Ubuntu 13.04

I upgraded to Ubuntu 13.04 last month on the day it came out.  I’ve been running it since then, and I figured I should do a little write-up here because I usually do when the new one comes out.

Anyway, when I upgraded, I found that everything… worked.  This, literally, was the easiest Ubuntu upgrade I’ve done.  I usually do a reinstall when I change versions, but I didn’t this time.  I just ran my updater and let it go.  It took very little time to download the packages, and before I knew it, my computer was running 13.04.

I looked around and noticed some of the polish that Canonical has added to Ubuntu.  I also noticed that the upgrade didn’t muck with my already installed apps like Banshee; it didn’t install Rhythmbox and then force me to remove it later.  Same with Pidgin!  Kudos!  The OS has been improved speed-wise, the dash is much more responsive, and I find that apps load a little quicker than they did in 12.10.

Gwibber was replaced by Friends.  I had to install Friends, and I must say that it’s working pretty well.  I also installed Turpial, Polly, and Birdie, just so I could play with different Twitter clients.  Friends is good but has a ways to go yet; I would recommend adding a “@-replies” tab so I can see who’s replied to my messages on my social networks.  Oh, and the messaging menu works better with Thunderbird and it works with Pidgin now (again!).  Another thing I noticed was better support for my Razor DeathAdder mouse.  In 12.10, I noticed that I couldn’t change the speed and it would zoom all over the place if I looked at it wrong.  Now I can change the speed in the mouse settings and it seems to work a lot better now.  I’d just gotten used to the super-fast mouse acceleration, but being able to turn it down is a great thing.  Now, if my new iPod Nano would work…

This release seems to be polishing up the OS.  It’s not a huge mega update, but it seems to “just work” and with the announcements of Ubuntu phone and tablet and the work that’s been done to reduce resting RAM usage, I see it only getting better.

I’m not sure if I’ll run an Ubuntu tablet or phone in the near future (I love Android) but having a unified system is a grand idea; one which Apple and Microsoft are trying and I’m not sure if they’re going to be successful.

I’m still digging Unity.  It’s still got some niggles (I have to change its size as soon as I update) but I like the keyboard shortcuts and how elegant it looks.

All-in-all, this is a great update.  Polish, speed, and simplicity.  Also, the whole upgrade process had no issues for me and my hardware.

Apple Macbook Air 11″, and why I decided to get one

I said I’d never get a Mac.

I swore I’d never get a Mac.

I thought people who had Macs were pretentious.  I thought people who had Macs had more money than sense.  Linux worked just fine for me and I was also pleased with Windows 7.

That was before I heard about the new ultrabooks that actually came out earlier this year.  I seriously looked at them at Best Buy early in June; the Dell XPS ultrabook looked really nice, but I read some hassles about Ubuntu and there was absolutely no guarantee about battery life (they were advertising almost eight hours of battery life under Windows 7).  I asked some questions, then wandered over to the Apple desk.  I played with both 11″ and 13″ Airs, and was impressed.

(This is long, so we’ll go under a cut.)

How One Teacher Built a Computer Lab for Free: iFixit

How One Teacher Built a Computer Lab for Free iFixit.

The problem? An underfunded school needed computers for the classroom. Budget? $0. Staff involved? Just one: Robert Litt, a sixth-grade teacher.

Robert teaches at ASCEND, a small arts K-8 school in the Alameda County School District. He’s a fan of technology and believes that it’s an important part of K-12 education. Yet ASCEND had no computer lab and no computers in classrooms. So in 2007, Robert acquired 18 donated computers. But these computers were less help than he’d anticipated. The operating systems were slow. Some computers had viruses or malware. Students became frustrated.

Brilliant.  I would really like to see this happen more often in public school systems; so many times they’re stuck in the Windows or Apple money spiral that they can’t get out.

I’m not opposed to paying for software, but many schools aren’t in the position to pay for a lot of software or operating systems to run that software.

