Creating an SCCM Collection from a List of Users or Computers

This should work for SCCM 2007 and newer.

How often do you get a request to push software or setting change to specific list of users and computers and groan at the thought of having to create the collection for it?

I cannot tell you how many times I have searched for this solution. Someone made some great PowerShell scripts, but I couldn't always get them to work and/or it was fairly slow. (REF: http://blogs.technet.com/b/mniehaus/archive/2009/04/10/adding-members-to-a-configmgr-collection-using-powershell-v2-ctp3.aspx)

I found another way to import using a .CSV, but that, too, was a little cumbersome. That method involved using a report that pulled the SMBIOS and MAC Address information, then using Access to query against the list to create the .CSV file to import. But that only worked for Computers, not users. (REF: http://www.windows-noob.com/forums/index.php?/topic/4505-how-can-i-import-computers-into-sccm-2012-using-a-file/)

A few days ago, I found a method in a forum that simplifies this tremendously (REF: http://www.myitforum.com/forums/Can-you-import-users-into-a-collection-via-CSV-m211472.aspx):

The query to import computers is simply:

select * from SMS_R_System where name in ("computer1" , "computer2" , "computer3" , "computer4" ) 

For users, you would change this to:

select * from SMS_R_User where name in ("user1" , "user2" , "user3" , "user4" ) 

The trick here is how to get your list of computers or users formatted with the quotes and commas. I did this in Excel.

Copy your list of users or computers to Column A. In cell B1, enter the following:

="""" & A1 & ""","

That's equals four quotes (space) ampersand (space) A1 (space) ampersand (space) three quotes, comma, quote. Copy the formula down from B1.

I use Notepad from here, so I can copy and paste the query into SCCM later. In Notepad, write your query like this to start:

select * from SMS_R_User where name in (

Copy and paste Column B from your Excel spreadsheet and add a closing parentheses:

select * from SMS_R_User where name in ("USER1",

"USER2",
"USER3",
"USER4",)

Now fire up your SCCM Console. The above query is a User collection, so go there to create a new user collection.

1. Give the collection a name, click Next, then choose Query Rule from the drop down list.
2. Give the query rule a name, then click Edit Query Statement...
3. Click Show Query Language
4. Copy and paste your query from Notepad into this window.
5. Click OK
6. Click Next a couple more times to finish creating the collection.
7. Update Membership, then Refresh after a couple minutes.

You should now see your list of users (or computers). If any users or computers no longer exist (or possibly misspelled), they will not appear in the collection. You can now deploy to your specific list of users/computers! :-)

Hope that helps!

Java Deployment with SCCM 2012 and PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit

OVERVIEW

Java is such a joy, isn't it?

I won't go into the trials and tribulations of potential Java version dependencies. That's another story in itself. This is to show one possible method of deployment that may or may not for your environment.

Starting with Java version 6 Update 10, the installer, by default, will try to overwrite previous Java versions. This was due to complaints from both the user and IT communities of having "too many" versions of Java installed. Older versions of Java did not remove previous versions. Systems had the potential of having dozens of Java versions installed (a reporting nightmare) requiring manual cleanup at some point in order to more easily manage "who has what".

A new parameter called STATIC was added so that the default behavior could be changed to not overwrite and keep all existing versions.


PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit

If you don't know about it, there's a nice little bundle of PowerShell scripts and configuration files that give you tons of options that can be useful. It's called the PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit.

https://psappdeploytoolkit.codeplex.com/

A couple of people put this together and it's a perfect toolkit to use if you are trying to deploy software where certain applications must be closed before they can install. They include a very easy guide to follow and get you started. Do not be daunted that this is all PowerShell based, especially if you don't know or feel comfortable with PowerShell. It's pretty simple to use and example scripts/scenarios are provided. The bonus is that you don't have to rely on a deployment tool such as SCCM. It can be run as a stand-alone package.

