The Linux Newbie

Security Concerns In Linux

2006-09-06T13:32:00.000-05:00

Part of the reason I am switching to Linux is, from what I have been told, it is superior to Microsoft Windows in the area of security. I think the reason is at least twofold.

1. People are out to get Microsoft i.e. trojans, viruses, and spyware. Of course when considering the effects of micro-evolution, this only means one thing for Microsoft: it WILL become a better OS. It is inevitable; if Microsoft wants to continue to be a viable secure OS for home and especially business use, Windows will have to continue to improve (evolve) or it will fail. Failure does not make money, therefore Microsoft will spend money to make a better piece of software, bottom line. Moreover, the reverse implication to Linux is true. People are NOT out to get Linux. There are no trojans, viruses and spyware to speak of in the Linux world.

2. The second reason why I believe Linux is superior to Microsoft Windows in the area of security is due to two things. First, there are so many distributions available it makes it difficult for someone with malicious intent to target a large populace because the user base is distributed over different types of Linux OSs. Second, Linux is Open Source. You would have to have many (many) people involved, from different backgrounds, cultures, values, countries, languages to "hide" a security hole in Linux. Even the most paranoid conspiracy theorist would have a hard time developing a theory about "those behind the Linux MACHINE".

As I contemplated these strengths in Linux, I realized something: these strengths are due to the environment in which Linux exists and not something that is necessarily inherent in the actual operating system itself. In other words, if the situation was reversed, if Linux was the major operating system everyone was after, would it stand up to the malicious users as well as Microsoft Windows? I think this is a question worth a serious answer. This is a question to which that I cannot even venture a guess, since I am still brand new to Linux. (Anyone... Anyone... Bueller... Bueller...)

Some would argue that the built-in firewall should be examined when comparing any Linux distribution to Microsoft Windows. I would agree that the default firewall in Microsoft Windows is a poor excuse for a firewall compared to IPTables, BUT third-party firewalls, from what I see, are BETTER than IPTables. Here is why.

Application Control.

I am a user of Outpost Firewall. It is a 3rd-party software firewall developed specifically for Microsoft Windows. I am not here to pitch this software, but I believe in it; that's why I bought it. When you install Outpost, there are few ways you can set it up and I configured it in the most paranoid way possible. ;P This piece of software monitors ALL the network activity coming from my computer, and it allows NOTHING to access even my router unless I say OK. There are automatic settings but I configure everything manually. I can even block Outpost itself from accessing the internet (which does not effect its operation except for updates). I keep Windows XP Pro locked down pretty tight. SVCHOST does not report back to Microsoft because I locked it down to only talk to my router and deal with my DNS. (BTW, if you didn't know, Microsoft has been taking "anonymous" stats from your computer since your first installation of XP.)

All that said, I want my application control on Linux. I will be honest; I do not trust anyone I do not know personally. I like Ubuntu, and from what I can tell the organization is an honorable group. However, I do not know the internal workings of the company, and because of my lack of knowledge, I would prefer to have a little MORE knowledge of what my OS is doing. Things like: when it accesses the internet, why it does, how it does, the duration of the contact, so on and so forth.

I am still learning what IPTables can do. Perhaps packet filtering in the hands of a knowledgeable person would put my application control-based firewall to shame. But I don't know. I like that I can watch what my computer is doing through Outpost. Honesty, Outpost is the ONLY reason I still use my Windows partition. (Well, that and the multitude of games I have.) Maybe someone who reads this article could point me in the right direction. I have read up on IPTables to a degree, tried Firestarter and Guarddog, but in the end uninstalled them. I'm happy behind my stealthy Linksys router without any firewall configured, for now.

Let the critics come,
The Linux Newbie

Installing Software on Ubuntu Linux

2006-08-25T02:10:00.000-05:00

Click Here for the fullsized version.

How to Pick a Linux Distro: LiveCD Edition

2006-08-21T22:50:00.000-05:00

I will admit that one of my favorite features of certain Linux distributions is the Live CD capability. I was captivated as I searched around the net and found many distros including this feature as a separate download or actually integrated into the install CD. My very first Live CD was Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper, and I was impressed. It recognized every piece of hardware I had except for my wireless card, and as the Desktop came into view, a very nice "tinkly-strings" sound introduced me to the Ubuntu world. I was hooked! Sure, it took extra time to load programs, but I could play around with a variety of new and intriguing things. I would highly, highly recommend anyone thinking about Linux to make downloading a LiveCD a priority.

As a way of making the choice easier you can go to Zegenie Studio's test, and make sure you select the Live CD option when given the choice, and it will probably give you choices, primarily from the Ubuntu line of distros. However, as I have skipped around web, I have discovered numerous choices beyond Ubuntu that are top quality Linux distributions.

Here is a list of pros and cons, as I see it, from 11 of the more popular Linux distros. (No, this list is not exhaustive, nor shall it ever be. I hear that every 7 seconds, there is a new Linux distro created somewhere in the world!)

The Test Subject:

Compaq Presario R3038CL
2.8ghz Processor
CD/DVD Drive (Toshiba DVD-ROM SD-R2512)
1280x800 Screen Resolution
1.25 Gigabytes of RAM
Wireless USB Mouse
ADI 1981B Audio <-- I guess this is my sound card?
512MB Sandisk Cruzer Mini USB Drive

Some Subjectively Objective Tests:
I thought I would give some "benchmarks" to give an idea of the LiveCD performance.

Boot time is pretty self-explanatory. I timed from the point the LiveCD started loading until I saw either a desktop, a login menu, or a setup screen.
With Hardware detection, it is VERY important to note that if this test included a Microsoft Windows LiveCD, it would utterly fail to detect much hardware at all. The vast majority of Linux distributions put Microsoft Windows to shame in the hardware detection area.
Lastly, Some Programs were tested for startup time. Not every distro has the same applications, but I tried to pick more recognizable apps for someone coming from Microsoft Windows.
I used Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" MP3 to test-drive the media player.
None of these distributions recognized my Wifi card. #&%$ Broadcom!

(No, these are not perfect scientific benchmarks but it gives you some idea of the load times for a general comparison.)

The Players: (Click for review)

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Damn Small Linux 3.0.1 | Features | Screenshots
Load Time:

75 secs

Hardware Detection:

It did not seem to recognize my USB drive (or at least I couldn't access it)
It detected my wireless mouse, but this "Workspace" context menu kept following my cursor around. I figured it wanted me to click it so I did, but it wasn't satisfied. It kept coming back and never went away! I rebooted just using the touch pad on the Compaq, and it was all fine.

GUI:

Fluxbox - simple and fast

Some Programs:

Firefox loaded in 7 seconds.
Ted (Text EDitor) I think it loaded before I let my mouse button up!

