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An Everyday Linux User Review Of Xubuntu 14.10

January 4, 2015, 12:30 pm
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Introduction

It has been just over a year since I last reviewed Xubuntu, so this review is well overdue.

Xubuntu has been one of my favourite distributions for a long time and for a number of very good reasons.

Xubuntu comes with the XFCE desktop environment which means that it is lightweight and highly customisable.

What I also like about Xubuntu over some of the other XFCE based distributions is that it doesn't overload you with applications. You get just enough to cover the bases but it is then up to you to install what is important for your needs.

Finally, I also like the fact that Xubuntu has two panels. Oh wait a minute. The latest version of Xubuntu doesn't have two panels. It does however have an improved menu system.

Not to worry though, I will show you how to put the other one back in and actually this leaves scope to install another dock that I really like, Cairo.

How To Get Xubuntu

You can download Xubuntu by visiting this link.

There are two versions available, Xubuntu 14.04, which is the LTS release and Xubuntu 14.10 which is the one that I am reviewing in this article.

I have written a guide showing how to create a persistent Xubuntu USB drive using the downloaded ISO image.

I have also written a guide showing how to install Xubuntu to your hard drive.

Alternatively, Click here to buy a Xubuntu USB drive.

First Impressions






















The XFCE interface that comes with Xubuntu has been greatly simplified. There is now just a single panel at the top of the screen and a handful of icons on the desktop.

In previous versions there used to be a second docking panel at the bottom of the screen which included launchers to commonly used applications. This is no longer there.

The top panel has a single menu icon in the left corner and in the right corner, icons for power settings, network settings, audio settings and the all important clock.






















The new menu has a really nice user interface with a search box at the top, a list of categories to the right and the applications listed in the main panel to the left.

The items in the menu change depending on the category that you have selected. By default your favourite items are shown.

You can add items to the favourites menu by right clicking on them and selecting "add to favourites".

Customising Xubuntu

I have a full article lined up about how to customise Xubuntu and so I'm not going to go too far into it here but needless to say that the XFCE desktop makes Xubuntu the perfect playground for people who like to pimp their distro.

Lets start with a few basic things. First of all changing the desktop background is simply a case of right clicking on the desktop and choosing "Desktop Settings".

There are a number of nice stock photographs included with Xubuntu 14.10 but you can also choose to have a plain colour or one of your own images.

To choose one of your own images click on the folder dropdown and change it to the location where your background image resides.

Alternatively copy the background image to /usr/share/xfce/backdrops.



Another thing you might wish to change is the number of icons and the type of icons that appear on the desktop.

Click on the icons tab from within the desktop settings screen.

From the icons tab you can choose the size of the icons and the default desktop icons such as file system, wastebasket and removable devices.





One thing missing from the Xubuntu panel is a workspace switcher. To add a workspace switcher, right click on the top panel and select "Panel -> Add new items".

Scroll down to the bottom of the list and click on "Workspace Switcher" and then "Add".

The workspace switcher will appear after the clock. You can move it along a bit by right clicking on it and selecting "move".


There is currently only 1 desktop active within Xubuntu so to make the workspace switcher useful right click and choose "properties".

Click the "Workspace Settings" button and from the window that opens increase the number of workspaces to the amount you require.

When you get back to the properties window increase the number of rows and click close.


Finally lets deal with the missing panel. Right click on the top panel and choose "Panel -> Panel Preferences".




To add a new panel click the plus symbol. A new panel will appear as a little box.

Drag the panel down to the bottom of the screen.

Change the mode to "Horizontal".

Adjust the row size, set the length and check the "automatically increase the length" checkbox.

I always set the length to a value shorter than required so that it expands automatically.

Click on the items tab to start adding items.

For me, the point of the 2nd panel is to add launchers to my most commonly used applications.

You can add new items to the bottom panel in the same way you added a new item to the top panel.

An alternative to adding another XFCE panel is to install cairo-dock which gives your desktop an altogether different look and feel.

Connect To The Internet

Connecting to the internet using Xubuntu is fairly straight forward. Click on the network icon in the top right corner and choose the wireless network you wish to connect to (unless you wish to connect via ethernet cable in which case just connect up and go).

After selecting a wireless network you will be asked to enter the security key. (You only have to do this once, on subsequent boots the key will be remembered)

Flash And MP3

Nothing has really changed with Flash and MP3 settings within Xubuntu (or Ubuntu) since the outset.

During the installation stage you have the chance to check a box that enables you to play Flash videos and MP3 audio.

If you chose not to check the box during the installation stage, you will still be able to install the Xubuntu Restricted Extras package.

Flash is a bit of an issue now within Linux as no further updates are released for it. The best way to overcome this is to install Google's Chrome browser. Flash will hopefully become a non-entity in the future.

Applications

As mentioned during the introduction. Xubuntu has enough applications to get you started and then it is up to you to install anything else you need.

The applications are lightweight and responsive which makes Xubuntu great for older hardware and netbooks.

Accessories

  • Archive Manager 
  • Calculator
  • Catfish File Search
  • Thunar File Manager
  • Screenshot
  • Terminal Emulator
  • Xfburn Disk Burning

Games

  • Mines
  • Sudoku

Graphics

  • Document Viewer (PDF viewer)
  • GIMP Image Editor
  • Ristretto Image Viewer 

Internet

  • Firefox Web Browser
  • Pidgin Instant Messenger
  • Thunderbird Email Client
  • Transmission Bittorrent Client

Multimedia

  • gmusicbrowser Audio Player
  • Parole Media Player

Office

  • Abiword Word Processor
  • Gnumeric Spreadsheet
  • Orage PIM
If you use office tools for writing letters and keeping budgets then Abiword and Gnumeric will suffice. If you need more functionality then you will need to install something like LibreOffice.

You won't find a better image editor for Linux than GIMP and I find it interesting that this application is included because it isn't at all lightweight in nature.

Thunderbird is one of the best email clients available for Linux and Firefox is arguably the best web browser.

I really like gmusicbrowser as an audio application. It is uncomplicated and basic and it has a nice feature that lets you change the look and feel so that it looks like many of the other audio players you may have used including iTunes, Rhythmbox and Exaile.



Installing Applications

To install further applications within Xubuntu you can use the Software Centre.

The software centre has a list of categories down the left and a list of new and top rated items.

The most useful part of the interface is the search box.


Enter the name of the application or a keyword to describe the application in the search box to reveal a list of results.



What's new?

The release notes for Xubuntu 14.10 can be found here.

Issues

I have been using Xubuntu on one of my laptops since October and I can honestly say that I haven't seen any nasties.

There are some listed issues within the release notes though as follows:
  • com32r error on boot with some live usb sticks (1325801)
  • Virtualbox can start with a black screen (1378423)
  • Black background to Try/Install dialogue (1365815)
  • Qt apps don't use the Gtk+ style by default, workaround is to install qt4-qtconfig and set the style there 

Summary

Xubuntu just keeps rolling on really. If you are looking for a distribution to customise or something lightweight then there aren't any other distributions that I would consider before Xubuntu.

I don't like the fact that the bottom panel has been removed and I instantly put it back again. (Hardly a reason for me to consider using anything else).

If you want to get serious work done then with a bit of customisation Xubuntu will stay out of your way.

If you want to jazz your desktop up then Xubuntu lets you add all the glitz and glamour you require.

Xubuntu works great on old and new hardware.

I have nothing at all bad to say about Xubuntu. It is still one of my favourite distributions.

Thankyou for reading.


Other Useful Links
















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An Everyday Linux User Review Of Peppermint Linux 5

January 11, 2015, 4:27 am
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Introduction

(Article published on the 11th January, 2015)

I have reviewed every version of Peppermint Linux since version 2 and it is a distribution that I have only had positive things to say about. 

(Read the reviews here: Peppermint 4, Peppermint 3 and Peppermint 2).

I wasn't actually planning to do a review of Peppermint 5 yet. This article was going to be about the 2000+ games that have just been added to the Internet Archive site as they are all playable via a web browser.

I was planning to write an article stating that Peppermint 5 would be the perfect distribution to use to play those games for the following reasons:

  • the lightweight nature of the desktop
  • It is easy to set up XBOX controllers and bluetooth controllers
  • You can easily map joystick commands to key strokes
  • The ICE application within Peppermint which lets you turn any web application into a desktop application.
Unfortunately it didn't all go to plan and for this reason I have instead decided to write a review about Peppermint Linux 5, highlighting the issues that I found.

Installing Peppermint 5


You will find links halfway down the page to download 32-bit and 64-bit versions. You can also purchase a USB stick on the same site.


First Impressions






















Before I start I wanted to give you a bit of background information about Peppermint OS 5 (all of this information can be found in the release notes)

Peppermint 5 is a bit of an eclectic mix of Ubuntu, LXDE, XFCE and Mint. The main Peppermint distribution is based on Ubuntu 14.04 which is the long term support release. 

The desktop is LXDE but the window manager is XFWM4 which is part of the XFCE desktop. The graphical package manager MintInstall is part of the Linux Mint distribution.

Visually what you see when you first log in is a dark desktop background with a single panel at the bottom.

The panel has a menu icon in the bottom left and a series of icons in the bottom right including workspaces, power settings, network settings, audio settings, the clock and a power button.

The menu is a fairly basic affair with a list of categories and items within the category.

This sort of menu system is fine until you have lots of items within a particular category. The menus become harder to scroll through at this point.





Connecting To The Internet























To connect to the internet click on the network icon in the bottom right corner. A list of available networks will appear.

Choose the network you wish to connect to and enter the security key (if required).

Flash and MP3























The default browser within Peppermint is Chromium and Flash just works without any further intervention.























The default audio player is Guayadeque. Although it is a fairly basic audio application, it works and is easy enough to use.

Unfortunately when I imported my Billy Idol Greatest Hits CD it wouldn't play. This is a slight regression. In Peppermint 4 this error didn't appear but it was present in Peppermint 3.

The easiest way to get MP3s to play is to install one of the "restricted extras" packages. I will go into this in more detail later. (or check the install Fluendo option when installing Peppermint)

Applications

The unique selling point of Peppermint over Lubuntu and other similar Linux distributions is the way that it integrates web applications as desktop applications. There are therefore only a handful of applications that are installed by default and many of the items link to web applications which require an internet connection.

Accessories

  • Archive Manager
  • Calculator
  • PCManFM
  • Screenshot
  • Terminal
  • GEdit Text Editor

Games

  • 2D / 3D Chess (Web Application, requires internet connection)
  • Entanglement (Web Application, requires internet connection)
  • First Person Tetris (Web Application, requires internet connection)
  • Mahjongg (Web Application, requires internet connection)
  • Solitr (Solitaire) (Web Application, requires internet connection)

Graphics

  • Document Viewer
  • Mirage Image Viewer
  • Pixlr Image Editor (Web Application, requires internet connection)

Internet

  • Transmission Bittorrent Client 
  • Chromium Web Browser
  • Dropbox
  • ICE (Tool to embed Web applications and Desktop applications)

Office

  • GMail (Web Application, requires internet connection)
  • Google Calendar (Web Application, requires internet connection)
  • Google Drive (Web Application, requires internet connection)

Sound And Video

  • Gnome MPlayer (Media Player)
  • Guayadeque (Audio Player)

Installing Applications (Desktop Applications)























The graphical application manager used to install applications within Peppermint is the Mint Installer.

You can browse for applications by selecting a category and searching through the list. Each item has a rating which has been provided by Linux Mint users. This provides a useful guide when deciding whether to go with one application or another.

To find a specific application use the search box in the top right corner. If you want to install the "Restricted Extras" package in order to play MP3s search for "restricted". 

Normally when I am installing the "Restricted Extras" package I choose the one relevant to the system I am installing against. For instance if I am using Ubuntu I select the "Ubuntu Restricted Extras" and for Lubuntu I select the "Lubuntu Restricted Extras" package. It isn't perfectly obvious which package you should choose for Peppermint, I went for the Lubuntu one and it resolved the MP3 playback issue mentioned earlier.

Turn Web Applications Into Desktop Applications



You should hopefully be able to see that Peppermint OS is much like any other Linux distribution with a graphical desktop, a series of applications and the ability to install further applications from a graphical package manager.

The one thing that sets Peppermint OS apart is the ICE editor which makes it possible to turn web applications into desktop applications.

The ICE application is available from the Internet category on the Peppermint menu. When the application loads you can enter a name for the program, paste in the URL of the web application and select the menu you wish the application to appear under. You can also select an icon or use the favicon of the site that hosts the web application.

The application will appear under the menu category you selected and when you click on the icon the application will load in a window much like any other desktop application.























As you can see from the image above, I used the ICE application to create a desktop application version of Grooveshark and.it works perfectly.

I read an article during the week which states that over 2000 classic MSDOS games have been added to the Internet Archive.

I checked out the site and it is possible to play all of the games within a browser window using a customised version of the MESS emulator. Some of the comments that I read said that the archive have gone for quantity over quality and that it is hard to search for games.

I checked out the archive and there is a certain amount of browsing involved to find games but I actually think that is a good thing, a bit like a lucky dip. When you find a game that you like you can simply bookmark the page. 

With Peppermint OS I thought that you could turn each of the games into a desktop application using the ICE application and you would then be able to select them from your games category.

Unfortunately the ICE editor loses some of the path when you paste in the URL as the next screenshot demonstrates.























One of the reasons I believe Peppermint uses the LXDE desktop is the fact that it is easy to create menu items.

Every item you create using the ICE editor has an associated .desktop file within the folder /home/<user>/.local/share/applications.

If you open up a .desktop file it has a series of configuration settings as follows:

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Name=Prince Of Persia
Exec=Chromium-browser --application=https://archive.org/stream/msdos_Prince_of_Persia_1990/Prince_of_Persia_1990.zip
Terminal=false
X-MultipleArgs=false
Type=Application
Icon=/home/gary/.local/share/ico/princeofpersia.ico
Categories=gtk;Game;
MimeType=text/html;text/xml;application/xhtml_xml;
StartupWMClass=Chromium
StartupNotify=true

The Name entry is the name of the application and the Exec entry is the application which will run.

The issue occurs because the Exec string has been truncated. The bit after application= should be https://archive.org/stream/msdos_Prince_of_Persia_1990/Prince_of_Persia_1990.zip?module=dosbox&scale=2. Notice that everything after the ? has been truncated.

Now obviously to get the game working I changed the text in the file and saved it and then the game worked properly as shown below.























If the ICE application worked perfectly and you followed this guide to set up your joypad using QJoypad as shown in this guide then you would have a decent retro gaming machine.

The ICE editor is a great tool but it is a shame that it doesn't quite work for all applications.

Customising Peppermint























The LXDE desktop has loads of customisation features as shown in this guide.

Within Peppermint, the desktop wallpaper is kind of dull and the whole appearance can be spruced up by right clicking and selecting desktop settings.

You can change the wallpaper by choosing one that is installed on your computer. If you don't have any good images to use search on Google Images.

I decided to create a desktop application using ICE to search Google Images for desktop wallpapers. This would be a nice little desktop tool for changing wallpapers but unfortunately it failed for the same reason as the Internet Archive games.

The "Desktop Preferences" application which is used to change the wallpaper has other settings such as changing desktop icons.

One of the items in "Desktop Preferences" is a checkbox which when clicked should "show menus provided by window manager when desktop is clicked". I checked this box and this had the effect of turning off the right click menu and nothing else happened. I think the problem may be the use of the XFWM window manager mixed in with LXDE settings.

Issues

Most of the issues that I found are listed within the release notes.

To summarise:

  • ICE loses some of the path when creating desktop applications
  • Some desktop preference settings don't work
  • The ability to play MP3s straight out of the box have regressed, requiring the restricted extras package to be installed
  • The Chromium browser has issues when you minimise and maximise as shown below.






















Summary

I really like Peppermint OS but there appears to be some regression and more issues since the previous release.

I am not sure of the reasons for mixing and matching LXDE and XFCE components but I think it would be a good idea to just standardise so that you only use LXDE or XFCE and not a combination of both.

If the ICE bug can be fixed then the use of Peppermint with the Internet Archive would enable you to use a machine with low specifications as a retro games console. (Ultimately what I was trying to do initially).

Peppermint is a good distribution with some good concepts but I think it has become a little bit confused with its identity.

Hopefully Peppermint 6 will resolve some of the issues mentioned.


