Shastanator.com

By Brent “Shasta” Mouton

Since the popularity of Linux based operating systems has been rising, one of the areas that I have always found that Linux lacks in is gaming. Sure distributions like Ubuntu come with more pre-installed games than Its Windows counterpart, after market game support has been somewhat lacking. Sure you can install Wine (WINdows Emulator) and try to get your Windows games working that way, but It is sketchy at best.

The thing that does set Linux gaming apart from Windows is liscensing. Most Linux software, be it games or otherwise, fall under the General Public Liscence. Software under this liscence is generally free of cost, and free to modify and share. Modifications are big in computer gaming and this can be an attractive addition to the Linux operating systems.

So here at Shastanator, we have decided to help you decipher the good from the bad and list some of the top Linux games available.

1. FreeCiv : FreeCiv is an Open Source clone of the old Civilization turn-based strategy games. FreeeCiv is very well made and can also run on Windows.
2. Scorched 3d : Scorched 3D is a clone of the popular Scorched Earth Tank warfare game. Which in turn is most likely based on the old Gorrilas game in DOS from back in the 80s.
3. America’s Army Special Forces : America’s Army, the US Army’s game that is also a recruitment tool, happens to also be a very popular game and is currently available for Linux Operating systems.
4. Tux Racer : Tux Racer might not be the most complex game you have ever played but it can be quite addictive. The graphics are pretty good and the gameplay is simple yet addictive. You are a penguin and you are sliding down mountains trying to pick up as many herring as you possibly can.
5. Frets On FIre: FOF looks like a clone of popular guitar games for consoles. Worth a look if you are into those sort of games.
6. Atlantik : Clone of the popular board game Monopoly.
7. Battle for Wesnoth : Turn Based Strategy Fantasy game.
8. Defendguin : Defender Clone Featuring Penguins.
9. Dopewars : Simulation of the life of a drug runner.
10. Flight Gear : Flight Simulation program to rival Windows Flight Simulator.
11. FreeCNC : Open Source clone of the popular Command and Conquer game.
12. LBreakout : Clone of popular Breakout style games.
13. Lgeneral : Clone of Panzer turn based strategy game.
14. LinCIty : Clone of the classic SimCIty game.
15. OpenCity : Another Clone of SimCity.
16. N.A.T.O.W. : Another Scorched Earth Clone.
17. Penguin Command : Clone of Missle Command but with Penguins.
18. SuperTux : Mario Brothers Clone using Tux the Penguin in place of Mario.
19. TuxKart : Racing style Kart game based off of MarioKart.

There are also now commercial Windows games being ported and sold for the Linux Kernal. You can find some of these games at TuxGames.com. There appears to be a nice, growing list of games ported to linux. Alpha Centauri, Civilization, Tribes 2, Doom 3, and Medal of Honor Allied Assault are some of the games currently available.

By Brent “Shasta” Mouton

Getting winmodem dialup working in Ubuntu Linux is like taking a nun on a date. You know that you won’t be getting any unless its by some miraculous act of God. Well I have experienced such a miraculous act, and I’m not talking about the nun. That’s a different story.

The first stroke of luck occurred when a friend of mine gave me an old computer that was wasting space on his closet floor. As I always do when I get an old computer, I took it apart and figured out what parts I may be able to use. Since I am unfortunately still using dialup most of the time, I kept the modem. You never know when an errant lightning strike may render your current modem as useless as Micheal Moore in a marathon run. At the time I was using Windows XP and had a working modem. Thats when things went all to hell. My box fried and I was forced to strip it down and take what parts I could and build another.

I no longer had a Windows CD so I decided to give Ubuntu a try. I had heard much about it and they sent me a free CD, and I had run linux once before a long time ago. So once I installed Ubuntu I couldn’t figure out how to get online with my dialup modem. So I used my brother’s laptop to look up what information I needed. It took a lot of effort to figure it all out but I learned that there was a good chance the modem I had did not work with Ubuntu. Seems the manufacturers of softmodems don’t see any need to make drivers available for Linux.

If you don’t know much about modems, heres how most modems that come with premade systems work. They only work as an interface between the phone line and your CPU. They are not capable of processing the signal so your processor has to do all of the work. Therefore drivers that can tell the processor how to handle the signal are required. Ubuntu Linux relies on what basically amounts to volunteer programmers to make the drivers and such for the operating system.

So here is the problem, I am running Ubuntu because it is free and I cant afford to pay for a high speed connection. At the same time dialup support for most of the free operating systems is extremely lacking. So after some research i find out that my modem is not currently compatible with Ubuntu. Then I remembered I have a spare out of my buddy’s old box. I win the Ubuntu lottery when I discover that this particular modem is one that does have a driver available.

