https://gist.github.com/1677490.js?file=fuzzy_timesince

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The new Ubuntu Software Centre is really great, and I often explore it to find the awesome packages that are available to install. One thing that bugs the hell out of me, however, is that in recent versions of Ubuntu .deb files (ie when you download a deb package and manually install it) open in the Ubuntu Software Centre and the process is incredibly SLOW.

I have dealt with this and just accepted it, instead using the command line (dpkg) instead to avoid using the Ubuntu Software Centre, but I occasionaly forget and just double click the deb file to launch it. Today I decided to solve this problem for myself, so here is how I did it.

Tip: How to give the old deb installer it's place back in newer versions of Ubuntu (instructions are assuming use of pcmanfm, if you are using nautilus, you should start using pcmanfm, it's better - otherwise the process is much the same in nautilus) 

First

sudo apt-get install gedbi

This will get gdebi installed. Next find a .deb file you wish to install with your file manager, right click it then select "Open with..."

In the "Custom Command Line" tab enter the following

gdebi-gtk %f

Click the checkbox next to "Set selected application as default...blah" and finally click "Ok".

The deb should load up with gdebi and double-clicking .deb files in the future should fire up gdebi instead of Ubuntu Software Centre.

Again, Ubuntu Software Centre is great for discovering and installing software that is available in the Ubuntu repos but I just think it should be keep out of the loop if I found the software else where.

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So I noticed my partner's younger brother (13) gets asked questions like, "Are you on the computer again?" and other naggy-like comments as he will spend a lot of time at the computer playing video games. I don't think there is anything wrong with this, he is engaging his brain, socialising and having some fun at the same time. 

This got me thinking as I experienced the same sort of nagging when I was a child at home living with my parents. They would complain about the amount of time I spent at the computer and the amount of time I invested in video games - in fact they still do this. This is totally understandable, as hacking around on a PC and playing video games isn't for everybody so I wouldn't expect anything else. I feel the same way about TV; I do not understand the draw it has and wonder how people can sit and watch so much television.

So from whatever age I was when my parents first brought home a games console, and brought home a PC I was hooked on hacking, learning and gaming. As I grew older, I spent a larger portion of time at my PC learning new skills and leveling up - and this has continued right up until now. I don't regret any of it, not one bit.

So here is a list of some of the stuff I learnt and did whilst not watching TV (in no particular order)

• Learnt GFA Basic
• Played Final Fantasy VII three times (possibly one of the best gaming experiences ever)
• Learnt how to make visualisations for Winamp
• Learnt Python (£££ this now pays my bills)
• Learnt PHP (this does not pay my bills)
• Learnt to write Javascript and later use awesome libraries like jQuery
• Learnt about servers, how to build websites and services (£££)
• Discovered loads of awesome music using last.fm
• Played with and discovered many distributions of Linux including Fedora, SuSe, Debian, Ubuntu, Gentoo
• Maintained and improved a private Bit-Torrent tracker website
• Learnt to use CVS
• Learnt to use Git :)
• Learnt how to configure, maintain and modify various game server software
• Played Chess with Chinese people
• Learnt how to build a computer from a set of components
• Learnt about disk partitioning - sounds boring but incredibly useful
• Learnt to administer Linux and Windows systems
• Leartn to compile from source (used to be very important a few years ago, almost never do it now)
• Played Phantasy Star Online (maybe the first MMO on a console?)
• Played Crazy Taxi (a lot)
• Learnt how to sample, create waveforms, tempo match, and use a tracker to create music
• Improved my questionable guitar skills by downloading tabs
• ...

There is loads more, but this is the stuff at the top of my head. Of course I have learnt a lot and done a lot of other stuff whilst away from the computer in this time but I am just writing to say I am sooo glad I didn't watch TV and beer is good.

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So after using Natty for a short while, I discovered that it isn't quite ready for me to depend on full time. After a number of freezes and Wifi issues, I decided to return to Maverick Meerkat (10.10) by downgrading. Here is the script I ran after that. I commented out the lines that write to the home folder since this time I maintained the same home folder on a separate partition.

