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It was a long time coming, but nearly exactly a month ago, I made a switch for my home computer, buying an Acer Aspire One netbook[1] and installing Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.04 (Lucid Lynx). Here's excerpts from what I wrote on the new compy that day:

This is the very first journal entry written on my new netbook, an Acer Aspire One. It is running Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.04, which I've spent much of the night figuring out how to get running. Actually the real issue was getting a USB flash drive to function as a bootable volume, which was my bad -- the actual install was easy as pie. Currently in the background, I am updating the system and software with everything new out of the repositories. And amusingly, I'm actually writing this in vi, not vim, as the latter has not yet been installed. :D

I can't say how much this moment means to me. I have been anticipating it for years now: my own computer running Linux full-time. Not as a virtual machine, not a compy I'm borrowing. But my own, purchased myself, running my chosen free+open operating system.

Some points for later (potential) expansion:

Managed to get this working without starting up Windows, although while I was troubleshooting the USB drive, it did get to the first screen of installing Windows. But it never went all the way into the hated OS.

Everything about this purchase, including the choice of UNE, happened in a bit of a hurry this week, though I'd been scoping out the Aspire One for a while now. After researching UNE, I decided to go with it for the time being rather than the Debian+XFCE combo I had concluded would be best for me. Which brings me to the next point:

After getting the general update completed, one of the next steps is getting all the Mono-infected stuff uninstalled. Which brings me to the next next point:

This is all about choice, this software -- and thanks to Linux, I don't have to make an irrevocable decision about what desktop environment I'll be running, nor what version. Hell, I could throw a GUI-less, modular window manager and kiss the icon good-bye! ;D

In the interim, I've run into a few issues, but mostly it's been a very smooth transition. I've mentioned several times on this site the last few years that I've been researching and experimenting with Linux -- I really credit that process for preparing me well for this adjustment period.

The few speed bumps so far:

• There's a nasty bug reportedly involving the version of X.org on 10.04, which can be induced running Firefox with the NoScript extension -- the bug is not with NoScript or Firefox itself, but it can cause an immediate crash of the X server, which is disconcerting to say the least. Fixes are being worked on.
• I was not able to switch over to Ubuntu at work yet on my new MacBook Pro there -- still some hardware issues with the brand-new machine, so I'm going to probably just wait a few months and come back to it. I've got too many irons in the fire there with various big projects, so while I could get it working with some time, I just don't have that to spare at the moment.
• There is a bug with the Gnome Power Manager panel applet (part of the standard Startup Applications - see Preferences) that will on occasion misread the battery on the Acer and wind up hibernating the computer after 5 minutes off the AC power. The fix for now is to disable the Power Manager applet, reboot, and install the acpi command-line program (sudo apt-get install acpi) to read the true battery level, amongst other things.
• The netbook's keyboard is surprisingly easy to type on, and I've mostly adjusted to the different arrangement of Control/Function/Super/Alt modifier keys -- although it's hard to adjust back when I'm on a Mac with its Function/Control/Option/Command -- who thought it was a good idea to put the "Fn" key out on the end? To combat this, and since I've seen it recommended in many Unix-geek circles over the years, I've remapped my Caps Lock key on both computers to be another Control key.[2]
• My only real complaint on the Aspire One keyboard is that the standalone Pg Up/Pg Dn keys nestled into the arrow keys make the arrows a difficult target. That and the dedicated scroll area on the right of the trackpad is a bit hard to find at times.

Since I've already been using a number of open-source apps for a long time now, or at least programs that are available on both Mac and Linux, there haven't been many transition pangs there. I dig the UNE experience so far, though I keep trying out the normal (or should that be gnormal? ;) Gnome login as well at times -- there are things to recommend from both.

It was all a bit scary at first, making the leap after 20+ years on Macs, but the anxiety faded quickly. It was well worth the effort. This will be a curious analogy, but it's a little bit like after I quit smoking (2003) after doing so for 17 years. Not the nasty physical addiction stuff, but more the label of Smoker being tossed aside, along with all that that meant to me and other people. Like this year, letting the Mac User label slough off, leaving behind something new.

More, I'm sure, to come in the near future.

Tangentially, I am likely moving blogging platforms here on Celsius1414.com, so please excuse my dust over the next month or so.

[1] Normally ~$300, on sale for $50 less at Target.

[2] Still getting used to it, and it's going to take a lot of time to retrain the muscle memory, but it's already better.

In VirtualBox at the moment, I have three virtual machines:

• Ubuntu 9.04
• Ubuntu 9.10, and
• Xubuntu (also 9.04).

The last of those is my most recent, after I started doing a bit of reading on Xfce, which in turn was prompted by the combination of Gnome getting more and more embedded with Mono apps/libs (and therefore infected with Microsoft cooties) and also the UI direction Gnome is headed for in version 3.

Both of these things can be “undone” on a case-by-case basis by uninstalling Mono folderol or enabling old UI bits, but I’m reluctant to put that much work into making a desktop usable and then having to monitor it all to make sure it doesn’t keep happening. Also, this recent brouhaha creeped me out about Gnome.

In trying to decide what exactly I’m switching to next year (or next month possibly), I’ve been experimenting with a few options. In addition to the above, I’ve tried out Kubuntu, a Debian install, a Mint install, and a GUI-less build this year.

KDE’s interface just felt entirely too clunky -- like what I imagine a Windows user would want if they didn’t want to use Windows anymore but still wanted to feel comfortable. [Shudder!] There are a lot of great apps available, but naturally those are available on other desktop environments if I don’t mind the library overhead.

