Another Linux Public Access Network

Today at Computerbank we rolled out another community access network. This time for the Melrose St Highrise in North Melbourne. Following on from our work out in Darebin our public access networks are proving to be a hit with seniors. Low maintenance and easy to use, our heavily customised and locked down version of ubuntu, refreshes the userspace on every reboot. Printers are reset and jobs are cleared. So easy to keep running that residents with basic computer knowledge can maintain them.

Unfortunately due to factors outside our control the internet couldn't be turned on as the phone line wasn't activated in time. We will return next week to set up the ADSL2 connection. Training will be delivered at the same time.

Here is a pic of Computerbank volunteers Kristen and Mohan helping with the setup of the network.

Long Time Between News - Busy

I've been really busy and occupied with lots of things at the moment so have not bothered posting on my blog.

Between dialysis, medical appointments, working, volunteering and doing regular things - I'm left with little time to do extra stuff. I'm also pretty tired too. I should see about taking the EPO shots. :)

A lot has happened and much has stayed the same. I'm still doing the overnight dialysis system and I'm still annoyed by the rubbish it generates. Recently I had to go back to manual bags because I forgot to order some supplies (doh!). I've put on some weight - but still not eating very well.

I' ve had further tests to work me up for my transplant - I think I'm now on the list. While my mum is still donating her kidney - I could also get called up if the computer says I am the closest match. This is not likely to happen any time soon. Hopefully within the next two months the big operation, with my mum as donor, will actually happen.

Computerbank is keeping me pretty busy too, we're now working on a hardy upgrade to our ubuntu distro. We are also trying to promote ourselves wide and far. If your reading this - spread the word - www.computerbank.org.au :)

My machine is beeping - I better go now.

Computerbank Ubuntu Distro almost ready

We've been working pretty much flat stick to get our much awaited ubuntu distro ready. Next week we start cloning it for a Cook Islands project we are working on. I'm just going over the final bits and pieces now.

We've been doing our own debian derived distros ever since we first started, at one time we were rolling out a Knoppix variant.

This distro has to be our best by far, it builds on all the work and experiences we've had over 10 years as well as upon the good work of the Ubuntu community. Many folks have helped - Ed, John, Con, David L, Glenn, Alistair, Mohan, Barry, myself and many others.

The distro is inspired by our users - users who are new to computing and who have generally only been exposed to a Windows environment. Most of our users use the mouse to click on things, typing commands and using a shell is alien to them.

We are still using KDE as the default desktop but have also included a full working GNOME desktop for people to try out. We use KDE because we can make it look familiar to Windows users. In some cases GNOME may be the better choice as it is simpler to use.

A lot of time has been spent working on special scripts - cloning, refreshing users, adding users, deleting .ICEAuthority and updating skel files. While we plan to develop more scripts, we will not hold up the release waiting for them. The main scripts are in place and fully work.

We include a lot of software - 79 'end user' programs across different software categories - our distro is 4G!! We spend a lot of time tweaking program options, optimising configs and setting consistent choices. We pay a lot of attention to getting it all right so the user doesn't have to do a thing. I'm really proud of our efforts in putting together a rock solid and fast distro.

The major changes this time around include a move from su to sudo (kdesu), new software additions (games, graphics, education, multimedia, office), updated software versions, use of GUI network tools for setting up network cards, use of GNOME PPP instead of a custom dial up config tool. Some software has also been dropped.

I'm currently working on the final touch- bringing our userguide up to date. I've also been playing around with recordmydesktop and have put together a number of video how to screencasts aimed at people who prefer a more visual approach to learning.

References: For more info on the Computerbank distro see the Computerbank wiki page http://vic.computerbank.org.au/wiki/ComputerbankUbuntuDistro

Sleeping with Serena the PD Machine

I had my first night on the Gambro PD machine "Serena." I wasn't really sure what to expect, I had heard the machines were noisy. Serena is very quiet, you can hardly hear it.

Serena has a touch screen and easy to understand menus. It is very easy to operate. The procedure for hooking up is very different to the manual exchanges. Serena needs to be primed before use to ensure all the lines are ready to go. I've included a picture of serena all primed and ready to go.

