Year: 2010

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6 Tools to Easily Create Your Own Custom Linux Distro

While it’s hard to make the claim that there aren’t enough Linux distros out there, it’s also hard to escape the fact that no distribution is all things to all people. There are all kinds of reasons to consider rolling your own, but many people never make the attempt because it seems like such a huge undertaking. Fortunately, with modern software we can create new distros, remixes, and custom configurations in a matter of minutes instead of months.

6 Tools to Easily Create Your Own Custom Linux Distro – Make Tech Easier.

Good set of tools that let you essentially clone your Linux setup. Appears to be aimed at desktop setups, but may be useful starting place for building custom distros for servers.

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Unboxing the iPad

Here are some pics I took while unboxing the shiny and new iPad.

Brand new, still shrink wrapped

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This is the iPad, NIB, along with the official Apple iPad Holder and the always necessary AppleCare extended service warranty.

Box open, first view

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Once opened, the iPad was just sitting right on top of the box.

The new iPad, back view

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Lifting out the iPad, the first impression is the weight of it. It has some heft to it. Here we see the back, still swaddled in it’s plastic protector.

Free of packaging and plugged in

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With all of the plastic and box out of the way, I plugged the iPad into the MacBook Pro. That launched iTunes and the game was afoot.

The officai Apple holder for the iPad

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Once I made sure it was alive, I disconnected the iPad and slid it into the holder. A snug fit, but fashionably black.

Booting up!

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This is the first sync. I thought it went well, but it turned out that iTunes on the MBP decided it was a 2gb iPod, not a 32gb iPad. Irritating, but not fatal. Just started over.

And away we go…

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So, this is the very first screen of the iPad. App icons are added to subsequent screens.

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Another good use for the iPad: one-to-one presentations

Anyway, that’s a unique thing the iPad can do, one-on-one presentations. And it’s a business application too. If you’re in a tech role at a corporation that has a sales function, get busy. You’re going to be using a lot of tablet computers, whether they’re from Apple, HP, Google or whoever. One person telling a story to another person, that’s going to be a big use of tablets.

iPad as a one-to-one presenter. Scripting News.

The iPad is great for “Let me show you something…” interactions. Of course it would be even better if the browser wasn’t crippled. The next tablet that comes along with a full OS, an easy to use interface, and an app store is probably going to be more appealing to business and education. Until then, this will do.