It's almost like a new machine

So I made some updates to my desktop computer, finally:

• Upgrade from Ubuntu 12.04 LTS to 14.04 LTS.  Yeah, I know, I'm not exactly a fast follower here, but I like my machines to work. Waiting a while to update to the next long term support release feels smart. I let others work out the kinks for a while before moving up.
  
• Changed from 32 bit version to 64 bit version. I tried 64 bit a while back - probably in the 10.04 era - and had no end of trouble with software not being available in 64 bit, or not working properly. It appears those issues are now resolved.
  
• Changed the boot disk from a standard hard disk to a solid state disk. Just a small one (128 MB) from Crucial but plenty big for the OS and swap space.

The difference in how the machine feels is amazing.

Boot time is substantially improved, though the POST on this motherboard still takes forever.

Apps load faster. Much faster. All that I/O wait while Chrome loaded for the first time is gone. Or rather, it's not gone, but I don't note it happening anymore.

Even simple things like working with email and playing YouTube videos are faster and smoother. I'm not sure why that is, but it seems to be.

This system has a new lease on life, which is a good thing. I hate buying new computers and this one should go another two years easy now. Maybe more than that.

Comments are hidden

I just hid all comments on this blog. If you want to reply to something, feel free to email me.

Why?

Because I have come to the conclusion that comment sections - in news media outlets, blogs, YouTube, and every other place I have seen them - can get absolutely repulsive. Yes, they can be fine if they are moderated well, but that's a pain for a big site and even I have hit questions about whether to delete a comment or not. So I'm getting rid of them entirely. Gone.

Now I know this is a small time blog, with only a few readers. I've rarely had a problem with comments, but it has happened. Nothing serious, but it has been a thing.

So I have decided to take a stand. Comments are hidden, and I will not display them.  If I could turn them off entirely I would.

This will do nothing in the grand scheme of things, but it makes me feel slightly better. And as always, if you want to reach me, there are ways. It's not like I hide on the Internet and make myself hard to reach.

Thanks for your understanding.