You need just two things to get started with Zenwalk -- an installation disk and the directions at the link to the right.
If you want, you can order an installation disk. Ordering from On-Disk.com helps the Zenwalk team with a financial contribution each time a disk is ordered. The disk runs around $10 and just over half of the price goes to the builders of Zenwalk. An excellent option all around.
However, if you just can't wait, you can burn your own CD. Zenwalk is specifically packaged to fit on a single CD ROM (are these guys awesome or what?). You need a blank CD-R or CD-RW and your computer must have a CD Burner. The data to be burned on the CD is packaged in a file called an ISO. The ISO can be downloaded from the Zenwalk.org download page. Once the ISO file has been downloaded you can burn it to the CD.
Note: For Windows users, I recommend Burn4Free. I have burned every install disk through 3.2 using Burn4Free and it has worked flawlessly. Click "Drive" on the menu bar at the top of the window and select "Burn ISO", then follow the prompts for an easy burn.
Once you have finished burning your CD, follow the "Installing Zenwalk" link in the right hand margin of this page. Follow carefully and you will be up and running in no time!
SPECIAL NOTE: Be absolutely sure you WRITE DOWN your root password when the system prompts you to set it. The "root" account is the master account for your system, so pick a strong password and put it in a safe place!!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Why I Don't Get Angry At My PC Anymore
A fairly long time ago computers were fun. You could actually have a hobby around computers, not just computer games. You could tinker with the hardware, replace parts, and build your own machine. Through all this the operating system was something you could depend on to work and, even more importantly, not get in the way.
A series of computer hardware failures over the past two years or so demonstrated that this is no longer the case; personally I lost data (a lot of emails), address book entries, documents, and even financial information. Did I have backups? Yep. From yesterday? Nope, from a couple weeks prior. I was lucky, however, because the data was on the hard drive and the hard drive was NOT the failure, it was the power supply (which, in turn, caused some issues with the motherboard). At least, I thought I was lucky . . .
I put the drive in a different chassis but it would not boot; the operating system did not like being in my "new hardware configuration". To install the old drive in a new chassis, I would have to buy a new disk drive and another copy of the operating system; install the operating system on the new drive in the new chassis, then add the old drive as a second drive. Total cost: Drive about $50, Operating System $299, or $350 total. Or I could just plunk down $450+ for a new PC (and then have two chassis that I could not use). At the time my family was growing by one and it felt irresponsible to plunk down several hundred on something not related to the new arrival. I felt trapped by a device that used to be so helpful to me. It was infuriating!
Really, all I needed was the financial information to tide me over. I took the "important" drive out and put the second chassis back to it's original state, then located my financial software (purchased and originally installed in 1999 so it was just six years old at the time and suited my needs perfectly). It installed just fine. I opened the program to import my backup data realizing that I had several long hours of data entry ahead of me, when the first thing to pop up was a verification key request. Oh, no! The box and/or CD case were gone, no doubt vicitms during any of several moves to occur since the software was purchased. Fortunately there was a serial number/identifier on the CD; at least I could call the software company, prove I had the original, and get a new key. My own personal financial information had now been unavailable to me for one day and would have to wait a second day. It was infuriating! Pressure was building!
The following day I called the software company. I was told that they no longer supported the version of software I had. I told them I didn't need support, just a seven digit key so I could import a backup and pay some bills. They said they did not have one but would be glad to sell me a $150 upgrade to the latest edition, or for only $50 more to the "premium" edition. I asked them if I should expect to pay $150 every five or six years for using their software. The response: "Sir, six years is a long time. Can I go ahead and get you started on that upgrade now?" Rudely, I hung up. I had to PAY to recover MY OWN information????? They were holding me hostage over MY OWN DATA??
I was over-the-top furious. For the next couple weeks everyone (family, friends, in-laws, strangers, animals, etc) I met had to sit through this tale and every time I would work up to a frothy rage by the end of the story.
That's when it happened. My beautiful wife challenged me to take a step back. Most likely, she was tired of hearing about it or tired of hearing from people who were tired of hearing the story. I took a step back . . .
I work with computers by trade (I write software as a consultant). People used to talk about computers and how much they helped them; I realized I never heard people talk that way anymore; those good feelings had all gone away.
I imagined if I was in a family who was scraping to get by, where the checkbook application and possibly other programs were saving me time which I could spend helping my family scrape by. Or maybe my resume was on that computer and I needed to find a job? Or, worse yet, phone numbers I needed to keep my current job were now unavailable.
What if that computer WAS my job, like a new, home-based business or some type of "whatever I can" job until I could find something better?
It occurred to me then I would probably do anything necessary to get through this ordeal without spending a dime. Would you break the law to feed your kids? Now, granted, I had thought myself into some dire circumstances. But poverty does exist. Worldwide. And, honestly, if there was no other way, I'm sure anyone would risk it. Borrow disks from friends, buy a counterfeit for $1, whatever. Of course, faced with a public that will take such actions, the ecology of most software companies would lead the software patent owner to protect against such actions by imposing barriers to copying such as copyrights, digital signatures, encryption, etc. These measures would attempt to defeat my desperation. I, in turn, could be desperate enough to overcome those measures. In turn, the measures would constrict harder.