Installer:

There is no installer per se. Damn Small Linux is meant to be used on the run, not installed permanently on a hard drive.

Pros:

Fast
Low memory footprint
Damn Small
Nice, simple suite of functional programs

Cons:

Did not detect my native screen resolution (1280x800).
Not intuitive for someone new to Linux.
Mouse Problems.
No USB detection that I could find.
Could not access Microsoft Windows drive.

Newbie Rating:

3 out of 5 Newbies

If you are a semi-experienced Linux (or a Fluxbox) user, DSL may seem intuitive, but other than clicking on icons, there was not much I could figure out. I used my mad command-line skills, which consisted of "cd"ing and "dir"ing all over the place! (In other words, I just looked in some directories...) I'm sure the power of DSL is completely untapped by my deficient Linux skills. However, on the bright side, WOW 48 megs! Though it didn't make much sense to me, I respect DSL for being a damn small OS that is very functional and fast.

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Freespire 1.0.13 | Features | Screenshots
Load Time:

230 secs

Hardware Detection:

Everything was detected except for my native screen resolution (1280x800).

GUI:

A very "Freespired" version KDE

Some Programs:

Firefox loaded in 20 seconds.
OpenOffice Writer loaded in 35 seconds.

Installer:

You cannot access the installer from the LiveCD desktop, you can, however, boot into the installer when you first boot from the CD.

Pros:

Setup options at the beginning.
There is a “Terminate Programs” tool in the start menu. That is handy to kill apps that go awry.
Familiar folder names with “My Documents”, “My Music”, “My Pictures”, etc.

Cons:

Did not detect my native screen resolution (1280x800).
Could not access my Microsoft Windows files.
I could not boot the LiveCD with my wireless mouse on.
Urged to purchase a CNR Membership.
Gnarls Barkley "Crazy" was shaky/choppy.

Newbie Rating:

4 out of 5 Newbies

Freespire is free to download, but the distro encourages you, with blinking icons and such, to TRY CNR free for 15 days! This is not my kind of distro... 20 bucks a year for the basic service and 50 bucks for the GOLD, ooooooooo, gold. ;) However, there is a free version of CNR with a whopping 5 programs!
It is true, I'm making light of Freespire; however, I do respect a company's desire to make money. If they provide good service and it is worth the money for you, then this might be the distribution for you. As a LiveCD, it's okay, there are better ones out there.

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Gentoo 2006.0 LiveCD | Features | Screenshots
Load Time:

124 secs

Hardware Detection:

It recognized everything well except for my screen resolution (1280x800).

GUI:

Gnome

Some Programs:

Firefox loads in 8 seconds.
OpenOffice Writer loads in 29 seconds.

Installer:

This

Pros:

For "Pros" consult /dev/null.

Cons:

It did not recognize my native screen resolution (1280x800).
Could not access my Microsoft Windows drive.
It did not recognize my USB drive so I could not play my test MP3.
Poor installation help
Not Newbie friendly

Newbie Rating:

3 out of 5 Newbies

If you are not new to Linux, this might be a good option to try. All "jabs" aside, here is the section on installation for Gentoo. However, I would not recommend this to anyone wanting to make the start into Linux.

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Knoppix 4.0.2 | Features | Screenshots
Note: I tried 5.0.1 but neither the CD nor DVD would load on my laptop (or desktop for that matter). 4.0.2 is a great version and I was completely impressed. If I were able to try 5.0.1 I'm sure I would be impressed as well. If...

Load Time:

147 secs

Hardware Detection:

It detected my USB drive just fine.
Wireless mouse worked.
Did not recognize my native screen resolution (1280x800).

GUI:

Some Programs:

Firefox started up in 10 seconds.
OpenOffice Writer started in 42 seconds.

Installer:

"Knoppix is designed & intended to be used as a GNU/Linux LiveCD and not a HD installed Linux distro."

Pros:

Sound worked, "Crazy" sounded great.
Many cool programs to try out.
Microsoft Windows drive was recognized easily.

Cons:

Always hangs on restart or shutdown.
Could not get version 5.0.1 to work.
Not installable, you will have to download something else if you want to install.

Newbie Rating:

5 out of 5 Newbies

I was quite impressed with the load times for both the LiveCD and some of the programs. There are tons of different programs to try out, though many are out dated because I could only try 4.0.2.

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Kubuntu 6.06 Dapper | Features | Screenshots
Load Time:

189 secs

Hardware Detection:

It was not able to play any sound, much less MP3s.
It detected my USB drive just fine.
Wireless mouse worked.
It recognized the correct screen resolution (1280x800).

GUI:

KDE (K for KDE in Ubuntu ;)

Some Programs:

Konqueror (no Firefox) loaded in 6 seconds.
OpenOffice Writer opened in 38 seconds.

Installer:

Relatively intuitive. You need some partitioning knowledge, if you are installing on top of a Microsoft Windows you already have on the computer. (This is true of many distributions.)

Pros:

After the long initial load time, program load times seemed to be fairly quick.

Cons:

Could not read my Microsoft Windows drive.
The sound did not work at all.
There are fewer applications to try out.

Newbie Rating:

4 out of 5 Newbies

This is actually the distro I am using right now on my Dell. It was a bear to get this OS set up as I like it. It was good to learn, but it was also very frustrating to me. I would not recommend Kubuntu to someone unless I was there, hands on, to help. (And yes, I know about Automatix and EasyUbuntu, but they are not the end-all for every problem.) It is a good LiveCD, but I believe there are better.

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Mandriva One 2006 | Features | Screenshots
Load Time:

92 secs

Hardware Detection:

It detected everything great, even my screen resolution (1280x800).
It detected my USB drive just fine.
Wireless mouse worked.

GUI:

Some Programs:

Firefox loaded in 21 seconds
OpenOffice Writer loaded in 38 seconds (This is tainted because on start-up, OpenOffice asks if you would like to default to Microsoft Word format or the OpenOffice format.)

Installer:

The installer seemed very intuitive. It gives you ample warnings and helps if you are about to do something bad like erase all your data on your Microsoft Windows partition.

Pros:

Nice groovy music to get things started right!
Recognized my mouse, screen resolution (1280x800), sound, you name it!
It even played my "Crazy" MP3!
Many programs to try out.
It has preset folders in the documents that will make a converted Microsoft Windows user a little more at ease.

Cons:

Could not access my Microsoft Windows drive.