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How To Recover Windows 7 And Delete Ubuntu In 3 Easy Steps

January 13, 2015, 3:34 pm
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Introduction

This is a strange article for me to write as I am normally in a position where I would advocate installing Ubuntu and getting rid of Windows.

What makes writing this article today doubly strange is that I am choosing to write it on the day that Windows 7 mainstream support comes to an end.

So why am I writing this now?

I have been asked on so many occasions now how to remove Ubuntu from a dual booting Windows 7 or a dual booting Windows 8 system and it just makes sense to write the article.

I spent the Christmas period looking through the comments that people have left on articles and it is time to write the posts that are missing and update some of those that have become old and need attention.

I am going to spend the rest of January doing just that. This is the first step. If you have Windows 7 dual booting with Ubuntu and you want Windows 7 back without restoring to factory settings follow this guide. (Note there is a separate guide required for Windows 8)

The Steps Required To Remove Ubuntu

  1. Remove Grub By Fixing The Windows Boot Record
  2. Delete The Ubuntu Partitions
  3. Expand The Windows Partition

Back Up Your System

Before you begin I recommend taking a backup of your system.

I also recommend not leaving this to chance nor Microsoft's own tools. 


If you have any data you wish to save within Ubuntu log into it now and back up the data to external hard drives, USB drives or DVDs.

Step 1 - Remove The Grub Boot Menu

When you boot your system you will see a menu similar to the one in the image.

To remove this menu and boot straight into Windows you have to fix the master boot record.

To do this I am going to show you how to create a system recovery disk, how to boot to the recovery disk and how to fix the master boot record.

























Press the "Start" button and search for "backup and restore". Click the icon that appears.

A window should open as shown in the image above.

Click on "Create a system repair disc".

You will need a blank DVD.

Insert the blank DVD in the drive and select your DVD drive from the dropdown list.

Click "Create Disc".

Restart your computer leaving the disk in and when the message appears to boot from CD press "Enter" on the keyboard.

A set of "Systems Recovery Options" screens will appear.

You will be asked to choose your keyboard layout.

Choose the appropriate options from the lists provided and click "Next".



The next screen lets you choose an operating system to attempt to fix.

Alternatively you can restore your computer using a system image saved earlier.

Leave the top option checked and click "Next".




You will now see a screen with options to repair your disk and restore your system etc.

All you need to do is fix the master boot record and this can be done from the command prompt.

Click "Command Prompt".




Now simply type the following command into the command prompt:

bootrec.exe /fixmbr
A message will appear stating that the operation has completed successfully.

You can now close the command prompt window.

Click the "Restart" button and remove the DVD.

Your computer should boot straight into Windows 7.

Step 2 - Delete The Ubuntu Partitions

















To delete Ubuntu you need to use the "Disk Management" tool from within Windows.

Press "Start" and type "Create and format hard disk partitions" into the search box. A window will appear similar to the image above.

Now my screen above isn't going to be quite the same as yours but it won't be much different. If you look at disk 0 there is 101 MB of unallocated space and then 4 partitions.

The 101 MB of space is a mistake I made when installing Windows 7 in the first place. The C: drive is Windows 7, the next partition (46.57 GB) is Ubuntu's root partition. The 287 GB partition is the /HOME partition and the 8 GB partition is the SWAP space.

The only one we really need for Windows is the C: drive so the rest can be deleted.

Note: Be careful. You may have recovery partitions on the disk. Do not delete the recovery partitions. They should be labelled and will have file systems set to NTFS or FAT32


Right click on one of the partitions you wish to delete (i.e. the root, home and swap partitions) and from the menu click "Delete Volume".

(Do not delete any partitions that have a file system of NTFS or FAT32)

Repeat this process for the other two partitions.

















After the partitions have been deleted you will have a large area of free space. Right click the free space and choose delete.

















Your disk will now contain your C drive and a large amount of unallocated space.

Step 3 - Expand The Windows Partition






















The final step is to expand Windows so that it is one large partition again.

To do this right click on the Windows partition (C: drive) and choose "Extend Volume".

When the Window to the left appears click "Next",









The next screen shows a wizard whereby you can select the disks to expand to and change the size to expand to.

By default the wizard shows the maximum amount of disk space it can claim from unallocated space.

Accept the defaults and click "Next".







The final screen shows the settings that you chose from the previous screen.

Click "Finish" to expand the disk.




























As you can see from the image above my Windows partition now takes up the entire disk (except for the 101 MB that I accidentally created before installing Windows in the first place).

Summary






















That is all folks. A site dedicated to Linux has just shown you how to remove Linux and replace it with Windows 7.

Any questions? Use the comments section below.



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Analysis Of The Top 10 Linux Distributions Of 2014

January 19, 2015, 1:52 pm
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Introduction

Last year I wrote an article called "Analysis Of The Top 10 Linux Operating Systems". 

The premise behind that article was to look at the top 10 distributions of 2013, as listed on Distrowatch, in order to define their suitability for the average computer user.

There was a little bit of confusion with that article because in the comments some people thought it was just a list of my favourite distributions:
"I may be a bit fanboy-ish, but, what about Enlightenment DE?"
"I think Gentoo as well deserves few words in this article. Maybe the most complex user experience, the real hard way...I am not using it, maybe never will, but it is there... "
Another complaint that I received was that I called them the "top 10 Linux Operating Systems". I have therefore changed the title this year to say the "top 10 Linux Distributions".

Just to be clear then, this is a list of the top 10 Linux distributions of 2014 as defined by Distrowatch. The point is to show how suitable the distributions are for the Everyday Linux User.

1. Linux Mint




It is quite clear to me why Linux Mint is number one in the list. It is easy to install, provides a very familiar desktop experience and provides access to a massive repository of free software.

Linux Mint takes everything that Ubuntu has to offer and packages it in a non-complicated yet stylish manner.

Everything you need to get you started is ready without having to install codecs, drivers and extra packages.

LibreOffice, GIMP, FireFox, Thunderbird, Banshee and VLC are all included by default and the Mint Installer provides a nicer interface than Ubuntu's Software Centre.

Click here for a full review of Linux Mint 17

or

Click here for a full review of Linux Mint 17.1

2. Ubuntu






















If Linux Mint is the most popular distribution on Distrowatch then Ubuntu is the most well known.

Personally I actually prefer Ubuntu to Linux Mint but I can understand why some users prefer Linux Mint.

The Unity Desktop is great when you get used to it but some people prefer the more traditional offering provided by the Cinnamon or MATE desktops.

Ubuntu is easy to install and comes with a fairly complete set of applications installed by default including LibreOffice and Rhythmbox. 

You can install Fluendo during installation in order to play MP3 files or you can install the Ubuntu Restricted Extras package post installation.

Ubuntu runs better on modern hardware so if you have an older computer you might prefer to use one of the other flavours such as Xubuntu, Lubuntu or Ubuntu MATE.


3. Debian





























Debian is the Linux distribution that many other distributions are based on. Debian has a huge set of repositories and makes itself easy to build upon.

Last year I suggested that Debian was a next step distribution as it is harder to install and doesn't come with all the features of Ubuntu or Mint.

When I tried Debian a few months ago my opinion changed somewhat. It is still easier to install and use Linux Mint and Ubuntu but if you download and use the minimal Debian ISO you are able to choose everything you want as you go along and there are options for installing a desktop with a base set of applications.

The most confusing thing about Debian is the website. For instance here is a link to the downloads page. Pretend that you are a new user and try to find the correct download image to install Debian.

If you are an average computer user you might want to try either Ubuntu or Mint first and then move to Debian later. 


4. openSUSE






















openSUSE is the first distribution in this list that doesn't have any links to Debian. (Other than the fact that they are both Linux distributions).

There are various desktop variations available for openSUSE including Gnome 3 and KDE. 

I tried the KDE version of openSUSE in 2014 and I really liked it. Ubuntu and Mint are in my opinion easier to use but openSUSE is a great alternative.

The KDE desktop provides a level of familiarity for ex-Windows users and the default installation of openSUSE includes LibreOffice, Firefox and Amarok.

Multimedia codecs aren't included by default and you have to connect to an alternative repository in order to install them.

The graphical package installer is called Yast and is a little bit rough and ready compared to the Mint installer and the Ubuntu Software Centre but it is less fussy.


5. Fedora


















I haven't tried Fedora since version 18. Version 21 has just been released. 

Fedora is based on Red Hat Linux and has been used as a place to try out new things. This generally means that Fedora is cutting edge with all the latest features but at the same time some things work well and some things don't.

Last time I tried Fedora the installer was tricky to fathom out and getting things like MP3s to play wasn't as straight forward as it is for other distributions.

I think it is unfair to trust my experiences of an older version of Fedora to help you make up your mind whether it is for you or not.

This review of Fedora 21 by Dedoimedo  states that the installation turned out to be a very difficult task. There were also issues with installing the codecs.

Dedoimedo installed the KDE version and the default applications were Firefox, KMail, Amarok and the Calligra suite.

To get a balanced opinion here is a review of Fedora 21 by Jim Lynch. Jim went for the Gnome desktop environment.

Jim's opinion of the installer is that it is quite good albeit different from the type of installer that many Ubuntu and Mint users will be used to.

The Gnome version of Fedora comes with LibreOffice, Rhythmbox and Firefox.

I think the most important part of either review that Everyday Linux Users should be aware of is in Jim's summing up of Fedora:

Now one question remains: should you use Fedora? You most certainly can use it as your main desktop distribution, but remember that Fedora 21 Workstation is geared toward developers. Casual users can and should check it out, but there are things in it that might have no appeal to non-developers (such as the DevAssistant). If that’s a deal breaker for you then Linux Mint, one of the Ubuntus or some other distribution might be a better option. 

6. Mageia

























Mageia is my "Eleanor". For those of you who haven't seen "Gone In 60 Seconds", "Eleanor" is the term that Nicholas Cage gives to a Ford Mustang which is a beauty of a car that has always managed to get him into trouble.

Mageia is clearly popular and I know of many users who swear by Mageia but I have always found it tricky to use when compared to Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, PCLinuxOS and many other distributions.

Mageia is based on what used to be Mandriva (Mandrake) Linux.  

When I last used Mageia I found the installation fairly straight forward and I could play MP3s straight away but I had to install the Flash player so that it worked with Firefox. 

The last version I tried was version 3 and version 4 is now out and therefore it is worth looking at other people's reviews to determine whether it is suitable for the average computer user.

I couldn't find a review of Mageia 4 from Dedoimedo so here is a link to his review of version 3. It is very short. It won't take long to read.

For a more positive review of Mageia, read this one from the "My Linux Explore" website. Arindem Sen rates it 8.7 out of 10.

I rate Mageia's latest release quite high for the additional level of user control it provides in installation and usage. Mageia 4 is perfect for users looking for a stable KDE spin which is aesthetically pleasing and gives reasonably good performance. Personally I rate Mageia KDE as the best among Mandriva forked distros (including ROSA and PCLinuxOS).

I would personally check out PCLinuxOS first but Mageia should be an option for the Everyday Linux User.

7. Arch

There are different types of people who drive cars. For instance there are drivers who get in the car and drive from A to B but have no idea how to put petrol in it. At the other end of the scale there are the drivers who know everything about their car having customised it to within an inch of its life. There are obviously various other groups of driver in between.

The same analogies work for computer users. Some computer users know how to use a web browser but probably don't even know it is called a web browser. These users would definitely be better off using Linux Mint than Arch.

The average computer user might find learning Arch tricky and for many users it would be unnecessary to go down this route.

Bizarrely one of the questions I get asked the most is "Which distribution should I use?". Now that doesn't really sound too bizarre because I review distributions but when that question is backed up as follows it worries me a little bit:

I am thinking of switching to Linux for the first time, which distro would be best? I was thinking either Ubuntu or Arch.

I suspect that some of these users have been on Reddit which has an evangelical Arch following whereby the answer to the "which distro should I use" question is always Arch.

Arch has great documentation and if you decide you wish to go down the Arch route then there is a clear set of guidelines showing how to get where you want to be but there is a learning curve and if you are in the class of casual computer user who likes to surf the web and do a little bit of gaming then it might not be for you.

You know that you are entering unchartered waters when you find it difficult to find reviews of a Linux distribution. I suspect that many reviewers steer clear due to the complexity levels involved.

Click here for a review of Arch Linux.

8. Elementary

























Elementary is the first entry into this list that wasn't in last year's list.

If Arch is one to be wary of then Elementary is certainly a Linux distribution that many Everyday Linux Users would appreciate.

Based on Ubuntu, Elementary provides a really stylish user interface which is clean and lean.

Elementary is more lightweight in nature than Linux Mint or Ubuntu and so works well on older hardware as well as modern computers.

I had issues getting Flash to work when I last tried Elementary but that was some time ago now. MP3s don't work from the outset but the moment you try and play one for the first time you are asked whether you want to install the necessary plugins.

Click here for my review of Elementary OS.

Here is a counter review of Elementary OS by Dedoimedo.

9. CentOS





























I have never used CentOS and it is new to the list for this year. According to Wikipedia, CentOS is a community Linux distribution which aims to be functionally compatible with it's parent distributiion, Red Hat Linux.

If Fedora has been something of a playground for trying out new features then CentOS is more of a stable, secure and user centric distribution.

With that in mind CentOS should be perfect for the Everyday Linux User and I aim to review this distribution this year.

Here is something that doesn't really add up though. Whilst looking for reviews of CentOS I felt the impression was largely negative, for instance:

I feel CentOS 7 has been rushed out to market too early, with less than its flawless and most stringent QA that used to be in the past. It comes with a few glaring problems that do not belong in a serious distro. And since you can't be having any extras, its merit as a desktop candidate is even further reduced. - Dedoimedo
There is a thread at Linuxquestions.org which has a number of disgruntled would be users.

10. Zorin




ZorinOS is definitely a distribution worth checking out if you are an Everyday Linux User. If you come from a Windows background you will appreciate the attention to detail in making the transition as easy as possible.

Multimedia codecs are installed by default meaning you can play Flash videos and listen to MP3 audio without ferreting through software repositories.

The software that comes pre-installed is fairly extensive as well with GIMP, Firefox, LibreOffice and Rhythmbox all available.

Zorin has a lot of desktop gadgets and effects including wobbly windows and desktop cubes. 

Unique tools include the ability to change the desktop to look like Windows 2000, Windows 7, MacOS and Gnome 2.


Summary

For the average desktop computer user I would recommend Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Zorin, Elementary and openSUSE as first choices with Debian, Fedora, Mageia and CentOS as secondary options. I would only choose Arch if you really want to control every aspect of your computer from top to bottom or you have an interest in learning more about the underpinnings of using Linux.

The three distributions that were in the top 10 last year that aren't in this year are PCLinuxOS, Manjaro and Puppy Linux.

They haven't slipped far down the order with Puppy at number 11, PCLinuxOS as 15 and Manjaro at 16. You might want to check out them out. 


Thankyou for reading.










↧

Replace Windows 7 With Linux Mint Without Overwriting Other Partitions

January 24, 2015, 2:48 pm
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Introduction








Windows 7 has come to the stage whereby the support it receives is minimal.

Windows 7 users therefore have a number of choices:
  • Stick with Windows 7
  • Upgrade to Windows 8.1
  • Buy a new computer with Windows 8.1 pre-installed
  • Wait for Windows 10
  • Switch to Linux Mint
There are pros and cons with all of these options.

Windows 7 is now a second class citizen in the eyes of Microsoft. You will receive security updates but that is about it. Stick with what you know if you like but you are virtually on your own.

Windows 8.1 is still the latest Microsoft operating system and you will be well supported but lets face it, Windows 8.1 is just not intuitive and has caused Microsoft to go back to the drawing board for Windows 10. If it was such a success then Microsoft wouldn't have changed it so heavily for Windows 10. It will also cost you upwards of £80.

If you aren't comfortable installing operating systems you might just choose to buy a new computer with Windows 8.1 on it. This will save you install time but the Windows 8.1 issues remain the same and it will set you back a few hundred quid.

You could wait for Windows 10 and to be fair it looks like it will be much better than the current offering and they do have some exciting looking hololens glasses on the way. There is still a fair amount of time before Windows 10 is released and being an early adopter isn't the best time to jump aboard.

