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Posts in 2009 January
Google Says Every Site "May Harm Your Computer"
Earlier this morning (as of 10:00AM EST), a bug in Google search caused every site, including Google.com, to be marked with “This site may harm your computer.” I tested this on two different computers on two different internet connections with two different browsers and the result is the same.
This glitch, in addition to probably confusing the heck out of some novice computer users, had some interesting possibilities, as illustrated below:
Help and Support Fail
Government Fail
Self-Respect Fail
Full Version of Government Fail
(click to enlarge)
Sometimes bugs are annoying, but this is just awesome!
Gnome Do: How To Run a Great Open-Source Project
Today marked the launch of Gnome Do 0.8, a fairly significant update to an incredible launcher/searcher/doer. (It’s quite hard to explain until you use it, but it lets you search for file and applications and then act upon or modify them in various ways.) Gnome Do 0.8 brings some interesting new features, including the addition of a dock. I don’t want to talk about the new features, though, but what Gnome Do, as a project, has done right.
There are a number of “killer apps” on the Linux desktop, some exclusively for Linux, others spanning many platforms, but Gnome Do is notable in that it gathers attention, excitement, and hype in a way that many open-source projects do not. While a large part of this is that Gnome Do itself is incredible, there is more to it than that. Here are some of the lessons other open-source projects could learn from Gnome Do:
- Make me want it. Your website matters. Specifically because I consider Conduit to be one of Linux’s killer apps, I will pick on it. Take a look at the Conduit project website. Even ignoring the fact that the site is not at all unique, there is little on that page to make me want to try the software out. There is a brief description of what Conduit does, but no advertisement of new features or anything telling me why Conduit is awesome. Now, take a look at Gnome Do’s website. Instantly, I am attracted to the middle of the modern-looking page where I can see a slick-looking screenshot, a short and simple description of what it does, and a big download link. Reading down the page just a little bit, I can see a nicely formatted list of what Gnome Do does and what its features are. After only glancing at the front page, Gnome Do looks awesome.
- Advertise what I care about. Digging a little deeper in to both websites, I can look at the release notes of the latest Conduit release or go to the Gnome Do’s release page. (I am not going to provide direct links, so that you can better evaluate each site.) I admit that the release page on Gnome Do’s site should be more obvious, but in terms of the content of both pages, Gnome Do wins by far. Conduit’s release notes tell me, before anything else, what bugs they fixed. I don’t care! Gnome Do, on the other hand, greets me with a big purple banner, again sporting a slick screenshot, with big white letters saying “Rock out with your dock out,” followed by a description of what’s cool in 0.8. Lower down in a list of features that I do care about. Yes, the Gnome Do page also mentions bugs, but they don’t list them and it is only in a small box at the bottom of the page.
- Make it easy for me to get it. Going to the download link on the Gnome Do site leads me to a page where I can easily spot the logo of my distribution and follow the instructions. The same link on the Conduit page, however, leads me to an apparently completely different website with links to a long list of files.
I realize that not all projects have the resources to do what Gnome Do has done and I don’t mean to pick on Conduit (if you haven’t tried it, you have to – it’s incredible), but many open-source projects seem to lack the ability to excite people in the way Gnome Do does. Hopefully, this will soon change.
Yesterday was data privacy day, according to Lifehacker, and they posted a number of tips for protecting your privacy.There is one more thing you can do to protect your privacy, though: use open-source software.
Open-source, while not inherently more secure, has little chance of containing any backdoors or anything you wouldn’t want in your software, since all the code is open. But how does your ability to see the code help you if you aren’t a programmer and/or don’t have tons of time on your hands? You can’t review the code yourself, but there are people that can and do. Perhaps no single person will look at everything, but you can be quite sure that everything or almost everything in the code of something open-source has been at least glanced at by someone knowledgeable.
This doesn’t mean that you can go randomly downloading everything that’s open-source. You still have to be careful and trust the maker, but, when you use popular open-source software, you can be quite sure, no matter how paranoid you are, that your software isn’t doing anything malicious or stupid with your data.
Back in September, I examined the first reviews of Ubuntu Netbook Remix on the Dell Inspiron Mini. Ubuntu Netbooks Remix looked like it had a promising future, even at that early point, since every review I found was positive about the software. More recently, HP’s Mini 1000 Mi has arrived and a few reviews have shown up. Again, the signs are looking good for Ubuntu Netbook Remix, which the HP Mini’s custom Linux OS is based on.
Engadget looked at the HP Mini Mi before it was released when it was called MIE. Regarding the software, they concluded that the Mini was “delivering Linux in one of the most user-friendly packages yet.” They did say it could be a bit limiting for power users, but that is to be expected of any simple interface.
