Archive | July, 2011

Change of Heart

27 Jul

One of the most confusing things about an operating system is how things get done.  When the word Linux is used, a fear reaction happens for many Windows users.  A person simply has no idea of what to do to make the Linux computer go.  Even if you use Windows just a little, you get an idea of what you may need to do with Linux.  One of the more interesting facts I found within myself is; when I first learned computing would have been the best time to learn about Linux.  Instead of learning Windows 3.1, I could have easily learned to use Linux.  Of course; I would be wringing my hands about learning Windows now if I had.

I had an idea my experience with Linux would lead me to where I am today because I have tried it before.  I purposely set out to get the out-of-the-box experience with different distributions of Linux at the same time.  I will have to go back and try regular Ubuntu a bit later because my preferred distro is Mint.  That is an off-shoot of Ubuntu.  Because I had some experience with Ubuntu, I found LinuxMint 11 easier to use.  What I did was download several different distros of Linux and have at it.  The first thing I did was install two different virtual machine programs on my Windows computer.  After installing VMware and Virtual Box; I went nuts with my bit torrent getting Linux distros.

The first distro I installed was LinuxMint 11 with the Gnome interface.  I immediately turned to Ubuntu as the next install.  I merely set a few things I could figure right off and put the Ubuntu on a vm.  I turned right around and put Fedora on a vm, and then openSUSE.  I had all these operating systems whirring away and I overwhelmed myself with them.  I had to pick one and go for it; I picked Mint 11 and Ubuntu as the interfaces I liked the best.  I deleted the Ubuntu vm after a short while because I dislike the reversal of where the task-bar is and such things.  It’s not that hard to change, but I really wanted to get at Mint because I have read a lot about it.  I went through the blind test with Mint.

Meaning; I simply installed LinuxMint 11 with Gnome and started just clicking on things.  I ended up re-installing Mint a few times and reading up on it.  I’ve found I like the Gnome desktop over the KDE desktop environment for now.  I ended up asking myself how I learned about DOS/Windows and using those answers to learn more about Mint in the same way.  There were some classic mix ups on a few things before I decided I could actually run the operating system.  The more I tinkered with the Linux os, the more I found consistencies with how I used the Windows os.  I came to a quick conclusion that today’s Linux is simple enough to run without big problems.

A computer user will not have much trouble learning to run the environment.  Let me qualify this a little.  Computer users are people who switch on a computer and accomplish tasks with it.  An operating system is the means for operating the computer.  An os is not the magic goose nor the interface that makes the world happy.  It is the programs we run on our computers that we simply love and must have.  The main window to the world on any computer is the Web Browser.  We all have those and all computer users have their favorite browser.  My favorite browser is Google Chrome.  I’m a bit of a minimalist I guess and Chrome just works out for me best.  My Windows computer has several browsers installed on it.  Microsoft did well to introduce IE 9 to compete with Google Chrome and FireFox.  MS usually fails to get the point their user base wants.  This time the failure is backwards compatibility for XP.  I abandoned Windows XP for Windows 7, so it doesn’t bother me.

Being a window to the world, the web browser has to do a lot of things and do them well.  The real selling point of a browser for me on Linux was the ability to sync book marks and browser data.  Google Chrome and Firefox do that very well.  Since I like Chrome, I use the Chromium browser with Linux.  It seems identical to the Windows version and all I did was sync my settings to have the very same functioning browser for both operating systems.  Now that my eyes can see equally on both operating systems, what is the big deal about operating systems?  Remember, the operating system the thing that lets a person use the programs they love on a computer.  I have more love for my Windows programs for now.  A person usually puts out a great deal of money buying an operating system and then the programs to use on the operating system.

OK, I lied; I haven’t bought one single Linux operating system or program to use on it.  I don’t have to, it’s all free!  That is a concept Linux lovers everywhere have loved well for many years.  One problem with Linux is finding a program that works like your Windows program.  I really wouldn’t mind paying for a program to use on Linux if it is nearly the same on Windows.  The biggest problem is getting folks who make programs for Windows to make the same for Linux.  I won’t get into the thousands of dollars a person has to spend to become a developer with all sorts of certifications for Windows.  I’ll simply say, those folks need to be educated the same for Linux.  Developing programs to use on the Linux operating systems isn’t catching on that well because there isn’t enough money in it.  Look what Microsoft has done to earn the billions of dollars it now has.  MS made their operating system the king of the world.  In that way; many people become very wealthy because they develop programming for Windows.

