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Linux ho!!
11 years ago
Statements from the stateless....
Yep, done gone and set up an 'buntu box. After backing up my music collection since iTunes on my Mac ate some of my files, i let let it wipe my drive and install itself. Seeing as how its prolly been a year+ since i last used this computer, i figured i wasn't losing anything. Seriously, the malware software was complaining that i hadn't done an update in over 700 days. My main compy right now is an iMac running OS X Maverick/10.9.
So, what's the hardware?
Well, its almost comical, but it is a perfect test bed for my plans, an eMachines D525-2925 that i got years ago (manufactured 09) at a Black Friday sale, $279 with travel bag and travel mouse. In that time, the drive has lost the ability to read DVDs, though it will read CDs, haven't tried to burn any though. Also the battery is shot, and the power supply fried, i'm using a cheap replacement with a plug that doesn't fit the computer quite right. Considering that my next computer is planned to be a mini-ITX 99/4A, i'd say this is the perfect test. The keyboard sucks, but its usable, and the screen is too small. Still, it works surprisingly well for something so old.
So, where are we with Linux?
Well, bit by bit, i tweak it to my liking:
Email = Thunderbird as it came with Ubuntu, and it works well enough
IM = Pidgin, though i'm not a mad fan of it and am still looking for better
Twitter = Choqok for Twitter which is around my second or third client, and looks like a winner
LiveJournal = LogJam, which i like
Web = Firefox, another default, and it works well enough though i do miss Chrome's identities (allows me to be signed into multiple Google and FurAffinity accounts at the same time) and its easy ability to share settings/bookmarks/etc across platforms
Movies = VLC, i've been happily using this on my Mac, mPlayer sure didn't work there, so why change?
Music = Default Rythmbox right now, but i'm iffy on it, i don't like the layout although it seems to work well enough
Torrents = Transmission, another default program, although having used it in the past, i don't see any reason to bother with downloading uTorrent
Other system tweaks are Cairo Dock to give me an OS X like dock, since the built in Launcher falls a touch short on features. Seriously, it it had dividers and the ability to add a couple folders, i would've just stuck with it.
As you can guess, things are going well. Linux is still a bit rougher around the edges than a consumer OS like Mac or Android, but honestly, my grandmother could prolly set up and run this. Its amazing how far Linux has come, some ten or so years ago i tried to set my Mac up as a dual boot with Linux, and might've lasted two days before i gave up on Linux. Now, really easy, mostly polished, you definitely don't need to be a geek to use it.
So, i'm sure i'll be tweaking this for a bit, but we're mostly set at this point. Still, suggestions and recommendations are welcome. This box won't be my main computer, the keyboard sucks (i use a Unicomp on the Mac), and the screen's too small, but it is a practice run and back up unit.
So, what's the hardware?
Well, its almost comical, but it is a perfect test bed for my plans, an eMachines D525-2925 that i got years ago (manufactured 09) at a Black Friday sale, $279 with travel bag and travel mouse. In that time, the drive has lost the ability to read DVDs, though it will read CDs, haven't tried to burn any though. Also the battery is shot, and the power supply fried, i'm using a cheap replacement with a plug that doesn't fit the computer quite right. Considering that my next computer is planned to be a mini-ITX 99/4A, i'd say this is the perfect test. The keyboard sucks, but its usable, and the screen is too small. Still, it works surprisingly well for something so old.
So, where are we with Linux?
Well, bit by bit, i tweak it to my liking:
Email = Thunderbird as it came with Ubuntu, and it works well enough
IM = Pidgin, though i'm not a mad fan of it and am still looking for better
Twitter = Choqok for Twitter which is around my second or third client, and looks like a winner
LiveJournal = LogJam, which i like
Web = Firefox, another default, and it works well enough though i do miss Chrome's identities (allows me to be signed into multiple Google and FurAffinity accounts at the same time) and its easy ability to share settings/bookmarks/etc across platforms
Movies = VLC, i've been happily using this on my Mac, mPlayer sure didn't work there, so why change?
Music = Default Rythmbox right now, but i'm iffy on it, i don't like the layout although it seems to work well enough
Torrents = Transmission, another default program, although having used it in the past, i don't see any reason to bother with downloading uTorrent
Other system tweaks are Cairo Dock to give me an OS X like dock, since the built in Launcher falls a touch short on features. Seriously, it it had dividers and the ability to add a couple folders, i would've just stuck with it.
As you can guess, things are going well. Linux is still a bit rougher around the edges than a consumer OS like Mac or Android, but honestly, my grandmother could prolly set up and run this. Its amazing how far Linux has come, some ten or so years ago i tried to set my Mac up as a dual boot with Linux, and might've lasted two days before i gave up on Linux. Now, really easy, mostly polished, you definitely don't need to be a geek to use it.
So, i'm sure i'll be tweaking this for a bit, but we're mostly set at this point. Still, suggestions and recommendations are welcome. This box won't be my main computer, the keyboard sucks (i use a Unicomp on the Mac), and the screen's too small, but it is a practice run and back up unit.