Click here for a comparison of Windows 8.1 and Linux Mint

This is a site dedicated to Linux and so I am of course going to recommend the Linux Mint option. The look and feel will be much like the Windows 7 interface you are currently using. You won't need to upgrade your hardware. You will never be out of support. It won't cost you a penny. You won't need to buy extra software such as Microsoft Office. You won't get any viruses.

If you are still unsure whether to go ahead here is a review of Linux Mint 17.1 to ease your fears.

I have written installation guides before and you might be wondering what is different about this one.

A comment I received a couple of weeks ago asked how to install Linux without overwriting the data that is held in a separate partition on the hard drive.

The user in question had Windows 7 installed in one partition and all his data files were saved in a completely separate partition.

This guide shows how to replace Windows 7 with Linux Mint whilst preserving other partitions such as data partitions and recovery partitions.

Click here if you are looking to replace Windows 8.1 with Linux Mint or even dual boot Windows 8.1 with Linux Mint

The Setup




















This is my setup prior to installing Linux Mint. I have a single hard drive with 700 GB of space.

The drive is split into 3 partitions:
  • Recovery partition - 100 MB 
  • Windows partition - 356 GB
  • Data partition 342 - GB
The recovery partition isn't really a recovery partition. It was a mistake I made whilst installing Windows 7 in the first place but "ssshhh", if we keep quiet nobody will know.

The data partition has some really important files on it.

As you can see I have a photos folder with some pictures from my recent trip to New York.

To prove it here is a picture of the Freedom tower taken from the top of the Empire State Building.



Now of course I might just have downloaded that from Google Images so to prove I didn't....


That photo was taken from my Samsung Galaxy S4 and it has the in shot thingy which can make any photo look ridiculous.

Anyway, now we know I have something to lose if the installation goes wrong.

The Strategy 

In order to install Linux Mint and remove Windows 7 without losing my data partition here is the plan:

  1. Backup all of the partitions
  2. Download Linux Mint
  3. Create a bootable Linux Mint USB drive
  4. Boot into the live Linux Mint image
  5. Run the installer
  6. Choose the something else option when partitioning and set up Linux Mint partitions only in the Windows partition. (and delete that 100mb recovery partition)
  7. Complete the installation
  8. Prove that it worked

Backup All Partitions On A Single Hard Drive

The tool I like to use when backing up the partitions on a hard drive is Macrium Reflect.

Here is a guide I created showing how to backup all of your partitions.

Download Linux Mint

Click here to download Linux Mint

There are a number of versions available. If your computer is running Windows 7 then it should be good enough to run the Cinnamon version. Make sure you choose the version with multimedia support.

If you would prefer to, you can buy a Linux Mint DVD or USB drive. Lots of people choose this option and it means you can skip the next bit where you have to create a bootable USB drive.



Create A Linux Mint USB Drive

In order to create a live Linux Mint USB drive you will of course need a blank USB drive.

Click here to buy one

Make sure you have the blank USB drive connected to your computer before continuing.




The tool that I like to use to create a bootable Linux USB drive is the Universal USB Installer.

Click here to download the Universal USB Installer

The download link is halfway down the page.

Double click on the downloaded executable to run the installer and click "I agree" to get past the license agreement.

In step 1 choose "Linux Mint" from the dropdown list and then in step 2 click the browse button and navigate to the downloaded Linux Mint ISO.

In step 3 select the USB drive from the dropdown list. Check the box to format the drive.

Click "Create" to create the drive.




The process will now begin and a message will appear when the drive has been created.

Click the "Close" button and reboot your computer. (leave the USB drive plugged in).

When the menu appears with options to "Try Linux Mint" or "Install Linux Mint" choose "Try Linux Mint".



Install Linux Mint





















Your screen should now look like the image above.

Click on the "Install Linux Mint" icon.

The first few steps are fairly straight forward.

Choose your installation language from the list.








You now have the option to connect to the internet.

If you have a good internet connection then set up your wireless connection by choosing the "connect to network" option and then select your wireless network.

If you don't have a good connection it is worth staying disconnected otherwise the installation will take a long time.

The third screen shows how prepared you are for installing Linux Mint.

The list checks that you have enough disk space and that you are connected to the internet and a power source.

You can get away without being connected to the internet as updates can be installed post installation and you can get away with not being connected to a power source if your battery is fairly full.

























The installation type screen is the key element of this guide as it will show you how to install Linux Mint over the top of Windows 7 without touching other partitions.

Choose the "Something Else" option.





























The partition editor shows you the drives on your computer and the partitions on the drives.

So the first thing I wanted to do was delete that 100 MB partition. In order to delete a partition you can select it and click the minus button. You will need to do this for the main Windows partition.

Make sure you delete the correct partition(s). 

Make sure you leave the device for boot loader installation as /dev/sda


After deleting the Windows partition you will be left with free space. You will now need to create 3 partitions in the free space left behind.


Click on the free space and then the plus symbol to create the first partition.

As I have plenties of space I created the main Linux Mint partition with 50 GB of space. (50000 MB).

The partition type is set to logical (if you have a standard BIOS you can only have 4 primary partitions).




I chose the EXT4 file system. There are other file systems available but this is fairly standard. I need to write another guide about file systems sometime in the future.

Choose / as the mount point.

Click OK to continue.

Click on the free space and the plus symbol again to create the second partition.

The HOME partition is used to store all of your files within Linux such as pictures, music, videos and configuration settings.

The size should be set to the rest of the free space minus the number of gigabytes of RAM you have.


Choose logical as the partition type and EXT4 again as the file system. Select /home as the mount point.

Click OK to continue.

The final partition you need to create is for swap.

SWAP is used as a place for your operating system to store inactive processes when the amount of memory is getting low.

Choose "Logical" as the type and choose swap area.

Click "OK" to continue.

Pick your location on the map.

This sets your timezone and therefore your system clock within Linux Mint.











Choose the keyboard layout by picking your country in the left pane and the number of keys and language in the right pane.











The final step in the installation process is to create the default user.

Enter your name and a name for your computer.

Enter a username and choose a password for the user. (you will need to repeat the password).

You can now choose whether to login automatically and whether to encrypt your home folder.

Click "Continue".

The files will now be copied to your computer.

When the process is complete reboot your computer and remove the USB drive.

Welcome To Linux Mint





















Linux Mint should now start up and you will need to select your username and enter a password to log in. (Unless you chose to login automatically).

There is a welcome screen on startup. Uncheck the box in the bottom right corner if you don't want this message to appear every time.

The key question of course is did you lose your data partition?

To prove the process worked for me here is my pictures folder:



























I hope you found this guide useful but If you have any questions feel free to use the comments section below.

Thankyou for reading.


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↧

Linux Mint 17.1 Is As Good As It Gets

February 2, 2015, 3:07 pm
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Introduction

Linux Mint 17.1 is the latest version of Linux Mint and has been available for a few months now.

The title of this article is "Linux Mint 17.1 Is As Good As It Gets" and as far as computing goes on a traditional laptop with a traditional style user interface this is definitely true.

I first tried Linux Mint at version 12 and it was fine enough but the Linux Mint developers have been perfecting this distribution for a number of years and now it is flourishing.

This review is going to look at all of the features of Linux Mint that the average user might be interested in as well as the new features that have been added for 17.1.

How To Get Linux Mint 17.1


Click here to visit the Linux Mint download page.

There are various options available including the choice of 4 different desktop environments (Cinnamon, MATE, KDE and XFCE), codecs or no codecs and 32-bit or 64-bit.

If you have a computer with decent specifications (i.e. your current computer comfortably handles Windows 7 at the moment) then choose the Cinnamon desktop environment or KDE.

If your computer isn't so powerful try out the MATE or XFCE editions. There isn't much to split them in terms of applications. MATE and XFCE are both highly customisable and lightweight.

Generally you will want to choose the version with codecs as opposed to no codecs as this will enable Flash and MP3s to play.

Finally choose 32-bit if you have a 32-bit computer or 64-bit for a 64-bit computer. (Click here if you need a guide for that).

The file size of the downloaded ISO file is 1.4 gigabytes and you will need either a blank DVD or USB drive to be able to try out and install Linux Mint.

If you don't have the ability to create a DVD or USB drive, you can always try Linux Mint out as a virtual machine.

To create a DVD from the ISO use your favourite disk burning tool or click here to create a bootable Linux Mint USB drive.

If all of this seems too complicated you can always buy a Linux Mint DVD or USB drive.

For this review I will be looking at the Cinnamon desktop as it is the flagship version of Linux Mint (and what a triumph it is).

Installing Linux Mint

Installing Linux Mint is incredibly easy and is probably the best example of an installer that Linux has to offer.


Here are some guides that I have written to help you.

First Impressions

The first thing you notice with Linux Mint 17.1 is the really attractive login screen with changing background images that blend from one to another seemlessly.

Yes I know that this is just eye candy but it is the small things that perfect a product.

After logging in you are presented with a welcome screen with options to see the new features, important information, user guide, access to the IRC chat rooms, forums and tutorials.

The welcome screen also has icons for restoring data and for accessing the software manager.

Finally there are icons for getting involved and donating to Linux Mint.

The help utility is really useful with guides for installing Linux Mint, installing software, navigating using the menu and useful tips and tricks.

For example to copy and paste in Linux Mint you can copy with the left mouse button and paste with the middle button. On a laptop this can be achieved by copying with the left mouse button and then clicking both buttons to paste.

To be honest the tips and tricks could do with a bit more padding because there are really just two tricks.

Spoiler alert!!!!

The other trick is to use Tomboy Notes for taking notes instead of LibreOffice Writer.

The Welcome Screen can be turned off by unchecking the box in the bottom corner.

Linux Mint uses a traditional menu for navigation with useful icons down the left, categories in the middle and applications on the right.

The search box can be used to search for an application.




There is just a single panel at the bottom of the screen (which is standard for all Linux Mint versions).

The menu icon is in the bottom left and is closely followed by icons which enable you to show the desktop, launch FireFox, open a terminal and open the file manager.

The bottom right corner has icons for user settings, removable drives, bluetooth settings, network settings, audio settings, power settings, notifications, the clock and view all windows.

Connecting To The Internet




Connecting to the internet is as easy as clicking on the network settings icon on the panel and choosing the network you wish to connect to.

If the network you are connecting to requires a password then you will need to provide one.

Flash And MP3

As long as you chose the version of Linux Mint with codecs, Flash should work straight away.

However, the browser that Linux Mint ships with is FireFox and the Flash player is therefore out of date and you get this annoying message every time you visit a new site which has Flash.


You only have to choose to allow Flash to work once and it will remember it for next time (unless you tell it not to) but it is a bit annoying.

Now everybody retweet after me:

"Say NO to Flash"  or "Die Flash Die"
The European Union decided that everyone in Europe needed to know when a website is using cookies to store information and so every time you visit a new site it inevitably tells you that the site uses cookies and you have to click accept to get the message to go away.

Whilst I appreciate the sentiment it is incredibly annoying because pretty much every site uses cookies.

MP3 audio can also be played instantly without installing any other codecs.

Applications

Linux Mint has all the applications that the average user needs to get started.



As mentioned in the previous section Linux Mint has the FireFox web browser (version 33). The latest version is 35.

Thunderbird is the default email client and Pidgin is included as a messenging client.

HexChat is available for IRC chat and Transmission enables you to download bittorrents.





















For image editing there is the GIMP which is a really powerful tool along the lines of Photoshop.

If you just want to view your photos there is an application called gThumb or to view a single image there is an image viewer.

















For productivity, Linux Mint includes the full LibreOffice suite which includes Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheet), Impress (presentations) and Draw (think Visio).

The version of LibreOffice included is 4.2.6.3. The latest version of LibreOffice is 4.4.





















If you like listening to music whilst you work there is Banshee. You can import music, create playlists and do all the sorts of things you normally do with an audio player.

Banshee is compatible with external devices and apparently works with iPods but I don't have an iPod to be able to test this for sure. It does work with my Sony Walkman, Samsung Galaxy phone and a Creative Zen Micro.

VLC Player is included to enable you to watch videos but you don't really need it because you can use Banshee to watch videos as well.

Banshee can be used to listen to podcasts and you can also add links to your favourite online radio stations.

You can also integrate your Last.fm account with Banshee.

Finally there is the internet archive which lets you watch old movies and trailers, listen to music and speeches.

Linux Mint includes Minitube which is a desktop application version of Youtube. Brasero is also included for creating DVDs.

Installing Applications

The Mint Software Manager is used to find, install and remove applications on your system.

You can either browse the different categories or use the search box in the top right corner to find what you are looking for.

Each item comes with a description, file size, list of dependencies, a rating and a list of comments regarding the package.




Customising The Desktop


The Cinnamon desktop is beginning to mature and therefore there are a number of customisable features such as changing the background, adding panels and launchers and also the inclusion of desklets.

Click here for a guide to customising the Cinnamon desktop environment.

New Features For 17.1

Click here to read about all of the new features of Linux Mint 17.1

In essence the changes are as follows:

  • Various performance improvements were made to the Cinnamon desktop
  • The Cinnamon desktop starts with a zoom animation
  • Super + E opens up the home folder
  • Single button touchpads are now supported and actions for 2 finger and 3 finger clicks are configurable
  • Localisation has been improved
  • Theme and background settings were completely redesigned
  • Privacy and notification settings were added
  • The Nemo (file manager) toolbar was redesigned and buttons are now configurable
  • Support for emblems were added to Nemo
  • The Nemo side bar was improved
  • The update manager has been improved
  • The Kernel selection screen has been improved
  • The Language settings screen has been improved
  • Login window preferences were redesigned

Upgrading From Linux Mint 17

Click here for a guide showing how to upgrade to Linux Mint 17.1 from Linux Mint 17.

Note that Linux Mint 17.1 will be supported until 2019.

Summary

Linux Mint is great if you are a traditionalist and you like the way things have pretty much always been.

Nice little touches are built upon again and again and the improvements are steady but not spectacular.

Linux Mint is just a really good, stable and solid Linux distribution and it is obvious why it is so popular.
 
Questions that are often asked on Reddit include:
  • Which Linux distribution should I use for developing software
  • Which Linux distribution should I use for gaming
  • Which Linux distribution is best for newbies
  • Which Linux distribution can I use on my old computer
  • Which Linux distribution is good for students
  • Which Linux distribution would be good for my parents
  • Which Linux distribution is good for children
I could have made that list much longer but the point is that the answer to all of those questions really could be "Linux Mint".

There is a myth that surrounds Linux Mint (and Ubuntu) that suggests they are only used by people that don't really know Linux that well and once people know what they are doing they should move to something more serious.

This sort of thinking seems frankly nonsensical. Making life easier for yourself by pointing and clicking shouldn't be seen as a bad thing.
 
I wrote an article last week comparing Linux Mint 17 with Windows 8.1 as a resource for Windows 7 users to refer to when deciding whether to upgrade Windows or switch to Linux.

On this evidence there are an plenties of reasons to choose Linux Mint.

Thankyou for reading.



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Create Recovery Media For The HP Chromebook

February 9, 2015, 2:27 pm
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Introduction

One of the most popular posts on this site shows how to install Ubuntu and Minecraft on an HP Chromebook.

Some people find that guide difficult to follow. I am therefore reworking the article and cutting out any waffle. 

The first part of this process is to show how to create the recovery media for the HP Chromebook which is what this article is all about.

What You Will Need

All you will need to create a recovery drive for the HP Chromebook is a blank USB drive and a fair bit of patience.

The recovery drive only needs to be 4 gb in size but as you can see from the image to the left a 16 gb drive is only £5.

You can also use an SD Card.



Create OS Recovery Media
Create OS Recovery Media














To create a recovery partition open up the Chrome browser and type the following:
chrome://imageburner
Note: there is no http:// 

A "Create OS Recovery Media" screen will appear. Insert a blank USB drive or SD Card and press "OK" to continue.

Download Recovery Media
Download Recovery Media















The image will begin to download. The amount of time this takes depends on your internet connection.

Extracting Recovery Media
Extracting Recovery Media


When the image has finished downloading it will be extracted straight to the USB drive or SD Card.

Recovery Media Created
Recovery Media Created



















When the process is complete a success message will appear stating that your recovery media is ready.

Take your USB drive or SD card and put it somewhere very safe and leave it there until it is needed. (Which will hopefully be never).

Summary

This is a very short post but hopefully nice and succinct.

This guide should also work for the Acer Chromebook.

Further Reading

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How To Speed Up That Old Netbook With LXLE

February 23, 2015, 1:43 pm
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Introduction

LXLE stands for Lubuntu Xtra Life Extension.