Notebook Review also liked the custom Linux OS quite a bit. They said they “prefer this UI to both Windows (XP, Vista and 7) and OS X for basic computing tasks.” Again, they had a few complaints, but, overall, it was a very positive review, which is definitely a good sign.
In addition to these, I received some feedback from a reader recently that Toshiba’s netbook came with Ubuntu and was quite good.
All of these reviews seem to point towards Ubuntu Netbook Remix, perhaps modified by the manufacturer, as one of the essential ingredients for a great netbook. I am really glad to see this, since I have never thought highly of the Linux OSs that came before it. Now I just wish Asus would pick up on Ubuntu.
Brilliant Brainstorms #44 – Organize your Desktops
Brilliant Brainstorms is a (usually) weekly summary of some of the best/most interesting brainstorms from the Ubuntu Brainstorm site.
Using Bash Commands to Simplify Linux Newbie Support
One of the strong points of the Ubuntu community is the forums. To many new users, the ability to get quick answers to their questions for free is an incredible resource. Unfortunately, not every user has a great experience on the forums. WorksWithU recently posted a list of tips for those giving support on the Ubuntu forums. I agree about being specific, using proper spelling, and being thorough, but there is one point I disagree with:
“Reduce as much as possible to bash commands. While new Ubuntu users may not feel comfortable working in the terminal on their own, most are perfectly willing to copy-and-paste commands, and giving them specific lines to type in is usually more efficient and easier than providing vague instructions that involve a GUI.”
While easier for the supporter, this approach leaves the user feeling like Ubuntu is mysterious and, when it breaks, only the magic of some Ubuntu geeks can fix it. The user, more than likely, doesn’t understand what he or she did, why it worked, or how to replicate it. For example, read this person’s experiences with Linux. While a bit exaggerated, the name “Super Forum Guy” pretty much sums up what I am talking about. Creating a mass of users who rely on the “Super Forum Guy” whenever they need help is not what we want, nor does it make a good name for Ubuntu. (“Yeah, it works really well, except when it doesn’t and you have to ask some geek for help.”)
What is the right way to help someone out, then? Provide step-by-step directions for navigating the graphical interface and avoid terminal commands whenever possible. Yes, this takes longer than typing up a quick command, but, in the long run, it is the best way to help a new Ubuntu user.
The Proper and Improper Use of Versions
Engadget recently found a supposed screenshot of the Windows 7 installer, offering the choice of Windows 7 Ultimate, Business, Home Premium, Home Basic, or Starter. (Presumably this is a screenshot from a build after the public beta, since I didn’t see this there.) I really hope this is a bad joke, not a real plan to have SIX versions of Windows 7, not including Server and Home Server. Regardless of this screenshot’s legitimacy, I think it is important that we think about when multiple versions make sense and when they don’t, so that open-source projects don’t fall down the same hole that Windows has.
As far as I am concerned, the only case where it is acceptable to have multiple versions of the same software is when the use of that software is significantly different and disconnected from other uses. For example, if you want to make a version with a custom interface for netbooks in addition to a desktop edition, that makes sense, because you use a netbook in a fundamentally different way than you use a normal computer. Likewise, a server version of your software is also very logical, since you use a server in a completely different way than you use a desktop or a netbook.
Where it doesn’t make sense to have multiple versions is when you are just checking the box for which features to include. Having multiple desktop versions for home users, for example, doesn’t make much sense, since all you are doing is confusing the user. I should be clear, however, that I consider Kubuntu, Ubuntu, and Xubuntu completely different pieces of software and not versions of each other, since they offer a completely different user experience.
This leaves one big question: what about a specific version for enterprise desktops? On one hand, the enterprise and home desktops have basically the same interface. On the other hand, enterprise users and home users often have different uses for their computers. If your enterprise version is different at a base level (i.e. a significantly different kernel), it makes sense to make it a separate version. If it is really just a few user-level features you changed, there is no reason to make it more than a checkbox at the time of installation.
In other words, use versions where you need them, but avoid them anywhere you can. It isn’t that hard.
Three Little Utilities That Make a Big Difference
One of the things that I love about being a Linux user is that there are tons of incredibly useful little tools. These are three of the “killer apps” I use that may seem like a generic tool, but are really amazing in some way:
Conduit - conduit-project.org
There are tons of file synchronization applications for Linux, but Conduit really stands out. For starters, Conduit is really simple. You just drag in data providers as either sources (sending data out) or sinks (receiving data) and connect them however you wish. The interface is split in to different syncing groups, so you can easily manage as many different syncing jobs as you need to. Another thing that really makes Conduit stand out, though, is its ability to transfer information from a wide variety of sources. Not only can you sync files and folders, you can also sync various Google services, SmugMug, Tomboy notes, and other applications and websites. The only way these less-traditional data providers differ from files and folders is that it is often only possible to sync in one direction. For example, Conduit can pull information from Google Documents, but not upload information to it. On more and more data providers, however, this is not an issue.