Don’t get excited yet. It isn’t that simple. Unlike most of the other hardware on your computer that Ubuntu automatically detects and installs, you have to compile your own modem driver. Don’t panic either though, because that is not as daunting as it sounds. You just have to be really good at following instructions exactly as stated.

Let me give you a rundown of what hardware I have so if you can figure out you have the same thing you can get it working like I did. The modem is built on a PCTEL chipset. To figure out what modem you have you will need to use the scanmodem tool. Its a little download that you run on your computer and it tells you a bunch of stuff about your modem. I was fortunate to have a PCTEL on the PCT789 chipset. If you dont have this modem, I will list some links at the bottom with a list of other modems that may work in Ubuntu.

Once you figure out what modem you have, you will have to download and compile the driver for it. In the case of the PCT789 chipset, you have to unzip the file into a folder, use terminal to get into the folder, move into the /src folder of the modem driver directory, then type ./configure to set up the modems information. Then you type sudo make, and then sudo make install. This will compile the modem driver. If you see a readout that indicates that there was an error then it didn’t work. Make absolutely sure when you do make install, that you type sudo. I forgot to do that several times and wasted hours trying to figure out what I did wrong.

After that you have to set up wvdial to handle your ISP information such as the phone number and your username and password. In the terminal type, sudo gedit /etc/wvdial.conf. It will open a new windows and it you will have to type in your username, password and phone number for your ISP in the file where indicated. you should then be able to type wvdial in the terminal to dialout. You can also install graphical applications to handle the dialing process from outside of the terminal.

So did any of that help? Theres a good chance it didn’t and that is understandable. It is not the easiest thing in the world to do, especially if you are not familiar with Linux or computers. However it is something that can be accomplished and you shouldn’t give up if you don’t succeed the first time. I also left out the compiler packages you will need to add if you haven’t already done so, but your modem driver, if you are so lucky to find one, should have that information in the readme file.

Still having trouble? Check out these links for more information.

• Ubuntu support forums
• Linmodems : Site with lots of useful info on linux modem drivers
• Linmodem Resources : linmodem page with info about different modem chipsets.
• Ubuntu dialup howto : from the ubuntu site.

And of course there is yet another way to get dialup working in Ubuntu, and even easier way. Buy a hardware or external modem that is known to work with linux already. Try looking at TigerDirect.com for a new modem.

By Brent Mouton

So you have decided to build a website. You have an idea of what you want to do, you have registered a domain name, and now you need to find a hosting plan. There are a ton of hosting plans out there ranging in price from extremely cheap to extremely expensive. If you are just looking to build a single site or maybe even a couple of sites, then you may want to look at these companies and options.

Click on the names for more information.

Host Gator

• Price : 4.95/month
• Domains : 1
• Subdomains : unlimited
• Disk Space : 350Gbs
• Bandwidth : 3000Gbs
• 24/7 support : yes
• Included Sitebuilding : yes
• Server type : Linux

BlueHost

• Price : Depends upon length of contract. Best price $6.95/month with 36 month signup.
• Domains :unlimited
• Subdomains : unlimited
• Disk Space : unlimited
• Bandwidth : unkown?
• 24/7 support : yes
• Included Sitebuilding : yes
• Server Type : Linux

Register.com

• Price : 6.95/month with 36 month signup
• Domains :1
• Subdomains : no
• Disk Space : 5Gbs
• Bandwidth : 250Gbs
• 24/7 support : yes
• Included Sitebuilding : yes
• Server Type : unkown?

GoDaddy.com

• Price : 4.99/month with 2 month signup
• Domains : 1
• Subdomains : 25
• Disk Space : 10Gbs
• Bandwidth : 300Gbs
• 24/7 support : yes
• Included Sitebuilding : yes
• Server Type : Linux and Windows

Yahoo Hosting

• Price : $11.95/month
• Domains :unkown
• Subdomains : unkown
• Disk Space : unlimited
• Bandwidth : unlimited
• 24/7 support : yes
• Included Sitebuilding : yes
• Server Type : FreeBSD/unix

HostRocket.Com

• Price : $4.99/month with 36 month signup
• Domains : 10 total
• Subdomains : see domains
• Disk Space : 1000Gbs
• Bandwidth : unlimited
• 24/7 support : unkown
• Included Sitebuilding : yes
• Server Type : Cent OS/ Linux

By Brent “Shasta” Mouton.

There are countless blogs and sites claiming to have the best list of free and open source software all over the internet. Every single one of them claims to have the best list, the stuff you just can’t live without. The sad fact is most of them have a bunch of programs that may be useful to a select group of people, but for the average web user, most of them are simply not needed. So I thought, Why don’t I make a list of stuff that people might actually need or use and not hype it up like so many people try to do. I am not going to claim that you can’t live without any of these programs, just that you may find them useful.

So here we are, I will list a category and then describe and link you to the home pages of some pretty nice useful software downloads. Please enjoy, and If you happen across any similar free programs that you find better please join us in the forum and let me know about it.

