Yesterday, I installed Linux Mint on my dad's laptop. With the exception of a couple of bits of poorly supported hardware, the installation went without a hitch. I think my dad was genuinely pleased with his new Linux installation and he commented that it was definitely faster than the old Windows XP installation, he added that he thought it looked fairly easy to use too.

Anyhow, before performing the installation, I evaluated both the latest releases of Ubuntu and Linux Mint in live sessions. I used both sessions for about half a day each and I came to the conclusion that my dad would probably be more comfortable using Linux Mint. I have no real scientific evidence to support my conclusion, but I figured that because my dad had always used Windows, he would prefer Mint's default set-up. Mint also had a few other things going for it:

• It came pre-installed with a bunch of media codecs and Flash support. I know this is only a quick install of the "ubuntu-restricted-extras" package on Ubuntu, but it was nice for me not to have to do it.

• Mint did not come with F-Spot, at least I am pretty sure it did not. So, it was easy to install Shotwell. My dad takes a lot of photos and Shotwell seems like a really nice photo management application; it is quick, stylish and easy to use. I think my dad was rather impressed with it.

• I know this is subjective, but Mint just looked more professional. The default theme and wallpaper is very stylish and it made Ubuntu look rather garish in comparison, even with its new look. Again, I know this is subjective and only a cosmetic issue, but I did not want to spend any time modifying themes, button placements and icons etcetera, so Mint won.

• Lastly, and somewhat obviously, Linux Mint is effectively Ubuntu, but with some additional goodness, so there was no logical reason not to choose it for my dad.

Regarding the two bits of poorly supported hardware, the first was my dad's Microsoft LifeCam webcam. My parents use Skype to make video calls to their grandchildren, so it was important to make sure this worked. I managed to get video working with the LifeCam and Skype, but it was a fugly hack and anyway, I could not get the built-in microphone to work. So, I popped out and purchased a Logitech C200 webcam, which worked out of the box, result. The second bit of dodgy hardware was a Lexmark printer, which I completely failed to get working. I have advised my dad on purchasing a cheap replacement HP printer, which he was happy to pay for and order. I know this particular printer works out of the box, because bobobex and I ordered one for Emma so that she could print her school homework. The printer worked the instant it was attached, without any hassles.

To conclude this post, for my dad's computer usage, which basically involves using the web, communicating via Skype and organising his digital photographs, I think my dad will be very happy with his new Linux installation, at least I hope he will. It is far too early to tell whether or not he will actually be happy with it long-term, but I will post some updates, if I have anything to report.

P.S. On reading this post back to myself, it occurred to me that some people might read it as an "Ubuntu vs. Mint" rant. It is not meant to be, both Ubuntu and Linux Mint are really good distributions, they are not CrunchBang, but they are still great. And of course, none of the aforementioned would be anything without Debian, but that is a whole other story, best left for a separate post. :P

Tags: hardware, linux, mint, printer, ubuntu, webcam

My dad has tentatively accepted my offer, but I am sure he is not entirely convinced that this "Linux" thing is any good; I was slightly surprised when he asked, "Will the internet work?" Also, whilst I am probably the most computer literate person my dad knows, I say that without meaning to sound big-headed, I get the feeling that my dad would be more inclined to accept advice from a PC World salesman than he would from me.

So, I thought some you might be able to help me to persuade my dad that installing Linux on his laptop would be a good idea. It would be great if lots of people could give just one example of why installing Linux will be beneficial.

Thank you for your assistance! :)

P.S. To the best of my knowledge, my dad has never used Linux on the desktop before. I will be installing a version of Ubuntu, I will not be installing CrunchBang. I will give my dad a demonstration of Ubuntu in a live session before performing the install.

P.P.S. Obviously, in the interest of fairness, I would also like to know if you think that installing Linux on my dad's laptop is not a good idea.

P.P.P.S. To the best of my knowledge, my dad does not own or use any peripheral hardware which should not work well under Linux (read iPods, iPhones etc.)