This has worked on Windows XP on up without having to upgrade PowerShell on XP systems, but it's something to consider if Windows XP is still in your environment. The highest version XP supports is PowerShell 2.0.

Review the App Deployment Toolkit documentation. Pay special attention to the examples provided. You can adjust some of the default behaviors set in the .XML files. In my environment, I modify the AppDeployToolkitConfig.xml file in the AppDeployToolkit folder and change the default path for the logs (<Toolkit_LogPath> and <MSI_LogPath>).


Build the Package

I create a folder for the package. In this case, the root folder is called 7Update55. Following the user App Deployment Toolkit guide, I copied the folder structure from the App Deployment Toolkit within the 7Update55 folder:

I then downloaded the latest Java version to a temp folder on my test machine. While you can use the .EXE file as it is, it's a little bit easier, in my opinion, to extract and use the .MSI file. To do that, start the install, but don't do anything beyond the Welcome screen. Once at the Welcome screen, open up Windows Explorer (My Computer) and browse to:

C:\Users\[UserName]\AppData\LocalLow\Sun\Java\[Java_Version] (where [UserName] is your user name and [Java_Version] is the version that was downloaded)

There will be two files...the .MSI and a  Data1.cab. BOTH files will be needed. Copy them into the Files folder as shown from the screenshot above, then cancel out of the Java install.

Go to the 7Update55 folder, right mouse click the Deploy-Application.ps1 file and choose Edit. PowerShell ISE should launch. Enter the relevant information in the # Variables: Application section. Some of the information is shown in the dialog boxes during the deployment.

Again, using the guide, determine the tasks and setting you want to do for each section (PRE-INSTALLATION, INSTALLATION, POST-INSTALLATION, and UNINSTALLATION). For this example, I'm doing the following:

PRE-INSTALLATION:

This is not going to be a silent deployment because user interaction is required. I set:

Show-InstallationProgress

I want to check to see if any browsers are running, and if they are, prompt the user to close them. I set:

Show-InstallationWelcome -CloseApps "iexplore,firefox,chrome,safari,opera" -PersistPrompt

Using the -PersistPrompt switch will make the dialog box re-appear every minute until the browsers are closed.

INSTALLATION:

This is where you set your command line for the install. Most vendors will have documentation on what switches and parameters are available.
To make the client aware of the installation progress, I set:
Show-InstallationProgress and add what I want the message box to say. Below that is the Execute-MSI command needed. Notice that I use the silent install switch "/qn". The client will see the PowerShell dialog box, NOT the Windows Installer progress bar.
For this particular package, I do not want the previous Java versions overwritten, so I also have the STATIC=1 parameter.

No steps were configured in the POST-INSTALLATION section.

UNINSTALLATION

I again want to check if any browsers are running before the removal. In this case, because it is being removed most likely by choice, I set the parameter, -CloseAppsCountdown to kill the browsers after 2 minutes if the client isn't there to do or ignores the dialog box. I then go on to set the uninstall command line switches.

Note that the path is the Product ID for this particular version of Java. The Product ID will be DIFFERENT if another version of Java is being packaged. To determine the Product ID, you can install manually on a test machine, then go into the test machine registry:


Determine Product ID for other versions of Java

32-bit Systems:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

64-bit Systems:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

Do a search for Java in the Uninstall folder and a subfolder should quickly be found. This folder name is the Product ID you need for the uninstall command.

Create SCCM 2012 Application

Fire up the SCCM Console and click on Software Library in the lower left corner.

Expand Application Management. Right mouse click Applications and choose Create Application

Even though there is an .MSI, we are going to use the Deploy-Application.EXE from the App Deployment Toolkit, so choose to Manually specify the application information and click Next.

In the General Information window, set the Name, Publisher, and Software version. If you want to use this in an SCCM Task Sequence, make sure the "Allow this application to be installed from the Install Application task sequence action without being deploy" option is checked. Setting the Owner and Support Contacts is optional. Click Next when done.

Setting the Application Catalog options will depend on your environment and if you are using a company portal or not. Click Next.

