(Shamelessly cross-posted nyah)

Ever since my XO laptop arrived, I’ve been tinkering with it, looking for ways to make it behave more like a traditional laptop. While the hardware on this technological marvel is neat as hell, the childlike operating system quickly grew tiresome. I looked into ways to load Ubuntu onto it, but the complexity of the process, XO’s lack of a cd drive, and small amount of storage space on the internal solid-state drive made that proposition a dicey one.

However, there is a less intensive way to make your XO grow up, one that doesn’t involve wiping out the operating system or trying to boot a second one from the flash drive: namely, you can install a new graphical interface right next to the one that already exists. The Xfce desktop, being very small and lightweight, is perfect for a machine like the XO, and detailed install instructions are already readily available on the web. I followed these, and had the new desktop up and running and most of my desired software installed in about an hour and a half. Yeah, most of the config has to be done from a command line, but you can cut and paste lines in from the website, and it only needs to be done once.

When I finished, I had a tiny little laptop that could pull in a wireless signal from anywhere, browse the web in Firefox, run Open Office, and play media from an SD card or USB drive. (Although I’m still looking for a media player that will play mp3’s, since Fedora, the underlying Linux operating system, apparently doesn’t include mp3 codecs on any of its media software.) All in all, I was pretty pleased with myself…

But then I heard a certain Snarky Penguin crowing about his brand new Asus Eee, a tiny, commercially available laptop similar in design to the XO… but with a much bigger internal drive.

So now I have Eee Eeenvy.

You know some of this already, but check out the article in last week’s Sunday NYT about the incredible spread of mobile tech in the developing world:

Look, microfinance is great; Yunus deserves his sainthood,” Hammond says. “But after 30 years, there are only 90 million microfinance customers. I’m predicting that mobile-phone banking will add a billion banking customers to the system in five years. That’s how big it is.

I LOATHE people who walk around in public with their stupid bluetooth earpieces, seemingly talking to themselves like a mental patient, and not making it clear if I should attempt to converse with them. I have said brutal, vicious things about these folks.

Now I’m one of them. My new phone is bluetooth compatible, and I took a shine to it quicker than Jack Bauer’s evil brother. I’ve sworn to myself that I’ll NEVER use it in public.. except while driving, of course… Because it’s safer, and so forth.

How long do y’all give me until I fuse it to my head like Lando’s weird Cloud City assistant guy?

At long last, the final present of Christmas 2007 has finally arrived: I hold in my hot little hands none other than an XO laptop. In fact, I wrote this post on it!

No, my hand is not in the foreground. It really is that tiny.

Perhaps you’ve heard of the One Laptop Per Child program, the rather ambitious aim of which is to put $100 $200 laptops in the hands of schoolchildren in developing nations worldwide. For a short time last year, they ran a special “Give One Get One” promotion, wherein you could purchase one XO for yourself if you also purchased one for donation to a child in the developing world. On the very last day of the G1G1 program, yours truly, deciding he needed to both repair his fractured karma and purchase a new toy, plunked down the mad scrilla.

Last night, it finally arrived.

All the crazy stories you’ve heard about this machine are true: the screen really is visible outdoors in direct sunlight, the twin wifi antennas really can pull in a signal from a ridiculously long distance, the touchpad really can be used as a writing tablet with a stylus, it really is impervious to dust and heat, and it really does have no hard drive (all internal storage is handled by a combination of ROM and flash memory.) This is an amazingly well-designed piece of hardware.

The software, however, is another story. It’s a special, stripped-down version of Fedora Linux called Sugar, and it’s designed to be very simple for kids to use. I think it’s a little too simple, personally: installing new software is very difficult. The visual look of the GUI is like no operating system you’ve ever seen, so different in fact that it’s quite jarring. And the included web browser is just hideous: it’s slow, breaks formatting, and forget about playing embedded audio or video content.

However, all of these things are fixable. The good folks at Opera have already created a version of their browser specially modified for use on the XO, which I was able to install in just a few quick steps. And lo and behold, there are already several hacks for installing Ubuntu as an alternative operating system, to give the laptop a much more grown-up feel. (There are even rumors that the Redmond Borg Collective will attempt to shoehorn XP onto the XO, but I prefer to pretend that’s just a horrible, horrible nightmare.)

