Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box…

So, you've finally installed Ubuntu. If you haven't, I'm now ordering you to read the below post and then go here and download it. Today's post is about programs for Ubuntu. Just like with Windows, there's a huge amount available, each with their own different goals and features.

The very first thing you should do is download and install Automatix. Run it (Applications > System Tools > Automatix) and select what you want to install. I'd recommend installing at least the following:

• AUD-DVD codecs.
• Firefox 1.5.3 plugins
• Gdesklets
• MS TTF fonts.
• Multimedia codecs.
• Sun Java 1.5 JRE

This fixes a lot of annoying problems, including the audio/video formats that don't play and dodgy java/pdf/audio/video support through Firefox.

Anyway, on to useful programs. First of all, let's look at web browsers. The obvious choice is to use Firefox. However, there are a few other possibilities. First up is Epiphany, which is a very simplified browsing experience. This can be found in Synaptic by searching for Epiphany. Another possibility is Opera, which may be installed through Synaptic. Unfortunately, the menu bar looks a bit out of place, so try the guide here to fix it. This will help for a lot of other applications that use Qt, so it might be handy to do regardless.

Email clients now. I've never been a fan of Evolution, but there are two other pretty decent programs available: Thunderbird and Sylpheed. Both are good clients, with Sylpheed trying to be as lightweight as possible (as well as candidate for strangest application name). Both should be found in Synaptic.

Next up is music players. Now, there's two basic styles of interface here, the iTunes-type interface and the WinAmp-like one. For the former, Rhythmbox should do you fine. As well, there's another nice program called Banshee, although it's still under development and a fair bit from completion, although that doesn't mean you shouldn't use it! For the WinAmp style, you'll want Beep Media Player. It even supports WinAmp themes (or so it says, I can't say I've ever tried)!

I could probably go on like this for several days, so I'll just list a couple of other useful programs that you may or may not be interested in before departing:

• F-spot, an image manager similar to Picasa.
• Gdesklets, a desklet manager program a bit like Konfabulator/Yahoo Widgets, a bit less glitzy, though.
• Democracy Player, a nice browser to play online music. Not in Synaptic, go here and download the Ubuntu package.

Well, that's it for now. I've done it a lot already, but I'm again going to recommend strongly using Ubuntu. With the unfortunate exclusion of most games, it's a worthy and (in many cases) superior competitor to 95/98/2000/ME/XP/Vista or OSX.

I want to sing, to sing my song, I want to live in a world where I belong…

Linux. A word that inspires hate in Microsoft or Apple lovers, inspires happiness in fans of open source, and can make people think of command line interfaces, poor hardware compatibility, and difficult interfaces. In some respect, I want to reverse your opinions about that with one single word: Ubuntu.
The Linux world, admittedly, is a complicated one to those of you who have never seen it before. There are literally hundreds of different Linux distributions, each doing their own separate thing. You may ask what the difference is between them or why one is more special than the other, maybe? To be honest, it doesn't matter to normal people. The average human being wants to stick to one with a large community (more support, less likely to die out) and a well-known distribution. If you ever visit Distrowatch (a handy site for keeping up to date about these distributions) then you'll see the top five goes as follows:
1. Ubuntu
2. SUSE
3. Fedora
4. Mandriva
5. MEPIS

Obviously, for someone new to this way of life you'll want to pick one of these. Anyway, today's post will be about Ubuntu, the latest release (Dapper Drake) in particular. I've been using Ubuntu for quite a while now (at least ten months) and it honestly has come a long way. They follow a motto of being "Linux for human beings", a noble and worthy goal which they do very well in following. Anyway, to the OS itself.

Now, most people have probably never installed an operating system before. At the most, you may have reinstalled Windows from a System Restore CD, or something similar. Not to worry, though! The installation really is quite simple, asking a few questions and doing some detection of your hardware. The most complicated part is partitioning, really. For those of you who don't know what partitioning is, imagine your hard drive as a cake. On your computer, Windows will take up the whole cake. Now, partitioning would involve splitting the cake up, giving a slice to Ubuntu, for example. The installer can automatically partition for you and the risk of damage to your Windows installation is usually minimal, but you should always back up any important information just to be safe. Anyway, Dapper will install and your computer will restart, giving you a new screen where you may select the operating system you want to boot into. By default, it'll be Ubuntu.