The Deployment Type is where we specify the package location and command line to install. Click the Add... button.

Change type to Script Installer in the drop down menu (it defaults to Windows Installer *.msi file). Changing the type will automatically select the Manually specify the deployment type information option. Click Next.

You can use the same name as before or simply call it "Install". I chose Java 7 Update 55 - Install. No language settings are necessary. Click Next.

Browse to the location of the 7Update55 folder, then set the commands for Installation and Uninstall. I also select the "Run installation and install program as 32-bit process on 64-bit clients" because this is a 32-bit package.

We now need to add a detection rule so SCCM can confirm if the install completed successfully. Because we are using the .MSI, we can use the Product ID as the detection method. Click Add Clause...

Change the Setting Type: to Windows Installer in the drop down list. Click Browser and point to the .MSI in the Files folder under 7Update55 and click OK. The Product code: field will automatically be populated. In most cases, this will be enough, however, if clients may have a newer version already installed, this version won't be necessary. Change the rule so the version is greater than or equal to the version being deployed. This will make it so only clients with 7 Update 54 or older will get the install. Anything newer will show as Already Compliant. Click OK, then click Next.

Because we need user interaction, we want to make sure the dialog boxes appear. Therefore, it must only install when a user is logged in. This is not a profile specific application, so we can choose to Install for system (uses the SYSTEM account priviledges) as the Install behavior. Logon requirement MUST BE set to Only when a user is logged on. Installation program visibility MUST BE set to Normal. "Allow users to view and interact with the program" MUST BE checked. Setting the Maximum allowed run time and Estimated installation time is optional but good practice.

Requirements are optional. You can set things like required disk space or OS versions if you choose.

There are no prerequisites needed for Java to install, so simply click Next.

The Summary will let you review your settings. Click Next to complete the build of the Application.

Before distributing content and deploying to collections, I test the install (copy the 7Update55 folder to a test machine) as a stand-alone (double-click Deploy-Application.EXE) and confirm it works as expected. Tweak settings as needed in the Deploy-Application.ps1 file and repeat testing. When satisfied with the results, remember to copy any changes back to your network source location of the package before distributing.

Once validated as a stand-alone install, you should be ready to distribute content and test the deployment to a test or pilot collection of systems.

Good luck!

Packaging IBM Data Center Client (DB2COPY1) 10.5 for SCCM

This bugger was fun. I only say that because it wasn't cut and dried like most packages are. Looking through Google, IBM doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to software deployment. My previous experience was with ClearCase and ClearQuest. Thankfully, another group handled the headache of building the scripts and answer files. I just had to dump them in SCCM.

But this one is all on me, so here's how it went.

The goal was three deployment types. One for a fresh install, one for an upgrade install, and one for development/testing purposes. The client provided a zipped up file that contained the install files and a Word doc of the step-by-step manual install instructions. After perusing the instructions, I found that the installer generates an answer file that can be used for silent installs. Wonderful! Off to Google I went for syntax and usage. I Googled for "IBM Data Server Client silent install" and the links took me straight to IBM's knowledge base. Two articles stood out. One on the command line usage of db2unins (the uninstaller) and one on where to find the sample response files. The sample files are at [InstallSource]\db2\Windows\samples. Because links change, I will not be adding any here. The Google search above should suffice. Take note, however, that using the MSI installer WILL NOT work if you want to use the response file. It doesn't recognize it!

