CrunchBang - Code, Design & GNU/Linux

My dad is a Linux user

Foreword: Thank you to everybody who commented on my previous post, "Dear LazyWeb, please help persuade my dad to move to Linux" — I really was not expecting so many helpful and constructive comments and I was slightly overwhelmed by the response. So, thank you to everyone who responded and helped to convince my dad to move to Linux, you rock!

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

Dear LazyWeb, please help persuade my dad to move to Linux

I was at my parent's house last night and my dad starting moaning again about the speed of his laptop. My dad often moans about how slow his laptop has become, but just recently he has been moaning about it every time I see him. Hardware wise, there is nothing wrong with his laptop and it is quite a respectable machine. The problem is that his machine is still running the same installation of Windows XP that came installed when he purchased it, several years ago. As many of us are well aware, XP can be quite a fast OS, but after some years of use, it can become extremely slow and painful to use. So, I have offered to help backup my dad's data and install Linux.

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.)

Debian & Ubuntu on my Acer Aspire One D150

A few weeks ago, I won an Acer Aspire One D150 on Ebay. For anyone not in the know, it is a netbook with a 10.1 inch screen. Apparently, the machine was an unwanted Christmas present and the owner had not used it very much, if at all. The machine was listed on Ebay with a relatively low starting price and it attracted very little attention. I ended up winning the machine for £155, which was a bit of a steal. In fact, I felt kind of guilty for winning it at that price and so I sent an email to the owner asking him if he would like to relist it. He replied saying that he was fine with the result of the auction, but I could tell his reply was written with gritted teeth.

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.

The best thing about Microsoft Windows 7

Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you will probably already know that Microsoft Windows 7 is released today. I have not tried Microsoft Windows 7 and to be honest, I have no intention of doing so. This is not a reflection of the quality of Microsoft products, it is just that I have no need for it.

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!

Can you provide a CrunchBang Linux mirror?

I should maybe start out by stating that I am always more than a little hesitant to post on any Ubuntu planets about CrunchBang Linux, however, in this case I was persuaded to do so by Dave Walker. I guess I feel somewhat hesitant because there is a conflict of interest and I really do not want to distract from any of the excellent work going on around Ubuntu. Are these feelings rational?

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! :)

Huawei E620 USB Modem & vnStat

I have invested in a new USB mobile broadband modem from Three, a Huawei E620. I have been using it quite steadily for a couple of weeks I am quite impressed with it. The device was super easy to set-up, all I had to do was plug it in and select my service provider, it was then ready to use with my CrunchBang/Ubuntu Intrepid system. As well as being impressed with the ease of set-up, I am also impressed with its connection quality; the connection has rarely dropped and the device has maintained an average speed of about 1MB. If anyone out there is looking to buy a mobile modem for use with Ubuntu Linux, I can recommend the E620.

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.

CrunchBang Linux 8.10.01 released

Last night I uploaded and released the final CrunchBang Linux 8.10.01 build. I am really quite pleased with this release and it seems to be working well on my own systems. I will keep this post short as I have already written about the release on the new CrunchBang Linux blog. All I wanted to say here is, I have really enjoyed working on this release; all the feedback, help and support has been quite overwhelming. It has also been fun to meet and chat with lots of like-minded Linux enthusiasts and geeks :)

A new home for CrunchBang Linux

Over the last few days I have been busy beavering away creating a new project site for CrunchBang Linux. I had been thinking about creating a separate site for the project for a while, mainly because my personal site was never built with the intention of hosting any such project. Also, I figure that now the project has its own page on DistroWatch, I should really start taking the whole thing a little more seriously.

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!

CrunchBang Linux 8.10.01 — Testing

I had some spare time on my hands last weekend, so I set about putting together a new release of CrunchBang Linux. As the numbering suggests, CrunchBang Linux 8.10.01 is based on Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex sources.

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.

moosplash — for all Intrepid cow lovers

The other day I received a message from Sean Hammond letting me know that moosplash, a cowsay inspired USplash theme was broken under Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex. So, I rebuilt the package against the new Usplash sources and it now works with Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex. Yay!

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!