2008-04-29

The Great Ubuntu-Girlfriend Experiment

Posted 28 Apr 2008 on nixCraft via Slashdot

Finally someone is doing Ubuntu Linux usability testing with a girlfriend. The new user was given a couple of common tasks over a default installation of Ubuntu. I hope, the Linux distributions can learn a lot from this article and improve Linux user experience on a desktop computer. From the post:
Erin's knowledge of computers is limited to word processors, spreadsheets, Photoshop and a reasonable amount of browsing on the Web. Fairly standard stuff for a university philosophy student. All I did to the system (before leaving Erin at the log-in screen) was to install it and create a user account for her. She had no problems logging in, and loved the stylised heron background. Then I gave her one by one the tasks I'd set her. I didn’t give her any help at all.

The author, contentconsumer, left a note at the top of his blog posting:
Hello all you many, many slashdotters, redditors (?) and diggers. There are a lot of comments of a similar vein which argue that I am “dissing” linux and that I think linux should just be a copy of windows. No. I love linux, and want it to be succesful. for it to be succesful, it needs to make the transition from windows to itself smooth. if someone invented a new type of car, the training would have to involve how it is different to the old type of car - we can’t expect people to rely on their “intuition”, because it really doesn’t seem to work, that’s the point of this article. i don’t want to sacrifice linux’s good points so that it becomes closer to windows, i just want windows users to be able to learn it themselves without their own research on the internet or by searching through manual pages. END RANT. P.S. Thanks for the lots and lots of positive feedback, Erin says she loves you too but it’s kinda creepy that the only image you’re all clicking on is her one.


=> The Great Ubuntu-Girlfriend Experiment

2008-04-25

Ubuntu Linux 8.04 is out!!

Posted: 24 Apr 2008 on nixCraft

Ubuntu Linux version 8.04 has been released and available for download. Canonical Ltd. announced the availability of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition for free download. In related news, Canonical also announced the simultaneous release of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server Edition.

Visit official web site http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download to grab desktop edition!

2008-04-22

Western Digital's VelociRaptor 10K RPM SATA Drive

Sweet, sweet story from Slashdot yesterday about my very favorite HD (I have two small Raptors in my gaming rig, set up as RAID0 which makes them blindingly fast...):
Western Digital's Raptor line of Hard Drives has been very popular with performance enthusiasts, as a desktop drive with enterprise-class performance. Today WD has launched a new line of high-performance desktop drives dubbed the VelociRaptor, and the product finally scales in capacity as well. The new SATA-based VelociRaptor weighs in at 300GB with the same 10K RPM spindle speed, but with one other major difference — it's based on 2.5" technology. Its smaller two-platter, four-head design affords the VelociRaptor random access and data transfer rates significantly faster than competing desktop SATA offerings. Areal density per platter has increased significantly as well, which contributes to solid performance gains versus the legacy WD Raptor series.


D&D 4th Ed vs. Open Gaming

Slashdot posted a story yesterday concerning the issues affecting open gaming and the upcoming release of 4th Edition D&D. The open licensing associated with the 3rd Edition spawned a number of successful 3rd parties and add-ons that made the system far greater than it might have been otherwise. I'm attaching the story from mxyzplk in its entirety as it's pretty comprehensive.


Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast shocked the role-playing game industry today by announcing that anyone wanting to publish material for the new Fourth Edition of D&D, expected out in June of this year, must forgo open licensing entirely as part of their new Game System License.

With the launch of the third edition of the popular game eight years ago, Wizards had sponsored an open licensing scheme. This license, called the Open Gaming License, or OGL, was a kind of open source license designed for game publishers. The result was an explosion of third party game companies supporting D&D and establishing their own game lines. Many of these companies became quite large and successful, notably Paizo Publishing, Green Ronin Publishing, and others.

Now, however, Wizards has stated that any company hoping to publish products for their new edition must agree to discontinue any currently open licensed products and produce no further open products at all — Dungeons & Dragons related or not. A number of companies had leveraged the OGL for their independent games, for example the pulp game Spirit of the Century.

In response to questions about this policy, Scott Rouse, D&D Brand Manager for Wizards of the Coast, says that "We have invested multiple 7 figures in the development of 4e so can you tell me why we would want publishers to support a system that we have moved away from?"

