What if we took Linux seriously ?

May 12

It had only been a couple of days since the release of the latest version of Ubuntu’s next incarnation 13.04 when I decided it would be time to give it a spin on my Lenovo Thinkpad. I had only purchased the little 11.6 inch I3 laptop a couple of days earlier ( A nice second hand machine if I may say so ) and was planning on using it for most of my day-to-day computing tasks. Having read up on all the ‘latest’ features to come to 13.04 I was looking forward to the next version of Nautilus and having a peek at the new “Friends” application that had come to replace Gwibber. But most of all I was looking forward to the speed increase in Unity.

Four hours later I woke from a daze of searching forums, entering command line strings, downloading packages, fixing dependencies and filing bugs to a system that was actually working. As it turned out the “bleeding edge” of Ubuntu Distro’s had been hemorrhaging into my work schedule where it had eaten up the precious time of “Getting things done” in favour of “Getting things to work”. The system was operational, but somehow I did not have the confidence in my installed machine that I normally have. Why ? Because I take my computers seriously. Computers are an integral part of my work routine and I actually rely on my Linux powered computers to get things done for work, but also for things like blogging, podcast producing and so forth. And I hold those Linux powered systems to high standards : They have be stable, reliable, consistent and most of all, help me to get things done. 

I flash back 7 or 8 years when I bought my first iBook (G4 powered Mac Laptop) and experienced the joy of having a computer that helped me be creative and get things done. This is raw contrast to the dodgy XP and Vista systems that seem to need constant cleaning, maintenance, repair and re installations. I had a computer that got the job done.. And I liked it.

 So having spent 4 hours on a “bleeding edge” Linux distribution to get it working just the way I wanted to had been a learning experience (as most Linux related things are) but not quite what I had in mind for the afternoon. With Blogposts unwritten, Podcasts unrecorded, work email .. unchecked it somehow reminded me of those dodgy XP machines we spent hours to fix.  I wiped the drive and re-installed trusty Ubuntu 12.04 (Long term support) exchanging bleeding edge features for slightly older and boring well supported stability. I did it because I needed to get OTHER stuff done.

 The question has been nagging in my mind ever since : What if we took Linux seriously. And by that I do not mean the “ham-shack amateur passion” in which we all run our own favorite super tweaked distribution. Not in the way we bicker and squabble over the best graphical user interface.. But ‘Serious’ in the way a company would use it.  Over the last couple of years I’ve seen the Linux scene expand in adoption and popularity. From the bearded geeks in their basements whose only source of light was a flickering command line prompt to a much larger host of geeks and even end users who have discovered the wondrous world of Tux. But the question remains if the Linux community with its resources of developers, bug fixers, advocates and users would be enough in a “real world environment”.

To illustrate my point let me pose you a question. What Linux distribution would you pick to install on 2600 workstations, spread over 4 countries. Its average user level “novice” its support and management servers centralized  With Microsoft’s “active directory” things like remote configurations, policies and software packaging are quite able to produce a somewhat uniform and centrally managed workstation landscape. What Linux system would you pick to replace it ? On the one hand stability and support is an issue, so the ‘bleeding edge’ of Debian Testing might not be something towards you would want to entrust your day-to-day business processes. On the other hand there is the issue of support where you need to make sure that your install base is not starved out of patches and support after 9 months. And lastly there is of course the need for a centralized system to make sure system configurations, policies and so forth can be managed from one location.

When I look around the Linux landscape today I see few distributions that are up to the corporate task of being the primary OS for a desktop workforce (I am not talking about servers) As colorful as distributions like Pear_OS or Hanna Montanna Linux might be, they do not have the resources to make in the corporate world. Other distributions like Suse or Redhat ( who have corporate backing ) lack any form of centralized management and configuration tools like Microsofts Active Directory. You might have a fair chance of rolling them out on the desktop, but only to a workforce that is able to install and repair their own workstations. And then there are those other distro’s who are looking for an unity between their different platforms. They are shunned for “selling out” to the idea of “free and open source” in favor of making a buck.

And so I ponder what would happen if some bloggers got what they asked for. “Windows will be dead in 2 years”. Then what ? What os is going to be on the workstation of your aunty Jeanne over at the DMV ?  Who is gonna support Uncle Joe as his Arch Linux workstation reports broken dependencies. What company will be the first to roll out “Hanna Montana Linux” as their strategic choice for the desktop.   We have been touting for years that “The Linux Desktop” is gonna make it to the mainstream, but I wonder what we do if we get there. Because then it will be in the hands of the “average” users. Students who need to get their papers done. Accountants who need to file tax returns, Tattoo artists who need to have a high res picture of that Hanna Montana clipart before they paint it on your shoulder. People who do not have the slightest notion what Linux is about and why it is so great. People unaware they can compile packages from source or tweak their system to a whole new level. People who associate penguins with David Attenborough instead of Richard Stallman. People who are not in the know. In other words : People who need to take this stuff seriously and use their computer not to “do things” but to get things done.

