The Bristow’s dot COM

For the past two weeks I have been using Ubuntu 7.10 on my desktop PC. I used to install Linux distributions frequently to see which distros were better. But that was a few years ago. When I bought a new PC I decided to jump into the world of Linux once again and see what all the buzz is regarding Ubuntu. I downloaded the 64 bit version of Ubuntu so that I could benefit from my new AMD 64 bit hardware and got it burned to a CD and was ready to go. I rebooted the system and was greeted by the Ubuntu logo as expected.

Installation was quick, I guess it took maybe 10 minutes for the OS to be installed and rebooted. Compared to an installation of Windows, this is quite impressive.

My first thought about Ubuntu was. “Wow. It recognized my wireless card.” I was connected to my secure wireless network within a few seconds of booting up. I opened Firefox and was on the web checking my email and utilizing the PC for just about everything that I needed it to do. OpenOffice was also installed automatically so I had a full Office Suite at my fingertips as well. I opened up Evolution and configured my email accounts with ease. Evolution connected to my work Exchange server and my personal email’s IMAP server with no difficulty. Evolution even synchronized with my Exchange Calendar at work. Very nice.

Now it was time to get the printer working. But after a few attempts it was clear that Ubuntu simply did not want to see my network printer. This was very frustrating. My Mac OSX system connects easily with my Brother Laserjet via my network print server without problems, so I figured Ubuntu would be able to do this as well. But for some reason Ubuntu doesn’t even see that particular network device. I have chalked this issue up to my somewhat strange hardware configuration with a dated printer and an obscure network print server. So, I moved on…

The next stop was Eye Candy. I kept seeing all of these amazing videos of Ubuntu performing some really cool window transition effects. I knew I had to have these as well. Vista has eye candy, so I wanted to see how easy it would be for Ubuntu to look better than… well…. a dated system. I found that Ubuntu 7.10 has something called Compiz installed by default and you can turn on desktop effects to get some cool effects. This was easy to enable and was found quickly in the menu system. However, it didn’t give me the options that I expected. I had wobbly windows and that was cool, but I wanted the ‘Cube’, and windows burning out of view when you minimize them. The things I kept seeing in the videos. To accomplish this I had to delve into the terminal. Note: This could be done with the synaptic package manager but it wasn’t obvious that a package was missing to allow settings to be changed. Now this annoys the heck out of me. I absolutely can’t stand having to go to a terminal session to accomplish something. I feel that this is very backwards. I know the terminal is ‘powerful’ but it feels like going back to the days of DOS. Regardless of my frustration with the terminal I followed some directions I found in posts from the Ubuntu discussion forums and was able to get the advanced settings enabled by running a few commands. And WOW!, the Eye Candy is absolutely amazing. There are more options for various effects than I could ever describe here. It truly makes Vista seem like it has a dated interface. However, I don’t get why the advanced settings are not available right out of the box, but once enabled the GUI that Ubuntu uses is absolutely amazing.

So, I have Eye Candy and now it is time to install some other programs. I noticed that Skype has a Linux version of their program so I downloaded it and followed some cryptic commands I found in the Ubuntu discussion forums to be performed in the terminal and got it working relatively quickly. Nice. I then noticed that flash was not installing in Firefox 2 64 bit. Frustrating. So I found some help on the Ubuntu discussion forums and got a 32 bit version of Firefox installed in my 64 bit Ubuntu with Flash and Java and I was all set and ready to go. Again this involved a bunch of commands in the terminal to accomplish this. I installed some other native Linux applications, some from the Add/Remove menu in Ubuntu and some from downloads and then using terminal commands to install them. The Add/Remove system in Ubuntu works very well, and helps you easily install tons of various software applications. And all of the software in it is legally free! However, needing to use the terminal for applications not found in the Ubuntu repositories is very annoying.

So at this point I have a system that I am really starting to like. It looks great and does everything I want it to do. I have had a few headaches regarding the terminal, but I have followed directions from other Ubuntu users and have succeeded at getting software installed. This still left me with a computer that couldn’t print so I ended up sharing the printer on my MAC and then Ubuntu was able to connect to it through the shared printer on the MAC. Not the ideal installation, but since my MAC is always on this works fine for me right now.