As you probably know Lubuntu is a lightweight Linux distribution that breathes life into older computers.

The purpose of LXLE is to take Lubuntu and add packages and options to make it more useful.

Based on data for the past 6 months, LXLE is proving to be more popular than Lubuntu and is currently the 10th most popular distribution on Distrowatch.

LXLE isn't really a distribution in its own right but a respin taking the Lubuntu LTS base and adding value to it.

This article shows you how to download LXLE and how to install it on an old laptop, desktop computer or netbook.

How To Get LXLE

You can download an image of LXLE by visiting http://lxle.net/download/.

The first thing you need to do is choose the version of LXLE you wish to download. The options are as follows:

  • LXLE 14.04.1 64-bit direct download
  • LXLE 14.04.1 64-bit torrent
  • LXLE 12.04.5 32-bit direct download
  • LXLE 12.04.5 32-bit torrent
You will also be required to either enter the words into the solvemedia box provided or answer a question.

This will take you to a sourceforge page and your download will begin. I found the download to be quite slow.

Creating A USB Drive


You will need a blank USB drive in order to follow this section.

Insert the USB drive into your computer and then visit http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/

Towards the bottom of the page you will see a box with the title "Download UUI". Click on this button. Make sure you don't accidentally click any of the other green install boxes as they are used to install completely differently applications.

When the download is complete double click on the downloaded file.

A license agreement will appear.

Click "I Agree" to get to the main application.







The actual GUI for the Universal USB Installer has 4 steps built into one screen.

The first step requires you to choose the Linux distribution you wish to install to your USB drive.

Select LXLE Desktop. Click on the Browse button and navigate to the downloaded LXLE ISO image.



In step 3 check the box to show all drives and choose the USB drive you wish to install LXLE to.

Note: Make sure you choose the correct drive otherwise you may accidentally lose important data

Check the "We will format as Fat32" checkbox so that it has a tick in it.

Click "Create" to continue.

Note: You can make the drive persistent by dragging the slider across. This means any changes you make whilst using the USB in live mode will be saved for future sessions.

A message will appear telling you what is about to happen.

Make sure you have chosen the correct drive and that you are happy to continue.

When you are ready to go click "Yes".

LXLE will now be extracted to the USB drive.




Restart your computer and leave the USB drive plugged in.

A menu will appear with an option to "Try LXLE". Select this option and press return.

Buying an LXLE USB Drive or DVD

If you don't have a blank USB drive then you either buy one from your local store or you can buy a USB drive with LXLE already installed to it.

Click here to buy an LXLE USB drive

How To Install LXLE


Hopefully you should have a screen similar to the one above.

Click on the icon in the top left corner with the caption "Install LXLE 14.04.1" (or 12.04.5 if 32-bit).

The first thing to do is choose your installation language.

Unless you feel like a challenge I would go for your native language. In my case English worked well as my grasp of Estonian is a little off kilter.

When you have selected your language click "Continue".


The next step is to choose whether to connect to the internet or not.

If you have a slow internet connection I would choose not to connect at this stage.

Click "Continue"



A list of pre-requisites will now appear.

You need to be connected to the internet, have 7.5 gigabytes of space and be connected to a power source.

Actually the only one of those you really absolutely need is to have 7.5 gigabytes of space.


Being connected to the internet makes it possible to download updates on the fly and a power source is only needed if you are using a desktop computer. I suppose strictly speaking a laptop needs some form of power source but it's battery suffices. 

Make sure you have enough battery to last until the installation is finished or plug your computer in. It takes about 20 minutes to install LXLE on an old netbook.

Note that there is a box that asks whether you want to install third party tools which enable you to play Flash videos and listen to MP3s. It is worth ticking this box.

Click "Continue".

Your next screen may appear to be slightly different to mine at this stage.

My computer had Peppermint 5 on it. Yours will either have Windows or the Linux distribution you are using on the device.




Basically there will be options to install alongside the current operating system, replace the current operating system with LXLE or something else.

Select the "Replace <current operating system> with LXLE" option.

You will notice that there are a couple of other options available.

Encrypting the LXLE partition is useful if you keep any sort of sensitive data on your computer and you are worried about the device being stolen. This is of course particularly useful if you are using a laptop or netbook which is more likely to go missing than a desktop computer.

I will be looking into the LVM option during a later tutorial but for reference purposes visit the following site.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_Volume_Manager_%28Linux%29

When you have selected the installation type click continue.

A summary screen will appear stating what is about to happen to your drive and the drive that is going to be used.

Click "Install Now".

Note: This is the point of no return, make sure you are happy to continue.


Almost there now. Just three more steps.

Choose your timezone by clicking on the map.

Click "Continue".




Now select your keyboard layout.

In the left pane choose the keyboard's language and in the right pane choose the number of keys and physical layout.

Click "Continue".



The final installation step is to create a default user.

Enter your name into the box provided and give your computer a name to identify it on a home network.

Choose a username and enter a password to be associated with the username. (Repeat it in the box provided).

You can now choose whether to allow your computer to login automatically or require a user to login. I would always recommend the latter.

There is another checkbox provided enabling you to choose to encrypt your home folder.

Click "Continue".


The files will now be copied to your computer and the system will be installed.

A message will appear when the installation is complete asking whether you want to restart the computer or continue testing LXLE.

Choose the "Restart your computer" option and when the computer begins to reboot remove the USB drive. (Don't remove the USB drive too early).

Summary

Your computer should now be running LXLE and if you have ever used Lubuntu you will begin to appreciate the advantages that LXLE brings to the table.

For those of you new to Linux altogether my next article is going to be a full review of LXLE.

Thankyou for reading.
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An Everyday Linux User Review Of LXLE

February 26, 2015, 1:45 pm
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Introduction

I have been asked on a number of occasions to take a look at LXLE.

I downloaded LXLE 14.04.1 a long time ago and for one reason or another it has taken until now to finally sit down and get to grips with it.

LXLE stands for Lubuntu Extra Life Extension. The purpose of LXLE is to take the base Lubuntu distribution and enhance it so that all the features the average person requires is available from the outset.

The features of LXLE are described as follows:
  • Light on resources; Heavy on functions.
  • Always based on Ubuntu/Lubuntu LTS.
  • Uses an optimized LXDE user interface.
  • Four familiar desktop layout paradigms.
  • Prudent full featured Apps preinstalled.
  • Latest stable versions of major software.
  • Added PPAs extends available software.
  • Weather, Aero Snap, Quick Launch
  • Random Wallpaper, Panel Trash access
  • Theme consistency throughout system.
  • 100 gorgeous wallpapers preinstalled.
  • Numerous other tweaks/additions.
  • 32 and 64 bit OS versions available.
  • Boots & is online in less than 1 minute. 
In this review I am going to take a brief look at the normal areas such as installation, connecting to the internet, Flash and MP3 support and the general look and feel but mainly I will be focusing on the applications as that is the part that adds the value to Lubuntu to make LXLE what it is.

Installation

I have developed an installation guide showing how to install LXLE.

Generally speaking the installer is much like the Ubuntu/Lubuntu installer but there are some subtle differences.

First Impressions


The first thing that you will notice is the visually pleasing loading screen and visually pleasing really is a feature of LXLE as a whole.

If any of you were lucky enough to try Fuduntu a few years back you will appreciate the artwork that was included as part of that particular distribution.

There are people out there who really hate these type of reviews because in their own words they hate pointless reviews which show off a few wallpapers and list the applications from the menus. If you feel that way about distribution reviews I would probably click away now.

I am not going to apologise however about showing off the wallpapers supplied with LXLE because when you have artwork as pleasing as the next few photos it would be a crime not to show them off.

The desktop environment used within LXLE is of course LXDE.

There is a single panel at the bottom with the menu icon in the bottom left and icons for the file manager, random wallpaper changer, iconify windows, quick application launcher and workspace switchers.

The icons in the bottom right corner toggle on and off the info box in the top right corner of the screen, control audio settings, internet settings, weather, the clock and a battery monitor.

In the top right corner of the screen there is an information box showing your uptime, RAM usage, CPU usage, hard drive usage, battery power, what is in your trash, upload and download speeds.

On my ACER Aspire One D255 netbook with 1 gigabyte of RAM, the system uses 19% of RAM without any applications open.  Using FireFox with 1 window open uses 44% of RAM.

There are no icons on the desktop but if you move your mouse to the left of the screen a new panel drifts in from the left with icons for commonly used applications such as the file manager, application finder, email, internet messenger, audio player, office suite, personal organiser, task manager and software centre.

The overall appeal of the LXLE desktop is very nice. The dark panel works very well but it is slightly difficult to see the workspace switchers and I only realised they were there by accidentally clicking on one. (It is probably worth mentioning that I am colourblind and therefore struggle with shades).

The random wallpaper changer is worth checking out and the quick launch icon is very useful for finding an application quickly.


The menu is the same as the one that comes with Lubuntu (the default LXDE menu) but the theme used makes it look very good.

The main issue with the menu is that if you have lots of items in one sub-category the list becomes a bit too long.

Connecting To The Internet






















To connect to the internet all you have to do is click on the network icon in the system tray and choose the network you wish to connect to.

If the wireless network requires a password you will have to enter it the first time you connect to that network but it will be remembered the next time you need to connect to it.

Flash And MP3





















If you chose to install the third party add-ons when you installed LXLE, Flash will work straight away and so will MP3 audio.

If you forgot to check the box to install third party add-ons, you can install the Lubuntu-restricted-extras package via the software centre.

Applications

As stylish as LXLE is, the only way to really judge it is to look at the applications that are installed with it.

Accessories

I am not going to list every application in every category because there are too many to mention. I will highlight the applications that will help to separate LXLE from the crowd.

Viruses and malware aren't generally something that figure too prominently when talking about Linux.

LXLE however comes with ClamTK which provides a nice graphical user interface for the ClamAV antivirus package.

Click here for my review of ClamTK


KeePassX helps you store your usernames and passwords in a single application.

It provides a safer and more secure option to a piece of paper in your desk drawer or a spreadsheet in your home folder.



Games

LXLE comes with over 20 games including everything from tetris clones, breakout clones and chess, to minesweeper and hearts. LXLE also includes a link for installing STEAM.

Education






















The education category has just three entries.

Anki is described as an intelligent spaced repetition memory training program. It took me a while to get my head around the point of the program but basically it is a flash card system used for aiding with recall. For instance if you have an exam coming up you could create a deck of cards to help you remember important points and use Anki to test yourself.

LibreOffice Math is a formula editor for use with the rest of the LibreOffice Suite. Click here for more information.

Marble is a virtual globe. You can choose between the earth and the moon and spin the globe in any direction and zoom in and out.

Graphics



























The graphics sub-category includes the GIMP which is the Linux alternative to Photoshop.

For the average user though the more interesting applications will be Shotwell which lets you manage your photo collection and Mirage which is a photo viewer.

LibreOffice Draw is included as part of the full office suite and is good for creating anything from simple drawings to complex diagrams.

This category also includes a document viewer, font manager,  photo print application and a scanning application. An application that caught my eye was the image reducer which is obviously useful for blogging purposes.

Internet

The internet section has everything you could need including the Pidgin Instant Messenger, Filezilla which is an FTP client and the Claws email client.

Claws is a fairly basic email client but it does give a straight forward method of connecting to GMail accounts, something which Microsoft Outlook can't manage easily.

Other internet applications include the FireFox web browser, XChat IRC Client, a VNC client called Gitso, the Transmission bittorrent client and the UGet download manager.

Office

The office section has a full office suite and a couple of other potentially useful applications.

LibreOffice is the office suite and includes a word processor, spreadsheet package, presentation package, drawing application and database package.

There is a home budgeting tool called HomeBank. You can use this to keep tabs on all of your bank accounts. If your online banking allows you to export files in QIF format you will be able to import them into HomeBank.

Meanwhile the other application of note is Osmo which is a personal information manager.

Osmo has 4 tabs; calendar, tasks, contact and notes. If you use GMail you can export the contacts from Google and import them into Osmo. Unfortunately there appears to be no way to import tasks.

I would be interested in hearing how many of you find the desktop budgeting application and personal organiser useful. Personally I still use a humble spreadsheet for budgeting and my online banking gives me full control of my bank accounts.

As for a personal organiser, I am more likely to use the applications on my phone than a desktop application for managing contacts.

Sound And Video


The audio player within LXLE is Guayadeque. It isn't spectacular but does the job, and includes the ability to import all of your music, create playlists, listen to online radio stations, add podcasts and buy music via last.fm.

If you prefer to make your own music there is Audacity and for those of you who prefer to edit your own videos, Openshot is included.

I wrote a guide a while back to do with screencasting and video editing within Linux. LXLE includes video editing and screencasting tools.

For viewing videos there is the Totem video player and you can also watch Youtube videos by using Minitube.

Installing Applications



As LXLE is a respin of Lubuntu the graphical tool used for installing packages is the Lubuntu Software Centre.

You can search for applications using the search box or browse the various categories. The search feature is a tad annoying as it starts searching for applications after just a few milliseconds and doesn't give you enough time to type the name or description of an application.

LXLE includes a number of extra PPAs for specific applications. For instance there are PPAs for Guayadeque, Catfish, Claws and LibreOffice. There are also PPAs for noobslab and webupd8. By linking to the specific PPAs you are able to install and use the latest versions of the applications.

(Click here for an explanation of what a PPA is)

Summary

The LXLE community is fairly vocal and passionate about their respin of Lubuntu.

My installation guide has generated a number of comments and I have received a number of emails thanking me for writing the guide and for suggestions on improving the guide.

In the past when I have written about Lubuntu or Peppermint, I have received emails and comments telling me to try LXLE because it is ace.

So what is my opinion of LXLE?

Lubuntu is a minimal and lightweight distribution and gives you just enough to be useful but leaving scope for you to turn it into whatever you want it to be.

LXLE has taken Lubuntu and added extra value by providing more useful applications, wonderful visual elements and better navigation.

If you are looking for a lightweight distribution, for an older computer (or a computer with limited capabilities), which really does have everything you need without having to install extra software then you really are better off installing LXLE over Lubuntu.

Of course the alternative is to take Lubuntu yourself and turn it into whatever you want it to be by installing your favourite applications, themes and navigational tools.

What I like about LXLE is that the creators have kept it simple and not tried to over do things.

With some distributions you get the feeling that the developers weren't sure which applications to include and therefore ended up throwing 2 or 3 of everything in. With LXLE this isn't the case. 

Be prepared for LXLE 14.04.2

A new version of LXLE is due to be released in April. I will be writing an update to this article shortly after it has been released to highlight new features.


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An Everyday Linux User Review Of Fedora 21

March 7, 2015, 12:28 pm
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Introduction

It has been a long time since I last reviewed Fedora. Many of the distributions that I have reviewed recently are based on Debian and Ubuntu.

I felt that it was time to even the balance somewhat and take another look at Fedora.

The version I will be reviewing is the one provided with the default download link from the Fedora website which includes the Gnome 3 desktop environment.

What Is Fedora?

Fedora/fɨˈdɒr.ə/ (formerly Fedora Core) is an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and owned by Red Hat. Fedora contains software distributed under a free and open source license and aims to be on the leading edge of such technologies

Fedora contains no proprietary software or drivers and therefore every part of the operating system is free to use, distribute and amend.

Fedora focuses on being cutting edge with all the latest software packages and technologies.

Click here for the Fedora Wikipedia Page.

Installation

Fedora uses the Anaconda installer which has matured to a point where it is fairly straight forward to follow.

I have created a couple of guides to help you install Fedora:

If you have a poor internet connection you can click here to buy a Fedora USB drive.

I did have a few problems during the installation process whilst making screenshots as the installer crashed when taking a screenshot of the users screen.

I don't think this is an issue that will affect many people however as most people just install the operating system and don't bother taking snapshots for their photo albums.

First Impressions



After you have gone through the installation and Gnome setup steps you are left with a simple looking desktop with a panel at the top.

The way modern desktop environments seem to be going is to make good use of the super key (Windows key) and keyboard shortcuts in order to find and run applications.

Unity for example brings up a dash when the super key is pressed and you can enter text into a search box to filter the applications by name. Windows 8.1 is much the same. If you are on the tiled window view you can start typing and the applications you wish to run will appear on the right side of the screen.

