Weekend Surprises...The Bad, the Good, and the Beautiful

This weekend started with a flavor of that old Western entitled "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly": I have been sick, work is piling up as a result, and one listens to all sorts of bad news everywhere.

I think that I will try to be positive here. So, instead of going to the dark side of life, I am going to move into the silver lining of the dark cloud.

Let's begin, then.

The BAD

Megatotoro reports that one of the aesthetic features that attracted me to Linux, the chance to have different wallpapers on the virtual desktops, is not working in Plasma 5 because of a bug.

I know that some will dismiss the issue as an exaggeration or a waste of computing resources to favor eye-candy.

Well, they can think that way.  However, for people like me, the change of desktop wallpaper provides a relief from mental strain when working for a long time on a writing project.

I hope they fix the bug... I really do.  I mean, KDE has been my desktop of choice since I migrated to Linux.  While I am sure I can adapt to other DEs, I am fond of KDE.  I will miss the feature, for sure.

The GOOD

After a rather long wait that was making me nervous and silence in both the Mageia and OpenMandriva camps*, OpenMandriva announced the new alpha release, code named "Einsteinium."

* UPDATE-- It seems that the news on Mageia 5 RC missed DistroWatch, whose last report on the Mageia front was the release of Beta 3 on Feb 14, 2015. I just learned that Mageia 5 RC is available for download!

I downloaded the ISO and tried to run it in my ZaReason Strata laptop, but it would not boot.

Curiously enough, it worked perfectly in a VM.

The live session went off normally (with the usual license, language, time options) until, BOOM!, the desktop loaded in less than 3 seconds.  The reason?  They seemed to have put the KDE + Homerun/SimpleWelcome debate at rest by using LXqt instead...

LXQt, the default desktop in OpenMandriva 3

 No Firefox this time, friends.  All hail Qupzilla!

Qupzilla, the default browser

I couldn't play YouTube videos... I guess it's a flash problem.  Fine, this is an alpha release, after all.

I didn't see LibreOffice, but Calligra.
Since I did not install the alpha, I could not try Calamares, the new installer.  

In their release announcement, the team says that they are "mixing the ingredients together."  I myself have mixed feelings about OpenMandriva right now, but I consider it is good to have a release.

The BEAUTIFUL

Some weeks ago, DistroWatch announced a newcomer into the Linux landscape: BellaOS, another Ubuntu derivative... or should I say a Linux Mint/Xubuntu derivative, as the creators state it on their website?

I tried out the distro out of curiosity.  It was a pleasant surprise because the distro lives up to its name (Bella means "beautiful" both in Italian and Spanish).

Desktop of BellaOS: pretty and functional

For a lightweight, the main desktop looks pretty and does not require a lot of training to be used.  It is a customized version of XFCE with a deck at the bottom.

BellaOS picks up my wifi out of the box under the live session and has no sound problems.  Even when having Firefox and Banshee working, the footprint is small:

BellaOS lets you have different wallpapers on the workspaces!

The system sees my other Linux partitions, too.

I guess that BellaOS and OpenMandriva will keep company to AntiX on my netbook...

Discrepancies between Jogging Apps in Firefox OS and Android

Last year, I decided to try to focus a bit more on my health and picked up jogging.

I've always liked jogging: one needs practically no equipment and it's good to lower your stress.  You know, you leave the crawlaggars behind ;-)

Run, Born, run!  It's behind you!

I said "no equipment" because many people run today with their smartphones.

I must confess that, at first, I did not like the idea of taking a phone out when I am jogging.  However, I like to listen to music while on the street.  Moreover, there are apps that can actually motivate you to keep going.  For Android, my favorite is RunKeeper.  For Firefox OS, Run-Bike-Hike is my app of choice.

Today, I decided to compare the measuring accuracy of both apps, so I took the Firefox OS and the Android phones for a 2 km walk.  I discovered that, despite activating the apps at the same time, they show different readings of the distance and pace.