So - now I finally get around to answering the question I posed in the title of this blog entry. Is Ubuntu ready for the mainstream? I want to answer this with some clarification. Ubuntu 7.10 is my main Operating System at home. I enjoy it and won’t be using Vista or Windows XP as my main system any longer. I have made the switch to Ubuntu. I feel that Linux has come far enough that it is very usable for me. However, I do not feel that Ubuntu or any other Linux distro that I have ever used is ready for the masses. Why? Because no one should ever need to go into the terminal to install something, ever. I can not be any more emphatic about this. Until the Linux purists, or elites or whatever other name they may call themselves, understand this, Linux will never become mainstream. Linux will remain a toy for geeks, not a tool for the masses. I understand issues with vendors not making their software easy to install, or providing installation files for a particular distribution, or hardware simply not working because a company won’t provide drivers. I understand these issues. But a GUI needs to be created to guide users through compiling a program that they want to install and have all dependencies get resolved automatically behind the scenes. We can’t expect companies to make a Linux version for every distribution out there, but we can expect the installation process to be easy for the end user. Users want to download and click for installation. Not download, open terminal, and then find terminal commands from the Ubuntu forums and cross your fingers that you don’t run into an error while compiling. A GUI should be available for typical things that currently involve opening the terminal. Installing software that you download is certainly one of these scenarios. I do not want to get rid of the terminal, but if you need to open the terminal to accomplish typical operations, then in my opinion, something is lacking.

On the positive side the Ubuntu discussion forums are an amazing resource with helpful people. I found the overall mood there very positive and open to newbies. Linux in the past seemed to have communities of people that hated newbies and refused to help or simply wanted to prove their IQ with a bunch of techno babble that only a MIT student could understand. The Ubuntu discussion forums are very welcoming and helpful.

I believe that Ubuntu is moving in the right direction and with a 6 month release cycle I anticipate great strides within the next couple of years. In my opinion, Microsoft should be very concerned about Linux now. Linux is getting more mature and looks like it will be maturing far faster than Windows. Maybe Microsoft should stop re-inventing their OS and simply create their own brand of Linux to sell to the masses?

Addition: If there could be a wizard that would handle the creation of a .deb from a source tarball in the background, and then install that .deb, I believe that these issues could be resolved. The application could easily be removed via synaptic later on if it is installed via a .deb. And the created .deb would be ideal for the users system and could be wiped out after the install if needed. Installing directly from source can be painful for someone to remove. I think this idea could really help Linux (particularly debian based versions) bridge the gap and make software far easier to install for the less technically inclined. Maybe someone with more skills than me could use the guide on this link as a base for creating the system that would create the .deb and then have the .deb installed via normal means once created.

I have been reading a good number of horror stories involving Vista SP1 the past few days. And since I am a glutton for punishment, or I just happen to have a Vista installation with nothing important on it, I decided to take the SP1 plunge. I fully expected to experience the ‘Blue Screen of Death’ or random driver errors. So, when I had a text book installation of the SP1 upgrade, I would have to say I was a bit disappointed. The installation took about an hour, and it worked flawlessly. I can’t find anything to spend countless hours trying to fix. Microsoft, you have a reputation to uphold, I should be scouring the web on a separate PC looking for fixes to get my Vista machine back up and running right now, but instead I find myself sharing with the world that Vista SP1 might actually be worth installing. However, I must add that I am not sure what new features, gizmos, or gadgets I may find in SP1. I just haven’t had enough time to explore it. And, then I have to admit that I am not extremely familiar with what Vista’s exhaustive feature set was before SP1 so I might not notice any feature enhancements.

Now for some more exciting news: Coming soon….

(the beta is being tested by geeks around the world as I type this…)

Just the other evening I purchased a new PC. This PC has Vista Home Premium installed on it, and I was hoping for a better experience with Vista than when I installed it onto my laptop. To my disappointment I saw the blue screen memory error within 15 minutes of plugging the computer in and booting up Vista. Vista didn’t like the D-Link WDA-1320 wireless card I installed in it. After battling that and finding drivers that would work for the card I thought everything would be alright. And then the PC froze. So I rebooted and worked a bit more and the PC froze again. At this point I divided the partition up and installed the 64 bit version of Ubuntu Linux. (I must note this only took about 45 minutes and all of my hardware, including the wireless card work flawlessly in Ubuntu.) I played around in Ubuntu for a couple of hours and did not experience any freezing. So, I ruled out the idea that the hardware was bad. Vista seems to be the culprit.

So this evening I began trying to track down fixes for my Vista freezing issues. I found a number of discussion forums flooded with people having the same problem. And I found two solutions that at this point appear to have resolved my PC freezing issues in Vista.

The Fix
1. Go to Control Panel –> Hardware and Sound –> Power Options –> Choose High Performance
2. Go to Computer –> Right click on all hard disk drives and choose properties –> uncheck index this drive for faster searching

Essentially this stops Vista from constantly scanning your hard drive and prevents Vista from going into any hibernation mode. So far after a few hours I have not experienced a freeze yet in Vista.

But, I think Ubuntu may become my main operating system on this PC. I installed the 64 bit version of Ubuntu and it is blazing fast on this PC, and I won’t need to worry about any Genuine Advantage mixups with Ubuntu.

Many moons ago I wrote about an automobile that is 100% electric. It doesn’t use even an ounce of gasoline. The Tesla. This is an impressive car, proving that you can get performance and style without gasoline. But their car costs $100,000.00 making it a toy for the rich, and nothing that the masses can dream of getting their hands on.

