My Move From Windows 8.1 Pro With Media Centre To Ubuntu 13.10 (Part 13 )

One month on from my migration from Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Centre to Ubuntu, and I'm really glad that I did. I've become far more productive thanks to the clean and tidy design of the Unity Desktop compared to when I was using Windows 8.1 Pro.

The clean and tidy Unity Desktop is a lot more productive, user friendly & professional looking than the Windows 8.1 Desktop that looks like it's been designed for a child's tablet. The Windows 8.1 Desktop is less user friendly than the old Windows 7 Desktop which makes it less productive as the Start Screen isn't useful at all even on a table.

Windows 8 Bad points

Microsoft could have quite easily made the Windows 7 UI touch friendly, just make the icons e.t.c bigger. If Canonical can make the ARM version of Ubuntu work fine on tablets then Microsoft with all their money and Developing muscle could have made Windows 8 a tablet friendly version of Windows 7 while also making it work perfectly fine on standard Computers, Laptops & Netbooks.

A Windows 8 License is expensive meaning that it's expensive to upgrade every Computer in your home to Windows 8. Also if you want to do a full Windows Home Network it'll set you back a small fortune for a Single Windows Server License.

Windows 8 Good points

The only good points to Windows 8 is that it supports Professional & Business Software from Microsoft, Adobe and others along with a vast catalogue of Commercial & Independent games.

Ubuntu 13.10 Bad points

Linux is still very much a Niche Operating System, and that is shown by the lack of the same Professional & Business Software from Microsoft & Adobe along with the slightly smaller catalogue of Commercial &  Independent games.

Ubuntu 13.10 Good points

Ubuntu is free to use on as many Computers as you like meaning that you can set-up a large Server based Network for very little in the way of financial cost, as Linux has all the same Server side tools as Windows Server like a Web Server Active Directory Server, Groupware Server, Database Server, Email Server, Print Server e.t.c, but these Server side tools are only equivalent to the tools available for Windows Server and there is a good selection of them that is free. Ubuntu Server is very light weight as it doesn't have a Desktop Environment aout of the box and everything is done via a CLI (Command Line Interface) but it's quite easy to Install the Enlightenment Desktop Environment, xfce Desktop Environment or even the lxde Desktop Environment onto a Ubuntu Server if you want a GUI interface. I'd recommend any of the above mentioned lightweight Desktop Environments over KDE, Gnome or Unity for a Server Desktop as it'll mean more resources being used by the Server over the Desktop and a low end Graphics Card can be used in the Server.

There is all the Software that you need to use Ubuntu or Linux the same as what you do Windows, it's just that you'll have to adjust to using Gimp over PhotoShop KdenLive over Premier Pro, LibreOffice over Microsoft Office (although LibreOffice is available on Windows & Mac) and you'll have to use Opera, Firefox, Chrome or Chromium over Internet Explorer on Windows or Safari on Mac, but the mentioned alternative browsers are all available for Windows & Mac.

LibreOffice supports both Opening & Saving to Microsoft Office file formats meaning that you still stay compatible with Windows users which is handy for students. The Gimp Image Editor supports Opening and Saving to PhotoShop format which is handy for both students & professionals that need the PhotoShop file format.

Linux is vastly more customizable than Windows and if you take the time to learn how to use the Terminal or even CLI it's far more powerful than Windows. Also Linux doesn't need Anti-Virus Software as it isn't has prone to Viruses or Malware as Windows is.

Conclusion

Linux & Ubuntu especially is a viable alternative to Windows & Mac OSX especially if you're looking for something that you can play around with to make it look just how you want at a price that is cheaper than Windows or Mac OSX, but has to have more flexibility than a Chromebook or Chromebox.

Mac OSX is a viable alternative if you want to & can afford to buy premium hardware combined with an OS that's loosely based on Unix which Linux takes it's inspiration from.

If you can afford to Mac OSX is an ideal way to get to grips with Unix based OS's as it comes pre-installed on Apple Computers, then migrate onto installing Linux on an old PC. But if you are looking for a drop in replacement to Windows on your Desktop, Laptop or Netbook then Ubuntu is probably the best choice as it has the most simplest of Installers amongst all of the various Linux Distributions.

