the maddness, the pain, the liberation

I just wasn't satisfied with upgrading Ubuntu 9.04 with 9.10. I did the online upgrade and like I said took 5 hours. I had disabled Gnome desktop which came standard on Ubuntu and installed the KDE desktop. So I got out the yellow tape and marked off the Linuxville guide desk. It looked more like a crime scene. I deleted unwanted files, then backed up all personal data on CDs. Man, I wish I had a DVD burner.

When the dust settled I installed Kubuntu 9.10 from the Live-CD. It only took 1 hour to download and another to install. Compared to 5 hours for the online upgrade, this was a dream. I am quite pleased with the results, KDE desktop is a bit more robust than Gnome, but I like it. What does robust mean? A little more configurable in some things with more noticeable results. I think KDE and Gnome compete like Microsoft and Mac, only on the Linux platform. You can't go wrong with either KDE or Gnome. The only complaint was the package installation manager for KDE (Kpackagekit), it is not straightforward and easy to use for finding software. Instead I use Synaptic, a way more wonderful and thoughtful package management app.

I am not a multi-tasker by nature but I did laugh at the Win7 commercial where the young lady had way too many programs open at the same time and it did not crash (knock on plastic!). It was never the crashing that bothered me, it was the confusion. All that stuff on the desktop reminded me of my dining room table, piled, layered with stuff in plain sight. Linux has had up to 16 desktop workspaces for years now. I had different reference materials open full page on different workspaces. There is a pager in my toolbar which shows each workspace and allows me to get to any one of them very quickly. With the compositing effects into play, you can rotate the workspaces on a cube or see them all arrayed flat or...........killing the clutter and not crashing as well. Icons all over the desktop are a dis-ease. I've learned to use my file manager to graphically show me where things are.

One of my main problems as an artist is what to do next. If you are doing this for a living, that is, working for a company, at least you have direction. If you are a free lancer it is best to draw what you know. The thing I discovered is that limitations work better than abundance. When everything, all the tools, all your talents, all the subjects are before you, it is hard to choose. I tell myself to limit my pallet. When I have a small group I get creative. What can I do with this? I can always add something or take away something. With limitations come considerations, I think about what I need and if I need to learn a new trick, a new skill.

I will admit a lot of my work is not pure digital, that is, I'm not putting in calculations to make the computer draw something mathematical. I'm not into digital photos either. But what I like is to make parts of drawings and combine them. Sometimes I draw on paper, scan it into the PC and start that way. So for me the computer is for helping along human generated art. A PC is a very, very fancy pen/pencil/brush.

Hardware, where is my hardware? I can work fine at home, at my desk, but as soon as I go out of the room a separation anxiety happens. A laptop would be a good fix but it's still a big conventional PC. A netbook is OK except it is not really meant for graphics work. I think I need a new device. Call it a sketchbook. It's a handy unit, light weight and has a few standout features.
1. 12"- 15" screen is plenty big, can be wide-screen or not. Pixel Qi (pronounced "chee") has new low power display technology that is cheaper, sort of pimped out ePaper.

2. No keyboard!! The on_screen virtual keyboard is perfect along with a remote wireless compact keyboard (if needed).

3. 6" x 9" pen pad built into the deck, where the keyboard was, OR.....
I would even take a pen pad panel and snap it over the keyboard/palmrest to turn a slightly juiced netbook into a sketch pad doodle machine.

Now I'm going to step in it. Web graphics and multi-media folks usually want a screen big enough and a PC with power enough to run professional Microsoft platform graphics applications. Please go buy a well endowed laptop and don't mess with my dream. This idea is for a sketchbook, a portable doodle machine. I want to emphasize pen input but not the touch screen approach, or the pen tablet display approach (both pricey technologies). Then I am running Linux graphics applications like Gimp, Inkscape and MyPaint. Why, because actual drawing on a PC is an afterthought with the pro-ware. I want to doodle on a PC meant for sketching. Yes, I am lowering the bar here, I've quite enough of messaging the egos of the well heeled and pro-graphic-technology junkies. Let the low end become the archetype for once. This leaves room for an upgraded model, but not today. What usually happens is a good starting point product is planned but by the time every kind of commercial artist weighs in, it becomes the Dell W700 with built-in Wacom tablet, color calibration tools and $3000 price tag, all I want is to sketch. Build a machine for my end of the market, I have art needs too.

I'm setting with my doodle machine in my lap, bag lunch, thermo of joe and the urge to push pixels. Imagine, a roving artist, small canvas, paint box, easel, folding chair and time to paint dreams. Reality, I've taken mom-n-law to doctor appointment, sitting in waiting room, doodle machine in hand, 20 minutes to myself. My brag is this: you don't need a pedigree to push pixels and you don't need to have what the pros use either (unless your job/career demands it). Honing your chops can be done near free if you are willing to open up to Open Source. And if you are to venture into Linuxville, be prepared to have your eyes opened.

Linuxville and you, a desktop user

Welcome to Linuxville!!!