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What are your top 5 “must see” Geek Tv-shows.

May 10

“Its about these guys… that are just like you ! .. and they are FUNNY !!!” my “norm”* friend giggles as he waves his arms up and down frantically and points towards the television. Yes … he IS referring to “The Big Bang Theory” a show that has him very excited for he himself is only just dipping his toes into the great “pond of geek”.  Having installed his first Linux distribution and discovering the world of Irc and Google+ have been epic tasks that  have been entrusted upon him by his wise geek Overlord .. ME.   “He is ready” my inner voice says .. “to see the geek classics”. I try to hold back from opening the floodgates to our rich geek culture. Where movies like “The ghost in the machine” are a classic. Where everyone can dub the first lines from the movie “Dune” by heart. Where David Hasselhoff is a cult legend and where Serenity is considered a form of religion. 

So I am faced with the difficult choice of offering him his “Next Geek Tv show” to watch. So I go over my shortlist in random order.

  • Battlestar Galactica. (both the original and the revamped series.)
  • Star Trek. ( not really a ‘watch this’ assignment, rather a complete lifestyle makeover.)
  • Serenity. (One must know what a Browncoat is.)
  • Babylon 5. ( For all women, like centaury, should be bald somewhere.)
  • A dash of classic Dr Who featuring Tom Baker. (For one must know why ones girlfriend must knit a scarf.)
  • … and so many more.

So before I make my decision … What do YOU think are the TOP 5 geek shows ANY budding geek should watch ? Tell us in the comments section. 

* norm : Non-geek .. lamen .. Noob.

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Cross-platform Instagram for your desktop : XnRetro.

May 09

” Hey ! Lets take a 24 gazillion megapixel camera, make it portable and have it shoot high quality pictures. Then lets take an app that makes those pictures look like they were made by a 25 year old throwaway camera” … said “Somebody” “Once”. … However unlikely the idea might have been at the time, Instagram is massively popular these days. Almost every snapshot we take with this popular app gets filtered and warped into something that looks just a liiiiitle more artistic then the shot we just made. All cool as kittens on a spaceship … but what if we want to do the same on our desktop.

The defence calls upon XnRetro your Honor ! This “Instagram clone for ‘real computers'” lets you tinker around with your screenshots to your hearts desire. Throw some filters, borders and light effects around and presto .. there is that one picture of you in your batman suit, hanging from the ceiling chandelier wearing pink mittens. But now it looks like it has been taken in the 60’s … so you have plausible denial.  Once satisfied you can save the pictures OR export them to social-space with the “Share funtionality”

XnRetro (from the makers of Xnview) is a slider friendly application that runs on Windows, Macs, Linux machines and coffee machines who are so dirty they have become sentient. (We haven’t tested it on the latter). The app is functional and free .. So we love it like lolcats !  To prove it works here is a picture of me and my dog, traveling back to the 30’s, taking a picture and leaving it to rot in drawer for 80 years so we could scan it in and put it up here .. for no reason.

Download XnRetro here.

 

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Forget Hollywood : Here are the ten best REAL hacking videos.

May 08

If there is one blog you should check out on a regular basis : Try “Hackaday” (thanx listener @sharky for the heads up). Its a great site with .. hacks. Whenever you like to turn your microwave into a sonic screwdriver, your doorbell into a dna-scanner or your inlaws into low orbiting space debree .. Hackaday will probably not be of any use to you … or will they ? At least they will manage to entertain you. Recently they asked their community what the ten best hacking movies/videos were .. of all time. Forget Angela Jolie in Hackers, forget computers that go bleeepediebloop whenever you touch them .. Forget Hollywood. Here is the real deal.

You can find a list of all the movies mentioned on their site.  Unfortunately there are no links to where you can watch some of these online. So Geek points for ANY Knightwise.com wiseguy/wisegirl that can come up with links to youtube, vimeo or internet archive copies of these 10 films .. in the comments section.

 

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Our shortlist of favorite cross platform podcatchers.

May 07

These days listening to podcasts must be one of the most important things you do all day. Ok, at least listening to OUR podcast must be the most important thing you do all day ? Yes ? Yes ! And to “Get” ones fix of podcasts one must use a “Podcatcher”. A device that automaticaly goes out towards the internets and plucks the fresh fruits of podcasters near and far in order to deliver it to your personal listening device. (Whatever that may be). When I say “Podcatcher” many of you may think “iTunes”. But if there ever was an application that failed so horribly at achieving the very act of podcatching .. iTunes must be it. This overbloated underfunctionalised trainwreck of code is NOT to be considered a member of our list of suggested podcatching applications.

Here are the ones that ARE. 

Windows.

  • GPodder (Free) (Cross platform)
  • Miro (Free) (Cross platform)
  • Juice (Free) (Cross platform)

Linux.

Mac.

Ios

Android

Windows 8 (mobile) 

Some app missing from this list ? Do you have another favorite to share ? Tell us in the comments section.

 

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