Gnome 3 works in much the same way. The super key pulls up the activities window with a search box and a list of favourite icons down the left. Entering text into the search box filters the relevant applications and files.





















The Gnome 3 desktop has been around for quite some time and has matured well. There was a time when people dismissed Gnome 3 because it  wasn't deemed as good as Gnome 2 and it seemed to be going in a direction people didn't like.

I think the developers have been vindicated by their decisions however because Gnome 3 is a really decent desktop environment.

When you bring up the activities window (either by pressing the super key or clicking the activities icon in the top left corner) you are shown an overlay screen with a search box in the middle, a list of favourites in a panel on the left side of the screen and a list of workspaces in the right panel.

The default icons in the favourites panel are as follows:
  • Firefox Web Browser
  • Evolution Email Client
  • Rhythmbox Audio Player
  • Shotwell Photo Manager
  • Files, File Manager
  • Software Installer
  • Show Applications
Clicking on the "show applications" icon brings up a list of all the applications on your system.

Note that there are two tabs at the bottom of the screen:
  1. Frequent - shows frequently used applications
  2. All - shows all applications
There are many things that make Gnome 3 good.

For example pressing the super key whilst you are using an application such as Firefox zooms out to show all the open applications on your system.

There are loads of keyboard shortcuts to help you switch applications, move applications to new workspaces and basically navigate your system.

You can also snap application windows so that they sit side by side.

To bring up notifications and messages you have to press the Windows and M key.


If you preferred the look and feel of Gnome 2 you can change the settings for your user to use Gnome Classic. Gnome Classic has a more traditional menu system.

The one thing that I noticed whilst running the Gnome 3 desktop was that it was fairly sluggish.

One of the other desktop options other than Gnome 3 and Gnome Classic is Gnome 3 with Wayland.

Wayland is developed by a group of volunteers led by Kristian Høgsberg as a free and open-source software community-driven project with the aim of replacing the X Window System with a modern, simpler windowing system in Linux and Unix-like operating systems.[5] The project's source code is published under the terms of the MIT License.[3]
Click here for the Wayland Wikipedia page.

Basically the X System has been around for virtually ever and has been the sole way to display windows within Linux.

Wayland is one of the replacement options being developed and Fedora has a Gnome 3 desktop environment utilising Wayland.

I have to say that it works brilliantly. My system performs a million times better using the Gnome 3 desktop with Wayland than without.

Customising the desktop

Gnome 3 isn't as customisable as Gnome 2 used to be but it really doesn't need to be. You can find what you are looking for and get on with your work with the minimum of fuss.

There is a tool you can install called the Gnome Tweak Tool.





















The tweak tool allows you to adjust themes, change the desktop wallpaper, lock screen wallpaper, icons and cursors.

You can also use a menu instead of the Gnome 3 dash style interface and add a window list at the bottom of the screen.

There are loads of options available within the tweak tool.

If you are just interested in changing the desktop wallpaper you can right click on the main desktop and choose "Change Background".

A window appears with two options available; change the desktop wallpaper and change the lock screen wallpaper.

Clicking on the background wallpaper brings up a settings screen.

























You can choose to use one of the wallpapers provided or choose one of your own pictures. You can also choose to use plain colours.

Connecting to the internet





















To connect to the internet click the icon in the top right corner and click "Select Network".





















A list of available networks will appear. Click on the one you wish to use and enter the security key.

Flash and MP3

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, Fedora comes with free software, drivers and codecs and therefore Flash and MP3 don't work out of the box.






















To be honest Flash is dying and not something I am overly worried about except that one of my favourite online games utilises Flash.

Youtube is largely unaffected by the lack of Flash as it uses alternative technologies such as HTML 5 and Web-M.




Installing Flash isn't that difficult. You can visit the Adobe website where there are RPM packages for 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

From within the Gnome Package Installer (which I will come to later on) you can check the Flash add-on box to install it and get it working with Firefox.










MP3s also do not play natively. You have to install the "GStreamer Multimedia Codecs - Non Free package".

In order to do so you need to add the RPMFusion repositories.

The easiest way to install the repositories is to visit http://rpmfusion.org/Configuration.

There are links to RPM Free Package repositories for versions 20 and 21 of Fedora and links to RPM Non Free Package repositories for versions 20 and 21 of Fedora.




Click the RPM Non Free Package repository link and open with "Software Installer" in order to get access to the good stuff.

All you have to do now is click the "Install" button to add the repository.

You will now be able to find the "GStreamer Non Free Package" within the Gnome Package Installer.

Simply click the "Install" button to install the codecs and you will now be able to import and play MP3 files within Rhythmbox.









Applications

Fedora has a good selection of applications and most things the average user will need to get them up and running.

To start off with there is the full LibreOffice suite (Version 4.3.2.2) complete with a word processor, spreadsheet package, presentation package, drawing package and database package.

The Shotwell Photo Manager is also installed which makes it easier to organise and view your photos.

Rhythmbox is the default audio player.

With Rhythmbox you can import your music collection, buy music from last.fm, listen to podcasts and online radio stations.

Rhythmbox also works well with external audio devices such as the Sony Walkman and Samsung Galaxy phones.




For watching movies there is the Totem media player. This is a really up to date version of Totem which integrates nicely into the Gnome desktop.

You have the choice of watching your own videos or choosing from video channels such as Youtube.

The default web browser within Fedora is Firefox (version 33.1) and the mail client is Evolution.



Evolution provides step by step instructions for connecting to your email client. The interface for Evolution is great by the way and more than matches anything provided by Outlook.

If you like to use a messenging application there is Empathy. Empathy can connect to many different types of chat including AOL, Google Talk and IRC.

Fedora includes a tool called "Dev Assistant" which is useful for software developers.

It doesn't matter whether you are a C programmer or a Java programmer, a Perl scripter or a Python guy.

The DevAssistant provides options for installing and using development tools for all of these and more.












The other real application of note is Boxes which is a tool for creating and running virtual machines.

Installing Software








The tool used for installing software is the Gnome Package Installer. Within the menu system it just comes up as "Software".

It is much like the Ubuntu Software Centre and pretty much every other graphical software installer available nowadays with a list of categories depicted with icons and a search box.

One thing I would say about this tool is that it doesn't always pick everything up that is available. For instance I wanted to install Steam and despite having the necessary repositories installed it just doesn't show up in the Gnome Package Installer. I had to use the command line tool Yum to install Steam. I now have Steam installed and it still doesn't show up as an installed package.

(If anyone knows how to help with that I would appreciate it).

Issues

Performance was fairly poor using Gnome until I switched to using Wayland. My experience with Wayland thus far is phenomenal.

During the install phase the installer kept crashing whilst trying to take screenshots of the users screen.

Sometimes when installing packages the package manager said "Cannot install" and then when I clicked install again the package installed correctly.

Trying to get the package installer to show everything is proving tricky. This might be a lack of knowledge on my behalf but this site is all about the everyday linux user and so if it is tricky for me it will be tricky for others as well.

Summary

I really like the Gnome 3 desktop environment now. It looks and feels incredibly professional and polished and the keyboard shortcuts work a treat.

Wayland has been a huge hit with me and if Ubuntu is going to use MIR then it had better be really good in order to beat this.

Fedora itself comes with a decent set of applications and you can get everything that it doesn't have via the graphical installer and by utilising the RPMFusion repositories.

The downsides have all been listed in the issues section above.

How have you found Fedora 21? Have you been left confused by the graphical package manager? Use the comments section below to let me know and to also inform me if you think there are errors with this review.

Thankyou for reading.




















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Thoughts on using Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition 17.1

March 15, 2015, 3:09 pm
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Thoughts on using Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition 17.1

I had long been attracted to the idea of using Linux. When Microsoft ceased to provide security patches for XP I got an excellent independent computer shop to install Lubuntu on my netbook for me. This allowed me to get used to the ways of Linux, and experiment with different programs. Any fears I may have had regarding ease of use were soon forgotten, and despite my experimentation, installing and uninstalling lots of programs, the system remained far more responsive than XP.



My wife is a keen photographer and uses our Windows 7 desktop far more than she used to, so my mind turned to a new laptop, and Linux. After a lot of deliberation I settled on Linux Mint Cinnamon 17.1, and had the same local computer shop install it on a new laptop for me.



As well the many testimonials to Mint's ease of use for beginners, I was also drawn to its clean good looks. The expression eye-candy is often used to describe the graphical appearance of operating systems. I would describe Mint as attractive, clean, easy on the eye. Eye-candy feels superficial to me. To use a Hi-Fi metaphor, many people are attracted to Hi-Fi when they hear it in the dealers showroom because of false emphasis, a little unnatural excitement imparted to the treble and bass. When they have lived with such systems they find them tiring over extended listening. Such it is, in my experience, with eye-candy. No such problem with Mint, its clean, understated good looks, and remarkable consistency of appearance have remained a pleasure to use.



I suppose I should come up with some criticisms, nothing can be perfect can it, but after using Windows for so many years, and never being satisfied with it, Mint feels like a dream to me. Far from Linux being difficult, in the form of Mint it is a pleasure to use, and I found myself wondering why Windows has become so awkward.



As has been remarked in many reviews, Mint comes with pretty much everything you need already installed. I have used Libre Office for ages, and like it, so that was not a new experience for me.



If there was one thing I find useful that was not installed, it was a Font Manager. After Installing a few extra fonts I wanted I seemed to have far too many, especially a lot of rather similar sans serif ones. When I had experimented with Lubuntu I (mistakenly as it turned out) installed the Edubuntu fonts, most of which seemed neither useful or attractive to me. Uninstalling them had not worked, so I was left with a lot of unwanted fonts. I tried Fonty Python, which I had problems with, and eventually settled on Fontmatrix, which solved the problem for me. This time I tried Font Manager, which suits me even more for its simplicity of use, and it seems to me that it ties in nicely with the Mint look and feel.



I am a writer, so a good dictionary and thesaurus is essential. On Windows the excellent Oxford Concise was my choice, but as far as I can see is not available under Linux. I didn't want one that is tied to an internet connection, and after a lot of looking found Artha, which uses the Princeton University word net project for its definitions, and although it describes itself as a thesaurus, actually provides good definitions as well. In fact, the method of displaying both definitions, synonyms, antonyms and much more, in one place, beats the Oxford Dictionaries method hands down. I thoroughly recommend it if you haven't come across it before. And yes, it recognises English spellings as well as American ones.



At the same time as the laptop I purchased a new printer. After working out that I needed to turn off the Firewall (yes, old habits are difficult to cast aside, and I installed a firewall and the ClamTk virus checker, but I will occasionally exchange files with our Windows PC, so I am being extra cautious) it was incredibly easy to connect to the printer wirelessly, and as I found afterwards, just as easy to select a rule for the firewall to allow the printer through. What was it people say about Linux being difficult to use? Rubbish, it's easy.



The only thing that did make me scratch my head was how to create more than one workspace. Not that I use this facility, but I like to have as full an understanding of the operating system I use as possible. In case you are new to Mint 17.1, and haven't figured it out yet, just try pressing ctrl+alt+the up key, and you should be presented with two available workspaces. The second one only becomes available to the little icon in the bottom right hand corner of the system tray, that usually says workspace 1 and shows the programs you are using, when you actually open a program in the second workspace. There is also a large plus sign that allows you to create more workspaces.



So, as a newbie I can only say that I am deeply impressed with the ease of use of Linux, and Mint Cinnamon edition 17.1 in particular. Like new believers often are, I am in serious danger of becoming evangelical about it. Next time I think I will have plucked up courage to do the install for myself.

Paul Surman is a poet living in Oxford. He says he regards his computer as a useful tool, but without being obsessed he tries to understand how they work as best he can

Thank you for the article Paul.

If you would like to contribute to Everyday Linux User send me an email and if the content is good then I will be happy to publish it.

What are your thoughts about Linux Mint? Why not leave a message on the new Everyday Linux User Forum telling everyone about your experiences.







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I have created a new forum

March 16, 2015, 3:43 am
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I have added a forum to the site. It is just an experiment at the moment but if it works it will stay full time.

The reason for creating the forum is that the comments section at the end of articles sometimes get really long.

In addition I am asked a large number of questions every week and it would be good if everybody had visibility of all of the questions so that we can try and help each other. Sometimes it takes me a while to get around to answering queries by which time it might be too late.

The forum might also be a place where you can get to know each other as readers and share views and resources.

I haven't published any rules yet because it is in its infancy and I don't know where this will end up. In other words I am winging it.

I just want it to stay friendly and be useful. If you have any Linux based questions or suggestions for the site, sign up for the forum and add a new thread.

Thankyou

Click here to view the forum

Click here to register
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Setting Up The Raspberry PI 2

March 21, 2015, 4:34 pm
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Introduction

It has been a while since my last Raspberry PI article. I have recently been given the new Raspberry PI 2 so I thought I would produce a new tutorial showing how to set it up.

My previous guide for setting up the original Raspberry PI is somewhat out of date. You should follow this guide regardless as to whether you have bought (or are going to buy) the Raspberry PI B+ or the Raspberry PI 2.

Who Is The Raspberry PI For?

There are so many uses for the Raspberry PI that it is hard to define one single user but here are a few reasons to get one:

  • Great for children and teenagers to learn how to use computers and create their own programs
  • Great for children and teenagers who have an interest in electronics
  • Can be used for a web kiosk in a cafe, small bed and breakfast, guest house or hotel
  • Can be used for digital signage in small outlets such as local shops
  • Can be used to run XBMC to turn your television into a media centre
  • Can be used to run games emulators for retro gaming
  • Can be used as a small file server, web server or print server
  • Can be used to download large files from the internet 
In the coming weeks I will explore some of these concepts.

What Equipment Do You Need?






















The image above shows the equipment I have for the Raspberry PI 2.

The items and reasons why they are required are as follows:

The Keyboard

You will need a keyboard to set up the Raspberry PI the first time.

If you are going to use the PI as an actual computer then you would probably be better off buying a standard USB keyboard but if you are more likely to use the PI as a server or fpr digital signage you can buy a mini keyboard.

Remember this is a one time only purchase as you will be able to use the same keyboard whether you use the original Raspberry PI, Raspberry PI B+, Raspberry PI 2 or in the future the 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7.



The Mouse

The mouse is also required during the initial setup of your Raspberry PI.

Again if you use the Raspberry PI as an actual desktop computer you will need the mouse all the time but if you use the Raspberry PI as a server you will probably only need to use the mouse once.


SD Card



You will need a micro SD card for running the operating system on the Raspberry PI and for storage space.

You can buy a 16 Gigabyte SD card for as little as £5.53 and install the Raspberry PI operating system yourself (as this guide shows) or you can pay a little bit extra and buy a 16 Gigabyte SD card for £12.99 with NOOBS pre-installed.

To be honest it will take you no time at all to install NOOBS onto an SD card but you do need an SD card reader. (either built into your computer or available for purchase).

If you need to buy an SD card reader you might be better off buying an SD card with NOOBS pre-installed.

The Raspberry PI


You will of course need a Raspberry PI 2.

This little computer is fantastic. There are other single board computers out there and they all claim to be better than the Raspberry PI because they either provide more memory, a better chip or some other unique selling point.

The beauty of the Raspberry PI is how much you get for so little money.

Just £29.99.





WIFI Dongle

If you plan to keep your Raspberry PI next to your router then you can get away with using the ethernet port with an ethernet cable and connect via a wired link but most people like to connect wirelessly to the internet from their Raspberry PI.

If you plan to use the Raspberry PI for digital signage you will almost certainly need a WIFI dongle.

Be careful when choosing the WIFI dongle because not all of them are as simple as plug and play.

The LP Link dongles are particularly hard to use.

Bluetooth Dongle


A bluetooth dongle isn't particularly necessary but if you plan to use your Raspberry PI as a retro gaming console you will need one in order to pair up games controllers.

You can use a WII controller or an OUYA controller with the Raspberry PI using a cheap bluetooth dongle.








Raspberry PI Case


A case isn't 100% necessary but if you are using the Raspberry PI as a media centre or for retro gaming it will certainly look better than a small circuit board with lots of protruding cables.

If you use your Raspberry PI for electronics then the case might get in the way when trying to connect breadboards.

A case will help however to keep dust off the Raspberry PI.

Powered Hub


The Raspberry PI 2 consumes less power than the original Raspberry PI but you will almost certainly need a powered USB hub.

