Could anything replace Linux?

At this point, could some other open-source operating system topple Linux off its perch as the dominant open-source OS? There are others around, but they'd have to match Linux's stability, functionality and support levels before they'd be seen as a significant contender. That would mean attracting the same number of dedicated developers, and that's unlikely, in my opinion. All the developers who would be working on some other open-source operating system are already either working on Linux or on their own pet project. Those pet projects, lacking the developer effort and organisation of Linux, will move more slowly and will therefore feel like they're being left behind by all flavours of Linux, not to mention Windows and OS X as well.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - It takes a lot of effort to make a modern OS.
PPS - And in software, effort means time and people, which in turn usually means money.

Ubuntu 10.04 fails a little bit

I've upgraded my older computer to Ubuntu 10.04, AKA "Lucid Lynx". On the whole, as with any upgrade, there's not much different, but there are a couple of problems that are starting to bug me. For one thing, since the upgrade, Ubuntu has forgotten how to work my sound card. It isn't even being detected any more. I can't remember if I did anything different to get it working in previous versions, but whatever I did, it should have carried over through the upgrade.

The other major problem is that the computer will no longer shut down. When I tell Ubuntu to shut the computer down, it logs off and won't allow anything else but to log back in. If I want to fully shut down, I have to restart, boot into Windows, then select Shut Down from there. I really don't get this one. I know my machine is a custom build, but it's got standard parts in there, and, again, this used to work.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - I haven't had much more time to poke around yet.
PPS - Or look for solutions to my problems.

Update: Both of these problems seem to have sorted themselves out together after a hard reset then immediate shutdown from the login screen.

The Incredible Disappearing Pictures Folder!

This morning when I logged on to my computer I found that my Pictures folder was inexplicably empty. Just in case something weird had happened, I tried rebooting. Nada. 7GB of photos vanished into thin air. This is why we have backups, people.

Update: Almost immediately when I tried to copy my photos back from a backup, I discovered the problem. I had accidentally set the permissions of the folder too strictly so that even I was forbidden from looking inside. Easily fixed and all the photos have returned now. My bad.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - The operating system is Ubuntu Linux.
PPS - I have five separate copies of my photo collection, not including what's online.

My old laptop - too weak even to boot old Ubuntu

I thought I had hit upon a master stroke this week. My personal laptop at home is rather sluggish and a bit under-powered, even for things as simple as web browsing. It is also, it seems, too weak to boot the latest Ubuntu live discs. Since the really old version, Dapper Drake (released in 2006) is still under support for a little while longer, I thought I would burn that disc and see how it goes.

Alas, the little machine only has the energy to boot the live disc and not to actually install to the hard drive. The confusing thing is that Linux is supposed to be *easier* on hardware than Windows, but it seems Windows XP is the only thing that can actually boot on this machine, including the "low-power" version, Xubuntu. It is just barely possible that Xubuntu 6.06, if such a thing exists, would boot and install, but I'm not counting on it.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - The laptop is otherwise unused.
PPS - Linux would help bring it back to life.

Everyone's booting Linux

I've decided to install Ubuntu Linux on this other work machine, since it seems we might be here a while longer. My co-workers are also at least considering it too. I've been meaning to install it at home for some time, but haven't managed to free enough space yet on the old hard drive. Also, because the drive is old, I'm not that confident about its ability to survive a re-partitioning.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - If I get a new PC, I'd be less anxious about it.
PPS - That might be sooner rather than later.

Naming external devices in Ubuntu

Since I switched to Ubuntu Linux at work, I was a bit miffed that all my devices (USB drive, old hard drives, mobile phone in data mode) appeared as "/media/disk" - all the same name. I looked for ages to find out how to set unique and meaningful names for them, but nothing worked, so I just put up with it. Then today I found the answer. For anyone else who has the same problem, these instructions might come in handy:

1. Open Nautilus to the Computer area.
2. Connect the device.
3. Right-click the device and select Properties, then the Drive tab.
4. Expand the Settings section.
5. Type the desired name in the Mount Point box and close the window.
6. Unmount and remount the device.

It's embarrassingly easy for the time it took me to discover the feature.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - I just expected it to be harder for some reason.
PPS - Some other things are hard, but perhaps I'm just misunderstanding them.

Connecting my phone to Linux, but not really

My trusty Nokia 6288 (running Symbian S40) was being repaired during the Great Office Linux Switch, so I had yet to see it in action with Ubuntu until now. On Windows I had set up an elaborate but effective chain of tools for automatic data synchronisation like so:

Phone <--USB--> Nokia PC Suite <--> Microsoft Outlook <--(plugin)--> Google Calendar

It works like a charm except that the Outlook plugin (Remote Calendars) does its slow network access and sync in the same thread as the Outlook user interface. It locks the whole thing up for a minute or so, which is annoying but not a deal breaker. The two things I like best about this setup are (1) it costs me zero in phone company data charges since I'm going via a wired internet connection and (2) it doesn't require any third-party website memberships.

