Modify Colors
Posts in Summary
Forty-some responses (they got split up) and nearly a month after initially asking for your Linux dreams, it is time to look at the most popular dreams made in 2008 for 2009.
Let me once again clarify: these are not meant to be realistic or probable. They are simply dreams. Every time I ask for dream submissions or discuss the top dreams, someone, invariably, has to point out that one of them is totally unrealistic. You have been warned. 
And now, the most popular dreams for Linux are…
- More Games! What were you expecting?
- Better Hardware Support Seriously, what were you expecting?
- More Software for Linux. Now that’s a shocker. Amazingly, the top request was Adobe software. Never heard that before. (</sarcasm>)
- and finally… More Adoption of Linux Wow. Didn’t see that coming.
OK. So thre was nothing suprising on that list, but I think that makes a point. The most wanted things for Linux aren’t crazy, strange features, but simple compatibility issues. Really everything on this list comes down to the last one: more adoption of Linux. If more people adopted Linux there would be more software, better hardware support, and more games. The basic lesson here is that bringing more people to Linux matters and that the way to do that is to make Linux more user friendly and generally better. Those are not criticisms, just goals that every operating system should always strive for.
How To/Roundup: Widgets on Ubuntu
Windows Vista has gadgets, Mac OS X has widgets, KDE users have plasmoids, but what if you’re an Ubuntu user? Don’t worry, you have a number of opinions, you just have to install them yourself.
gDesklets - Project Website
The first option I looked at was gDesklets. For Ubuntu users, they are available from the standard repositories, so head over to Add/Remove and search for “gdesklets.” After installing gDesklets, you will want to add the command “gdesklets shell” to your session (System > Preferences > Sessions > Add). Now either restart your computer or open them once manually by going to Applications > Accessories > gDesklets. This will bring up the “shell,” from which you can add widgets. A huge number can be installed just by navigating through the sidebar at the right or you can look on the gDesklets site. You can install downloaded widgets by going to File > Install Package.
In order to bring widgets to the front of your applications you can (by default) press Shift + F12. If Compiz Fusion is not enabled, there is a box around widget of the desktop background that looks really ugly. Turn Compiz Fusion on and it looks right.
Screenlets - Project Website
Screenlets, like gDesklets, can be installed through Add/Remove if your on Intrepid. If your still using Hardy Heron, it is still in the repositories, but you have to go to Synaptic. To make it start up when you boot, launch Screenlets from either Applications > Accessories > Screenlets (usually Intrepid) or System > Preferences > Screenlets (usually Hardy), then check the box saying “Auto start on login.” From this same window, you can add the widgets that come with Screenlets. You can also download them from the Screenlets site. Then just click the install button and select the package. You should also be able to install Google Gadgets with Screenlets, although I have not tested this.
If you want to be able to bring your widgets to the front, you can follow this guide which uses a Compiz Fusion plugin.
Conclusion
These two options are quite similar in many ways.and there are also other options avaliable, but these seem to be the most common. For me, I am going to stick to Screenlets, since it has a nicer interface and the Compiz Fusion widget layer integration is really nice. In the end, though, it is really up to personal choice. Since neither is difficult to install, I recommend you try out both before settling on whichever one suits your needs best. Now, off to find some more widgets!
The First Three Netbooks To Consider
Wading through the numerous netbooks available today can be challenging, so you might want to at least start with this list of the first three netbooks to consider. There are selected because they have all been fairly well received and, more importantly, all have some feature that distinguishes them from the crowd. As a disclaimer, I have not touched any of these, except for the the HP MiniNote.
Asus Eee PC - This one is obvious. The Eee PC is really the original netbook. It is really targeted at casual web surfing and those sorts of things. There are a number of netbooks in this category, but this one stands out as the original and still one of the best.
HP MiniNote – The MiniNote takes the whole netbook thing a different direction. The high resolution screen (which looks great), the standard hard drive, the large keyboard, and the plentiful RAM available makes this almost more of a very small laptop than a netbook.
Dell’s Inspiron Mini - Unlike the other two, what sets the Inspiron Mini apart from the others is the software. Forget some tiny version of the standard interface or the locked-down icon view, this thing has Ubuntu Netbook Remix.