Everything you plug in to the Raspberry PI's USB ports draws power and it doesn't take much to stop your little computer in its tracks.

By using a powered USB hub you can add bluetooth dongles and even an external USB hard drive without crashing the Raspberry PI.

This is pretty much an essential requirement.



Power Supply

You will need a power supply in order to make the Raspberry PI 2 work.

Be very careful when buying a power supply and make sure that it is designed to work with the Raspberry PI 2 otherwise you might fry the board.


Formatting The SD Card

Note: Skip this section if you bought an SD card with NOOBS pre-installed

That last section was longer than I intended it to be. Hopefully you have what you need in order to set up and use your Raspberry PI.

To actually get started however you will need to put NOOBs onto the SD Card.





















Before you can put NOOBS onto the SD card you will need to format it.

Insert the SD card into your SD card reader. (If you are using an external card reader connect the reader to your computer).

This guide assumes you are using Windows to format the drive.

Visit https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/eula_windows/index.html, read the agreement and click "Accept".

The SD Formatting software will be downloaded to your downloads folder. Open the downloads folder and double click on the SDFormatter zip file.

When the zip file opens double click on the Setup file.

A welcome screen will appear. Click "Next" to continue.





The second screen asks you to choose where to install the SDFormatter.

Unless you wish to change the default folder click "Next".










Finally you are ready to install the software.

Click "Install" and answer yes to any question that asks whether you are sure or you need to give permission to install the software.










An icon should appear on your desktop for the SD Formatter.

Double click on the icon and this screen will appear.

Add a volume label and click the "Option" button.







Make sure the format type is "quick" and that the format size adjustment is set to "On".

Click "OK" to continue.







When you return to the main screen click the "Format" button.

The SD Card will be formatted and a screen will appear telling you that the process is complete.








Install NOOBS To The SD Card





















Note: Skip this section if you bought an SD card with NOOBS pre-installed

NOOBS stands for New Out Of Box System.

When the original Raspberry PI was created you had to perform a number of steps to install Raspbian which is the most popular operating system available for the Raspberry PI.

The NOOBS system makes setting up the PI easier and allows you to choose how you will use the PI and includes options for setting the PI up as an XBMC device.


Click the "Download Zip" link next to NOOBS.



























Navigate to the downloads folder and open the NOOBS zip file by double clicking on it.

Click the "Extract All" button to extract all of the files.

You can choose the location where the files are extracted to.

At this stage it is worth sticking with the defaults.

Click "Extract"





Go to the extracted folder containing the NOOBS files and press CTRL and A to select all of the files.

Now drag the selected files to the drive letter assigned to the SD card.

Open the SD card and make sure the files have copied correctly.





Set Up The Raspberry PI Using NOOBS






















I apologise for the quality of the images for this bit but they are direct camera shots of the Raspberry PI connected to a monitor as there is no internet connectivity at this stage.

Insert the SD card into your Raspberry PI. (Don't bother enclosing the Raspberry PI in a case at this stage in case the image has been copied incorrectly).

Make sure that you have a USB keyboard and mouse connected via the USB ports on the Raspberry PI and add a WIFI dongle or an ethernet cable from the PI to your router.

Power up the Raspberry PI. A screen should appear as shown above with an option to install Raspbian.

Check the box and click the "Install" button.

A message will appear telling you that your SD card will be overwritten with the Raspbian software. Click "Yes" to continue.

The files required to run Raspbian will be extracted to the SD card.

The process takes between 15 and 20 minutes.

A message will appear stating the OSes have installed successfully.




After pressing OK the Raspberry PI will reboot into a config screen.

As you are using NOOBS you will not need to choose option 1 as the file system will automatically be expanded.

You should however change the password for the PI. Select option 2 and press return on the keyboard.

A message will be displayed saying that you will be asked for a new password. Press OK to continue. The request for the new password will appear in the bottom left corner of the screen. Enter the password, press return and repeat the password when asked to do so. Press return again.

You can choose whether the Raspberry PI boots to the command line or a desktop operating system. You can also request for the PI to boot straight to SCRATCH which is a game programming environment aimed at kids.

By default the system boots to the command line. If you require a graphical user interface choose option 3 and press return.


If you need to change the language or keyboard layout choose option 4.

If you have a Raspberry PI camera choose option 5 to enable the camera module.

Option 6 lets you add your Raspberry PI to a global map showing all of the places where the Raspberry PI is being used.

When the original Raspberry PI was released you almost had to overclock it in order to be able to use it properly. The Raspberry PI 2 has 1 gigabyte of RAM which isn't massive but the requirement to overclock has diminished slightly.

Overclocking provides a small amount of risk and it can reduce the lifespan of your Raspberry PI. If you find that you can't use the PI for what you want to use it for then consider overclocking the device. 

To finish the setup press the tab key until the "Finish" option is selected and press return.

Raspbian






















After clicking "Finish" you will be asked to reboot the PI.

A loading screen will appear and eventually you will get to the main desktop.

There is a single panel at the top with icons for the menu, web browser, file manager and terminal.

A full review of Raspbian and the Raspberry PI 2 will be coming shortly so I won't go much further than that at this stage.

The last thing I am going to focus on in this article is connecting to the internet.

Connecting To The Internet

If you have a wired internet connection via the ethernet port then you can browse the web from the PI by clicking on the icon next to the menu icon.

This section deals with setting up a wireless connection.

Click on the menu and choose "Preferences" and then "WIFI Configuration".

The GUI for setting up WIFI isn't particularly user friendly.

Press the "Scan" button.







A list of wireless networks will appear.

Double click on the one you wish to connect to.








You will now need to enter your security key.

The screen used for this is fairly large and encompasses all encryption methods and authentication types.

As you can see from the screenshot, to connect to a WPA Personal network all you have to do is enter your security key into the PSK box and click "Add".












Your internet connection should now be set up and you should see a status of completed.

After you have set up a network once you can connect to it on subsequent occasions by selecting it from the network dropdown list.

Clicking "Connect" connects you to the internet.



Further Reading

I hope you found this guide useful. I will be writing further guides in the coming weeks including taking a look at Scratch and the GPIO functions of the Raspberry PI.

Thankyou for reading.




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How To Turn Your Raspberry PI Into A DAAP Audio Server

March 31, 2015, 3:19 pm
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Introduction

Imagine you wanted access to your entire music collection all over the house and on multiple devices.

For instance, you are sitting in the kitchen and you decide to listen to some rock music whilst washing up. Meanwhile upstairs your daughter wants to practice becoming an XFactor star to her favourite tunes.

Traditionally each person would have their own media player with the songs stored on it.

If you wanted to listen to songs on your laptop and you wanted to listen to the same songs on your tablet you would need to have them stored in both places.

In this guide I am going to introduce the concept of a DAAP server. (Digital Audio Access Protocol). The basic idea is that your music is stored in one place called the DAAP server. You can connect from DAAP clients and play the songs from the DAAP server.

DAAP servers can be created using Windows, Linux or OSX but the Raspberry PI lends itself perfectly to this task. 

The Raspberry PI is small and can be placed anywhere unlike a desktop computer. You don't want to use a laptop as a server either because

You can follow this guide if you are using a standard computer running Linux but this article was written with the Raspberry PI in mind.

Connect To The Raspberry PI

If you are using Windows you will need a terminal program capable of connecting to the Raspberry PI via SSH.

If you are using Linux open up a terminal and type the following:

ssh pi@192.168.1.x 

You will need to replace the x with the relevant number which represents your Raspberry PI.

When asked, enter the password for the pi user.

Install Tangerine

After you have connected to the Raspberry PI run the following command:

sudo apt-get install tangerine

Create .tangerine configuration file

Type "cd ~" to navigate to the /home/pi folder and enter the following command:

sudo nano .tangerine

Enter the following text into the window that opens:

[Tangerine]
name = <enter a descriptive name>
password_file = /home/pi/.tangerine-passwd
debug = false
max_users = <enter the maximum number of users to connect>
log_file = /home/pi/.tangerine-log
port = 0
publish = True
plugins = file,session
[FilePlugin]
directories=/home/pi/Music

Press CTRL and O to save the file and then CTRL and X to exit nano.

The name is just a descriptive name which will help you find the server from a DAAP client.

The password file is a file that contains the password required to connect to the server. A password isn't mandatory and you can omit this line if you want to.

The max_users is the maximum number of users that you want to connect at one time.

The directories is the path to the music files to publish for clients to find. This is where you will need to copy your music to.

If you have specified a passwd file then you must create it. To do so type the following:

sudo nano /home/pi/.tangerine-passwd

Enter the password you wish to use in the file and press CTRL and O to save and CTRL and X to exit.

Start Tangerine

To start tangerine enter the following command:

nohup tangerine &

You can now exit the ssh session.

Connecting from an Android phone/tablet

You can connect to the DAAP server using an Android phone or tablet by installing the application "Music Pump". There are free applications out there but Music Pump has a really nice user interface.



Music Pump has options to reconnect, change DAAP server, play local files and settings.

The first thing you will want to do is connect to a DAAP server and you can do this by clicking "change DAAP server".



If there are any DAAP servers available they will appear in the "Active DAAP servers" list. If you have previously connected to a server it will appear as a "cached server". 

There are little green arrows next to the cached servers that are currently available.

If the server you want to connect to doesn't appear you can click the little plus symbol in the top corner and enter the IP address to your Raspberry PI in the box provided. You will also need to enter the password if you specified one. Press save and then connect. If you can't connect to the server it isn't running properly. Also make sure your phone and tablet are connected to the same wireless network as the Raspberry PI.



Other Ways To Connect To A DAAP Server

If you are running Linux you can use Rhythmbox, Banshee or Amarok to connect to a DAAP server.

iPods and iPads can use the simple DAAP client (remember iTunes can act as a DAAP server as well).

There are dozens of DAAP clients for Windows.

How To Get Your Music Onto The Raspberry PI

The easiest way to store your music on the Raspberry PI is to use an SD card that is of a decent size in the first place.

I currently have about 20 gigabytes worth of music and so I use a 32 gigabyte SD card. I store all of my audio files on the SD card in the /home/pi/Music folder.

To get the music into that folder I plugged a USB drive into one of the USB ports on the Raspberry PI and copied the files across using the file manager within Raspbian.

This is obviously the simplest way to copy files across.

You could if you wanted install vsftpd and set up the Raspberry PI as an FTP server in order to copy the files across. If you have physical access to the Raspberry PI I don't see why you would do this over simply copying them onto a USB drive and copying from the USB drive to the Raspberry PI's SD card.

Talking of the SD card, if you have loads of music then you might want to just use a big USB drive and set the folder within the tangerine configuration file to point to the USB drive or you could use SAMBA to connect the Raspberry PI to a NAS drive to provide access to incredibly large music collections.

Summary

I have been using this method for distributing music to all of my devices for a while now and because the Raspberry PI and Linux is extremely stable it hardly ever needs to be rebooted.

I access all of my music from my phone, tablet, chromebook and other devices.

Thankyou for reading.

 
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An Everyday Linux Review Of openSUSE 13.2

April 7, 2015, 3:51 pm
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Introduction

Last year I wrote a review of openSUSE 13.1 and I followed up the review with a series of articles looking at the applications that were released as part of the distribution:
That particular review looked at the KDE version of openSUSE. This is a review of openSUSE 13.2 and focuses on the GNOME desktop environment.

In my recent review of Fedora 21 I pointed out how far I believe the GNOME desktop has come in the past few years. I would go so far as saying that it is now so good that it is at least on a par with Unity and potentially the best desktop environment available.

The main desktop itself has excellent navigational features and keyboard shortcuts. GNOME 3 is more than just a pretty desktop. Look at this list of applications which are built to run on top of GNOME.

How To Get openSUSE 13.2

Click here for the openSUSE download page.

The initial download option on that page is 4.7 gigabytes in size. If you have a poor internet connection or a download limit that may seem extreme and to be honest you can guarantee that if you download that file then many of the applications will need to be updated after installing them anyway and you probably wouldn't use most of the software that makes up the 4.7 gigabytes.

Note that there is a link halfway down the page which reads "Click here to display these alternative versions". This option provides links to download a live GNOME and a live KDE version.

You can also buy a DVD or USB drive.

Minimum Requirements

This page on the openSUSE website lists the following minimum requirements.

  • Pentium III 500 mhz or higher (Pentium 4 2.4 ghz or any AMD64/Intel 64 recommended)
  • 1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended)
  • 3 GB Hard Drive space (5 GB or more recommended)
  • Supports most sound and graphics cards. (minimum 800 x 600 resolution, recommended 1024 x 768 or higher)
  • USB port or DVD drive

New Features In openSUSE 13.2

  • Linux Kernel 3.16
  • btrfs is new default filesystem
  • Live images are persistent by default
  • Revamped Yast installer (which I will come to shortly)
  • New Yast is faster, more stable and better integrated with SystemD
  • Latest stable version of KDE desktop available (4.11.12)
  • Newer GNOME desktop (3.14.1)
  • HiDPI Screen Support
  • Much improved searching in GNOME shell
  • Touch screen gestures supported
  • GNOME Maps includes route mapping
  • Google Account support for GNOME Photos
  • Playlist support in GNOME Music
  • New videos interface
  • Polari - a modern IRC client
Click here for a full list of new features in openSUSE 13.2 

Installation

I recently developed a guide showing how to install openSUSE whilst replacing your current operating system.

According to the new features list the YAST installer has been improved and in some areas this is true and in others I have a few issues.

The partitioning section is still just plain awful for the everyday user. I know it is easy to always fall back to the installers used by Ubuntu and Linux Mint but they do right what many other installers do wrong.

What is wrong with a simple "replace your current operating system with openSUSE" option which simply wipes your drive and sets up a sensible partitioning scheme?

What is wrong with a simple "install openSUSE alongside Windows" or "install openSUSE alongside your current operating system" option?

Instead, what you get is a long list of planned changes that the installer is going to make, which you have to work through and think about before moving on.

There is an option to enter a setup screen which lets you choose your hard drive and then select all partitions thereby replacing your current operating system with openSUSE but it isn't plainly in sight and even when you choose this option you are back to the big scary list showing dozens of potential partition changes.

Worse than that however, I previously had Fedora 21 on this drive which used an LVM partition. openSUSE couldn't handle replacing that with the partitioning structure I chose to set up. I ended up having to use gParted to remove the Fedora partitions and restart the installer.

There are people out there that will want all of the verbose options, giving access to every available installation option but maybe there could be a general installer and a custom installer to make it easier for the masses.

To be honest I found the openSUSE installer more difficult than the Anaconda installer that is shipped with Fedora and that has taken heaps of criticism over the years. Now I would say that the Fedora installer has greatly improved but the openSUSE installer still has some way to go.

On to the good news though, well kind of. This machine has a standard BIOS and there is no EFI in sight. The openSUSE installer actually throws up an error when installing the bootloader but there is an option to continue trying to set it up. If you choose to continue you are presented with the option to choose between GRUB 2 - EFI and plain old GRUB 2.

What this means of course is that the installer will work perfectly on older and newer computers. The GRUB 2 - EFI option even includes options for handling secure boot. Very good.

First Impressions





















The GNOME desktop is fairly typical although the choice of wallpaper for openSUSE is fairly dull.

GNOME has a panel at the top with the "Activities" option in the top left and a series of icons in the top right which provide access to power management, network settings and user settings.





















Pressing the super key or clicking on activities brings up the activities screen.

The screen basically has a search box in the top middle, a series of favourite applications icons on the left and access to virtual workspaces on the right. The workspaces hover in from the right when you move the mouse over to that section of the screen.

The favourite icons link to Firefox, Evolution, Empathy, Rhythmbox, Shotwell, LibreOffice and Files.

Pressing the super key and the A key brings up the applications view. Alternatively click on the bottom icon in the left bar.





















There are two views available which are frequent and all. Clicking the "all" option shows a grid with icons for all of your applications. As you can see from the screenshot the "frequent" option shows a handful of icons to applications used regularly.





















Navigation is particularly easy but it is worth learning all of the GNOME keyboard shortcuts.

The main thing I noticed about the openSUSE version of GNOME is that it performed much better than the Fedora version. The Fedora GNOME desktop performed better when I switched to GNOME Wayland. The trouble is that after switching to Wayland there were more errors and it was unpredictable at times. openSUSE however has performed well and has never crashed on me.



As mentioned previously the main wallpaper is fairly plain. To change the wallpaper all you have to do is right click on the desktop and choose "change background".