On Linux, the best replacement I can find for the Nokia PC Suite is MultiSync, but it's not working for me so far. I may need to read up on it some more. For now, the solution is to run Windows in VMWare Player and just use the old way virtually.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - It's not what I wanted to do.
PPS - Maybe another option will open up further down the line.

Highlights of the Linux conversion

I've got a couple of things to share about the conversion to Linux at work. I hope they're interesting to at least some people.

1. My file synchronisation utility, Unison, needs to ignore file permissions on my flash drive to work properly.
2. My virtual Windows copy has stopped working, so I'll need to take a new copy, this time of my current Windows setup.
3. Printers are a bit more of a hassle to set up in Linux than in Windows. You can substitute just about any hardware for the word "printers" there, too.
4. The big shared network drive at work won't connect properly. I just keep getting recursive directory listings. This should be fixed in the next Linux kernel version, I'm told.

On the plus side, my Firefox and Thunderbird profiles migrated over without any big troubles, and I've found acceptable substitutes for most of my favourite Windows-based tools already.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - I could get to like Linux quite a lot.
PPS - Provided I don't use much exotic hardware.

Taking the Linux Plunge

For a while now, I've been a kind of uninformed Linux advocate. I took the position that it was a good idea and more people should be running Linux rather than (or in addition to) Windows. I've had vague notions of setting up a dual-boot system at work or home. Now I've got my wish. I've installed Ubuntu Linux alongside Windows at work and the plan is to use it as my primary environment. I'm the guinea pig for the rest of the section.

It's not the first time I've run Linux, but it's the first time I've been this deep. Thus far, it's all been live discs that let me boot up, play around for a while and then disappear without a trace or short-lived virtual machines that might as well be an alternative web browser. Installing programs, figuring out hardware configuration issues and even resizing disk partitions has been a bit of an adventure.

I don't expect the migration to go all that smoothly. I've now made a virtual Windows copy that I can keep around, like a security blanket, whenever I find something I can't accomplish. I've managed to get my self-written note-taking program WorkDiary operating, even though it's written for Microsoft's .NET platform. Thanks go out to the good people who develop the compatible Mono libraries for that. However, that's not the only program I've got to get moving here in Linux Town. I've built up a whole slew of partially-useful applications, practices and techniques over the years that are specific to Windows. I imagine I've got some un-learning to do and some new tools to find.

If interesting things happen, I'll keep you posted, but that's quite enough for today.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - My passwords database has been the most valuable migration so far.
PPS - And my Firefox profile will come next.

Virtually Real

Since starting to play with VMWare Player, I've grown just a tiny bit more familiar with Linux, but not that much. I'm able to run a virtual Linux box on my PC here at work without messing with anything much (just installing the player). Now, while that's cool and all, I'd really like to dual boot Linux and Windows, and I'm far more comfortable doing that with a machine I don't own (ie my work PC). Even though I might be okay with trying this, I have a feeling that the IT guys might see it a bit differently.

I have a theory that I could use the VMWare player as a shell and boot into the virtual Linux box directly if I made some changes to the boot settings. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any guides on doing so, and it might just be another harebrained scheme. However, I have seen references to a way of doing just that, so I remain confident that it can be done. I just don't know how.

Part of the problem of searching for info on dual-booting a virtual machine and its host operating system is that the search terms are the same as setting up the virtual machine in the first place. The other part of the problem is that it's weird and insane. After all, if I can use a virtual Linux machine on my Windows desktop, why do I need to do the same thing without Windows?

Mokalus of Borg

PS - I imagine your nerd radars started going a little crazy back there.
PPS - It should be safe to turn them back on again now.

Virtual Ubuntu

Yesterday I installed not one but two virtual Ubuntu Linux machines, one at work and one at home. Unfortunately, the one at work wants to download and install 200MB of patches right away, which is a bit much. It won't go unnoticed, is what I'm saying.

For a geek, I'm very late onto the Linux bandwagon. I'm not sure why that might be, but with something as easy as Ubuntu to set up, and VMWare Player to let me do so without potentially obliterating Windows, well, there are no excuses anymore.

I'm aware it's a different environment, so it's going to take some learning. I'll have to figure out how my regular daily activities (at home: games, TV and internet) will work. I did find an article on running City of Heroes in Linux that should be interesting reading. But while I'm running Linux only virtually, that would be an experiment only.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - If things go horribly wrong, I'll let you know.
PPS - The bonus of virtual machines in that case: delete the file and you're all cleaned up.