Web Browsers:

If you are still using Internet Explorer, why? There are quite a few better and safer browser options out there that are becoming ever more popular than IE. My first suggestion would be Firefox, it has been around a while and is probably become the most popular browser on the market. Google has also just released its new browser, titled Chrome. There are several others available out there including Opera, and Safari.

Instant Messaging:

Everyone knows about AOL’s instant messenger, and probably about Yahoo Messenger, and MSN Messenger, but there are also some others out there. Pidgin, formerly Gaim, is an open source messenger that allows you to use your screen names from AOL, MSN, and Yahoo messengers all in one application. Other similar programs include Trillian, and Skype.

Word Processing/Office Related:

If you have ever had to reformat your hard drive without your computers factory installed Cds and info, you know how hard it can be to get back all your programs, particularly proprietary software such as Microsoft Office. If you lose the key or disc, your pretty much out of luck. Fortunately there is a replacement out there that is free and possibly even better than Microsoft Office. I am of course referring to Open Office, a great package that includes word processing, spreadsheet, database, and presentation software. If your not looking for the whole deal and just need a good simple word processor then Abiword might be the best bet for you. Also if your looking for more in depth writing help for screenplays and novel writing, give Celtx a try.

Multimedia:

Of course most people these days use their computers for alot of different multimedia applications. You can use your computer to play music and movies, and to do this you need software that can handle your needs. Most operating systems come equipped with the basics that you will need to listen to a cd or watch a movie if you have a DVD player. If you are in need of a new DVD playing software you may want to check out VLC. If you want the best in music playing ability I would suggest giving itunes, or winamp a try. Itunes comes with another media player, Quicktime, that you can also download as a separate program. Looking for imaged on your drives, check out Picasa from google.

Creative Software:

Looking to express your creative nature. There are plenty of software applications out there to help you create things, from images to web pages. I have already mentioned Celtx, which is a usefull program if your into writing. The Gimp is a great program that is similar to Photoshop. You can manipulate and create great pictures and images. There is also Audacity, which is a program that allows you to edit and create audio files. NVU is a html editor that will assist you in creating web pages. And if you are interesting in 3d animation you should give Blender a try.

Utilities:

There are also plenty of nifty free programs out there to help you run your computer. There are anti-virus and anti-spyware programs like AVG and Ad-Aware. Of course if you are downloading any of these files that are in a compressed format, then you will also need a program like 7zip to handle those.

Of course there are many other free or open source programs out there. Many of them may be as useful as these for the general public, and many may fill very specific needs. There are great open source games like FreeCiv available. If you are looking for a more comprehensive listing of open source software check out Sourcefourge.

Building a website can be tricky. Even if you have gone the route of premade template sitebuilding, you still need to understand the basics of html tags if you want to really fine tune your posts and pages. Even blogging and social sites like myspace are easier to work if you have a basic knowledge of html tags.

Tags are built very simply, the first part of the tag consists of a control, wrapped in <>. For example the main tag is the one that tells your browser that it is looking at an HTML page. So it would look like this <html>. At the end of the page, after everything else is done you will add another tag that closes the html tag. It will look like this </html>. Very simple, right. Now each tag inside of this will compile your page.

To make it easier to understand, think of a tag as a wrapper for your content. The tag will come before you start what you want the tag to control and after the content. So lets say you want to center a paragraph or image, then you would use the center tag. So for instance your paragraph would look something like this in code:

<center> This is the body of my paragraph. It does not say anything except that it is in fact the body of a paragraph. If it said anything besides that it would not really be useful.</center>

Here is a quick reference list of codes you may need:

By Brent Mouton

At the backbone of many sites across the internet is a very simple program that runs a discussion forum. There are tons of websites that exists solely to allow users to leave comments for each other on a variety of topics. There are many sports forums, computer forums, and so on. Even this site has a simple forum attached as well. You can access it here if you like.

So how hard is it to actually add a forum to an existing website or build a website that consists only of a forum. Its actually extremely easy. The only thing you really need to do is upload the forum software into your public_html folder on your hosting panel if you want just a forum, if you have a site that you want to attach a forum too then all you really need to do is create a folder under your public folder and name it something like “forum”. Sounds tough right. The real problem is picking the right one. Every forum has its own little nuances that you might like or hate. Some are easier to customize, some have better features to custom fit to your needs. Some have almost no features, some cost alot of money and some are free. If you browse around a while though, you are sure to find one that fits your needs.

To make things a little easier, I have compiled a short list of forum software links in the free and paid for categories. Feel free to check them out and see which ones you like.

If you plan on starting a forum and need hosting click here or Here
If you need domain registration click here.

