I like to share good work. I am fond of saying that one of Linux's greatest strengths is it's adaptability. The ever growing number of distros is a testament to that.
I don't know that I have a single 'favorite' distro. I have a 'short list' instead. For different situations and environments, some distros are better suited than others, I have found.
Sometimes it's by design, that is to say, the developers intended to focus on that area specifically. Sometimes it's lucky coincidence that a distro happens to suit a situation that I am working on particularly well.
I do not ever 'close' my short list. It is always open to amendment as I continuously investigate distros and releases. Some distros change their target market, some just come out of the blue, a nice surprise. Others sometimes are discontinued by a lack of development and sadly others, to be brutally honest, just fail to achieve.
So the search never ends, Though I do stick to the short list pretty closely, I love to see new distros released, others evolve and because I am a notorious tweaker, I am willing to give most any distro a fair crack. I'll try just about anything once.
Which brings me to my presenting of sidux 2008.02-erebos-xfce.
I gave the kde version a try last week and was very happy with the results. As I am a well established fan and user of Xfce, i was going to dive in and play with that, but was clued in by someone on the IRC channel ( I ALWAYS visit distro forums and channels to see how well they have documented and interact with users, established and new.) that the xfce version was due anytime and if I would be willing to give it a shot, So, I waited.
In just a couple days after that, there it was in the mirrors.
So I fired up the old ftp app (I use fireftp or gftp for day to day stuff) and in short order, I had the 408 mb ISO downloaded,burned to a handy cd-rw and running on my trusty laptop,
While I am a loud and fervent fan of Xfce, I am NEVER impressed by the 'stock' presentation of it. I love it when a distro shows creativity by 'making it their own'.
To be fair, the kde version is also pretty 'stock' and I shouldn't have been too surprised. It's a fairly trivial point and Xfce is easily customized, so I can get over it without losing any sleep.
My laptop uses a Broadcom wireless card, and I needed to download the driver before it could be configured. Happy accident that I played with the 'meta-package installer' app first, showing me the various metas and repos available, including the non-free and drivers section.
By the way, 'Ceni' is a marvelous tool that once my driver was downloaded, had the old wifi up and connected in no time flat.
After that, I was only an 'apt-get install' away from Synaptic and I was on a roll.
If I am not online as "bigbearomaha' then I am using my 'work' tag of 'the-lan-man', I dug in and installed samba and fusesmb, as well as NFS. I live to play with networks.
For those unaware, sidux is a livecd version of debian, and I LOVE livecd based distros ( it is a great way to give clients a 'try before you buy' preview ).
My overall impression so far has been a good one. There have been no major hangups. No overwhelming lack of performance. It performs as well as I can ask any Linux distro. Due to that, this release has moved sidux ( Xfce version, of course ) into my short list.
You can click the link to see my quick 're-mixx' on my sidux Xfce.
If anyone is interested in trying and using this really solid distro, please visit the sidux website for more information and the list of mirrors.
Job well done sidux team.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
The 'killer' linux ....Ships AHOY!.
Everyone uses the "car" analogy. Expecting Linux to someday ZOOM ahead of the pack and leave the likes of MS and Apple in the dust on the track. This mental approach doesn't always do it for people and they get discouraged because of the mindset like that they walked in with.
Think not of Linux acceptance in the larger world as a race car, zooming it's way to the front of the pack, weaving and accelerating to out-distance and out-maneuver it's competitors.
Instead, think of Linux advancement as a 'Super" ship. It moves steadily, progressively, determinedly and un-stoppably over the ocean. It wends it way through iceberg fields crushing the little ones that get in the way, maneuvering past those that are too big and bulky.
Always mindful, never failing, to stop and pick up survivors of those notorious speedboat crashes and capsizes. The Linux supership rescues those who wish to be rescued, offering them new life onboard.
Sure, they handle crew assignments a little differently from other ships folks have served on. They use different names for parts of the ship than some are used to calling it. Anyone who has been a sailor and served on ships from various countries and places knows this experience. Learning and relearning different words and ways, but a ship is a ship and as long as one keeps their mind open and their wits about, will be successful.