Roland

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Microsoft Office 2013 Vs Microsoft Office 2010

With Office 2013 Microsoft have broken with tradition & having multiple versions of Office available only on CD/DVD and have introduced a subscription based version of Office along the CD/DVD versions called Office 365. The most common version of for the home user will be Office Home Premium as the CD/DVD version will be the cheapest as well as the Subscription based Office 365 Home Premium is only £79 GBP a year or £7.99 GBP a Month.

On the Office 365 front for your £7.99 GBP a Month you get Access, Excel, Powerpoint, Publisher, Word & OneNote applications along with an extra 20GB of SkyDrive storage, some Skype, Office On Demand that allows you to only install the application that you need, then un-installs it when you've done along with Office Web applications that allows you to use Office without installing any applications. Office Web applications is ideal for working with Office in a situation where you can't install applications or you're on an un-supported platform such as Linux.

With Office 2013 Microsoft introduced Office Mobile for Android and iOS, as Microsoft have always done Office Mobile is pre-installed on Windows Phone Devices, but if you use an Android phone or iOS device such as an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad you have to install Office Mobile then be an active subscriber to Office 365 subscriber to use it.

Office 2013 is a big improvement over earlier versions of Office, especially if you go down the Office 365 route as you get updates pushed out as and when they're available and you get all Web tools and Office Mobile access.

for more on Microsoft Office 2013 & Office 365 follow the link

The Curse Of The USB Cables

This post has been written out of frustration after coming to charge my Bluetooth Headset only to discover that it's Mini USB.

I decided to charge my Bluetooth Headset that I've not used for months only to discover that it's Mini USB & The only USB Chargers at hand were the Micro USB Charger for my 2012 Google Nexus 7 that I also use to charge other devices & the Apple Dock Connector cable, no problem I thought as I proceeded to search cupboards & drawers in the living room knowing that a Mini USB cable was living somewhere in there.

But no Mini USB Cable turned up, but aUSB to Mini USB plug & the shortest USB Cable imaginable turned up.

Now it's not as though the Bluetooth Headset is that old as I've had it since last year, also it's not like there are many devices around that use Mini USB anymore so why can't Accessory manufacturers get up-to speed?

Since September 2010 when I got my Blackberry Curve 8510 all the phones I've used have been Micro USB with the exception to my current phone (iPhone 4S) which uses the Dock Connector that Apple introduced with the 1st generation iPod.

even the Bluetooth keyboard that I use with my Google Nexus 7 has a Micro USB Port and the Bluetooth keyboard Case that I'm using on my iPhone 4S has a Micro USB Port.

People always talk about fragmentation in the Android Mobile OS, but no one ever says anything about the fragmentation within the Accessories that use USB for charging. USB is supposed to be universal since USB stands for Universal Serial Bus, but yet there is fragmentation within the plugs & ports for the mobile side of a universal standard.

Rant over

Roland

iOS 7 Shared Photo Stream Bug

In this post I'm going to talk about 2 possible bugs in the iOS 7 implementation of Photo Stream & my work around. My iPhone 4S came with iOS 7 pre-installed so I don't know if it was present in iOS 6.

Inviting people to a shared Photo Stream

I first spotted this bug when I first set-up a shared Photo Stream between me and the wife. The original Invite when I set the Photo Stream up never went through, so today I tried doing it again and it didn't go through.

Since Apple in their infinite wisdom never implemented a Delete Invite option I was unable to delete her Invite and start again.

The solution

the only way I could get the Invite to go through was to delete the Photo Stream and re-create it and her Invite went through and she was able to accept the Invite.

Adding Photos to a shared Photo Stream

Once I'd re-created the Photo Stream and added some Photos I was then unable to add anymore Photos or Videos, the Photos app would just freeze and I'd have to return back to my Home-screen & close the app through Multi Tasking.

The solution

the only way I could get Photos to add was to delete all the Photos in the Photo Stream and re-boot by holding down the Sleep/Lock button until the screen went blank and I was able to add Photos as normal.

Conclusion

I've got no idea if these are a bug or due to hardly ever re-booting my phone meaning that the RAM needed flushing by doing a re-boot.