Online Word Processors Worth A Try
If you a looking for an alternative to OpenOffice, web applications are becoming an extremely good option. Of course. Most people know about Google Docs, but there are many other alternatives. In order to help you narrow your search, below is a list of some of your options as well as a short description.
- Google Docs – Most people probably already know about this, but I just have to mention it. This is pretty much the standard for online word processors, and it is what I use. The interface is the standard minimalist Google design and, of course, it exports to all sorts of formats, including Microsoft Word (.doc, not .docx) and HTML. Not surprisingly, Google Docs supports Google Gears, allowing you to do your word processing offline.
- Adobe Buzzword – Now part of Acrobat.com, Buzzword is another very well known one. I would say the main difference between Google Docs and Buzzword is that Buzzword’s interface feels much richer and more visually interesting. The formatting options for Buzzword are also quite extensive. Finally, the change tracking is great, allowing you to easy revert back to just about any point in time.
- Zoho Writer – Zoho Writer is something of a mix between Buzzword and Google Docs. It has elements of Google’s minimalist style, while also having many of the formatting options of Buzzword. It also lets you have tabs with a document in each tab and supports Google Gears.
- Peepel – Peepel’s interface has two interesting aspects to it. First, it gives you windows inside of your browser window. This means you can open up multiple documents or open up a web browser (don’t ask me why you would use a web browser to open a web browser) or a calculator. Personally, I am not a fan of this, but you might disagree. The second interesting aspect of it is that it mimics Microsoft Office 2007. Now, I do think that the Office 2007 interface is nice, but Peepel lacks the only feature of Office that I think is really cool – the ability to highlight text and have instant access to basic formatting. Still, if you are familiar with Office 2007, you might want to give this one a try.
- WriteBoard – WriteBoard is really different from other online editors. You create a board and then insert some text. Formatting options appear to be very limited and there are no buttons to apply them. Instead, you do something like this to make text bold: *text*. The idea is sort of an online whiteboard for a few people to collaborate on. This is probably not your best option for day to day tasks, but I can certainly see this coming in handy in the occasional situation.
Hopefully this will give you some new web applications to try, and you might just like one of them more than what you have now.
Top 4 New Feature Proposed for Fedora 10
Since I have been writing about Ubuntu a lot recently, I thought I would look at some proposed features for Fedora 10. No features have been officially approved yet, so these are just proposals.
- Web-Based Software Portal - Somewhat similar to CNR or Linux Mint, it looks like Fedora might have a website users could visit and search for software on. To install the software, they would presumably download a small file that tells a special program how to install the program.
Wiki Page - Live CD Without the CD – Instead of creating a program like Wubi to let you do a special partitioning-free installation from Windows, the plan here is to make a Windows program that essentially lets you run the live CD straight from the ISO image on your hard drive.
Wiki Page - Improved Support for Fingerprint Readers – This means not only supporting the hardware, but also making it easy to use a recognized fingerprint reader as a primary (instead of a password) or secondary (in addition to a password) form of authentication.
Wiki Page - Fedora Lite – Similar to how Ubuntu has Xubuntu, a variant designed for older computers, Fedora could create “Fedora Lite,” a version of Fedora for older/less powerful computers.
Wiki Page
Obviously, there is no guarantee that these features will be part of Fedora 10, but if they are, it looks like it could be an incredible release, particularly for new users.
Interesting Early Artwork for Intrepid Ibex
With Intrepid Ibex Alpha 1 out the door, I decided to take an early look at some of the cool new proposed artwork for Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex. Obviously, the artwork out now is likely to change a lot, but it is still interesting.
“Clear”
This theme very much maintains the current brown-orange theme, even making it a little darker, but manages to make it look really smooth with the gradients. Paired with a new background, this could be a real candidate for a final theme. My only concern is that it could be too dark and, therefore, unappealing to some people.
“Sunny Ibex”
Going for a much lighter feel and nicely incorporating the Ibex, this background could appeal to those who dislike brown. In fact, this might be a great choice as a color base, because of its lighter feel.
Wiki Page (scroll down some)
“Kith Intrepid”
Another theme that looks like a potential candidate for the final release, although this theme goes for a lighter, more orange look, which could be a plus or a minus, depending on your tastes.
“MadsRH”
This is certainly an interesting and new idea for the boot up process. I do not know how difficult this would be to implement, but it would be cool.