This is what Run-Bike-Hike gave me on Firefox OS:

On the other hand, RunKeeper says that I walked a bit less with a slower pace:

The moral of the story is that one should never take the readings of an app too seriously.  Technology can also make mistakes.

Let Users Bear the Burden of Updates: MS Latest Windows 10 Idea

I read this article today.  Apparently, Windows 10 users will be able to choose if they want to grab updates from PCs over a private network or, more disturbingly, from the Internet.

To be honest, I don't know why the author thinks users will love this P2P "feature".  All he worries about is the --very real-- potential risk of hackers getting new toys to play with.  However, I think he missed a very significant point, one that affects clients directly.

With this P2P updating idea, Microsoft can put the burden of the downloads away from its own servers (where it should be located) and re-locate it on the machines of its customers.

This means that the customer's PC will become slower as it will serve the updates to another client.  And who pays for the upload?  If my machine is uploading, it is using the internet connection that I pay for.  In other words, I am not only letting Microsoft use my machine to relieve the burden on its servers, but also letting this abusive company use my internet connection for free.


"Yes, Microsoft, come use my resources with no benefit for me and, while you're at it, please charge me a yearly (maybe monthly) subscription to use my own computer!  I will love that!"

What kind of a deal is that?  Why should Windows users be happy about it?

The only thing I am happy about is that I DO NOT USE WINDOWS, so that this abusive company cannot reap me off so shamelessly!

The Red Fish, a Story of Success

When I first tried out PicarOS, there was a link to a site called "Poisson Rouge".

Given the fact that PicarOS is a Linux distro that specializes on children, it was no surprise that the site had content for children.  What I did not expect was that the crazy flash games on the site were so attractive to young children.

The activities in Poisson Rouge.  Children love to discover what they do.

I mean, the activities are simple and repetitive.  Yet, young children love them.  And best of all, everything was free; Poisson Rouge subsisted selling merchandise.

One day, however, I visited the site and got a sad announcement.  Poisson Rouge enjoyed a heavy traffic, but costs were too high and the site was on the verge of closing.

I remember the pain piercing my heart like an arrow.  As an adult, and mostly as a parent, I appreciated the artistic and educational value of the activities in Poisson Rouge.  It had become part of the fun time my then two-year old daughter had been experiencing with the computer, but all the songs, dancing images, and discoveries that brought laughter to my girl were about to be gone forever.  I really felt bad. I am not exaggerating.

But how do you save a site that is condemned already? 

On March 3, 2014, I clicked on the link again, expecting a dreadful 404 error.  To my relief, the page loaded.

There was something new.

It was a message informing users of an idea to save the site.  Poisson Rouge had a chance to survive as long as enough users were willing to pay a yearly registration fee.

Yes, I know many people may think that it was the proof of absolute stupidity.  Why paying for something that was free before?  After all, similar content should be available somewhere in the vast Web, right?  Who would be dumb enough to pay?

Well, call me stupid then.

What's more, call me stupid twice: I just renewed my annual membership yesterday.

My daughter, and many children, I'm sure, are happy that the site is alive.

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Does this contradict my beliefs regarding free software?  I don't know.

I am a weird kind of person.  I paid for the Mandriva Powerpack. And I did that several times.

I have paid for games in Desura, Steam, and The Humble Bundle.

I have also donated to other Linux distros and projects. I even donated to be able to install a beta of Elive.

Heck, I will pay for Elive when it's finally ready.

Yet, I cannot pay a subscription to MS Office or Windows.  Why?

Because I don't believe in those products.

Microsoft lost my trust long ago.

My Four-Year-Old Daughter Rejected Windows 10

Eimi, my four year old daughter, has interacted with Linux-powered computers since she was born.  I still remember those nights in which I would pace up and down in my office, holding her and rocking her on my arms while the Linux desktop played music.

Then, Eimi grew and started enjoying her own room and, rather precociously, discovered how to use desktops and laptops. I will never forget her first encounter with PicarOS, the Linux distro for children!