While Conduit is little more than a simple data synchronization tool, its ability to get and send your data to a vast number of places and its simplicity combine to make Conduit a great choice if you need some quick synchronization.
(Conduit is designed for GNOME, KDE users may need to look elsewhere. Ubuntu users can find Conduit in the repositories.)
VNStat – humdi.net/vnstat
When Comcast decided to implement a bandwidth cap, I had to find Bandwidth monitoring software for Linux, Windows, and OS X. After that nightmare, I think I can now say that I know something about bandwidth monitoring. OS X has, by far, the best GUI stand-alone bandwidth monitor in the form of Surplus Meter, but my favorite of all the bandwidth monitors I tried was definitely VNstat, a Linux-only CLI utility. Setup is a little more complicated than others, but once it’s running, it is great. Just type in vnstat -m to see how much bandwidth you have used each month. Likewise, -d gives you a daily overview and -h gives you a very in depth hourly overview. I really try to avoid unnecessary use of the terminal, but I really prefer VNstat to any other equivalent application that is available for any platform.
(Ubuntu users can find VNStat in the repositories (only through Synaptic).)
GEdit – projects.gnome.org/gedit
Almost every operating system includes a text editor of some sort. On Windows it is just a text editor with one feature: word wrap. In true Apple form, OS X tacked on some editing features so that users of word processing software will feel at home. (The point of a basic text editor, as far as I am concerned, is not to have formatting.) Still, it is better than what Windows includes. In true Linux form, GEdit is, in addition to being a simple text editor, a powerful, tabbed code editor. If you have to work with code, no matter if it is HTML or C++, you might want to just forget about an IDE and use GEdit. With support for tabs, syntax highlighting, and a great plugin system to add whatever you want to it, GEdit really is an incredible text editor.
(Almost all GNOME-based distributions include GEdit. KDE users should probably look elsewhere.)
Microsoft Deserves Some Credit for Reaching Out to Moonlight
Whatever you might want to say about Microsoft calling Silverlight “crossplatform” and not making a version for Linux, you have to give them credit for what they did leading up to Obama’s inauguraiton.
Basically, they worked with Novell to improve Moonlight, an open-source implementation of Silverlight for Linux, to the point where Linux users could watch the inauguration. While I was away from my own computer during the inauguraiton and had to suffer through an audio stream from Fox poorly synced with a jerky video stream from CNN, commenters appear to be reporting that everything worked just fine in the end for Linux users. We should give a lot of credit to Microsoft for caring that all operating systems were compatible with the live stream.
Ultimately, though, it was the right thing to do not just because of the good PR, but also for the Silverlight standard. Standards are standard because they are well-supported by the major players. Even if Linux can’t compare to Windows in market share numbers, Silverlight has a much better chance if it is well supported on Linux. If Microsoft chooses to do this by supporting an open implementation of Silverlight, that is even better.
It is really impressive and, quite frankly, suprising that Microsoft went to the effort of supporting an open-source implementation of their standard. This is certainly a move in the right direction for Microsoft.
Something few people seem to realize when they “compare” Windows and Ubuntu is that they are using a computer that was designed and built for Windows, not Ubuntu. Taken to an extreme, this would be like installing OS X on a Dell and saying that it is worse than Windows and recommending people not buy Macs.
Part of the reason why no one realizes that this makes for an unfair comparison is that, thanks to Ubuntu’s hardware support, every thing works – usually. When it doesn’t, though, or when they have to install a driver, the reviewer usually complains about Ubuntu being difficult to use. All of this would have been done for you if you had bought a computer with Ubuntu in the first place.
The problem is that it is almost impossible to make people realize the comparison they are making. There is one good way, though: warn about unknown/incompatible software. I propose an additional screen early in the Ubuntu installer and the Wubi installer that rates its confidence that Ubuntu will run on your hardware between known not to work and extremely confident.
If someone tried to install Ubuntu on a model of computer that Ubuntu has been extensively tested on, the installer would report that it is extremely confident Ubuntu will run well on their system. If all the components are known to work with Ubuntu, but that specific combination had never been tested, the installer would report being confident. If a large amount of the hardware was unknown or known not to work with Ubuntu, the installer would return that it was unsure or that the system was known not to work, respectively.
This rating would not have any effect on a user’s ability to install Ubuntu (if the system was rated “known not to be compatible,” there might be one confirmation screen), but it would let people know in advance if their computer’s hardware is supported. If people still experience hardware compatibility issues, then that would indicate that there was a real issue.
This system would not intrude on most users at all, but would help alert people of issues in cases where their hardware is unlikely to work.