Aside from the free service you can extend your storage through a subscription model with the following choices:

• 10GB – $25/year
• 50GB – $95/year
• 100GB – $160/year
• 500GB – $630/year
• 1TB – $1000/year

This is a decent pricing model because if you break it down monthly it’s a lot cheaper than Dropbox or Ubuntu One. This makes this service a big contender in the cloud market. Of course with the paid services you get 3 extra services over the free version. You get automatic backup of folders you choose to store, a "Time Travel" service which allows you to go back to previous folder revisons, and a file versioning service that tracks revisions of independent files (i.e. Documents). Have reserves about security and reliability? Here’s a clip from their website that is under "How It Works"

Technology Wuala is based on a novel technology that we have researched and developed for the most part at ETH Zurich, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. A number of important aspects distinguish Wuala from other services. Privacy and Security Wuala protects your privacy: In stark contrast to most other online storage services, all your files get encrypted on your computer, so that no one – including the employees at Wuala and LaCie – can access your private files. Your password never leaves your computer. Wuala employs the 128 bit AES, 2048 bit RSA and SHA-256 algorithms for encryption, signatures and integrity checks. If you’re interested in how Wuala manages encryption, have a look at our publication on Cryptree. Reliability When you store a file, it is first encrypted on your computer and then chunked up and encoded into redundant fragments using erasure codes (Reed-Solomon codes). These encrypted, redundant fragments are then stored in our European data centers and in the Wuala cloud. We make sure that your data is always safe. A complete backup of your encrypted files is always kept on our servers, so that it can always be accessed and restored. The Wuala cloud serves as an optimization that allows us to operate a large-scale infrastructure at low cost and to provide you with better performance. Also, it allows organizations to get access to reliable online storage by providing their own resources to the Wuala cloud. Get More Storage You start with 1 GB provided by us. If you want more, you can either buy more storage, or trade some space on your hard disk for additional online storage. The idea behind trading is not to give you more storage in total, but to change the quality of your storage: Wuala is able to transform local storage into online storage that can be accessed from anywhere and at any time, even when your computer is offline. Please note that trading is an option, not an obligation. If you need extra space but don’t want to trade, you can always buy additional storage instead. Desktop Client and Web Start Wuala comes as a convenient application for Windows, Mac, and Linux that can also be started directly from within the browser, elegantly bridging web and desktop. This has the advantage of drag and drop support, the ability to upload files in the background and to work offline. Wuala integrates with your system as a network drive so you can open and edit your files in your favorite application. Also, links to files and folders can be sent to friends, who can click directly on the link and access the files in the browser. Open Source We love open source technology and Wuala is based on a number of open source projects. We did open source Wuala Webstart and Wuala Persistent Map. This is defintely worth checking out. And it adds to my personal regiment of places I can back up. Although large files I personally like to store on a local back up mainly because of bandwidth reasons with my ISP (stupid 1Mbit connection). Check it out at http://www.wuala.com.

MovableType apparently is the only method that will work with WordPress based blogs. Even though I swore I saw it say to choose Blogger 2.0 type in a tutorial but whatever.

Drivel is nice and it’s more native, but lacks the features that Blogilo has for posting media (aka images) and formatting is more of a process than the 1 click you can do with Blogilo.

The only gripe I have with Blogilo is that when I post images and want to format them for alignment it strips the old HTML options (i.e. align=”left hspace=”10″) when I post so I wind up re-editing server side to fix it. Not a big deal really.

One thing I saw in Drivel that is nifty is the Poll Generator built in. However, that is for LiveJournal blogs only. So totally useless for me. This makes my decision to use Blogilo more of a reality.

What desktop based blog editor do you use? Let me know in the comments!

The list of derivatives has been expanding more and more and I am sure I missed some. Please comment if you have any more info on others.

Mint

Link: http://www.linuxmint.com/

Linux Mint’s purpose is to produce an elegant, up to date and comfortable GNU/Linux desktop distribution.