Overnight I run through 5 cycles, almost 8 litres passes in and out of my peritoneum over an 8 and a half hour period. While it is too early to tell, unlike with manual exchanges, I did not feel a thing while the machine was draining and filling. Yay!

Being on the overnight system frees up my days and means I don't have to lug medical equipment and fluid bags with me. Another Yay! The main thing is to remember to get to bed on time. :)

Kids online education resources - reading

Today while at the linux.conf.au education miniconf someone (sorry not sure of name) asked about the availability of kids reading software for Linux. Sure there is software for making sounds and learning letters and numbers (Gcompris, Childsplay, KHangman, Linux Letters and Numbers, Tux Math, Tux Typing and more) but as of yet, there is not much in the way of software to teach kids basic reading skills.

Lucky for Linux users and people who have access to the internet (broadband even better) there are a number of online options. Just tonight I had a quick poke around and found a few sites I thought were appropriate for kids learning English in Australia:

• http://www.starfall.com This one has excellent online reading material.
• http://vocabulary.co.il/ This is vocabulary based stuff but still useful all the same.
  
• http://teacher.scholastic.com Click student activities and search for reading. A number of results will appear.

Perhaps people can add to the list of sites above or can recommend appropriate software for Linux users. Fantastic stuff if you are thinking of starting up a software project in this area.

Dialysis - what a load of rubbish!

The thing that bothers me the most about PD (peritoneal dialysis) is the amount of rubbish it generates. Stacks!

To give you an idea I've taken a photo of the rubbish from one exchange - plastic wrappers, a leaflet, paper toweling, catheter cap and the dialysis bag itself. The box contains 4 bags, I go through one of these a day.

Before it can be disposed the dialysis bag has to be emptied. Lucky for me, my partner Greg does most of the bag slashing, he uses the fluid on the garden.

Further rubbish comes from other supplies such as gauze, cleaning sticks and bottles of antibacterial wash, avagard and saline. At least the boxes and some of the bottles can be recycled. I might be able to get the plastic recycled by the good folks at Australian Composite Technology (Computerbank recycles computer plastics with ACT). If you have any other ideas please drop me a line.

Back from Eden return to work

Camping at Eden was fantastic, just what I needed. Even more so after the car journey up, traveling almost 5 hours with the heater on so as to cool the engine. This was after a kmart auto mechanic told us we'd be fine. Nothing wrong with our radiator. Right. Lucky for us *the* Cann River mechanic was open on a Saturday. He took one look at our radiator and said it needed replacing. We stayed overnight in Cann River while our friends drove on, some had already made it to Eden (we all left at the same time). We arranged for our friend Mark to come back and get us the next day (3 hour return trip), our car would not be ready until Tuesday.

We stayed in the Ben Boyd National Park. A really nice spot not far from the coast. We had goannas, possums and wallabies in our camp scavenging for leftover food. The goannas would eat whole fish carcasses, yuck. While driving into Eden I also saw two lyrebirds. They quickly run away off into the bush. We saw and heard a lots of other birds including bowerbirds, wonga pigeons, kookaburras, currawongs and more.

Despite advice not to do so I went snorkeling using a tegaderm patch over my exit site. On the first attempt I used 2 patches doubled over and it seemed to work - I only swam for 15 minutes though. The next time I went swimming I tried it with 1 patch and went for longer (an hour). It didn't work and my exit site bandage was wet. Salt water is good for wounds so I really don't think it matters much - just as long as nothing nasty got in.

I'm glad I went because while I was snorkeling I saw more than I have ever seen before (usually only swimming in Vic waters): black stingrays, two types of jelly fish, snapper, a parrot fish, sweep, old wife and a port jackson shark. The shark was dead.

My partner Greg, a spearo freediver type, got us dinner nearly every night. He caught leatherjackets, Australian salmon, blue, red and banded morwong, catfish and some abalone. Tim and Bel, friends from Melbourne, traveling around in the area, also stopped by for a fishy dinner a couple of nights.

There were plenty of kids to keep us entertained. We got some of them to pose for a kid police line up.

The drive back was so much nicer with the new radiator, we could even drive with the air conditioning on. It took us around 7.5 hours to get back home, compared with the 10 hours it took to get to Cann River on the way there!

Update: I wrote to Kmart and they gave me a refund for the radiator work they charged me for. Bravo for being quick to respond to my complaint.