Tags: linux, ubuntu

Anyhow, I should get to the purpose of this post; as far as I am aware, the Acer Aspire One D150 is currently only available to purchase with Windows XP pre-installed, there is not a Linux version available, at least I have not been able to find one. So, if anyone is wondering whether or not Debian or Ubuntu work on these machines, I can confirm that they do, and very nicely too. I am currently running Debian Squeeze on my machine and everything works just fine, I cannot recall having a single issue with it. I have also tried the latest Ubuntu Lucid alpha release and that also works swimmingly.

As for the machine itself, I am not going to attempt to write any type of review, but I will say that for the price, it is a great bit of kit and it is perfectly usable as a day to day system. Having said that, I actually wanted this machine to act as a cheap replacement for an existing power-hungry home server, a role which I think it will serve quite well.

Tags: debian, hardware, ubuntu

So, last night I was looking at different open-source licenses with the intention of selecting one for my new project. Now, considering what I have already stated, I came to the conclusion that the WTFPL was probably the best license to opt for. The WTFPL is extremely permissive and therefore it is ideal for a throwaway project. By using the WTFPL, I can effectively build and release my project and never have to worry about anyone ever contacting me about using it. Or for that matter, any crazy stuff happening, not that it would, but anyway…

…with a decision made on which license to use, I then considered where I would like to host the project. I have recently been following a few projects that are hosted on the Google Code service, so I decided that the Google Code service might make a good home.

I set about creating a new project using the web form provided. I started filling in the details, describing what my project was about and then I arrived at a dropdown menu where I was given a choice of open-source licenses. I had not considered that the WTFPL would not be listed — I mean, it is recognised by the FSF!

So, not being too sure what to think about this, I performed a quick web search and found that Rémy Sanchez had recently raised this as an issue on Google Code:

I'd like to submit a project using the WTFPL license ( http://sam.zoy.org/wtfpl/ ). I have seen how much licenses are a trouble (oh, is this license GPL compatible ?), and I think that unless you have reasons (like a big project, or something made by a company, etc), you generally don't care about the exact details of what is possible or not with the license. This is why I put most of my code under WTFPL, and that I'd like to host a WTFPL project here.

And the response from Chris DiBona:

No. The wtfpl is cute, but if you want to use it, you'll need to go to another host.

Initially I was somewhat perplexed with the response given by Chris and I asked myself why a FSF recognised license would not be suitable for use by projects on Google Code? I decided to do a little more digging and whilst I was watching the video of Chris DiBona's talk, "Open Source is Magic", I got my answer. Basically, the Google Code service only supports the major open-source licenses because there is a greater chance that lawyers will already have come across these licenses and know about the attached compliance issues. Funny thing is, I am definitely not a lawyer, but I am pretty sure I understand the WTFPL!

Tags: fun, licenses, software

I really like my dongle and I think it is great because I can take it anywhere and get online, including my place of work. Having said that, it does have some drawbacks; firstly, the connection is not always great; secondly, it can only be used with one machine at a time. I do not think there is anything I can do about the first issue, but I have now sorted the second issue by investing in some new kit.

Yesterday I took delivery of a NETGEAR MBR624GU 3G Wireless-G Mobile Broadband Router. I have been using it for the first time at work tonight and first impressions are good. Basically, once configured to work with my existing USB dongle and service provider, I can plug-in the router and then get online as I would using any other standard wireless router set-up. The new router also has 4 standard RJ-45 LAN ports, which I am sure will prove useful at some point, especially when I am playing around with some of my older hardware. There are probably a whole bunch of other advantages to using this bit of kit, including not having to have to worry about network manager, or any other connection management software, having support for 3G modems. In fact, the only disadvantage I can think of is that I have to carry around another piece of kit, but this is only a minor inconvenience as the router is quite small and very lightweight. I think this was a good investment.