Newbie Rating:

5 out of 5 Newbies

For a newbie coming from the Microsoft Windows world, trying out a LiveCD, this is a great option! However, one drawback comes in the actual installed-distribution itself. Though Mandriva One has many free things, to get the full benefit of Mandriva (as the website says), you have to purchase a membership. The prices range from $66 a year for the standard membership, to $1320 a year for Platinum! Ouch! I better be getting a friggin' new computer in the mail once a year with that membership! If money is no object for you, and you like spending 1.3 grand on memberships, then go for it. As for me, there are fully functional FREE distros, needing no memberships that work fantastic! But hey, this is about the LiveCD...

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OpenSUSE 10.1 Live DVD | Features | Screenshots
Load Time:

210 secs

Hardware Detection:

It detected everything great, except my screen resolution (1280x800).
It detected my USB drive just fine.
Wireless mouse worked.
Could not get sound to work.

GUI:

KDE
Gnome
Very nice that it includes both.

Some Programs:

Firefox came up in 30 seconds. (20 secs till page load, which could have been caused by a lag in my internet connection)
OpenOffice Writer loaded in 33 seconds

Installer:

The installer comes on a separate disk that you must download.

Pros:

DVD - Lots of applications to try out.
Can try both KDE and Gnome GUI.

Cons:

Did not recognize native screen resolution (1280x800).
Permission denied to access my Microsoft Windows drive.
Must download separate installer. (5 cd's, 1 DVD, or net install)
Sound would not work, sorry Gnarls.

Newbie Rating:

5 out of 5 Newbies

Other than the sound issue, I was very impressed with this LiveDVD. I thought programs might load slower, but overall they loaded normally. For the number of applications to try, I like this version a great deal. However, if you lack sound as well, you will miss part of the Linux experience.

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PCLinuxOS .92 | Features | Screenshots

Note: You may ask, "Why didn't you try .93a Junior or Minime?" Well, I did, but both froze on both versions no matter how I tried to run it. The MD5sum even came out fine, but I could not install it on either my laptop or desktop. So I used .92 and it worked great! Here's the stats.

Load Time:

111 secs

Hardware Detection:

Everything detected fine, except it did not detect my native screen resolution (1280x800).
It detected my USB drive just fine.
Wireless mouse worked.

GUI:

Some Programs:

Firefox loaded in 16 seconds.
Kword (No OpenOffice) loaded in 10 seconds.

Installer:

The installer seemed pretty straightforward, though it did not seem as easy to me as the Ubuntu line or Mandriva One.

Pros:

MP3 support. It played my Gnarls Barkley MP3 easily.
It mounted my Microsoft Windows drive easily (through Storage Media). I could access everything.

Cons:

Did not detect my native screen resolution (1280x800).
PCLinuxOS.93a Junior or Minime did not work for me.

Newbie Rating:

5 out of 5 Newbies

You cannot download .92 from the main site (as far as I could tell) so here is a link if you want to try .92. I think that this is one of the better LiveCDs for trying Linux out. It is similar to Microsoft Windows so you are not feeling too out of place. If you decide to try this distribution out, know that when you get to the login screen it is not clear what your username and password should be: It's "guest" and "guest".

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Slax Standard Edition 5.1.7b | Features | Screenshots
Load Time:

181 Seconds

Hardware Detection:

Detected everything except for my screen resolution (1280x800).
It detected my USB drive just fine.
Wireless mouse worked.
My MP3 played, but not well.

GUI:

Some Programs:

Konqueror (No Firefox) loaded in 9 seconds.
Kword (No OpenOffice) loaded in 10 seconds.

Installer:

There is no installer per-se. This is intended to be a LiveCD only. As a matter of fact, they suggest this, "If you really wish to install something, install Slackware, it's far better!" (Slax is based on Slackware.)

Pros:

It's one of the smaller downloads, which is nice if you are short on time or patience.

Cons:

This is for LiveCD purposes only. If you wanted to try out Linux in order to install, you would have to download a different distribution.

Newbie Rating:

4 out of 5 Newbies

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Ubuntu 6.06.1 Dapper | Features | Screenshots
Load Time:

180 secs

Hardware Detection:

Can play Ogg Vorbis files, will not play MP3s.
It detected my USB drive just fine.
Wireless mouse worked.
It recognized the correct screen resolution.

GUI:

Gnome

Some Programs:

Firefox loaded in 14 seconds.
OpenOffice Writer loaded in 39 seconds.

Installer:

Relatively intuitive. You need some partitioning knowledge, if you are installing on top of a Microsoft Windows you already have on the computer. (This is true of other installers as well.)

Pros:

Nice layout. Personally, I like the brown layout; it is a refreshing look to me.
Ubuntu Gnome desktop is growing on me. It is simple fast and efficient and very versatile.
Recognized native screen resolution (1280x800)

Cons:

Cannot access Microsoft Windows drive.
Cannot play "Crazy" MP3. (Cannot play MP3s)

Newbie Rating:

5 out of 5 Newbies

If you want to try something from the Ubuntu series, I would definitely recommend this over Kubuntu and Xubuntu. It is well developed and highlights the Ubuntu line well.

Top ^

Xubuntu 6.06 Dapper | Features | Screenshots
Load Time:

151 secs

Hardware Detection:

It detected my USB drive just fine.
Wireless mouse worked.
Recognized my native screen resolution (1280x800).

GUI:

Xfce

Some Programs:

Firefox started up in 14 seconds.
Abiword (No OpenOffice) started in 28 seconds.

Installer:

Same basic installer as Ubuntu and Kubuntu. It's nice, simple and to the point.

Pros:

Clean interface.
Low memory footprint.
Showcases Xfce
Recognized native screen resolution.

Cons:

Could not play MP3.
Could not access Microsoft Windows drive.
GUI not as powerful as Gnome or KDE.

Newbie Rating:

4 out of 5 Newbies

This is Ubuntu with Xfce, which is nice because it runs with a lower memory footprint. It still is not a slimmed down as DSL, but has a nice balance.

(And yes, I have an uncontrollable urge to download stuff...)

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So How Do You Choose the Right One?
So how does one choose the "right" LiveCD? Some would say it is a matter of personal taste, and to a degree, they are right. Many of these distributions offer similar programs and a similar interface. However, I do believe that some distributions are better than others. If you do not agree with my conclusion, that's fine, there are more to try and definitely more LiveCDs than those I listed here.

I do have a recommendation for a LiveCD as a newbie. Because of its "intuitivity" and its hardware recognition, I would recommend Mandriva One 2006. It did everything I wanted in a LiveCD and more. For a Microsoft Windows user trying out Linux, it seems the easiest "cross-over". Lastly, there are ample programs to try to give any newbie a feel for what Linux is like.

