If you are not familiar with Ubuntu then you are missing out. Ubuntu is an operating system based on Debian Linux. It is distributed as open source, so it is completely free to anyone who wishes to use it.
As far as Linux goes it is one of the easiest to setup and use.

There is plenty to love about Ubuntu. Here is just a short overview.

The security of Ubuntu is far greater than that of Windows for a few simple reasons. First of all most of all security threats to Windows come in the form of viruses, spyware and things of that nature. Although viruses do exist for Linux, they are rare. The reason is most computers worldwide run Windows. Viruses that are programmed for Windows do not affect Linux Systems, therefore the chances of you ever getting a virus are slim. Another thing is Ubuntu automatically checks for updates for not only they system but the installed software as well. This insures you don’t miss a security update.

Another great thing about Ubuntu is the selection of software. Most people will find that the software that comes packaged with Ubuntu is more than sufficient for their everyday task. Additional software is also available through the Ubuntu Software Center and other places on the web.

I also didn’t have any hardware compatibility issues. It automatically recognized all my hardware and everything was up and running. This includes my ATI graphics card, Alfa AWUSO36H USB Wifi adapter, onboard sound and my ethernet.

The stability of Ubuntu is far better than what I experienced from XP. I might completely shutdown / reboot maybe 3 times a month and most of the time its not cause of a problem. My system has never locked down since I made the switch.

Well hopefully this will help get someone interested in Ubuntu.

The kit contained:

2 x Manual Batteries
2 x Atomizers
1 x Wall Charger
5 x Empty Round Tip Cartridges

Pros:

Manual batteries so no worries about excess fluid leaking into and ruining them.
Popular model so parts and upgrades are widely available.

Cons:

Small air passages in the cartridges are prone to condensation build up.
Though the battery life is longer than my Blu, it is still pretty short.

Personal Thoughts:

So far like I said I’m pretty satisfied with it. I’ll be adding more info on this one as time goes by.

The  starter kit contains:
1 x Charging Pack
2 x Batteries
2 x Atomizers
1 x USB Charger
1 x USB Wall Adapter
25 x Flavored Cartridges

Pros:
Comes with multiple chargers, so you can recharge your batteries no matter where you are.
They send you 25 prefilled cartridges to get you started.
You get 2 batteries so you can always have one fully charged when the other one gos dead.
Less than 1 hour recharge time.
Cartridges are filled by Johnson’s Creek which is a U.S. based company.

Cons:
The battery life is short.
The cartridges don’t hold very much liquid
The batteries have an automatic switch that can become flooded if you refill your cartridges and happen to overfill one.
Price is a little steep at $69.99
Shipping can be slow at times. Mainly due to the shipping company they use.

My thoughts:
Overall I am happy with my Blu cig, but if I knew what I know now I probably wouldn’t have bought it. I still use it, but I use my Joye 510 way more. On the other hand if it had not been for Blu’s excellent advertising I probably would have never started using ecigs.

Here is what you need to start:

USB Flash Drive aka Thumb drive with 2GBs or more
Ubuntu Install CD (Can be downloaded for free from Ubuntu’s Website. Legally)
A PC with USB boot capability

To install Ubuntu to the flash drive is pretty simple.

Plug in your flash drive
I insert the Ubuntu installation CD/DVD
Restart your PC
Go in to your BIOS settings and change your boot sequence to boot from the CD/DVD, save changes and exit.
It should boot into the Ubuntu setup. Now follow all the prompts till you get to the drive selection.
Your flash drive should show up along with the other drive/s. Select your flash drive and continue the installation.
Once it is complete, reboot your PC.
Now you will need to go back to your BIOS and change your boot sequence to boot from your USB drive.
If all is well then it should boot right in to Ubuntu.

This can come in handy in many situations. For example say you get a bad virus and now your computer won’t boot but you have important documents, pictures or whatever. All you have to do is plug in your flash drive, boot up your system and you now have access to your hard drive along with all your files.

You can use a wired Xbox 360 controller on your PC. I have used mine successfully on both SNES9x and ZNES but should work on anything you can use a regular PC joystick with. It must be an actual wired controller though. I tried a wireless using a play and charge adapter and had no luck.

When you plug the controller into a USB port on on your PC, Windows should recognize it and and say new hardware found. In my case it was just plug and play, but if not you may have to download drivers which are available from Microsoft.

360 Drivers for Windows

I found that this also works flawlessly under Ubuntu 10.4 without having to install any extra drivers. Which is great cause I pretty much live on Ubuntu.

Well I hope this is helpful to someone. Enjoy

So you wanna play Super Nintendo but you don’t have a working console. The good news is you can play all your favorite SNES games right from your PC. All you need is a piece of software called an emulator. The emulator takes the place of the console. There are many snes emulators out there that can be downloaded  for free. The two that I recommend are SNES9x and ZSNES with the second being the better of the two due to sound issues with SNES9x.

Now that the console (emulator) half  is taken care of, you need games. Obviously you can’t just plug the old cartridges into your computer. In the world of emulators the games are referred to as “ROMs”. They are just a soft copy of the original game. You can find just about every title ever produced and they can easily be found by doing a simple search on Google. Most sites that have the emulators available also have roms.

OK, now that you have your emulator and some roms, go ahead and install your emulator. Once thats done all you have to do is configure your controls and load the rom you want to play.

Something else worth mentioning. Both SNES9x and ZSNES are compatible with gamepads and joysticks. Yes, you could just use the keyboard, but why not make the experience a little more authentic. If you don’t have a gamepad, a wired Xbox 360 control will work on a pc.

Emulators and Roms Available at : Dope ROMs

Here is what you need.

1. Some kind of software to draw out your circuit board traces. I recommend Express PCB. It’s free just google it.
2. A laser printer.
3. A blank piece of copper clad circuit board.
4. Some muriatic acid
5. Regular 3% hydrogen peroxide.
6. A plastic container big enough to lay your circuit board in.

Once you have your circuit drawn out the way you want it go ahead and print it out. You have to use a laser printer, an inkjet printer will not work for this. Now take your blank circuit board and clean the copper surface with a scotchbrite pad and lay your print out of your circuit toner side down on the copper. You may want to tape it in place so it doesn’t move. Next take a regular clothes iron on its hottest setting with the steam turned off and apply it to the back of the printed area on the paper. Make sure you use firm even pressure and go over the entire printed area. The goal here is to make the toner on the paper melt and stick to the copper. Now take the board with the paper still attached and soak it in water till the paper becomes soft and you can gently remove the paper leaving the toner on the copper. You are now ready to etch your circuit board.

To etch lay your board in the bottom of your plastic container. Mix your acid and peroxide in a ratio of about 2 parts peroxide to 1 part acid and pour it in making sure you cover your board with about an inch of solution. Now gently rock the container to keep the solution moving over the board. You will notice the solution slowly turning green as the peroxide oxidizes the copper and the acid dissolves the oxides. The toner will protect the copper under it from being eaten away. When all the unprotected copper in gone remove the board with some tweezers and rinse the solution off with water. Use some scotchbrite or acetone to remove the toner.

The final step is to drill the holes and you just made your own printed circuit board.