It seems to me that this is the equivalent of Microsoft telling people "If you want to make and sell software for Windows Vista, you can't make and sell any Linux/open source software!" Since this is a small niche market without the visibility of a Microsoft, this play to muscle out competition by making them choose "between us and open licensing" will probably succeed. Some other game companies are rebelling; Paizo Publishing, for example, has declared their intent to move forward with the open-licensed previous version, essentially 'forking' the Dungeons & Dragons code base. But small gaming companies are small indeed, and Wizards of the Coast is owned by Hasbro (a recent development likely not unrelated to this change of heart).


Kind of an idiotic move on their part, IMHO. Pen & paper RPGs have just begun to come back into fashion again, and a move like this could alienate Wizard's audience and supporters.

Than again, I was dumbfounded by the news when they released their OGL. Wizards of the Coast hasn't been known as the most altruistic of companies...

Free-to-Play MMORPGs

I know I posted awhile back on kicking my MMORPG additcion (well, specifically WoW) but as luck would have it, all this MMORPG news comes across my inbox. I found via Xfire news that there are two free-to-play MMORPGs out.

The first, Metin 2 (ranked #84 on Xfire currently), is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that is packed with great features including quests, guild battles and wars between nations.

The Kingdom that wins the war will gain possession of money and land; those that fought in the war and succeeded will gain Glory, Honor, and earn a higher Military Ranking. Do you want to be a Hero? Join the War!

Last Chaos (ranked #16 on Xfire currently) is a free fantasy MMO in which players can upgrade their courage and battle skills through adventures, quests and crafting skills. It is set in the land of Iris, a place where anarchy, terror and ambition reign after an epic struggle between the Gods.

In addition, Clan of Conan is rolling out soon.
We are only a few weeks away from launching Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures and the entire team is working hard with preparing the battlefields of Hyboria for your arrival.

This looks very cool, but again is a pay-to-play. I know it's a business model, and a very good one at that, but it gets awfully expensive after a time. Most MMO players justify this by citing the fact that since they play only the one game, they save the money of buying new games as they come out. Well, that's nice, and I used that justification myself until I realized I was still wanting to purchase new games to play and try out.

So I may give Last Chaos or Metin2 a try. If only they had Linux clients... sigh...

=> Download Metin2 (Xfire)
=> Download Last Chaos (Xfire)
=> Xfire Games Page

Happy Earth Day!

(Thought I'd pass along an excellent Earth Day article from blogger Steve Eldridge, posted yesterday on CommuterPageBlog.)

Earth Day To Do's

Tomorrow is Earth Day and this year, for the first time in a long time, there seems to be a real interest and a real push to make something happen. Maybe it's that gas is heading toward four dollars a gallon faster than OJ leaving Las Vegas. Maybe it's that more and more corporations are touting how green they are. Stodgy old Walmart is even running ads showing off the environmentally sensitive products it's developed. Local and network television programs are showing us all how to be more "green" in our day-to-day lives. There is a real push to not just become environmentally aware but to actually do something.

One of the biggest impacts we can have on the environment is to change our commutes. I say this knowing that it's really not as easy or as comfortable as some would make it sound. Walking out of the house while it's still dark to catch a bus two and a half blocks away is not as easy as jumping into a pre-heated car that's been sitting in the garage. Taking that bus on a circuitous route to a Metrorail station takes time. Standing on the platform, once you get past the inevitable escalator repair, can be uncomfortable if it's raining or if the wind is blowing. Grabbing a seat on the train can be a test of one's social upbringing. It takes time to use transit and that means making a commitment.

As we well know, there are millions of people in and around Washington who have made the commitment to use transit everyday. Their efforts are to be recognized and applauded. As Kermit the frog said: it's not easy being green.

Here are some factoids from APTA, the American Public Transit Association: An individual switching to public transit can reduce his or her daily carbon emissions by 20 pounds; that's more than 4,800 pounds in a year, a figure that is more than the combined carbon emissions reduction that comes from weatherproofing your home and using energy efficient appliances and environmentally-friendly light bulbs.

If just one commuter of a household switches from driving to using public transportation, the household's carbon footprint will be reduced by 10 percent. If a household gives up its second car altogether, a household can reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent.