Linux distributions are still considered social pariahs in the view of the money makers of the computing world.  The Free and Open Source Software society is making a comeback in the world.  Actually it isn’t a comeback, it’s an emergence that has been sought for a long time.  Linux runs thousands, or hundreds of thousands business servers in the world today.  The same can be said for Microsoft except the Linux servers do not come to nearly the cost of Windows servers.  That is another dragon to slay at another time for me.  Programs that run on an operating system comes down to the choice that must be made by the population of the world.  Since Windows is already in use by more than half the computer users in the world; Windows is on top.  The billions of dollars milked from the Windows operating system makes Windows very, very popular.

No one in the Linux world has come up with the magic idea to get Linux out in the world with great popularity.  It’s not that folks haven’t tried; it just doesn’t work out very well.  Enterprise versions of Linux do well in the business world.  The world’s population is a very different plane of existence.  People without the means to buy into the Windows market flourish when Linux is introduced to their market.  People who are tired of paying thousands of dollars for Windows stuff do well with Linux.  The Linux verses Windows fight has gone on for as long as I can remember Linux in the world.  Things like not being able to purchase Adobe Creative Suit for Linux pulls things down.  I can’t argue about Microsoft Office products in the same way.  There once was Open Office which was behind some of the very early low cost Windows business suites.

There is now Open Office, Libre Office, and many more Office suites that compare very well to MS Office.  There are many, many more programs that do compete with Windows products.  It’s the problem of business already being based in the Windows environment that gets to the alternatives.  I like my Microsoft Office suite that I bought.  It is what I know and what I need to do with those programs that keeps me with Windows, sort of.  If I spent the last ten years learning and relearning the FOSS Open Office or Libre suites; I would love them instead.  Just like Linux, those office suites are ready for prime time in a lot of ways.

What isn’t ready for the most part are the people of this world to accept and learn something different from Windows.  I could go to a third world country that needs a computing environment and totally set them up with Linux or Windows.  Linux is that usable and it doesn’t come with all the expense that Windows has.  The reason I haven’t gone to third world countries to do Linux evangelizing is simple.  Linux beat me to it a long time ago and I don’t have enough money to travel the world.  Too bad money can’t be replaced with a Linux port.

My learning sojourn is not nearly complete.  I have scratched the surface of one Linux operating system that I wanted to try.  I have several more distributions lined up waiting for me to test.  This is part or mostly why I get to say I’m a geek.  Currently I am a Windows geek in the world of computing.  I want to change that to a computing geek so I don’t have to be so specific.  Since I am retired and in my mid-fifties, I have a chance to learn things at my pace and convenience.  Old dogs really can learn new tricks.  That is a fact I will continue to expound upon.

Time spent in Geekville

14 Jul

Yippee!  I have been a guest of Geekville’s  exclusive Geek Only hotel.  The posh and extremely accommodating environment there is heavenly.  I’ve got the best of the best tools to use while I delve into Linux operating systems.  This is the only place in the world you will see me smiling at 9am!

To get in the mood I pulled out my trusty VMware player and browser.  I browsed to Linux Mint, PCLOS (two flavors), and Ubuntu.  I used my cagey browser to download the operating systems.  After I had them all; I put VMware to work.  The VMware player is a drop-dead simple way to add virtual machines, in my case, to my computer.  Download your favorite ISO file and then go find it in VMware Player.  For the operating systems I made a few adjustments of how I want the new vm to do things, and then hit create.

It took some time to install each Linux OS I wanted.  After that; I was on to exploring each distribution finding what I like and don’t like.  Being somewhat of a geek, I had a giddy feeling while peeking at the world of Linux through each distribution.  There isn’t much I know about Linux save the obvious things anyone could figure.  I’ve walked out the door of Windows environment to explore the land of Linux.  To most folks, this is no big deal, or something they wish to do. 

In my case, there is a lot to learn and gain experience from.  Linux is a way to dump an operating system that costs a few hundred dollars at the least and move on.  I’ve had experience with Ubuntu several times before, but two new operating systems are waiting for me to experience.  One of the first things I had to do is stop thinking like a Windows user.  That may sound funny, but Linux is different.  I find I associate how to do something in Windows with a Linux term.  This way I can wait to get acclimated to Linux and the thought process there.