My install answer file (PROD_CLIENT.rsp) ended up being pretty simple. You can open and edit the file with notepad. This was mine (revised 4/22/2014 to show the Extended Security option is set to No):

PROD_CLIENT.rsp File

PROD=CLIENT
LIC_AGREEMENT=ACCEPT
FILE=C:\Program Files\IBM\SQLLIB\
INSTALL_TYPE=TYPICAL

LANG=EN

KILL_PROCESSES=YES
INSTANCE=DB2
DB2.NAME=DB2
DEFAULT_INSTANCE=DB2
DB2.TYPE=CLIENT
DB2_EXTSECURITY=NO
DB2_COPY_NAME=DB2COPY1
DEFAULT_COPY=YES


I saved this file and put it in the db2\Windows folder of my install source. The uninstall answer file is necessary if you want to do a completely silent uninstall, which I did. This file is called db2un.rsp and is also in the samples folder. This was the final version of the answer file I used:

db2un.rsp File

KILL_PROCESSES = YES
REMOVE_PROD = ALL
REBOOT = NO

This file was also saved to db2\Windows in my install source.

Additional steps in the provided documentation from my client said that the services file in C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc needed to have entries added. The entries were different between the Production install vs. the Development/Testing install. I found a vbscript via Google again that appends the services file. I made two copies of the .vbs file, one for Production and one for Development/Testing. Here is the .vbs file contents and you can see where I added my info on the iReturnValue line:

set_prod_svc.vbs File

Option Explicit
On Error Resume next

Dim fso
Dim WinDirPath
Dim PathToHosts, PathToServices
Dim iReturnValue
Const TAB = " "
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
WinDirPath = fso.GetSpecialFolder(0)
PathToHosts = WinDirPath & "\system32\drivers\etc\hosts" ' path to file
PathToServices = WinDirPath & "\system32\drivers\etc\services"

'iReturnValue = WriteToFile (PathToHosts, "127.0.0.1","localhost","","")
iReturnValue = WriteToFile (PathToServices, "[databasename]","446/tcp","","#DB2 Mainframe")


Set fso = Nothing
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' Description :Function to write to file
' Return Value :1 if changes made
' 0 if file doesnt exist
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Function WriteToFile (ByVal pathToFile,byval para1,byval para2,byval para3,byval para4)
Dim TempFile
Dim msg

If fso.FileExists(pathToFile) Then

Set TempFile = fso.OpenTextFile(pathToFile,8,True)
msg = para1 & TAB & para2 & TAB & para3 & TAB & TAB & para4
msg = rtrim(msg)
TempFile.WriteLine msg
TempFile.Close

Else
WriteToFile = 0
End If

End Function

Again, these two files were saved to db2\Windows on my install source.

After the install is completed, configuration of the client is required. Digging through IBM's site, they recommended creating a .bat file with your db2 commands and calling that file with db2cmd. Below is an example of my db2 configuration, which I saved as prod_db2_catalog.bat. Two other versions were made for the upgrade, which uncatalogs the old settings and sets the new ones and the other for development/testing, which used different servers. Here are the contents of my file (items in brackets will be specific to your environment:

db2 catalog tcpip node [nodename] remote [remotename] server [servername]
db2 catalog database [databasename] at node [nodename
db2 terminate
exit

One more, the files were saved to db2\Windows on my install source.

Since we have to do several tasks, I made a .cmd file to encompass all that needs to be done. Three different versions were made depending on Production, Upgrade, and Development/Testing because each called the relevant .vbs file to set the services and the relevant configuration .bat file. Here is my install_db2_prod.cmd file (revised 4/22/2014 to include applying a license):

install_db2_prod.cmd File

@echo off
Set PATH=%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\system32

ECHO Append services file
"%~DP0set_prod_svc.vbs"
TIMEOUT 5

ECHO Install New Version
md C:\IBM_Install_Log
ECHO Installing...please wait...
"%~DP0setup.exe" "%~DP0PROD_CLIENT.rsp"
TIMEOUT 5

ECHO Configure Client
;Licensing
copy /y %~dp0db2consv_zs.lic "C:\Program Files\IBM\SQLLIB\BIN"
CMD /C %~dp0DB2_set_license.bat

;Database "C:\Program Files\IBM\SQLLIB\BIN\db2cmd" %~dp0prod_db2_catalog.bat

goto exit

ECHO Completed!
:exit
exit

While the TIMEOUTS aren't really necessary, I kept them in there just in case there was a timing issue between each task. In my testing, this never occurred, but my environment had older machines out in the wild. You will notice I used %~DP0. This is necessary when calling a command or batch file in SCCM.

