Rejecting Conformity
by Dan on Feb.16, 2009, under Cool Sites, Software, Tech
Rejecting conformity. Sounds like a great sermon title, but this is no sermon, it’s an insight into the deeper realms of computing. The less tech-savvy of you, don’t fret, because I’m not going to get all nerdy on you (well, maybe a little, but you can take it).
I have a particular class which requires me to use an operating system with perl (a programming language) capabilities. You can install these capabilities into Windows, but why not use what it is meant for: Linux.
Now you might ask, why would you install Linux on your laptop, when you have a legit copy of the awesome Vista Home Premium SP1. Well… I didn’t. The beauty of it all is that a program called VMWare Player allows you to run an operating system within an operating system.
So by now, I’m thinking that most of you think that Linux looks like this:
BOOORRRRINNNNGG
And by all means, you can make it look like that, but compare these two screenshots below. One is the Linux distribution that I use, and the other is my Vista Home Premium desktop.. Arguably, both are gorgeous, except the dock on one needs to be re-icon-ed.
What is this? (Click for larger)
What is this? (Click for larger)
Last Monday (I didn’t even stop to think of writing about it then) Digsby, my IM client, refused to connect. This was later determined to be some server issues they were having… So faced between the choice of Meebo and nothing at all, I chose to hop into my Ubuntu 8.10 (Linux) virtual machine and check out Pidgin, another chat client. Before I knew it, I was browsing, printing, chatting, checking my email, editing images, and all-around being productive on a operating system I’ve never actually used outside of lab/server/work environments. I was actually using Linux for normal things…
Oh yeah, did I mention that its free? Did I mention that it will run very well even on old, decrepit systems? Did I mention that it recognized all my hardware and didn’t have to install any drivers?
So while Linux might not be for everyone, it does offer a very attractive alternative to paying $100+ for Vista and gives you another option besides OS X (-.-). If you have even a mediocre amount of computer skills, you can make all sorts of changes that Windows would typically freak out at. For instance, one of the changes that I made was installing the desktop theme that HP is now using for their new netbook, the HP Mini Mi.
So where does this leave me now?
Well, I’ve installed the same Linux virtual machine on my work computer, so working on all our Linux servers is a breeze; I seem to use it as well on Mondays and Wednesdays, when I’m in class; and its great to do things like install Linux-only programs or … write Zomgee posts.. such as this one.
So why not give it a try. If you want to keep your Windows install around, just use the virtual machine version. If you want to go all-out and install it from scratch, you can download CD images and install it on your computer. If you’re concerned with not being able to use certain pieces of software (MS Office for example) there are many free alternatives available for download (OpenOffice).
If you plan on doing this or have already done so, let me know in the comments.. I’m interested to see what you think.
February 16th, 2009 on 1:53 pm
As someone who’s played around with quite a few linux distros including Ubuntu, I’ll have to agree with you. It is a great alternative for a specific subset of computing tasks that quite a few people use.
To go one step further, if your company uses XenApp (formally Citrix Presentation Server) you can even run Windows programs such as Office on your linux machine, say if you needed to sync with an exchange server.
That being said, for the average user who wouldn’t know how to set up a Windows machine, setting up a linux machine is not quite as simple as you say and woe unto anyone who has hardware that somehow conflicts with any drivers provided. I had this happen with a work machine and I have never had such an annoyance to get hardware acceleration to work in my life.
HT’s last blog post.. I didn?t feel like it
February 16th, 2009 on 1:55 pm
I’d have to disagree on the “setting up” part, especially if you are just using a VM. All you have to do is open VMWare Player and point it at the virtual hard drive (VHD) and there it is… all pre-installed and set up.
Dan’s last blog post.. Rejecting Conformity
February 16th, 2009 on 1:57 pm
I had Ubuntu Hardy installed on my laptop with Wubi, but I needed the space so I removed it . . . sucks having a small hard drive
once I get a bigger drive I’m definitely going back to dual booting . . . I’ll probably wait until Win7 comes out to do it with a new lappy
looks like your vista theme still has the start button . . . check out StartKiller
here’s the layout I’ve had for several months
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/backstept/screenshot112608-1.jpg
using StartKiller, RocketDock, and Samurize
XP BTW
backstept’s last blog post.. Fox Hunting
February 16th, 2009 on 2:21 pm
I kinda like my start button.. its small anyways, so its not a big deal.
I really liked the design view of samurize, but it was a killer on my resources. It would start @ 10mb and go up to 100mb in a matter of seconds, then drop to 40, back up to 100 and keep cycling. I wouldn’t mind (8gb ram) but the processor usage was a bit high. Also, the clock second-hand tick made Left 4 Dead stutter every second.. Hence my return to Rainmeter. I actually have quite an extensive config, but turned it off for the screenshot. In fact, one of my fav sites is Lifehacker > Desktop. My desktop @ home has even mroe desktop customizing, but a recent problem with AVG caused all my uxthemeui files to revert to originals.