Tags: hardware

So, for me, the best thing about the Microsoft Windows 7 release is the thought of all the cheap hardware that will soon become available as retailers try to quickly offload their "defunct" Windows Vista machines. For the average Linux user, I would imagine that there is no better time to invest in new hardware and install their OS of choice. And with the release of Ubuntu 9.10 just around the corner, the timing of the Windows 7 release could not be better!

Tags: microsoft, ubuntu

Anyhow, the reason I am writing this post is because the CrunchBang project could really do with some help. For anyone not aware, I released a new version of CrunchBang last week. The new the release went well, a little too well in fact and the shared host which I was using to distribute the ISO files went into meltdown within hours of publicising the release. The meltdown was caused purely by a lack of planning on my behalf, I really had not expected so much interest.

Luckily, the CrunchBang community pulled together to save the day. Users on the forums managed to provide some BitTorrent downloads and others provided ad hoc mirrors. We eventually managed to get the files out, albeit rather slowly. Meanwhile, within the #crunchbang IRC channel, Ciemon Dunville suggested I speak to Dave Walker about the mirroring/load balancing scripts which he uses to help distribute the Ubuntu UK Podcast. A short while later, after letting me bug him with questions over the phone, Daviey very kindly offered to help out.

The following day I took out a lease on new dedicated server and Daviey set about working his black magic. As a result of Daviey's know-how and generosity, the CrunchBang project now has much more reliable means of distributing itself. The only things lacking now are volunteers willing to help by creating mirrors. If this is something you think you can help out with, please see the mirror set-up guide.

A HUGE THANK YOU is due to everyone who is helping out and providing mirrors, including; Andrew Williams, Marty Cannon, Alan Pope, Dave Walker, Ciemon Dunville and Stas Sushkov. You are all stars! Hopefully, we can get some more stars involved to help lessen the load! :)

Tags: crunchbanglinux, projects, ubuntu

Tags: misc

My only concern with using my new device is that I want to be able to keep track of the amount of bandwidth I am using; I have a monthly contract with an allowance of 15GB per month and I would prefer it if I did not incur any additional fees for exceeding my allowance. The shop assistant who dealt with me seemed to think 15GB was ample, I am not so sure. I have never previously had to worry about such things as I have always had unlimited access, but I believe I could quite easily burn through 15GB. So, I have decided to keep a log of my bandwidth usage. I am using vnStat to achieve this, a handy console based application for recording bandwidth usage for any given network device. vnStat is fairly straightforward to use and I have written some usage notes on my wiki for future reference.

Tags: hardware, linux, ubuntu

Tags: crunchbanglinux, projects, ubuntu

On the subject of developing websites, I have created a fair few in my time, some commercial, some not. Nearly all the sites I have developed have been custom coded to some extent, but this new project site is not. Apart from the front page, the rest of site has been constructed using entirely free and open source web applications.

Forums

The new forums are powered by PunBB, which is described as being a lightweight PHP discussion board. This is the first time I have had any experience of working with this software, and I have to say, I have been thoroughly impressed; the installation was a painless affair and customising the look 'n' feel was also fairly easy. In fact, I only had one real issue; for some reason, the RSS and Atom feed generator did not parse any BBCode, which meant the resulting output was not overly attractive or easy to read. Having said that, I did manage to implement a quick fix without too much hassle. I will post the fix at some point in the future. Anyhow, PunBB, very impressive.

Wiki

The new wiki is powered by the fabulous DokuWiki. Again, I had not had any experience of using the software previous to the installation, although I had read good things about it and I have been subscribed to authors feed for a while, so I was somewhat familiar with it.

For anyone who has not tried it, DokuWiki is an easy to use, standard compliant wiki. It is also fairly unusual in the fact that it does not use an SQL database backend, using flat files instead. I have not been using it long enough to give an opinion on whether or not this provides any advantages, but I think it makes for a refreshing change at the least.

