Happy Belated 15th Anniversary!

Wow!  Another year flew by! 

Yes, I have not been very active posting on this blog for some time now. In fact, the last post was precisely on the 14th anniversary of this humble space.

These are the major changes since last year:

1.  My ZaReason Strata laptop is dying

The system I purchased from the now gone ZaReason company in 2014 is finally on its last breath. The battery malfunctioned six years ago and there is no replacement, so I had to keep it connected to a backup battery to be able to use the machine.  However, because its speakers started producing strange noises, I have not used this machine since 2022. 

When I tried to use it last month, it would not start at all. I thought it was finally out, but then changed the power brick and the laptop booted normally. Manjararo, OpenMandriva Lx, Mageia, Elive, and MX Linux are still there, fully operational.

However, the lid is showing signs of wear and the cables of the screen are now showing in between the broken hinges.

Well, it is, after all, an 11-year old laptop. 

I remember how, during the pandemic of 2020, the ZaReason people issued a statement concerning their closing of operations. Those were troubled times and, the message, with an apology to clients, made me very sad.

Yet, your product is still here... Battered after a long time, but working.

No, ZaReason people. You did not disappoint me. 

2.  UEFI mayhem and portable Linux machines

Last year, I wrote:

In the university where I work, they did a suspicious full 180 turn and switched to Microsoft products.  However, that has not stopped me from using Linux for my work every day: I always use USB drives, which I made portable Linux machines, to stream my virtual lessons and teach in class as well.

As the classroom computers have low specs, MX Linux is my distro of choice.  In my office computer, I generally use Mageia 9.  If fact, I am synchronizing my portable Mageia machines right now following this old post here.

Well, turns out that, at the beginning of this year, the university decided to replace all HDDs for SSDs. This created a problem for me since all my portable Linux machines booted using legacy mode.

I had to reinstall all systems into the USB drives from the physical computer at the university office to make sure that no UEFI or secure boot setting prevented me from booting the devices.

It was a somewhat slow process, but everything worked. So, I am still doing all of my job from those portable machines.

3. The new laptops 

I had to find a Windows 11 laptop for my daughter since she needs Windows and office for a high school class.  I decided to get second-hand laptops and, thus, I bought an HP slimbook for her and an HP ZBook for me.

I dual-booted hers with Mageia 9 and wiped Windows from mine entirely to also boot Mageia 9. The two laptops work great, but I miss the wired internet connection.  I am posting this from the ZBook with Mageia.

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So, this is what has been going on.

I wish I could have more time to post, but family and work responsibilities keep me busier and busier every year.

 

My Linux journey has not ended!