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Saturday, December 29, 2007

A cacophony of ASUS Eee Linux PC tips and tricks

ITWire's David M Williams, in his The Linux Distillery column, has compiled a list of various tips and tricks for the Asus Eee PC. Some have been posted previously in other blogs, while others are new (at least to me). But the article in which they are mentioned actually makes for an interesting read especially if you are an Asus Eee user.

Posted by xujiren at 4:07 PM

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11 comments:

Jerry Palsson said...

Nice collection of tips.

But you have no idea what "cacophony" means, do you? :)

December 29, 2007 6:15 PM
xujiren said...

Hi jerry,

The title of the post is the title of the original article. In citing the article, it is de facto practice for bloggers to repeat the title verbatim. Why? I really don't know but I more or less follow the practice as well.

As for the term cacophony, I know what you mean, especially since etymologists often connect it with *kakka- "to defecate." Of course, in modern usage, it merely means jarring, discordant sounds.

My guess is the writer most probably meant cornucopia. :)

December 29, 2007 6:28 PM
Jerry Palsson said...

Hi xujiren,

I understand, and I certainly don't want to sound picky. If it were my blog, I would have added a "sic" to indicate that the error was in the original.

Unfortunately I didn't see any place to post a comment on the author's website.

And you're probably right about "cornucopia." It would have been a much better choice.

Regards ...

December 29, 2007 7:04 PM
JOHN said...

Hello all,
i dont really understand the title but let me teach you some Greek.
cacophony is a greek word (actually 2 words) and it actually reffers to the singing of a singer that you don't want to listen...lol
caca means bad or poop and phony is voice so cacophony is bad voice.
when i read the title i thought that i'll read some bad news about eee pc...
anyway it might mean something else.
ps: if you have any other unknown greek words ask me...

December 30, 2007 11:31 AM
xujiren said...

Hi jerry,

I initially added a "sic" in the title itself but it just didn't appear right. I felt it appeared I was emphasizing the mistake, so I took it out.

Like you, I wouldn't want to appear so picky and fussy over other writers' choice of vocabulary especially since I am not perfect myself. :)

That said, I agree with you re the inappropriateness of the word's use in this context. But I assumed (incorrectly, I must add) that people wouldn't really mind.

It is good to know, though, that there are still readers like you and John who expect proper English from Internet writers/bloggers. This implies the efforts I strive to make my blog grammatically and contextual correct and typo-free are actually appreciated by some. :)

Hmmm. I wonder what the reactions are in the other blogs that cited the same article.

At any rate, thanks so much for raising this issue.

December 30, 2007 6:18 PM
xujiren said...

Hi john,

Kindly see my reply to jerry palsson's initial comment.

I guess the end-result (of the title) is a bit hilarious in the sense that readers who are aware of the definition of "cacophony" are hit with a different kind of expectation when they read it.

I must admit I don't know much of the Greek language but I do know one word, gyros, and the knowledge has served me well through the years. :)

December 30, 2007 6:22 PM
Jerry Palsson said...

Xujiren, it's good to see someone like you who maintains a standard of literacy. Too often these days we allow sloppy thinking and style to go unremarked, just because many people think it's wrong to criticize.

By the way, I see that David Williams, the writer who committed the "cacophony" blunder, has become aware of it. He has attempted a rescue by inserting this parenthetical comment: "(If you've ever had the misfortune to hear my singing, it's an unpleasant cacophony - but by contrast, your Eee will be purring sweetly with the tune up we're about to give.)"

Oh well, it's a nice try. :)

It helps to have a sense of humor in these matters.

December 30, 2007 7:26 PM
xujiren said...

Hi jerry,

Thanks for the kind words.

And yes, humor often helps.

Regards.

December 30, 2007 7:45 PM
dave said...

I'm new to this...
I just want to back up the PIM data to SD or a USB cruzer
How do I do this ???
Backing up docs and sreadsheet data is not a problem.
This computer is great - perfect for my needs.
I just don't want to re enter all the info if something happens
Any help with this will be greatly appreciated.
I will eventually get up to speed..

Thank you

May 13, 2008 2:26 PM
dave said...

I'm new to this...
I just want to back up the PIM data to SD or a USB cruzer
How do I do this ???
Backing up docs and sreadsheet data is not a problem.
This computer is great - perfect for my needs.
I just don't want to re enter all the info if something happens
Any help with this will be greatly appreciated.
I will eventually get up to speed..

Thank you

May 13, 2008 2:30 PM
xujiren said...

Hi dave,

Assuming you are you using the default PIM, you can do a full back-up using the tutorial here -
http://wiki.eeeuser.com/backup_restore

If you want to back-up just your PIM data, you can just copy the PIM files. You can find instructions and a discussion on this here - http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?pid=226170

Hope this helps. Good luck.

May 14, 2008 4:03 PM

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