Wiki Page (scroll down some)
“Everything Moves”
This last idea has no images to show off, but it still attracted my attention. To quote from the description:
“the ultimate aim being that whenever a user passes a mouse over any icon or a window bar or clicks or minimizes or maximizes a window or opens a menu there is a number of different rapid responses, colorful little glows everywhere whenever something is done, nice little sparkles or ripples when an icon is added to a desktop”
This sort of eyecandy would not be too intrusive or annoying, but would be incredibly cool.
I hope this quick preview of some of the possible artwork for Intrepid Ibex has been interesting. Hopefully the final artwork will be even cooler!
A Smart Feature of Ubuntu You May Not Have Noticed
This weekend I discovered a feature of Ubuntu that I think is so interesting is has to be posted here. I am sure most of you are familiar with the orange spiky blob that appears to tell you there are updates available. Over this weekend, a different icon appeared in place of the blob – a bright red down-arrow with an exclamation point in the middle. This icon indicates important updates, mostly security-related.
So why is this such a great idea? After all, it is just an icon. What is big deal?
Ubuntu, and most Linux distributions, don’t try and force you to let your computer automatically install updates. This makes sense, because, generally speaking, Linux users want more choice and are tech-savvy enough to remember to do the updates on their own, with a little reminding from an orange spiky blob of course. This means, however, that when a less tech-savvy user starts running Ubuntu on their desktop, they might miss important updates. At least they might if the red icon did not exist.
The orange blob blends into the interface well and is so often up there that it is easy to ignore if you don’t look for it. The red exclamation icon is far less easy to ignore for three reasons. First, it does not blend into the interface as well as orange does, making it easier to spot. Second, it rarely appears, making its appearance even more noticable. And third, people link the color red with danger. For these three reasons, even someone who misses the normal updates will at least see the most important updates, keeping them at least fairly safe.
With the gPC, the Shuttle PC, and now the new Mirus PC (Linspire/Freespire PC,) the market for $200 Linux desktops seems to be getting filled up with a lot of something-PCs that all seem about the same at first glance. When you look carefully at the specs and the marketing behind each PC, though, you can see the niche it is targeting. Lets start by looking at the basic specifications for each product:
Mirus PC
Processor: Intel Celeron D 420 1.6Ghz
RAM: 1GB
Hard Drive: 80GB
Optical Drive: CD-RW
Accessories: Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers
gPC
Processor: VIA C7-D 1.5Ghz
RAM: 512 MB
Hard Drive: 80GB
Optical Drive: CD-RW
Accessories: Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers
Shuttle PC
Processor: Intel Celeron Something
RAM: 512GB
Hard Drive: 60GB (Shuttle told News.com 60GB or 80GB which I suspect means that 80GB will be an option that costs more.)
Optical Drive: None
Accessories: None
So what is each one the best for? The Shuttle is great for someone who cares about the appearance of their computers. It is a very small form factor PC and it looks very simple, clean, and generally well polished. Unfortunately, the specs are not so great. The lack of an optical drive in particular could be a big problem the next time you want to, well, do anything with a CD. In terms on raw power, the Mirus PC wins with its 1GB of RAM. The gPC is in the middle in terms of the specifications, but it advertises itself as the “green PC,” showing off the VIA processor and other unusual hardware. As a summary:
The Shuttle looks the best, but lacks in hardware, the gPC advertises itself to the eco-conscious, and the Mirus wins in the performance category.
As we near the end of the year, The DistRogue has already posted their summary of the major news this year for each of the major distros, but the post does not cover the big overall Linux news stories. So I thought I would cover a few of the big things that have happened for Linux as a whole.
Perhaps the most interesting things to happen this year has been the amazing number of low-cost, and very successful, Linux PCs. I already wrote a lot about it here, but basically it seems like the trend is for consumers to want PCs where for some reason fancy hardware is not possible, making Linux the only good choice due to Vista’s high requirements.
Another related story, although much older, is Dell beginning to sell computers with Ubuntu. In addition, Dell has continued to show support for open-source software by beginning to sell Ubuntu and other Linux OSs in other countries.
Although this is not strictly Linux news, and for that reason I have not covered it here before, Vista, which was released earlier this year, received mediocre reviews, and caused many people to consider alternative OSs to Vista.
I am sure I missed some important news stories, so post whatever you think the most important stories have been in the comments.