I do, however, have a secondary recommendation. It was a close match for second between Knoppix and OpenSUSE. I recommend Knoppix over OpenSUSE because it is a smaller download with nearly as many programs (if not equal or more, I didn't count). With the number of programs to try, it will give anyone new to Linux an even better idea of the functionality and versatility of Open-Source software. Though I was not able to install the latest version of Knoppix, it is a well-known name in the Linux world and will probably work on your computer. In addition, if you are curious and want to try a GUI other than KDE, I would recommend Ubuntu. The idea of change can be scary, but it is definitely worth a try. You can at least say you gave it a run!

Go ahead and take the Zegenie Studio's test, Google "LiveCD" and check out all the sites, or look through Distrowatch.com. If you see something I did not pick, read up on it, find more info on it at Wikipedia and Distrowatch, and take a look at the screenshots from OSDir. It will save you time and bandwidth, and you might even learn something you didn't know! It is totally worth your time to give Linux a try. It is superior to Microsoft Windows in many ways, and as each distro develops, Linux could perhaps surpass Microsoft Windows in compatibility and user-friendliness.

Until next time,
The Linux Newbie

Why I Almost Quit Linux: Kmail

2006-08-19T12:08:00.000-05:00

So you're thinking, "Why would you want to quit using a whole operating system because of ONE program. I mean there are other good e-mail programs out there you can use." Right... but when you are SO frustrated with ONE program you start to question why you even tried to make the change in the first place! I still have Windows on my computer. Why am I wasting my time with this damn program? What is the advantage?

I had to re-center myself, take a deep breath, and re-think why I was trying to use Linux. What is more frustrating, the fact that my Windows machine tries to send stats to Microsoft from my svchost (blocked by ye 'ol FIREWALL) or that I can't back-up a damn thing in Kmail. (More on that later) The answer is simple, I AM sick and tired of Windows "owning" my computer. I want it back NOW.

After a few door slams, some deep breaths, and my morning cup of coffee, I felt better. With the overwhelming sense of self-preservation, or in this case computer-preservation, I decided to stick to my guns. So what if I lose some of my e-mails? They really weren't that important, not compared to the invasiveness of Microsoft.

"So why all the frustration, and why did you almost cave," you may ask? Kmail. Damn Kmail.

(From here to the end is a rant, if you cannot stomach it, move on.)

I have been using Kubuntu for a few weeks now on my desktop. I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience using Kontact and Kmail until yesterday. One of the problems I have with Kubuntu, is there is no obvious way to cause my desktop to go into Standby or Hibernate. There could be some way of doing that, downloading something, altering some file somewhere, but I didn't want to mess with that. I have been reviewing LiveCD's (coming soon) and noticed that OpenSUSE has the capability for standby or hibernate, so I thought, "Hey I will just redo and install SUSE. I've been wanting to try it anyways."

All I needed to do was copy some files to my thumbdrive and BACKUP MY KMAIL. The first was easy, straightforward, and painless. The second, not so much. I looked online for "backup kmail" and thankfully there were many sites on this subject. Ah, it looked simple enough, copy the kmail folder, some config file, and something else ~/Mail, which I couldn't find. But I looked in my kmail folder and sure enough there was all my mail stuff.
*Right-click, copy, finds thumbdrive, PASTE*
Wha... can't write to what? Ok.
*skip, skip, skip, replace*
Nada. Crap! And so I couldn't copy my kmail file to my thumbdrive by use of normal GUI means.

Perhaps it's a user limitation problem, so I thought. I cracked my fingers and got them loose... we're going into COMMAND PROMPT MODE. Being the deft typist I am, I moved quickly to the folder with the kmail file and proceeded to sudo copy it. Something went horribly wrong, I really don't know what it was, but the end result was that nothing was copied. So maybe I can sudo move it. YES! That worked! But now what? Let's go over to my thumbdrive to see what was there. Nothing. Nothing at all. So where they hell did my kmail folder go? I was in a bit of a panic now. Whew! There it was in /media/usbdrive? Don't ask. So I moved it back, then thought, "How 'bout I just back it up with K3B?" That worked. However, to check the backup, I copied the folder from the CD to the original kmail spot to see if my Kmail program recognized it now (before I reformatted). Nothing but errors. *suppresses urge to break something* Let's try...

This went on longer than I would care to share. In the end, I went to the Thunderbird FAQ on moving from Kmail to Thunderbird. I went through those steps and backed-up that way. I have yet to re-install and if I find that back-up method did not do the trick, I've resolved to cut my loses and move on. Honestly, being a glutton for punishment, I might go back to Kmail when it's all said and done but that remains to be seen. I mean, I like the features what can I say. (Except for the DAMN backup.)

So now all is okay, except my OpenSUSE DVD is corrupt or something, so I am presently re-downloading everything. I have had a very frustrating morning, but that inner instinct to give Microsoft the bird has persevered.

Linux is Increasing In Popularity

2006-08-18T01:58:00.000-05:00

I was encouraged today to read a story about the increasing popularity of Linux. I am a Kubuntu user as well as a Microsoft Windows user. I have been dual-booting for a month and a half and am trying to use Linux exclusively now. I still like my Ghost Recon and America's Army, so I will go over for Xfire and my games. Otherwise, I am here, learning Linux.

It has been refreshing, call it an awakening even, for me to get out of the Microsoft mold. It is difficult for me, using Windows for 10 years, to even learn about a new OS. Though it has certainly been rewarding. I have no delusions about the future of Linux. It still has an uphill climb, at least in the US, to become as well-used and well-known as Windows. My mark for success, though subjective, would be if I saw a run-of-the-mill video game carried in Wal-Mart that you could simply install on Linux. (Ahem... no Cedega) I guess if you could pick a Linux distro when ordering your Dell would be a measure of success as well.

One of the main reasons I am encouraged by this story is that I am tired of the Microsoft monopoly. Sure, it may not be legally termed a monopoly (in the US) but the mighty hold of Microsoft on the unassuming lives of Joe and Jane Average computer user is staggering. It seems at times that our entire computer infrastructure would fail if Microsoft folded. Perhaps Brain from that great WB cartoon was modeled after Bill Gates in his attempt to take over the world! ;) In all seriousness, the US was built on commercial competition, and there has been little to ripple the Microsoft sea until the last few years it seems.

Even so Linux, come!

The Story: The State of the 2006 Linux Desktop

Digg it here.

"REAL" Windows Error Messages - The Truth Is Uncovered

2006-08-15T13:55:00.000-05:00

I'm a long time Windows user, so not only did I find these error messages funny, they also brush very closely to truth. (If not hit it dead on!) Enjoy.

The last one is my favorite! I think it describes Microsoft dead on!
(By the way, I do not know who made these, so to Anonymous, two thumbs up!)

"Linux to Windows Application List" with lots of cool applications!

2006-08-15T12:00:00.003-05:00

If you have being thinking about moving to Linux lately but are afraid that you will not be able to run your favorite application from Windows... your probably right. BUT, there is hope, though there are many Windows programs, there is more than likely an alternative to use in Linux.