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Reducing it down to a very abstract idea, Gnome for me is a series of text boxes I write in. I'll be writing here in my web browser to Posterous, then I'll hit <Alt><Tab> and write to my friend in Empathy then I'll hit F12 to open a terminal with Guake and manage code with Git then hit F12 to go back to my friend on Empathy then <Alt><Tab> twice and I'll be editing code in gedit, then I'll hit <Alt><Tab> twice again and I'll return to writing to Posterous. I am more than aware that there is plenty to click about with in Gnome but ultimately, most the time I use it I am writing and Alt-Tabbing.

These newer ideas about what a desktop should be require a lot of clicking. Whilst I am very anxious to see Unity at it's completion and running perfectly on the desktop, this new way of getting stuff done is making me feel old an scared. I know that Unity will still have such keyboard shortcuts but will people like me be able to make the most of these new desktops?

I know that it is going to be great for my girlfriend, but what about us folk who hate reaching for the mouse?

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I had been running Ubuntu on my laptop for a while (with sound), but I really wanted to try out Debian. So I set about installing and configuring it. Eventually, I noticed that I had no sound at all.

After a little diagnosis, obvious stuff like checking the mixer and maxing the volume, I discovered that I could heard a very quiet (almost inaudible) sound with my headphones plugged in whilst playing some very loud music.

I have a Sony Vaio laptop with an Intel HD Audio device; after speaking to the guys in #debian on freenode, I understood that Intel HD audio devices we're a little iffy and that I would have to make sure the right modules are being loaded.

I considered that Ubuntu 10.10 had been installed on my laptop before and the audio worked without any additional configuration. So I compares the versions of alsa in Ubuntu and Debian. They both suggested that they we're version 1.0.23.

However this was not the case. Upon checking the version on the system with "cat /proc/asound/version". It showed the version on Debian Sqeeze as 1.0.21 and on Ubuntu 1.0.23; this was the only apparent difference.

To solve the issue, I figured I would upgrade to the latest alsa version from source. I grabbed the source for alsa-driver, alsa-lib and alsa-utils 1.0.24 from alsa-project.org. I built and installed them; after a reboot, I had sound.

I did come across a small issue while configuring alsa-utils. I received an error along the lines of "panelw not found". The solution here solved this and alowed the configuration to continue.

I wondered if any other Debian users were affected by this issue.

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Ubuntu and Gnome get out of your way

This is a big deal for me as I have a demanding job that means I need my system to just work and not bother me with configuration and complaints. Ubuntu and the Gnome desktop together work really well, the defaults are great and I know everything will just work so that I also may just work.

Compatibility with hardware

I am yet to come across any compatibility issues with hardware whilst using Ubuntu. This is great when I see colleagues and friends using Windows constantly hunting for compatible drivers for the right architecture and version of Windows whilst I know I can install Ubuntu on (almost) any machine and it will just work.

Discovering free software and choice

Free software is always good to have but the Ubuntu Software Centre just keeps getting better and better making it easier to discover new applications and utilities to make your Ubuntu experience better. This has become my primary platform for finding new software during the last two iterations of Ubuntu that have included many an update to the software centre. Although Ubuntu is shipped with a default set of software the choice is always there to use another media player, such as Banshee or another photo manager. The ability to remove components (even big ones like the desktop) is just as valuable as the ability to add them, choice is an advantage to any Linux desktop.

Media playback I don't have to worry about file formats, codecs, containers. Ubuntu will manage all this for me, it doesn't matter what sort of video or audio I am trying to play, it just works.

Design Ubuntu was very...brown when I started using it and it was not the prettiest looking desktop (by default) for a long time, but in the last two releases the design has come a long way with a new default theme that is almost a crime to change and a new font that looks amazing. It is only going to get better with the new Unity desktop that will be the default shell in Ubuntu 11.04.

Security Ubuntu and Linux is not targeted like Windows for malware and various other bad stuff. You will not have to constantly scan update and clean your system, you get security just by using it.

It's fresh With a new release every six months Ubuntu is always fresh and new and never goes stale. Updates are regular meaning your system is always secure and you are getting the new good stuff from the packages on your system. -- There are a ton of other reasons, such as the great dev tools, the ease with which you can set up a server, the super useful live USB and the massive community and plethora of ways you can get support.

The above are reasons why I love Ubuntu, based on my well established opinions.  They may well be the reason why you don't.

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What happened?