As more and more rescued people climb aboard, new ships are added, making a fleet. Some Linux ships have different colors and are built for different tasks. There are the 'Server' ships, which may not be as 'pretty" but are as solid and 'shipshape' as one might ever hope for a ship to be.
Then there are the luxury cruise ships, made to make life pleasant and attractive, sleek and cutting edge, fast and efficient. Lot's of entertainment and user amenities aboard.
The fleet grows and grows. Traveling together, yet each playing it's own role. The crew ARE the guests. Everyone comes aboard for a free test ride or is rescued and given relief and aid.
Over time, in appreciation for the attention and care they receive, each guest pays however they can on board. Some pay with money to stay aboard , preferring to just enjoy the ride, which is fine. Others sign up for a "mixed ticket", where they can stay on board in exchange for working a shift as well. Lot's of ways to mix it up and be part of the action on a Linux ship. No one is forced to wear a vest, it is recommended, but never forced. On board the Linux ships, it's every sailor for himself, so to speak. There are suggestions and real big warning signs everywhere, but it's up to you.
There are Ships out there right now that are HUGE. They dominate the computer seas with a couple of enormous, "all-in-one" ships. When we see these ships in person, sometimes people see the extravagant parties and entertainment on the ships decks and think "WOW, that's some serious partying." Then as they watch, they see the guests are trapped. Forced to wear life vests all the time. Never allowed to leave the party decks unless it's to work in the provided rooms where business travelers pay for extra services. These folks are paying to cruise, be attended too, but are not getting the "full" sailing experience. They only see the part of the ship the Captains allow them to see.
Come aboard. Pick your ship and set sail for life on the oceans of the computer world. We always have room for new folks, we'll just build another ship.
Think not of Linux acceptance in the larger world as a race car, zooming it's way to the front of the pack, weaving and accelerating to out-distance and out-maneuver it's competitors.
Instead, think of Linux advancement as a 'Super" ship. It moves steadily, progressively, determinedly and un-stoppably over the ocean. It wends it way through iceberg fields crushing the little ones that get in the way, maneuvering past those that are too big and bulky.
Always mindful, never failing, to stop and pick up survivors of those notorious speedboat crashes and capsizes. The Linux supership rescues those who wish to be rescued, offering them new life onboard.
Sure, they handle crew assignments a little differently from other ships folks have served on. They use different names for parts of the ship than some are used to calling it. Anyone who has been a sailor and served on ships from various countries and places knows this experience. Learning and relearning different words and ways, but a ship is a ship and as long as one keeps their mind open and their wits about, will be successful.
As more and more rescued people climb aboard, new ships are added, making a fleet. Some Linux ships have different colors and are built for different tasks. There are the 'Server' ships, which may not be as 'pretty" but are as solid and 'shipshape' as one might ever hope for a ship to be.
Then there are the luxury cruise ships, made to make life pleasant and attractive, sleek and cutting edge, fast and efficient. Lot's of entertainment and user amenities aboard.
The fleet grows and grows. Traveling together, yet each playing it's own role. The crew ARE the guests. Everyone comes aboard for a free test ride or is rescued and given relief and aid.
Over time, in appreciation for the attention and care they receive, each guest pays however they can on board. Some pay with money to stay aboard , preferring to just enjoy the ride, which is fine. Others sign up for a "mixed ticket", where they can stay on board in exchange for working a shift as well. Lot's of ways to mix it up and be part of the action on a Linux ship. No one is forced to wear a vest, it is recommended, but never forced. On board the Linux ships, it's every sailor for himself, so to speak. There are suggestions and real big warning signs everywhere, but it's up to you.
There are Ships out there right now that are HUGE. They dominate the computer seas with a couple of enormous, "all-in-one" ships. When we see these ships in person, sometimes people see the extravagant parties and entertainment on the ships decks and think "WOW, that's some serious partying." Then as they watch, they see the guests are trapped. Forced to wear life vests all the time. Never allowed to leave the party decks unless it's to work in the provided rooms where business travelers pay for extra services. These folks are paying to cruise, be attended too, but are not getting the "full" sailing experience. They only see the part of the ship the Captains allow them to see.
