The Constant Questioner

Windows Vista vs. Ubuntu

2007-11-14T07:28:00.000-08:00

Ok, this is a show down, Windows Vista vs. Ubuntu! A couple of months ago, due to a combination of wanting to see what all the fuss was about and needing to work in linux, I decided to give the most popular linux distribution, ubuntu a go. Now, previous to this, I'd never used linux before, nor a mac, I was a pure windows boy, a linux virgin. I feel that I should let you know that I would (as would my friends, I'm sure), class myself as a bit of a geek. I use computers a lot and have had programming jobs so I would say that I am ahead of the average consumer. So now I'll talk you through how I got started with ubuntu and how it compares to vista.

First up, I obviously needed to get it installed so I downloaded the latest 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon Ubuntu x86 iso from the ubuntu website, easy. I decided that I would like to keep Vista installed on the same machine (just in case) and so I started researching dual boot options. There seemed to be a lot of horror stories around of partitions getting corrupted. I then discovered a little tool called Wub i...

Now Wubi is a very special little tool. It is a specially designed for people like me (and probably you), and it allows you to easily, and safely, make the transition from windows to ubuntu. From the Wubi site:

"Wubi is an unofficial Ubuntu installer for Windows users that will bring you into the Linux world with a single click. Wubi allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu as any other application. If you heard about Linux and Ubuntu, if you wanted to try them but you were afraid, this is for you."

To find out more about Wubi, go to the Wubi homepage.

So, installation went by easily. Within the hour I was up and running with a fresh Ununtu installation. When my computer starts up, it would ask me, do I want to boot into windows vista, or ubuntu, and then boot into the chosen operating system. So far, I was very impressed!

Next, I wanted to rev the engine, see what this new toy could do, so I went to turn on the advanced visual effects. This was where I hit my first challenge; to enable the fancy effects, I would have to install some new graphics car drivers. So, I fired up my package manager (if you don't know what that means, have a look here) and installed the nvidia-glx-new drivers. I was told to restart to enable the changes, and I did... And then I hit a road block. When my computer restarted in ubuntu, I was presented with a black screen, nothing at all. This was not good, but being the problem solving type, I booted back into windows and started trawling the internet for similar problems. I found a lot. They all seemed to reference GFX card compatibility issues and I was getting nowhere. I started to get frustrated and told myself "This wouldn't happen with windows!". Out of desperation, I turned on my secondary display ( a projector for films etc.) and wha'd'ya know, it was showing a picture! The new drivers had set this to be the default display of my computer. After a little big screen configuration, I had my monitor back to normal operation. This was, I feel, a problem that I shouldnt have had, and one that I wouldn't have in a more polished operating system.

Anyway, with the gfx card problems behind me, I enabled the visual effects and wow! This blew vista away, this blew leopard away for that matter! The effects were smooth, natural, effortless and endlessly customisable! To see for yourself, have a look on the Compiz Fusion homepage here.

One of the places where linux (ubuntu atleast) excels, is the place where I thought it would be worst: the installation of new programs. To install the new program, you don't have to find the homepage, make sure you have the right dlls etc. like you would in windows. All you have to do, is open the add/remove programs section, find the program you would like to install, tick a box, click apply and it does the rest for you. It will download all the dependencies that it needs itself and will put an icon in the neatly arranged applications menu and then you can start using it right away. And it's the same (well inverse) to uninstall, no need to restart the computer, nothing. This is a breath of fresh air when compared to windows.

Now don't got thinking that linux won't have the applications that you want, because while it's true, it may not have ms office, adobe photoshop, itunes, or others, there will certainly be great, free, open source alternatives (eg. openoffice.org, gimp, amorak)! Also, it's worth noting that ubuntu comes with a great deal of things installed by default, such as firefox, instant messenger, office suite, games, gimp, media player, cd ripper, cd burner... the list goes on! There are also a lot of drivers included in ubuntu by default, for example, I just turned on my epson printer and the OS detected and installed it correctly!

Ubuntu is much much faster to start up that Vista, but that's just the start of it. Ubuntu uses far less ram and so there is far more left for your programs so it makes a much better multitasker.

Ok, ok, so I've been raving about ubuntu for a while, surely it's got some downsides you cry!? Well, of course, it does. I have, many times, had to use the command line, but bad as this sounds, I've learned to enjoy the liberation and power that you get from this, I actually enjoy using it now! Ok, the real downside to linux is third party support. The gfx card companies are only just starting to get their acts together and release driver, apple is shunning its unix roots, nearly all high profile games do not work, there is no ms office (there are some things that openoffice cannot do yet), new mobile phones do not work etc. Now, all credit goes to the open source community here as you can almost guarantee someone will create the driver or software that you need to get something working, but it takes time.