At that point I reached a moment of Zen. It was a vicious cycle.
Now, I am not one to accept "because that's the way it is" as an explanation for anything and certainly not in this case. Things get the way they are by the choices people make. Sometimes one or very few choices can create huge impacts (should I run that red light?). Sometimes thousands of small choices drive change (where will I spend this money in my pocket?). In my experience, "that's the way it is" has usually been followed by "now give me some money". I don't buy that line anymore and haven't for a long time.
So I started looking around. I was already using open source software both at work and at home. Open Source software comes with a license which allows you to inspect and modify the programs you use as long as you provide the same inspection and modification rights to those who utilize your changes. In software engineering, this is extremely powerful. Instead of waiting for someone else to fix a problem you can repair it yourself. It is common to then share that modification with others who use the same program. The sharing process builds worldwide communities of people who share their ideas; everyone prospers from a large number of small contributions. Many even take this a step further by providing their changes for free. This is called Free and Open Source Software (or FOSS). FOSS projects have always reminded me of the way computers used to be (for me at least) -- making something that works and then telling your friends or wanting to try something your friends had done. Byte magazine was the first teacher I had who knew anything (and pretty much everything) about computer hardware and software.
And FOSS did not let me down. What I previously found as Minislack Linux has now evolved into Zenwalk. Zenwalk is an operating system for computers. It is free and open source. The last time I had a hardware failure I had already converted to Zenwalk. I swapped drives and kept going. In total, the drive failure cost me $0.00 and all of 15 minutes (most of it trying to find a screwdriver in my garage). Much happiness!!
Zenwalk is created in a ready to use state, installs with little effort, and contains up-to-date FOSS software (including web browser, email client, messaging client, and other essentials). Zenwalk will even download and install upgrades and new software for you automatically. For example, with a few keystrokes you can download a complete suite of productivity tools including a database, presentation creator, spreadsheet, and word processor. All for free!
My computer is fun again. My data is mine again. I'm even thinking about building a machine for the first time in 10 years or more because I'm not worried about compatibility. If a problem crops up, there are so many places to find help and so many people willing to help that I have no fear, no uncertainty, and no doubt.
Harmony. Peace. Confidence. This is what Zenwalk has brought to me and those I have converted. My PC is no longer my foe, it is a friend again. I want this to happen to everyone.
I welcome you if you are interested in putting an older PC to use again; if you are looking to set up a computer you can use for a long time without having to change anything if you so choose; or if you are just interested in seeing what Linux is all about.
I welcome you if you are interested in becoming more than just a user. I certainly am! We just need to be ready to learn, ready to experiment, and ready to share. There are many ways to help improve Zenwalk if you'd like to give back. I hope we will all find a small way and add up to some big help.
I hope this site will help you on your journey and assist you in learning how to find answers. There is a relatively small but growing community of very friendly and very kind people ready to help. Granted, some of them speak a language that seems otherworldly, but most don't and all are willing to translate and stick with you until your problems are resolved.
Whatever your motives, there is one thing above all: be ready to Have A Lot Of Fun!!
A series of computer hardware failures over the past two years or so demonstrated that this is no longer the case; personally I lost data (a lot of emails), address book entries, documents, and even financial information. Did I have backups? Yep. From yesterday? Nope, from a couple weeks prior. I was lucky, however, because the data was on the hard drive and the hard drive was NOT the failure, it was the power supply (which, in turn, caused some issues with the motherboard). At least, I thought I was lucky . . .
I put the drive in a different chassis but it would not boot; the operating system did not like being in my "new hardware configuration". To install the old drive in a new chassis, I would have to buy a new disk drive and another copy of the operating system; install the operating system on the new drive in the new chassis, then add the old drive as a second drive. Total cost: Drive about $50, Operating System $299, or $350 total. Or I could just plunk down $450+ for a new PC (and then have two chassis that I could not use). At the time my family was growing by one and it felt irresponsible to plunk down several hundred on something not related to the new arrival. I felt trapped by a device that used to be so helpful to me. It was infuriating!
Really, all I needed was the financial information to tide me over. I took the "important" drive out and put the second chassis back to it's original state, then located my financial software (purchased and originally installed in 1999 so it was just six years old at the time and suited my needs perfectly). It installed just fine. I opened the program to import my backup data realizing that I had several long hours of data entry ahead of me, when the first thing to pop up was a verification key request. Oh, no! The box and/or CD case were gone, no doubt vicitms during any of several moves to occur since the software was purchased. Fortunately there was a serial number/identifier on the CD; at least I could call the software company, prove I had the original, and get a new key. My own personal financial information had now been unavailable to me for one day and would have to wait a second day. It was infuriating! Pressure was building!
