Work, Study, Sleep and repeat.

I obviously have taken a little break from posting.  I have a few more distributions that I am looking into doing reviews on; Fedora, Suse, and Arch Linux.  However as my mind quickly changes track I keep looking at other Linux and computer related topics as well.  I don't seem to have enough time in the day to really put a lot of my focus where I want to.

For the past week during my downtime I have been putting a lot of time reading up on Bash.  Bash is the command processor that is used in most Linux terminals.  Learning this helps to better understand and utilize Linux further.  As I become more familiar with Bash I will probably start posting up tutorials about it.  I don't want to do that though until I have a good understanding of it.  Just something for you all to look forward to.

I've also started the process of going through some of the more common programs to start working up tutorials and reviews to explain how to get around the programs.  As always I recommend that people just get into the program and start playing; but it is helpful to at least have a few good starting points.

I'm looking into getting a tablet so that I can do my studying at the gym, as it stands right now I am doing my body good without doing my mind any good.  I will get this worked out soon and my schedule on track to handle the workload I have placed on myself.  I believe I need my own personal Sudo, any volunteers? Anyone? Bueller?

Crunchbang #! Reader Request

I recently went on Twitter and asked my followers which Linux distribution they use.  One reader mentioned how they use crunchbang and love it.  I downloaded and installed crunchbang on my virtual machine, this overview will be more complex than my last couple because the desktop has quite a few major differences.

As usual you will choose install, your date and time settings, username and password. 

Linux Mint 16 Petra Review

I withheld writing about Linux Mint because it is the distribution that I currently use and I wanted to get a feel for some of the other distributions before writing about the one I use.  So far I will not be changing my distribution.  I cannot say enough good things about Linux Mint, I also do not have anything bad to say about it.  It has everything that I need in an operating system.

Linux Mint started in 2006 with it's first release, each release being based on Ubuntu which allows for easy compatibility with their package libraries.  Generally they follow a similar release schedule to Ubuntu.  They only release when the project is ready, usually about two months after the latest Ubuntu release. Their support schedule also follows Ubuntu patterns, nine months for their short term releases and two years for their long term releases.

Much like Debian, Mint is created by people who volunteer their time.  They rely on donations and bug reports from users.  Anyone from the individual to companies can help in the building of Mint as they use the feedback of their users to help in the development process.

Mint offers classifications for their software packages for ease in finding stable software for this distribution.  Main is software that is developed by Mint. Upstream is the software that is available in Ubuntu but modified by Mint.  Import is software that is not available in Ubuntu; Flash, Picasa, Opera, ect.  Finally there is Romeo, this is the testing software and is unstable.

Cinnamon is one of the desktop environments you can get with this distribution, there are others you can get as well.  Cinnamon is created by Mint developers and works very well with Linux Mint because of that.  The ease to personalize your desktop, the organization of the programs, and the overall look of Cinnamon provided for a clean and stable desktop.

If you are a Windows user looking for a similar option for easy transition; this is it.  Mint offers all the comforts and options you could possibly need.  Similarly I would offer this distribution as a starter for any person who doesn't have a lot of computer experience.  It is stable, clean, and fun to play with.  It just works which is a must have for any newbie.

As a final thought, I have searched for reliable information of software requirements for each of the distributions. Mint has been the only one that I could easily find that was reliable information.  You can see the system requirements here.  For more information on Mint or to download please visit their website.

Linux Mint 16: Cinnamon

Welcome to Linux Mint 16 install and overview.  This one is an easy one for me because I have been using Linux Mint 16 for the past month and a half.  The only difference is I've been using XFCE instead of Cinnamon.  This is a continuing series and due to the certain similarities I have omitted some install steps.  If you need to reference these you can look at a few of my previous posts.

Kubuntu Review

After testing and reviewing Ubuntu it was a refreshing and pleasant experience getting into Kubuntu.  It was nicely laid out for easy access to pretty much anything I needed.  Kubuntu was indeed user friendly and was a good representation of their slogan; Kubuntu - the GNU/Linux distribution for everyone.

While Kubuntu is still sponsored by Canonical Ltd, they are made up of developers, programmers, and a community who volunteer their time.  Much like Debian these are people that work hard to bring open-source software to the world.  On the flip-side they work very closely with the Ubuntu team to release their products on the same day.  While I saw instability in Ubuntu, I did not see those same instability issues in Kubuntu.  There were no freezing or slow to start issues that I saw.

The desktop environment in Kubuntu is KDE, which is extremely easy to use.  The ability to personalize your desktop with the ease of finding programs quickly is a breath of fresh air compared to Unity and Gnome.  While I personally am not a widget fan I do like that they offer them as a way to easily glance at information you need.

As I mentioned in previous reviews; having a software center installed with the distribution makes it easy to locate and install programs that a user would need to go about their daily lives.  Like most distribution, Kubuntu offers many of the programs that an average user would need.  Mixed with the ease of categories offered by KDE the average user would easily be able to log in and use the computer with little to no issues.

With Kubuntu being a derivative of Ubuntu, it would be a likely assumption that it came with Zeitgeist installed.  Good news, Zeitgeist is not installed in Kubuntu.  As previously mentioned in my Ubuntu 14.04 review, Zeitgeist is a program that logs your keystrokes and sends them back to whatever company requested them.  Ubuntu comes with this program installed, but thankfully Kubuntu does not. Which means you are free to search anything you would like without having the eyes of big brother looking over your shoulder.

Overall, Kubuntu was a very nice Linux distribution. It was easy to use, easy to understand, and stable enough for the needs of an average user.  I would recommend it as a good choice in a distribution.  If you would like to try Kubuntu or learn even more about the distribution or the community please visit their website.

Kubuntu 14.04

Good Afternoon everyone! I took a couple of days to enjoy the beautiful weather that has finally returned.  Now after a short break I am ready to dive into the next distribution.  Without further ado, here is Kubuntu 14.04. This is a continuing series and due to the certain similarities I have omitted some install steps.  If you need to reference these you can look at a few of my previous posts.

Ubuntu 14.04

 

Ubuntu is one of the more popular distributions, with it's first release in 2004 and funding by Canonical LTD. in 2005.  Offering systems for cloud, server, desktop, phone, tablets and even your tv, they have their hands in pretty much every electronic device we use on a daily basis.  Unfortunately they still haven't figured out a way to do laundry, dishes and the dusting.  Who wouldn't want to learn one system for all of their electronics?