J_K9 @ Linux

Linux That Looks Like Windows: Bad!

A few articles have appeared recently discussing the copying of the Windows interface to Linux to ease user migration, such as this one. This is nothing new - Windows-like Linux desktop environments such as LXP and xpde have been in existence for a few months/years. I think these projects are great because the developers are enjoying their work and I’m sure that some people use their products, but I don’t believe that this is the right way to attract Windows users to desktop Linux.

The main Linux desktop environments are KDE and Gnome and, although their user interfaces are substantially different, standards and projects are being introduced to make the underlying APIs and functionality more similar and ease the accommodation of a new user to desktop Linux. This includes the Portland project, which is bringing the KDE and Gnome developers together to produce a universal set of APIs. So, here we have two mature, polished and easy to use desktop environments which take the average user a few hours to grow accustomed to.

My problem with the comments made by the author of this article is that Linux was not created to be a Windows clone. I agree that a Windows desktop environment would allow someone migrating to Linux to get used to the new operating system far more rapidly, but this could just as easily be accomplished by providing an optional graphical tour of the main features of both the main Linux desktop environments to get the user up to speed with the new interface. To respond to the comments in that article, in order:

First: That is true, but as I said above, a comprehensive tour of the new environment would allow the user to adapt to the new environment almost as rapidly. Yes, the user will have difficulties doing so, but the same goes for a user migrating to Mac OS X, or a user trying out a new technology. A previously untried technology requires an element of user education, whether it be something as simple as locating the power button on a device or navigating what, at first, appears to be a complex filesystem.

Second: Linux was not designed as a Windows clone and so giving a new user a Windows desktop environment is not the correct way to introduce them to Linux. In my opinion, migration tools and graphical tours of the desktop environments would be far more useful. It may be outside their ‘comfort zone’, but the same can be said of any other technology which a user has not previously encountered. If they stick with it (and they should, provided they can get used to the new interface, which would be aided by the migration tools and graphical tours) then they will grow to like it. What Linux needs is innovation, not mimicry.

Third: I don’t see the need for a standardised interface across the main Linux desktop environments. What’s the point in having KDE, Gnome, Xfce and the others if they all look, feel and act the same? I agree that there should be some element of compatibility, such as a common set of APIs, but each desktop environmental was created with a different aim and so they should not all be merged into one or made to look the same. I like KDE because it’s full-featured, aesthetically pleasing and is a good all-round desktop environment. However, I also like Fluxbox, because it is fast and lightweight. Yet Enlightenment has beautiful effects and is also quite lightweight. As you can see, each desktop environment caters for a different demographic. Some users prefer fancy effects, others prefer minimalism and simplicity and others prefer a customisable desktop with some eye candy. Merging all of these desktop environments would remove the element of diversity for which Open Source software is celebrated.

Conclusion: Linux already has excellent mainstream desktop environments which have a unique look and feel which differs from that of Windows. That’s not a bad thing: Linux doesn’t need to look like Windows. If a user wants to make their Linux distro look like the OS they left behind, that’s perfectly fine - all they need to do is install xpde or LXP. However, what we cannot do is mimic Windows’ interface, as that would destroy one of the Linux desktop’s greatest advantages - its beauty, difference, innovation and ease of use.

Sweet 16…

and never been kissed!

The past year has been a blast. There are countless other articles discussing what has happened in the Linux and Open Source world this year so I do not intend to regurgitate what they have said. I am only posting to wish you a very Merry Christmas (slightly belated, I know!) and as great a New Year, in case I do not post before then!

Oh, and today was my birthday (it’s worth stating in case the title wasn’t clear enough :P). Burnt offerings are being accepted - please feel free to use the contact form!

On a final note, a quick thanks to all my friends and family who have helped me throughout the year and from whom I have learnt a lot, despite being a year older and - apparently - none the wiser..

A New Linux Certification: Ubuntu Certified Professional

LPI recently announced that it was changing its recertification policy for the LPIC certification. This announcement was badly received by some, as it suggested that the LPI’s motives had changed and instead of seeking to maintain a persistently high quality of certifications they were now trying to make a return on their original investment by forcing the holders of the LPIC certification to recertify at least once every five years, or else they would lose their certificate.

In the wake of such news, there is even more important news: Ubuntu is joining the vendor-specific Linux certification scene alongside Red Hat’s RHCT/RHCE/RHCA/RHCSS and Novell’s CLP and CLE, and they are doing so by building upon the “vendor-neutral” LPI certifications (we’ll have to see how long that lasts - hopefully their generic certifications will remain as vendor-neutral and as highly valued as they have always been). According to the press release on PRWEB, Canonical Ltd (Ubuntu’s commercial sponsor and father company) “today announced it has partnered with LynuxTraining Sàrl to develop the first dedicated Ubuntu training courses for the ‘Ubuntu Certified Professional’ status.” From the article:

From Q1 2007 delegates will be able to prepare for, and achieve, the qualification by attending two five day courses available via a global network of partners. They are the first in a series of classroom-based and e-learning courses designed to enable System Administrators to pass the required LPI 101, LPI 102 and the Ubuntu (LPI 199) exams.

