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OS: Ubuntu 9.10 | Theme: Shiki-Colors | Desktop background: Red roof / fake color by 96dpi

Update: Also, no camera and no Adobe Flash = NOT GOOD. This would be  a GREAT device for Hulu or video chat…guess that won’t be happening.

First, you know I am a Linux/OpenSource advocate, user, and fan. That said, I have no small amount of respect for the design aesthetic and usability leaps that Apple often makes with its products. I am trying the watch the live stream of the announcement, but it’s buggy…I think because it’s being hammered so hard by the geeks of the world right now. Anyway, so here’s a few thoughts I’m having as I watch this thing:

• The name: iPad. Really? Sounds a lot like the iPod, only not nearly as cool. I was partial to the “iSlate” rumor myself.

• This is basically just a huge iPod touch.

• Since Apple sets trends, I am excited about the movement toward an all-purpose, touch-screen, always-connected device.

• The iBooks application will complete what Amazon started with the publishing industry in terms of making most books (if not all) available digitally. This is great.

• You’re reading on a light-emitting screen though…not sure how that plays out in the long run compared to e-Ink.

• Haven’t really seen text-input demonstrated yet…how is this going work? Since it is a capacitative touch screen, how can artists accomplish detailed work without a stylus?

• They are really pimping games. This is interesting to because I wouldn’t really see this as a gaming device. But whatever.

• Okay here we go with the iWork demo. Let’s see some text-input! No, still no demo. I think this is where the device could sink or swim.

I am not sure what this means for Linux/OSS, but I am sure Google will be adapting Android into something like this soon. Looking forward to seeing the open source community respond with hardware and software.

So I might do this weekly, if you guys think it’s cool. I’m posting a screenshot of my current desktop, mainly to showcase the awesome Creative Commons art I use as desktop backgrounds all time. Shutter is quickly becoming my preferred screenshot taking and and editing tool.

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OS: Ubuntu 9.10 | Theme: Shiki-Colors | Desktop background: Leonidas by Samuele Storari

Just downloaded and installed the latest Firefox, and I’m liking it. Definitely a bit faster and more responsive than Firefox 3.5…though not yet as snappy as Chrome from what I can tell. Note: this will REPLACE your existing FF 3.5 install. Here’s how to install it from the command line in Ubuntu Karmic:

First, open up a terminal, and then:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-daily/ppa

(adds the Mozilla repository to your sources)

sudo apt-get update

(updates your sources)

sudo apt-get install firefox-3.6

(downloads and installs the app. You’ find it in Applications > Internet > Namoroka Web Browser)

I’ve used lots of note-taking apps over the years. Online apps, offline apps, gui apps, command-line apps, mobile apps, personal wikis–pretty much everything. But I keep coming back to plain text files for my notes when I take them on my computer. I do a lot of stuff (journaling, meeting notes, etc) the lo-fi way (pen and paper) these days, but when I do take and record notes via keyboard, plain text just works. It’s small, portable, easily converted to rich-text, and no-hassle. Seems almost too simple given the plethora of outstanding note-taking applications out there, but it does continue to work for me.

On Ubuntu, the default text-editor Gedit works great, and has a few extra features that make taking plain-text notes a bit more convenient, like a side-bar file browser so you can easily open multiple files, and automatic time/date insertion if you’re keeping a journal.

Am I the only one that keeps coming back to plain-text for my digital notes?

Okay, so the new version of Ubuntu came out just a couple days ago…I had the time to mess with it today, and after about 4 hours of fun, I’ve got it all set up and totally customized to my liking. The install was pretty easy, once I realized that the nVidia drivers that ship don’t really support dual monitors. I was having tons of issues (no graphics on startup) but then I just unplugged one monitor, and it was smooth sailing! I was able to download and install the closed-source graphics drivers, and was back to enjoying my two-monitor setup in no time. Other than that annoying glitch I’ve encountered no technical issues at all.

Startup is noticeably smoother, and the new login screen is slick. I was really impressed by the new default visual look. For the first time since I’ve been using Ubuntu, the only visual element I changed right away was the background (and by the way, they include a lot of really nice ones in this release). The GTK theme, while still brown, is richer, darker, and much more elegant looking. The new icon theme also really adds to the visual appeal…it’s much more sophisticated than the old icon set. I love how the default tray icons for the volume, wifi, etc, are so minimalistic. Clean lines everywhere…it’s just great.

Performance-wise, it’s pretty much the same as Jaunty…reasonably snappy on my hardware, with some improvements on login speed.

I am really digging Empathy as the new instant messaging client over Pidgin…I love how integrated with the desktop it feels, and also how lightweight it is. The new Ubuntu Software Center is cool…and no doubt a boon for new users. It’s head-and-shoulders over the old “Add/Remove Programs” in my opinion. I’ll still be using Synaptic, of course, but the n00bs will really like how easy the Software Center is to use.

As something of a wannabe minimalist, I dig how minimal Ubuntu is out of the box in terms of its look and included apps, and I especially like how easy it is to configure it to work just how I want it to. The new GNOME and related apps are great, but I may still go back to Openbox, and with Ubuntu, it’s as easy as a few clicks.

Really, there’s not much else to say about the new Ubuntu. It’s solid, slick, functional, understated, elegant, and slightly less brown than before. Everything you want in an operating system.