Linux Mint is one of the surprise packages of the past year. Originally launched as a variant of Ubuntu with integrated media codecs, it has now developed into one of the most user-friendly distributions on the market – complete with a custom desktop and menus, several unique configuration tools, a web-based package installation interface, and a number of different editions. Perhaps most importantly, this is one project where the developers and users are in constant interaction, resulting in dramatic, user-driven improvements with every new release. DistroWatch has spoken to the founder and lead developer of Linux Mint, Clement Lefebvre, about the history of the distribution.

Kubuntu

Link: http://www.kubuntu.org/

Kubuntu is the KDE version of Ubuntu. This version comes packed with the KDE window manager instead of Gnome.

Kubuntu is a free, user-friendly operating system based on the K Desktop Environment and on the award winning Ubuntu operating system. With a biannual release cycle and at least 18 months of free security updates for each release, it is the secure, stable computing environment you’ve been waiting for. Take the tour or hear what our users have to say.

So basically if you like Ubuntu and prefer the KDE window manager you might want to install this instead of Ubuntu. It will save you the time of downloading and installing KDE and switching window managers.

Edubuntu

Link: http://edubuntu.org/

Edubuntu’s objective is to create an integrated and usable experience for educational users by enhancing Ubuntu with educational applications, tools, content, and themes.

“Ubuntu” is an ancient African word, meaning “humanity to others”. Edubuntu seeks to bring the freedoms and spirit of Ubuntu to children, parents, students, teachers, and schools.

Xubuntu

Link: http://www.xubuntu.org/

Xubuntu is a community developed, Linux-based operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. It contains all the applications you need – a web browser, document and spreadsheet editing software, instant messaging and much more.

If you like Ubuntu but prefer the XFCE window manager download Xubuntu and check it out.

Gobuntu

Link: http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/gobuntu

Gobuntu is a GNU/Linux operating system, derived from Ubuntu, that endeavors to adhere to the Free Software Foundation’s four freedoms and intends to provide a base for other free software platforms to build upon with minimal modification required. It does this by only including open-source non-restricted software. This means there will be no firmware, drivers, applications, or content included in Gobuntu that does not include the full source or whose license does not provide the right to use, study, modify, and redistribute the body of work.

Gobuntu shares the same system requirements as Ubuntu. At present, this means Gobuntu is available for 32-bit and 64-Bit PC architectures and the install requires at least 4 GB of disk space.

Ubuntu Studio

Link: http://ubuntustudio.org/

Ubuntu Studio. A multimedia creation flavor of Ubuntu.

Ubuntu Studio is aimed at the GNU/Linux audio, video and graphic enthusiast as well as professional.

We provide a suite of the best open-source applications available for multimedia creation. Completely free to use, modify and redistribute. Your only limitation is your imagination.

Mythbuntu

Link: http://www.mythbuntu.org/

Mythbuntu is an community supported add-on for Ubuntu focused upon setting up a standalone MythTV based PVR system. It can be used to prepare a standalone system or for integration with an existing MythTV network. Unlike similar projects, Mythbuntu keeps close ties with Ubuntu and all development is given back to Ubuntu. This architecture allows simple conversions from a standard desktop to a Mythbuntu machine and vice versa. The development cycle of Mythbuntu closely follows that of Ubuntu, releasing every six months with Ubuntu releases.

Ubuntu Server Edition

Link: http://www.ubuntu.com/products/WhatIsUbuntu/serveredition

The Ubuntu Server Edition – built on the solid foundation of Debian which is known for its robust server installations – has a strong heritage for reliable performance and predictable evolution.

The Ubuntu Server Edition is changing the server market for businesses by delivering the best of free software on a stable, fully supported and secure platform. In the two years since initial launch Ubuntu can now be found in hundreds of organisations across the world delivering key services reliably, predictably and economically. Ubuntu Server Edition is an energy efficient, low memory and disk footprint operating system that helps build server functions that respect our environment with no compromise on agility and versatility.

