well mr. rno, there's bad news and good news!

Ah yes, the Linuxville Guide office was caught off guard today. I've been trying to install XP on my second machine. XP can run several graphics programs I want to use for interior design modeling that Linux doesn't have. I kept getting a master boot record error. I tried every tool I had MS and Linux, finally I gave up on XP and proceeded to re-install Linux. The hard drive died along with the fan on the furnace. The two are not related but it made the lost more intense. Oh well, the furnace comes first, I guess. That's the bad news.

The good news is I did discover a gem of a Linux in the process. The Linux I was installing was DreamLinux 3.5. Let me tell you something about Linux distributions, with every new revision usually comes new features and better operation and snappier looks. When I first saw DreamLinux it was cool but clunky compared to what's available now. It uses XFCE desktop just like Xubuntu and it is Debian (Lenny) but not Ubuntu based. Many of the necessary add-ons are included already and the installation methods are tweaked to perfection. DreamLinux will also allow you to re-master a version of itself of your design to a fresh CD or jump drive.

So, the plan is to replace the furnace motor, and get two hard drives for my second PC. One that XP and DreamLinux will share and one for my "home" partition. Did I tell you, DreamLinux asked me during installation if I wanted to designate one drive as my "home" folder, that alone is awesome. This is cool if your operating system or hard drive gets hosed, your personal data is still intact and accessible.

If you are a dreamer like me you have to be careful reality doesn't take you by surprise, you could turn into a DIY person over night. Once you get a project in your head, sleep is hard, eating and dressing is meaningless. Every meal is lunch and a jumpsuit, slippers and bathrobe is business attire. Work on the "project" becomes a seamless reality and when interrupted by practical chores "Mr. Grumpy" emerges. Mr. Grumpy can't discern between a temporary stoppage and a cease and desist order. Mr. Grumpy unless your defusing a bomb, relax.

The tizzy that got me is cargo container homes. As I am a victim of a faulty education system I'm not an architect or a engineer but being who I am, I know great design logic when I see it. Modular construction of Corten steel modules into anything from a bus shelter to a highrise apartment building is really incredible. I am not nuts, I saw videos of Bob Vila explaining the conversion.  What you want to know is what has that got to do with Linux. If you got an idea and you want to nail it down or model it in 3d, you have to have the software to do it. Linux does not have many efficient, easy to learn 3d software packages. Blender is more geared for animation graphics and learning it is a job in itself. You can model in Blender, you just have to be good with Blender. I was looking at architectural cad. Why? Because when a software is targeted for a particular process, the intended audience wants features and work flows that make their job easier. I found two, Octree and Cycas Cad. I think Cycas Cad is more what I want.

Please don't tell me to try MS stuff in Wine, most of the plentiful MS platform software for this type of 3d work is poorly written. They have poor quality graphics, are resource pigs, run way too slow as a virtual machine and are not free. Cycas Cad has a Public version which is free, a Student version and a Professional version, the cost are very reasonable.

But in the wild, AutoCad is the standard and this one and that one that all runs on MS. Most Linux engineering software is top shelf and pricey for an individual. The problem with open source and low cost applications in Linux is that people want to make money with them but don't want to develop them, time is money. If you want to have Linuxware in your budget bracket, you must help by using them. Via the user base is how things get done in Linuxville. GIMP would not be what it is if it didn't have a user base. The user base gives the developers feedback and adds useful stuff like tutorials, models, scripts, documentation, etc.
It is easier for folks to be fanatic about Blender, man if I could do Avatar movie like graphics! The professional architectural and engineering folks usually don't have time to play. Hey, we value our play time highly and digital entertainments overshadows more serious pursuits and for many is a lucrative market.

For any generation who threatens to change the world by viewing it differently, you have to contend with pre-existing conditions. In the built environment I always say what we call a house has to change. Not a problem if you live outside the city, the further out, the freer. In the city, it's block after block of the same box with a pitched roof. People who think differently move out, people who give in move in. Changing the physical world of our practical living takes guts, cash  and often a change in the building codes and zoning laws. Then how many architects are willing to take on a single city-home makeover?