Well, it turns out that the failing HD on her desktop finally went dead.  I took the machine to my favorite repair center to have the drive replaced.  In the meantime, I let Eimi use my desktop with OpenMandriva.

The technician called some days later, so I went to pick the machine up.

SURPRISE! 

He had installed Windows to it.  And, to make matters worse, Windows 8.1, I thought.

I did not protest because they did not charge me for the favor (very weird), so I took the computer home.  On the way, I was trying to decide if I should keep Windows 8.1 or not.  It turned out it was Windows 10 TP.

I went democratic about the issue of keeping this OS.  So I asked my wife and she said NO.  She gave up on Windows when she bought her first laptop, a Toshiba satellite pre-installed with Vista.  Now she owns a Dell that came pre-installed with Ubuntu and became a Mageia dual boot.

Then I asked Eimi if she wanted to use her computer with Windows.  Her answer was memorable and I have it recorded on video:  "Gross.  I don't want a computer with Windows Yuck.  Gross!"

That settled the fate of the Redmond OS, which was wiped out and replaced by PicarOS Diego 2014 to the delight of my daughter.  That Linux distro for children simply keeps getting better and better.

After that, I installed Mageia 4 to dual-boot.  Yes, she regularly uses those two distros despite some people still claim that Linux is too difficult for adult users.  Go figure!

One thing is sure: I will never forget Eimi's happily yelling "My computer is back!" when she saw she could dual boot PicarOS and Mageia.

I Messed Up GRUB2... What a Happy Mistake!

Yesterday, I was using my daughter's desktop computer, which is a Mageia 4/PicarOS dual-boot, when I noticed something that has happended before: after running an update of packages, Mageia changes GRUB2 and erases the entry to boot PicarOS.

I am not very GRUB2 literate.  Last time that it happened, I solved the problem with GRUB Customizer, but it wouldn't help this time.

I tried the Mageia GRUB tool in the Control Center to no avail.

Then I installed the KDE package that lets one configure GRUB2... and that's when I messed up: trying to recover the PicarOS boot entry, I seemed to have installed a useless boot entry on the MBR and the computer, logically, could neither boot PicarOS nor Mageia.

I looked for the Mageia 4 install DVD to run the rescue tool but, since I could not find it, I ran the rescue tools from the Mageia 3 install DVD instead.  It did not work; GRUB2 could not be rescued.

Then I ran a Mageia 3 Live DVD and booted the machine to re-install GRUB2 with Mageia Control Center.  No luck, either, but I found the Mageia 4 install DVD.

Given my little knowledge of GRUB2, my only option at that point was to reinstall the system.  The thing was that I did not want to spend a couple of hours re-configuring the computer.

I ran the installation wizard and it asked me if I wanted a clean install or an upgrade.  I suddenly felt inspired and decided to take a risk.  Normally, I go for a clean install, but I selected UPGRADE instead.

The process lasted less than 5 minutes and Mageia came back to life with a resurrected GRUB2 entry for PicarOS.

But here's the best part. Prior to all this, the computer's Mageia OS had a problem that I had not been able to solve: as ffmpeg could not be updated with the tainted packages, it could not play certain videos for my daughter.

After coming back to life, Mageia told me that no repos were configured. I checked and, sure enough, the install wizard had erased all the repos.  I added them and BINGO!  the missing ffmpeg tainted package was found.

Now my daughter can see her videos again.

Some mistakes bring about happy results after all.

   

From Opera to... Vivaldi!

Yes, the name is familiar.  Vivaldi was that KDE tablet that never saw the light of day, but now Vivaldi is the name of a beautiful browser that runs on Linux.

When I say "beautiful,"  I refer to the transitions and interesting functions that identify this Chromium-based browser as a different species.

According to the story embedded in the technical preview, part of the team that developed Opera decided that they wanted to create a browser for their friends, one that puts the user first and, following this music, they created Vivaldi:

Vivaldi TP running on Mageia

After giving it a run, I can say that Vivaldi is like listening to "The Four Seasons": This browser is packed with the dreams, hopes , and expectations of a developer team that want to give the world a powerful net surfing tool with a human side.