A license needs to be applied. It's a very simple command, which I also made into a separate batch file and called in the install file.

DB2_set_license.bat

@echo off
ECHO Set DB2 License
C:
cd "C:\Program Files\IBM\SQLLIB\BIN"
db2licm -a db2consv_zs.lic

ECHO Licensing complete!
TIMEOUT 5

One last file needed to be made for the uninstall. This was the most challenging and frustrating part of my endeavor because when you run the command as documented, an annoying message of "The system was unable to locate the file path." would occur AFTER the command completed. It made absolutely no sense, but, it also caused the script to show a failure even though there really wasn't one. While there's more than one way to address the error so that the script would continue, I set up the Deployment Type in SCCM to accept Error 1 as a "good" return code. Calling the command line in the SCCM Deployment Type would not work because it didn't like %~dp0 no matter what I tried, so I created another command file called uninstall_all.cmd. It copies the answer file to the root of C:\ and then runs the uninstall command. Here are the contents of the file:

uninstall_all.cmd File

copy /y %~dp0db2un.rsp C:\

"%PROGRAMFILES%\IBM\SQLLIB\BIN\db2unins" -y -u C:\db2un.rsp
TIMEOUT 5
goto EXIT

:EXIT
exit

This last file was also saved in the db2\Windows folder of my install source.

Now that all the files have been created and are in place, I can created my SCCM Application. Here are the steps of going through the Create Application Wizard.

1. Choose Manually specify the application information and click Next.
2. Enter a name for the package and any other information you wish to include. Only the name is required. The rest is optional. Click Next.
3. If you use the Application Catalog feature, add the necessary information to this screen, otherwise, skip and click Next.
4. At Deployment Types, click Add...
5. In the drop down list next to Type: change to Script Installer and click Next.
6. Give the script a name (example: Install Production) and click Next
7. Browse to your source location for the files. This is typically a network location. I set this to the root of my install source location.
8. Next to Installation program: click the Browse... button and locate the command file in db2\Windows you wish to use. Change to All Files (*.*) so you can see all files instead of just .exe files then find your command file. In this example, I'm using install_db2_prod.cmd.
9. Next to Uninstall program: click the Browse... button and locate the command file in db2\Windows. Change to All Files (*.*) so you can see all files instead of just .exe files then find your command file. In this example, I'm using uninstall_all.cmd
10. Check the box next to "Run installation and uninstall program as 32-bit process on 64-bit clients and click Next.
11. In Detection Method, click Add Clause...
12. Change Setting Type: to Windows Installer. Click the Browse... button and select IBM Data Server Client.msi and click OK. Click Next.
13. Set Installation behavior: to Install for system. Set Logon requirement: to Only when a user is logged on. Set the Installation program visibility to your preference (I used Minimized). Check the "Allow users to view and interact with the program" box and click Next.
14. I did not set any Requirements or Dependencies, so simply click Next through the last three windows and click Close when the wizard is completed.
15. Back in the Create Application Wizard, click Next twice to complete the build of the Application and click Close when done.
16. You are now ready to distribute the content, create your collection according to your environment, and create a deployment.

As part of my troubleshooting to get all of this working, I used PSExec on my test machine. This allowed me to modify the command files directly on the test machine without having to update content and try the deployment again. When all was done, I copied my finalized files to my install source location, then updated the content and ran all of my deployments again to validate they worked. This is the article I used:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/ryanan/archive/2013/11/06/configuration-manager-package-preparation-guide-for-app-owners.aspx

I hope this has helped you with your build and deployment of IBM Data Center Client!

Ubuntu - The Wireless Driver Challenge

Without using Google or books, I tinker around the Ubuntu desktop. Thankfully, the mouse and keyboard are working, so those drivers aren't needed!