You are given the option to change the background for the main desktop or the lock screen.

The trouble is that there are no other wallpapers supplied with the live version of the GNOME desktop.

Luckily there was this cool invention made a while back now called the internet and an even cooler add-on to the internet called Google and after a little bit of searching you can do something like this.





















Flash and MP3

openSUSE is a community distribution (although it is backed by a larger corporation much like Ubuntu).

The upshot of this is that proprietary components such as MP3 codecs and Flash aren't installed by default.

You can install both of these options using 1 click installs. I have a guide coming up shortly showing how to do this.

Applications

I have never tried the full installation (4.7 gigabytes!) and so there maybe more applications installed by default with that version.

This review focuses on the live version with the GNOME desktop and as such the applications provided are as follows:

  • Aisleriot - solitaire card game
  • Brasero - disk burning software
  • Cheese - webcam viewer
  • Chess - chess game
  • Clocks - stopwatch, timer, world clock
  • Contacts - address book
  • Documents - pdf viewer
  • Empathy - chat client
  • Evolution - mail client
  • Files - file manager
  • Firefox - web browser
  • gedit - text editor
  • gimp - image editing tool
  • grsync - backup/syncing tool
  • lagno - game
  • k3b - disk burning software
  • libreoffice - office software (includes word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, drawing package etc)
  • liferea - RSS reader
  • lights off - game
  • Mahjongg - game
  • Maps - mapping tool
  • Midnight commander - file manager
  • Mines - game
  • Music - Gnome music player
  • Network tools
  • Notes - Note taking tool
  • Polari - chat client
  • Quadrapassel - game
  • Rhythmbox - audio player
  • Shotwell - photo manager
  • Sudoku - game
  • Swell foop - game
  • Transmission - bittorrent client
  • Totem - video player
There are quite a few applications really. There is certainly everything that the average person needs for basic homeworking and play with a full office suite, video players, audio players, photo managers, web browsers, chat clients and email clients.


I have written about Rhythmbox a number of times including a full recent review which can be found here.

I haven't however touched on the GNOME music player before which integrates nicely with the GNOME desktop.

There are a number of nice views available including by album, by artist, songs and playlists.

Creating playlists is relatively straight forward. You can either start selecting tracks and click the "Add to playlist" option or you can choose "Create a playlist" from the menu.

Whilst the interface is good it doesn't perform as well as Rhythmbox.





















The GNOME video player also integrates itself well to the GNOME desktop. There are options for playing local videos or searching online libraries such as Youtube and Vimeo.

Installing Applications

























There are a number of ways to install applications using openSUSE.

The first and most obvious way is to use the GNOME Packaging tool which can be found by typing "Software" into the search box within the activities window.

This tool is like the software centre within Ubuntu and boasts a search box, multiple categories, iconised views of applications, reviews and ratings.

The tool more commonly recognised for installing applications in openSUSE is YAST.

YAST is used for most configuration activities in openSUSE including security, setting up printers, scanners, sound and installing applications.

YAST can also set up and manage other software repositories including the non-free ones used for installing Flash and Java.

My main issue with YAST is the same as it has always been. I chose to install one application and it automatically added 300 megabytes worth of updates to the install without even warning me it was going to do so. Now I know that certain updates are important but it should be my choice when to update and at least a warning message should appear telling me that is going to happen.

The other way to install software in openSUSE is via the terminal window using a tool called zypper which is much like apt or yum.

Summary

openSUSE, Fedora, Ubuntu, Mint. There isn't much between them now in terms of usability.

The openSUSE installer could do with a user friendly option (some people are going to disagree with this as they hate dumbing down) for replacing current operating systems and basic dual booting.

The main GNOME interface is very good and the GNOME tools such as the music player, weather application and video player integrate nicely.

The applications included with openSUSE are also very good. Most users will have everything they need to get going and the package managers will help install everything else.

Installing things like Flash, Steam and Skype require using 1-click installs (for everyday users) and the method for doing this can easily be found by searching using Google.

1-click installs could be dangerous security-wise if somebody decides to integrate something malicious into one of them. Users just have to be sensible about how they source their software and use the standard repositories as much as possible.

Stability is very good within openSUSE. I haven't experienced any notifications or errors whilst running openSUSE which is in complete contrast to Fedora which ran ok under the standard GNOME desktop (albeit a bit sluggish) but on the speedy Wayland version there were a number of big bangs.

All in all openSUSE is a good alternative to Ubuntu and Linux Mint. You just need to get it installed first.

Thankyou for reading.



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Search

76 Everyday Linux User Guides For Beginners

April 22, 2015, 1:30 pm
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Introduction

I have written dozens of tutorials over the past few years.

This article provides links to beginners guides to Linux, dual boot guides, guides for creating Linux USB drives, running Linux in a virtual machine, Linux installation guides, Linux customisation and application guides, Linux gaming guides, Raspberry PI guides, Chromebook guides and more.

Beginners Guides

This section lists a couple of articles to read before you jump in to installing Linux.

1. Top 10 Tips For Beginning Linux

This one is for those of you who are really new to Linux. It is a video created by CBT Nuggets highlighting 10 excellent tips for beginners.





2. 5 Things To Consider When Installing Linux For The First Time

This article highlights 5 things to consider when installing Linux for the first time such as working out which distribution to use, replacing or dual booting with Windows, backing up your current operating system, partitioning and of course why do you want to use Linux in the first place?

Windows Guides

3. How To Create A Recovery Drive For All Versions Of Windows

This guide shows how to create a recovery drive for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.

This is useful for those of you planning to try dual booting Windows 8.1 and Ubuntu and even those of you who just want to make sure you can get your computer back working if something goes wrong.

Linux For Windows XP Users

4. How To Create A Bootable Linux DVD Using Windows XP

This guide for Windows XP users shows how to create a bootable Linux DVD (PCLinuxOS).

5. How To Create A Bootable Linux USB Drive Using Windows XP

This guide has been created for Windows XP users and shows how to create a bootable Linux USB drive (PCLinuxOS).

6. How To Backup Windows XP And Create A System Image

This guide shows how to backup Windows XP and how to create a system image.

7. Prepare Your Disks For Installing Linux Alongside Windows XP

This guide shows you how to shrink your Windows partition using Windows XP so that you can dual boot it with Linux.

8. How To Replace Windows XP With Lubuntu

Still running Windows XP? Why? It makes your machine slow and it is no longer supported.

Don't throw the machine away though. Try Lubuntu instead with this guide which includes step by step instructions and pictures to help you.




9. How To Dual Boot Windows XP And PCLinuxOS

OK, so you are still using Windows XP and you are really nervous about changing it now. Lets face it you are content with Windows XP and the only reason to change is the lack of support.

This guide shows how to dual boot Windows XP and PCLinuxOS so that you can get used to something new whilst still keeping the something old.





Linux For Windows Vista Users

10. How To Create A Bootable Linux DVD Using Windows Vista

Don't have a spare USB drive? This guide for Windows Vista users shows how to create a bootable Linux DVD. (PCLinuxOS).

11. How To Create A Bootable Linux USB Drive Using Windows Vista

This guide has been created for Windows Vista users and shows how to create a bootable Linux USB drive. (PCLinuxOS).






12. How To Backup Windows Vista And Create A System Image

This guide shows how to backup Windows Vista and how to create a system image.

13. Prepare Your Disks For Installing Linux Alongside Windows Vista

In order to dual boot Windows Vista alongside Linux you will need to prepare your disks by shrinking the Windows partition. This guide shows you how to do it.

14. How To Dual Boot Windows Vista And PCLinuxOS

Windows Vista is almost as dead as Windows XP and therefore this guide shows how to dual boot Windows Vista with PCLinuxOS so that you can get used to trying something new whilst keeping something old.

Linux For Windows 7 Users

15. The Ultimate Ubuntu And Windows 7 Dual Boot Guide

This guide shows you how to install Windows 7 and Ubuntu side by side with complete step by step instructions.

16. How To Replace Windows 7 With Linux Mint Without Touching Other Partitions

This guide shows how to replace Windows 7 with Linux Mint. The unique twist with this guide is that it shows you how to do it so that any recovery partitions and data partitions remain intact.




17. How To Recovery Windows 7 And Delete Ubuntu

If you have tried dual booting Windows and Ubuntu and just didn't like it follow this guide to get Windows back the way it was before you started.

18. How To Dual Boot Windows 7 And Linux Mint

This guide shows how to dual boot Windows 7 and Linux Mint using step by step instructions and images.






Linux For Windows 8 Users

19. How To Prepare Your Hard Drive For Dual Booting Windows 8.1 and Linux 

This guide shows how to shrink your Windows 8.1 partition in order to be able to dual boot with Linux.

20. How To Dual Boot Windows 8.1 And Fedora Linux

If you are looking to dual boot Fedora with your Windows 8.1 system then this guide will show you how to do that using step by step instructions and images.


21. How To Dual Boot Windows 8.1 And Linux Mint

One of the first distributions many people try is Linux Mint because it has the look and feel of Windows 7 and helps with familiarity.

This step by step guide shows how to dual boot Linux Mint with Windows 8.1.



22. 2 Ways To Fix The UEFI Bootloader When Dual Booting Windows 8.1 And Ubuntu

This guide provides two fixes for UEFI bootloader issues after installing Ubuntu alongside Windows 8.1.

23. The Ultimate Ubuntu And Windows 8.1 Dual Boot Guide

This guide shows you how to install Windows 8.1 and Ubuntu side by side with complete step by step instructions and screenshots.

The key is all in the creation of the USB drive.



Linux For MAC Users

24. How To Dual Boot Linux Mint And OSX On The MacBook Air

If you are an Apple user you are an Apple user, right? Well not necessarily. There is no reason you can't be an Apple user and a Linux user. 

This guide shows you how.

Customising Desktops

25. How To Customise The Cinnamon Desktop

The traditional desktops provide many customisable features and the Cinnamon desktop is indicative of a traditional desktop.

This guide shows how to add panels, add widgets and customise the login screen.



26. How To Customise The XFCE Desktop Environment

The XFCE desktop environment is probably the easiest to customise.

This guide shows how to add new panels, set up the cairo dock, install the Whisker menu and add slingscold for a nice dash style menu.



27. How To Customise The LXDE Desktop Environment

LXDE is a lightweight desktop environment which is every bit as customisable as XFCE.

This guide shows you the tips and tricks required to customise your LXDE desktop.



Creating Bootable USB Drives

28. How To Create A UEFI Bootable Ubuntu USB Drive

In order to boot Ubuntu on a machine currently running Windows 8.1 you will need to create a bootable USB drive.

This guide provides step by step instructions on how to create the USB drive and is required for the dual boot guide.

29. How To Create A Bootable openSUSE USB Drive 

In order to be able to try out openSUSE and install it you will need to download the ISO and create either a DVD or USB drive.

This step by step guide shows how to create a bootable openSUSE USB drive.

30. How To Create A Bootable Fedora USB Drive

Before you can install Fedora you will need to either create a Fedora DVD or USB drive.

This step by step guide shows you how to do just that.





31. How To Create A Bootable Linux Mint USB Drive

Before you can install Linux Mint you will need to either create a DVD or USB drive.

This step by step guide shows how to install Linux Mint on a USB drive.




32. 3 Ways To Create A Xubuntu USB Drive

This guide provides 3 different methods for creating a Xubuntu USB drive including using the Universal USB Installer, Ubuntu's Startup Disk Creator and UNetbootin.

33. How To Create A Puppy Linux USB Drive

Puppy Linux is a great distribution which works incredibly well on older computers and is designed to run from a pen drive.

This guide shows the best method for installing Puppy Linux to a USB drive.




34. How To Create A Lubuntu Live CD And USB

Before installing Lubuntu you will need to create a CD or USB drive. This guide provides step by step instructions for doing both.

35. How To Create A Bootable Linux Mint USB Drive

This guide shows how to create a bootable Linux Mint USB drive using step by step instructions.

36. How To Create A Bootable Linux USB Drive Using UNetbootin

When I first started using Linux UNetbootin was the tool everyone used to create bootable USB drives.

Nowadays there are many more applications which can be used.

Here is a guide to using UNetbootin for creating bootable Linux USB drives.

Install Guides

37. How To Install Fedora Linux

Just one of many installation guides, this provides step by step instructions to using the Anaconda installer for installing Fedora Linux.






38. A Step By Step Guide To Installing openSUSE

This guide shows how to install openSUSE using step by step instructions.

The openSUSE installer isn't the easiest to follow and hopefully this guide will help you through the rough patches.

39. A Step By Step Guide To Installing Xubuntu

Xubuntu is a great distribution for those of you who like to tweak things. The preinstalled applications are kept to a minimum and with the Ubuntu repositories available there are a plethora of ways you can make it your own.

This guide shows how to install Xubuntu.



40. How To Replace Your Operating System With Zorin 9

Zorin OS is a great operating system for Windows users who are thinking of trying Linux for the first time because it mimics the Windows interface.

This guide shows how to replace Windows with Zorin.



41. How To Install Peppermint Linux

Peppermint Linux takes cloud computing to the desktop by integrating web applications into the main interface.

This guide shows how to install Peppermint Linux.





Raspberry PI

42. How To Set Up The Raspberry PI 2

The Raspberry PI version 2 has made the impossible possible. This little device is now many times better than the original version yet still at the same price point.

This guide shows how to setup the Raspberry PI.


43. How To Turn Your Raspberry PI Into A DAAP Server

The Raspberry PI is a magnificent feat of engineering and for under £30 you can adapt it to be pretty much whatever you want it to be.

In this case the Raspberry PI is turned into a DAAP server which lets you serve music to all of your devices as long as they are capable of running DAAP clients.

Not sure if your device can be a DAAP client? Think iPods, iPads, MacBooks, Android phones, Android tablets, Windows media player, iTunes, Rhythmbox, Banshee and many other applications and devices.



44. How To Connect To The Raspberry PI From The HP Chromebook

This guide shows how to connect to the Raspberry PI from the HP Chromebook using SSH and VNC.






45. How To Setup Wordpress On The Raspberry PI

This guide shows you how to setup Wordpress on the Raspberry PI.

You will need to follow my guide for setting up a webserver and installing MySQL in order to follow this guide.



46. Connecting To The Raspberry PI From The Outside World 

This guide shows how you can connect to your Raspberry PI from your office or from the local coffee shop by setting up port forwarding and getting an external IP address.

47. Setting Up A Personal Web Server On The Raspberry PI

This guide shows you how to install Lighttpd, PHP and MySQL in order to set up your Raspberry PI and a web server.





48. How To Connect Via VNC To The Raspberry PI From An Android Tablet

This guide shows how to install a VNC server on the Raspberry PI and how to connect to it from an Android tablet.

49. How To RIP Music From Online Radio Stations Using The Raspberry PI

This guide shows you how to use streamripper to record the audio streams from online radio stations.
It even splits the tracks and cuts out the adverts.

Chromebooks

50. How To Install Minecraft On The HP Chromebook

This guide shows how to install Minecraft on the HP Chromebook.

In order to follow this guide you will need to have installed Ubuntu on the Chromebook.




51. How To Install Ubuntu On The HP Chromebook

This guide shows how to use Crouton to install Ubuntu on the HP Chromebook.







52. How To Create Recovery Media For The HP Chromebook

Before installing Ubuntu and modifying the HP Chromebook in any way it is a good idea to create recovery media so that you can always get it back to the way it was before you started messing with it.


This guide shows you how to do just that.

Virtual Machines

53. How To Use GNOME Boxes 

This guide shows how to use GNOME boxes to run multiple operating systems on one computer.

This is useful for testing out different Linux distributions or trying out new features without messing up your main computer.

54. A Step By Step Guide To Installing Ubuntu Using VirtualBox

This guide shows you how to install Ubuntu on top of Windows using Oracle's Virtualbox.

This is a great place to start if you are unsure as to whether Linux is for you or not.




55. How To Install Makulu Linux In VirtualBox

Makulu Linux is a really nice alternative distribution with great artwork and a really decent set of applications pre-installed.

This guide shows you how to try it using Oracle's Virtualbox.





56. How To Install Linux Mint Within Windows Using VirtualBox

This guide shows how to install Linux Mint within Windows using Oracle's Virtualbox software.






Other

57. Fedora GNOME Keyboard Shortcuts



After installing Fedora Linux you will need to know how to navigate the GNOME desktop.