I believe that a car needs to be under $30,000.00 and have reasonable performance to survive in the American automotive market. Tesla may someday create such a product but they haven’t yet. However, I just learned about a car that can go 100mph, 0-60 in 10 seconds and can run on electricity alone (no gas) for 60 miles, or it can combine electricity and gas to achieve 300-400MPG. And this car is set to sell for just under $30,000.00.

The car is called the Aptera. It certainly looks strange, but it is comparable to a compact car like the Toyota Yaris. Well, comparable in space on the inside, but really that is where the similarities end. The Aptera is a 2 seater with space for a child seat in the middle behind the two passenger seats. So would this be a 2.5 seater? The car is a hybrid, but can also operate as an electric only automobile. If you travel less than 60 miles per day you could get to work and back using absolutely no gas. Or if you need to travel further, fill the tank up and enjoy up to 400 miles per gallon.

Another interesting aspect of this car is that it has 3 wheels. Aptera claims that they have engineered the vehicle so that it has a less likely chance of roll over than traditional 4 wheeled automobiles, so that is nice to know. I can’t say I understand the physics behind that so I will just accept their word on it. One advantage of using three wheels is increased aerodynamics and a lighter weight which together help this vehicle achieve performance and efficiency. They have also designed the car to exceed safety regulations, so it should be a relatively safe car on the road. Nice things to know since it looks a bit… odd.

If people can get over how strange this car looks, The Aptera could be the beginning of a revolution to get America independent of foreign oil. So, I am a fan of the Aptera and will be watching to see how their company handles themselves among the automotive elite like Ford, GM, and Honda.

I was talking with someone at work today about the Internet. They mentioned that they are always confused about how to know if the website they are at is really the ‘real website’. The example they mentioned was an Online Banking website. They have heard about fake sites being setup to trick you into providing your login details and then people steal all of your money. This is a legitimate concern, because people really do setup fake sites and do exactly that, take your money. The good news is that if you are using an up-to-date web browser (Firefox or IE7), and use your eyes then you can easily know if you are at a real site or a fake site. The address bar is the area at the top of your browser window where you would type in a website address. I have learned that tons of people surf the web without typing anything or ever looking at the address bar. If you are one of those people then this information will be extra important for you. So, this blog post is intended to explain to whomever takes the time to read this, why it is important to simply look at your address bar to see where you are on the Internet.

Here is a picture of my address bar. You should see something similar to this at the top of your web browser.

Let me provide an example of why it is important to look at your address bar. You get an email from Bank of America for some special offer, and you want this offer. You click a link in the email. The site you go to looks like the Bank of America site and it has a login form. You are excited to get this great offer from Bank of America. But wait. STOP! Before you log into this site you need to look at the address bar in your browser. Why?

If you see https://www.bankofamerica.com , then you are probably at the real Bank of America website. However, since you clicked a link in an email you may not want to 100% trust this due to some older browser vulnerabilities. IE7 has some anti-phishing tools that are good to have enabled. If you are not using an up-to-date browser you should install Firefox or IE7 as soon as possible. Old Web browsers can put you at risk to get tricked into logging into a fake site.

If you see https://123576.fhdhs.com , or any other site then you are at what is called a Phishing site. If you log into this site some criminal will get your Bank of America login information and will then have full access to your Bank Account.
You may even see something like https://bankofamerica.fhdhs.com . The fhdhs.com portion is the site you are going to if you click this link. I know it says bankofamerica in the link, but it simply isn’t the Bank of America website. Why? You should read a URL from right to left, and not left to right. That portion directly before the .com is the real website you are heading to, and that does not say bankofamerica.com.

I know someone right now is really concerned at how easy it might be for someone to setup a fake site and trick you. But don’t be concerned. Keep your web browser up to date and use your eyes to look at the address bar and you will be fine. Another simple rule of thumb to avoid fake sites is, simply don’t ever go to an important site by clicking on a link. You should go to important sites directly and never through a link in an email or from another website. Legitimate banking sites don’t ever provide login links or ever ask for personal information about you or your account through email. So simply getting such a request through email should be ignored, ignore it even if the email says that the bank is going to take your house. If you are actually concerned give the bank a call, but don’t mess around with the email or any links that might be in it. If you still want to go to the Bank of America website simply type www.bankofamerica.com into your address bar or use a favorite or bookmarked link. You don’t have to use a link to get to a website, that is what the address bar is for.

For some , this may be a new way to surf the web. But it is extremely important to look at your address bar. It is simple and could save you from a lot of hassle and financial loss. Know where you are on the Internet. And only provide login information when you are 100% sure you are at the website you intend to be at. The eyes built into your head are your best tool for keeping you safe online.