It looks the same, it feels the same... well, the login screen is updated, and the boot splash. I wish I had recorded my boot time running Dapper, but I timed Edgy at 29 seconds from the boot menu to the login prompt. Not bad. It then takes 7 seconds for my desktop to appear after I login.
I found that Edgy now comes with a generic kernel, ie. it supports SMP, but SMP is automatically disabled when the processor does not support it. This means new installations automatically make the most of the CPU they are installed on.
I found, to my surprise (hough I have to admit I was hoping for it) that my ATI Radeon now works, with hardware acceleration, and OpenGL. Graphics now feel a lot faster than they used to, and a whole load of programs and screensavers that refused to run now move like lightning.
It meant I could afford some customisations, so here is my chance to show them off.
Yep, reminds me of Vista too. Only thing is, it runs faster :)
My windows are no longer inflexible rectangles. When I drag them, they bend, and wobble when I let them go. It had my 4 year-old brother laughing like you've never seen.
Letting go of a window also causes ripples to spread across the desktop:
and my four virtual desktops are accessed by choosing a side if a rotatable cube (yes, that is TuxRacer you see :P):
I plan on writing a how-to for this, and post it the Ubuntu forums or wiki. Currently there doesn't exist one for Xubuntu/Xfce, as it takes some hacking. It's well worth it though :P
EDIT: I just noticed the distortion in some of the images. That's not how it looks, but the tool I used to take screenshots. Use your imagination to know what it looks like really :)
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Life on Edgy
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Ubuntu Edgy Released!
Slow as ever, though this time for reasons beyond my control...
[...]Blogger had a significant number of unplanned outages this last week [...] and a handful of planned ones to clean up from the unplanned ones. It’s been a Murphyesque cavalcade of power failures, fileserver trouble, and wonky network hardware, and I hope you’ll believe me when I say that the Blogger staff is even more sick of it than you are.
Anyway, forgiving Google for that, here is my post, dragged up from a text file on my PC:
A new version of Ubuntu linux is due for release today. Code-named 'Edgy Eft' (an eft is a baby newt) it will take over from the current 6.06 release.
Since it was announced, it was already known that Edgy will be more focused on new technology... 'under the bonnet' so to speak. Not a lot of changes will be present for the end-user. Probably most noticable (hopefully) will the the effects of the total rewrite that has been made of the boot process. Claims of 20-30 second boot times are given by many beta testers of the release. Boot times are something that has previously been cited against Ubuntu (though personally I find it quite fast).
Also in Edgy is a new Xorg 7.1, with AIGLX support. Xubuntu includes the latest Xfce, with a new trash can (recycle bin), accessibility features, and a load of bug fixes.
Reports of Edgy being very erm... 'edgy' are common. In bundling the un-released Firefox 2.0, Gaim 2.0 and a slightly buggy OpenOffice, Ubuntu have re-asserted that users wanting stability should stay with 6.06 Dapper, which will continue to be supported for 3 years (5 years for servers) after its release.
The release after Edgy will be Feisty Fawn, not Frisky Fox (as I had my money laid down on). It will be released 19th April 2007, making it the 7.04 release. Feisty will continue the focus on supporting more technology, while also bringing in additional multimedia and effects into the desktop. I think Feisty will be more exciting for the average user than Edgy so far. Feisty marks the return to the 6 month cycle that Ubuntu is famous for (Edgy was released in 4 months, because Dapper was delayed by 2 months).
For now, Dapper remains my recommendation to people who want to switch to linux with ease. Hopefully Feisty, or Feisty+1 will gove us another stable release like Dapper, that can be used for time to come.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Google Buys YouTube
(A bit late on this, the PC was in use :P)
Google have agreed to buy YouTube, the video-sharing site for a large (not too large for them) amount of money. Article here: Google Buys YouTube
Mentioned possibilities include that of Google sharing ad revenues with video producers that contribute to the site. The buying of YouTube seems to be for not much more than the sheer advertising potential (and it eliminates the largest competition to Google Video
PS. I am now on Linux, and plan to post about that another time :)
Friday, June 02, 2006
Hmm, this is one of those apologetic posts, for not posting for a while :)
So, what's been keeping me? Well, being ill was the first obstacle, and then immediately launching into exams upon recovery :-/.
They will be over soon, so for now, I just leave you with some interesting links I found around the place...
http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2006/05/30/610767.aspx
http://www.pixelbeat.org/ms_mirth/
http://news.com.com/Making+1GB+downloads+easier+to+swallow/2100-1038_3-6079342.html?tag=nefd.top
http://news.com.com/100+laptop+will+boost+desktop+Linux/2100-1003_3-6079469.html?tag=nefd.top
Note about the $100 laptop (last link)... may use XMPP as it's IM protocol...
