Ubuntu 11.10 - Yay or Nay

I have been running Ubuntu since 5.10 upgrading to the latest each time it is released with 11.10 being no exception. I’ve been a huge fan of Gnome for quite some time. What I like best was its menu setup which was simple and intuitive. KDE always felt too much like Windows and it seemed very bloated. I have not tried it again in several years. I’ve read it is much improved and I’m sure is a solid product.

Ubuntu 11.10 bring many new features and changes, the first big one you see when booting the new system is the login screen. LightDM is now used and it brings to the table a faster loading speed as well as a very clean look.

The second noticeable being Unity. With 11.04 I never tried Unity and immediately changed back to the classic gnome interface. With Gnome 3.0 now in 11.10, I tried this and the old interface is very rugged, doesn’t work right and is nothing like it was with Gnome 2. I was very unhappy with this as I did not want to learn a whole new interface.

Since my preferred interface is now gone with Gnome 3, my only options are Gnome Shell or Unity. I tried Gnome Shell and it gave me nothing but issues on my desktop. It had display issues and I didn’t look into it any further.

I switched back to Unity to give it a try and see if I could learn to use it. I still liked the old Gnome interface for my desktop but I am liking several things about Unity on my laptop. The first is that you have more screen space. This is very nice for my laptop to get extra viewing space. But on my desktop with its high resolution monitor, it is more of a hindrance because it is now harder to switch between running applications. Unity has been stable for me so far. It had its quirks in 11.04 which is another reason I kept my distance but it is clear a lot of work has gone into making it more stable.

As for the rest of Ubuntu, the new software center is very nice. There are a lot of games and applications available now to purchase as well as a nice interface to find applications you may want to try. It provides a nice description of the applications with nice selection of screenshots of the applications to get a feel for what it is.

Other small changes include Thunderbird replacing Evolution, Linux Kernel 3.0, LibreOffice 3.4 and Firefox 7. Ubuntu is also using Deja Dup for doing backups. The new Ubuntu Software Center has replaced Synaptic but you can install it still if you prefer.

I am pleased with the latest updates and am pleased to see Ubuntu making strides to stand out from the other Linux distributions. I will miss the Gnome 2 interface but Unity is working very nicely on my laptop and the future is looking bright.

Next on my agenda is to give Desura, a digital distribution for gamers that supports Linux, a try to see if this could be the next big for Linux.

My Linux Applications

I’ve been using Linux for years and have come across many applications over this time. Over these years, my day to day applications have changed a bit as new more promising applications come along. I’ve decided to compile a list applications I couldn’t live without in Linux.

KeepassX

I don’t know how I survived before I was introduced to this application. It efficiently manages all my passwords and provides a simple method to automatically type the passwords for me. It saves me time and energy. Plus, it can auto generate very complex passwords that makes my online presence much more secure.


Pidgin

I’ve been using this applications since back when it was Gaim. It has always been my #1 choice for multi-protocol messenger. I have tried numerous others but always come back to Pidgin because it is stable and just simply works. It allows me to rename my contacts (who keeps track of people by screen name anyway?) and organize them into groups.


Fluendo DVD Player

You need a break from time to time to watch DVD’s. That is where Fluendo comes in. It is not free but it works and works well providing a great sound and picture on Linux. The feature set is simple allowing you to focus on enjoying the movie.


Firefox

I used it originally as Mozilla, then it shed it’s bloat and became Firefox, the browser that changed everything. Now we have Chrome on the scene but I’m still holding true to Firefox because of its great longstanding support for Linux.


Banshee

I previously used Rhythmbox and Amarok prior to that. Amorok was nice but I moved away from running KDE and Amorok felt to heavy and out of place. I enjoyed Rhythmbox which shipped with Ubuntu and enjoyed its simplicity while still offering cover art, CD rip and internet radio.Ubuntu recently made the decision to switch to Banshee and I see why. It is similar to Rhythmbox, but with a much better interface and control over your music.


KeepNote

I need to keep track of things from time to time. That is where keepnote comes in. It is a simple note taking tool that stores notes in a folder structure layout. This is what is most natural to me. I’ve tried Tomboy and other note taking tools and none worked for my style of thinking like keepnote.


Eclipse

I am a programmer and require a IDE to do heavy projects. Eclipse is a great tool that can debug code by stepping through it one line at a time as well as connect to databases or any repository for tracking the code. Eclipse supports almost every language and has plugins that enable it to do just about anything.


