The 13th version of WordPress has hit the servers for everyday use.
Check out their blog entry announcing the release and exciting news about the future of WordPress. Instead of rushing to develop a 3.x release, they will be working on the whole “WordPress experience” as WordPress is much more than the open source blogging application that it started out as years ago.
Or, should I say out of date misinformation? I’ve read a lot of similar sounding pieces of misinformation lately about Linux.
One piece that keeps resurfacing is that you have to use the command line to do anything at all (remember DOS?). Not true!!!!! That tidbit is really outta date. I find starting programs is much easier than in any version of Windows. You don’t have to hunt through menus to find a program you just installed, but told to not put a desktop icon up. If you install a graphics program in Linux, just open the menu, select “Graphics” and your program is right there, and not under some unheard of manufacturer’s name or something. Want it on your desktop after all? Simply grab it and drop it there!!
Linux has poor hardware support. Getting less true every day. the only piece of hardware I cannot get to work is a TWAIN scanner by Hewlett Packard. All my external drives work fine, dialup modems work if I ever want them (and these are the cheapo Winmodems), keyboards and mice work (I have to admit that some special functions that I rarely use in Windows may not be supported), my networked laser printer is supported perfectly. It is funny, Mint found it upon installation and automatically installed the correct driver!!! I went to install the CUPS driver for that printer and found it already ready for use! I guess it is proper to say hats off to Brother for being open source friendly, too!!! I can offload pictures from my Sony cameras just fine with either Ubuntu or Mint; connect the camera, power it up, it is recognized and mounted and I’m ready to copy to the computer…that simple! Your mileage may vary depending on camera maker.
Some cheap Broadcom WiFi cards have to have special drivers installed, but Mint saw my Broadcom 43xx card, and asked permission to install the driver (I used the Ethernet cable for installing it until it installed the WiFi driver), and it found my network, recognized what encryption I was running and asked for the key and I was surfing wirelessly! Mint also connects so much faster than any version of Windows to my saved WiFi profiles.
Programs are hard to install, with a lot of keyboard typing to get to work. No, no and NO!!!! Uh-uh, negatory…. All modern distros (slang for distribution) have programs that handle program installation (90% of it; you will find some applications that aren’t in the repositories (where specifically written programs are stored for each distro) that need manual installation and that is really easy even if you do have to use the command line); all you have to do is find it, download it, and use it!
Linux is for freeloaders. Really now, is that the best you can come up with?? Give it up if it is!!!!! Now, truthfully say that you never use “freeware” in Windows. I thought so… When we speak of “free” in Linux, we are thinking of “freedom“. Freedom from restrictive licensing and other restrictions.
“Open source” means that you can – legally – view the source code, and modify it if you wish, and even then (sitting down?) redistribute it! You cannot sell it or claim all credit for work done up to when you modified it.
Where is the incentive to develop open source? Well, money!!! Not by selling the software (really you never buy software, you buy a license giving you permission to use it within limited guidelines), but by support. Companies without in-house expertise can buy support, just like they do with software from companies like Microsoft; they just don’t have to pay for a license to use the software. If they add computers, servers whatever, they simply install the software and use it – with the full blessing of the developer without having to buy any more licenses.
One of the biggest challenges that may face somebody who has never used any version of Linux is the seemingly endless list of distributions. My favorites for newcomers are Mint, Ubuntu, and SimplyMEPIS. They all are easy to use and do the same thing in the end. Honestly, I suggest you pick the one you think has the prettiest website, desktop, or whatever. Don’t let the choice of desktop environments confuse you; simply choose one and if you want another install it later! The two biggest are GNOME (pronounced like Gee-nome) and KDE (stands for “K” Desktop Environment). I don’t think there is anything that you can do with one that you cannot with the other. Some programs are written to run with one desktop environment or the other, but if you use Synaptic Package Manager, it will automatically download any files you need in order for the program you want to use run in your desktop environment of choice.
If you have a rather old computer laying about, there is Puppy Linux, VectorLinux, and others that are designed for older and slower computers. You may not have the “eye candy” of the bigger distros, but do you want eye candy or a computer that will do what you want and need for it to do? Personally, I think they still have plenty of eye pizzaz!
Need help? Not only do the different distro communities have forums, but my two favorites are Newbies Linux, and USALUG (USA Linux Users Group). Please note that USALUG registration needs manual activation, so you will not be able to post right away if you have questions for them.