A very good point here is Linux usually means a free operating system.  You will find many, many free programs to use on the OS.  FOSS, free open source software, is one of the strongest points on Linux machines.  You end up needing to find a program that is very similar to your favorite Windows program to work things well.  This is not a difficult thing to do because of the plethora of resources defined for a new Linux user.

I hold to what I said about Linux not becoming a market share problem for Windows.  It doesn’t seem possible to me, but I could be wrong!  Give a few Linux distributions a try and spend some time in Geekville.  It’s a wonderful place to visit.

Linux

13 Jul

Star light, star bright ;

First star I see tonight;

I wish I may ;

I wish I might ;

Have the wish I wish tonight.

The above is a childhood wish I chanted many times when I was a kid.  I must not have believed enough because my wishes seldom seemed even considered.  I feel a lot about Linux operating systems and I wish a lot about them also.

Let me get specific here.  I tested Mandriva; it worked well, but didn’t match Windows.  I tried a few Ubuntu distros; they were fine to me, but didn’t match Windows.  The latest Fedora and Ubuntu Unity are both going on a machine today for testing.  Actually a virtual machine that is host on my main computer.  After that, I will evaluate once again how useful Linux is in general.

I don’t deny that as a simple desktop, laptop, or netbook Linux rocks.  Fast, runs well, and doesn’t go bananas as often as Windows.  I’ve often given my support to FOSS programs and tried many of them.  Nothing can replace Microsoft Office.  I tried Open Office starting right after I tried Star documents in 2002 I believe.  I jumped ship on that one in a hurry.  I have gone back and tried Open Office many times since then.  I doesn’t work like MS Office still!  I jumped on the bandwagon with IBM lotus notes in their open source format.  I really liked the GUI on that one.  IBM was not able to replace MS Office.  I tried Libre Office a few times.  I was very happy to see Libre adopted the GUI that IBM used.  One window with several tabs is very nice to have.  Libre does not work like MS Office.

A broken record goes from there.  MS does not play well with open document formats.  It’s pretty straight-forward that way; proprietary code never does well in matching open source code.  It is not that I don’t use the FOSS when I can find it.  I use open source programs when they work well.  I swear by my Google Chrome browser.  I love Ccleaner for removing the crap that builds up in Windows on a daily basis.  I use 7zip as my compression and decompression program.  I works very well with all the compression formats I have encountered.  I use Thunderbird as my main E-mail program because I don’t want to pay Microsoft over $100 to get email their way.  The list goes farther, but I doubt it will be very interesting.

Back to Linux; all the things I mentioned can be done with Linux.  How do you fit a square Windows user into a round Linux operating system?  A very simple answer; you can do it.   When the Windows user wants to become a Linux user.  Most techno-geeks and semi techno-geeks know how to go about it.  The Linux family has provided many easy ways to transform.  I can’t say you can run Windows programs natively on Linux.  The two operating systems are night and day in comparison.  The Linux user has two ways to do things.  The first way to run windows on Linux is to use an emulator to get the windows program functioning.  Another way to run a windows program on Linux is to use a virtual windows environment.  A person can always look for a Linux program that is windows-like.  Can’t get your Adobe Creative Suite to work on Linux; too bad.  Try Gimp it is a lot like Photoshop.

There is the rub for most would be users of Linux.  I can’t go to Adobe and ask them to pretty please release a Creative Suite for Linux.  Adobe is totally invested in Windows and would see a total loss to produce a Linux version of any software.  The sale point for nearly every software company to build a Linux version is miniscule.  Linux, never mind the myriad of distros, is simply not dominate enough to justify development costs.  There are no popular video games like MOHA or COD whatever that will play on Linux.  That is a big hill to climb for Linux.

I conclude that any of the Linux distributions will not happen in a big way because no major software developers will give it a shot.  Linux can play a role as an alternative operating system, but will never bring home the prize.  Free Open Source Software has to develop a wide following for wide usage.  These things combined define where Linux operating systems will reside.  People can develop an operating system every day of their life for thousands of years.  Until the operating system captures the attention of major software developers; the Linux OS will stay a very tiny portion of any market.  There are many good programs that do work on Linux.  You will never find major games or Microsoft products ported to Linux.  You will find Linux server operating systems in business and at home.  Linux is a major competitor in the server field.  The desktop environment of Linux is also viable, but not on a huge scale.  Everything will have to match the prevalence of Windows software to compete.  This is a no win situation for Linux.

