Garry,

From my experience Ubuntu is good and fairly user friendly. LinuxMint 10 is very user friendly. I use the 32 bit version of LinuxMint 10 for now. LinuxMint 11 is on the way. http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=69
It uses the Gnome interface system which is similar to how Windows looks and feels. You can download and burn a version and try it out.

I prefer LinuxMint over Ubuntu but I can use either one.

Good luck,

Schmoo

Garry,

My suggestion is if you have an extra system sitting around (some do and some don't), even an older system that runs slower. Trying installing LinuxMint or Ubuntu (Linux operating systems) and then look up instructions on installing LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL PhP). Its the easiest way to play with stuff offline. Then you upload your databases from MySQL to your online stuff and then your physical files under Apache to your online system and it will go live. Now saying that is much simpler than doing it but it is how MOST people work with their databases and files offline.

LinuxMint - http://www.linuxmint.com
Ubuntu - http://www.ubuntu.com
LAMP - http://www.howtoforge.com/ubuntu_lamp_for_newbies

If you have any questions then please share them. I have played with this setup and have some knowledge of it.

As a note you may understand that once you download LinuxMint or Ubuntu you can use PowerISO to burn it to a disc and keep it around in case you need to reinstall (I have reinstalled many times once I screw up a setup). You can install LinuxMint or Ubuntu like a program under Windows and when you start your system up it will give you a boot option and ask you which operating system you want to start: Windows or LinuxMint (or) Ubuntu. Then if you ever need to uninstall it you just uninstall it from Windows like you would any other program. Its an interesting way to run it and very useful for those that don't have an extra computer or don't want to switch operating systems permanently.

Best wishes,

Schmoo

If you have any questions please post them

Garry,

Sorry if I came across a bit harsh. I was just worried that you may have left yourself open to an attack. If anyone tries connecting to a link with "localhost" in it then it will most likely look on their own system for the link. Therefore you will be fine if you are just working offline. I haven't messed much with PhP scripts but it is something that interests me. I have wanted to make a web interface type program using a web language (probably PhP) that would be able to manipulate database information. Manipulate such as add new information, edit old information, etc. Once I figure out how to connect to a database and add, edit, remove information then I just have to figure out how to display it and I'm good. lol Sounds simple in theory.

Good luck and share your knowledge please. I'm interested.

Schmoo

Garry,

Localhost is only accessible from your computer. Its basically a connection to your computer. If you want others to be able to connect to your system (network, server, etc) you will first need to open the appropriate ports on your router (if you have one) and then make sure your server is listening on that port to allow outsiders to access your system and pull up the webpage. HOWEVER, this will allow your system to become vulnerable to attacks and unless you are setting up a specific server and configuring your network accordingly (appropriate hardware firewalls) I wouldn't advise you to open said ports. If you are hosting this system elsewhere then you need not worry about having anything open. Just point a link to the web address provided by your host. If you have any questions about any of this please post them. I have played around with setting up servers for phpbb myself. I just never put them up to go live because I would have to compromise my networks security.

Good luck,

Schmoo

Garry,

Looks good! Tested on Firefox 5.0 (Latest version) works fine.

Keep the goodies coming,

Schmoo

P.S. What kind of set up do you use for drawing? Is it a pen and tablet set up? Just curious. I have always wanted some drawing set up to do things like you are working on. Just for fun anyways.

Garry,

I really really like that one. I use to draw with pencils and such. Haven't done that in years but I always tried to draw landscapes or scenes that I thought were interesting to me. This is similar to one such scene I created in my mind years ago. Great work.

Have a good day,

Schmoo

PS Nice shadows too!

Nice! I see you like a variety in your work. That keeps things interesting. Keep it up!

Have a great day!,

Schmoo

Garry,

You sound a lot like I did when I really started getting into programming. Although my abilities have only slightly improved in the last ten years. I still get frustrated at wanting to do certain things and not knowing how to explain to someone what I am trying to do makes it even more frustrating. However, I encourage you to read up on anything that interests you. Play with other peoples code. I will tell you sometimes when I don't understand what a line of code does I will simply change a value and run the program to see what happens. Its amazing what that little trick can teach you. Anyways, study, play, and generally do what you want to do. If a break is what you need then that my friend is what you need to do. Honestly, I watch this forum daily to see if there are new posts. If you have something programming wise to talk about just post it. I would be proud to learn along with you as my abilities are also limited but I am good at finding answers. I also get intrigued at what you can do if you put a little thought and a few lines of code together. Trust me... your programming is a bit more than mine. I can also probably point you in the direction of some good tutorials if you are interested. Just let me know.

Good luck on your break and be well,

Schmoo

Garry,

Honestly my math sucks as well. I too get tired of dealing with people WAY above my thought process. I like programming small things that make sense to me. I hope that maybe you will continue to post your programming stuff here on your own forum. I would like to be a part of that. I don't have much time but I do like to make little programs. My current project is similar to Unseen's VQB project. Its a simple to use GUI that you can create windows, buttons, etc with. Its basically will handle creating the items, as well as checking created items for errors or out of bounds values (numbers that will case the item to show up outside the window border), and it will also control the movement of items (such as clicking a button, resizing a window, etc). Its been on going and VERY slowly coming together. Anyways. I feel your frustration however I believe the enjoyment for programming comes from grasping all the knowledge that you currently have and use it until you can fully understand it. Then add one thing at a time. I have rewritten my GUI project like 12 times from scratch because I keep learning new ways to do things. I hope you don't give up and continue to post things up here.

As something that might be useful to others and fun for you to do I have an idea. You could create a few sprite sheets of various items. Tiles of ground textures, buildings, etc for use with games. Various sized tiles with more and less detail depending on what is needed. It should stay pretty general but I know that game developers are most often looking for graphics for games.

Good luck to ya and don't give up,

Schmoo

Yea... I'm still here too

Schmoo

Garry,

I may start posting interesting things I find around the web. I recently had an article that motivates me to further my career to be able to deter such actions. I will post the article (its really short). Shows how low some people can be even in the Bible belt. (I live in Oklahoma.)

http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-tornado-takes-home-looters-take-the-rest-20110527,0,232205.story?track=rss

I would like to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks,
Schmoo

Hey Garry,

I would have to say I too have thought this recently. I would like to share something with you that my preacher told me. He said, "Look back on all of history. Throughout history the world has been in turmoil." I thought about that for a while and he's right. The world has always had its troubles. We agreed that 24/7/365 news coverage by the media may make it seem worse than it ever was however it only makes us more aware of things going on in other areas of the world. These things were going on before they received media coverage and will most likely continue. It was a humbling thought. Even in the first biblical times the world was in turmoil. Open a book on Greek history, Roman history, recent history (1700's-1900's), or even the bible. Any of these will show turmoil world wide.

Merely food for thought.

And yes I do worry greatly about it. I worry what the children coming up behind me will face and how they will handle it. Seeing the violence and attitudes of children, teens, and young adults these days worries me for the direction of this country and the world as a whole.

My practice is to, "Prepare for the worst and pray for the best. Let God deal with the rest."

Regards,
Schmoo

So who here plays games?
What kind?
What platform?

I play a lot of FPS (First Person Shooters) on XBox 360. However, I also enjoy World of Warcraft (MMORPG) on my PC.

Just curious who out here plays what.

I still enjoy a good round of almost any C&C (Command & Conquer). Love that game.

Thanks,

Schmoo