Debian was fine, but there were enough moments where things didn’t just work (or just didn’t work) where they did in Ubuntu that I decided to leave Debian aside for now. In switching operating systems, I will have enough to adjust to without worrying about fundamental OS pieces not working. However, I will revisit it in the future.

Mint, while pretty to look at, didn't really add much value for me to consider it an improvement over Ubuntu or, indeed, Debian.

The GUI-less server install I will be using quite a bit as I switch servers from Mac to Linux, but I’m not going to go completely CLI with my initial desktop/laptop changeover. See Debian above. Maybe some day. ;)

So...more on this later, but at the moment I suppose I am actually trying to decide between Ubuntu 9.04 and Xubuntu 9.04.

I have been in the process of planning out switching to Linux in 2010 for my main development computer (a laptop), as well as for various web and database servers I am responsible for at work.

I've been making good use of Sun's awesome (and free) VirtualBox program, which allows me to create any number of virtual computers to experiment on. I've had a couple of CLI-only server versions running (Debian and Ubuntu), as well as what amounts to a desktop system for the last three Ubuntu releases: 8.10, 9.04, and the just-issued 9.10.

My User has information that could... that could make this a free system again! No, really! You'd have programs lined up just to use this place, and no MCP looking over your shoulder.

I'll cover the whys and wherefores of switching in the future. For now, suffice to say that the ever-increasing commercialization of Mac OS X, with accompanying restrictions, has been grating on me for some time now. I am also attracted to the notion of software freedom (having been a huge fan of the original Tron movie ;) and of course the cost savings can be dramatic. And since I work primarily in education, I think we would be neglecting our duty by not exploring the open-source world.

All that is visible must grow beyond itself, and extend into the realm of the invisible.

One of the first and ongoing steps is compiling a list of application equivalents to programs I am need of.

• Mail -> Evolution
• iCal -> Evolution
• Exchange -> Evolution \m/
• MacJournal -> Zim or RedNotebook or Lifeograph
• iPhoto -> filesystem + gThumb (still need EXIF editor: JHead?)
• iTunes (music) -> Rhythmbox
• iTunes (podcasts) -> Rhythmbox (audio ok, testing vidcasts)
• OmniFocus -> Getting Things Gnome (GTG) or spreadsheet?
• Adium -> Empathy
• Quicksilver/Spotlight -> Deskbar-Applet
• iFlash -> Mnemosyne
• NetNewsWire -> Liferea or Gregarius
• Tweetie -> Gwibber
• VoodooPad -> Zim
• MarsEdit -> Drivel, BloGTK, or Gnome Blog?
• Dictionary.app -> Gnome Dictionary
• RPG -> see http://www.shell-fu.org/lister.php?id=885
• Black Ink -> Xword
• Desktop Pictures rotation -> Wallpaper Tray (Gnome panel)
• GarageBand/podcasting -> Audacity + LMMS
• OmniGraffle -> Dia
• Minuteur/ApiMac Timer -> Timer Applet

Still looking:

• Time Machine (backup) -> roll-my-own or manual?
• Bluetooth File Exchange -> built into Gnome?

Stuff that exists in both places:

• Firefox
• MacVim -> Gvim
• Audacity
• GIMP
• VirtualBox
• ClamXav -> ClamAV
• VLC
• MySQL Administrator and Query Browser
• NeoOffice -> OpenOffice
• Google Earth
• MacNikto -> Nikto

If you're looking into switching as well, or just are looking for new apps to try out whatever your platform, check out AlternativeTo, which provides alternatives for Linux, Mac, and Windows programs.

Note: Written before the current cold whacked me in the head and upper respiratory tract. Bits are incomplete. Suggestions are welcome.

End of line.

While the options for Mac OS X's Spaces are set in System Preferences, you won't find them stored in the ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist file.

Spaces are part of the Dock subsystem (like the Dashboard), so that's where you need to look: ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist

Unfortunately, those Apple .plist files aren't just text any more, so you'll need to open it the Property List Editor found in /Applications/Utilities although you can just use the Terminal like this:

open ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist

to bring it up automatically. You'll find Spaces referred to as "workspaces":

• workspaces
• workspaces-app-bindings
• workspaces-cols
• workspaces-rows

How do I reset Spaces preferences?

To reset a particular item, delete the appropriate row, then save and close the .plist file. So, for example, if you wanted to clear out all the apps you have assigned to various Spaces, delete the "workspaces-app-bindings" row.

Once you're done deleting stuff, you could log out and back in to reset the Dock process and thus Spaces, or you can geek out on the trusty Terminal again. First, find the process number of the Dock:

ps ax | grep dock

You'll see something like this:

134 ?? S 4:44.40 /System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app/Contents/MacOS/Dock

That first number, in this case "134," is the process ID number for the Dock. Use this command to "kill" and relaunch it:

kill -HUP 134

Enjoy!

I always forget about the system_profiler command in Mac OS X. It gives you an exhaustive list of hardware and system details for the machine you're on -- or a remote server if you're logged in via SSH.

It's the CLI equivalent of selecting "About This Mac" under the Apple menu, then clicking on the "More Info..." button. With that in mind, you'll probably want to pipe the command to a pager like less, so you can go screen-by-screen with leisurely space-bar taps:

system_profiler | less

will do the trick. Or, if you have a GUI editor that includes a CLI command (like TextMate),

system_profiler | mate

Of course you could always save the details directly to a text file with

system_profiler > profiler.txt

Download a free PDF, or buy the printed version of the Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference:

Written by award-winning author Keir Thomas, Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference is a totally unique and concise guide for everyday Ubuntu use. It's the world's most popular Ubuntu book, with over half a million readers (and rising!).