It's all about tools, and digital tools you have access to. And it's about ideas that paid professionals don't get. Chew on this, one time we all lived in the one room shack, cabin, tent. We did everything in the one space or outside. Today we have designated rooms for eating, lounging and personal space. The family lives in a cluster of personal spaces with common spaces. We want to each fight for our personal space vs the common space. The common spaces are filled with family distracting entertainments and the personal spaces are self isolation chambers.
If a family were to buy a tenement building with shared kitchen and bath, it would be the same as any typical home. I guess it is the values we have that drive the physical changes in our environment. So what could you design in a home to enhance the family quality and preserve personal development. Now project these values to the house structure, yard, block, community, city, county, etc; etc.

We, especially in Ohio don't live so well with new design. We like our antiques and retro-styles and are subject to fashion and trend buying than good solid timeless design. Our lives are so hurried, we buy what meets the need at the time. I drive past so many homes where the garages are filled with stuff, we are a messy lot, aren't we? Design and Linux, still a work in progress, we'll just have to keep plugging away at it.

Linux Illumination

The first thing that dawned on me was the reason folks make so many Linux distributions, besides saying wouldn't it be nice if. After trying out a few different distros I always wish certain features from one distro were present in this other one. Of course there is the language or culture centric thing. It's like climbing a mountain and putting your flag on it. Hey, who's the guy who climbs Mt. Everest and removes all those flags so that other climbers can have a so called "I'm first" experience? You will notice that you use the same applications over and over again. A distro with those apps means you don't have to install them yourself. If you find your favorite apps are wrapped in your favorite desktop GUI, you almost have a winner. Almost?!? Yeah, the packaging system is not .rpm or .deb or whatever. So, while you are throwing together stuff you appreciate, you might throw in some snazzy artwork, useful utilities and a digital flag to rename your mountain (GNU-buntu?!).

I am partial to this also having missed Xubuntu I went and installed Xfce desktop on my Ubuntu. ooh.....Life is very sweet indeed............
That's Xfce sporting a pen drawing I scanned in using the Xsane plugin in GIMP, then imported into Inkscape. Don't let the spare look of Xfce fool you, a right mouse click on the desktop and I've got menus galore. So, Gnome has some things I like and Xfce has things also. The two are compatible so I am able to blend some functions. I just like uncluttered looks and feels.

If you are into focused distros some are more multimedia oriented. Dyne:bolic is my dual-boot partner, I really didn't need to install it as the live-CD is quite handy. Grafpup of the Puppy Linux lineage is worth a look and I like Wolvix also.

And if you are especially into doing art, using Linux and opensource software to do it, check out http://www.linuxgraphicsusers.com. It is a newer site, not over run with old pros. If you are beginning to explore your digital art potential, this is a good starting place. There is a forum and tutorials and great encouraging attitudes and people petting penguins.

What's new? I got this new job and part of the training involves learning various CAD software. I am into Unigraphics NX4 right now. It's a pro 3D modelling application with off the chart functions, but learning to think in 3D will help me figure out K-3D on my Ubuntu box. K-3D has a simpler user interface than Blender 3D, so I hope to do something with it, someday.

There is so much Linux out there, but it's the applications that make it useful. You will use the same apps no matter which Linux you choose. That should make choosing a little easier, right?

The buzz around Linuxville

Hey all, thought I try out a blog face-lift, because I can. I do this in Linux all the time. Linux desktop people all find out eventually they can morph their GUIs a little or a lot depending which one they are using. Again, I like Xfce desktop because the configuration settings are not buried deep in layered menus. And while I can't tweak everything, I can adjust it enough to get a satisfying look without much effort.