So, yeah: a qualified thumbs up. It’s not a mobile workstation, but it ain’t a toy, either. And it was cheap and it helps out kids in need. I heartily approve of both the concept and the execution of this program.

I’d say run out and buy one immediately, but you can’t. The Give One Get One ended on December 31st, and there are no plans to revive it. I am, and will always continue to be, the only person you know who has one of these babies. Ha ha!

You can still give one to a kid in a Third World country, however. So go do it, you stingy bastard! Now! What are you waiting for?

I suppose that if I were a Windows or Mac fanboy, the title of this post would read “Ballin’ With Bill,” or “Surfin’ With Steve.” As it stands, the alliterative properties of “Linus Torvalds” make “living” the most obvious choice — and the most accurate, given the all-consuming nature of my computer habit. Ask Dina. If I had it my way, I’d sleep with my arms snuggly wrapped around my laptop.

Yes, living. Because that’s what I do now . . . I live with the operating system that Linus Torvalds built back in the early 90s, Linux–or more specifically GNU/Linux, though my distribution of choice, Kubuntu, uses neither “GNU” nor “Linux” in its name. I first tried Linux four years ago, when I installed Mandriva (back then it was Mandrake) alongside Windows XP. I wasn’t prepared at the time to move. Some of my hardware components didn’t work, XP was relatively new, and I didn’t consider Linux to be a serious OS for serious people.

I moved to Linux on my server about a year and a half ago, when I again installed it alongside XP (which by this time was, itself, about five years old). At the time there was a lot of internet buzz about Ubuntu, which was being touted as the first viable desktop Linux distribution, and I was curious. XP, by this time, was running agonizingly slow on my aging hardware, and I was sick of waiting for 5-minute boot-up times and constant defrags. I was pleasantly surprise, as it installed mostly without a hitch on my aging desktop server, and cut my boot time down to a minute or so. I followed a guide for sharing with Samba, and I was up and running with a file and music server.

About a year ago I installed Ubuntu alongside Windows XP on my laptop, and began playing around, and got comfortable enough with it that immediately upon graduation I dumped XP entirely. (I needed to keep XP until then because of compatibility issues with other students and shared work in grad school.) This winter I installed the KDE desktop alongside the GNOME desktop, and found bliss. Though GNOME had treated me well, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with it. It lacked the polish that I wanted in a desktop, and its efforts toward simplicity were wasted on me, as I enjoying tinkering and customizing and whatnot.

My reasons for wanting something other than Windows run along the usual lines espoused all over the intertubes. XP is an aging operating system that will soon be phased out; it is often attacked by script kiddies and virus authors, requiring constant security monitoring; defragging sucks; XP and Windows software costs money; Microsoft is an infuriating company with a huge ego and monopolistic practices; and I desire the intellectual freedom that comes with open source software. To top it off, Vista was proving to be even worse than XP in many regards, and my time at work with it had proven frustrating at best.

Today I can honestly say that KDE is the best GUI I’ve used, and I can’t image ever going back to Windows. Or Mac. Or even GNOME.

That’s the story. Now for the good stuff. Here’s what I like about Linux (Kubuntu, in particular):

• APT is an amazing tool for managing software. Essentially, all your software is managed in a single place and updated for you automatically. If you want new software, you simply open up a program on your computer, search, and click install. No need to go to thirty different websites for thirty different programs. One stop–and it’s all free.
  
• There are a lot of programs that come with any Linux distro by default that will never come with Windows (due mainly to licensing and legal issues (unless you buy from an OEM like Dell)). For example:
  • CD burning software (K3b)
  • Partitioning software
  • A complete office suite (OpenOffice.org for me)
  • A robust photo editor (GIMP)
  • An excellent BitTorrent client (KTorrent)
  • A multiprotocol IM client (Kopete)
  • A lot more available for quick download . . .
• Canonical–the company that distributes Ubuntu and Kubuntu–releases new versions of the software every six months, which means that while XP is nearly 7 years old, I always have some of the newest software available right at my fingertips. (And with each release it gets better and more polished.)
• Kubuntu comes with EVERY driver I need for my laptop. That’s right every single one. I reinstalled a month ago, and the entire process took just over 30 minutes and required no additional downloads (other than for any additional software I wanted). The two times I reinstalled XP on my laptop, it took hours and a separate computer for downloading drivers for 7 different pieces of hardware disk.
• The little touches. Like hover states for photos (and notice the thumbnail on the desktop? Yes!):
  
