Milkduds

Upgrading Ubuntu

It was announced a few days ago that Ubuntu released the latest version (5.04) of their Linux distribution, codenamed Hoary Hedgehog. I was currently using the previous version (4.10 and named Warty Warthog) and figured I would have to download the ISO and do some type of upgrade or reinstall altogether. But to my suprise, as I was reading the release notes, I saw that I could just upgrade while I was running Ubuntu.

All I had to do was change my apt repositories to point to hoary instead of warty, then perform a couple other simple steps. I thought this was surely too easy to be true, but decided to try it anyway. AND IT WORKED!!! All I had to do was answer a few questions during the upgrade and they all had to do with upgrading software that had configuration files. This was actually really nice because it would let you use the new config file, your old one, see the difference between the two, or skip the package upgrade. In all, I think the total time to upgrade took about 30 minutes.

Now I think Ubuntu is pretty much sealed as my distribution of choice for a desktop operating system. It is very easy to use, has all the software you could ever want, and is very easy to upgrade. If you haven’t tried Ubuntu, and you are either new to linux or an old pro, please try it now. You won’t be sorry.

Add comment April 10th, 2005

Mona Lisa Smile (5/10)

I didn’t think I would have liked this movie at all, and only rented it to pacify my wife. But, I have to admit, Mona Lisa Smile was an OK movie. Although, the basic theme (a teacher changing the lives of students) is tired, there is some good acting by the women in the movie. Julia Roberts plays a liberal art history teacher that begins a new job at a very conservative New England all-womens college where all the girls are very educated, but more interested in marrying and staying at home.

I thought the best acting in this ensemble was done by Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Marcia Gay Harden (who played a small part, but very well). I don’t know what it is about Julia Roberts, but she has never really impressed me as an actress even though she’s been in some good movies. I think the closest she’s ever gotten was for her role in Erin Brokocvich. Anyway, the rest of the cast was decent and while the story was good, it was really predictable.

Add comment April 10th, 2005

Ladder 49 (6/10)

Ladder 49 starring Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta is a slightly original movie about the life of a firefighter, but full of cliches. The movie is really just one big flashback of the life of Jack Morrison (Phoenix) as he waits to get rescued from a large factory fire by his fellow firemen.

I think if you were or are close to someone that works as a firefighter (or even police), then you will be very touched by this movie. The reason is because of the good job this movie does with developing the character of Jack and getting the audience attached to him. This is why I think this movie stands out from other firefighting movies that I’ve seen. There aren’t any mysteries, corruption, or arsonists to catch. It is simply about the life of a public servant and why he is driven to do his job. There is also plenty of the typical action you’d expect to see. Unfortunatlely, “typical” might be the word to describe most of rest of the movie. There a lot of the cliches that go along with being a rookie and being a firefighter. But, overall, the acting and story was decent.

Add comment April 10th, 2005