Ubuntu servers are available on Amazon EC2

Eeebuntu

Link: http://www.eeebuntu.org/

With over 45,000 downloads to date, Eeebuntu Standard contains everything you need to get working and playing on your EeePC from the beginning. It includes a full suite of internet applications, including Firefox for browsing, Pidgin for IM chat, and Thunderbird for mail. For work, a full suite of OpenOffice applications; Database, Presentation, Spreadsheet and Word – all Microsoft Office compatible; and a selection of multimedia applications: VLC for watching movies and Banshee for listening to music. You even have support for your iPod with gtkpod!

Ubuntu Mini Remix

Link: http://ubuntu-mini-remix.crealabs.it/

You want to build your own Ubuntu based livecd, having the complete control over the installed software but you don’t know where to start? Ubuntu Mini Remix is here to help you!

Ubuntu Mini Remix is a fully working Ubuntu livecd containing only the minimal set of software to make the system work. Ubuntu Mini Remix ISO image is only 133MB.

After downloading Ubuntu Mini Remix you can use Ubuntu Customization Kit, Reconstructor or any other tool to remaster the ISO and add the software/configurations you want, building your own Ubuntu based livecd.

Crunchbang Linux

Link: http://crunchbanglinux.org/

CrunchBang Linux is an Ubuntu based distribution featuring the lightweight Openbox window manager and GTK+ applications. The distribution is developed from a minimal Ubuntu install and has been designed to offer a good balance of speed and functionality.

OzOs

Link: http://cafelinux.org/OzOs/

OzOs is an elegant stable environment of beauty, specifically “The Reality Different”. OzOS is built on Xubuntu or to be more exact a Debian base and utilizes the sexy Enlightenment 17 Desktop. This is a special version of e17 that is brought to you by the most discriminating e17 user: Rui Pais; with his precious time and Enlightenment knowledge, he has created a Distro that is OzOS. Rui’s easy “e17 SVN Deb” was the founding blueprint for the OzOS Live CD(With Installer) RC.

Ubuntu Satanic Edition

Link: http://ubuntusatanic.org/download.php

In reaction to the Ubuntu Christian version we have:
Ubuntu SE is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. It brings together the best free software and free metal music on one CD.

You can also upgrade your existing Ubuntu installation with a comprehensive set of themes to make your desktop dark and malevolent. Don’t worry; you can easily change your system back if you intend to recant.

OpenGEU

Link: http://opengeu.intilinux.com/Home.html

OpenGEU completes the missing parts of the E17 Desktop Shell and WM with a certain number of tools and applications from the Gnome Desktop.

In OpenGEU you can find a classic Ubuntu set of applications mixed with those provided and created from and for E17. Since this would not be enough for an easy integration of Gnome and E17, OpenGEU introduces a number of new E17 modules, applications and configurations specifically designed by the OpenGEU Team for you to enjoy a new and easier desktop experience! You’ll discover a finally usable and productive Enlightenment 0.17 Desktop, even if you are a beginner!

Nubuntu

Link: http://www.nubuntu.org/

The main goal of nUbuntu is to create a distribution which is derived from the Ubuntu distribution, and add packages related to security testing and remove unneeded packages. nUbuntu is the result of an idea two people had to create a new distribution for the learning experience back in early 2006, when Ubuntu was in its still early stages. nUbuntu started many years ago as a project with the intent for its developers to learn about distribution development and quickly evolved into a full scale project after recieving a large community response. Currently today, we have many developers and a large contributing communinty. Anyone interested in helping may do so by contributing ideas and packages directly to the nUbuntu developers.

gOS

Link: http://www.thinkgos.com/gos/index.html

Since our debut in 2007, gOS has been praised for being the most beautiful and easiest to use Linux operating system on the market. Now with our third and best version of gOS, we have carried on our effort to create a Linux for the rest of us.

Ubuntu Jeos

Link: http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/serveredition/jeos

Ubuntu Server Edition JeOS (pronounced “Juice”) is an efficient variant of our server operating system, configured specifically for virtual appliances. Currently available as a CD-Rom ISO for download, JeOS is a specialised installation of Ubuntu Server Edition with a tuned kernel that only contains the base elements needed to run within a virtualized environment.