This guides provides a list of useful keyboard shortcuts for negotiating GNOME.


58. How To Install Flash, Steam and MP3 Codecs Using Fedora Linux

Fedora Linux is a community distribution and as such only ships with free software.

This guide shows how to install Flash, Steam and the codecs necessary for playing MP3 audio within Fedora.

59. How To Navigate The Debian Website

This guide shows 4 ways to download Debian.

It isn't as easy as it looks, there are so many different options. This guide was designed to help make the download process easier.




60. How To Install Flash, Steam and MP3 Codecs Using openSUSE

As with Fedora, openSUSE only ships with free software. This guide shows the methods for installing Flash, Steam and MP3 codecs whilst using openSUSE.

61. A Beginners Guide To The Evolution Mail Client

For those of you who like a mail client which resembles Microsoft Outlook, Evolution is the perfect choice.

This guide shows how to setup a use Evolution.




62. The Complete Guide To Rhythmbox

Rhythmbox is the ultimate audio player for Linux.

This guide shows how to import audio, create playlists, set up a DAAP server and import podcasts.






63. How To Install Chrome, Java, Skype, Dropbox and Minecraft Within Fedora

This guide shows how to install 5 modern essential applications within Fedora Linux.

By the time you have these installed your Linux desktop will be complete.






64. Use Linux To Reset A Windows Password

This guide shows a number of different ways to reset a Windows password using Linux including cracking the password or just resetting it from the command line.






65. How To Use ClamAV To Clear Windows Viruses

This guide shows how to use the ClamAV antivirus package to clear viruses from the Windows partition on a computer.

Install ClamAV to a live USB drive and you can fix viruses on any machine anywhere.




66. Learn Ubuntu - How To Connect To The Internet

New users tend to go for Linux Mint or Ubuntu. If you are a new Ubuntu user you might find some of the simple tasks difficult if you don't know where to look.

This guide helps you to connect to the internet using Ubuntu.




67. How To Run Linux Applications From The Terminal In The Background

This short guide shows how to run Linux terminal commands in the background so that you can continue to run multiple command line applications at the same time.






68. Learn Ubuntu - The Unity Launcher

After installing Ubuntu you will want to get to grips with how the desktop works.

This guide shows you how the launcher works including opening applications, adding and removing programs and the different symbols and their meanings.








69. Learn Ubuntu - The Unity Dash

When you have finished reading about the Unity launcher it is time to move on to the Dash which is used for finding, running and integrating applications within Ubuntu.




70. How To Install The Sims 3 Within Ubuntu

This guide shows how to use PlayOnLinux to install "The Sims 3" within Ubuntu.







71. How To Play Classic Windows Games Using PlayOnLinux

This guide shows how to play classic Windows games within Linux using PlayOnLinux.

The guide includes full step by step instructions and highlights a few intricacies.






72. How To Play Classic DOS Games Using DOSBox

This guide shows how to use DOSBox to play classic games such as Prince Of Persia and Sim City 2000.









73. How To Play Classic DOS Games Using PlayOnLinux

This guide shows how to play classic DOS games using PlayOnLinux as opposed to DOSBox. I prefer to use this method over using DOSBox.

74. Retrogaming With Linux

This guide shows some nice little tricks for playing classic games within Linux such as using modern joysticks in such a way that they aren't too slick for older games.

75. How To Convert MP3 To WAV and WAV To MP3

This guide shows you how to convert from MP3 to WAV and WAV to MP3.

We are all used to converting from CD audio to MP3. (Actually younger people might not because they are used to downloading). The rest of us have a CD collection. This guide shows how to convert from CD audio to MP3.

Sometimes you want to convert from MP3 to WAV so that you can copy the songs to a CD for playing in the car. This guide shows how to do that as well.

76. 16 Ways To Beat Cryptolocker And Ransomware

Ransomware threatened to become a big thing a few years ago with ordinary users and large companies being forced to pay unethical conmen to get access to their own data after it was encrypted by nasty software. Pay up or never get your data back.

This guide provides 16 ways to beat Cryptolocker and Ransomware.

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A Quick Update

May 18, 2015, 2:36 pm
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Hi everyone.

You may have noticed that I haven't posted on this site for a while.

I started a new job about 6 weeks ago and it is taking up a huge amount of my time.

I am still writing 2 articles a week over at linux.about.com so if you like the articles that I write please hop over there and take a look.

Last week I wrote a review of Chromixium and a guide to installing it. I also have comparison articles of Ubuntu GNOME, Fedora and openSUSE as well as Unity vs GNOME.

I will get back to writing here more regularly again as soon as work settles down but until then please visit linux.about.com.

The articles are basically the same, it is just the place that has changed.
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I Say Linux, You Say GNU/Linux

June 9, 2015, 3:35 pm
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Introduction

It has been a while since my last post and so to kick start the blog up again I thought I would write a little opinion piece.



This article has come about because every time I post a link on Twitter with the #Linux tag I get a tweet from a guy calling himself Richard Stallman (@rmsthebot) telling me that I should be using GNU/Linux and not Linux.

Why The Fuss?

Linux really just amounts to the Kernel. The average Linux distribution has more GNU in it than Linux. GNU generally refers to a collection of tools and libraries shipped along with the Linux kernel  such as the GNU CoreUtils, C compiler, BASH etc.

Logically speaking if I were to write an article stating that there is a new release of a Linux distribution available I should say the GNU/Linux distribution because otherwise I am giving all the credit to the Linux kernel and no credit to GNU.

So in theory every time I use the word Linux I should say GNU/Linux unless I am specifically talking about the kernel. 

This Is All Of Course Nonsense

Everybody knows Linux as Linux. Nobody really uses the term GNU/Linux do they? If you look at the magazines on the shelf of your local newsagents then you will see "Linux Format", "Linux User And Developer" and "Linux Journal". 

The truth is that barely anybody uses the term GNU/Linux. Does anybody really care that the Linux Action Show isn't called the GNU/Linux Action Show or that Linux Luddites aren't the GNU/Linux Luddites?

Average users don't care that by grouping applications, desktops and the Linux kernel together you are now talking about GNU/Linux and not just Linux.

Even Linus Agrees

According to this Wikipedia page  (and everybody knows Wikipedia is always right) Linux Torvalds agrees with me:

Well, I think it's justified, but it's justified if you actually make a GNU distribution of Linux ... the same way that I think that "Red Hat Linux" is fine, or "SuSE Linux" or "Debian Linux", because if you actually make your own distribution of Linux, you get to name the thing, but calling Linux in general "GNU Linux" I think is just ridiculous

There Is Already Enough Confusion

New users to Linux already have enough to be confused about with hundreds of distributions, dozens of desktop environments, an incredible selection of software packages for each type of application, different packaging systems and different installers and even different ways to create a bootable USB drive.

If that isn't enough new users have to understand the difference between a standard bios and UEFI, xinit and systemd, mir and wayland. 

I think making users care whether you call it Linux or GNU/Linux is just completely unnecessary. So @RMSTheBot I am afraid I will not be acquiescing to your request. I will continue to use the #Linux tag.

What do you think? Do you call it Linux or GNU/Linux?




 


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Linux vs GNU/Linux - A Reader's Response

June 11, 2015, 1:26 pm
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Here is a guest post from Paul Surmon who decided to send me an email with his views on the Linux / GNU/Linux debate following my recent article "I say Linux, you say GNU/Linux".

Those of you who read regularly may have seen Paul's last article on this site "Thoughts On Using Linux Mint Cinnamon 17.1" published in March this year.

_______________________________________________________________

I read with interest Gary's piece about Linux Vs GNU Linux, and it sent me to look at the site, sponsored by the free software foundation, of the GNU operating system, to at least get a flavour of the history of GNU and Linux, and that on its own is worthwhile.

I can see where Richard Stallman is, as they say, coming from, and can appreciate his point of view, which is obviously informed by a passion for GNU and the free software movement. But I also understand what Gary is saying, and there is one thing about history that's difficult to avoid. Once it has decided on its chosen direction it is hard to stop it.

Under the momentum of history the Greek Colonels gave up on their unwholesome reign. Apartheid collapsed, and the long imprisoned Nelson Mandela became a president. History decides everything in the end. It will decide the GNU Linux/plain Linux matter.

I am a very recent convert to using GNU Linux / Linux, and as converts tend to be, already quite passionate about it. In a previous article Gary kindly published I recounted my thoughts on using Linux Mint. There was much more I could have said about my entirely positive experience of Mint. I hope to make a contribution in future even if it is only via donations or suggestions.

I'm not technically savvy. I use a computer in pursuit of my life as a poet, and also to produce the posters, and other documents needed by the group of poets I belong to in Oxford. Libre Office is my most often used software, but also Scribus for posters, and most recently Kazam to do a screencast to demonstrate to other members how to help maintain our website. The ease of use that Linux has brought, and the availability of excellent open-source software, has been a revelation. The big commercial software corporations won't get me back now.

But there is something less tangible about becoming a convert that I have found very attractive, and that is the sense of community, and an international community at that. Mint for example being run by a Frenchman living in Ireland, and all the distributions seem to get contributions from throughout the world. All these people working together to produce excellent software for the love of doing it must be worth something in a world that is too often divided on itself by politics, religion, and any number of other perceived differences. Or all too often the kind of greed that doesn't understand people doing something for the love of it.

I joined my local Linux User Group who have been very helpful, and everywhere you go there are people willing to assist newcomers or experienced users alike. This seems to me to be something the community should celebrate. I know you all know this already, but many of you who have been involved for a long time might not see it as forcefully as someone coming to GNU Linux / Linux / Open-source for the first time.

What's in a name? I think it is bigger than a name. Whatever the name might or might not be, I for one am very grateful to everyone involved. One small plea, I get an impression that not enough people make donations to software producers. I suspect even small donations would be appreciated from time to time. Whatever the name it is a remarkable movement.

________________________________________________________________

Thankyou for sending this to me Paul.

If you have something you want to say about this or any other Linux related subject, please feel free to send me an email using the link above.





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3 Ways To Improve Debian And I Haven't Even Booted It Yet

June 14, 2015, 3:49 am
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Introduction






















A few weeks ago I listened to the Linux Luddites podcast and they were discussing Debian Jessie. The comments made on that podcast pretty much echo my views as well. 

This article lists the 3 main issues that I have with Debian before it has even booted. A full review will be coming shortly.

1. The Debian Website

I recently wrote an article showing how to get Debian without navigating the Debian website. The truth is that the Debian website is huge and incredibly difficult to navigate.





















I will try and explain what I mean by difficult to navigate with the use of screenshots. The above image shows the main Debian homepage.

In the top right corner you will see a link for "Download Debian 8.1 Network Installer". This is actually the link you need to use to download and install Debian. This might sound simple but most people are used to trying out a live image first to get a feel for the distribution and the term network installer won't convince all users that this is what they need to be downloading. The link is also too small and hidden to the right.

There is a section called "Getting Debian" on the homepage. The first option is network install and then comes a section for CD/USB ISO images. I think this is where most new users will end up going.






















The first option is to buy Debian on CD (CD? Not DVD?).

The next option is "Download CD/DVD images with Jigdo". I tried using Jigdo and it just didn't work for me.

The third option is "Download CD/DVD images with Bittorrent" followed by "Download CD/DVD images using HTTP or FTP".  For bandwidth reasons the preferred option from Debian's developers point of view is for users to use Bittorrent.

Finally there is an option to download live images using HTTP, FTP or bittorrent.

I am going to deal with the option of buying CDs first. I clicked on the "Buy finished Debian CD-Roms" link and a list of vendors appears separated by country.



I am in the UK and therefore I clicked the first link which is for linuxdeli.com. There are no options for purchasing Debian Jessie DVDs.

Maybe that was bad luck. So I tried the 2nd link for linux-man.co.uk. Again no Debian Jessie. 

If you are going to recommend vendors you need to make sure they are offering the latest stable version.





















Assuming that you ignore the jigdo option (although the screen is pretty much the same) and go for either the bittorrent or http/ftp option you are now presented with the choice of CD or DVD and a large array of choices for platform such as amd64, arm64, i386 etc.

It might be worth changing this list to be bullet points showing that the amd64 is the most likely one required for 64-bit laptops and desktop computers and i386 is the most likely for 32-bit laptops.



If you select the amd64 option (or any of the other options) this is what you are now presented with.

The checksums are provided to guarantee that your download is valid. Look at the size of the disk images. 3.7 gigabytes and 4.4 gigabytes. This would put a lot of people off especially if they have download limits or limited internet connections.

I think more people will therefore be drawn to the live images. The live images link is a bit better in that there are only options for amd64 and i386 but again it would be better to just have 32-bit and 64-bit options. 





















Look at the list of files that are shown under the live images section. There is a live ISO for each desktop type which is acceptable but then there is a contents file, a log file, a packages file and an rsync file. I think those files should be placed somewhere else as they are just noise to the majority of users.

There is also a link to the standard Debian ISO. The standard ISO has no desktop at all. This isn't obvious. I think it should be renamed to debian_no_desktop.

Hopefully you can see my point though about how difficult the Debian website is to navigate especially when you compare it to this:






















All the major Linux distributions make it easy to download live images including Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora and openSUSE. Debian needs to make serious improvements to their website to make it more accessible.

Incidentally if you want to buy a full Debian DVD I find the best place to go is OSDisc.com. You should go for the full set rather than the live images if you are using a computer running Windows 8 as explained by point number 2 below.

2. Live Images Are Not UEFI Bootable

As mentioned previously, most users are drawn to the idea of downloading live images. The reasons for this are simple. 
  • The download size is usually between 1 and 2 gigabytes which isn't too large.
  • The live ISOs allow users to test the distribution without installing it
  • There is usually an install option enabling a full install with up to date packages
If you have downloaded one of the Debian live ISO files and you have tried booting it on a machine currently running Windows 8.1 then you may have had more than your fair share of issues.



























The above image shows the contents of the Debian Gnome live disk. Notice that there isn't an EFI folder. That means this disk will never boot on a UEFI based computer.






















This image shows the contents of the net install ISO. Notice that there is an EFI folder which means that when you install it to a USB drive or DVD it will boot on a UEFI based computer.

Why on earth is the EFI option missing from the live disks?

3. The Installer Has Too Many Screens

Compared with the other 2 issues this is a minor one but worth pointing out.

There are over 20 screens to navigate in order to install Debian when using the network install option. (Which really is the only sensible option for installing Debian).
  • Choose installation language
  • Installation steps
  • Select timezone
  • Configure the keyboard
  • Detect network hardware
  • Configure the network
  • Select Wireless Network
  • Choose open or secure network type
  • Enter security key
  • Configure network - enter a hostname
  • Configure network - choose domain
  • Set up root password
  • Enter your full name (create a user)
  • Select user name (create a user)
  • Enter password (create a user)
  • Disk partitioning (select type)
  • Disk partitioning (how many partitions)
  • Disk partitioning (how the partitions will look)
  • Disk partitioning (warning telling you how the disks will change)
  • Configure the package manager (choose location where packages should be downloaded from)
  • Configure the package manager (choose mirror)
  • Configure the package manager (enter a proxy)
  • Popularity Contest (send installation choices back to developers)
  • Select Packages
There are at least 5 screens which ask you either where you are from or your language. This is overkill. If I have selected the UK as a timezone it is likely that my nearest mirror would be the UK. Maybe the installer should be more intelligent and set up default options based on previous input with the option of changing them. This would cut down on user input.

There are 6 screens for configuring your network and 4 screens for setting up the administrator and user accounts. I think the users bit could be condensed into one screen without confusion.

Finally there are a couple of screens which are fairly specific to user requirements such as the "choose domain" option and the "enter a proxy" when configuring the package manager. Maybe these screens should be provided as links without being part of the main installation.

Summary

I have written a guide showing how to dual boot Windows 8 and Debian. The one thing I commend the Debian developers on is making the dual boot easy. I didn't have to choose the location of the EFI partition as the installer worked it out for itself.

Therefore having worked out that the best option is to use the network install link on the Debian homepage the rest was quite simple.

You do need to use the Win32 Disk Imaging Tool if you are creating a USB drive using Windows but that is listed within the Debian Installation Guide.

Have you been left confused about how to download, try and use Debian? Alternatively did you find it easy and think that all this is nonsense? Let me know in the comments below.

Thankyou for reading.
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