An icon with a wrench and a gear tell me this might be useful, so I give it a click. Hey! This looks like the Windows Control Panel! I can do this!

I look at the time and date. The time zone was right, the date was right, but the time was not. :-) This was due to no internet. I still need to install drivers!

I move on to click Details. Ahh...this is where I can set some defaults, but it doesn't show my hardware information so back to All Settings. Nope, nothing else there to install new hardware (or existing for that matter).

The Ubuntu logo button, again, much like Windows, allows me to type in a search. I type "hardware" and I get nothing. Alright, then it's time for Google on my Windows machine to get me going. I'm anticipating that I simply need to download the drivers, put them onto my handy thumb drive, and install away, but I don't know what else Ubuntu hasn't installed by default, so I'm going to Google for "Ubuntu Device Manager" and see what I get.

That took me to "askubuntu.com" which told me to go into the Ubuntu Software Center and search to install "System Profiler and Benchmark", however, I still don't have wireless and internet, so I have get a little more specific. Google "install Ubuntu drivers" and it's still a little to general, so "Dell studio 1537 Ubuntu drivers" should do the trick. Yup! I get pointed to a forum where someone has provided a link. Lo and behold, the only driver listed is for wireless. Let's see if it works!

The 1.1MB file is copied to my thumb drive, then copied from the thumb drive to the laptop. Hmmm...ok...not like Windows. No .exe file. OK...Google "install Ubuntu wireless driver without internet". I have to sift through a few pages and forums before I get to a site at help.ubuntu.com that helps you identify the device, get the driver, and install it. I learn I need to do this from the Terminal (CTRL + ALT + T). Ahhh...this looks like the Windows command prompt. I can do this!

I follow the guide. I have the BCM4312 802.11b/g wireless card. Cool...

I discover I need to learn a little about the command lines. I'm familiar with DOS and PowerShell, but not with Linux, so I need to learn how to change directories and find the files I just downloaded and extracted. :-)

Aha...while the command similar, it's case sensitive. cd /Downloads/drivers worked when cd /downloads/drivers did not (note the difference in "downloads"). Reading the notes for the driver, I need to make sure the right headers and tools are installed. Hmmmm...this is a bit more complicated than I'm ready for. But, being stubborn as I am, I dig deeper into how to do all of this without an internet connection yet (funny how we are immediately dependent on the internet even on a fresh OS install). Ahhhh...reading a little bit more in the readme file, Ubuntu should already have these files (pre-compiled driver) and I should not need to install these from the download.

But then I fell into a whirlpool of trying to figure out how to get the pre-compiled drivers installed. Well, I ended up finding a network cable and connecting to the internet that way. Many things started working, mostly the apt-get commands as they go directly through the internet to get the files/updates needed. *sigh*

I've made a mental note that learning to do an Ubuntu install completely offline should be one my goals as an administrator. If it can be done with Windows, it can be done with Linux and all of its variations. It's just a matter of how, finding the best practice, building it, then testing it....many, many times! :-)

Back to getting wireless working. Through my various Google searches, I find that others have struggled with this particular wireless card and its driver. But now that I've given myself internet access, things are moving along. Some of the prerequisites are now installing. I learned that I need to use "sudo" in most of my command lines so I don't get the "lock" error. All of this will make sense once I pause and review, then Google some more to understand exactly what I did. :-)

Once the prerequisites installed, the command in the readme file still didn't work, but I found another thread that since I had internet, I only needed to do an install-broadcom-kernel command and the files downloaded/installed automatically. Other updates were installing in the background, so I waited for that before rebooting to see if wireless was working. It didn't look like any other drivers needed to be added or updated at this point, but, I'm still just a beginner and may discover otherwise at a later time. The joy of being a computer geek!

After rebooting...wireless is working!!! One hurdle/learning experience down....countless to go!