Users deploying virtual appliances built on top of JeOS will benefit from:

better perfomances on the same hardware compared to a full non-optimised OS
smaller footprint of the virtual appliance on their valuable disk space
fewer updates and therefore less maintenance than a full server installation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_JeOS

Ubuntu Mobile

Link: http://www.ubuntu.com/products/mobile

Ubuntu MID Edition targets an exciting new class of computers called Mobile Internet Devices. Ubuntu MID, based on the world’s most popular Linux distribution, and MID hardware from OEMs and ODMs, is redefining what can be done in mobile computing.

Ubuntu MID Edition, a fully open source project, gives the full Internet, with no compromise. Custom options may include licensed codecs and popular third-party applications.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix

Link: http://www.canonical.com/projects/ubuntu/unr

Ubuntu Netbook Remix is optimised to run on a new category of affordable Internet-centric devices called netbooks. It includes a new consumer-friendly interface that allows users to quickly and easily get on-line and use their favourite applications. This interface is optimised for a retail sales environment.

Canonical has collaborated with Intel and is working with a number of OEM’s to deliver Ubuntu on netbooks in retail. In keeping with the philosophy of our best work being available to everyone, the core remix product is available to all through the Canonical repositories. This version is free to download and modify by any user.

Kiwi Linux

Link: http://kiwilinux.org/kiwi/en/

Kiwi Linux is slightly a modified Ubuntu Desktop/Install CD for the i386 architecture, that is in sync with Ubuntu’s release cycles and uses its package archives. Hence it is easy to switch to and from Ubuntu and all the security and bugfix updates from Ubuntu are getting into Kiwi Linux automatically.

The latest release, Kiwi Linux 9.04 is based on Ubuntu 9.04. Differences from it include :

• All languages but en,hu,ro removed
• GUI for pppoeconf and support for Speedtouch 330 USB ADSL modem firmware (Romtelecom Clicknet)
• A graphical tool for restoring GRUB boot menus lost after installing other OSes.
• Evolution removed, no mail client at all on the CD
• Flash, audio and video codecs for restricted formats, support for encrypted DVDs
• Compiz extra settings GUI
• p7zip, unrar for better interop with Windows users’ archive files

Qimo

Link: http://www.qimo4kids.com

Qimo was designed to be a standalone home computer for kids, rather than a networked classroom computer. The interface for Qimo is designed to be easy enough for a 3 year old to use, without having to navigate menus or manage multiple open windows. Also, Qimo will also run from a LiveCD, and doesn’t require an existing Ubuntu installation the way Edubuntu does.

Version 2.0 was released on May 26, 2010

Sources:

• NixTutor
• Quimo FAQ

Google said it was dumping Microsoft Windows on all its computers in the company, and switching to Apple and Linux, simply because Windows was not secure; the switch came specifically because Chinese hackers broke into Google machines, and only special employees with particular needs will be allowed to use Windows; otherwise they are stuck with Apple or Linux operating systems.

This bold move on Google’s part poses a lot of questions in tech circles. The biggest is are we ready to move to alternate Operating systems yet? Read on to see my view on all of this.

Google deciding on removing the Windows OS from all their machines (albeit a smart move in terms of security breaches), however it poses the question as to what is the big reason for doing it aside from the hack? Some really think that it’s mainly because the release of Chrome OS that Google has been working on is slated to be released later this year. Did Google do this to get all their employees involved in a mass test phase? Apparently it’s Linux and Apple only machines running in the Google HQ at this time, but what is this telling the public?

To me it seems more like they are announcing that they are tired of Windows being the first and foremost in the domination of operating systems in computing today. And a lot of people are feeling the same way lately. However the biggest thing that is stopping people from switching is fear of change and yes switching to Linux is a huge change for most of the folks using computers. There are many distributions out there and each one has it’s pros and cons but all in all desktop Linux is not quite there yet in terms of user-friendliness. Mainly because of the Windows domination in hardware compatibility and software programming for gaming and a few other reasons floating around.