Around the country public transit agencies are doing some interesting things: In St Cloud, Minnesota they will unveil a 40-foot bus that is powered by a mixture of 80 percent recycled vegetable oil and 20 percent diesel fuel. It is believed that this is the first transit bus system in the nation to use waste vegetable oil to power a public transit bus. In Minneapolis the transit system will power the entire Hiawatha light rail system by wind for the day.

So what is our own Metro system doing to celebrate Earth Day and to tout the advantages of public transportation? Are they offering free rides? No. Are they giving seminars to employers looking for the best ways to encourage employees to take public transit? No. On Earth Day, 2008, Metro will be handing out chocolate bars to thank riders for helping reduce emissions by 20 pounds. It's a great idea for a system that bans food to be handing out candy bars at two of its stations.




Steve Eldridge is a long-time reporter, observer and commentator on the Washington region's transportation issues. You can contact him directly by writing to: Steve@SprawlandCrawl.com. Unless otherwise requested, letters or portions of letters can be used within future columns. Letter writers will be identified by their first name and city/neighborhood.

2008-04-21

StarCraft II: The Zerg Unleashed

So as some of you may know, I've been trying my best to avoid any news of World of Warcraft. Almost 9 months to the day, and I still feel like I'm recovering from an addiction. In light of this I normally opt out of most of Blizzard's email, but today I got their Insider #26 which (after skipping past the WoW info which has made me miserable all over again) contained some nuggets about StarCraft II.
After a long, ominous period of inactivity, the zerg have returned with a renewed fury. View the first, newly revealed wave of information on the Swarm, including detailed profiles on the mutalisk and hydralisk, the backstory of the zerg, and a new gameplay trailer. Like their protoss and terran counterparts, these profiles are accompanied by background information, screenshots, and concept art.

Also some news about the StarCraft II Community Section:
The StarCraft II Community Section of the official StarCraft II website is now live. Here you'll find up-to-date links to the latest developer Q&A batches, BlizzCasts, regularly updated community spotlights, latest forum discussions, and future community projects. Head over to the StarCraft II site now and check it out.

I'm looking forward to this game, perhaps as much as the new C&C franchise offerings in the making...

=> Visit the StarCraft II website
=> Watch the Zerg Gameplay Trailer
=> StarCraft II Community Section

2008-04-19

"Kids Who Don't Play Video Games Are At Risk"

In the clip below, Grand Theft Childhood authors Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson talk about their research and findings. Fascinating, intelligent stuff. Watch it and share with your skeptical friends!


Best outtake was where they talk about the VTech shootings - whereas the media were all over that as "videogame violence" the fact is that the shooter's suitemates said he did NOT play videogames which they thought was odd.

2008-04-18

The Guild - Episode 9: Owning Bladezz



Ubuntu Linux Getting Ready For Average User

Posted: 17 Apr 2008 on nixCraft

The latest beta of the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution offers updated features and good support for new Linux user. It appears that Ubuntu is getting ready for masses. From the article:
If there is a single complaint that is laid at the feet of Linux time and time again, it's that the operating system is too complicated and arcane for casual computer users to tolerate. You can't ask newbies to install device drivers or recompile the kernel, naysayers argue.

Of course, many of those criticisms date back to the bad old days, but Ubuntu, the user-friendly distribution sponsored by Mark Shuttleworth's Canonical Ltd., has made a mission out of dispelling such complaints entirely.


2008-04-15

Fun with Prompts: bashish

So my buddy Brad over here at work forwards all kinds of nifty stuff for us to play with (to expound upon our geeky Linux l33tness), and today he sent me a pretty cool one.

Time for a change to your shell prompt? Try the following app, bashish (download here from my own server).

To Install:

[1] tar -xzf bashish-2.0.7.tar.gx; cd bashish-2.0.7
[2] ./configure
[3] make && make install


It is pretty simple and straightforward .. it only requires the latest dialog package installed and is a base core RPM in Fedora and apt in Ubuntu so a simple apt-get or yum install should work. You can compile from source, then install or prior to, it isn't a dependency to build just to run the theme engine.

Once Installed, as your user or the user you wish to change the prompt for:

# bashish
# bashishtheme


The bluesteel is quite nice and I recommend it. Here's a screenshot of my desktop using the box theme.


Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath

Reviewed Mon April 14, 2008 on CNN.com

Computer gamers who'd prefer to add a little brains to their brawn might want to boot up Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath, a new expansion disc that adds more game play to last year's award-winning Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars for the PC.

The latest in the best-selling C&C sci-fi strategy franchise spans 20 years of history, beginning with the rebirth of the Brotherhood of Nod after the Second Tiberium War. The defeated faction is far from destroyed, and its Machiavellian leader, Kane, goes underground to prepare for his triumphant return to power. Kane's Wrath takes you through the climactic events of the Third Tiberium War and beyond.

Between levels, the high-definition video sequences with real actors - namely, Natasha Henstridge (Species, Eli Stone), Carl Lumbly (Alias, Battlestar Galactica) and Joe Kucan, returning as the charismatic leader, Kane - are a bit cheesy, but do a fine job unraveling more of the story.

As with the past real-time strategy games in the C&C series, you'll play this futuristic war simulator from a tilted top-down perspective, as you build and defend bases, all the while commanding ground, air and sea units to take down the enemy. Unlike a slower-paced turn-based strategy game, where players can take their time making tactical decisions on the battlefield, real-time strategy games force players to consider and act upon all decisions on the fly.

Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath adds 13 new single-player missions and myriad new units, structures and powers to each of the three clashing armies: the noble Global Defense Initiative (GDI), the cut-throat guerrillas of the Brotherhood of Nod and the technologically advanced alien race, the Scrin. The GDI, for example, has access to a new helicopter, which is ideal for troop transport, while the Brotherhood of Nod adds a Redeemer combat mech to its arsenal, each equipped with shoulder-mounted missiles.

Along with these core armies are new subfactions, such as Black Hand, Steel Talons, Zocom and Reaper-17, each with their own philosophy, weapon preferences and attack style.

Along with the main solo campaign and a non-story skirmish mode (play against computer-controlled enemies on two-dozen maps), Kane's Wrath also adds a so-so Global Conquest mode, which allows desktop commanders to create their own games against two computer-controlled armies. Multiplayer access over the Internet is back, supporting up to seven opponents and a ton of new maps.

A Microsoft Xbox 360 version of Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath is expected this summer. While this console version will be a standalone game, it's a shame Kane's Wrath on the PC isn't. While it says "Expansion Pack" on the game box, it doesn't indicate you need the original Command & Conquer 3 to play, which you do (the small print is on the bottom of the back of the box). Some expansion packs do not require the original game.

But for less than $30, Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath adds a lot more sci-fi strategy and frenetic nail-biting action to fans of the series.

Game Info
Game: Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (Expansion Pack)
Score: 7 stars (out of 10)
Rating: Teen
Platforms: PC
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Price: $29.99 (for expansion pack)

=> View more at GameSpot and at EA Games' official site.

2008-04-14

Six Ways to Win The Iraq War Debate

(OK, so I've been trying to stay off the political commentaries on my blog. Really, take a look back, I've been biting my tongue so hard it has holes in it. Today, I just have to let this one slip in...)

Posted by Lee Camp at 6:39 AM on April 11, 2008 on AlterNet.

Recently I was arguing with one of my dumber friends about the Iraq war. He loves Bush, and thinks bigger bombs is the answer in Iraq. I wasn't gaining any ground in the argument until I used a simple analogy. I said, "Your solution is like shattering an expensive vase and then saying, 'We need to keep smashing it until it's fixed.'" I stumped him. He was silent. So here's a brief list of other analogies you can use on your dumb friends. And the truth is, I've seen similar ones work on some of the smartest political pundits.

1) The country of Iraq has essentially been demolished. The right-wingers keep saying the answer is continued large-scale military action. That's like if someone got into a car accident, went into a coma, and the doctors believed the patient could be healed by more car accidents. So they just keep putting him into cars and sending him off cliffs.

2) I've heard people say that being against Bush or Petraeus or the war in Iraq is equivalent to being against the troops. That's like if I knew someone who repeatedly sent brave puppies out into traffic. I called that person an asshole for abusing the puppies and abusing their power. Then you accused me of being anti-puppy.

3) The administration talks about the success of the surge because violence has decreased, but we're in fact paying the militias not to kill each other or our soldiers. It's like if you were treading water, two sharks approach and begin biting you, you give each one a small piece of fish to distract them. While they take a moment to eat the fish, you sit there treading water and yelling, "Problem solved!"