If I were to buy a tablet

12 Jul

I was all set to buy a Nook color as a semi-tablet.  The price is nice around $250.00.  I ran across a real tablet device with the cost of around $280.00.  Paying forty dollars more for a tablet makes sense.  I haven’t abandoned Nook Color all together yet, but I’m seriously thinking about it.  I could check email and use a few apps on the Nook Color that sets it apart from being simply an e-reader.  I’ve decided I want a tablet device of some sort and Nook Color fit the bill.

I ran into ViewSonic Viewpad 7 today.  The selling point is around $280.00 down from an older price of over $300.00.  The form factor is 7 inches and looks pretty nice.  Here is the URL: http://www.viewsonic.com/products/vpad7.htm .  The tablet can also function as a phone with quad GSM radio.  I’m not sure I would want to get into all that with the form factor.  One thing I saw is that Viewpad 7 does not support Adobe Flash 10.1.  I didn’t see anything about HTML 5 capable browsing.

Going on the cheap for a tablet experience for under $300 is reasonable here.  I need to research more for the dollar point to be sure it is a good deal.  The Viewpad 7 is no where near what you get with a Zoom or Atrix experience.  Those two baubles cost considerably more though.  For example I decided to look for a Galaxy Tab 7 inch tablet.  Best deal was Sprint for $199.00.  The problem with that is a two year contract with ETF of $200.  The final checkout was $240.00 due with activation on first bill.  Otherwise, you pay over $400 for the Tab by itself.

What to do what to do?  If I ever put the coins together, I would get the Viewpad 7 over the more expensive tablets.  Let’s not forget Amazon has a tablet in the pipeline that could be nice as well.  So, I’m on a holding pattern until more things are offered at lower prices.

Smart phones

12 Jul

Yes, I must have one.  The company simply has to buy me a smart phone; I’ll be crippled without one!  I can’t get any work done if I don’t have a smart phone.  What would I do if I have to wait for my doctor to see me for a check up?  Heaven help me, I’ll be bored, no one will notice I have something cool, I’ll be just like everyone else!  The sarcasm I’m using pretty well tells the tale of how I feel about smart phones.  I have a cell phone that can surf the web, I read that in instruction manual.  I looked at my shiny little personal communication device feeling all impressed and stuff.  I got brave when I found I have a feature phone instead of a smart phone.  I went directly to the settings of the phone and made sure to block web and text messaging.  Why the heck would I want my phone to do all those things?  It’s a cell phone, I call people on it.  OK, I lied; I use the calendar feature too.  Smart phones do so much more though.  They surf the web, allow you to see movies, make video phone calls, watch movies, play games, find your geo-location, get directions to read for getting to a new restaurant, receive and send text messages, take pictures, make movies, allow you to hook up to work servers to change documents of all sorts, and the list goes on.  Oh crap, left the best deal out.  Smart phones are way up in cool factor for people to own.

Was it Apple or AT&T that started the smart phone thing?  It was both in my mind.  The iPhone blasted into the world of cell phone users changing the face of what a cell phone is forever.  Wait, Microsoft had a cool cell phone already out there too.  Then there was umm, well the other guys.  I remember squinting in the sunlight looking at a brand new kind of cell phone back in the 90s.  Alas, that is now a lowly feature phone because it only checked email and went to a few web pages.  I have an old Nokia cell phone that does nothing but make wireless phone calls.  Gosh, what was I thinking when I bought that?  I’m a little amped up over the hype that smart phones have gotten and are still getting.  Will I waste money on one?  No, but facts are easily seen that many people will.  It’s not that people actually waste money.  They buy a product and then pay for having it.  They pay and pay and pay.

If I wasn’t retired and my job required me to surf into the company server farm, I would have a smart phone.  I’d moan and curse as I squint at the little four-inch screen at dinner and try to solve the problem.  I would at least be able to sort of answer a job induced help ticket and finish my dinner.  I was at my daughter and son-in-law’s home a while back.  Hubby texted wifey in the kitchen from the living room.  I had to ask, “What are you doing?”  I heard my daughter’s phone go off right after the message was sent.  I had a conceptual difference of opinion of texting versus talking to someone less than thirty feet away.  I wasn’t insinuating he should have called my daughter in the kitchen on the phone.  I did silently think that perhaps hubby could have just asked wifey what she was making for dinner the old-fashioned way.  Now we can video phone to ask those very same questions; that makes everything much better in my mind.