The following day I called the software company. I was told that they no longer supported the version of software I had. I told them I didn't need support, just a seven digit key so I could import a backup and pay some bills. They said they did not have one but would be glad to sell me a $150 upgrade to the latest edition, or for only $50 more to the "premium" edition. I asked them if I should expect to pay $150 every five or six years for using their software. The response: "Sir, six years is a long time. Can I go ahead and get you started on that upgrade now?" Rudely, I hung up. I had to PAY to recover MY OWN information????? They were holding me hostage over MY OWN DATA??
I was over-the-top furious. For the next couple weeks everyone (family, friends, in-laws, strangers, animals, etc) I met had to sit through this tale and every time I would work up to a frothy rage by the end of the story.
That's when it happened. My beautiful wife challenged me to take a step back. Most likely, she was tired of hearing about it or tired of hearing from people who were tired of hearing the story. I took a step back . . .
I work with computers by trade (I write software as a consultant). People used to talk about computers and how much they helped them; I realized I never heard people talk that way anymore; those good feelings had all gone away.
I imagined if I was in a family who was scraping to get by, where the checkbook application and possibly other programs were saving me time which I could spend helping my family scrape by. Or maybe my resume was on that computer and I needed to find a job? Or, worse yet, phone numbers I needed to keep my current job were now unavailable.
What if that computer WAS my job, like a new, home-based business or some type of "whatever I can" job until I could find something better?
It occurred to me then I would probably do anything necessary to get through this ordeal without spending a dime. Would you break the law to feed your kids? Now, granted, I had thought myself into some dire circumstances. But poverty does exist. Worldwide. And, honestly, if there was no other way, I'm sure anyone would risk it. Borrow disks from friends, buy a counterfeit for $1, whatever. Of course, faced with a public that will take such actions, the ecology of most software companies would lead the software patent owner to protect against such actions by imposing barriers to copying such as copyrights, digital signatures, encryption, etc. These measures would attempt to defeat my desperation. I, in turn, could be desperate enough to overcome those measures. In turn, the measures would constrict harder.
At that point I reached a moment of Zen. It was a vicious cycle.
Now, I am not one to accept "because that's the way it is" as an explanation for anything and certainly not in this case. Things get the way they are by the choices people make. Sometimes one or very few choices can create huge impacts (should I run that red light?). Sometimes thousands of small choices drive change (where will I spend this money in my pocket?). In my experience, "that's the way it is" has usually been followed by "now give me some money". I don't buy that line anymore and haven't for a long time.
So I started looking around. I was already using open source software both at work and at home. Open Source software comes with a license which allows you to inspect and modify the programs you use as long as you provide the same inspection and modification rights to those who utilize your changes. In software engineering, this is extremely powerful. Instead of waiting for someone else to fix a problem you can repair it yourself. It is common to then share that modification with others who use the same program. The sharing process builds worldwide communities of people who share their ideas; everyone prospers from a large number of small contributions. Many even take this a step further by providing their changes for free. This is called Free and Open Source Software (or FOSS). FOSS projects have always reminded me of the way computers used to be (for me at least) -- making something that works and then telling your friends or wanting to try something your friends had done. Byte magazine was the first teacher I had who knew anything (and pretty much everything) about computer hardware and software.
And FOSS did not let me down. What I previously found as Minislack Linux has now evolved into Zenwalk. Zenwalk is an operating system for computers. It is free and open source. The last time I had a hardware failure I had already converted to Zenwalk. I swapped drives and kept going. In total, the drive failure cost me $0.00 and all of 15 minutes (most of it trying to find a screwdriver in my garage). Much happiness!!
Zenwalk is created in a ready to use state, installs with little effort, and contains up-to-date FOSS software (including web browser, email client, messaging client, and other essentials). Zenwalk will even download and install upgrades and new software for you automatically. For example, with a few keystrokes you can download a complete suite of productivity tools including a database, presentation creator, spreadsheet, and word processor. All for free!
My computer is fun again. My data is mine again. I'm even thinking about building a machine for the first time in 10 years or more because I'm not worried about compatibility. If a problem crops up, there are so many places to find help and so many people willing to help that I have no fear, no uncertainty, and no doubt.
Harmony. Peace. Confidence. This is what Zenwalk has brought to me and those I have converted. My PC is no longer my foe, it is a friend again. I want this to happen to everyone.
I welcome you if you are interested in putting an older PC to use again; if you are looking to set up a computer you can use for a long time without having to change anything if you so choose; or if you are just interested in seeing what Linux is all about.
I welcome you if you are interested in becoming more than just a user. I certainly am! We just need to be ready to learn, ready to experiment, and ready to share. There are many ways to help improve Zenwalk if you'd like to give back. I hope we will all find a small way and add up to some big help.
I hope this site will help you on your journey and assist you in learning how to find answers. There is a relatively small but growing community of very friendly and very kind people ready to help. Granted, some of them speak a language that seems otherworldly, but most don't and all are willing to translate and stick with you until your problems are resolved.
Whatever your motives, there is one thing above all: be ready to Have A Lot Of Fun!!
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