Roland

My Move From Windows 8.1 Pro With Media Centre To Ubuntu 13.10 (Part 12)

In this part I'm going to go into more depth the difference between the Windows 8.1 Pro Desktop and the Ubuntu 13.10 Desktop.

Windows 8.1 Pro Desktop

The Windows 8.1 Pro Desktop is mainly the touch friendly Metro UI Modern UI with the Classic Desktop tacked on for compatibility with 99.99% of the Software out there that doesn't use full screen like Microsoft Office.

The Modern UI is clunky and unwieldy for non touch enabled computers, even though Microsoft re-introduced the Start Button, but this is just a shortcut to the Modern UI Start Screen. Microsoft have introduced the ability to boot straight to the Classic Desktop, but with the Start Menu gone in favour of the Start Screen kind of renders the use of the Classic Desktop useless as you have to ether fill the Taskbar with shortcuts, fill the Desktop with shortcuts or use a third party Launcher such as Object Dock. Even then it's annoying as the Charms bars pop up whenever you mouse over the left ore right side of the Screen.

The Start Screen is cluttered as it doesn't have any kind of organisation out of the box, and Windows 8 and non windows 8 apps are all mixed up on the Start Screen and you have to spend the time sorting your Start Screen how you want it. The only way to get some organization to the Start Screen is to use the All Programs Screen as it has all the Windows 8 apps dumped at the front then all the non Windows 8 Programs grouped by name, making the All Programs Screen kind of a Windows 8 version of the Classic Start Menu.

Ubuntu 13.10 Desktopskbar

The Ubuntu 13.10 Desktop has a slight feel of Mac OSX to it with the Dock Bar running down the left hand side of the Desktop and a menu/Taskbar running across the top.

In Ubuntu 13.10 the Dock Bar is called the Unity Launcher but does the same thing as the Mac OSX Dock Bar by letting you dock apps to it as well as show any open apps that aren't docked, at the There is an equivalent to the Classic Start Menu that is called Dash in Ubuntu.

Dash has a Search box at the top that allows you to search Documents, files and applications as well as online. There is no real organization to the Applications part of Dash, but you can just start typing the name of the application you want and up it pops in Dash, if you don't know the name of the application you want, just type say Music and up pops all of the Music applications you've got installed along with any music files that you've got on your HDD.

The Menu/Taskbar is about 99.99% the same idea as the Mac OSX Menu bar with the exception of the Menu only shows when you mouse over the left hand side of the Taskbar and isn't available on just the Desktop and just says Ubuntu Desktop when all open applications are minimized or no applications are open. The right hand side of the menu/Taskbar is very clean and only shows Keyboard Language, Ubuntu 1 Cloud Service Networking, Battery/power icon a sound drop down with volume slider and mute, clock with a drop down Calendar, an Envelope icon with a drop down list that I'm not 100% sure what it's used for any more as in the pre-Unity Desktop it was used for Email notification as well as Instant Messaging & Social Networking, a Print Que icon when Printing and a Bluetooth icon when you've got a Bluetooth Dongle plugged in or Bluetooth turned on if you've got a Netbook or Laptop with Bluetooth built in switched on.

Other Points

Ubuntu can easily be installed on PC, Mac & even ARM based computers such as Android Tablets where as Windows 8.1 RT is needed to install it on ARM Based Tablets and this isn't readily available other than to OEM's and the Windows 8.1(Pro) isn't as easy to install on a Mac due to having to deal with driver compatibility where as everything should  just work out of the box for Ubuntu on Mac.

Roland

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My Move From Windows 8.1 Pro With Media Centre To Ubuntu 13.10 (Part 11)

In this part I'll talk about Software Development on Ubuntu 13.10. There are loads of different Development tools available for linux that range from the nano code editor that comes with Ubuntu 13.10 and is accessed from the Linux Terminal to full IDE's. In this part I'll be focusing on the Qt Creator IDE with the Ubuntu SDK Plugin installed.

TheGNU nano Code Editor

Development Credentials

I'm not a Developer or even proficient at writing any form of code be it Python or even html, and I've not even had a look at the Markdown code that has been introduced on Wordpress & my only dive into the Code Editor on Wordpress is to add my Google+ Profile badge to the end of every post, & even then I just copy and past the Code.