4) At the Petraeus hearings, he refused to give any sort of definition for "victory" in Iraq. That's like running a foot race, you've gone 30 miles, you're exhausted, and when you ask your coach driving along next to you how much farther, he just keeps saying "You'll know it when you get there." He keeps saying that until you collapse and die.

5) KBR, Halliburton, Blackwater and other companies have huge pull in our government (such as the vice presidency). So essentially they decide when the war is over. They also happen to be making millions upon millions of dollars from the war. So asking them to decide when the war is over, is like asking an ugly guy cast in a threesome porn movie to decide when the scene is over. Chances are the scene would go on for months, if not years. The entire crew would be standing around asking, "It's not over yet? When will we know when it's time to end it?" And the ugly guy would respond, "Um, it's a bad idea to set timetables. Just trust me on this."

6) Lastly, President Bush is like a colorblind child with a Rubik's Cube.

Lee Camp is a comedian and writer in NYC. He tours clubs and colleges across the country, writes for Huffington Post and 236.com, and does comedic commentary for various television shows (but no longer Fox News).

Star Wars: Clone Wars Leaked Trailer!

Wow. Just... wow. Courtesy of Gizmodo:
Feast your eyes—squinting a bit—on the leaked two-minute trailer that was briefly seen in YouTube and then pulled off just to be rescued at the last minute by a Polish Corvette, saved into an astromech droid, launched onto a desert planet, and found by us in a garage sale somewhere in Kraków. Or something like that. The trailer further shows the work of the three hundred 3D animators who have been working on this project at Lucasfilm Animation for the past three years. And except for its lousy quality it, it seems that we are in for a ride (here's hoping Mr. Lucas didn't write the dialog.)


Follow the link to feast your eyes upon the trailer - don't mind the subtitles, I'm assuming it's Polish but I really have no idea what language it may be...

2008-04-13

Gartner Report: MS-Windows Is Collapsing

Posted: 11 Apr 2008 on nixCraft

Wow, the researchers warn that Windows is collapsing and Linux / OS X replacing Windows:
Calling the situation "untenable" and describing Windows as "collapsing," a pair of Gartner analysts this week said Microsoft must make radical changes to the operating system or risk becoming a has-been.

In a presentation at a Gartner-sponsored conference in Las Vegas, analysts Michael Silver and Neil MacDonald said Microsoft has not responded to the market, is overburdened by nearly two decades of legacy code and decisions and faces serious competition on a whole host of fronts that will make Windows moot unless the Redmond, Washington developer acts.

This article explains why Windows is broken:
Two Gartner analysts said the words that enterprises dread, and that will move alternate operating system proponents to tears of joy: "Windows as we know it needs to be replaced." Microsoft's operating system (OS) development times are too long and they deliver limited innovation; their OSs provide an inconsistent experience between platforms, with significant compatibility issues; and other vendors are out-innovating Microsoft . That gives enterprises unpredictable releases with limited value, management costs that are too high, and new releases that break too many apps and take too long to test and adopt. With end users bringing their own software solutions into the office...well, it's just a heck of a sad story for Microsoft.


2008-04-11

How to handle the jerk next to you on an airplane

Courtesy of my buddy Mike in Texas.

1. Quietly and calmly open up your laptop case.
2. Remove your laptop.
3. Boot up
4. Make sure the guy who is annoying you can see the screen.
5. Close your eyes, join your palms together, tilt your head up to the sky & move your lips as if praying
6. Then hit this link

When it's over, quietly curse at the computer, hit it a few times, and then throw your hands up in resignation and put it away again (make sure your browser cache and history clears itself when it exits). Pretend nothing happened.

Debugging Tip: Trace the Process and See What It is Doing with strace

Posted: 10 Apr 2008 on nixCraft

(I was just this past week trying to wrap my head around strace, a utility I haven't had the chance to use much, so I thought this was fortuitous to post.)

strace is a useful diagnostic, instructional, and debugging tool. It can save lots of headache. System administrators, diagnosticians and trouble-shooters will find it invaluable for solving problems with programs for which the source is not readily available since they do not need to be recompiled in order to trace them. This is also useful to submit bug reports to open source developers.