Free:

• Snitz forums
• DNFBB
• Yet Another Forum(YAF)
• Eblah
• ikonboard
• Jforum
• Webbbs
• Poocoo
• YABB
• YazD
• BBpress
• Beehive forum
• FlexBB
• Phorum
• NuclearBB
• phpBB
• punBB
• quicksilver
• simplemachinesforum(SMF)
• tforums
• iceBB
• myBB
• nextBBS
• useBB
• Vanilla
• Vikingboard

Pay Boards

• Active forums
• toastforums
• community server
• Active Data Online discussion board
• Ideal BB
• invision
• vbulletin
• wowBB
• fusetalk
• Jive
• UBB
• MyproBB
• fusionBB

Note: I am not promoting any one board, whats right for me may not be right for you and I have not tested all these boards out myself. Some of the pay boards may also offer free versions and some of the free boards may also offer better pay versions. Just browse around till you find one that you like.

Need a new computer but don’t have the cash to shell out for a new system. Well you should take a look at getting a barebone system. Barebones are a great way to save money and still get a new rig. Basically you buy the case with the essentials already inside and you add the rest of the parts out of your old box. Reuse your monitor, keyboard, mouse, and in some cases hard drive, dvd/cd drives, etc. You get the point. In the end you pay less, keep using parts that are still fine, and get a new computer all at the same time. Want to get an idea about barebone systems? Check these out. Click on the pics for more info.

The Value of Linux
By: Brent “shasta” Mouton

If you have never used an operating system other than Windows, then you may be missing out. Linux is a great little operating system that is packed full of functionality and software that may be better for you than what you get with your standard Windows installation. The problem is that there are a ton of different Linux distributions and knowing which one is right for you can possibly be confusing.

Linux Distributions come in all shapes and sizes. The term distribution refers to who has developed the particular version of Linux. Think of it as if there were 50 companies allowed to make new versions of Windows, and Microsoft would be the main distribution. Linux is able to do this because the software falls under the category of open source software. I will refrain from getting into the specifics of open source at this time, but for your benefit I will tell you that what this means for you is that you can get a copy of Linux on your computer for very cheap or free, depending on the distribution.

Currently the most popular distribution seems to be Ubuntu Linux which is put out by Canonical. Ubuntu offers free downloads and will even mail you a free Cd of their operating system. This is the distribution I would advise for first time Linux users. Their website offers support for the OS in many different forms. The forums are very useful if you come across any problems. Ubuntu is geared towards the average consumer and is pretty easy to install and use. It also comes with a large amount of very useful software. The software package includes nearly everything the average computer user needs.

Here is a short list of software that comes pre-installed:
Open Office - A very powerful office software group that includes word processing, spreadsheet, database, and presentation software.
The gimp - A very nice Photoshop replacement.
Mozilla Firefox - The best web browser.
Gaim - A multi-protocal instant messaging program that works with Aim and Yim.
Games and much more.

Ubuntu also offers a program that allows for easy installation of other open source software. The installation of Ubuntu and extra software flows really easily and seems to be easier than windows installations.

Ubuntu uses less resources than most other operating systems and also runs alot faster and smoother than its counterparts. The system is also a bit more secure because there are less people using it, causing it to be less of a target to hackers and spyware.

Ubuntu isn’t the only distribution, there are many more and I suggest you look around for different distributions to see if you find one that you like. Below I will offer a short list of other distributions that you may want to check out.

Other Distrobutions:
Debian
Fedora
Gentoo
OpenSUSE
Mandriva
Red Hat
Mandrake

The folley of Windows.
By: Brent “shasta” Mouton

If you have used a computer in the last 20 years, there is an extremely good chance that you have used Windows at one point or another. It has been the staple of the PC community since it came out. Some versions have been more popular than others, and some have been downright awful. Case in point, the most recent version, Vista, being a prime example.

A lot of people have been upset with Vista since it came out, and have opted to drop back down to XP. Which probably isn’t a bad move, given the resource requirements of Vista and the stability of XP. I have used both, and although I am not the biggest fan of the OS, I would personally use XP before I would use Vista. That however is a personal preference issue. If your computer can handle Vista smoothly and you don’t mind the constant pop up request screen every time you try to run a program, Vista is a very pretty OS. I don’t see anything that it can’t do compared to XP, it just seems to me to be a prettied up version of XP. If your computer doesn’t have at least a gig of RAM then I would stick it out with XP.

Another version that seemed to flop was the ME version. It had a ton of issues and everybody that I know who used it all switched back to 98 or 2000. But those days are long gone and there is no reason to dwell on the issue at this point.

If you are currently using Vista and want to go back to XP, or you are using XP and want to upgrade to Vista, click below for either.
Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition With SP2
Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Professional With Service Pack 2
Microsoft(R) Windows Vista(R) Home Premium With SP1
Microsoft(R) Windows Vista(R) Business With SP1
If you don’t like either one and are currently looking for an alternative, check out our Linux articles.