Linux is becoming more and more of a possibility of being a dominate force in desktop machines, but there is still some work to do. Mostly it’s gaming that is slowing things down, but gaming has always been a thorn in the side for Linux users. Yes there are some games out there, but remember 15 years ago Mac was in the same boat. It’s only a matter of time for gaming to come to Linux desktops. There are some games I have been playing fine on the Linux side. Most are part of the Humble Indie Bundle which helped raise $392,953 for the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Child’s Play Charity. Linux users seem to have made the highest average donation for the games proving that users under Linux really want to see commercial gaming to start going towards Linux as well.

Let’s hope this shows as a step in the right direction for both Google and the open source community.

As I write this I consider more and more of wiping the hard drive in my machine to rid the dual booting and just use Windows on one machine. And see how many times I go to that machine. So far I have only booted into windows twice in the past month and that was to install Steam and Portal which I played for 2 hours and went back into Linux right after.

My reliance on Windows is dwindling… Should I jump ship? Only time will tell.

So I installed Cairo Dock. Cairo-Dock is an animated application launch bar for the desktop, comparable to the dock in Mac OS X or Rocket Dock (for Windows). I trimmed out the task tray (still want to use my panel at the moment. But I added a few of the things I use frequently and of course Second Life was added as well. I just wanted to get things off my desktop as far as the icons. Want to add this to your machine? Read on!

I know people will say go through the Software Sources section or edit /etc/apt/sources.list which is done by:

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

or

sudo kate /etc/apt/sources.list

Either way you add the following repository:

deb http://repository.cairo-dock.org/ubuntu jaunty cairo-dock

This repository needs an authentication key so run:

wget -q http://repository.cairo-dock.org/cairo-dock.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -

Then, to install Cairo-Dock, issue these two commands in the terminal:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

The Cairo Dock will be under System on the KDE Applications menu. Not sure what it is under Gnome. I ran the Non OpenGL one and it’s really smooth under KDE.

After I did the install updates came in for the linux kernel.  So I ran the updates and then had to reboot. This is the only thing I really need to reboot for as far as updates. Suck it Windows! I can’t count how many times I have woken up to my desktop with windows I had left open overnight that were closed because of the autoupdate rebooting my machine.

I installed Inkscape and Gimp. I really need to sit and play with those more. I didn’t install Pixel so I could concentrate on these programs somewhat.

So now I am looking over things I need to get re-installed since the complete KDE install. I need the following things which have slipped my mind:

• SSH
• VLC
• Skype
• Audacity
• LiVES
• Some more Games (like Majhong (sp?) and some of the KDE games)
• Import pictures and other things from External HD

So my little list is still a bit large but I think it will be quick and easy to do for tomorrow’s posting. I think I will start documenting some How-To’s but I will probably open up VooDooStevie.NET to do that. We’ll see. I have a Joomla install going on there with really nothing on it. Maybe I will make it a one stop thing with a bunch of different things on one site. Wheee!

Now I have the latest version of Firefox.

I also removed the little desktop folder off the desktop and kept icons… I have to think of using a dock. Going to look for a decent one under KDE. SO that is about all I did for today.

One thing I didn’t mention is that in order to get the updates for the wireless, I actually had to create a network connection in the system settings area to get it going, but it  a real simple thing to get going.

This is a run down of what I did today and a little explanation of some things as well.

After installing Kubuntu I was really impressed with how far it has come since I last used it (but that was over a decade ago so a big duh on my part). The one thing I noticed off the bat is the way it handles the extra appearance stuff. It’s all native. Gnome needs Compiz installed to set up the extra things (like the cubes) and Screenlets installed for the Widgets.

KDE has all that stuff built in with Qt4 it seems. As you saw in the little gallery I had the cube going on. In case you missed it in that last post, I put it here on the left.