Regarding usage, it is a breeze. Creating new pages, uploading media and modifying access control lists could not be easier, it really is a pleasure to use, that is to say, as pleasurable as using a web application can be :p

Weblog

The new weblog is powered by WordPress. I am sure I do not have to say much about WordPress, only I have not actually used it since about the time of version 1.5.x. Wow! WordPress is definitely one of the most polished web applications I have used in a while. It might be somewhat bloated compared to what I am used to, but I think I can endure a little bloat if it means I get ease of use and rapid development. Nothing more to say about WordPress, other than it is good stuff.

Cleaning up

Apparently, cool URIs do not change. So, with this is mind I have been attempting to migrate as much information as I can to the new site without causing too much disruption to existing project data. I have implemented as few server-side redirects as possible. The old forums will remain archived in a read-only state and the mailing list will stay put for the time being as I have yet to set-up Mailman on my VPS.

Future focus

Overall, I am really pleased with the new site and I am hoping it will provide for some positive discussions and improvements to the distribution. I am also hoping the new easy to use web applications will mean I can spend less time administering and more time developing. Which reminds me…

…CrunchBang Linux uses many packages which are not in the standard Ubuntu desktop. Due to this, some of these packages are possibly not as well maintained as they could be — just an observation, not really a criticism. Anyway, if CrunchBang Linux does nothing else, it would be good if the future focus of the distribution could be to improve these packages and feed any improvements back upstream.

Anyhow, I am sure I have rambled for far too long :S If you have any feedback, comments or suggestions for improvements to the new site, please feel free to post them, all are welcome and greatly appreciated!

Tags: crunchbanglinux, projects, ubuntu

Tags: crunchbanglinux

As well as being based on the latest Ubuntu release, I have also made several other changes over the previous releases, including, but not limited to:

• A new darker theme.
• Tablaunch removed (finally).
• Some additional default shortcut keys added, including main menu.
• OpenOffice.org replaced by Abiword and Gnumeric.
• pypanal replaced by lxpanel.
• AcidRip removed.
• Twitux replaced by Gwibber.
• Mirage replaced by GPicView.
• VLC removed in favour of Totem — VLC is now a non GTK+ app :(
• etc.

The above changes are based on changes I have made to my own system since the previous CrunchBang release.

Anyhow, there is a new LiveCD available for testing. If anyone would like to give it a try, please do so. Feedback, suggestions and ideas for improvements are more than welcome and greatly appreciated. See the forum for download locations.

Tags: crunchbanglinux, ubuntu

For anyone who missed it the first time round, it looks like this:

Not digging Flash? Then by the power of cow, view the ogg format.

As before, the download and installation instructions for Ubuntu are available on my wiki. Enjoy :)

P.S. I really should find something constructive to work on!

Tags: artwork, fun, ubuntu

Back to his apartment in Clerkenwell, a good hot shower and a takeaway sea bass in tamarind sauce from the Thai place round the corner, followed by the latest of the Miss Marple remakes on ITV.

— Relentless by Simon Kernick

How to participate in this most excellent of memes:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open it to page 56.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

Tags: fun, meme, ubuntu

I said a fond farewell to Sid and started floating back downstream. I was not floating for long when I came across Lenny. For a brief moment I thought I must have been caught in an underwater current and been dragged back upstream, Lenny looked and behaved in a near identical manner to Sid, though Lenny lacked the unstable aura. Lenny and I have been getting along really well since. Sure, I would probably still classify our relationship as being in "testing", still, I do not think it will be too long before it can be reclassified as being truly "stable". I am looking forward to it.

Tags: debian, fun, ubuntu

T' first machine I installed it on was me notebook. I really only use me notebook for browsin' t' web and communicatin', I do not use it for any mission critical activities, so I be easy when it comes t' usin' t' machine for testin' purposes. Me notebook, an Acer Extensa 4220, took t' installation flawlessly, apart from t' wireless, which has never worked. I have only been usin' t' installation for about 24 hours, but I be impressed with what I have seen so far.