Moreover, that Linux program is probably better. When you have many people all over the world working a particular program (as it is with Open-Source software) you have the potential to surpass the smaller pool of minds from a "corporate" program. Though an application does not come from a "corporate" program, however, that does not mean certain Linux applications are not suitable for the business world. Some of the most secure and stable software is Open Source for Linux/GNU.

Take a look at this list here.

This list gets 5/5 Newbies!
We can't hardly mess this one up! ;)

Digg it here: "Linux to Windows Application Comparison"

"Managing Users In Ubuntu" the newbie friendly way.

2006-08-14T22:33:00.000-05:00

"Managing Users in Ubuntu: A short, practical guide to user management in Ubuntu and GNU/Linux" is an excellent tutorial about managing users in Ubuntu. It is very simple and straightforward, so if you have a friend or relative that uses your computer, you can set up a user account with limitations so they don't click something they shouldn't and crash the whole computer. I believe the author Mark Rais did an excellent job using lots of screenshots and white space. (It didn't freak me out to read it! ;)

This tutorial gets 5/5 Newbies!

Enjoy!
Digg it here.

Introducing - The Newbie Scale

2006-08-12T13:37:00.000-05:00

Being a newbie myself, I have been thinking of a way to describe how easy or difficult a particular task/object is in Linux. I have come up with what I am calling "The Newbie Scale".
It is a 1-5 scale where "1 Newbie" means something is newbie unfriendly, and "5 Newbies" means something is newbie friendly. (No this is not a, "How many Newbies does it take to..." joke. ;)
In my continued quest to help Newbies in the Linux world, I believe this is next step.
Here is the scale:

1/5 Newbies = Difficult

2/5 Newbies = Moderately Difficult

3/5 Newbies = Moderate

4/5 Newbies = Moderately Easy

5/5 Newbies = Easy

See you around!

"Linux Uses Too Much Memory!" A (very) Basic Linux Memory Guide

2006-08-11T12:59:00.000-05:00

When I first installed Kubuntu, I started right-clicking on everything... I especially wanted to know how to get all the cool apps on my taskbar that I had seen in other screenshots. Upon right-clicking on my taskbar I noticed something that said "Add Applet to Panel..." That sounded real promising, so I clicked and, alas, there appeared before my eyes a virtual cornucopia of little applets for me to add and remove, WOOHOO! And, since I love watching what my system is doing, I naturally picked "System Guard" for my very first app to add.

I ooo'd and aaaawe'd as I saw the pretty graphs stream across the bottom of my screen. However, one thing I noticed, and it seemed a little disconcerting to me, was the maxed-out colors on my memory graph. It seemed that all my memory was all used up, and as I moused over the graph it did not show the memory usage numbers. I felt I was at a dead end. Moreover, I was pretty sure, from all appearances, that KDE truly was a memory hog. But I had a lead; there were these mysterious words from my "mouse-over" that I wanted to understand, so I went about seeing what I could learn.

When I moused over the memory read-out, this is what I saw:

localhost:memory/physical/cached
localhost:memory/physical/buf
localhost:memory/physical/application

I had no idea what these lines meant, so I Googled around seeing what I could learn, and found a few interesting articles. One that explained the Linux memory process very simply to me (the first part anyways) was in the Gentoo Forums (Gentoo is a Linux Distribution). Basically, here is the deal.

Your computer is using all of your memory to optimize the performance of Linux. It caches or stores pieces of applications on your memory so that when you need them, it will not have to hunt around the hard drive to find the application. Now IF you bring up a program, and your memory is "full" Linux automatically kicks some of the cache out to make room. It is a fast-as-lightening operation that does nothing but make Linux optimized and faster.

As it turns out, the biggest amount of color on my bar graph was the cache (yellow). There was a small "thread" of red that was my buffer, and finally the blue section at the bottom was what my applications were actually using. Whew, I'm relieved now.

Windows has a similar "Prefetch" operation. However, it seems to me that Linux is more efficient at "unused memory" usage, since it uses all the memory. Also, once something is prefetched in Windows it's there, if you want your memory back, "Restart" is your only solution. That's why it's really good to reboot your Windows box every few days (if not everyday).

In the end I learned a nice, simple command that would give me all the info I ever needed, to know what my memory was up to.
The command:

free -m

Just bring up your terminal (Konsole in KDE) and type in the afore mentioned command, and you will get lots of fun stats on your memory.

Look on the "-/+ buffers/cache:" line and you will see what you are used to seeing in Windows: the application memory. The application memory is the total memory being used by your operating system and applications combined. I have found that on startup, I am using far less (almost half) memory in Linux than I ever did in normal operating conditions in Windows.

This is only a basic overview of Linux memory. Hopefully it helps anyone new to Linux get an initial grasp of the new operating system they have decided to undertake.

Helpful links:
KDE Applications
Gentoo Linux Forums
Kubuntu Forums

Site Map

2006-08-10T01:02:00.000-05:00

How to Pick a Linux Distro

I like the way you do that raight ther!

Another Reason I Want to Stop Using Microsoft

2006-08-09T19:44:00.002-05:00

I have made the Linux move recently for two reasons: 1. Because I like new stuff to tweak and learn about 2. Because I do not agree with Microsoft's invasive practices.

A year ago I was looking for a good personal finacial management application. The two top competitors were Quicken and Microsoft Money. I liked both, but I especially liked the layout and feel of Money. As I used it, I liked it more and more; it imported my information well, and the ease of tracking spending and income was a definite plus. HOWEVER, there was a nagging problem that I had with it. Money requires you to login to your PASSPORT account. What tha?

If you do not know the implications of that, read this first: Does Issuing Passports Make Microsoft a Country? The whole concept for Passport accounts, is to make it easier for the Internet Consumer to have a "secure" place to store all their personal and financial information. So, when you log into a Passport supported site such as Expedia.com, you can easily order your tickets and the Passport account will tell Expedia.com your info and viola, tickets!

So back to Microsoft Money... It's one thing for me to volunteer my info to Passport, it's completely another thing for Passport to be integrated into my BANK ACCOUNT. Now say what you want, "Microsoft would never..." etc, but I do not care, my MOM doesn't know when I Bank I do, and Microsoft shouldn't either. That is not to mention the possible security problems...

Moreover, Passport will supposedly only draw "Anonymous" info from my Internet habits. However, if I wanted Microsoft to know even my Anonymous surfing habits I would tell them. I use Firefox and I block Cookies and scripts (Thank you NoScript!) except for what I need. I also block referrers with Outpost Firewall, but I have not researched how to do that in Linux yet. I actually do not even mind Cookies ('specially my aunt's chocolate chip). If a site wants to know what I came in and did there, good, maybe it will cause them to make the site better. That's great for everyone! But I don't want them to know what else I've been doing, that's NUNYA.