Come aboard. Pick your ship and set sail for life on the oceans of the computer world. We always have room for new folks, we'll just build another ship.
Monday, June 23, 2008
We learn by doing
Many articles try to tackle how best to learn Linux. We thought we'd take a stab at answering this.
There are "phases" in learning Linux and the approaches to learning change over the course of a persons time spent using Linux.
It is most common to see 'new' users to Linux get frustrated with trying to find info to help them. They will not really know 'how' to search yet, and it's easy to just pop a question into a forum or IRC channel.
As people learn and gain experience, they will have suffered the taunts and 're-directions' to search and read what is already provided in a wiki or forum section.
When most people start to use or install a Linux distro, they usually are just 'playing' with it. they are taking their time, being cautious.
There are others however, who have built up a lot of steam and excitement and may have done rash things in this state of excitement. Now they are in a tough place. Something isn't going they way they expected and they have no alternative. instead of just using a live cd for awhile, or going with a dual boot scenario, they went ahead and blew out the hard drive and here they are, with no usable computer and they panic.
They get frustrated quickly and the longer they go without fixing the situation, the more demanding and unhappy they get.
The best way to learn Linux, regardless of distro, is to be calm, be patient, be polite, join a community forum, but most of all, use it.
Being persistent builds familiarity, builds confidence and builds trust in the community. As you participate in the community, your continued presence and discussion of your experiences will be seen by the other members and instead of seeing one a just or still a brash newcomer, they will know you have been working diligently and will offer help more readily.
Reading what is already there is also a big help, not only will you learn something to solve your current problem, you might see something that also addresses another issue you hadn't thought of yet. It also gives you a better position to present your case from because you know have have reference points to add to yuor question when you ask or post it.
Overall though, use it. 'Do' it. Involve yourself in it.
You and everyone else will be happier for it.
There are "phases" in learning Linux and the approaches to learning change over the course of a persons time spent using Linux.
It is most common to see 'new' users to Linux get frustrated with trying to find info to help them. They will not really know 'how' to search yet, and it's easy to just pop a question into a forum or IRC channel.
As people learn and gain experience, they will have suffered the taunts and 're-directions' to search and read what is already provided in a wiki or forum section.
When most people start to use or install a Linux distro, they usually are just 'playing' with it. they are taking their time, being cautious.
There are others however, who have built up a lot of steam and excitement and may have done rash things in this state of excitement. Now they are in a tough place. Something isn't going they way they expected and they have no alternative. instead of just using a live cd for awhile, or going with a dual boot scenario, they went ahead and blew out the hard drive and here they are, with no usable computer and they panic.
They get frustrated quickly and the longer they go without fixing the situation, the more demanding and unhappy they get.
The best way to learn Linux, regardless of distro, is to be calm, be patient, be polite, join a community forum, but most of all, use it.
Being persistent builds familiarity, builds confidence and builds trust in the community. As you participate in the community, your continued presence and discussion of your experiences will be seen by the other members and instead of seeing one a just or still a brash newcomer, they will know you have been working diligently and will offer help more readily.
Reading what is already there is also a big help, not only will you learn something to solve your current problem, you might see something that also addresses another issue you hadn't thought of yet. It also gives you a better position to present your case from because you know have have reference points to add to yuor question when you ask or post it.
Overall though, use it. 'Do' it. Involve yourself in it.
You and everyone else will be happier for it.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Linux adoption corrupted by the highest bidder?
We see articles all the time about a city or school district, counties and state entities adopting the use of Linux. Most often associated with cost cutting measures. They praise the "freedom" of Linux and the ability to roll out large numbers of installs at a much lower total cost.
Sometimes, we see follow up articles, those same entities are slowing, winding down and often eliminating the Linux adoption they were praising not that long ago. Instead, replacing them with a rollout of...Apple? No Sun? No. Windows? Well who would of guessed? Yes.