VI

When needing to do simple edits from the console, nothing handles it like VI. No other editors works so well to always keep your hands from bounding all over the keyboard or forcing you to move off to the mouse. This is still the best editor in my opinion and will be for all time.


SQuirreL

Working on projects will almost always involve a database. Squirrel is my program of choice for connecting to a database to run SQL. It puts all new query results into new tabs so you can run new queries and keep your previous results. It’s interface is very java like, it can be slow at times and can be overwhelming at first but its list of features quickly makes up for this. It can edit data inline, have several connections to different databases and save all your connections in an easy to use list.
TrueCrypt
Security is an important thing. I use TrueCrypt to create encrypted volumes to secure my data. That way my important stuff stays safe even if my computer is lost.


CrashPlan

So much data is stored on computers now. You need to keep your data safe. That is why I use CrashPlan to backup that data safely so that if my computer crashes, I have a safe and secure backup that can be restored so that I haven’t lost any memory photos.



LibreOffice

These days I don't do much word processing or spreadsheets but if I need something powerful, LibreOffice is my choice. Formerly I used OpenOffice.org but once Oracle took over LibreOffice forked and is now the primary option shipped with most Linux distributions.

Well, that’s it. These are the main Linux applications I use on a regular basis. Over the years I’ve mostly stuck with the same applications and have only changed a couple and added as I’ve gone. Please feel free to leave in the comments your Linux applications you couldn’t live without.

Ubuntu 7.10 - Gutsy Gibbon

The latest version of Ubuntu was released but I didn't jump on the wagon right away to upgrade. I felt that nothing in the newer version had anything new I needed and that it wouldn't make a difference for me. Well, much to my surprise I was wrong. The new version doesn't have any major changes, just a lot of little ones.

So, the new version adds in all the latest programs like Firefox 2.0, Pidgin 2.2.1, OpenOffice 2.3 and Gnome 2.2 containing all of its goodness. In the new Gnome many enhancements were made to improve performance, features and usability.

One of the changes in Gnome is its interface. They have updated the themes a little bit and the way you select the theme. Now, you have all the theme related stuff (theme, background, font, interface, visual effects) in one place separated by tabs. The standard themes are nice (I like the new Clearlooks in dark blue) but you can always download or customize your own. There has been a change to the visual effects part. In Ubuntu 7.04 they added the ability to turn on and off special effects (compiz) by opening the "special effects" application. Now this has been moved into this new tabbed interface. For the special effects, there are three options. You can have no special effects, some effects (transparency and such) or full blown effects (wobbly windows).

One new application is the "Screens & Graphics" program in Ubuntu. This program allows you to easily setup your video card driver and monitors through a simple GUI interface. Now, I tried and tried, but I couldn't get this interface to get things setup for me. I have a unique monitor though that doesn't get properly detected so I'm not surprised to see an issue here so I manually went and setup my monitor the old fashioned way.

They have also upgraded Gaim where it is now the new Pidgin (the replacement for Gaim). The new interface was adapted nicely to the Ubuntu theme. I didn't like the new Pidgin at first when I used it in Windows but they have made several changes to its Linux counterpart and I must say, it fits in very nicely. Its default settings are very light and don't consume unneeded space.

For networking there has also been a big improvement. Ubuntu now has a nice GUI interface that easily lets you allow which network you want to connect to. It now integrates with wpa_supplicant so you just plug into the GUI interface the information (passcode, type and such) and it will then connect. It worked very nicely, though its nowhere near perfect yet but it is a step in the right direction.

Those are the major enhancements. Most of the other changes are small but nice. One major thing I noticed in the upgrade was the performance. My installation of Ubuntu on my computer was actually Ubuntu 5.10. I have upgraded the distribution 5 times now. I'm not sure at what point Firefox started performing slowly for me, but I had noticed recently that Google Docs and flash videos sometimes slowed down the system and if I tried to multi-task with one of these open and running the whole system would come to a halt. I found though, once I upgraded to the new Ubuntu 7.10 I was flying along in Firefox. It performs now like I upgraded my computer or something. I'm interested now to boot up the previous version and see if was just a bad upgrade or if it is the version of Firefox. Ultimately, it doesn't matter, all that matters is the new version with Firefox is fast and reliable.

All in all, the new version of Ubuntu is very usable, and they have added a few new utilities that will make it easier for the average user, but there is still some work to be done.