I still hold by my last blog entry that Ubuntu 7.10 is not quite ready for prime time. But, for those willing and interested enough into a little trial and error and a lot of Google searches (even used Google translation on a French blog to get the video working), it is possible to get everything you want and more.

I managed to get the enhanced video working and that lead to getting compiz working which allowed me to install the avant-window-manager and then I needed VMWare Player.

I opted for a different virtual desktop. Rather than the “cube” I went with a “wall”. I figure that I end up spinning the cube around looking for a blank side or where I left my email client so why not just look at all the side like post-it notes on a wall.

I’ll try to document my configuration in case there are others with a T60p (and perhaps even work for the same company) that want to give Ubuntu a go.

Once I upload this post, I am shutting down and making a complete image of this machine !

I’ve been reading Stephen O’Grady’s blog for a while now. More often then not, I learn a bit about segments of the computer industry that I might have otherwise been ignorant to. A recent post discusses the merits of various “cool” user interface enhancements. Most of these started with Mac OS-X and made it into the Linux community distributions and finally Microsoft Vista. The 3-D desktop is one of those.

I’ve blogged a few times about virtual desktop solutions. Originally it was because my favorite computer – the Thinkpad X60 – only has a 1024×768 screen. Recently, the reason has grown a bit deeper. First, here is what Stephen writes …

… using said 3D functionality off and on I had a special interest. Among other things, he expressed his hope that the various communities that provide and consume the functionality would seek ways to apply the new capabilities to the task of making the user more productive.

A month ago, I would have wholeheartedly agreed. And in fact, I still do, for the most part. But my recent usage has led me to question my original belief that these technologies – while visually impressive – were largely gratuitous and trivial in their current incarnation. While having transition animations like OS X and transparent borders and so on is a definite improvement over the usual staid desktop experience, it did little to make me more productive. Source: Stephen O’Grady

However, Stephen goes on to say …

But over the past few weeks, I?ve taken to using the multiple desktop concept quite heavily. I typically assign one side of the cube (a desktop, in other words) to a browser, IM, IRC and other related tasks, one to writing, one to Songbird, and the last to my terminal windows and other miscellaneous tasks.

This is very much the model I now use with Ubuntu. My cube (or more accurately my octagon as I have 8 desktops) has one for my basic “daily drivers” of email and IM. I use one for each major task I have during the day. for instance, when writing a paper, I have the document, a diagramming tool, wikipedia, and various Google searches open together. When I get interrupted, I leave everything on that desktop and either rotate back to email or – if I need to start a temporary task – to a clean desktop. Finally, I use one desktop each for remote computers. I typically have 2 other machines I connect to. On the occasion I need to access a VMWare image, I now give each of those their own desktop just like the remote machines.

This division of content has had an interesting side effect. With my email and IM off on a different desktop, I find I can more easily ignore the interruptions they generate. I can focus on my research papers for longer periods of time. And, when the interruption necessitates immediate action, I can leave all of my work open and undisturbed while I address the interrupt and everything is where I left it when I return. I also have a cleaner *real* desk as I have relegated all other computers to the corners of  my office.

BTW: Stephen, if you read this, the trick to getting a good screen clip of the 3-D desktop is to use GIMP and capture the full screen with a 5 second delay <grin>.

I have settled on using Ubuntu as my primary operating system on both my personal laptop and my work machine(s). There were two three four driving forces behind the change.

First, I needed a non-Windows solution for my parents. Windows is just too susceptible to viruses, malware00% , spyware, adware, and Internet gunk. A Mac was not an option only because the nearest Apple store is 20 miles into the city and my parents don’t feel comfortable driving in the city any more.