Glad to see Ubuntu being put to good use on donated school computers.  Fewer viruses, less malware, and a decent experience for the students.  And they can learn something about an alternative to Windows and Apple.

Ubuntu 12.04, Precise Pangolian

I’ve been using the newest long-term support (LTS) release of Ubuntu for awhile now, and I have some thoughts on it.

First, let me say that this release installed very easily to my new desktop.  I had no problems initially with the setup and Ubuntu detected everything.  Considering that I don’t have anything really proprietary on my desktop, everything should be detected without a problem.

I’ve been using it on this machine for a little less than a month.  The sound is solid, the HDMI off the motherboard works (including the integrated graphics).

Unity is amazing.  I’ve been trying out different programs; it’s interesting to see which programs have taken advantage of the Unity quicklists and which haven’t.

Now, onto my problems!

I really only have one problem and that’s a doozy of one:  A complete system crash caused by the shared RAM for graphics on my Ivy Bridge CPU.  It brings the computer to a complete standstill.  I have no keyboard, mouse, or anything, and the only way to fix it is to press the reset button or do a hard shutdown.  It happens randomly as well, so I don’t know what causes it, really.

BUT, it is fixed!

I enabled the “proposed” repository, and I’m running the newest kernel.  That seems to have fixed the problem, and I’m pleased that I can have the machine up and running for hours and not worry about it quitting on me.

Interested parties can find the computers “stats” here as well as some pictures and a desktop screenshot.

I’ve got all my programs I like installed, and even fixed a problem with Banshee.  There was some issue with my databases, and it was causing errors that made the program segfault when I was importing a CD or pulling in new music.  So, I deleted the corresponding dot files and folders, and restarted Banshee and I was in business!  Importing a CD caused no problems, and reimporting my music caused no problems.  We’ll see if it continues to work. I hope so.

I’d rate this release at a 4/5 penguins.  If they’d caught the Ivy Bridge error, I’d give it 5 penguins.

Computer Comparisons…

I’ve been looking at computers again.

This is a bad idea, as I find all kinds of stuff that’s awesome.

So yeah.

Lenovo is having a sale on their Thinkpads right now, and I’ve seen Thinkpads and I’m enamoured with them right now.  They look functional and simple and can hide a bunch of power inside.  The only bad thing?  I have to buy it with a bloody Windows license.

System 76 has a great desktop machine that I’m looking at, but their smallest laptop is 14″ and that’s a little big for a secondary couch-surfing system.  I just want something about 12″ that will run Ubuntu and is (preferably) under $600.  It has to be portable and it has to fit in a bag and be easy to carry around to coffee shops and easy to take home for a weekend.  Also, battery life.  Please be more than 4 hours on a charge…

I think I’ve got a pipe dream here.  ZaReason has an awesome laptop that’s 13″ and has a lot of the things I want, but it’s closer to $800.

I don’t know exactly what to do, but I’ll figure something out.  I’m not planning on pulling the trigger on any of these systems til well after the new year… closer to March maybe.  

You might be asking what I’m looking for in a desktop…  Well, here we go:

• At least an i5 processor.
• 6-8 gb of RAM.
• 500+ gb hard drive.
• nVidia card… 1 gb thing that’s on S76.  I don’t know what it’s called.
• Decent cooling.
• Low power usage.

Same with a laptop:

• Battery life; at least 4-8 hours worth.
• 12″ screen is optimal; I’ll go to 13″ or 11″ if I have to.
• Decent keyboard.
• 2-4 gb of RAM.
• 100+ GB hard drive.
• i3 processor (or equilivent).
• 3 USB ports.

Both of the machines MUST be able to run Ubuntu with MINIMUM of fuss.  If I have to fight with it, I don’t want any part of dealing with it.  The desktop must run Windows 7 as a secondary OS with minimum of fuss.