Each line in the trace contains the system call name, followed by its arguments in parentheses and its return value.

Run strace against /bin/foo and capture its output to a text file in output.txt:
$ strace -o output.txt /bin/foo

You can strace the webserver process and see what it's doing. For example, strace php5 fastcgi process, enter:
$ strace -p 22254 -s 80 -o /tmp/debug.lighttpd.txt

To see only a trace of the open, read system calls, enter :
$ strace -e trace=open,read -p 22254 -s 80 -o debug.webserver.txt

Where,
  • -o filename : Write the trace output to the file filename rather than to screen (stderr).
  • -p PID : Attach to the process with the process ID pid and begin tracing. The trace may be terminated at any time by a keyboard interrupt signal (hit CTRL-C). strace will respond by detaching itself from the traced process(es) leaving it (them) to continue running. Multiple -p options can be used to attach to up to 32 processes in addition to command (which is optional if at least one -p option is given).
  • -s SIZE : Specify the maximum string size to print (the default is 32).

Refer to strace man page for more information:
$ man strace

2008-04-09

HP 2133 Mini-Notebook PC - Full-function Priced Starting Under $500

Posted: 08 Apr 2008 on nixCraft

To help schools offer affordable computing to every student, HP today introduced a full-function, mini-notebook Linux powered PC priced starting under $500. HP will join a fledgling market already populated with products from Intel Corp., the world's largest semiconductor company, and Asustek Computers Inc., the world's largest maker of computer motherboards.

The only way to keep cost is use Linux and create network only computer for everybody. Windows vista cannot be installed because of price tag and higher hardware requirements.

Notebook features:
  • Simple, refined design and anodized aluminum shell that is sleek and sturdy yet lightweight;
  • HP DuraKeys, featuring a clear coating applied over the notebook keyboard that protects the finish and printed letters and characters;
  • An HP 3D DriveGuard, which sends a signal to shut down the hard drive upon sudden movement or shock by using a three-axis digital accelerometer chip
  • Scratch-resistant display and magnesium hinge bracket
  • A large 8.9-inch diagonal WXGA display, user-friendly full keyboard (QWERTY) and touchpad;
  • Ability to view video, still-image capture, web conferencing or video-enhanced instant messaging with no additional hardware to buy or carry. An optional integrated VGA webcam enables video and still-image capture to allow the addition of photos and video clips to presentations, documents and email;
  • Two battery solutions - three-cell for lightest-weight configurations or optional six-cell for longer battery life;
  • Wireless technologies such as integrated Wi-Fi Certified WLAN(3) and optional Bluetooth, allowing students to access the Internet as well as communicate via email, IM, chat, VOIP and blogging. The wireless technologies also enable connections at hotspots as well as with Bluetooth devices such as printers, mice and headsets; and
  • The processors HP is using are made by Via Technologies Inc., the distant third-ranked player in the microprocessor space, and come in clock speeds up to 1.6 gigahertz.


=> More information available here and here.

2008-04-03

Join a Windows Domain From Linux / UNIX Computer Using Samba

Posted: 02 Apr 2008 via nixCraft

An excellent guide; it will give you steps about using Samba server to join to a Windows domain. From the article:
The primary domain controller (PDC) will serve as the password server for the domain. If Samba and winbind services are running, turn them off. I will show you how turn them on after you join to the Windows domain. You should save your files at any point in your “work-in-progress” and restore your originals if you intend to reboot. You should make note of your hard devices listed in your fstab file. Before you start you should ping the server from your intended Linux workstation.


=> Step by Step: Using Samba to join a Windows Domain

2008-04-02

Increase Your Productivity with Various Linux Desktop Apps

Posted April 1 2008 on nixCraft.

This blog post covers many applications which can be used to increase your productivity without spending a single penny.

From the article:
Sure, Apple’s built its reputation on being the hipster brand of choice, but one of the nice things about Linux is the ability to customize virtually any aspect of the operating system to cater to your workflow and computing habits.

For the purpose of structure I’ll break the article into two parts. The first will discuss how Linux can be just as application-rich, in terms of usefulness, as OS X or Windows. In the second half, I’ll cover various productivity-boosting apps and features that allow you do accomplish virtually any task with a few simple keystrokes.

=> Full-throttle Productivity and Web-Work With Ubuntu