[..]

LynuxTraining will deliver a comprehensive set of materials designed to introduce the user to Ubuntu and the Ubuntu project, as well as test the candidate’s ability to perform easy maintenance tasks, install and configure a workstation and work with the Linux command line.

Is this “just another certification?” Well, it was bound to happen - Canonical is slowly making a move into the commercial arena with Ubuntu, and this certainly is not a secret. Ubuntu is, according to Distrowatch, one of if not the most popular Linux distribution. This certification will allow enterprises to determine how acquainted a particular administrator is with Ubuntu (although, unfortunately, many do not take *experience* into account and this certification may end up being abused like the infamous MCSE), and so Canonical is merely laying the groundwork for future commercial ventures.

There is too little information at the moment to make a qualitative decision on the value of the cert (heck, it’s not even available yet), so I’ll just say one thing: best of luck to Canonical, and I hope they create a *good* certification which is not merely for show and to add a few more letters after one’s name but for which there are enjoyable and informative training courses which will provide the administrator with some real-world experience and allow them to specialise in administering Ubuntu.

A list of the topics the Ubuntu Certified Professional certification might include is available on Ubuntu’s wiki.

jonobacon@home: Features vs. Freedom

The fight for free drivers for reasons of freedom has not proved successful, and the choice to only buy Intel will have some impact, but not a huge impact due to lower market share. We need to become a large and relavent player, a player that can mandate decisions at a market level that will truly affect the market. Sure, there are plenty of challenges to this approach - when we get a large market share, would Linux distributions really want to rock the boat and demand Open Source drivers? Well, this is the proof of the pudding. I expect companies such as Canonical, Red Hat, Linspire and Novell to always place consistant market pressure on the hardware manufacturors to understand and migrate to the ethos of free software.

This is an extremely interesting post by a member of the Ubuntu team - I highly recommend that anyone interested in the BBD (binary blob dilemma) read it!

Project X In Full Throttle

I’m currently working on a commercial web project (written in PHP, of course) which will be released at 00:00 GMT on the 25th December. I shall earn 50% of the profits (booyah :P) which, considering that it was my idea and I both designed and coded it is not a bad deal! Hehe… In case you’re wondering who the remaining 50% will go to, it will go to my father who is has funded the project (by renting a (dv) server from (mt), purchasing the SSL certificate, Mint (I paid for that) and a laptop to code it on) and managed the business side of things (such as setting up a bank account for the project and touching up the legal documents which I had drafted).

I can’t reveal too many details (ie. anything), so I’ll just say this: I thought of it by following some advice I read somewhere - by lying down on a sunbed with my notepad and a pen and just waiting for the thought to hit me.. Oddly enough, it did, and from there I developed the idea into a grander project.

I haven’t finished coding it yet and I’ve only got seven days until it debuts - crap, I better get coding

Binary Drivers May Be Banned

Greg Kroah-Hartman appears to be working on a kernel patch which will only allow drivers licensed under the GPL to be loaded into the kernel - at least, that’s what he said in passing in a longer conversation about driver core patches.

While I respect free software and what that freedom stands for, if this patch were to be included into the Linux kernel in the future (which may stop us from using proprietary drivers such as those for some graphics and wireless cards), this would almost be a form of entrapment. Instead of giving the user - you and I - a choice to be free (and potentially break the law), it would stop us from doing something illegal by preventing the loading of binary modules but at the same time would stop us from enjoying a complete user experience - unless, of course, the driver developers release the source code under the GPL, which is highly unlikely due to Intellectual Property (IP). This is especially the case with graphics card manufacturers, as their technology is constantly advancing and the precise details of their cards could reveal secrets to their competitors.

I am all against binary blobs but I do recognise the fact that there isn’t another viable option at this time - even if this patch has not yet been implemented or even written, is locking the user down the right way to go about this? What is the ultimate aim?

A paintball gun is a recreational item but can be used to kill someone if you shoot them in the temple from point-blank range. The former is its intended use; the latter is an unintended and illegal use, but it is not prevented. So, why prevent the use of binary blobs?

An Excess Of SQL Queries And Account Suspension

The past couple of days have been a ride - no, really. I got back to my room after lessons at 12.30pm on Saturday to do some revision, check my email, game - the kind of things that most people do before exams. I signed into my Gmail account and waited for the little ‘Loading…’ sign to disappear. I had a quick look through the twenty new emails to see if there was anything important and I spotted an email from a reader, Jack. I opened it and the first line I read was:

Hi, I posted a question on your guide but when I try to access your reply it says that my account has been suspended:

http://box39.bluehost.com/suspended.page/ 

Wait a minute… It couldn’t be his account that had been suspended - it had to be mine. 

Continue reading An Excess Of SQL Queries And Account Suspension…