Also, check out the links in my Google Reader starred section on the right. I star them for you :)
See you in a couple of weeks!
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Apple makes Macs run Windows XP
BBC NEWS | Technology | Apple makes Macs run Windows XP
Apple: Boot Camp Beta
Yep, a cunning move by Apple. Only made possible by the fact that they switched to using Intel processors recently. Perhaps this was always in the pipeline? I think it was thought of before they made the switch, for sure, even if they didn't know whether they would take advantage of it.
I can almost here them calling me... (well, I would, if I had Windows XP)
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Upgrading my PC
Well, I decided to write a blog entry while I wait for my new hard disk to format.
I have a 200GB SATA drive (Yes, I saved up long and hard for it :) ) which I am trying to install. I still have the 2 IDE drives I've been using plugged in, but there's no room in the case, so one will have to go after I transfer everything important from it...
The only problem I've had so far is that Windows 2000 recognises it as a 128B drive. I think it is related to this issue, so I'll try that when I've re-installed. Oh, I forgot to say I am making the new drive my primary drive, so I wil re-install Windows on it (perhaps one day Windows XP *as well*).
Well, it's finished, I must reboot, and hope that Windows 2000 setup recognises it...
PS. If I'm offline for a while, now you'll know where I am...
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Google's partial victory over US DoJ order
Official Google Blog: Judge tells DoJ "No" on search queries
The Judge ruled that the Department of Justice should not recieve the list of search queries they wanted, and limited the number of URLs they may request to 50,000. Google faces the US govt. and wins!
[ED: Delayed - see previous post]
Monday, March 20, 2006
Hello,Blogger Support
Your blog has been reviewed, verified, and whitelisted so that it will no
longer appear as potential spam. If you sign out of Blogger and sign back
in again, you should be able to post as normal. Thanks for your patience,
and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.
Sincerely,
\o/
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Friday, March 10, 2006
News
A highlight of today's interesting news stories...
'Hack the Mac' contest aborted
You may have read my earlier post about the challenge set by a university network administrator to hcak a Mac Mini he had connected to the network.
The challenge ended early today, with no winners, when the university found what he was doing... :P
Computer Market to slow down in 2006
A rather dry, but interesting article.
Google buy rights to online word processor
...and the company that just can't keep out of the news and my blog. I suspect they are intending a central portal for people to create, edit, store and share their documents. No longer will your office documents be tied to one PC, but accessible, in an editable form, from any PC connected to the internet...
Let's see if it comes true :)
EDIT: A link to the online word processor
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Google desperate for engineers - young and old
Google's Cerf on talent hunt in U.K. | CNET News.com
Meanwhile, I'll be looking for this guy...
Guardian Unlimited Technology | Technology | Can you hack into a Mac in 30 minutes?
Guardian Unlimited Technology | Technology | Can you hack into a Mac in 30 minutes?
More bad publicity for Apple and their Mac?
Apple have never been a particularly 'nice' company, despite their public image, and success, especially since the release of their ever-popular (yet ultimately failed) iPod.
Microsoft unveil their 'Origami Project'
This year's annual CeBIT conference in Germany was 'dominated' by the giant's new release, of a handheld PC platform. Samsung announced that they will be the first to produce the device they call 'Q1', that uses the Origami platform.
The Q1 is capable of booting into the familiar Window's desktop, or if the user wishes, just a media player (which can start instantly).
Previously handheld PCs were notorious for slow startup processes, though they solved the problem by remaining on, yet turning the screen off to save battery power.
Samsung unveils world's first 10MP camera phone
At the same conference, Samsung were also busy demonstrating the latest remarkable evolution in digital camera technology.
Digital cameras are getting smaller, higher quality, and more and more portable as time passes. Inevitably they are also becoming cheaper to buy as well. Incorporating them into common everday devices is increasingly popular, as Samsung show.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Google to offer 'online hard drive'
Google to offer 'online hard drive'
...and also this piece of cover-up from good old Goggle...
100% of user information...hmm...
CodeGuru: Shared Memory Inter Process Communication (IPC)
CodeGuru: Shared Memory Inter Process Communication (IPC)
\o/
Don't ask me why I blogged this... maybe someone will find it interesting :) (like I did - I'm using it)
And also, I am writing the how-to for desktop customisation :)
Monday, March 06, 2006
My new desktop
A screenshot
By popular demand, I post a screenshot of my (Windows) desktop, the way it currently looks.
In the bottom left corner is a console window, on the right hand side is Miranda.
The icons and titlebar skin are by the new shell I installed.
The wallpaper is from Windows Vista (codename 'Longhorn').
If anyone wants me to post the full tutorial of how I did it, leave a comment to let me know :)
(btw. I am using Windows 2000, and it is using half the memory tha it was before I started this exercise...)