I just want my stuff to work without a problem.  An OS shouldn’t get in my way of what I want to do, and both Ubuntu and Windows 7 are at those points.

Maybe I’m picky.  Who knows.

nVidia is Trying to Kill Me

So.

Yeah.

nVidia is trying to make me die from crazy antics to make it work.

I reinstalled.  I was still having an xorg-being-eaten issue, so I started fiddling with the settings (again) and did the following:

• Turned off “Sync to VBlank” (In the OpenGL Settings)
• Turned off “Allow Flipping” (In the OpenGL Settings)
• Change the “Image Settings” to “Performance”… the slider will be about 2 notches down from the last “Quality” (In the OpenGL Settings)
• Turn off “Sync to VBlank” in the X Server XVideo Settings
• Make sure the PowerMizer settings are on “Adaptive”

Now, I think part of my heat issue is the fact that it’s insanely hot here (90F) and our A/C is barely keeping up with removing the humidity from the air.  But, with these changes, I’m running Unity with no problems, and my system performance applet (SysPeek) is not bouncing up to the “red zone”.  This is good.

So, I’m not running my preferred dual-head setup, but that’s ok, because my actual monitor space is decent (1680×1050).  Also, I feel more focused on what I’m working on with the one screen.  Oh, and I still have 4 workspaces, so it’s easy to separate my tasks out (browsing and writing on #1, microblogging/chat/irc on #2, and audio/video on #3.  Number four is my free workspace.).

I’m sticking with this setup.  I’ve finally got it working, with minimal visual degradation to my games (mainly SuperTuxCart).  Also, I have increased desk space due to not having a second monitor.

I’m so looking forward to Oneiric and hopefully this issue with nVidia will be fixed.  2012 will be bringing Wayland, and I’m not relishing the changeover and the problems that will surely ensue.

More nVidia Fiddling

All right.

So, I’m sure everyone who reads this blog (or at least the ones I haven’t scared off yet) know I’ve been having issues with my nVidia drivers.  I was using the nouveau drivers, which is fine, but they have a bad “blocking” effect with embedded flash videos.  Also, I didn’t think I was getting full 3D acceleration.

When I ran the nVidia drivers, Xorg would peg my CPU between 10 minutes and 3 hours.  “top” would show xorg taking up all of my CPU; compiz wasn’t far behind.

I don’t understand why this is happening, but I just know that it is happening.

So, I was doing some searching on the Ubuntu Forums (which is hit-or-miss regarding issues) and found this thread.

I tried the commands in comment #19:

sudo apt-get remove –purge nvidia*
sudo apt-get install nvidia-current
sudo nvidia-settings

I saved the xorg, rebooted, added my external monitor, and configured it (along with the gamma).

I seem to have a working setup right now…  Let’s hope it holds for awhile.

Looking at 11.04 Natty/Unity – Good or bad? « OpenBytes

Certainly more so in the past, I’ve seen a select few regarding Ubuntu for “newbies, newbs, lamers” et al.  In todays Linux world I think this elitism exists only in rare circumstances.  Its completely silly too, just because Ubuntu wants to assist in setting up your system and get you up and running as quickly as possible does not make it “for newbs” I know many very experienced Linux users who favour Ubuntu purely because they have better things to do then mess about with their OS just to become functional.  Anyone can install proprietary drivers, its simple, but if Ubuntu takes that task away by automating the process, I’m all for it.  There was a time where I enjoyed the challenge of getting one of the more “exotic” distro’s functioning on my system, but now with several projects on the go, what I want in a new distro is to be up and running as quickly as possible.  I’ve deployed (and used off and on) Ubuntu since 8.04 and can happily say that this has always been the experience I’ve had.

via openbytes.wordpress.com

This is one of the reasons why I use Ubuntu. Granted, there are always going to be issues with software ($deity knows that I have plenty of issues with Windows), but that’s not always the underlying issue with the OS.

