I've got to rant a little...

Well I've finally gotten around to catching up with my Linux news, and I'm not liking what I've been reading. Several things have gotten to me. There was an article on Linux Insider.com about a guy attempting to explain why Linux sucks. While some points are well done, some of them have no basis to a real Linux user. The one point I completely agree with though, is that Linux as a whole needs to be simplified. I'll probably get hate mail from Windows people for this, but Windows and OSX people ARE a bit less intelligent than a typical Linux user. I don't mean this in a derogatory way, but in a constructive way. Windows and OSX users
have been given dumbed down operating systems, so they don't have much, if any, advanced computer skills. Linux users need these skills to run their OS of choice. I'm not saying that cammand line use is completely necessary, but on occassion it is needed.
Now, I've been using Ubuntu and various other Linux distros for around 3 years now exclusively. Before that, I used Windows 95, 98, Win2K, XP, Vista, and I learned computers back in the early days of Apple. Recently, I decided to try NOT using Terminal in Ubuntu and Console in Puppy. So far, I've been going about 2 months with out needing to type commands. I haven't even had the need to figure out how to do something with the GUI I would normally do in Terminal or Console. So when are these fanbois going to get a life and actually complain about something that is actually a problem in Linux?
One thing I have a problem with is Wine. While it is a Godsend for those who use certain Windows apps, it need major work in my opinion. From my experience with it, there are still a lot of apps that just don't work with it. I like World of Warcraft, but without a decent amount of work, I can't play it in Ubuntu. I know it's possible, so don't start ranting yet.
Next, software manufacturers need to get out of the grip of Microsoft and start porting software to Linux. If they could port to the major Linux distros, it could be made to work for nearly all of them. I have several friends that would be totally willing to switch away from Windows if they could get better software.
Another issue I read in the previously mentioned article was noobs don't want to do kernel updates. Are you freaking kidding me? I know with Ubuntu, updates are constant, and can get annoying sometimes, but kernel updates are in there. So where is the issue of kernel updates? I'm not really seeing it. Something else is the need of simplicity. Honestly, Linux is more simple that Windows and especially OSX. If you have a problem with something in a Linux distro, look in their forum. If not there, there's probably a Linux blog explaining how to fix it. With Windows....ugh. If you Google the problem, you normaly get something like 20 million links to look at. Usually, the forums have stuck up IT guys in them, so not much help there. OSX is something I'm not going to go into, because after trying it, and feeling like I had no control over anything hapening. Plus, the last time I used it was a couple years ago.
So when are Linux haters going to make true accusations instead of making up lies? I admit Linux may not be the better OS, but if you don't like it, go buy Windows. Noone is stopping you. But keep in mind, Windows has major downfalls too. I'm not going to go into them today. Maybe tomorrow.

GIMP

Ah, GIMP. How can one do any photo editing without it? Well, in my opinion it needs work. And a lot. I have heard that it is equal to or nearly equal to Photoshop, but the few times I've used Photoshop, it seemed much easier to use. I am trying to get a flyer made for my wood refinishing business so I can hopefully get some work. So far, I've used a picture I cropped of a sheet of veneer for the background, added my text, and left space for a picture of my work. I'm trying to make the background of an RCA Victor radio be transparent. It is far from easy. The closest I've gotten to doing that was a small border that was transparent. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I just can't seem to figure it out even with all the tutorials floating around the web. Well, I better get back to work on it. Wish me luck.

9.04

After writing about Windows, you know I'm going to write about Ubuntu. Well, I'm back to using Ubuntu 9.04 even though it does have some shortcomings. Well, as of right now, on my One, I am using Vista, 7, and Ubuntu 9.04. Vista for my Xbox connection, 7 because it's neat, and Ubuntu for nearly everything. I was browsing the web last night, and figured out some neat and interesting things for Ubuntu.

First of all, Guake.This is a great little app for Terminal access. Once it's up and running, instead of going to Applications/Accessories/Terminal to do command line work, just press F12. It slides down from the top of the screen, and your off and running. Just like the standard Terminal program, you can have multiple tabs, and all the commands work.

Next up is Espeak. I don't know of much real use for it, but it is a neat program. In terminal type: espeak: Hello. Ubuntu is a great operating system. If it is installed (preinstalled in 9.04), and your speakers are turned up, it should speak it to you. If not, enter  sudo apt-get install espeak, then try again. Like I said, not much real use that I can see, but neat anyway. 

Emacs. There have been articles written about it before so I won't go into much detail. Basically, it's a text editor with extras. To get it, type in Terminal or Guake: sudo apt-get install emacs. It can be used like gedit, or any other text editor, but it can do more. One neat thing is the sudo therapist. Once you start emacs, press escape, and type xdoctor, and press enter. In comes the doctor. The "doctors" answers and questions can be very generic, but interesting indeed.

I decided earlier to make a list of useful command line commands for everyone. 

sudo command                                 run command as root

lsb_release -a                                   get Ubuntu version

uname -r                                            get kernel version

uname -a                                           get all kernel information

apt-get update                                 refresh all update information

apt-get upgrade                               upgrade all packages

apt-get dist-upgrade                       upgrade Ubuntu distribution

gksudo nautilus                                super user window manager (be careful with this!)                    

Those were just a few commands off the top of my head. I know their may be some that are more useful, but these seem to me, to be a few useful commands anyone could use. Hopefully they'll help you out sometime.

It's been a while..

Well, it's been a while since I posted last. Life has been sooo busy. I've modded my Xbox recently to run xDSL. That was interesting. It needs a memory upgrade from 64MB ram to 128MB of ram to do a lot, but it does stream videos, though. If anyone from Ubuntu Forums is reading this, then you know I've been trying to use Ubuntu on my Aspire One to bridge my wireless connection to my ethernet port to connect my Xbox to the web. That is one thing Ubuntu needs work on. I ended up installing Windows Vista since I had an install disc with the drivers on it. I have to give credit to the Windows developers for that feature. Just select 2 connections and select brdge connections. Very nice feature. Well, after all that, I had finally decided to try out Windows 7 on my One. 

Well, I figured I'd Google it to find a torrent to download it, but the first thing that came up was a link to the Microsoft donwload page. Downloading it was abreeze since I have a 10MB connection, but I had an issue burning it to install. The first burn seemed to go ok, but when I booted from the disc, I had an error screen saying something about a usb device being unplugged improperly. Re-burned it, and booted no problem.

Before I go on, I just want to say, I obviously am an avid supporter of FOSS and Ubuntu. But, I do try to keep up with Windows and on ocassion Mac OSX. I just believe to say Ubuntu/FOSS is better in any way, you must know about the competition. Hence, the reason I am trying out Vista and 7.

Back to the subject. I, so far, am highly suprised with 7, even though it is still just RC1. Microsoft seems to have finally taken some good cues from FOSS/Linux. At first with 7, the installer is quite pleasant, and easy on the eyes, finally. Installing 7 is faster than previous Windows versions, but still needs work. 

After the installation, 7 has a look similar to Vista. Once I saw that, I lost a little hope in it. But, it's far from Vista. So far, it typically takes 10% of the CPU and around 50-60% of the ram on my One. Not bad compared to Vista or XP. Using GTK+ themes was a head turner for me. Well, more to come as I use it. Download it and try it out.

Leaving Ubuntu 9.04

It's fianl now. I'm leaving 9.04 and going back to 8.10. I've had too many issues to keep bothering with 9.04. My recomendation is to NOT use 9.04. Use 8.10 or 8.04 till 9.04 is better.