First List for 2008...

It's been great not having to worry about to do lists for the past few weeks. I feel refreshed. It's not that I haven't had stuff to do - I have. I just completely blanked it. I needed a rest. :)

Tomorrow is the start of the working new year for me, back to reality. Ho Hum. Lucky for me though, its only for two days - then I'm back to relaxing for another week when I head to Eden.

So tasks from last year include:

- Invoicing (both new and follow up outstanding) - A nice thing to do in Jan - bring in some money while it is quite.
- Email follow up. Answer any outstanding emails. I think I'm fairly on top of this.
- LCA follow up. Get in touch with people about tours of Computerbank, open day and volunteering.
- Overseas Projects. Cook Islands. And Another. Hmm.
- Darebin revamp. Their P4 is slow to start and needs replacing. They also need another 2 units.
- Distro Project. Write up notes. List where we are at over on the wiki. Somewhat related but not high priority is to finish the distro paper I'm writing.
- Follow up from Shepparton project.
- Radio interview. Tech Talk Radio.
- Catch up re finances.
- Applications
- Review past to-do lists (the list above seems small?)

Tasks that need to be done this week:

- Pay the rent or send a volunteer to do so. Pay AAPT bill.
- User Support. Broadband woes.
- Work for the Dole (WFD) Planning. I have some things planned but will wait to see how many folks come.
-Touch base with WFD Unit.

Future Tasks/Projects:

- LCA Computerbank Tour
- LCA Open Day
- Shepparton?

I need to call the folks at Gambro and do a stocktake as well as pop into the dialysis unit and pick up medical supplies before i go away. Oh and I need to go to a chemist!

So a mild start to the new year. Yay. :)

Getting Boring - PD four times a day

Ho hum, four times a day and getting really boring. But now I've got it down to a fine art.

Quick How To:

Prepare fluid bag (use heater and timer to get it right)
Reveal catheter
Wash Hands with antibacterial scrub
Dry with paper towel
Avagard bench area
Use avagard on hands
Open fluid bag
Prepare the lines
Mix solution
Avagard hands again
Take off plastic seal
Open line
Take off own catheter cap
Make the connection
Open white clamp
Open own clamp
Drain for 10ish min
Close own clamp
Open blue clamp for 5 secs/Close white clamp (clears the line of air bubbles)
Check for air
Open own clamp
Drain in for 10ish mins
Close blue clamp
Close own clamp
Avagard again
Disconnect from line
Open PD cap
Replace PD cap
Weigh everything
Do paperwork
Clean up (lots of mess and rubbish generated)
Done!!!

The whole process takes about 30ish minutes and will depend on how much fluid I have to drain out. I usually ultrafiltrate, which means I produce more fluid out than was put in. One time while doing this I forgot to mix in the glucose. On that occasion I absorbed heaps of the fluid. I'm not sure what it means, I'll ask the nurse when she calls.

So much plastic rubbish is generated at each exchange but at least the waste fluids can go onto the garden. Speaking of which...time to go and do some bag slashing. :)

Training for Peritoneal Dialysis

I had my first session around doing Peritoneal Dialysis (PD). It seems like a lot to do but once I've done it heaps it shouldn't take too long to get the hang of.

The big thing is contamination. I have to be ultra careful not to touch my catheter cap while doing 'exchanges'. An exchange is what we call the process of taking out fluid and putting it back in.

Towards the end of a drain it gets a little uncomfortable for me. Apparently as I am young, this is common. You kind of feel a little bloated when the fluid is in. The fluid can come out with a tinge of yellow or it can even be darker. A cloudy fluid indicates infection. Peritonitis is something i really don't want to get.

I have anti bacterial hand wash and some avaguard lotion. Before connecting and disconnecting I need to use the avaguard.

I have plenty of PD supplies, they take up a lot of space at our house. Each fluid bag is 2L. I think I am shipped supplies on a two week basis. I am using the Gambro solution.

I'm planning on writing up a PD how-to, I'll post it here when I am done. I receive more training tomorrow so should have it down pat by then.