I guess I just want my blankity-blank stuff to work. Ubuntu “just works” and I don’t have to mess with goofy drivers, or strange software, or anything else. Especially now, since I’m running hardware that was designed for Ubuntu in mind.

Anyway, I just want stuff to be decently configured so I don’t have to spend a ton of time getting everything the way I like it. I used to spend lots of time “tweaking” my desktop, but now I’m more than happy with the default configuration of Ubuntu and Unity. Ambiance and Radiance are both beautiful and come with Ubuntu.

(Slight) Ubuntu Woes, and CONKY!

So.  I was having loads of issues with my Ubuntu install.  It was acting up; slowing down, crashing on reboot (which I don’t understand), and some other randomness.  I did a reinstall, went through my software, and decided that I didn’t really need to run the daily of Gwibber, the beta of firefox, or the newest Banshee.

So, I stopped using those PPAs.  I still love PPAs, don’t get me wrong, but I guess I wanted stuff to just work and not crash.  Gwibber is finally at the point where it does what I need it to without being a huge memory suck.  I’m using a bunch of PPAs, but the software is not provided in Ubuntu (like the weather indicator I’m using).

I thought maybe some of my issues were related to the alpha/beta software I was running, but I guess it was from the holdover from the cruft I was carrying around from Maverick.  I grabbed all of my files (NOT my hidden files) from my /home, copied them to my external drive, then reinstalled.  I blew away my /home too, and then restored all my files and reinstalled all my software.

Well it seems like it’s fixed now.  No crashing, no slowdowns, and no unexpected shutdowns when I’m doing something else.

How about a screenshot?  Don’t mind if I do:

As you can see, I have conky running on the right.  Pretty sweet.

The conky file, if anyone wants it can be found here.  You’ll have to change the names of your drives and all that, but it’s pretty simple.  For the record, I grabbed the original from ebupof from deviantart here.  I did some modification, but it’s not all that different.

Back to two monitors, because I can’t seem to live with only one.  I’m spoiled.

The netbook got a conky setup too:

You can find the conkyrc here.  I’ve already done some changes; I moved it over to the left, but that’s easy enough to change.

Conky is fun to play around with.  Give it a shot.  I like messing with it, and since Ubuntu doesn’t have panel applets anymore, this seems to be the way to go.

No, The PC Market is Not Dead.

Is the PC market really dead?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: 

No, because there will always be a hobbiest element to computing, and you can’t be an iPad hobbiest.  Seriously, that internet appliance is so locked down, I’m surprised that it doesn’t have a chain connecting it to Apple headquarters in Cupertino.  Oh, it does; it’s called iTunes and the app store.

Tablets (I’m talking about the iPad here) are new and shiny, but you still need a PC (running Windows) or Mac to initialize them with iTunes.  I’m not sure about the Android powered ones, but I’m sure you need to connect them to your computer to move files over and whatnot.  So you still need a traditional computer, whether that’s a laptop or a desktop.

I will hold onto my laptop and netbook for awhile.  I doubt a tablet would work for me.

I never really saw how I could do stuff like spreadsheets/wordprocessing on a tablet, but I can see doing artwork on one.  It’s really hard to work with the Gimp and a mouse, but creating art with a tablet device would be very cool.

I guess my issue with the current round of tablets is that they’re just appliances for media consumption.  You can’t customize them, you can’t control what you get through filters/extensions and whatnot on the browser… and it seems like you need to get an “app” to access various parts of the web.  And those “app” coders can serve advertisements and you have no control over whether you see them or not.  That’s a serious problem for me; I will not allow a website free reign over my computer to serve ads to me.  It’s one of the reasons why I use an adblocker.  I’m not opposed to some ads; the google text ones aren’t bad.  I’ll also pay for content and services (see: This is True, deviantART, pinboard) that I support.