I see in an article just put out that one such entity is "slowing" their adoption of Linux, because, one of the "major" applications they use for a kindergarten class is heavily tied to Internet Explorer. So, let's scrap the whole thing shall we? Oh wait, there have been some instances of difficulty with hardware detection, so we'll make things better by replacing it with Windows Vista, of all things.
Now, whether you believe it or not, I am not trying to "bash" Windows here, but it has been acknowledged in many places that Vista has trouble with hardware. So if you are going to use hardware detection as a "serious" reason to not use Linux, the last thing you want to replace it with is an OS with a reputation a Vista has for only wanting to work with the "latest, greatest" in hardware. XP I can understand, but Vista? Nope, that pops up a red flag.
I can see wanting to keep using software that works well, Even if it is tied very heavily to Internet Explorer ( which ought to raise hackles in most places, I think apps should be vendor neutral. Having to use only one browser isn't exactly what anyone could call neutral.) However, even the software developers say they are making a version that uses Firefox instead. So, knowing that, they couldn't wait after being so meticulous and taking their time thus far? Nope, let's just jump right into Vista. I see a couple more red flags.
Now I am not suggesting Microsoft is doing anything illegal or unethical, oh no never. People should be able to use whatever OS and software they want to use. If this government entity wants to use MS OS and apps that are dependent on MS products, so be it. Good luck.
All I am asking is please be honest. Don't try to lay blame at the feet of Linux. If MS is giving a killer rebate and vendor lock-in is something you don't care about, then say so.
Now all the pundits will be saying about how Linux can't handle hardware and how it can't support commercial software., not even considering that Vista can't either.
If that's the case, then what is this group getting out of switching to Vista? Probably MS offering a boatload of support if not handling the rollout themselves. Again, not a crime, but all handled in a way to spread FUD.
I don't like FUD, I don't like it when MS and their supporters spread it and I don't like when Linux zealots spread it either.
Let's just work on making the best OS's and software each camp is capable of and taking those to the people to be able to become even more productive.
Sometimes, we see follow up articles, those same entities are slowing, winding down and often eliminating the Linux adoption they were praising not that long ago. Instead, replacing them with a rollout of...Apple? No Sun? No. Windows? Well who would of guessed? Yes.
I see in an article just put out that one such entity is "slowing" their adoption of Linux, because, one of the "major" applications they use for a kindergarten class is heavily tied to Internet Explorer. So, let's scrap the whole thing shall we? Oh wait, there have been some instances of difficulty with hardware detection, so we'll make things better by replacing it with Windows Vista, of all things.
Now, whether you believe it or not, I am not trying to "bash" Windows here, but it has been acknowledged in many places that Vista has trouble with hardware. So if you are going to use hardware detection as a "serious" reason to not use Linux, the last thing you want to replace it with is an OS with a reputation a Vista has for only wanting to work with the "latest, greatest" in hardware. XP I can understand, but Vista? Nope, that pops up a red flag.
I can see wanting to keep using software that works well, Even if it is tied very heavily to Internet Explorer ( which ought to raise hackles in most places, I think apps should be vendor neutral. Having to use only one browser isn't exactly what anyone could call neutral.) However, even the software developers say they are making a version that uses Firefox instead. So, knowing that, they couldn't wait after being so meticulous and taking their time thus far? Nope, let's just jump right into Vista. I see a couple more red flags.
Now I am not suggesting Microsoft is doing anything illegal or unethical, oh no never. People should be able to use whatever OS and software they want to use. If this government entity wants to use MS OS and apps that are dependent on MS products, so be it. Good luck.
All I am asking is please be honest. Don't try to lay blame at the feet of Linux. If MS is giving a killer rebate and vendor lock-in is something you don't care about, then say so.
Now all the pundits will be saying about how Linux can't handle hardware and how it can't support commercial software., not even considering that Vista can't either.
If that's the case, then what is this group getting out of switching to Vista? Probably MS offering a boatload of support if not handling the rollout themselves. Again, not a crime, but all handled in a way to spread FUD.
I don't like FUD, I don't like it when MS and their supporters spread it and I don't like when Linux zealots spread it either.
Let's just work on making the best OS's and software each camp is capable of and taking those to the people to be able to become even more productive.
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