One thing I found is that it’s real easy to set up. Make your desktop have 4 desktops and check the cube. Yeah not much different. But you can name the desktops something other than Desktop 1, Desktop 2, etc.

I left them the default because I couldn’t think of anything to put in for now. But the fluidity of this is a lot smoother than it was under Gnome.

Ok enough talk about the extra effects, I am here to state what I had installed on the machine. Of course there is the necessities:

1. Firefox 3.0 (For now. I am going to see about installing the latest one from scratch later) but I also needed the following extensions for my personal browsing right away:
   • StumbleUpon
   • DownThemAll
   • Gmail Manager
2. gPodder – Runs perfect after install. Downloaded my subscriptions flawlessly from gPodder.com I love that little feature and it’s great when you have to reinstall or going to a new machine. You can also do the OPML file method, but this is off site which means if you don’t have your external media (CD, HD, whatever) you can access it over the internet.
3. All the dependencies for gPodder (Python libraries, ID3 libraries, OGG Tools, and Mplayer all needed to be installed for gPodder addons to work).
4. dvd::rip – yes I needed this back for sure. Which of course knowing what I needed for this to work right:
   • Kubuntu restricted extras
   • Kaffeine,
   • DVD libraries for reading encrypted DVD’s.
5. Weather widget for my desktop
6. Adobe Air
7. Tweetdeck

I also poked around and decided that I would like a few more things for software installed:

1. Second Life – installed from GetDEB then updated from Second Life’s website.
2. Super Maryo Chronicles – Installed from SMC repository
3. Extra Screen savers – This is odd that KDE came with Blank screen only. So I added the extras through good ol’ apt-get.

Seeing I want to use Firefox as the default instead of Konqueror I had to make a few changes so that could happen. In the System Settings area there is a place you can set Default Applications and that seems to work perfect. But there is also a command that you should run in terminal that will make it completely the default:

sudo update-alternatives --config x-www-browser

After putting in the root password you get the choice. And voila!

The one thing I like is how you can put the icons on the desktop and I am contemplating removing the desktop folder widget. Also how things appear in the bottom bar. I will customize this more soon I am sure, but the default layout is good enough.

I am not going to put Conky on here. It’s not really needed. I just need to adjust to how KDE handles things and the Software administration is kind of clunky in the regards to if you need things installed as dependencies it doesn’t prompt you to install them. So most of my administration of programs has been handled by command line. Go me.

I may play with layout some more later. But for now this is what it is. Shows information I personally need to know about my machine. And of course what the time is. I think I should put the clock back on the panel because most of the work I do covers up the desktop and I always have to minimize to see what time it is.

I imported pictures off a SD Card for our digital camera using F-Spot. It worked flawlessly. It was really easy and this shows that the card reader also works on the laptop under Linux. Wheeee! Now I have the pictures that Sarah this past month on my machine. That’s about 400 pictures. Seriously. We have taken over 8GB of pictures of Emma in the past year and a half almost. Think we’re obsessed with our child? Got a problem? Fuck you.

I took pictures of the labels I added onto the machine. As you see they look awsome! I trimmed the picture of Tux to remove the shadow that was in the original because it would look nasty with the white and gray shade that was in it. And yes I put a VooDooRadio logo sticker on my laptop. What’s it too ya! People will ask me about it if they see it and that promotes my show… Kinda… Sorta… Leave me alone!

During the last update, Ubuntu had released a version of Firefox called Shiretoko. It’s Firefox v.3.5 but looking up info on it. It’s a Beta of the browser. All I have to say is that Shiretoko is a little slo-mo. It locked up while uploading the pictures you see here. But also the original files are 3MB average each. But still. It runs a little ragged.

So we are nearing the end of the 30 Days point. Where do we go from here? I think I may continue to blog about running under Linux but we’ll see. Still missing some of the games I played under Windows and watching Netflix. But maybe I will load the games on the desktop and hope it will work ok.

Well… Perfect in the sense that it showed things and did things, but it was S…L…O…W as molasses because our network is a little on the laggy side.