So, is it better than Windows Vista? I'm not sure, in some ways, most definitely, in some ways not. If you have a lower end system, I would recommend it without a doubt, because it is so much less resource hungry than Windows. It does, however, still have its niggles. These are the reasons that it will not yet go mainstream. I really hope that one day linux is the main operating system on this planet, and that all computers don't come with the Microsoft tax. Using linux will also make for a much more computer savvy user as they will quickly learn whilst doing.

I have been sat typing this, using a free blogging service on a free web browser on an exceptionally good free operating system and I can't see the downside. This is what computing should be like. So if I can ask you one thing, it's that you give linux a go before you judge it.

Are Computers the Enemy of Educational Productivity?

2007-11-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

Computers, I think you'll agree, have done a lot of good things for the world, but I think they also have a lot to answer for in the education system.

Let me start by saying that for the main part I think that computers in education are largely unnecessary. Yes, kids often enjoy using them, but this is just because children tire quickly of almost all tasks and, as they say, a change is as good as a break. Don't get me wrong, I do beleive that children should be taught the basics, they should be taught how to use an office suite (preferably not MS Office, but a free alternative) and they should also be taught the basics about how computers and operating systems work (Again, staying away from the expensive options), but that is as far as it should go. If kids want to learn any more, if they find computers interesting, they should have access to them, but valuable contact hours should not be wasted with kids staring at screens for hours on end.

You could be forgiven for thinking that the overuse of computers stops when children leave school, but this is not the case. When new students embark on their university career they are urged to 'invest' in a new computer, but for what? Facebook? I can guarentee that at university, the abolition of students having personal computers and having access to things like facebook would lead to an increase in productivity. Yes, the internet can be a useful tool for research into a given subject field but that is all it should be used for.

The problem stems from the separation of work time from leisure time. When you are using the same tool for both it is very hard to restrict yourself to doing only work. For this reason, university computers should be used only for work, and if the student does not have a computer of their own then, who knows, they may sit down and read a book, possibly even a book relevant to their subject. Either that or they'll turn on the TV and watch X Factor, but don't get me started on television...

What's Wrong with Voting?

2007-11-11T05:50:00.000-08:00

So far, I think most people would agree that the best way that the human race has come up with for running happy countries is democracy. It's true, "the people" get to choose who they want to make the important decisions for them. So why's it so crap!? Why do we have more people voting on reality television shows than we do in general elections?

The obvious answer is complacency, people don't believe that their vote will make a difference and so they don't bother.

From an early age we are told that you must vote, you have to have your voice heard. If you don't vote then you can't complain when the government does something you don't like. Obviously, this is true, however, increasingly (in developed countries at least), people don't really care about political parties. People don't really care about the taxes being shuffled differently, or about more cycle lanes, or about health service reforms or anything. But they must vote, they must care, they were told to, so they absorb the crap they are fed in the media, and that is how they make their choice. And it is these people that vastly distort the elections.

I don't think the problem is that not enough people vote, if anything, I think that too many people vote. People that don't care, or more importantly that don't know what they are voting for will turn up in their masses and play pin the tail on the donkey, with guidance from the media as to where they should place their pin.

So you have millions of people voting left or right depending on which class of society they are in, what their background is, and probably most influentially, what media they absorb. This distorts the views of the people who actually care, actually know what they are voting for and is the biggest battle faced by democracy in developed coutries today.

My First Blog

2007-11-11T04:57:00.000-08:00

This is my first blog post of my first blog and contains, well mainly nothing. Just thought I should warn you!

I'll start by explaining why I've decided to start a blog. I often find myself having thoughts and daydreams about a large variety of subjects, wondering and questioning what, why, when, who and where? I am constantly finding large voids in my knowledge that I have an overwhelming urge to fill, and somehow, by questioning things that I do already know, I hope to begin to pad out my deserted wilderness of a mind.

Ok, second up, what am I going to blog about? Well, I truly hope that this will not become a dull diary of my life. I want a place to write down my questions, and their answers. If I have an interesting thought then I want a place to write it down and remember it, and perhaps someone else may, one day, stumble across my thought and they may find it interesting too, and that's just swell.

Lastly, who am I? I think this is largely irrelevant for this type of blog. Do I wish to remain anonymous? I guess a little, but I'm not really that bothered, I just don't think that my identity is very important in this situation. So, I may mention elements of my life in this blog but I wouldn't read too much into it if I were you...