The browser offers an emphasis on aesthetics, interesting options for customization, note-taking space, a welcoming community, and it promises future mail functionality and add-ons. 

Tabs relocated on the left side, title bar changes color depending on page loaded

I have to admit that I found it somewhat slow but, in general, I had a pleasant experience using the technical preview of Vidaldi.  Now I want to hear the symphony once it is finished. ;)

Firefox says Hello! on PCLinuxOS and OpenMandriva

The new update to Firefox 35 is available on PCLinuxOS and OpenMandriva.

I have been expecting this update because it includes Hello, the new video-call feature from Mozilla.

For those of us who don't use Facebook, SpyMe, er, Skype, or are not satisfied with Google Hangouts, Firefox Hello stands as an interesting option to communicate using video.

Oh, and it says that you do not even need to use Firefox... Only sharing the link is enough. I have to try that.

The new MS Spartan browser, with its so-much-acclaimed-as-modern technologies (that basically bind you to MS cloud), should learn something.

On Relationships... with Computers!

It is interesting to hear my colleagues, non technical users of computers like me, comment on their average experience with their machines and the other computers that they have to interact with on a daily basis.

The reality is that, for many of us, our main work partner is a computer.  Yes, we interact with people when we teach and attend meetings.  However, when we are alone and must plan classes, prepare exams, write reports, or grade, the machine is there with us.


Most of my colleagues, obviously Windows users, seem to have engaged into a vicious usage pattern with their computers, one that, if it were a relationship, would be perceived as an abusive one: the user is "victimized" by the insensitive, demanding, and anger-prone machine.

For example, last November, since his Windows 7 computer had "walked out on him" (refused to work thanks to malware), a colleague "started a new relationship" with a machine with Windows 8.

Two days ago he wrote me complaining about the sourness of his "new relationship".

This is the same person that had told me that he hated Windows 8, but needed the computer so badly, that he could not wait. 

Ah, the nagging and the pain started soon for him.

Let us not blame the computer.  He had some problems with a Windows 7 machine before, so they "parted ways".  I took the machine to therapy (wiped out Windows and installed Linux) and now, with all her issues solved and having achieved internal peace, the machine is a great friend of mine and helps me happily. I enjoy working with it.

I do not even remember the last time I complained about the behavior of one of my computers... must have been when I was so fed up that I decided to go to counselling with Dr. Tux! :)

Well, while I have to admit that all my computers have now "dissociative identity disorder" because they all have multiple Linux personalities, each one of those identities is sweet, caring, tactful, and smart.

I started my ZaReason Strata with OpenMandriva today.  Instead of the dread that I experienced in my old days when dealing with Windows computers and I feared to see a virus warning or a blue screen, the machine literally started wishing me a happy 2015.

Cairo Dock new year greeting.  Wow, I was pleasantly surprised!

Ah, those little things... They do make a difference! ;)

Crowdfunding campaign for OpenMandriva

Recently, OpenMandriva Association has launched a campaign to fund the development of the beautiful OpenMandriva Lx.

Right now, it's 59 days until the IndieGOGO-hosted effort finishes.

If you like this OS and would like to help contributing, please go here.

A Theory to Explain Why December was a Disaster for Windows 8*

I woke up today, on the first day of January, and read Mechatotoro's post about the jaw-dropping December 2014 market share statistics for Windows 8*.

While the optimistic Winbeta site claims the market share loss is due to the traction gained by Windows 10, I doubt it.  I mean, Windows 10, in my opinion, looks good, but it's still in beta and not many people run it for production.  Besides, the numbers do not match...

Now, the Web is ablaze spreading the word.

Well, this article attempts to explain the phenomenon with a fact that has been silenced:  Chromebooks!

If that is true, then this prediction might not be so off after all...  In fact, I had read it before.

Maybe the prayer of the kitty was answered finally? ;)

Original image credit: Andri Oid (@andrioid), Tweet. 18 December, 2014.

Kitten prayers are powerful... :P