So to the latest story just continues to cure the cement around of Microsoft's feet for me.Check out this eWeek.com article:
Microsoft to Tighten the Genuine Advantage Screws (Digg it here)
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not into pirating Windows personally, nor do I condone it for others. (Though, I will not personally condemn someone either...) I already don't like Windows Genuine Advantage and keep it tied down with my firewall. To hear that they will be "Tightening the Screws" on WGA just makes me like it less. To me it's a piece of spyware, telling Microsoft something about my computer. I was afraid Vista would be more invasive that way, and my fear just continue to be proven true.

I paid for the damn software, I shouldn't be subjected to you nosing around my computer.
But the 1337 h4><0|2's!!
You have billions, figure out a different way! *smack*

I am going to continue to rid myself of MS and it's products. I gave my hotmail account the boot, but kept it for MSN Messanger via Kopete or Trillian. Maybe I can get rid of my friends using it?? The black clouds seem to keep getting darker and darker. The wind is picking up a bit. I can smell the storm coming... Just a few more things and I will be ready to head out. I think I hear the air raid sirens. It's gonna be a bad one! Linux here we come... now where did I put that map?

Installing a WiFi (Wireless) Card in Kubuntu: Using ndisgtk and ndiswrapper

2006-08-09T16:20:00.000-05:00

If you are like me, then after you installed Kubuntu 6.06 Dapper, you noticed that your wireless card is NOT working. Well have no fear, if you were Google-ing around and found this site, you're in luck! Installing a wireless card is pretty straight forward once you know what programs you need to install.

Step 1: Download the Driver
The very first step is to go to your wifi card's manufacturers website, or your computer model's drivers page and download the proper driver for your wifi card.
For example:
I installed a my wifi card for my R3000 series Compaq Presario Laptop. I went to the HP support site and entered in the numbers on my computer. In this case I have a R3038CL. I entered that into the search engine on the HP support site, and viola, it took me to my computer's support page where I was able to click on the “Download” section and download my wireless card's driver. (More on my Compaq Presario Laptop on down.)

Step 2: Get the Downloaded and Extracted Driver to Linux
Now this is a WINDOWS driver, so you can't just double-click the .exe of the driver in Linux and hope it works... The easiest thing to do, IF you are a Windows user (which you probably are if you are installing your wireless card from a windows machine. ;) is to download that file in Windows, then extract it (double-click on it and follow the instructions!) in Windows and either burn it on a CD or slap it on a thumbdrive. If you can't do either of those, you can also put it on your C: drive and navigate to it on Linux by going to /media and finding your Windows hard drive. But don't leave it there, you must copy it over to, say, your home folder (/home/username) or your Desktop (/home/username/Desktop).

Step 3: Using Adept. (Skip this if you are already adept at Adept.)
Okay, IF this is the first time you've installed anything on Kubuntu and IF you were not able to complete the installation while online (in other words you had to unplug your compy from the internet to get it to install), then there is one step that you MUST do or nearly go crazy as I did.
Go to Adept in K>System>Adept and enter in you're password when prompted.
Click on “Adept” (top left of the window) and then click on “Manage Repositories.” Make sure each “deb” and “deb-src” line is BLACK not GRAY. If they are gray, you must right-click on each “deb” and “deb-src” line and select “Enable”. Once you have enabled all of them, click “Apply” at the bottom of the window. Then click on “Fetch Updates” at the top of the window. Now it's time to get the programs.

Step 4: Getting ndiswrapper and ndisgtk
You might find a few websites on how to use ndiswrapper and such, and they are good sites and very helpful, but... we have an easier way, ndisgtk! (Hey, that rhymed) In your Adept window search for ndisgtk. The nice thing installing ndisgtk using Adept is... it will automatically install ndiswrapper for you. After the search is complete, click on the little blue arrow beside ndisgtk, and then click “Request Install” and click “Apply” at the top of the window and watch the magic happen.

Step 5: Whew! Almost There: We must make one little change...
Now that you've installed it, go to K>System>Windows Wireless Drivers and right-click. Select “Edit Item.” This will bring up the "KDE Menu Editor". On the right side where it reads “Command:” make sure the line beside it reads “kdesu /usr/bin/ndisgtk” The line might begin with “gksudo” and you must change it to “kdesu”.

Step 6: Install that Sucker (Driver)!
Bring up your “Windows Wireless Drivers” (K>System>Windows Wireless Drivers) Click on “Install New Drivers.” Navigate to your Windows driver folder (that we extracted earlier) and find the .inf file. (it will be something like "bcmwl5.inf") Click on the .inf file and select “Open”. Now click “Install”. If all goes as planned you will see the ______.inf file and “Driver Present, Hardware Present.” (The scope of this tutorial will not cover what to do if you do not see the "Driver Present, Hardware Present" line, sorry.)

Step 7: Possibly Optional
Least not Last... IF you have a Broadcom wifi card, (you will if you have a Compaq R3000 series Lappy like me) you must “blacklist” the default driver that Kubuntu comes with. This is a very simple, but necessary step.
Time for some Command Prompt-age... The easiest way I've found to do this is hit Alt+F2, type in "Konsole", and hit enter. (or K>System>Konsole) Now type “sudo kate /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist”. You will be prompted for your password. When the file come up in the editor, scroll to the bottom and type on an empty line “blacklist bcm43xx” (without the quotes). Save it, and close it out. Restart your computer and you should get some hot wifi action! Woohoo!

A very nice wifi program that comes with your Kubuntu install is “Wireless Assistant.” (K>Internet>Wireless Assistant) You should be able to enter in your wireless settings and get up and running.

Well, that's all for now, please post your comments and critiques. I can always edit this to make it better!

Some K/Ubuntu Helps:
Ubuntu and ndiswrapper
Ubuntu Forums
Kubuntu Forums

How to Pick a Linux Distro (Distribution)

2006-08-08T13:19:00.000-05:00

Also see How to Pick a Linux Distro: LiveCD Edition for more Linux distribution help.

