Ubuntu 7.10 and more

I upgraded my Ubuntu install this morning. It sounds like a feat but in fact it was so easy that literally anybody can do it. Closing applications, making sure you had an internet connection and then hitting ‘Upgrade’ in the package manager. Walk away for a little under an hour and that’s it. My input was required once – to tell the installer what to do with a customised file.

Upgrade complete and system restarted to find that my settings were just about all intact, including transferring settings between a major application upgrade and the smaller subtleties such as remembering my Firefox session. Overall I have to say that from the onset I am very impressed. Tweaking for the next few days is to be expected to get everything just how I like it, but the new Ubuntu is quite able to used with little problem straight out of the box. Whether you’re upgrading from 7.04 or creating a fresh install using a CD, Ubuntu has never been easier or more accessible to those interested in wishing to use linux for everyday computing.

Here’s my list of interesting links of the week. Enjoy!

• for those wishing to know more about my new OS here’s a non-geek friendly review of Ubuntu’s new release, 7.10 aka ‘Gutsy Gibbon’ (I love the release names)
• B.Stevens has created a cheap and easy way of creating lightrings for photography. Article here and Flickr photoset here. The amateur photographer in me would love to try this out.
• after decades of searching it seems that Carmen Sandiego has been found
• a most interesting article of the Neurology of ‘Alice’(Warning: link is a PDF)
• Chris Gilmour, an Italian artist who creates lifesize everyday objects out of cardboard
• a push button house which unfolds from a shipping container in 90 seconds, the Illy Cafe
• clever and funny clip about how a Triumph is not actually made…

Impending Upgrade

In the most poetic way possible, the topic of my last post about technology being the source of frustration has happened to me personally over the last week. One of my most frequently used applications has been throwing error messages at me at random for the last week, usually not a huge dilemma but it has been getting on my nerves a little.

So like any logical person would, I went out to seek a solution. Turns out my operating system is outdated again, such as is the way with Open Source applications. I can solve my problem with Gaim and upgrade my operating system at the same time. I have a new project for this week

I’ve also been finding lots of interesting items in my RSS feeds of which I’ll publish in another post.

Ubuntu 7.04

I have a shiny new Ubuntu install and blinged up XGL. The latest upgrade to Ubuntu 7.04 aka Feisty Fawn.

I still need to have an experiement with settings to work out what I want where and doing what. However I’m pretty impressed with it all so far though. The help provided was very much appreciated as though I’m becoming quite competent and comfortable with using Ubuntu, I am still slightly hesitant to do a major upgrade by myself.

Beryl

I’m having a serious case of wanting this upgrade that I think will run on Nostariel with little problem. Check out the flashyness in the vid below….

First Post from Nostariel

Nostariel is the name I’ve given to my Dell Inspiron. Little ’sibling’ of Ielenia, my desktop machine.

Still a few things I need to fix to get things how I’d ideally like them. The problem with 915resolution is one I’d love dearly to solve, it’s a pain having to restart x after configuring it again after each boot. Maybe I can get clever and script it or something. Sound is a non-event in Xine and I can’t work out why. Also, this is the most novel and least troubling of my problems – I plug in headphones and the music comes through at full volume but rather than turning my speakers off, they go to half volume. It seems this has happened with a few machines. Sadly because it’s a notebook, it’s not as easy to solve as just turning off your speakers. Unless it’s something I can do in software.

Guild Wars and WoW

I bought Guild Wars on Saturday. It’s not WoW but then again it doesn’t try to be. A lot of the things that annoyed me about WoW aren’t a problem in GW. To me GW is also a lot harder – you have to rethink strategy a lot more and stop relying on the strength of a lot of others to get you through.

My new Dell arrived safe and sound on Friday and is now running mostly happily with Ubuntu. Need to have a play and see if I can get wireless working happily at uni tomorrow. I’ve moved onto the next level of geek, I have a desktop pc and a notebook which runs linux entirely. Ielenia and Nostariel. Ielenia’s new home is coming soon…

I got a phone call yesterday, my Dell is being delivered Friday morning between 9a and 1p. I can hardly wait, however I’m going to have to wait for the batteries to charge once it arrives.

Then I can start playing with installing Linux. It was suggested I do some research to find out if I can run 2 distros that share the home directory between them. Will have to research and see. The reason for 2 distros is that people have had the most success with getting everything to work using Ubuntu but I had a bad experience with it once and am doubtful to try it again – though I suspect I will. I’m also wanting to put Fedora on there because it’s great and I know how most things work there. Decisions decisions.