Dan’s last blog post.. Rejecting Conformity
February 16th, 2009 on 6:10 pm
Haha, for my operating systems class I tried to do something similar. I used Sun Virtual Box, but it failed to boot the xUbuntu cd image so I might give VMware Player a try. If it works out, I’ll be pretty excited about being able to work both operating systems on my computer instead of using the lab computers for linux. xP The one thing I can’t stand about linux is that they don’t use the same keyboard shortcuts. X_X BIG pet peeve there.
ZePuKa’s last blog post.. 5 Songs for Singles Awareness Day
February 16th, 2009 on 7:29 pm
“All you have to do is open VMWare Player and point it at the virtual hard drive (VHD) and there it is… all pre-installed and set up.”
@Dan – Not to disagree with you too much, but unless you’re using it for the coding type purposes that ZePuKa is talking about, there’s very little reason for a normal user to have a second OS hanging out in a VM on their computer.
HT’s last blog post.. I didn?t feel like it
February 16th, 2009 on 7:33 pm
Psh.. haven’t you ever heard of computing for fun? expanding your horizons? learning a new OS? When I was 17, I dual booted my laptop with RH7 for no reason at all and set up a third partition for a home directory for Knoppix STD (Security Tools Distribution).
Dan’s last blog post.. Rejecting Conformity
February 16th, 2009 on 8:18 pm
Dude… when -I- was 17, I was just discovering the joys of CSS 1.5 years after I learned what ‘E-mail’ was…. @_@ Way to make a person feel inferior…
ZePuKa’s last blog post.. 5 Songs for Singles Awareness Day
February 16th, 2009 on 8:20 pm
lol I saw CSS 1.5 and thought.. Counter-Strike 1.5
oh.. the good old days
Dan’s last blog post.. Rejecting Conformity
February 16th, 2009 on 8:59 pm
Haha, like I’d know what that is… xD
ZePuKa’s last blog post.. 5 Songs for Singles Awareness Day
February 16th, 2009 on 10:39 pm
Counter strike 1.5?
Dan’s last blog post.. Rejecting Conformity
February 16th, 2009 on 10:53 pm
looks violent… but what game isn’t these days? =P
ZePuKa’s last blog post.. 5 Songs for Singles Awareness Day
February 17th, 2009 on 12:52 pm
I was trying to figure out what team the player who made the screen-shot was on. It became apparent when i read the middle of the image. Speaking of “not-really-that-violent-if-you-compare-to-reality” video games, do any of these OSs run Left 4 Dead? (only thing important XD)
OhYo’s last blog post.. What Is Love?
February 17th, 2009 on 1:18 pm
yes.
Dan’s last blog post.. Rejecting Conformity
February 21st, 2009 on 3:48 am
Lol, thats the funniest thing I’ve read all day!
“Awesome Vista home premium” Whew, that’s funny. I’m tearing up, here.
February 21st, 2009 on 4:28 am
Its funny that you missed the sarcasm and replied with a bit of your own.
Dan’s last blog post.. Rejecting Conformity
February 21st, 2009 on 4:31 am
Ah, my bad. Why run Vista anyway, no XP lying around for what you can’t do in Ubuntu?
February 21st, 2009 on 4:34 am
DX10. But Vista does what I need it to, and well enough with enough hardware thrown at it. Here’s hoping that W7 is the holy grail that XP was… at least they’re offering it as a free upgrade (and I hope thats a literal UPgrade this time)
Dan’s last blog post.. Rejecting Conformity
February 21st, 2009 on 9:51 pm
You have to admit Vista is pretty (GUI-wise) though… but I have seen many linux/unix derivatives with impressive graphics before vista’s release… it’s about time Window’s tried catching up.
ZePuKa’s last blog post.. 5 Songs for Singles Awareness Day
February 22nd, 2009 on 12:26 am
By graphics I assume you mean a pretty UI..?
Dan’s last blog post.. Rejecting Conformity
February 22nd, 2009 on 9:41 am
Yes, GUI.
ZePuKa’s last blog post.. 5 Songs for Singles Awareness Day
February 23rd, 2009 on 10:47 am
Been beta-testing Win7 for a little while now and it certainly has some bugs (what beta software doesn’t), but it does appear to have fixed the bloated-ness of Vista. I’m hopeful, for once, that Win7 will be what the hype says it will be.
HT’s last blog post.. Bold Faced Lies