Anyway, I hate it when people claim something is dead.  Physical media, TV, radio, newspapers, books, pencil and paper, and playing cards are all decidedly not dead.  I use them every day.

Short Xubuntu Review

This is what my netbook looks like right now.  I’m running Xubuntu, along with Chromium, Wakoopa, Dropbox, and Gwibber.  I decided to go with Xubuntu because I wasn’t having a lot of luck with Ubuntu and it’s Unity interface on here.

How about a screenshot?

Screenshot.  I’ve got my An American in Paris wallpaper. If you haven’t been following my Tumblr, I like Gene Kelly.  I really like Gene Kelly.

Anyway…

I don’t really have any problems with this distro.  XFCE plays really well with GTK applications, and KDE applications.  That’s one of the things I love about it.

The biggest annoyance I’ve found is that some programs don’t pay attention to the browser I’ve set as my “preferred” browser (which is Chromium).  CloudSN will open gmail links in Firefox or straight up Chrome sometimes, and I can’t find a way to force it to be my main browser.

I’m also using Pidgin (though not signed in right now).  I’ve gotten used to Empathy, and I actually prefer it, but Pidgin works pretty well.  I just have to make sure I enable the tray icon.

Onto the tray!  I’ve gotten used to the indicator applets, and I’m thinking about installing a panel widget that’ll emulate the indicator applets.  They’re just so clean and easy to work with.  I see why Canonical decided to go wtih them.

I’ve got four workspaces, and I can easily split what I’m doing between them.  I usually have a browser up on desktop number one, Gwibber up on number two, chat (xchat and/or Pidgin) up on number three, and whatever else up on number four.  I don’t have Compiz installed, so I don’t have the neat composting going on like I do on my laptop, but ctl-alt-arrow works just fine for switching workspaces.  So does clicking on the needed workspace in my panel.

Overall, this is a great release.  I really like XFCE 4.8 (enabled via a PPA); it’s matured quite a bit from when I tried it awhile ago.

I would heartily recommend this distro for a netbook, or even a laptop or desktop.  It’s lighter than Ubuntu and Kubuntu, though not as light as something like Lubuntu or Crunchbang.,  Xubuntu has a great selection of applications (including Gimp!) that will give a user (almost) everything they need to sit down and use their computer right away after it’s installed.  And since it’s based on Ubuntu, users have access to the massive Ubuntu repository, and access to the powerful PPA system.

I’ll be testing out the Beta of Ubuntu soon enough, and it might make an appearance on my netbook.  I prefer Xubuntu, because I get the full width of my screen dedicated to what I’m doing, not being taken over by a launcher-bar.  That’s handy, but I hate horizontal scrolling with a passion.  I hear it’ll be hidden in Natty; I surely hope.

So I deleted Windows – but why did I have it in the first place?

It’s an odd juxtaposition: I’m the editor of a site that revolves around Ubuntu and its ecosphere yet for the last year I’ve had Windows 7 happily nestled next to Ubuntu on my hard-drive.

Yesterday I finally purged myself of it after asking myself one question – what do I use it for? – and replying with the short answer of ‘Nothing’.

You had Windows probably because it was already installed when you purchased the computer. I have Windows installed because I’m trying to keep up on my Windows skills, and I play some games that aren’t available for Ubuntu, or run poorly in Wine (Sims2, I’m looking at you).

But overall, Ubuntu is perfect for me. I’m running Xubuntu, actually, on the netbook, and It’s perfect.

But, it is great that Ubuntu and Windows 7 can co-exist next to each other on a hard drive. I love the fact that I can have Ubuntu and Windows on the same machine and I don’t have to run separate machines for each.

EDIT: Forgot to add a link back to OMG!Ubuntu.  Please see the original article here.

Ubuntu Unity

This post is kind of a response to this post on OMG!Ubuntu.

What is wrong with Unity?  It’s a question with a lot of different answers.

For me?

Speed and ease of use.