By now you may be wondering what the hell am I doing writing an Article on something like a Programming IDE when I'm not a Programmer or even have any proficiency in writing code. Well I've been interested in Coding since Microsoft introduced Visual Studio Express, but never could workout how to do anything with it. I then tried Python earlier in the year with a Tutorial that I got from a Linux Magazine and got the hang of Python fairly quick, but then gave up after I was unable to get one of the tutorials to compile (think I was using on of the Ubuntu 13.04 Development releases at the time) & ended up giving up.

I've now decided to try and pick up learning to Code again, probably when this series has finished so I can then move onto a new Coding series and not have to switch back and forth between to series and have more time to dedicate to learning to Code.

Qt Creator & Ubuntu SDK

The Qt Creator IDE is very slick and easy to understand as you are talked through the steps of creating a new Project and get to select where files e.t.c. go, and you are then presented with a slick and minimalistic Code Editor that isn't full of  multiple panes, toolboxes, icons and when using the Global Menu option in Unity you're not overwhelmed by having the Menu Bar on display all the time.

The start screen of Qt Creator with the Ubuntu SDK in is minimalistic compared to that of Microsoft Visual Studio & the Welcome option on the top of the left hand menu panel even has a Tutorials option (which I might have to investigate when I'm starting the next series & actually learning how to Code).



The New Project Screen lists all the different projects in the left hand list with all the different options for the selected project type on the right. This layout makes it simple to see what you can do with each project type without having to select a project type to move onto a window listing the options which makes it easy at a glance to know which project type to choose for what you want to create.



The Code Editor window is minimalistic with the IDE's options menu on the left hand side showing up from the Start Screen, then the Projects file Tree panel above the Open Document window with the Code Editor panel taking up the rest of the Screen with that being it for the Code Editor.



The IDE Menu is absent from Qt Creator when Using Unity Global Menu, but if you have got Unity Global Menu switched off or using KDE or Gnome Desktops the Menu will be permanently attached to Qt Creator.



I personally like how tidy the Unity Global Menu keeps everything by hiding the Application Menu so I only see the Qt Creator Menu when I mouse over the Unity Panel.

Conclusion

Qt Creator is probably one of the best designed Development Environments I've seen and I look forward to getting to know it more and document more about it. The Ubuntu SDK for Qt Creator is an added bonus and I can see being very useful.

Roland

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My Move From Windows 8.1 Pro With Media Centre To Ubuntu 13.10 (Part 10)

In this part I'll conclude the Video Editing and Scree Capture series with Web Cam Video Capture, and talk about two Web Cam tools I've got installed, Cheese Webcam Booth & GTK UVC video viewer.

Cheese Webcam Booth

Cheese Webcam Booth is a simple Webcam video recorder & photo taking app. Cheese is ideal for recording videos & taking photos only and has a number of video & photo effects and has a burst photo mode, but if you want to overlay video onto a Screen Recorder session then its not ideal as it has got a UI that shows all the options & time stamp for video recording.

GTK UVC video viewer

GTK UVC video viewr is a better option for working with Webcam video as it has a separate Video window & tools meaning that you can use it to record video from your Webcam, take pictures with your Webcam or just minimize the controls window and have the video window open during a Screen Recorder Session that you can have Webcam footage showing while showing the applications etc, this is ideal for making video tutorials or OS reviews. GTK UVC video viewr is the most flexible and powerful of the two Webcam tools that I've talked about here and I've not had a play with GTK UCV video viewr so I'm not sure what it's fully capable of.

Conclusion

The probably the easiest & most powerful selection of tools has to be:

1. Kazam for Screen Recording & Screenshot taking.


2. GTK UVC video viewer for working with a Webcam.


3. HandBrake for Video Conversion.


4. KdenLive for video editing.

With the 4 tools I've mentioned in the list  above you'll be able to do pretty much anything for YouTube or any other distribution way you want. As I mentioned at the end of the last part YouTube is your best bet in learning everything that you could possibly need to use the above tools to their full potential

Roland

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