So to announce I was able to connect from work to the home machine, I sent out a tweet using Gwibber. Of course my friend Graeme (of ITRadio fame) had to make a snarky reply.

Through there I was able to install a few things. I am trying to get my music sorted a little so I looked up a few possibilities to do so. People were saying that Cowbell was a program that aided in the sorting of your digital library so I installed that.

It was not quite what I had hoped it to be. It was basically a tag editor ONLY and did not sort your music files what-so-ever.

Rhythmbox also does not sort out the files into a nice Artist – Album manner so I did some more hunting around. Then it dawned on me. SONGBIRD! I had tried this out under windows before, it was decent, but people were calling it the iTunes killer app. Well, it’s not quite there yet. Yes it is a killer when it comes to functionality, resources,  and the add-ons. But it doesn’t have the podcast functionality iTunes has so a lot of people that listen to podcasts will be still drawn to iTunes, in my opinion.

So I installed Songbird. It imported all my media and it also sorted the files into the directory structure I mentioned earlier. So it works perfectly. Goodbye Banshee and Cowbell. Rhythmbox, you will be used for ripping audio CD’s  (another feature Songbird lacks). gPodder, you are definitely my podcast downloading and syncing solution.

After all this I played a little more in Second Life and called it a day.

I played with gPodder some more to understand it’s workings. I figured it out I think. Some folks say this is one of the best apps for syncing your iPod. So far it seems that way.

I removed all the old shows on the iPod and loaded up all the newly downloaded episodes. Synced the iPod an voila!

I installed Ubuntu-Tweak, Compiz Manager,  Screenlets, and Avant Window Navigator (AWN). Now with AWN it makes the system look a little “Macintosh-ish” but I like the way it handles running applications and some of the other features are real nice. Very similar to Object Dock for windows as well. If you look at the screen capture I put up as a tumbnail for this post you will see the way the desktop looks now.

Ok, I now installed Skype. I downloaded .deb file from website. Double clicked and installed. Ran the program, logged into my Skype account. So far so good. Hey Webcam works under Skype awesome! I hope it works for other things as well. We’ll see.

Installed Avast antivirus – Initial download instructions I found were not right so I downloaded it directly from site and manually installed. Downloaded updates and setup for a scan. I ran scan (took a while because I did a FULL scan and had my external HD hooked up. Might as well, I was on a windows system, heh).

For graphic manipulation I downloaded Pixel (website). Pixel is a RGB, CMYK and HDR image editing, photo retouching and manipulating program available for many operating systems formerly known as Pixel32. It is available for Windows, Linux, Linspire, MacOSX, BeOS, Zeta, QNX, MorphOS, FreeBSD, eComStation, OS/2, SkyOS and even old plain DOS, for both x86 and PowerPC architectures. It’s exactly like Photoshop!

I registered this software a long time ago when I initially was thinking of switching, so it is a bonafide copy. But you can check out the demo.

I noticed on a reboot I didn’t check start at login on a few items, now I have Skype, Pidgin and all my screenlets loading up when I get into the system. Pidgin somhow doesn’t have the option to load when the OS boots up so I had Gnome remember all applications running when I shut down. This should help that perfectly.

I can’t believe I forgot to install my add-ons for firefox. Namely the Gmail Manager to check my mail and Stumble Upon. I use the Gmail Manager to check all my email for both my domain hosted mail and my original Gmail account I had gotten a long time ago.

I have a Motorola Razor that I like to plug into the USB port primarily for charging. In order to do so I needed to install moto4lin for it to work. Very simple to get because its located in the repositories so apt-get worked like a charm.

I downloaded Gourmet Recipe Manager to keep my recipes. Downloaded version on Sourceforge rather than the one in the repositories for it’s more up to date. Gourmet Recipe Manager is a gtk-based recipe organizer and shopping list generator intended for GNOME (though it does not need all the GNOME libraries). Gourmet can import Mealmaster(tm) files and can export recipes in a number of formats, including text, RTF and web pages. Gourmet also can calculate nutritional information for recipes. I tested it by adding the recipe for the New Mexico Cow Patties I made last week.