Our little family of three were in the town center where we live yesterday and we had to find somewhere to get lunch. When my son's belly starts rumbling finding a place to eat gets quite time critical. So we hastily set about finding a place that looked like it might serve something that, at least, resembled food and could accommodate children. The first restaurant we entered had two floors (probably making use of the limited and probably more expensive space in a town center). We waited to be seated, until we were approached by a waitress who sent us upstairs and told us that we would be seated there. So we went upstairs where we were ignored for some reason. The top of the stair case was situated right by a door to the kitchen and several staff walked right by the three of us standing there like lemons, a little odd I thought. Whilst I was waiting I had a look around to see if there was no where to seat us, but there was plenty of space for my little family. Of course, I decided to leave and immediately upon my hand signal to Klaudia we were approached by a waiter who asked 'if we needed help'. Asking for a table would have cured the problem of not having a table but unfortunately I would still have been annoyed about being ignored and would not know what to expect for the rest of our lunchtime there. So we left. My son was getting quite impatient at this point...he had been given false hope by being taken into a restaurant then leaving so we really did jump in the first OK place we saw after that. Again we were greeted at the door (good), but this time instead of being told to go upstairs we were asked if we would like to go upstairs. Obviously I was not convinced it was best for us to go upstairs so I insisted on being seated downstairs. Everything was going alright in this place, we ordered a children's meal for my son and Klaudia and I took something that sounded alright. Weird things happened though. I lost count of the amount of different waiters who visited our table, none of which seemed to understand that 22 month old baby may need smaller plates, cutlery, glasses and perhaps a high chair. We did find a high chair ourselves. Lastly, our check was delivered with our main course, I don't know what the deal with that is, I have never seen that done...ever.

So I went away and thought about it...

So it was bad and it got me thinking about service. I know something about this as I started my working life in a restaurant. This role was solely focused on service and I would like to think that the guests I served left happy. Of course, there are a number of people who you just can't please. I feel bad for them. I brought this to my work in freelance web development. Some of my clients have said that I jump through hoops for them. They can think that if they want but the reality is that good service comes naturally from taking pride in your work and therefore wanting to provide your clients with the best possible service. As an individual this is incredibly simple to achieve by being attentive, available and positive. I have recently been reviewing the way my team works in (and out) of our work place for our employer. We want all our clients to be completely satisfied, if not ecstatic with our service. Unfortunately the productive team (us) have a few layers of go betweens to reach clients. This makes it impossible for us to monitor customer satisfaction and creates a Chinese whisper effect in communication. It also has the knock-on effect that we don't get that little boost to our own satisfaction levels when we hear a client express their happiness with our work. I thought about companies that are providing me a brilliant service then thought about companies that are providing me with a shit service.

Here are some good ones:

Codebase (aTech Media) I am incredibly happy with the service I have received since I signed my partner and I up for Codebase. During our trial period the lead developer fixed and responded to a support request we made on a Sunday the same day. This impressed me greatly and the letter and stickers that were sent in the post to me also made me very happy. You can't tell me there is a better project and code hosting service available. Zendesk Really happy with Zendesk. They offer good support (how can they not?) and made a personal connection by commenting on how we branded our support site with CSS. When they sent us this strange Zendesk branded box that made odd noises, we were a little confused but at the same time grateful. We will always stick with Zendesk. BE There are many support channels for BE internet and the broadband they provide us seems to be consistent. But let's face it. It doesn't take much to look good next to companies like Orange, Sky, etc. Linode These guys have got support sussed. Provide a platform to make a community and provide a big library of articles, you will never have to answer a support question again.

Here are some bad ones:

Facebook I needed a developer account for something I was working on. Unfortunately I needed to verify my account first by receiving a text message to my telephone. When entering my telephone number I was provided with an error message explaining that I could not use this number to verify my account. Contacting support provided me with an automatic response giving me links to their support site, which directed me back the the verification page. This is a blocker and I needed assistance. This will never be resolved and I will never develop my application. Orange Be prepared to be transferred around the globe only to be told to reboot a router when you call these guys. I do not need to expatiate here. Heart Internet I have used this company for web hosting in the past. It is impossible to get support (no matter what happens) unless you use their online support ticket system. Unfortunately for us, our DNS servers could not resolve their domain making it impossible to contact them. After digging around Google for their telephone number we were told that our query could not be dealt with over the phone. Great stuff, very funny. Their control panel is almost impossible to navigate and really needs work. If you want cheap web hosting I really would recommend, although I don't think that you can expect any cheap web host to be anything special.