Hello, Linux

Having been pretty much an exclusive Windows user since DOS 6.22, it's time to touch base with other Operating Systems such as Linux and the MacOS. I have, but don't use an old Mac Mini, whose sole purpose was for me to get familiar with the Mac world. Finding it not too different than Windows, the Mac mini has since been in storage.

Before the Mac mini, I had installed Red Hat Linux, but never got beyond that. It was installed, it also looked very similar to Windows, and thus, abandoned.

But now, several years later, Linux has made its mark in the world of computers, so I must go beyond simply installing it. Below is what I wrote as I installed Ubuntu on an old laptop of mine...

Installing Ubuntu 13.04 for the First Time

Dell Studio 15, Model 1537 - an older laptop that was originally Windows Vista. I later installed Windows 7 and only used it for gaming and internet browsing.

The last time I took at stab at a Linux OS, it was RedHat and it was several years ago. I installed it on a machine, used it for a day or two, then never went back to it again. I simply wanted to see it. At the time, it didn't seem much different from Windows as it had a GUI interface, etc.

Now at the point where much more devices and companies are using Linux, I'm taking a stab at it again and not just at the very basic level. I want to know it as well as I know Windows. I know Windows pretty well, but even there, there's always something new to learn. I never got into the deep dive of administrative options such as PowerShell and WMI.

Getting into Linux I think it will help me both expand my horizons and, ironically, get a better understanding of managing Windows systems. Because Linux is managed a great deal by command lines and scripts. PowerShell does the same thing for Windows. But concepts like "objects", "methods", etc. can get very confusing for me. I am a person that learns visually. I need to see it to understand it. I can copy and paste code as easily as the next geek, and most of the time, I can tweak it to my needs. But I want to do these kinds of things on my own and from scratch.

HTML came very easy to me because I could see what each command was doing by looking at the results a comparing it to the code. For some reason, I've always had difficulty doing the same thing with VBScript and PowerShell. Somehow, I'm hoping that by learning Linux from scratch, I'll get that light bulb over my head to come to life and everything will simply fall into place. "Ah, ha! I see it, now I get it!" From there, the possibilities are endless as is the challenge.

So today, I fire up my old Dell laptop and have chosen to use Ubuntu as it has become increasingly popular and I see it listed as one of the preferred experiences one should have if job hunting.

I had to download the ISO file three times (794MB). The first two times, it was corrupted. Third time was the charm, finding a mirror that was both a decent speed and non-corrupted! :-) The price of freeware, I suppose.

The Dell still had Windows 7 installed as I wanted to see if Ubuntu would wipe out the drive and do a fresh install. Microsoft just loves giving you this chance. :-)

After choosing to boot to the CD/DVD drive, I see the Ubuntu logo and five little dots for a few minutes; the disk spinning up and down, until finally...a big grey screen with a pointed cursor. Woohoo! Another minute later, I finally see the options Try Ubuntu or Install Ubuntu. I go all out and choose Install ubuntu. It says it shouldn't take too long. It's 6:06pm as I click the Install Ubuntu button.

I choose to follow the defaults, knowing that I can change options later. I am not connected to the internet because I'll rely on wireless once the OS is installed. I choose to not install the third-party software option either.

Continuing on, I choose to Replace Windows 7 with Ubuntu, which will wipe the drive and do a fresh install. I skip the options of encryption and Logical Volume Management. These are things I will look into later.

Install Now is clicked at 6:09pm. I set my location, choose English, fill in the Who are you? window (I think it's funny my password is considered "fair" in Ubuntu, when Windows considers it "strong" - it was 10 characters with upper and lower case letters and a couple of numbers in between but no special characters). 6:11pm and the install finally begins. 6:18pm...Installation Complete. Restart Now...drum roll...

My Ubuntu install boot CD is spit out of the machine automatically and I press Enter to kill the processes and reboot. I see a couple of brief errors about KVM, but the OS continues to boot. It takes about 20 seconds to get the login screen. It was about 30 with my vanilla Windows 7 install.