Those are the most important things.  An operating system should allow me to do what I want without bugging me.  Without making it difficult to get to my files.  Without making me relearn where everything is.

That is where Unity is a problem for me.  Maybe I’m used to my dock-and-menu setup in Ubuntu, or my taskbar-and-menu setup in Windows, but making me think about where my files are, or making me type up a search (while handy in some respects) can make me irritated, as I can’t get to my files and programs faster.  If I wanted a search metric, I’d be using Gnome-Do or Launchy or something.

I’ve grown used to the menu structure of Gnome.  I like it and it’s comfortable.

I also don’t want to have to wait for my operating system to chug and think about getting my file structure.  I’m particular about where I put things, and I have a special way I do it.  If I were to just throw everything in /home without a thought, then this searching metric might work for me, but I don’t.

Unity seems to be aimed at someone who’s never seen a computer before.  This is fine, but the further we go on in time, the fewer people will have not seen a computer before (anyway, speaking from my white, middle-class, college-educated, engineering background).  I mean, everyone in my community has access to computers either though their own houses, a public or private school (for students), a university, a community college, or the library system.  I’d be shocked at anyone under the age of 60 who hasn’t seen a computer in their lives.

Also, most of these people who have seen computers will have seen a Windows or Mac-based system.  It’s just a fact of life because of the market share Windows and Apple have.  Ubuntu and other Linux-based operating systems are trying to change that, but with Ubuntu and Gnome3 going to the “shell” model of things, many people are going to see it and reject it.  Which is unfortunate because there are a lot of good ideas that have come out of Unity.  For instance, the dock.  I use a dock (Docky), but at a different location than where Ubuntu puts it.  If Unity wants to win me over, they can do the following:

• Make the dock movable; to the right, top or bottom, as I please.
• Make the dock re-sizable, which I think they’re working on (this is not available in the version I’m running on my netbook).
• Allow me to change the size of the icons on the dock and make sure Unity respects that.  I’d like a smaller dock on my netbook, as the screen is very limited.
• Allow me to use the regular file system easier.  When I click on the folder in the dock, I expect a Nautilus window to open; this does not happen.
• Give me better categories and whatnot when I click on the applications button.  Seriously, having a list of my applications is not helpful if they’re not sorted better.
• Make the dock expand to hold the icons, instead of expand the whole side of my screen.  This is similar to the behavior of Docky.
• Use Compiz (this is in the works; Mutter was found to be unstable, so the Ubuntu devs have moved to Compiz, which is more stable.  I remember when it wasn’t, and I was unsure of why anyone would use Compiz.  Now I can’t live without it.).

I will be looking forward to the improvements in Unity.  Hopefully with the inclusion of Compiz, the speed factor will be taken care of (my netbook can handle Compiz, which is pretty cool).

The Natty release looks to be interesting at the least.

Pinboard.in

I decided to take the plunge and try out pinboard.in.

At the time I signed up it was something like $9.17, but it’s gone up to $9.22 (due to go up with more subscribers).

Well, I did an import of all my delicious bookmarks, and found that it was a much faster process than importing into diigo. After importing, I noticed that my private bookmarks were kept (very important to me) private.

The look of pinboard.in is very similar to delicious, but it’s cleaner. I love the way it integrates with my Shareaholic extension for Chrome/ium. To save to Pinboard is the first link in my drop-down menu.

Anyway, how about a picture?

The default Pinboard.in look. Very similar to delicious.

It’s almost easier and faster to send to Pinboard than it is to send to delicious. First off, there’s really nobody to share with, so you don’t have to pick who you send links to. Second, it doesn’t have automatic twitter integration, so you don’t have to deal with that (I have twitter integration though Twitterfeed and my #pinboard hashtag). It’s simple, quick, bookmarking with tags and privacy options. Nothing else.