Anyhow, it'll boot and you'll be greeted with an orangey-brown login screen. Lovely. Congratulations, you are now using a different operating system! You can now log in and try everything out! One thing about Ubuntu that makes it different from some other Linux distributions is how there is just ONE program for each task. If you want to listen to music, you load Rhythmbox. On some other distributions, you may be greeted by several thousand million different choices: amaroK, Juk, Banshee, Rhythmbox, Beep, XMMS, Muine, the list goes on. Choice may be a good thing, but it can be a bit overwhelming at times. For the most part, the programs you get should suit you fine to begin with.

There's a messenger program, GAIM, that allows you to connect to MSN, AIM, ICQ, YIM, Jabber and even some obscure ones that you've never heard of before. To go on the internet, you have Firefox. You have probably heard of this before, which is always a comforting thing when exploring new ground. For word-processing, spreadsheeting and presentationing (all real words, obviously), there's the OpenOffice suite. This is effectively an open-source version of Microsoft Office. It's admittedly a bit slow at times (especially when loading) but it does the job just fine. It is capable of reading loads of different filetypes, including your .doc, .xls, .ppt files made in Word, Excel or Powerpoint respectively.

Anyway, there should be a program for your every need. If there isn't, that's where Synaptic comes in. Downloading and installing programs is a bit different from Windows. Whereas you may search on Google or on download sites for something, many Linux distributions simply have huge repositories full of downloadable files. For example, if you don't like Ubuntu's default mail program (Evolution) then you can search for a new one. Another available one is Mozilla Thunderbird, made by the same people who made Firefox. So, you can right click and select "Mark for installation". It will then give you a list of other files you may need to download in order to install the program, you can press OK to that. Finally, you can click Apply on the top bar to install your program. Done!

Unfortunately, it isn't all smiles. There are a few things that are a letdown, although they aren't necessarily Ubuntu's fault. Firstly, if you want to play mp3, wma, aac or most other media files you probably run, you need to get hold of some extra files. Fortunately, this is where the community is very useful. In particular, a little program called Automatix. This simplifies a lot of things for you, and allows you to put some useful applications on. Another problem is writing to Windows partitions. Most of the time, Windows XP is installed on an NTFS filesystem. This was basically developed by Microsoft, and they aren't very supportive when it comes to letting other operating systems write to it. Write support for Linux is coming along in leaps and bounds, but it still has a bit to go yet. Hopefully by the next release, it will no longer be an issue.

As well there are some programs included by default that I don't particularly like. Evolution is a good example. I find it quite cluttered for my liking and think it's a bit crap, really. I'm a fan of Thunderbird myself. I tend to use Bittorrent a fair bit too, and the one bundled with Ubuntu is very basic. Finally, hardware support still isn't perfect. WiFi cards can be problematic and many companies don't produce Linux drivers. Fortunately, more and more people are beginning to use Linux, so companies are finally realising that there are a huge amount of customers that they are ignoring.

In conclusion, I can now honestly say that Linux is finally becoming a mature operating system that anyone is capable of using. There are a few legal problems and ignorant companies that can be a bit troublesome, but that shouldn't stop anyone from giving it a go. I haven't even explained that spyware and viruses aren't a problem, and that the OS is inherently more secure.

Installation is simple, and even someone with only mild computer knowledge can figure their way around it.

Dapper itself is stable, secure, simple and easy to use. People who are afraid of the command line need not worry. You should never need to encounter this unless you have a really serious error or you enjoy using it.

Anyway, Dapper Drake will be released on the 1st of June (five days away). If you have some free time or are feeling like trying something new, then I seriously recommend giving Ubuntu a try. Anyone from a seasoned computer expert to a relatively new user can understand and love it!

+ Easy installation.

+ Simple to use and safe.

+ Large, friendly community if you have problems or need advice.

- Some problems playing certain media types (can be fixed with Automatix).

- Still some unsupported hardware (although the list of supported hardware is constantly increasing).

http://www.ubuntu.com 

When I look up to the sky, I see your eyes a funny kind of yellow…

For the past month or so, I've been locked in an epic duel between two browsers, unable to decide on which to choose. For the past 12 months or so, I've been using Firefox on both Windows and Linux, but I've been looking at Opera and Epiphany. I like Epiphany (it is a lot faster than Firefox), but I find that it is severely limiting when it comes to configuring. I know GNOME applications follow all the standards compliance things, but it's ridiculous. There's also the extensions. I installed the epiphany-extensions but I was hoping that there would be others available on the Internet, but I haven't come across any yet.