Asus eee PC sold out in Australia ... a sign of better things to come

This is most certainly a positive thing for the free and open source community in Australia. A laptop for $500 and it is running a streamlined version of GNU/Linux. Not that I have used one, but It seems to include all the basics and appears really simple to use. Reports also confirm this.

I've always thought simplicity over complexity would mean greater uptake of GNU/Linux on the desktop. Computerbank's own distribution tries to incorporate this aspect. If people are happy and don't encounter problems or set up issues they are more likely to stay with what works. I feel that another area where GNU/Linux excels is reduced virus risk which means less time is required for system maintenance. The same applies to threats of malware and spyware. It makes perfect sense for GNU/Linux to be the 'safe family computer.'

The eee PC includes a range of software, some of which we include in the Computerbank distribution. There is the super fun kid magnet "Tux Paint." I hear many schools are now using this. It is perfect for teaching young kids (and adults) basic computer skills. Potato Guy has also been included, Computerbank uses this to teach mouse skills. Everyone can relate to it.

For more information see this link to the Australian Age news item - 'Australia's cheapest laptop sells out'
or visit the eee PC website at http://eeepc.asus.com/

Forgot to mention - I have lupus SLE

Oh. I guess by now you are wondering what could be wrong with me and my kidneys? I haven't mentioned that yet. Or have i?

I have Systemic Lupus Ereythemotosus...it is an autoimmune disease where my body attacks itself. In my case it is my kidneys. I also have a blood disorder, antiphospholipid syndrome.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupus_erythematosus and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiphospholipid_syndrome for more information.

I have been diagnosed with this condition since 1996 but have probably had it longer than that. It results in weird symptoms. I have had a minor stroke from the blood condition and a retinal occlusion. I have been in hospital over 14 times. It seems we just can't get the lupus to stop attacking so now it has nearly destroyed my kidney function.

I am down to less than 10% now hence the preparation for dialysis. Eventually I will have a transplant, we are unsure if the new kidney will also be attacked by lupus. At the moment there is no cure for Lupus but people are working on it.

Tenchoff update

Well it has been over a week now and I am on the mend. I have had my dressings removed and my wound is healing up nicely.

I was shown how to clean the exit site so as to keep it free from infection. Eventually i will learn the art of taping things nicely, I'm trying all sorts of different configurations.

The hospital in the home folks 'discharged' me today, although I'll still need to do blood tests to keep on top of my INR. I have a whole heap of medical supplies for cleaning my wounds and exit site, the hospital provides everything I need, all for gratis. This is also the case for the dialysis equipment and fluid. St V's have been really great. I am so glad I live in a country that still provides free medical care.

I found another cool link on Peritoneal Dialysis - see http://www.kidneypatientguide.org.uk/site/pdanim.html - you'll need flash installed to see this one as it is an animation of the process. I'm still not 100% on how I will do my PD - overnight or 4 times a day, I might have to give both a go.

Sometimes the catheter causes discomfort, I can feel it inside me. Hopefully I will get used to it and eventually won't notice at all.

Photos? Yep, soon I'll upload.

Extra Info:
INR: See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prothrombin_time

Tenchoff catheter ready to go

Last week I had a tenchoff catheter put in so I can start dialysis in a few weeks.

I spent two days in hospital and was quite sick. I was also mostly out of it. My blood pressure hit the roof, people were worried I was going to have a heart attack.

I'm still not feeling that great and I have limited mobility. Now I am at home my blood pressure has mostly settled. I have the 'hospital in the home' service visit me for a week. That has been great...not having to travel around for tests and so forth. St V's Hospital was a great place to recover, the nursing staff and doctors looked after me well.

Next week i go to get my dressings attended to. I think they also flush my lines as well. I don't start dialysis for about two-three weeks. The area where they put the catheter in needs time to heal.

For those who want to know more see these links:

Cute baby with tenchoff catheter

Wikipedia info on peritoneal dialysis

I'll post a picture of my tenchoff catheter in the next few days.

The dialysis is for the short term, in the longer term I am looking to have a kidney transplant. Members of my family (mum) are having tests to see if they will be a suitable living donor.

I'll try and keep people posted via my blog.

Unofficial Election Campaign Video - Go for Growth

An entry in the ABC Sledge competition. See http://abc.net.au/unleashed/sledge/ for details.



Just brilliant. Great work Cyrius01.