I believe I have a negative opinion when it comes to owning a smart phone.  They are cool though, I have to say that.  Has anyone noticed how the major carriers have all switched to a convoluted billing system for smart phones?  I mean things used to be universal all-inclusive.  In America you go to a cell service and buy a smart phone at a discounted price signing a two-year contract.  Then you decide what sort of phone service you want.  Then you decide what data service you want.  Then you pay an activation fee, single line fee, looking cool fee, federal required tax, pay a fee for the beauty of the web, etc.  Calling plans have gone from one price to several tiers of minutes.  The anytime minutes, day minutes, night minutes, weekend minutes, phone to phone same service minuets, “Did I leave anything out?”  How about data plans?  Two hundred megabyte plan, 1 gigabyte plan, 2 gigabyte plan, 5 gigabyte plan, and some have 10 gigabyte plans or more.  There is another thing that gets to me.

How about that data plan requirement if you have a smart phone.  Even if you do not use the data, you have to pay for data.  I liked that deal a lot.  We also have to pay anywhere from 5 dollars to 30 dollars per gigabyte over plan usage.  The roaming plans seem to really catch people off guard as well.  What if you figure out your phone contract is the pits and you tell the company to buzz off?  There is a special abbreviation for that.  ”ETF”, is Early Termination Fee.  The ETF can cost you hundreds of dollars simply because you decided the contract you had to sign to get a smart phone sucks!  In many European countries you buy a phone at total cost and  get the sim card of your choice.  I believe that means your phone is not locked down to a particular condition set by the phone service company.  I may be wrong about that.  That brings me to a very serious problem of a phone user unlocking their phone so they can make total use of their smart phone.  Oh yes, “Jail breaking” a smart phone will void your contract!  You must play by the rules each smart phone carrier sets out, or serious things are going to happen.  The most serious thing to happen is you will be able to fully utilize the phone you bought.  That takes you out of the revenue stream set up by the carriers.  Yes that is very serious indeed!  There is a lot more I have to say because I am a verbose person; I’m just not going to inflict more pain for today.

Social Media

12 Jul

I finally went on Facebook and got a Twitter account.  Now Google comes out with yet another try at social media.  Who cares if they failed on Buzz and Wave?  I’ve seen way too much over the top hype in tech news about Google+.  I’ve read the new app is a Facebook killer all the way down to Google+ is the same as Facebook.  Google opened its new social media to beta test (field trial) to tech industry bloggers and media mental giants.  OK that was sarcasm; mental giant has nothing to do with tech bloggers or media people.  You can do a Google search and come up with a million scams involved with Google+ invites.  Rest assured, the world does not need to get a private invite to test drive the new social media application.  It’s not ready for prime time, but it is ready for hype.  That is why those knuckle heads are screaming/extolling all the wonderful things about Google+.  I’ve seen a million screen shots and read at least a billion tech bloggers predicting death to Facebook.  The others are all still yawning waiting to light the fire under the first billion after nothing much changes.  Google did score in publicity using a limited beta test approach.  Here is the official URL for the Google+project: https://plus.google.com/up/start/?sw=1  The page clearly shows even all the invited folks can’t get on.  I was not upset when Google did not send me an invitation.  All I need is yet another social media website to visit.  Do I need to insist my entire family (nearly 100 people) become a new member on Google+ when it goes public?  Not NO, but hell no!  Why would a family need to change?  Because Google+ is cooler?  Give me a break.

Businesses may find they have to manage things including Google+ someday if they want to reach out to all social media.  That is another cost for business and another way for Google to monetize their advertising goals.  Ummm, “what did I just type?”  Oh yeah, Google can make more money off their free service.  The great digitizer in the cloud wants to collect more information to make money on.  ”Do you think that is fair John?”  ”Sure it’s fair just like when Microsoft developed Windows Operating Systems.”  Well maybe not as fair, or ummm it could be, but I doubt it.  Actually every company large or small needs revenue to actually meet the cost of doing business.  Naturally, everyone needs to make money by using social media.  Corporate interests meet and seduce new customers through social media.  Individuals can monetize their social media experience as well.  How will mom and pop make money by keeping track of their children, grandchildren, and the like?  They won’t, they just give their social media experience up to the likes of Facebook or Google to use to make money.  I’m not making money from typing my thoughts on this free blog service.  The folks who host it will though, that is a fact of life.  I’m not bugged by that fact.  I am bugged by so many people going so wonky over something that will not add to an individual’s life one bit.  Of course, those wonky people will benefit, so that is where the rub is for me.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.