Entering the Linux World
As I have embarked on finding the right Linux distro I have observed a great deal about the Linux world. Where Linux is quite popular in other countries, there is an undercurrent of Linux users in the US. Now, I know there are probably hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people even in the US that use Linux, but compared to the Microsoft Windows users out there, that is a drop in the bucket. Generally, this minority of Linux users are intelligent people that enjoy using Linux for it's power and stability. This great strength of the community is also it's biggest problem. Since there are lots of smart people using Linux (that seem to already know how to use it), good and understandable instructions on using it are often hard to come by, or lack thoroughness at best. So as I searched for the "best" Linux distro, there wasn't much help that was immediately available. (Unlike what you would find for Windows)

Which Linux Distro is the "BEST"?
I was in search for the best distro, and all I could really find is, "There is no 'best.' It comes down to a matter of personal preference." Which is no help to a newb like me... I want some good pros and cons about a particular distro and more importantly, concise and easily "digestible." Give me bullet points dammit! So as I Googled around I stumbled across a really neat site geared for the most ignorant computer user or an experienced Linux user wanting to try something new. When I go into a store and I am seriously comparing some products, I am looking for a sales rep to sell me on a particular brand. Now, that doesn't mean I'm going to buy it, but I want some convincing reasons to buy one product over the other. Of course I will take this info and scour the Internet and read forums and user opinions. But I want someone to tell me what they think I should buy! This site does that for me.

The Linux Distro Test
Zegenie Studios has an easy little test with relevant questions for the most novice Linux user. Answer each question honestly and it will point you to what suites your Linux "skills" the most. I have taken the test numerous times and have massaged the answers a little differently each time. (Which I would recommend) The top three recommendations I received over and over were 1. Ubuntu 2. Mandriva One and 3. PCLinuxOS. There were a few extra distros that almost made the cut including: Kubuntu, Mepis and Xandros. One of my main criteria was FREE. I don't want to pay for what, in my mind, is unproven. Another neat feature that I would suggest is a "Live CD". This is basically a bootable CD that allows you to check out the distro, without having to fully commit a piece of your hard drive to this new (and shall I say foreign) operating system. There are lots of instructions on how to boot your computer with a CD, especially on the individual distribution sites themselves. There are also great differences in how some these distributions work, so take a look and read the FAQ and Wikis at each site. And once you have chosen a distribution read, read, read, read, read.

Examining the Top 6
Here is how I see the pros and cons of each of the 6 distros I found.

Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper
Pros:

Live CD
Graphical Installer (I like anything graphical!)
Good hardware detection (Note: When I tried the Live CD on my laptop, it detect the correct resolution and sound card, which made for a pleasant first time experience.)
Uses the Gnome GUI (Graphical User Interface) (Very intuitive and pleasant to the eye)
Installation is easy and very fast (7 minutes on my 2.8Ghz processor)
It's FREE

Cons:

Installation is a bit buggy yet (Froze on installation on my Laptop, though it installed easily on my Desktop)
The Gnome GUI is not as intuitive for someone coming from Windows. (It looks more Mac-like)
Lots of installation of programs after the main Ubuntu installation is finished.**

**Ubuntu is free, like free beer. But because they want to avoid copyrights, licenses and such
from proprietary software (and wisely so), they do not include many things that we Windows users take for granted such as the ability to play MP3s. Though, this functionality can certainly be installed relatively easily later on.

Mandriva One
Pros:

Live CD
Easy graphical installation
Uses KDE (A more Windows-like GUI)
Good hardware detection
Is up and ready to go with things like playing MP3s
Free (well mostly)

Cons:

Though Mandriva One is free, if you want the support and other programs you would hope to have you must buy a membership to the Mandriva Club. Mandriva One is backed by company out to make money. Now there is nothing wrong with that (I like to make money), but if you're like me and don't want to spend any money on this endeavor, you will probably want to look elsewhere.

PCLinuxOS 0.93
Pros:

Live CD (They also have a version called MiniMe if you want the Live CD without the bloat of all the other programs)
Graphical Installer
KDE GUI
Good hardware detection
Aimed at Windows users like me!
F..F..F..Free!

Cons:

I will have to admit that I only messed around briefly with this OS, so I do not feel I can give a definite critique of this distro. Though I will say, that at first appearance it seems that the Ubuntu community is more developed.

Kubuntu 6.06 Dapper
Pros:

Live CD
Graphical Installer
Good hardware detection (Same as Ubuntu)
Uses the KDE GUI (Very Windows like, and lots of eye-candy)
Installation is easy and very fast (7 minutes on my 2.8Ghz processor)
It's FREE
Unlike it's brother Ubuntu, Kubuntu installed easily on my laptop (Well, mostly)
Because Kubuntu is basically (but not quite) Ubuntu with the KDE desktop, it is well supported.

Cons:

About that installation... Everything installed great until it tried to update itself. It froze EVERY time. So, I just unplugged my ethernet cable and viola, it installed without a hitch (Well, mostly... ;) (In another post... hopefully soon, I will explain in more detail about the installation procedure.)
There is still more development needed for the Kubuntu line... for me to have it as a complete Windows replacement. (I also still use Windows on my desktop)

Mepis 6.0 (also called SimplyMEPIS)
Pros:

Live CD
Graphical Installer
Okay hardware detection
Uses the KDE GUI (Very Windows like, and lots of eye-candy)
Installation is easy and very fast (10 minutes on my 2.8Ghz processor)
It's FREE
It comes MP3 ready, and has lots of apps to make life fun and easy(er)

Cons:

Did not detect my native screen resolution like the K/Ubuntu's did.
Not as pretty... As someone has commented, the Mepis team needs to employ a good graphics design artist. (Yeah, I know... so it's not the greatest "Con")
Not as well supported as the K/Ubuntu line.

Note: Mepis is based off of the Ubuntu line, so it's a pretty solid distro.

Xandros
Pros:

Um... I'm sure it's good, I mean it looked good and all, but because of the con, I didn't try it out.

Cons:

It costs money...

Note: On the plus side, you do get what you pay for. If you chose to drop some cash (And it's really not that much) you are going to get better support and maybe even an easier product to use. But I don't know, since I didn't pay for it. Honestly though, with a little adventurous spirit, you can get the same results in a free distro that you can with the paid-for versions. I really recommend getting a free version, though things aren't handed to you on a golden platter, it really is worth the time if you want to try a new operating system.

Conclusions and Closing Thoughts
In the end I decided on Kubuntu, and let me tell you why! First, I completely respect and agree with the K/Ubuntu philosophy of free software. They desire that computers be available to even the most underprivileged person in the world. So they make a product that is free and uses free stuff, now that's just cool! (By the way, on that MP3 thing... You can actually rip and play OggVorbis on your computer, but when you have a 4 gigs of MP3s on your hard drive, the thought of switching doesn't seem too appetizing).

I like the community. The K/Ubuntu community have extensive forums, FAQ's, and Wikis to help out newbs like me. I can guarantee if I did my Google queries without the "site:ubuntu.com" command in it, I wouldn't be writing from my Kubuntu desktop. (I wouldn't be writing this at all!)