You are thinking about a Linuxville visit and so you jump on the net to view some screenshots (postcards) and read the travel reviews of critics. It is so confusing because the critics of Linux never match the perspective user's vantage point. Imagine being all day on a fishing boat after promoters rave about catching the big one and you bring home the guppy. Or you are a river wader type of fishing person and you hook something that taxes both you and your equipment. I know, I know, you want the skinny from an expert, that way you can have all your questions answered. Good luck with that!

Linux in review depends on who is looking at it. If you ask the plumber, you get pipes. If you ask the artist you get pictures. If you ask the lawyer you get a legal opinion and a bill. Linux today is described by many experts who happen to be technicians, system administrators, programmers, and are proficient at running servers and large networks. But you need to hear from someone who is just like you, a desktop user, even a home user.

But, but, shouldn't they know all the nuts and bolts and inner workings of Linux thus are qualified and able to tell me what I need to know?? Yes, but no!! These folks know a lot in some areas, not enough in others. Never ask an engineer for an explanation in a nutshell, you will get the details, all the details. At first you want to know what does it look like, what can it do, how is this better than what I already have? What's the cost? What's the point? Then later you can ask about details. It is a common experience that the well versed have little patience for new users and curious inquirers. Why? Because many of these vocal experts have used Linux for years without the desktop GUI (graphical user interface). Linux works without the GUI and in some cases works better, like on servers. They will say "type this", when all you want and need is "click this".

Is there an answer to this dilemma? Yes. The pool of Linux users are really a group of symbiont communities (ooh! Jedi talk) with overlapping experiences. But what is needed is Linux from the point of view of a desktop user. The desktop Linux user is in reality a new group, most of whom have little interest in the inner workings. OK, car drivers should know how to change a tire, how to check the oil and how to adjust the driver compartment for a comfortable fit. Knowing the mechanics is optional, but not necessary. It is the same with Linux. Also, there are kinds of users with different needs. If we are talking about changing from Microsoft to Linux, it is different for a home user than for a business owner or system administrator. Home users don't have to worry about changing and maintaining large numbers of computers. So, choose your critics/reviewers wisely.

As your Linuxville guide I want you to see the views of a typical desktop user. Linux on the desktop is like a car. It maybe boring or very exciting. The desktop is about look and feel and the drive. You may want to rock the chassis, screech the tires, or just drive to work and back. Some want a normal routine experience, some want to tinker, customize, accessorize and say "lookie here".

As a Linux desktop user, my experience has drawn me to these main conclusions:

1. Linux is not a clone of Microsoft Windows or a free version of MS Windows.

2. Linux is not a substitute or replacement for MS Windows, implying that it will run your entire investment of MS based software without a hitch.

3. Linux can be used instead of MS Windows to do the same kinds of computing tasks using software written for Linux.

4. Linux can accommodate software written for other platforms, not flawlessly but it can be done.

5. Linux has its own games.

6. It is the file format that matters more than the program that created it. If the file format is liberated from one company's market controlling whims, it is more advantageous for everyone. Ask any computer networking person about networking protocol standardization and ethernet communication. And why MS Word versions (there are a lot of them!) have different formats to where a conversion program is needed is beyond me.

7. The GUI was invented on a Unix system and passed on to Apple then to MS. The icons and windows and even the tools that perform tasks in applications are all industry standards of the total computer community. This is so skills are transferable and you will know what to expect no matter which computer you use, Linux, MS or Mac, whether you type a command or click the mouse.

8. As a desktop user you have the liberty to be a poster-child or fanboy/girl for the computer system of your preference or be a free range chicken with transferable skills to use any computer under your fingers.

9. As a Linux desktop user you can be a surface skimmer (GUI user only) or deep diving codehead with equal comfort.

10. It is jesting to say that with MS you will be assimilated and with Linux you will be accommodated, but there are rings of truth here.

Well, you have reached the city limits, drive on or turn around and stay for a while. I hope your visit was/is pleasant. Don't forget the souvenirs, we have live-CD's, postcards (screenshots), my blog travel guide and, ooh! is that a bobble-head penguin on your dash? Man, you're my hero!

tech life - the sequel

Of course there is a sequel! Because I heard an anguished sigh when I said Linux and games in the same sentence. OK, you are a serious gamer, this also means you are probably technically savvy and could dual-boot if you wanted to. Or you already have a dedicated gaming machine, Xbox, Wii or PSP. So you should conclude that the Linux crowd really has little interest in duplicating the whole gaming world's roster in order to justify itself as a MS Windows or Mac rival. Such expectations and assumption are totally wrong. You have to look at this whole Linux gaming thing as an adventure in another place. Linuxville as I call it has a flavor all it's own. I don't play games but I fiddled with Neverball and Neverputt and that Frozen Bubble is addicting. I have to learn the Billard-GL, a 3d pool game because I like pool. But the Doom type games are not my type. Cards and puzzles and mazes and such, there is no end. But because the favorite games of some are not here, we have no games. So, if I were a real gaming fan I would rather have a dedicated game box and not burden the Linux world with my insatiable demands, "Halo".