Summing Up

So there is a sample of what I am talking about. The pattern I was hoping to identify was that companies like Codebase (atechmedia) provide the best service as their developers are in direct contact with the customer/client, making it easier to collect feedback and making your customers feel better about you. A positive and friendly letter snail mailed also is a nice touch. I will come up with more examples and I will continue to think about this. Unfortunately it will always be the case that some companies will get their service and support for their product spot on and other companies will never have many happy customers.

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The new release of Ubuntu is not long off so today I decided to try out the beta on my laptop. Seeing as I am going to have to do a similar installation on a number of desktops that I use, I thought that I would write a quick bash script to automate things I want executing once I have installed the new Ubuntu Maverick Meerkat release next month. So here it is:

#!/bin/bash

# To Begin
sudo apt-get -y install ttf-droid ttf-inconsolata
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily/beta
sudo apt-get -y update && sudo apt-get -y upgrade

# Gnome tweaks
gconftool-2 -s -t bool /desktop/gnome/interface/menus_have_icons true
gconftool-2 -s -t bool /desktop/gnome/interface/buttons_have_icons true

# Desktop fonts
gconftool-2 -s -t string /desktop/gnome/interface/document_font_name "Droid Sans 9"
gconftool-2 -s -t string /desktop/gnome/interface/font_name "Droid Sans 9"
gconftool-2 -s -t string /desktop/gnome/interface/monospace_font_name "Droid Sans Mono 9"
gconftool-2 -s -t string /apps/metacity/general/titlebar_font "Droid Sans Bold 9"
gconftool-2 -s -t string /apps/nautilus/preferences/desktop_font "Droid Sans 9"

# Remove the fail
sudo apt-get -y autoremove mono-runtime
sudo apt-get -y autoremove openoffice-*
sudo apt-get -y autoremove gnome-games-common
sudo apt-get -y autoremove evolution-common evolution-data-server evolution-plugins evolution-webcal evolution-indicator
sudo apt-get -y autoremove gwibber-service
sudo apt-get -y autoremove simple-scan
sudo apt-get -y autoremove pitivi

# Install the win
sudo apt-get -y install chromium-browser
sudo apt-get -y install hamster-applet imageshack-uploader shutter xchat gm-notify
sudo apt-get -y install git-core bzr sqlite3
sudo apt-get -y install build-essential python-dev libjpeg62 libjpeg62-dev zlib1g zlib1g-dev

# Plugins for mp3 playback and other media
sudo apt-get -y install gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3 gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugl
sudo apt-get -y install flashplugin-nonfree

# Python stuff
sudo apt-get -y install python-setuptools
sudo easy_install pip
sudo pip install virtualenv virtualenvwrapper
echo "source /usr/local/bin/virtualenvwrapper.sh" >> ~/.bashrc
mkdir $HOME/.virtualenvs

# Cleanup
sudo apt-get autoremove && sudo apt-get clean all && sudo apt-get autoclean all

# Reminders
echo "***********************************************************************"
echo "Go and download Dropbox from https://www.dropbox.com/downloading "
echo "Go and install Wing IDE from http://wingware.com/downloads/wingide/4.0 "
echo "***********************************************************************"

As you can see, I am not in opposition to using a little bit of beta software. Hope you find this useful.

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gconftool-2 -s -t bool /apps/nautilus/preferences/always_use_location_entry true

gconftool-2 -s -t bool /apps/nautilus/preferences/always_use_location_entry false

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#!/bin/bash
bzr update

#!/bin/bash
bzr add
bzr remove
bzr commit -m "Update"
bzr push
bzr pull

#!/bin/bash
cd $HOME/notdropbox
sync/client

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import os, random

WALLPAPER_DIR = '/path/to/wallpapers'

walls = os.listdir(WALLPAPER_DIR)
wallpaper = os.path.join(WALLPAPER_DIR, random.choice(walls))

if os.path.exists(wallpaper):
    os.system('gconftool-2 -s -t string /desktop/gnome/background/picture_filename "%s"' % wallpaper)

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"Prism, previously called WebRunner, is a simple XULRunner based browser that hosts web applications without the normal web browser user interface. It is based on a concept called Site Specific Browsers (SSB)."

sudo apt-get install prism

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Run gconf-editor (Alt+F2 and enter 'gconf-editor' and Run) Use the tree on the left to browse to /apps/gwd/ Select the key mouse_wheel_action and change it to 'shade'

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