Databasing like mad

I've been playing around with databases. We are looking to revamp or replace the Computerbank database (postgres/mysql/qt app) so I wanted to get a feel for what is out there.

My foray into LAMP has begun. I turned my lappy into a LAMP server even though I was warned against doing such things (it's my only computer). So far so good, the Computerbank distro is cool to build on.

I installed apache, plone, mysql, postgres 7.4 and 8.1, phpmyadmin, ruby on rails, probably some other stuff and some databases. Tiny erp, Bizar Shop, Free Geek Db and Zen Shopping Cart.

I couldn't get the Free Geek db to fully work, so I hope to catch up with the free geek folks. Maybe I don't have a full copy. Who knows, I have never used ruby, so I may not have it configured correctly. I just followed a how to. As Free Geek are similar to us it makes sense to see if their database can be modified to suit our needs.

I still need to play with Tiny erp, it seemed to have lots in it. So much I was overwhelmed. Bizar shop and Zen Shopping cart both look nice and easy to use but don't meet our needs enough.

I'll be looking at PHP Myinventory next and any others that people might suggest. One thing I don't plan on doing is writing a database from scratch. Sounds like too much work for me right now. :)

Inner city decor, when will it fall?

For around 3 months or so I've seen a pair of sneakers dangling from overhead wires across Barkly Street. Eventually the wind and elements will cause the shoelace to break. But when?

Perhaps I should start up a guessing game on my blog? I'll try and get a decent snap tomorrow...provided they are still up there. Prizes. Hmm. Maybe. :)

ISP's that don't support Linux - Bah!

We've/I've/Computerbank has had to deal with the '"oh but they said it won't work with Linux, they won't support Linux" ISP blues for well over 9 years now.

I had a document that once explained not to worry. The sky won't fall down. You will still get connected to the net. Probably via a Linux server too. The many boxes you surf to read content will probably be running Apache. Yep. Apache, that free open source web server, the one that usually runs on a Linux setup. When you are tapping your search query into Google you'll be accessing a Linux computer farm.

But ISP's won't give any help. They say it's too hard to have documents on all the Linux internet utilities. It took one of the volunteers at Computerbank a day or so to write and test an internet setup utility using C code. Couldn't ISP's just do that? They could write an easy to use, we know what to expect configuration utility and ship it on a CD. I'm sure they could write simple documentation and phone scripts to talk people through connecting over the phone.

If they can't do that then the least they can do is write a proper phone info script that doesn't confuse people. "The internet works perfect with Linux systems. We can't provide help because we don't know what software you have on your computer and we didn't bother making any."

It really is a pity, and you are scaring potential customers away. Once a Linux user has an established net connection they'll probably never call for support again. Linux distributions are rock solid and not as susceptible to viruses, malware or spyware like Windows computers are.

Tip for new Linux users, if you do call your ISP for support (and it is not in relation to connecting) don't tell them you use Linux. Tell them you are using Firefox. Some ISP's have seen the light and recommend Firefox instead of Internet Explorer. These folks might be in more of a position to support you on web site access issues.

Very occasionally you might get a Linux friendly support person on the phone and they might help you out. On this note, if anyone knows of Linux friendly ISP's in Melbourne or with Australia wide local call access numbers please let me know. You could possibly help prevent a lot of confusion. Look forward to hearing from you. :)

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation money making investments...Grrr!!!

I've known it all along but didn't really know how big the investments were.

A bit behind the eight ball here but I recently read that Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has shares in pharmaceutical companies including Abbott Laboratories, Merck, Johnson and Johnson, Eli Lilly, and Pfizer. See this article here: LA Times - Jan 2007

Intellectual property right protection allows companies to set prices for drugs and prevent others from developing generic medicines. Strategies like these lock the consumer market to one company and one product only. The company is guaranteed a consumer base for the product as it is essential. Guaranteed captive market.

This model is very similar to the Microsoft software model. A lot of people believe Windows is an essential item. I guess that's why B&M have chosen to invest this way. Their model works, why not get involved with companies that have similar opportunities. Relate it to 'gift giving' and your really getting ahead. Making profit on gift giving, not only for your own foundation but for big multinationals too. Kind of makes you mad don't it?

