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.

Taken from The Linux Blog:

I guess I’m one of the lucky ones that gets to use Linux at work. The kicker is, I need Windows to do part of my work so I have two machines. After a recent power outage, I needed to boot both machines this morning. So, I thought I’d document what I did before Windows booted.

1. Turned both machines on
2. Cleaned 3 coffee mugs and came back
3. Talked to my boss about the power outage
4. Logged into my Linux machine
5. Started all the software I thought I might need for the day (Pidgin, Thunderbird, Firefox, Eclipse, Tilda and screen)
6. Checked my e-mail
7. Approved some comments on this blog
8. Wrote this blog post.

On that note, my Windows machine is about booted and I can load up the Word documents that were inconveniently sent to me in .docx format. What a Monday Morning.

Now my recollection of the first PC I had back in the late 80′s was a little more lengthy in wait time. Here’s what I did while waiting for the old DOS prompt:

1. Turned on machine and watied for POST beep and BIOS to show on screen.
2. Went upstairs and made a sandwich
3. Ate the sandwich
4. Went outside for a smoke.
5. Went for a walk to the store that was 1/2 mile away.
6. Came back home and walked downstairs.
7. Looked for 5 1/4″ disc that contained a game I wanted to play that I didn’t have on the hard drive.
8. Read the DOS manual and looked up ASCII codes to make some ASCII art later.

Machine finally at DOS prompt. I played a game of LODE Runner off the floppy and then began working on some ASCII art then would log onto a local BBS at a whopping 2400 bps baud rate!

Ahhh, the days of SLOW boot ups. And now we are screaming about 30 second boot ups and for microwave ovens to hurry up and cook our lunches (which most take 3 minutes to do). What a world!

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

I reinstalled all the applications and within a few hours I had everything back to “normal” However, there has been some bugs that have been bothering me as of late. Mainly with Gwibber. It seems facebook accounts are not able to be added any more to the application. As well as a few other things I noticed.

I wish there was a native app that handled more social networks. Although Gwibber has some great features, I have been finding apps handling all different options. I have been adding more social networks into my profile of networks but it seems not one app handles them all. And it would be great to have them all in one bundle. The networks I am on now are:

• MySpace
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Identica
• Tumblr
• Flickr
• FriendFeed
• Plurk
• LinkedIn

I have my IM’s all in Empathy at the moment, but in order for me to post to certain networks it’s like I have to go through Ping.FM or some other service to post to them all. That’s not too much of an issue, it’s more or less getting the updates of the people and groups I follow on these service to show in one place.

I have tiredly searched for solutions for this. I just hope that someday soon someone will come up with something.

Aside from that things are pretty stable. I just need to play more with some things to get back into the swing of things.  I need to bone up on GIMP, Inkscape and Audacity some more so that I can begin working on graphics again and also post a new episode of VooDooRadio.

I am looking into getting a Vidcast put up using Openshot but in order for me to do it I need to get the HD with the VooDooRadio logo on it and work on title sequences.

Seeing this is a new era for me, I am considering on changing the theme music for the show, however I have been using the current music for over 2 years now and it’s been branded into peoples ears. Maybe some minor changes on the intro.. I dunno I just want to get something shorter than the 1.5 minute intro.

Alright I think I bitched enough. If anyone has any solutions to a native client or AIR app that handles all the aforementioned social networks, please comment here or contact me through twitter, AIM, Identica. All are named voodoostevie.

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.

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.

I added some stickers to the inside area where you usually have your Intel Inside and Windows stickers. I also HAD to add a VooDooRadio related sticker onto my machine so that is on here as well.

I also added a tux sticker to cover up the Acer logo on the front of the machine.

Basically I found the images I wanted, printed them out on the color laser we have at work and one of my co-workers added the adhesive and also laminated one side for me. Read on to see the images that I Have on here now.

Below is the images I added to the machine. I will take pics later.

Other than the external I decided to play with the Compiz manager and I got my machine to do that really nifty cube thing and a few other nifty effects on the desktop. Here’s a couple screenshots of it in the gallery above.

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 downloaded a game called PlaneShift which is a free MMORPG. Not as good as Rapellz… Man I am missing that game. I should just install it on the Windows machine to play it. But I digress…

I said I wanted to Rip and Burn DVD’s as one of my points of usage for a computer, so I played with that. However I ran into some issues.

Stupid me forgot to get the package to read encrypted DVD’s (which is basically EVERY movie DVD out there) so I had to install it. If you are trying to watch movies, do this:

I began installing the LAMP server stuff. LAMP is Linux Apache Mysql and PHP as one package. Once I got it all installed I tested out the web server. Worked. Installed PHPMyAdmin. Works. I will play more with that later. I need to read up on configuring Apache some more.

So while updating my podcasts from listening to a bunch of them at work, I installed some Applets for Avant Window Navigator as well as some themes for it and for Gnome. I  also added some more Screenlets and downloaded some desktops from Gnome-Look to make everything stand out. You can see the screenshot by clicking the thumbnail at the top of the page.

So I am still itching to get the mixer hooked up and work on getting the podcast recorded so I can really play with Audacity to re-learn it. It has been too long since I used it.

I ran across another Air application called AirTalkr. It is supposedly an IM client and Social media client combined (like Digsby) but it was REALLY buggy so I uninstalled it.

Uninstalling Air applications is kind of easy. You have to actually download the .air file onto your machine and double click it as if you were installing the application and the installer brings up the Uninstall option. See cake!

Ok That is all for today. I will have more on the 7th day.