In fact, I was so impressed with me notebook installation, I decided t' install t' alpha on me desktop, an old Compaq Evo. As with me notebook, I rarely use me desktop for anythin' important and so I be fairly easy when it comes t' usin' it for testin'. This time I was not so impressed, t' installation worked fine, but after performin' an apt-get update/upgrade, t' system decided it not want t' play ball and started t' experience some xorg issues. I have reported these issues and will continue t' attempt a fix.

So, 2 installations o' Intrepid on 2 different machines in 1 day. 1 installation rocks. 1 installation blows. It be all good fun.

By t' way, sorry for me silly pirate speak :)

Tags: fun, ubuntu

I actually posted about my computer naming theme last October, see "A Network of Ubuntu Muppets". I am still using the same naming theme, only I now have 3 more muppets on the network; beaker, fozziebear and muppy. My network of Ubuntu muppets is growing.

Bah.

Tags: fun, meme, muppets, ubuntu

I have released a couple of new images for my CrunchBang Linux project. This new release brings CrunchBang Linux up-to-date with packages available from the 8.04.01 point release of Ubuntu. The new images have been completely rebuilt from scratch and feature a whole bunch of changes.

What's new?

• As stated above, all packages from the Ubuntu repositories have been updated to bring them in-line with Ubuntu 8.04.01. Most notably, Firefox 3 is no-longer beta software and a couple of well-known security vulnerabilities have been patched.

• Openbox has been updated to the latest version. See Openbox:Changelog for more information.

• An alternative XFCE4 desktop environment is available from the GDM login screen. It has been set-up to behave identically [well, near enough] to the default Openbox session. e.g. right-click menus, shortcut keys etc. This new feature is currently being guinea pigged by Becky the Linux user.

• Both the Openbox and XFCE4 sessions use the XFCE4 Settings Manager. This adds some overhead to the Openbox session, but also provides a solution to the problem of gnome-settings-daemon overriding users settings when invoked by accident — there are a surprising number of applications which invoke gnome-settings-daemon for no obvious reason.

• ROX-Filer has been replaced by Thunar as the default file manager; the thunar-volman package now handles auto mounting of devices. This is a huge improvement over the previous release, which used Ivman.

• A new "Lite" image has been made available. This image features the same Openbox and XFCE4 environments, but does not have the plethora of applications available in the full image. Hopefully, this new image will go a long way to satisfying requests to remove applications. The Lite image comes in at approximately 403M, making it significantly smaller than the standard image at approximately 633M.

• An alternative installation method. CrunchBang Linux can now be built from a minimal "CLI" installation of Ubuntu.

• Numerous other tweaks and changes, including but not limited to:

  • A new Usplash theme.
  • New GDM theme.
  • Xarchiver replaced by File Roller.
  • GnomeBaker removed in favour of Brasero.
  • Terminator now set as the default terminal emulator.
  • RealPlayer plugins enabled by default.
  • OSMO replaced by Orage.
  • Et cetera.

Download locations

As always, CrunchBang Linux has been developed for my personal use; however, everyone is free to download and use as they see fit. If you do decide to download, please pay special attention to the disclaimer, which basically states, "if you brick your system, do not come running to me."

For download locations, see: CrunchBang Linux 8.04.02 Download Locations. For the alternative installation instructions, see: CrunchBang Linux 8.04.02 Alternative Installation.

Screenshots

Some screenshots of CrunchBang Linux 8.04.02 in action, click on the thumbnails for larger images.

Tags: crunchbanglinux, openbox, projects, ubuntu, xfce4

So, I created a backup of Becky's data and proceeded to install my latest remastered version Ubuntu. I could of installed a vanilla Ubuntu install, but I wanted her first real experience of Linux to be as smooth as possible. Once the installation had completed, I restored Becky's data and handed back her laptop; she powered it up and proceeded to go about her business.

I waited for the comments and questions, but they never came. As it turned out, I actually ended up pestering her to show her a few things; we had a play with entering a few terminal commands and installing the odd package. Finally, Becky reluctantly said, "It's quite good".

Result :)

Tags: advocacy, life, linux, ubuntu