The navigation is really, really simple. A picture says a thousand words, so here’s a picture:

As you can see, there’s a way to choose what kind of tags you want, a search box, and a way to get to popular places in your account. I haven’t tried the note-taking functionality yet, because I have tomboy notes on all of the computers I use, so I don’t really need them. I guess if I got a Cr-48, I’d need the note functionality.

You’ll also notice that there’s “recent” and “popular” links up top. I’ll go over there sometimes to see what’s been bookmarked, just like I used to when I was on delicoius. Sometimes there’s some cool stuff in there, and if you explore other popular tags, you’ll find even more websites that tailor to your interests. There’s also a networking aspect to pinboard.in that I really haven’t had a chance to explore. I’ve added a couple of people who seem to post linux-related sites, but I’m not sure exactly what the networking will amount to. Pinboard sells itself as “antisocial bookmarking” and to an extent that’s fine. I’m using it as a repository of my favorite links, and I’m sharing through twitterfeed.

The actual bookmark list is very clean and easy to follow. How about another picture?

The bookmarks themselves.

Easy to see tags, when you posted the link, the link itself, and in light grey, you can make out “edit” and “delete” links. I seem to have a lot of GTD stuff in this screenshot. Ahem.

Onto tagging! I’ve gotten used to tagging my bookmarks, photos, blog posts, and pretty much everything else. I like the idea of tagging as opposed to folders. I can assign more than one tag to something and that something will show up in both of those categories; for instance, I have many links that deal with Ubuntu, Gnome, KDE, and Linux. I can assign the general tag of Linux, and have everything Linux-related show up, but if I want to narrow things down, I can go Linux -> Ubuntu -> KDE and get all the KDE links relating to Ubuntu. Simple.

Anyway, here’s what the tags look like:

Tags, oh, how I love thee.

So, pinboard.in is a great service to replace delicious. I’m sure Yahoo is regretting the decision to have that slide show up. I think they’ve lost a lot of their userbase. It might put some people off to purchase the initial login, but it’s well worth the $9-ish for it.

System 76 Laptops: 1.5 Years

I’ve noticed a lot of posts in this thread on the Ubuntu forums so I decided to give a 1.5 year review as it were of both of my System76 computers.

Lets start with the Pangolian.

I have a PanP5, which is the fifth version of the Pangolian laptop. I ordered it in June of 2009, and it arrived at the tail end of the month. This laptop replaced my brother’s (at least) eight year old desktop (that’s now being used by my mother with Windows XP) that replaced a Dell Dimension (that ran Windows XP and various versions of Ubuntu). My old desktops ran well and for a long time, but I felt it was time for an upgrade.

I chose some upgrades (from my blog post on the subject):

It has a 15.4 screen (huge, IMHO) with 1680×1050 resolution (upgraded), Core 2 Duo P8700 2.53 GHz 1066 MHz FSB 3BM L2 (25 Watt) (upgrade also), 4 GB RAM (upgrade), 320 GB hard drive (upgrade), 1 DVD/CD burner drive, 512 MB DDR2 nVidia GeForce G105M graphics card, standard networking and wireless, 2.0 MP webcam (built-in), Bluetooth, and all the standard ports (including HDMI, VGA and 3 USB). Oh, and I forgot to mention; it comes with 64-bit Ubuntu 9.04.

Now, the laptop has a 500 GB drive in it, with Ubuntu 10.10, dual-booted with Windows 7. I had some repairs that needed to be done to it in November. Basically, I needed a new motherboard and hard drive. A year later, the replacement hard drive died, and I got the 500 GB from NewEgg.

I derive a great deal of pleasure from just booting this machine up. I like typing on it; the keyboard is amazing, the sound (out of speakers, through the headphone jack) is great, the DVD drive has no problems (knock on wood), and everything is working just fine. I’ve hooked up a second monitor to my laptop (my Westinghouse 1280×1024 LCD panel) so I have more screen real estate to work with.