Anyway, the browser that I'm considering most is Opera. It starts up very quickly, is a speedy browser in general and has a very customisable layout. It has the widgets, but I don't particularly care much for them. In fact, it has everything that Firefox has, save for the extensibility. There's a couple of things that really do bug me about it, though. Firstly, I tried the latest version of phpBB3 and it seems to have difficulty with the admin panel and the various buttons that can be found within. It also acts strangely on a certain phpBB2 quick reply mod. Secondly, I don't like the RSS handling. I prefer the simple way that Firefox does it.

I'm hoping I can try and solve these little problems eventually, and I may actually end up using Opera permanently. Anyway, I'm going to force myself to use Opera for a couple of weeks or so, mess around with it and see if I still like it after that time. If I still can't get used to it, I'll just keep with my beloved Firefox.

Oh, and in other news, school finally ended today. It was supposed to end tomorrow (surely that's some horrible destruction of tense usage there?) but they moved it forward so we "get more revision time". In simpler words, they were afraid that we would destroy the school, since our year is apparently the rebellious sort.

You do it to yourself, you do, and that’s what really hurts..

This is very unlike me (although all you unknowns probably don't know what I'm like anyway, so don't worry), but I feel like giving a little review on something. As you may know, my favourite band is Radiohead. They're released two fantastic albums – The Bends and OK Computer (it would be a crime if you haven't listened to them). Anyway, my mission today is to write a review on The Bends, what I feel is the Second Best Album Ever ™. So, here goes nothing:

If any of you know anything about Radiohead, they released one hit back in 1993 – Creep. People basically thought that Radiohead would be one-hit wonders, so The Bends was set out to prove them wrong. The album starts out with a quiet and eery beginning, before going into the distorted Planet Telex. Straight away, the lyrics and tune are catchy, and sets you up for a different album. The song finishes and everything quietens, then you're launched into the loud, guitar-blaring title song. Onwards, anyway. Next up is High and Dry, this may be one of the songs you actually know. It's more of an acoustic track, and you get Thom Yorke hitting some high notes (and doing it well). Fake Plastic Trees (with some lyrics that probably have deep meaning, but I never bothered to find out). Bones is one of those songs that sounds a bit like a filler, maybe a boring one to pass the time before something else comes on. Then you hit the chorus. That and a fantastic bridge make you want to listen to and cherish the song over and over, it's surprisingly good. (Nice Dream) is quite a melancholy song with the bizarre brackets around the edge.

After a nice, quiet song you get onto perhaps one of the best bits of guitar playing ever: Just. If there's one song off the album that you should listen to and learn to love, this is it. My Iron Lung is supposed to be a commentary of Creep. They considered Creep to be what kept them alive (their iron lung, if you will). Even the guitar bits sound Creepish. I must admit, the rest of the album blends together a fair bit (all with a slower pace) but it works in a good way. After Bulletproof… I wish I was and Black Star there are two weaker (but good nevertheless) songs, Sulk and Street Spirit. You may have heard the latter before (it's one of those Radiohead songs that is actually played on the radio) and it finishes off the album rather nicely.

Anyway, a summary. The Bends really is a good album (regardless of what people say about it being emo, depressing stuff that will make you commit suicide – people listen to Coldplay, don't they?). If you can, borrow or buy it and give it a try for yourself, you certainly won't be disappointed. If you enjoy this, you should try listening to both Pablo Honey (their first album) and OK Computer. If you listen to all three, you can tell how Radiohead have become more refined over the years (and then they dropped it all with Kid A).

I'd give it a 10/10 easily.

Never could see any other way…

So endeth the final full week at school, and next week will be my last days of higher education ever. It's a rather frightening prospect in some ways, but in others an interesting one. Life as a carefree pupil at school will end and life as a poor, politically-charged student will begin at the end of the summer. Of course, it could be worse. I could go off to become a professional chav or, worse, study Sociology. Regardless, a pivotal moment like this makes me look back on my life. Being the cynic, pessimistic nihilist I am, my life has been rather pointless and, other than to people close to me, it has had no effect on the world or universe as it is. Being the complete atheist I am I don't believe that I will ascend to any higher plane of existence, nor do I believe that I will reincarnate as some other animal. As much as I'd like to (I dislike the thought of death as much as anyone else), I'm the kind of person who won't believe in something unless there is genuine evidence to support it.

Anyway, I seem to have sidetracked, instead of reminiscing about the past I'm talking about all morbid stuff no person like me should even want to think of. Perhaps my lack of a decent memory has something to do with it. Anyway, I'll leave you all with one small nugget today:

"There are two types of people:

those who lose their train of thought,

"