There’s a Blogs of War/Ubuntu linkorgy at Dwight Silverman’s Houston Chronicle TechBlog this morning:
Conservative Houston blogger John Little has been peppering Blogs of War lately with his adventures exploring Ubuntu Linux. He’s written about playing a free, online deathmatch game called Nexiuz, Quake 4 and beefing up his system to handle top games. Most recently, he blogged about Mac gurus switching to Ubuntu. I’ve also been playing around with Ubuntu, and I plan on blogging about it soon. I’ve been pondering a print column on it, too.
Thanks Dwight!
There’s also an update on the World of Warcraft front. Although a lot of Linux users find Wine indispensable I’ve never used it. This weekend I decided that I had see what the process for running one of the biggest Windows/Mac games of all time on Linux (which is not supported) is like. As I detailed in the update the whole process was super easy. In fact, it was easier than a lot of the native Windows games installs that I used to struggle with.
If you’re really interested in open source software and the history of Ubuntu you’ll enjoy this video of a Mark Shuttleworth presentation. If you’re not it will likely be the longest, most painful, hour of your life.
Khaled took Ubuntu for a spin this week and posts a detailed writeup of his experience:
With that out of the way I can definitely say that I have just experienced the first taste of the future of the desktop and it’s a beauty. Everything just seems to work right out of the box. The only thing I’m having a bit of trouble making it work and sing the way it should is my ipod, however I know that’s not really a Linux problem completely as the ipod used to fuck up on Windows all the time, it’s one of the annoying things about an ipod. Hopefully I’ll find a way to get it sorted out.There is a certain attention to detail which I am seriously liking. Subtle things like hiding or making the top and bottom toolbars appear, (the icons realign once you’ve taken this action which is a nice little touch). It’s a simple thing but it does make the desktop less cluttered. Customising the toolbars is extremely easy and intuative, while realigning the drop down menus couldn’t be more simple using the Alacarte Menu Editor.
I’m also really loving the multiple desktops. It’s nothing as flash as XGL and what’s going over at SUSE but it’s a major step over Windows XP, think of it like tabbed web browsing only for your desktop.
Of course Ubuntu can do XGL too. There’s a video here and installation instructions here. Khaled also links to Monday by Noon which features a really detailed app-by-app switch from Windows to Linux.
It looks like Ubuntu has won over another Mac fan:
But back to Ubuntu. I’ve been a Mac user since 1987 (a few years behind Cory) sometimes more heavily than others, typically defined by the platform I’m using at work. At the moment work’s leaning towards Mac, so I’m an enthusiastic Mac user.
Not officially a nerd, I have been interested to stay facile on both the Mac and Windows platforms. Not that long ago I added Ubuntu to the mix and have been as enthusiastic about it as they come. So now, at home, I have all three – Windows, Ubuntu and Mac. The one nearest and dearest to my heart and way worthy of evangelizing? Ubuntu.
And another:
I installed Ubuntu Linux on an old PC yesterday and I was pretty impressed by it, I have to say.I’m tired of my macs crashing on me when I plug things in to them. It’s embarrassing and frustrating. We are mac users because we hate that shit.
A post at Team Murder reveals that Apple induced frustration has one blogger running to his Linux box as well:
The only thing that makes this pile of lifestyle crap remotely tempting is the fact that none of the other heavy hitters have come up with Universal versions of their applications yet so you’ve got the choice between trying to get your work done with silly putty and lincoln logs or you can run the real stuff through the awful slowness and lack of responsiveness that is Rosetta. I’m torn because I’d rather endure the slowness of the Rosetta layer to actually utilize some features that make me feel like I know what I’m doing but cannot deal with my battery life being flushed down the toilet while watching progress bar after progress bar trickle away while both processors are cranked way over 50%. I routinely flee back to one of my Linux boxes just to get some simple word processing done because it is utter crap under OS X right now.
Again I don’t expect a large migration from Apple to Ubuntu but this talk is not a good sign for Apple.
Michael Leddy talks bout moving his family from Windows to Ubuntu in his Jumping Out of Windows post and adds:
I suspect that as everyday computer users think carefully about the costs and complications of “upgrading” to Windows Vista and Office 2007 (both hideous, from the many screenshots I’ve seen), Ubuntu will become increasingly popular. I’d go so far as to predict a near-future in which many households are running at least one computer with a free operating system. It’s relatively easy to jump out of Windows and land on your feet.
And Matt Cutts comments on the “six-click” Ubuntu 6.06 installation process:
I accidentally tripped and fell yesterday. My hand hit the keyboard along the way, and I accidentally installed Ubuntu on the way down. That’s how easy Ubuntu was to install. It was pretty much the geek equivalent of falling off a log
In related software news Opera 9 is now available for Ubuntu:
“Opera 9 provides the most advanced browsing experience on Linux today,” said Håkon Wium Lie, CTO, Opera Software and long-time Ubuntu user. “We’ve had a Linux browser for a long time, but Opera 9 includes new optimizations specifically for the platform. I think Ubuntu users will like how easy it is to install Opera. It gives me yet another reason to love Ubuntu.”
“As a part of our programme to deliver a choice of the very best applications available, we have worked closely with the Opera team, and are able to make the very latest version immediately,” said Malcolm Yates, Partner and ISV Manager at Canonical Ltd. “With a few easy clicks from the Ubuntu desktop, all Ubuntu 6.06 LTS users can install Opera 9.”
By using the Ubuntu Add / Remove Programs feature, users can choose to install a wide variety of applications. This announcement continues the drive to ensure Ubuntu gives real choice and real flexibility as well as an easy to use interface that everyone can use.
I’m a big fan of Firefox but decided to give Opera a try. It has a lot going for it. You’ll immediately notice that it’s speedy. Waaaay faster than Firefox. It has tons and tons of features too. Panels and widgets are everywhere. I liked it so much that I thought I’d be switching browsers and began setting up Opera for the move. I got cold feet about halfway through the transition though. There’s still some things about Opera that bug me. Mostly the cluttered look that comes with all the cool features.
I’m going to give it some time though. And so should you. I think a lot of people will fall in love with it.
I’ll wrap up this post, and get back to the national security stuff, after a few essential Ubuntu links:
Shipit (Ubuntu CDs mailed to you free)
Dapper Customization
Dapper Starter Guide
EasyUbuntu
Ubuntu Automatix
Ubuntu Forums
Ubuntu Wiki
Planet Ubuntu
The Fridge
Ubuntu Blog
Ubuntu Chat
2 Responses
Readers are solely responsible for the comments they post. Comments do not necessarily reflect the opinion or approval of Blogs of War or John Little.
July 9th, 2006 at 9:38 pm
Thanks for the linky love and for reading, but me-name is Khaled. Abou Alfa is my surname and Abou is that cute little monkey from Aladdin :). Nice write up btw.
July 9th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
Thanks. Sorry about the name mixup. It’s been corrected.
Linux is getting easier but it’s not quite monkey from Aladdin easy yet.