I use it for the following:

• Podcasts
• Music
• Blogging
• Browsing
• Light gaming (stuff like Xmoto, Gweled, Mines, etc)
• Moderate gaming under Windows (some Sims2)
• Gimp
• Writing (penned [penning] two unfinished NaNo novels)
• Chat
• IRC
• Microblogging
• Flier creation (for OES and Nile)
• Making invitations
• Making programs (for events, not programming)
• Seti@home
• Ebooks (organizing and sending to my Nook)
• Picture organization (not much; mostly related to my blog)

Basically, the computer is a home office laptop. Now, how about a screenshot?

My Desktop Screenshot

I’m running Docky, Empathy, Gwibber, BOINC, Bloglio, Gpodder, Dropbox. Wakoopa, Radio Tray, and Tomboy Notes. This is Gnome, which I love. The wallpaper is from everydayishock’s Tumblr. This is Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron from An American in Paris, the ballet scene.

Again, I derive pleasure from starting this laptop up every day. I love the way the keyboard feels, the way the trackpad works, the sound through my external speakers, and the sheer speed of the laptop. I’ve seen virtually no slowdowns from the day I’ve bought it, and there are few changes I’ve made to the machine (the exception being a 500 GB 5400 RPM drive replacing my 320 GB drive).

I feel that this computer will last several more years, and that’s why I bought it. If I’d wanted something to last one year, I would have gone to Best Buy and gotten a $500 Gateway or something. Not to diss Gateway (the desktop that went from my brother, to me, to my mother is a Gateway), but I don’t feel their laptops are as of the quality they used to be. Also, Best Buy didn’t have exactly what I wanted. What I wanted was something with a discreet video card, and nothing at my local Best Buy fit that bill. Still doesn’t.

Now, I’ll cover my Starling.

I have a Star1 which is the first version of the Starling. There is now a refresh of my netbook (the Star3, I think) and a Starling Edubook.

I didn’t have any upgrades, really. For simplicity, I’ll take the specs from my last blog post on the subject.

The screen is 10.1 inches, the memory is 1 GB of RAM, the hard drive is 160 gigs, and it has standard wifi and lan networking.  The graphics aren’t anything to really write home about, but this is a netbook: a portable device for browsing, blogging, writing and reading.

I’ve made no changes to this netbook, as there is nothing to change. I’ve updated to 10.10, and I’m now using the Unity desktop. It’s quite different from anything I’m used to, but I’m interested in how this will work out. I’m taking a “wait and see” approach to the whole Unity interface.

How about a screenshot?

Netbook Screenshot

I’ve got Wakoopa, Dropbox, Tomboy Notes, and Unity running here. The wallpaper is the same as my laptop. I like to keep things consistent.

This netbook has been with me all over the house, outside for computing in the backyard, down to Indianapolis for Supreme Session, Battle Creek for Grand Chapter, and the coffee shop. It’s perfect for couch surfing while I’m watching TV. It stays very cool, even when running YouTube videos. I’ve had to replace the battery at $99, so that wasn’t cheap, but it was still cheaper than buying a new netbook. I’m taking care of the battery better now (ie, not using it when I’m on the couch but plugging it in) and trying to conserve its cycles for when I need it.

The only real complaints? The battery issue (a battery should last longer than a year) and the wireless (slightly flaky; I hope Natty will resolve this for good). This is a first generation machine, so if those are the only issues, then I’m not too peeved.

For the Pangolian, I give a 5/5 for everything. This machine is a workhorse, and I’m very pleased with it, even at a year-and-a-half-in. The Starling gets a 4/5, only because of the wireless and battery issues. I’d really like to have a larger range for the wireless card; it’d be much more useful to me when I go out. Unfortunately, there’s not ubiquitous wireless internet; and I don’t have the money for a 3 or 4G connection.

System76 gets a 5/5 for service, speed, help, and just all around good products. Depending on what they have when I’m in the market again, I’ll definitely go with them.