• The file manager. The new one is called Dolphin, though some people use Konqueror. Both are very good, though there are many strong opinions about both. My favorite features are the split screen and the amount of detail shown for files:
  
• Amarok, the best music player around, is only available for Linux. Yes, best. I don’t miss foobar2000 anymore.
• No need for virus/spyware/adware scanning. And since no ports are open, save a few for web browsing, no need for a software-based firewall (and my hardware-based firewall protects the network otherwise).

And, my favorite programs:

• Amarok
• Firefox
• digiKam w/kipi plugins (photo management - as good as Picasa)
• Qtpfsgui (HDR photos)
• GIMP
• Kate (text editor)
• Kopete (instant messenger)
• Open Office
• KPDF (for PDF files)
• FileZilla
• VLC (movie player)
• Miro (free TV!)

Two final notes:

1. Much has been made of WINE, which is a program that allows you to run Windows applications within Linux. Whereas I can see the utility in using this program (especially if you’re a gamer or a slave to Photoshop, foobar, or utorrent, as some are), I personally won’t install it. It feels like bloat, and if I want to game, I’ll fire up my Wii. Otherwise, GIMP does me fine.
2. Some people won’t install GNOME applications within KDE, and vice-versa, even though they work fine. Generally, you must install extra files to do so. So, again, the bloat argument. I will. I don’t see this issue as being the same as running Windows applications under WINE. In the OS world, we’re one big happy family.

That’s all. If any of my peeps ever want to make the switch, let me know and I’ll assist.

The following is a short list of useful tools, that just might help you be more productive while blogging, working, and playing. The best part is that all of these tools are free for the taking:

Programs:

• GIMP - If you don’t absolutely require Photoshop, this image editor is for you
• FastStone ImageViewer - Great for image file conversion
• UnFREEz - Create GIF animations

Web-Based Utilities:

• GuerrillaMail - Get an anonymous short-term email account
• TinyURL - Convert any convoluted URL into something “tiny”
• YouSendIt - Send any file (up to 100MB) over the Internet without using email

Palm Programs:

• Converter - Fantastic measurement converter
• ChemTable - Periodic Table handy for those chemistry questions
• CryptoPad - Encrypt any files on your Palm Pilot

For the complete list, please refer to my blog, @ the Library!

- Star Wars USB drives -

This was shown in schools in the 90s, but alas, I’m too old to have had the privilege.

It seems I am too late…too late for the gmail that is. I decided to finally set up an account and WTF every name I chose was taken. My frickin FULL NAME was taken…no one has my name, google me and you’ll see that. My first and middle name put together, marahelena and mara.helena were taken. So were weird versions of both my first and last name (which I won’t reveal for privacy but imagine three period dotted throughout my full name and imagine my shock to see they were not available). Is there a gmail conspiracy? Is some huge virus inserting every possible name into gmail seconds before me just to make me cry? Am I really that late to the bandwagon that any hope of a decent email name is gone? Naturally, I’m trying to come up with unusual, never heard, of email names…like mightymara, that’s not taken…or mara.jewels…or mastrubationfreak (Josh thought of that one and it’s not taken). But they all seem too long and forced. And I refuse to add a degrading number at the end; I will not be mara.helena1a, that’s just stupid! I’m actually really bent out of shape over this…thoughts?

I am because we are. Think about that for a minute.

OK. Done thinking? OK.

While in school I was kind of married (just engaged?) to Windows–not simply because it was what I was used to, but because there were things I HAD to have it for (connecting to online tutorials that required IE, for example). I always swore that once I was done with school, I’d dump Windows. My stance was hardened by my time with Vista, which I used from December until my job ended last week. Vista, while pretty, had so much bad in it that I wanted to both puke and put my fist through the monitor. (Are you sure you want to put your fist through the monitor? Please click Yes. Are you sure you want to click Yes? You do not have the rights to click Yes. Please contact your administrator. Error. I’m soooooo slooooooooow. Put more RAM in me!!!)