Debian!! (Unless you really want to know about Debian and .deb packages you can skip this whole section.)
Now if you are a newb like me, then, unless you read about it somewhere, you have no idea what this means. Basically this is what I mean... Debian is an older (far more stable) distro that has devised a neat way of program installation. Unlike windows where you go and download one .exe or .zip and follow the nice instructions on the screen, Linux application installation is FAAAAAAAAARRRRRR more complex and intricate. Let's say you want to run OpenOffice.org... Well in Windows, you go and download the danged thing, install it, and use it! With Linux, OpenOffice.org depends on other pieces of software that may or may not be installed on your computer. So you must download the OOo dependencies... the other little apps that OOo depends on. Then you must compile each thing, then install it.
For example, I went to install a program called ndiswrapper... I acted like a normal windows user would, I went to Google and searched for "ndiswrapper download" and found it. It was in a .tar.gz form... I have heard of those before! Thankfully my Kubuntu had a program called Ark that could decompress it for me, so far so good... But then how to install it, there is no .exe to click on. So I went looking for instructions on how to install it... the instruction on a site went something like this. "Just compile it and install"........... Okay, what the hell does that mean? (BTW, I did find some nice help later on.) So I looked around for compiling instructions, finding those hard to come by. So finally, I found some instructions: Go to a command prompt (YIKES!!) go to that directory (HOW??) and type ./configure, make, make install. Long story short, I got lots of errors and I think it cussed at me some. The geniuses at Debian proclaimed, "This is all to hard and complicated, we shall make .deb files and a little application called apt-get that allows easy installation of OpenOffice.org (or whatever) and all it's dependencies with an easy command!! And better yet, we will put them all in one location so the apt-get program will know right were to get them from." Bye-bye Google!! (Wait it gets better) And for those who have NO clue how to use the command line, K/Ubuntu has this nice graphical interface (called Adept and Synaptic respectively) that will make adding and removing programs as easy as a click of the mouse!! BRILLIANT!! Nono... I'm not done!! And if you really want just one program, like Firefox, just go to Add/Remove Programs and there is a nice list (with icons and descriptions included) of programs you can install. And just like that, I can search for and install/uninstall programs at will. Very, very nice.

Finally, I like Kubuntu because of the KDE desktop. It's fun, friendly and pretty. It acts like Windows and I like that! However, it far more customizable than Windows (FAR MORE). Just go to www.kde-look.org for all kinds of sweet eye-candy. Also, check out www.kde-apps.org for lots of cool applications you can add. It's tweaker's dream come true. There is one suggestion I would make however. Because there are so many Linux distros out there, and soooo many little programs you can install, there is a higher degree of probability that you can install something that just doesn't work, or worse, make your system not work. IF you find something on www.kde-apps.org that you like, I would suggest searching for it first on Adept or Synaptic (see long Debian rant above) to find that program. If it has been tested and approved it will be available to download through K/Ubuntu approved sources (repositories).

Kubuntu is the way I have gone, and I have learned a great deal. So I hope to continue to share what I've learned, if not for someone reading this, then for me... Just to get my thoughts together. ;)

Here are some more excellent resources on different Linux Distributions:
Wikipedia Linux Distro Comparison
DistroWatch
Linux.org
LinuxForums.org
LinuxQuestions.org
UbuntuForums.org
KubuntuForums.net

My Journey with Kubuntu

2006-08-08T03:11:00.000-05:00

I have actually been very disappointed with Linux. The Ubuntu series is supposed to be some of the most newbie friendly out there, but it doesn't seem to be that friendly to me.

Now I consider myself relatively computer savy, and it has been a struggle from day one just to get some of the basics of Kubuntu to work. Kubuntu uses the KDE desktop, where Ubuntu uses the Gnome desktop. It was interesting to me, that as I searched through the forums, posts, and comments about these two desktops, it felt like I was walking through a wasteland battered by war. By war I am referring to forum flamewars. Over and over again I read something like, "Not to start a flamewar..." or "It just comes down to personal preference." There didn't seem to be anyone giving some basic facts about either desktop to compare the two. I was disappointed that something so basic for a newbie coming into the linux world would have created such a civil war that nothing objective was said about it. Coming from a Microsoft background, I just wanted to know the functionality of each, pros, cons, and so forth.

Basically what I have found is this, Gnome is a "not so pretty" desktop that allows for changes on the computer to be made very quickly and efficiently. As there is no "OK" button or "Apply" button to make changes. Also Gnome feels more like mac. When you check (or uncheck) a box for a change, it is made immediately. KDE on the other hand seems to have more "eye-candy," which I personally like, maybe a bit more "Windows-like." It seems that a person coming from Windows might find the Kubuntu version of KDE easier to learn than Gnome. Now, I am talking about a super Windows newb, and even with a little more patience the Gnome desktop would seem just as easy. So maybe Gnome = flexibilty where KDE = eye-candy. Though both can be flexible and both have the eye-candy.

Ubuntu and it's _ubunu counterparts are based off of the Debian distribution, and uses .deb packages for installation. Synaptic (Ubuntu) or Adept (Kubuntu) is the graphical interface for the apt program (from Debian). Basically, the apt command ("apt-get") allows a person (especially the uninitiated) to install something, like Amarok, and the apt command finds all the necessary other little apps that will allow it to run on Linux. One simple example is the ClamAV Anti-Virus application for Linux. If you go into Adept (on Kubuntu) and search for "clamav" you will get a number of programs relating to ClamAV. If you choose to install Clamtk, which is a GUI (graphical user interface) for ClamAV, Adept will go ahead and install clamtk, clamav, the libraries needed to run it, and a background program to keep the viruses updated (and a few more I don't remember). All this to say, the apt-get command makes installing new programs very easy.

Overall I have been both impressed and extremely frustrated with Kubuntu... It doesn't always work, but then I will stumble across a forum thread that talks about my exact problem and with a little new knowledge I can fix the problem at hand. I am looking forward to seeing the Ubuntu line of Linux distributions continue to improve. However, they are a long way from being toe-to-toe competitors with Windows, XP or Vista.

And so I continue my journey...

So I Started Using Linux (again)

2006-08-08T03:10:00.000-05:00

So, I've gone and done it... I started using linux (again). I have tried it twice before, but it never turned out too well. This time, I've put alot more time and energy into this, I actually have it working. I want to use my linux desktop for work-type stuff, I guess we'll see if that works...
I might put some of my thoughts about it on the site here, I guess we shall see. I think it would be cool to have an ultra-stable, different work environment to use. It is nice to break free from Microsoft, the monopoly gets to me every now and then...
I'm using a distro called Kubuntu (from the very popular Ubuntu line of linux distros). It's pretty sweet, and I really like the KDE interface. It kicks Window's butt as far as customizing and eye candy... if you like that kind of stuff.