Ubuntu Musings

Well, there are probably more than 10 things. But this post at TechRepublic points out 10 ways in which Linux is superior to Windows. Pay attention to item #2:

2: Desktop

You can’t keep a straight face and say the Linux desktop is more difficult to use than the Windows desktop. If you can, you might want to check the release number of the Linux distribution you are using. Both GNOME and KDE have outpaced Windows for user-friendliness. Even KDE 4, which has altered the path of KDE quite a bit, will make any given user at home with the interface. But the Linux desktop beats the Windows desktop for more reasons than just user-friendliness. It’s far more flexible than anything Microsoft has ever released. If you don’t like the way the Linux desktop looks or behaves, change it. If you don’t like the desktop included with your distribution, add another. And what if, on rare occasion, the desktop locks up? Well, Windows might require a hard restart. Linux? Hit Ctrl + Alt + Backspace to force a logout of X Windows. Or you can always drop into a virtual console and kill the application that caused your desktop to freeze. It’s all about flexibility … something the Windows desktop does not enjoy.

A while back, I wrote a post about SCX Recorder (a Linux utility to record Skype calls). It worked nicely on my old ThinkPad, but since I moved to my new laptop I noticed that it stopped working. My attempts to recompile SCX Recorder were in vain, unfortunately.

Then, I remembered another utility that I’d tested (albeit briefly). It’s called Skype Call Recorder. And after a second, closer look I have to say I’m impressed with this little tool.

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Next month, I’ll be giving a presentation at a technical communications conference. One of the things that I hate doing when I give a presentation is dashing back to my laptop to move to the next slide in my deck.

Luckily, my business partner bought a Logitech wireless presentation remote last year. A dongle plugs into a USB port, and picks up a signal from the remote to advance the slide.

I borrowed the remote from him to see if it would work with my Linux-powered laptop. Guess what? It did. Not just with PowerPoint running under Crossover Office, but also with OpenOffice.org Impress and even Evince (GNOME’s default PDF viewer).

Why was this a surprise? According to the Logitech Web site, the system requirements are Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME, XP, or Vista; and Microsoft Office PowerPoint. I guess one out of eight is something …

It’s called the Inspiron Mini 9, and you can pre-order it with Ubuntu (at least in the U.S.). But I got a chuckle out of this:

And this from Dell’s Canadian Web site (once again, we have to wait for Ubuntu-powered machines):

The Blog of helios explains why. It’s a lengthy post, but which presents some great reasons from a variety of angles.

At least, that’s what various people have told me. The it to which I refer was connecting my laptop to a wireless printer.

Here’s the back story: a few weeks ago, our old printer gave up the ghost. I never used it much, but my wife did and immediately ordered a new HP multifunction from a well-known electronics chain. What attracted her to it was the price, and the printer’s wireless capabilities.

It arrived before the end of that week, and my wife quickly set the printer up. I mentioned that I might try to connect my Linux laptop to it, but never got around to it. The other night, I gave it a try. And I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I was able to do it. (more…)