Ubuntu – Page 2 – Ubuntucat

Ubuntu on a Macbook Pro

I’m not abandoning Mac OS X, but you knew it had to happen—I have installed Ubuntu on the Macbook Pro as a dual-boot. It hasn’t been easy, mind you. Previously, I had done a few dual-boot setups with Ubuntu and Windows or Ubuntu and some other Linux distro or even Ubuntu and an older version… Continue reading Ubuntu on a Macbook Pro

Using a Mac full-time: the good, the bad, and the pretty

I think most new Mac users come straight from Windows. I’m now using my wife’s old Macbook Pro as my main computer (pretty much as a desktop, since the battery life is abysmal), and my Ubuntu netbook (for portability). Here are some good and bad experiences I’ve had. First, the good: Audio simplicity. I can… Continue reading Using a Mac full-time: the good, the bad, and the pretty

Made the move to Mac

As a follow-up to Why I might switch to Mac from Ubuntu, I did actually get a Mac… or, more precisely, my wife got a new Mac, and I inherited her old one. Clarifications Unfortunately, it seemed some of the commenters on that entry brought their own agendas and grudges without actually reading what I… Continue reading Made the move to Mac

Why I might switch to Mac from Ubuntu

Who am I? I’ve been using Ubuntu for almost five years now. I’ve offered some technical support on the Ubuntu Forums and been a moderator there off and on. I’ve maintained a new-user-targeted documentation site for every release of Ubuntu except the very first (4.10). I’ve also contributed to a few official Wiki pages. Even… Continue reading Why I might switch to Mac from Ubuntu

Ten Brainstorm ideas I wish more people would vote up

Ubuntu Brainstorm is a mess. There are literally tens of thousands of ideas posted up there. How can you make any sense of it? Well, you can’t. I thought I’d just draw some attention to some ideas I think are worthwhile in the hopes that people will vote them up or at least discuss them.… Continue reading Ten Brainstorm ideas I wish more people would vote up

Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) first impressions

They say you’re not supposed to upgrade to alpha pre-releases of Ubuntu on your main computer. Unfortunately, I have only one computer (my HP Mini 1120nr netbook) to test on, and it has a 16 GB SSD, so dual-booting isn’t even really an option. I just took the plunge, downloaded the latest Lucid Alpha .iso,… Continue reading Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) first impressions

How else can Linux fail in the consumer space?

Many Linux advocates and Linux bashers still think the success or failure of Linux in the consumer (not server or embedded) space rests on technical merits. Implementation, marketing, pricing, inertia, vendor lock-in—no, of course, those have nothing to do with whether people decide on Linux as opposed to Windows or Mac OS X. Would it… Continue reading How else can Linux fail in the consumer space?

The Power of Defaults

I tend to see two extremes whenever there are arguments about what should be the default (I’m speaking specifically of arguments on the Ubuntu Forums, but this could be applied to really anything in technology or anything in life in general). One extreme is that defaults don’t matter at all. It’s not worth arguing about.… Continue reading The Power of Defaults

The GUI v. CLI Debate

I’ve been helping with online tech support for Ubuntu for over four years now, and every now and then the discussion comes up about whether it’s “better” to use terminal command instructions or to use point-and-click instructions when offering help. Inevitably, some die-hard CLI (command-line interface) fans come out and say that the terminal is… Continue reading The GUI v. CLI Debate