Well I thought I’d make a list of the Free and Open Source applications I happen to use on Linux. Maybe this will help someone later on who is looking for a replacement for a proprietary application they use.

Below is a list which I’ll edit as I use applications and as people suggest them.

I took Sophie out to the shops on Sunday to pick up a few things, and whilst there popped into my local high street retailer to ogle the big tellys and other consumer devices. I asked the guy in there if they had any Freeview DVB-T PVR (hard disk digital telly recorders) and he pointed to the only one they had. It is a Humax PVR-9200T. I’d already had this model on my shopping list, so after checking the box to make sure it wasn’t an old spec or cut-down model I bought it.

It’s lovely.

When people hear I don’t run Windows at home, they usually move onto the obvious question “Well, what do you use then?”. When I say “Linux” I get responses ranging from a quizzical look (“Never heard of it!”) to a roll of the eyes (“Oh you’re one of them!”), to intrigue (“Interesting, tell me more”).

Sometimes I’ll bite and reply, sometimes I’ll just give a one line answer. I have decided to put hand to keyboard and try to articulate why I use Linux here. Maybe that way I can point people here for the comprehensive answer, and I’ll be less likely to get into slanging matches with people who think I’m nuts for not running Windows.

As I was yesterday, I bought a pack of shelves a while ago and finally got around to putting them up the other day. Like an idiot I didn’t unpack them on the day I bought them – that’s far too sensible. No, I unpacked them at the point I decided to put them up. In the pack there should be four of these..