TechKnow

Repositories: They are these nifty things, for those of you that don’t know i will explain. So you want to install something, instead of surfing the net sifting through thousands of outdated or virus filled who knows what binaries Linux users have these things called repositories. You type in what you want. You check what you want to install. You click Apply. Done its installed. Any new versions of the software will update automatically with the update manager. So yea, instead of having each program have its own updater like windows which are usually annoying/buggy/slow. Bam repositories. Not to mention that everything in these repositories are free. Everything. From Gimp a free image editor that i consider better than photoshop. To Sauerbraten a full features FPS. And although many of these have been ported to windows, they also get frequent updates. In windows if you want that update. You have to get it yourself, uninstall the old version usually and than install the new one. With Linux you just click update.

Updating: You can set it to auto update everything while your asleep. Or have it update just security and have you manually update programs. By manually i mean click the little icon at the top of the screen that says updates and click install. These updates don’t slow you down at all while updating, they only require you to restart if it is a distribution upgrade(This is like going from windows vista to windows 7 but linux style) which with ubuntu one of the most popular variations of linux occurs every six months. FREE OF CHARGE. Fully automated, and always feature filled.

Hardware: Argue that linux has bad hardware compatibility all you want. You cant deny that windows has equally poopty support for stuff that “SAYS” it works. For example You buy 2 HP printers, you plug one into a linux computer, and one into a windows computer of equal power. You spend 2 hours in the installer interface for the windows computer and than the printer works perfectly. The one you plugged into the linux computer is done in 5 minutes. The software is pre-installed in your os and all you have to do is specify what model you have.

Customization: Yay i just got windows 7. There must be loads of new customization features. WRONG. You can change install rainmeter, and maybe a few other overlay type things but ultimately it looks the same. Or by the time you have it looking like you want your running 10 different programs that slow you down to a crawl. You install linux. The customization is endless, change your boot-loader, your login screen, your entire GUI in every way. Its part of the OS. Not just an overlay.

Bugs: Ohh no an error occurred. In windows you can call support, send error reports. But it’s not going to get fixed. So don’t bother. In linux you report it to the community within a few days there are people working on the issue, fixing the bug. In a few weeks its done. Or you can do it yourself since the sourcecode is available for all.

Security: In windows you get to slow down an already slow os with a program that spends massive amounts of time and energy searching for programs that have exploited errors in windows. And guess what there is nothing you can do but deal with it. And if you get a virus that your expensive security software cant stop your going to have to restore windows or reinstall completely. If you get lucky you might even save some of your data. In Linux you surf every porn site on the internet and continue unscathed. None of the viruses work because the os is secure. And when a vulnerability is found it gets fixed fast. And sometimes within hours you have an update to patch it.

Effects: Ya know all those fancy new effects in vista and windows 7 that let you look at all your windows at once and that sorta thing. Guess what? Linux has had them all and hundreds more for a few years now. Look-up compiz-fusion and experience it all first hand. This one program for some is enough to use linux.

I just want to list of alternative software really quick to make a point:
Outlook = Evolution or Thunderbird or like 20 other great programs
Office Suite = OpenOffice or KSuite (if you heard something bad about either, well there has been updates and its still free except does everything you could want now.)
AIM, YIM, ICQ, MSN = Drop all of these and use the pre-installed program empathy to connect on any of those protocols and many many more.
iTunes= Take ur pick, Songbird, Rhythmbox, audacity, whatever there are a ton of great ones.
Dreamweaver= Personally i think Dreamweaver is useless. It formats weirdly and is really not that great. If your going to be a serious web designer you should be hand coding things.
Photoshop = As previously stated, Gimp. Its really a lot better. Really it is. And did i mention free?
As for various business software… This really doesn’t matter most of it is custom built for the business. When you get it custom built… Just compile it for linux.

Speed: Personally i think is the most appealing feature of linux.
Ubuntu Absolute min requirements:
- Intel Pentium 66 MHz processor
- 48 MB of system memory (RAM)
- 468 MB of disk space
- VGA graphics card
Ubuntu Min requirements:
- 300 MHz x86 processor
- 64 MB of system memory (RAM)
- At least 4 GB of disk space (for full installation and swap space)
- VGA graphics card capable of 640×480 resolution
- CD-ROM drive or network card
Ubuntu Recommended Requirements:
- 700 MHz x86 processor
- 384 MB of system memory (RAM)
- 8 GB of disk space
- Graphics card capable of 1024×768 resolution
- Sound card
- A network or Internet connection
Windows 7 Min requirements:
- 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
- 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
- 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
- DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driv

I pulled these specs straight off their respective websites. Note how Ubuntu’s requirements remain less than 1/2 that of windows 7. And there are distros of linux that run on even worse equipment. OR just really fast on good equipment whichever way you want to look at it.

I will admit to a few downfalls of linux: Gaming and Video editing. Although in a year i expect both of these points to not matter. There are several video editing programs currently in development that look extremely powerful and user friendly. Gaming… guess what, pretty much any NEW game can run in wine. And there is now support for Directx9.Ipods: We can blame apple for this one… Anything older than the touch will sync music without installing anything new. The ipod touch recently with a hack you can now sync music as well. And any other non apple mp3 player syncs very well.

I’m rather busy, with school. Don’t have time to update my blog. ill get to it eventually..

I was listening to my techno today and decided this would be the one for the week.

‘Nightcore’ are two boys from Alta, named Thomas S. Nilsen and Steffen Ojala Søderholm. We mix techno/dance music into faster and more happier sounds for your listening pleasure! Our name, ‘Nightcore’, means that we are the core of the night, so you’ll dance all night long.

So I am now using Windows due to having to use my iPod for internet, there is another post about this.

Anyway, the basic theme is soo unbearable that i had to spice it up a bit and i learned all about making windows look pretty. Here is a screen of my desktop ask of this post. In windows.

(click it for full size.)

Your probably wondering what all the little things are, where are my icons? and what did i do with my taskbar.

I have hidden my desktop icons, i got annoyed by them so they are now gone.

My Windows 7 Taskbar is still there it is just autohiding this is an easy thing to do just right click and say properties, although i did move it to the top of the screen.

The lefthand thing is Rocketdock, with custom icons.

All the little gadgets all over the screen are powered by rainmeter which is a program for windows that lets you easily add gadgets and things all over your desktop and modify them all to suit your needs, it is extremely powerful but can be difficult to use at first.

That pretty much explains it all. Also although the picture does not show this i have Windows automatically changing my wallpaper every 30min. Between several space pictures that are all awesome.

(Click Any of them for full Size.)

So i needed wireless on my computer the other day and I was like hey. My ipod has wireless.

So now I am receiving internet from my iPod Touch 2nd Gen. Its great. Only downside is that it does not work in Linux. Well i haven’t REALLY tried to get it to work in Linux, currently im just happy to have internet.

The program i am using is called PDANET, you have to install a desktop client for it. And an iPod application from Cydia. It usually has a 15day trial although if you know what your doing this can be extended. Not discussing that here.

Here is my SpeedTest while using the iPod for internet.

Its a LOT lower than while i was wired but still plenty fast to get things done.