Here is an operating system that doesn’t have to spend a lot of time protecting itself and you as it is secure by design. Yes, as it grows in popularity, it will be targeted more, but the kernel it is built on was designed decades ago (while Microsoft’s top leadership was still in school!) with security in mind.
I have some friends that I felt that I browbeat into trying Linux just to get me to shut up dump Windows completely! If not for some special programs that requires Windows, I would be Windows-free myself.
WordPress will turn 5 years old on Tuesday, May 27!!
Happy birthday, and thanks for bringing blogging to the masses like you have. I like being able to blog right here on my own site!
Your birthday is responsible for the shortest post I’ve made, any viewers I have appreciate that!
I am now in the second day of using the latest version of Ubuntu, more precisely, Kubuntu in my case. It took almost seven hours to download the update due to the popularity of the OS. It should not take that long now. It did remember my settings when I told it to when it had downloaded and started the installation.
There is not a lot different in feel from the previous (Feisty Fawn, 7.04) version. Konqueror is still there, even though Dolphin is the new file exploration program. Dolphin has color thumbnails, and side panes on each side. You can select what you want on each side to some extent. When you hover over a thumbnail, an enlarged thumbnail appears in the right side pane (you can put it on the left side if you want). The thumbnail in the center where all the files are turns monochrome once you pass your cursor over it. I hope this is just a bug that will be fixed. Refreshing the page puts it color again. I like the feel of Dolphin, and know it will be a short while converting to it when being used to Konqueror. Personally, I like Dolphin better for exploring files.
I did notice that the GIMP at this time as released with 7.10 is a Release Candidate version. The interface in the GIMP is tons better than the older versions. The icons are much easier to see at a glance. There are other enhancements that I haven’t played with yet, but it feels like the GIMP we know and love. The more I use it, the more I like it.
Bootup and shutdown seem to be just a little faster in Gutsy Gibbon. I don’t have a graphics card that can take advantage of the enhanced graphics it can do out of the box. That is no big deal as it is really eye candy, anyway, and does not affect day to day use. The biggest nit I guess that I have to pick is that the screensaver does not work. Everything works fine when setting one up, but it won’t start automatically on my computer when the automatic startup is selected. No big deal with an LCD screen, and really not a big thing for people using CRT monitors as all made within the last decade or so are not as susceptible to burn in.
This latest release is supposed to support Broadcom wireless cards used in many notebook computers out of the box, without you having to “make” it work. It is also supposed to support printers by setting up for them when you plug one in. I have not tried that, yet. It will also support writing to NTFS, which is what Windows 2000 and above prefers.
You can still get a Live CD, and give it a try on your computer without installing it or changing anything on your hard drive. If you like it, you can install it with the Live CD. Just keep in mind that it will run considerably slower off the Live CD than it will installed on your computer.
Seeing that things like the Storm Worm are getting smarter and resisting efforts in many ways of being brought under control, the time is getting better and better to give Linux a try.
Update:
My Canon PIXMA iP6600D is not supported. The test page seems to come out right, but printing anything else is a flat bust… Honestly, I’ll still continue using Ubuntu, and do what little printing I need to do in Windows XP. I’m disappointed a little, but it is not a show stopper.
Ralph was one of my first introductions to Open Source Software. While he was a mathematician by training, he was a big fan of Open Source, as well as an active developer.
Ralph died of heart failure around 10 AM, Saturday, April 21, 2007. He was born December 12, 1953.
If I could count on anybody to be patient with a newbie like me, I could count on him. Even when I took something he said backwards, he could make corrections to my errors without making me feel like the dummy I was (am).
I learned right at the beginning that Ralph (he went by “glanz” on the Newbies Linux Forum) didn’t mince words! He simply said whatever was on his mind in the most direct way possible. If the discussion was about unsavory politics, I bet those who were being talked about had their ears burning!!
He was a living encyclopedia for many, many things, and kept notes on everything for future reference. On the forum, if he didn’t have an answer, he would take the time to research it for you. Honestly, I have never seen a person with as much dedication to Open Source as Ralph Glanz had, and a driving desire to help others learn.
I do not know how much time he spent on the forum (he was also an administrator), but it seemed like it was never more than a couple hours at most before he had an answer. Glanz, as we all called him, had a full time career as well, I don’t know how he managed to get over 32 hours put on the clock every day.
I know that there are many people who are dedicated to all forms of Open Source, but Ralph’s passing leaves a mighty big hole in the lives of many people. Those who didn’t know Ralph glanz cannot realize the hole his loss leaves in his friends, and his work in the Open Source community.
I feel very blessed for having had made friends with him.
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