Ubuntu

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.

Or, Think(ing) different(ly).

In familiarizing myself with Linux as an OS and a community this last few years, I have of course come across the various internecine wars that have flared up during Linux's evolution. I won't try to summarize the kerfuffle for the uninitiated. Suffice to say that the conflicts start with the name of the OS itself ("Linux" vs. "GNU/Linux") and blossom from there.

This is not a bad thing in and of itself -- choice and change are welcome -- but as a long-time Mac user approaching this personal terra incognita the result is, frankly, vertiginous. I just want to get some work done, and here I am needing to make a bunch of political choices.

Now, I don't have to make a bunch of choices. I could go with the most popular distro (Ubuntu) and be done with it. Which is more or less what I did last year, as detailed in the post "Switching to Linux, but which one?" Then I flip-flopped between GNOME and Xfce for desktop environment.

But then the politics started creeping up:

• GNOME's insistence on incorporating Mono-based apps, with accompanying Microsoft cooties.
• The Planet GNOME/GNU Project controversy (aka Richard Stallman vs. Miguel de Icaza).

Most recently is the discussion of replacing the OpenOffice suite with Google Docs in the Netbook version of Ubuntu (apparently not a done deal as "reported" by /.). As this comment by Qubit on that story says,

So they took a Free Software application out and replace it with a non-Free application from Google. What a great idea!

Although an office suite isn't necessary for one to run Ubuntu, being able to create and consume office documents is admittedly a very common task. Making UNR able to interoperate "right out of the box" seems like a very high priority.

Qubit points to this essay by Bradley M. Kuhn from last month, "Back Home, with Debian!", in which the author urges folks to switch to Debian to keep at bay Ubuntu's apparent glee in incorporating non-free and proprietary software. His six specific reasons for moving away from Ubuntu and Canonical after several years are both damning and mirror my concerns. He sums it up:

When considering all this and taking a step back and look at the status of major distributions, my honest assessment is this: among the two primary corporate-controlled-but-dabbling-in-community-orientation distributions (aka Fedora and Ubuntu), Fedora is clearly much more software-freedom-friendly. Nevertheless, since I've twice gone corporate and ultimately regretted it, I decided it was time to go back home — back to Debian.

So, during the last week of 2009, I took nearly two full days off to reinstall and configure my laptop from scratch with lenny. I've thus been back on Debian since 2010-01-01. Twelve days in, I am very impressed. Really, all the things I liked about Ubuntu are now available upstream as well. This isn't the distribution I left in 2004; it's much better, all while being truly community-oriented and software-freedom-respecting. It's good to be home. Thank you, Debian developers.

So, to recap my dilemma-filled experience thus far:

1. I am sympathetic with the open source/free software cause. I do not like the idea that monolithic corporations and proprietary software vendors can hold my computing experience hostage.
2. Thus, I am considering switching to Linux, especially due to the continuing over-commercialization of the Mac operating system and its integration of more and more hooks into various stores, locked-up user experiences, and other folderol.
3. However, I am also uncomfortable about Ubuntu for many of the same reasons, with its increasing intermingling with non-free software.
4. Likewise, GNOME's flirting with Microsoft technology gives me the creeps.

What does that leave me with? Debian running Xfce maybe?

Of course, there's always the option of going straight old-school CLI. ;D

An alternative to the Midnight Commander file manager utility. It's available in the Ubuntu repositories (sudo apt-get install vifm) and via MacPorts (sudo port install vifm).

Vifm is a ncurses based file manager with vi like keybindings. If you use vi, vifm gives you complete keyboard control over your files without having to learn a new set of commands.

http://vifm.sourceforge.net/

While you're getting in touch with your inner geek, don't forget vimwiki, the personal wiki also based on vim:

http://code.google.com/p/vimwiki/

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.

Read these articles before starting. If you have links to other resources or your own suggestions, please post them in the comments below.

Ubuntu Documentation: “MactelSupportTeam/AppleIntelInstallation”

Suggests keeping at least a minimum Mac OS X partition for installing future firmware updates. Seems sensible to me, not to mention for other applications.

Ubuntu Documentation: “MacBookPro4.1 and Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty”

Info on various hardware features and whether they work or not. Most things listed as "works, with remarks", with a couple of "works out-of-the-box."

Ubuntu Documentation: "MactelSupportTeam/CommunityHelpPages"

Welcome to the entry-point for Ubuntu on Intel CPU-based Macintosh Computer (Mactel). This page covers all supported versions of Ubuntu, cross-referenced to all Mactel types and hardware revisions.

Ubuntu Forums Apple Users

Discussions for users who are using Apple Intel or PPC based systems with Ubuntu.

Mac|Life: "Install Linux on Your Mac"

And here's how to go about setting up the partitions properly. Uses Mint, but it's the same difference.

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 my gray matter continues to flow out my nose (a cold has slammed me not unlike the Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster, which is said to be like having your brain smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick), enjoy these fine links:

Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox - Image from Wikipedia

The Open Sourcerer: "How to remove Mono from Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala"

Anyhow, my personal opinion of Mono hasn’t changed much. There are no Mono applications in Ubuntu that make me go weak at the knees and get all excited[...]

In the latest, shiniest, bestest, release of Ubuntu to date, and it really is a cracking release, the desktop version of Karmic Koala (version 9.10) contains two Mono dependent applications in the default install along with the Mono VM and associated libraries etc.

Now, this time, we have 3 ways to go Mono free[...]

BLAFS: "Tomboy to Zim notes conversion" (Via Zim extras page.)

The script provided here is useful if you for some reason would like to convert your Tomboy notes to a set of notes for the similar Zim application. Both are desktop wiki style note taking applications. While Tomboy uses the Mono framework, Zim uses Perl and is in general considered to be leaner on resources than Tomboy.

This small python script converts notes written by the Tomboy application to notes for the Zim application. It does most of the work of conversion but some Tomboy formatting does not exists in Zim and is hence stripped of the notes (different text sizes, fixed width). Nested bullet lists in Tomboy is converted to a flat bullet list in Zim. Besides this the script does a descent conversion job, I think.

NY Times: "Hiking History: England’s Ancient Ridgeway Trail"

The Ridgeway is the oldest continuously used road in Europe, dating back to the Stone Age. Situated in southern England, built by our Neolithic ancestors, it’s at least 5,000 years old, and may even have existed when England was still connected to continental Europe, and the Thames was a tributary of the Rhine.

LA Times: "Physician convicted in cycling case"

A physician accused of deliberately injuring two cyclists by slamming on his car’s brakes on a narrow Brentwood road last year was convicted Monday of assault with a deadly weapon, mayhem and other serious criminal charges.

The three-week trial of Dr. Christopher Thompson drew close attention from cyclists, many of whom viewed the case as a test of the justice system’s commitment to protecting cyclists.