My "fair" password is entered and a few seconds later, I'm in! It's very orange/purplish. I like the purple, but not a big fan of orange (though my son looks great in it!).

Before I get the chance to click on anything, I see a pop-up to install some missing components in regards to Language Support. Since wireless isn't working yet, I don't think it'll work.

Since I see familiar wireless icon in the upper right corner (it would be lower right if it was still Windows), I right mouse click it and see the option for Edit Connections...

My wired connection shows (no cable connected), but wireless does not appear. As expected drivers will be needed.

I will continue the driver install experience in my next blog, but step 1 is complete. I have an official Ubuntu box up and running. It's just not doing anything...yet! :-)

Trouble with cables

As expected, I've already fallen behind on this blog. *sigh* Well, I'll continue to plod along when I can.

Today, all I needed was a mini-USB cable too hook up my mom's Garmin and get the maps updated. I swear almost everything I buy comes with this type of cable and it always manages to disappear when I actually need it.

Sifting through the box I have yet to put into storage of old accessories, the cable failed to be located, but I KNOW it's around here somewhere! It does give me an excuse to go to my storage unit this weekend, however.

In that storage unit is a box of nothing but cables for both computer and entertainment center. All for that moment of when I need it, but, because I'm not in my own house yet, that convenience is now down the road a ways, locked away, rather than in my garage or a storage closet. :-)

No matter how many I have or how tangled they manage to get themselves, I will always have spare cables because there always comes a moment like today where it is needed.

Though wireless and bluetooth continue to make strides, there are many still using machines that do not have this convenience and many manufacturers still build that cable connection because it's typically faster and more reliable and easier to manage for some.

I imagine the day my son/nephew will only know of wires as power lines along the road, but none are used to communicate between devices. And his children...who knows? Undoubtedly, the day will come of "the waste" of using wires and finding alternatives for what to do with all of the "leftovers". Imagine the tons of copper...I could see it being recycled into kitchenware or something nifty like that. :-)

Now...back to digging for that stinker of a cable...

Mis-Information from too much Information

The nice thing about blogging is that you can write it anytime, anywhere, then upload it later. Thanks to Notepad, this is exactly what I'm doing. Mother Nature has struck down my internet connection, which means I won't stay up too late!

I shared the link to my blog on Facebook, so I'm hoping to get some questions to add to my list of things to blog about.

The recent tragedy in Boston re-inforced the dark side of the internet and so many having smart phones. Mis-information went on a rampage and continues days later. Real research is no longer done before a story is posted. In the rush for the scoop or exclusive, a catchy headline is posted and little details are given, almost always wrong the first time and several corrections later. This fuels gossip, speculation, and the imagination to the point where it makes it more difficult to determine the real truth.

What irks me the most is the lack of discipline against news agencies for mis-informing the public. Or at least, we never really see much. Once in a while, we get an "oops, we were wrong" article, but are there any fines? Were the ones responsible reprimanded or fired? We'll probably never know.

I can see how daunting it may be these days because everyone is "connected" and siphoning fact from fiction. But still, I would rather NOT read the scoop and the false headline and wait until the real story is ready to be written and shared. We are always in such a rush! Some news isn't news at all. I could care less about Tom Cruise's movie casting troubles or who won Dancing with the Starts. That kind of news can be found by those that are interested, but put the good and the bad in the headlines of what's going here in the US and in the rest of the world. Most of the news is bad and tragic, but there are countless stories of triumph and courage that are just as riveting as bad news. We never see enough of that.

On top of all of that is the politics between different news sites. I find myself going to BBC News rather than Fox, Yahoo!, or MSN because they see the news from the outside and tend to not be influenced by our own politics. It's hard to truly find non-biased news and stories and I guess it depends on an individual's definition of bias. Is it actually possible not to be? We are human, so how can one not be influenced by his/her own culture, faith, political views, and philosophy?

Meh, despite no internet, I still stayed up too late! And I'll probably stay up later reading a good old fashioned e-book! ;-)