I got some games today that were all in the repositories (I went into the Add/Remove Programs area and chose Games). The game I installed were the GFCE NES Emulator, Glest, LinCity-NG, Scorched 3D (a classic favorite of mine), Secret Maryo Chronicles, ZSNES Emulator (Super NES Emulator). I downloaded Alien Arena but it crashed whenever I played the darn thing.

Ok enough games, I need to get things for web design. I already have the graphic tools, now for the editors. I downloaded Kompozer (website) because NVU is no longer being made. I needed something that is an alternative to Dreamweaver and this was highly recommended. It’s the same folks that made NVU so let’s hope it works just as good.

Ok, it’s time for DVD ripping and making time! I installed dvd::rip, Dvd955 convertor and ManDVD. I will play with these more VERY soon.

While poking around the Add/Remove Programs app, I found a Pre-School Bundle in the Education section. So I grabbed it for teaching my daughter things. She needs to learn to use a mouse first.

Installed XChat for IRC, Art Manager for making the computer look pretty.  Now the Art Manager supposedly connects to Gnome-Look.org for its content. I tried installing a theme and it failed. Oh well try more later.

Graeme called me and was having issues with Nasusa Live’s chatroom so I attempted a login to uStream using Xchat. Either they are having IRC issues again or it was quasi-fail. Normally XChat works fine.

Well, sadly Amarok was not working properly, so I uninstalled it. I tried playing Distorted View and it just skimmed right through it. Where VLC and Rhythm Box worked perfectly fine.

That is Day 2. Day 3 will contain less installations (I hope) and more hankering down and reporting what I was able to accomplish with Linux based software over my old M$ Habit.

I completely backed up all my important Windows based things (in case I return to windows) and all my important documents (podcasts, itunes settings, pictures, and other stuff) onto my external harddrive.

Took a DEEP breath and put the installation CD into my CD drive and rebooted the machine.

The setup process is pretty cut and dry. Choose language and locations,  input name, choose username, choose a strong password, partition the hard drive… Okay this is where I REALLY took a deep breath because I told it to use the ENTIRE DISK! Sit back as it erases and formats all of the hard drive and installs the OS.

After it was done installing I rebooted the machine. Automatically wireless connection works! And now to download all the updates since I burned the install CD (186 updates to perform). After that I had to reboot again so the new kernel will take place.

Once I was back up I installed the Flash Player, VLC, Ubuntu restricted extras then I installed Boxee (reported they had Netflix Playback, dunno as of yet, need to play with it).

I then setup Pidgin for instant messaging. I miss Digsby, but I have used Pidgin before under windows. I can’t wait for Digsby to have a Linux version. HURRY GUYS!!!!

Next, I installed Amarok and Syncropated! to see if that will get the iPod podcasting need situated. Apparently Amarok discontinued podcast features in the latest version.

This sucks, its a decent player so I will keep it for other things I guess.

I then installed gPodder. With gPodder, I resubscribed to all my old podcasts that were under windows.. Now to wait for them to download..  Zzz… Okay I can’t sit doing nothing, so I moved on while it downloaded them.

I uninstalled Sycropated! It didn’t work at all. Some of my resources that I found on Google mentioned using it, but I guess it was for the older iPods and not the Widescreen Nano I have currently.

I downloaded Adobe Air to install so I could get Tweetdeck back. After installing Air I got Tweetdeck installed and tweeting is back for me. Yay!

I installed Wine but I have not toyed with it yet. Wine is supposedly useful incase you need to run a Windows based application. But I don’t know if I will be playing with it just yet. Trying to seperate myself from the Microsoft OS Crutch.

Lastly I changed my desktop image to something personalized. Didn’t feel like staring at the brown themed desktop that is the default one. After this I decided it really was time for bed. I started this at 7:30 PM but I feel I got a lot done during this time. More to do tomorrow.