Next, I needed more control over my work PC. I am 100% mobile these days which means I no longer have corporate IT to help me with things. That’s OK as I am pretty self sufficient. However, corporate still insists on their own version of what we have fondly come to know as corporate virus-ware. This is the stuff that “keeps your machine updated the way the company wants”. That’s all well and good until it either decided to reboot your machine while you are at a customer site, or insists you don’t have the corporate email or text messaging software installed and won’t let you use your machine until you install it. (It gets really funny when the IT helpdesk contacts you over instant messaging to help you with the fact the the virus-ware insists you don’t have instant messaging – but then insists you install it !) It turns out all of the automated virus-ware the company uses is Windows only. Since I can’t get them to buy me a Mac, and I am free to use Linux (because it means the company reduced its Windows headcount by 1) I chose Linux.

The third reason is that I have fiddled and twiddled enough with Ubuntu to make a user experience I really like and actually miss when I must use my Windows machines. Now, I realize it should not take fiddling, twiddling, and dittling. I also have been following the Ubuntu 7.10 release which has done a great job at incorporating all the things I really want. I’m holding off my mass migration until it releases in a few days.

The fourth factor is Linux is much more efficient and Windows has become bloated. I think a Pentium3 700Mhz laptop with 768MB and a 40GB disk should be find for running email, a browser, an a couple helper utilities. Windows has grown (along with all of the spy/mal/ad stuff) to be very slow. Ubuntu is very happy and zippy with that hardware.

Caveat: I wholly admit that Ubuntu is not everything I need. I will still have one or two programs running in VMware images. With VMWare Player and VMWare Converter being free tools, it makes it easy and fast to have an image or two for those rare occurrences each month.

Over the past month, I’ve done a lot of “experimenting” with Linux for personal computers. I have come to the conclusion it is too much work for the “common man”. Further, I am of the opinion that Linux would not even be possible if it were not for the Internet and more significantly, Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. You just can get anything of significance to work unless you do  a search and find someone else who has struggled with the same issue.

Every customization, configuration, and connection is a struggle. It is easy to get a generic system up and running, and perhaps that is where things fall apart for me. I want (sometime need) my personal computer to connect to “stuff” – iPod, scanner/printer, network storage, blackberry, or camera, USB stick, or UPS.

From what I’ve been told, Mac’s are best at this. (Perhaps all that marketing has something to do with perception.) Windows XP does a pretty good job with “plug-n-play”. But Linux, takes effort – “debs” and “distros” and the ubiquitous “terminal window” with “sudo”. Two recent examples made this perfectly clear – I had to switch cell phones (and I like my cell phone to get its contacts from my PC’s address book). And I read a post on getting a Bluetooth headset to work.

So, where does that leave me ? I’ve decided to go with a hybrid. I have Ubuntu Linux as my workstation and a few good VMWare images for important applications. To be honest, I keep one of those images up nearly full-time so my reality is a dual-OS pc. I actually like it enough to consider it better than “just Windows” or “just Linux”. It’s Ubundows ! (OK, that’s pretty bad, but I already logo’d it <grin>) Of course, this is only possible because I have a modern PC with a fast CPU and lots of memory. Over the next week, I am going to switch both my personal and work machines over to Ubundows. Obviously, I’ll make full image backups first. (Fortunately, my office runs with gigabit networking and a 1.5TB NAS.)

The part I like most about Linux is that is has not become bloated. I really can not understand how Windows has become so fat. It could be all of that plug-n-play stuff but I doubt it. And if it were, why not make it transient – only in memory when it needs to do the install and configuration ? Or, it could be all of the embedded code to make applications run better – but that only makes sense if it also made those apps smaller; which is definitely not the case. I don’t know enough to have the answer but I do know enough to keep looking for better answers. For now, that is Ubundows.

I really want to use WLW for my blogging client. Unfortunately, the open source VM solution (QEMU) is not cut out for the task. It either ran really slow or it crashed (or both). All of which left me less than happy. However, the solution was sound and only the implementation was flaky.

Fortunately, I have a copy of VMWare Workstation that I need for my “day job”. So, I created a new VM image on that machine and then moved it to Ubuntu where I run the image using the freeware VMPlayer.

Everything and everyone is happy now !

BTW: if you paste a screen shot of your blog *into* your blog is it like the infinite regress of two facing mirrors ?