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Over my vacation, I put together a new system at home consisting of: AMD Sempron 2500+, 512MB ram, 120MB 7200rpm drive, old GeForce2MX graphics card, and a new case w/ USB ports in the front. I decided to set it up in a dual boot configuration: Windows XP for gaming, and Debian Linux for everything else.
Debian's new installer project is paying off with a very slick system. The only thing I didn't realize until after the installation was that the default kernel to install was 2.4. There is a boot option to install a 2.6 kernel, but I missed it. No biggie, a simple "apt-get install kernel-image-2.6-k7" solved that particular problem, and everything seemed to be running smooth as silk. Sound, networking, etc. - everything just worked. Very nice, and an easier install than Windows XP.
However, I did have one stumbling block which I had to overcome. For some reason, I couldn't get the gnome desktop to recognize my USB mass storage device once it was plugged in. Checking the output from dmesg showed that it was being correctly recognized and set up, so it must have been something else. Logging in as root, I descovered that it worked fine. This fact zeroes the problem down to one of permissions. There is a permission that normal users on the system need to have in order to be able to mount the flash drive in question.
After looking at the /etc/group file, I saw a group named 'plugdev', which appeared promising. Using Google (aka the index to the internet), I verified that this was a likely cause to my problems, and added my 'normal' user account to the group. Bang - zoom, the problem was solved!
And so I write this post, hoping that I might be able to help someone else out having the same problem I did, and at the same time recording it down for myself in case of future use!
Jan 28, 2005 19:20 | [ computers ] | # | G | Comments (2)The surf has been fairly good in the last week or two, with some truly large swells rolling through the lineup last week. Today, the swell picked up a bit due to the storm about to move into San Diego. However, the surface was still nice and glassy, with only moderate onshore winds. As mentioned, it is supposed to rain as early as tonight and into tomorrow, so it looks as if I'll be out of the water for a few days... again! Let's hope it isn't as long as the last interlude...
Jan 25, 2005 15:58 | [ surf ] | # | G | Comments (0)This video is definitely my coolest link of the day. The gentleman in the video creates art on an overhead projector using sand, and his hands. Not just one piece of art, but many, many, many. Check it out when you have a few spare minutes to be amazed.
Jan 17, 2005 15:41 | [ humor ] | # | G | Comments (0)Many people spend way too much money for antivirus software which some companies turn into bloated, resource draining suites. If you want to try something different, give Avast! Home Edition a look. It is completely free for home, non-commercial use.
Jan 17, 2005 15:36 | [ computers ] | # | G | Comments (0)There is something terribly fascinating about the High Altitude Glider Project. Perhaps it is the melding of two (or three) challenging fields (aircraft, electronics, and computers) into a single project, and then having someone build the entire project in their garage and/or home.
It is fascinating reading if you enjoy any of the above-mentioned fields, and has some pretty good pictures as well. Recommended!
Jan 17, 2005 15:32 | [ science ] | # | G | Comments (0)