In my neck of the woods, things are a brewing. I stopped by my alma mater and discovered Ubuntu loaded on several computers in the computer lab. Perhaps I made an impression on the teachers while I was there. I think up and coming techies should know about Linux and have the opportunity to use it. Not only on the server but on the desktop as well.

Then, I am waiting for the official release of Ubuntu 8.04, known as "Hardy Heron". It is boasting a few improvements but what I want to explore is the virtual machine support built in. I want to install MS XP as a virtual machine so I don't have to dual-boot anymore. But to this end I might have to install more memory so that the virtual machine will run better. Ubuntu 8.04 will also have tools to shrink MS partitions and install Ubuntu while booted into MS Windows. Of course I will be loading Xubuntu 8.04 on my main machine. I am thinking about Ubuntu on my older machine. It is good to know a little about Gnome desktop, but I am a bit biased. KDE, well, it's like a window manager called Enlightenment in the way it has so many configuration settings. I just think it is too much and I wish people quit saying KDE is more like MS Windows. This is just not true. KDE, Gnome, and Xfce are all more adjustable than MS Windows. They may have similar elements but that is all.

I do have some secret wishes I would like to reveal. In Xfce, I would like to assign a different wallpaper to each virtual desktop and assign apps to open on the desktop I assign and save my settings. Then I would like to see better isolation of desktop GUIs when you have multiple desktop GUIs installed. If you have KDE, Gnome and Xfce on one computer for instance, functions are duplicated, menus are confused and clear control over the desktop is denied. On popular distros that feature one of the main desktops should feature also a leaner window manager like Fluxbox, Icewm as a users alternate choice.
I would also like to see a dual hard drive standard in computers. A smaller drive for the OS and applications and a big as you want drive for user files. It is kind of risky to put OS and user files on the same disk. So, if you must repair or upgrade or change your OS or the disk it's on, you don't have to touch your data. Solid state or flash drive cost are coming down, a 20-30 gig drive would be perfect for this. Lastly, at least for now, I would like to see a "Popular Linux Magazine" that targets typical average computer users rather than server techs, system admins and programmer/developers.

can Ubuntu survive the desktop?

In the latest skirmish for the desktop at least on the Linux front, Ubuntu has the perceived lead. But there is trouble under the surface. Ubuntu which has the Gnome desktop has the continued backing of the Ubuntu designers while Kubuntu which has the KDE desktop is waning. Seems a little thing but KDE seems not able to keep up with the Ubuntu release schedule. KDE is pushing for version 4.0 to be ready for prime time but it is not soon enough for the next release of Ubuntu coming your way. It is not a good thing to have a large part of your user base cut off. I am so surprised at this situation, it begs for the obvious solution. The Ubuntu folks need to return to the Linux idea.
Return to the idea that any desktop or window manager can be used. The present trend toward integrating a particular desktop into Linux results in moving on to a different distribution by users who don't like the desktop. The desktop is not Linux, only the user interface. In the Ubuntu world it is so apparent that users like the whole Ubuntu scenario but want the desktop of their own choosing. If I were trying to insure the continued success of Ubuntu Linux I would pay attention to what users are demanding, GUI choice and a Linux that will run on anything. Personally I believe that both KDE and Gnome desktops are way too big and try to embrace everything all users want. So, what do I recommend? Make Linux better fit to use any desktop or window manager. You might have to sacrifice integration via libraries and devise a more transparent way for the desktop to access Linux. It is all so complicated because all the players are entrenched in their own development worlds. My final stroke has been to use Xfce desktop which is a little less than either KDE or Gnome but is more gratifying to deal with on a daily basis. Linux should not become like Apple or Microsoft, just a third choice of an homogenized product line. What makes Linux is its ability to be configured to the hardware and to the user. One size does not fit all. What direction will Linux makers and users go is so exciting and a work in progress. Computing is still pretty young as technologies go and it isn't the answer to all man's woes as some have hoped but you have to admit cool things are happening.