Well, today marks the day of computing freedom, as I have officially switched from Windows to Ubuntu Linux. I don’t see a reason to ever look back. As Microsoft continues to emded DRM in Windows, and Apple tries to maintain its hardware/software lock-in, with Ubuntu I’m given the freedom to use whatever software/hardware configuration I choose, in whatever way I choose. Best of all, I have a wealth of free, legal, software right at my fingertips, 95% of which is installable with just a couple of clicks (no need to scour the web or illegal file-sharing networks).

That’s my credo. Much has been said about the intellectual freedom of open source software, so I’ll leave it at that. Instead, I’ll tell you what I’ve done to pimp my Ubuntu.

Technical Stuff

I had some trepidation about switching to Ubuntu on my everyday machine (a Dell Inspiron 700M), mostly because I had had a few issues installing it on my server (an old Gateway). I had several requirements beyond your normal office/web stuff: I wanted a decent BitTorrent client, a Flickr Uploadr, an eMusic downloader, and a program launcher. I also had to be 100% certain that my Creative Zen Vision:M, my Canon SD800IS camera, my Cruzer Mini thumb drive, my SD card reader, and my external monitor would work. Lastly, I needed to be able to access all my old files on my NTFS external drive and my Windows partition, be able to network with my server (also running Ubuntu), be able to detect and access my wireless network, and be able to run my laptop at its native resolution–1280×800. “Impossible!,” I thought. “Not so,” said we.

So, here’s the run-down:

• Screen resolution: I have a widescreen laptop, so it wasn’t supported out of the box. However, there is a package in the Ubuntu software reposititories that gave me the resolution I needed AND enabled my external monitor at 1280×1024: sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-intel
• NTFS read/write support: To access my old partitions AND my external drive, I needed to be able to read and write to NTFS drives (NTFS is Microsoft’s file system). No problem. Installing Automatix did the trick, as it has a one-click install of an NTFS mounter (ntfs-3g, I believe). I also installed ntfsprogs (sudo apt-get install ntfsprogs
  ) and ntfs config to make sure everything is kosher.
• While in Automatix, I also installed Azureus (BitTorrent client) which also downloaded Java, VLC (my favorite video player), all the multimedia codecs I will ever need, and Beagle, a desktop search engine.
• For my MP3 player, I installed gnomad2, which interfaces with my Zen Vision:M. (sudo apt-get install nomad2).
• To upload images to Flickr, I installed jUpload. Word on the street is that KFlickr is good, too.
• To download from eMusic, I installed eMusic/J, which works like a charm. Word on the street is that eMusic has a better, cross-platform downloader in the works.
• To quickly launch programs (like Launchy), I installed katapult (sudo apt-get install katapult).
• I had already installed Samba on my server, so connecting to it to share files was as simple as browsing the network.
• Digital camera: it just worked!
• SD Card: it just worked!
• Thumb drive: it just worked!
• Wi-fi Card: it just worked!

Conclusions and Discussion

Linux has this reputation–that you have to be a superhacker to get anything to work. I am pleased to report that I had an easier time setting up Ubuntu than I did Windows. Reinstalling Windows XP on my Inspiron 700m required me to go to a separate internet-ready computer and scour the Dell website for 7 or 8 different drivers, download them, burn them to a disc, and then install each one. Then I had to go to many different websites and download the software I needed.

Everything except my desired screen resolution worked out of the box with Ubuntu, including, amazingly, my SD card reader and my peripherals. Everything else I detailed above–eMusic, Flickr, NTFS support–was just gravy.

If its not obvious, I’m pleased as punch. The most amazing part of this whole experience was how quickly everything works on Linux. It took me maybe 20 minutes to install (compared to four hours for Vista last December), and boots and shuts down literally 4 to 5 times faster than Windows XP. I can’t imagine what will ever compel me to go back to Windows. It doesn’t even seem worth it for the occasional Photoshop job. GIMP, while not nearly as good as Photoshop, should be sufficient for most quick editing jobs.

Believe it or not, the thing I’ll likely miss most is Office 2007 which, in my humble opinion, is Microsoft’s best product to date.

Ciao!