Computers from charities and other rip offs

So I'm a little bit angry today. I'm going to blog about it because i think other people should know.

It was a pretty good move by Green PC to discontinue their $99 PII 366Mhz system. At the place I work and volunteer, we recycle this level of computer. While this computer came with a modem, it still wasn't worth $99.

Today I discover that another group, Charity Computers, are offering a PII 266Mhz>, 4gig+ HDD, 64MB RAM, 15" monitor, CD/SND and modem for $100. We had someone call up to find out if this was a misprint. It sure was. The price was supposed to be $125. Why the high price? It came with a 12 month warranty.

The computers Computerbank give out come with a three month warranty. We charge $15!!! for a PIII 450-500Mhz, 192 RAM, 4.3G HDD, CD/SND, 15" monitor. A modem is $10-15 extra. We also have (buzzword warning) product stewardship, this means we will recycle the PC's we distribute. So, a person could buy 4 * $15 computers from where I work/volunteer, under warranty, plus an external modem for $15 and still save money.

When we look at the prices of P4's we see:

Green PC Pentium IV 1.6+ Ghz , 256 MB RAM, 20 GB HD, CD/SND, 17" CRT = $425. For this you get a modem and speakers. The system comes with a 3 month replacement warranty. Prices for higher spec PIV's go up and up. The dearest computer is $550. For that you get a PIV 1.6Ghz, 512Ram, 20G HD, DVD Burner, Sound, 15" LCD, 56K modem, speakers. Support costs are higher than Charity computers, IXA Assist once published the costs of support. I think it was around $40 an hour. Packages were also available. Green PC were running a Victorian State Government funded Community Jobs Program (CJP) which gave them funding to employ trainees. I'm not sure if they are still running CJP.

Charity Computers PIV 1.3GHz, 256 MB ram, 20 gig HD, CD burner, sound, 17” monitor and 56k internal modem = $350!! 12 month warranty. Reasonably priced inhouse after support option of $25 an hour. Has Work for the Dole (WFD) participants and volunteers. Possibly students as part of a fee paying course.

WorkVentures PIV 1.8Ghz, 256RAM, 40G HDD, 17" CRT, CD/SND. No mention of modem or speakers. = $350. 3 month warranty. Unknown after support costs. Possibly WFD and trainees.

Wesley Mission PIV 1.6GHZ, 512 RAM, 40G HDD, 17" CRT, CD Burner/SND, modem and speakers = $420. 3 month back to base warranty. Unknown after support costs A PII, 128 RAM, 3-4G HDD, CD/SND and monitor is $50. Unknown participation.

Computerbank PIV 1.4Ghz, 256 RAM, 20 GB HD, CD/SND, 17" CRT monitor, 56K modem, and speakers = $125 with 17" LCD = $185. We give a 3 month warranty and have very affordable after support costs, $22 flat fee inhouse support, doesn't matter how long it takes. We also provide free training, free internet/email support and a free user guide. Our users can attend 'Show Me How' days for free no matter how long they have had their computers.

Computerbank's dearest computers are around $300. That gets you a PIV 2.0Ghz, 512 RAM, 40G HDD and DVD Burner (new), modem, and speakers. Add a 17" LCD for $60.

Surely the costs of recycling computers can't be that high for these well established groups and charities? Why do they need the outrageous profits?

We use Open Source Software...maybe thats the reason we can keep prices so low. No paperwork. No licenses. Not having to deal with Microsoft.

We have 4 part time and casual staff, as well as a core (8) team of dedicated volunteers who manage our operations. We have another 6 or so volunteers who help out on a regular basis. We have been around for 9 years, we have been the longest running, nationally spread community computer recycler. We have had great success in Victoria, activity in other states has been varied. Computerbanks and affiliates are autonomous.

Last year we gave out 465 computers. We recycled even more. We have around 300 computers in stock and receive a regular stream of donations and e-waste. Rather than charge an arm and a leg for our computers, we are building up other fee based services (with reasonable charges).

We are mostly volunteer based, but in time, hope to employ more people (like our sister organisation, Free Geek, in the US). We get a regular turn out of volunteers each week. We train unemployed people via a WFD project we run. Lots of people have obtained jobs due to their experience at Computerbank.

Visit our website, you can access it from my blog links. :)