Among the many PC users are the types who just play the programs and the types who want to do stuff. I think Linuxville is an uncluttered landscape, a place where you can escape the commercial, the pre-packaged and venture into a world of your own making. The opportunity to do-it-yourself is lost when we are continually told there is no time to create just consume. Linuxville is where you can find many avenues of development still open without an end users (consumer's) agreement. How terrible it would have been if back yard mechanics could only turn the piles of parts they've bought into the same cars that roll off the assembly line (wrench by number anyone?). Might as well get a job on the line. Innovation came from the backyards, drag strips, race tracks and car shows, not the assembly line. Folks have different solutions, different approaches and sometimes a new solution comes from folks unpolluted by years of learning.

So, lets look at things in a more proper light. MS Windows and Mac OS are company products. Linux is a kit of parts that when put together accomplish the same things as the company products. Over the years people have improved the Linux parts making Linux as a whole improved. Technically, Linux is a frame or kernel on which all the other various Linux parts can be hung. While the various parts can be swapped in and out, the kernel is the same. The same kernel in every solution holds all the parts together. So, you can customize the Linux parts, bolt them on the kernel, have a different Linux solution. But fear not, you don't have to put Linux together from scratch yourself (yet you can). Pre-assembled parts called "distributions" or "distros" are available to everyone. They are combinations of parts that work well together and are the handi-work of folks who have done the testing for you. Distros target different tasks, tastes, purposes and users. The Linuxville community from the user to the developer/programmer do a lot of talking, tweaking, and fixing to improve all the parts and make Linux better as a whole. Problems and short-comings are being noted and repaired even as we speak if it is known, not left to PC tech support to compensate for as needed. The PC tech guy would be like the Maytag repairman on a Linux network. Once setup Linux runs forever.............

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my granddaughter has a Nintendo DS. She poked at it with a little stylus. I've seen the elder of the church I attend do the same thing with his PDA. Man, I laughed, talk about priming the young for a product. I don't know all what can be done on this Nintendo DS, I did see a virtual keyboard while looking over her shoulder. So here is games, music, possibly texting on a pint-sized junior PDA to be. My dad had big hands, said he was clumsy at small parts, I can't imagine working the tiny (to me) PDA work-station. Just watching her peck away on her DS, intently staring at the tiny screens, immersed into that small world. She lost the little stick once and was helpless until she found it again. (oh, that was the best darn stick!) PDA's aren't there for me yet, I still don't have a cellphone. When PDA's replace my garage door opener, universal remote collection and my clapper light switch, it will be a must have. The clapper? That's to turn off my computer.

science, art, adventure in Linuxville

Years ago I read a science fiction story about some folks stranded on Mars after a failed rescue attempt. The backdrop was some ancient Martian ruins that resembled typical urban suburb dwellings on earth. As they waited for their own rescue, they eventually broke camp and found the ruins inviting and accommodating. They removed their space suits, made the most of their new surrounding. Soon they forgot all about rescue, settled into merging with the backdrop. Their blue eyes turned almond in color, their skin, a honey golden tan and they melted into the landscape. After some time, a rescue crew finally did come. They wondered what happened to those stranded people, saw the abandoned camp, then the ruins so inviting and accommodating!

On the surface Linuxville is the hot bed of excitement, controversy, discussion and consideration. Using Linux you settle into the backdrop, it is inviting and accommodating.
Shades of Garrison Keillor and Issac Asimov!!

One dream I had as a young man was to roam the world with my artist box filled with paint and a stack of clumsy canvases. It's kind of romantic. More so than whipping out a camera like a tourist, though I have know some pretty serious photo buffs. I could do the same with a laptop and digital camera. The technology has changed, the metaphor remains the same. Having been a draftsman for years has degraded my appreciation for realism though. I am wrapped in a world of lines and how they represent things. An artist touching on new media is the most thrilling thing in the world. People who view and buy art don't always know what went into making the end product, usually they just like what they see. To the artist it is the process, the action of doing it, then the drama of display. In my exploration of the Linux desktop via Ubuntu 8.04, I have discovered free and open source artist tools. The GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program) is like the popular Photoshop, but different. Then Inkscape, a program like Adobe Illustrator, also different. They sport the same tools as their counterparts and have plug-ins and extensions that make for custom functions. Having played with pen and ink, paint, pencil and other things, I am excited to be able to emulate the same qualities and looks and then use the computer to find new constraints or dissove limitations. You might have more regard for traditional art materials and methods, I can understand that, but you need more than one lifetime to master both the old stuff and the new, if you still want a normal life to boot. How many prodigies do you know? It's better to learn the old and timeless principles and apply them in new ways with the tools you have at hand. This is coming from a not so old guy! I am not "dissing" painters and such, I still admire those with those talents and abilities, I'm just being real in a world of change and possibilities. Blending and bending is the keyword these days. Like the movie "Remo Williams, the adventure continues!!"