Moving on from Ubuntu

Instead of using Microsoft Windows or Mac OSX as my operating system I use Linux. More specifically I use Ubuntu. Even more specifically I used Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal.

Ubuntu Natty Narwhal with GNOME Classic

This is now out of date, Ubuntu has moved on to version 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot. I have messed around with Ubuntu for years, somewhere I have a copy of Dapper Drake (from 2006). Back then Ubuntu looked different. I first installed Ubuntu in the era of Hardy Heron, there were changes, but they were mostly behind the scenes: installation was easier, sound & wireless worked out of the box.

6 versions later there was a big change: Unity. This did not just change things behind the scenes. The look changed too. It became less customisable at the same time, taking up more screen real estate.

Is this big enough for you?

Is The Economist becoming radicalised? Or was J.F. just stating the obvious yesterday when, wondering why conservative Americans "lament the loss of the America they grew up in," they tagged conservatismǂ and racism as currently inseparable

I tend to agree with the sentiments in the above article. Conservatives can readily be viewed as a group who are "loss[ing] of their own social privilege" and trying to claw it back.

This idea ties in very nicely with a post today, by W.W., and shows just how this idea of social privilege is perpetuating World problems.

In summary W.W. is replying to an an article by the USC's Neal Gabler (seemingly the sociologists' everyman) which claims that: "Big ideas are almost passé."

In a wonderful rebuff W.W. quotes an article by NYU economist Michael Clemens which argues that "barriers to emigration place one of the fattest of all wedges between humankind’s current welfare and its potential welfare."

Ubuntu Tinkerings 1: Zotero, NTFS and missing devices.

Recently, following a hiccup with my Internet connection, I decided to completely reformat my laptop and start again*.

I use a 3 partition system: An ext3 (now ext4) primary partition containing Ubuntu; an NTFS primary partition containing Windows 7; and an extended partition containing my swap partition and an NTFS data store.

Following the reinstall I encountered a couple of problems setting up Ubuntu.

Preyed Upon

The BBC has recently reported how a Mac owner recovered his laptop by using Hidden. Hidden, however, costs $15 per year (just over £9), and can cost up to $400 for a more comprehensive service.

What the Beeb fails to mention is that there is a program that does this for free, on most operating systems (including android mobile phones).

This program is called Prey.

ie6: The Numbers Game

Microsoft has officially announced that it is going to kill off ie6. This is made out to be a big thing, but it is really too little too late.

Open Computing

Having recently started my course I have been assigned a desk in the centre's computer lab. Interestingly in addition to the standard Windows install (in this case XP) the computers give the option of loading in Ubuntu.

I use Ubuntu at home, so was pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately access is password locked, so I am as yet unsure what it is there for (probably some Linux based computational chemistry programs). I will keep you updated.