Want your files? Use the Force!

You are a computer user who is fed up with Windows. You heard about the marvels of Linux, you were impressed when someone actually ran this Linux Distro-thing from a CD, and your eyes glittered upon seeing the multiple desktops, the Compiz/Kwin effects, and the quantity of programs included in the OS. So, you are sure that you want it. With conviction, you ask your friend to install Linux and, in the process, several strange questions begin to hit you as karate chops. The most memorable, without any doubt, is:
-Do you want a dual boot?
(Dual, as in...two?) Dumbfounded, you ask yourself what "a dual boot" is while the image of a cat wearing, well, a pair of boots, pops up in your mind.

The Linux Jedi looks at the question marks in your eyes and, knowing that you are no Anakin Skywalker, decides that it is better to introduce you to the Way of the Penguin gradually. So now you know that you will be able to start your computer using either Windows or Linux by means of a special Kung-Fu move called "GRUB" and, after seeing the penguin in your system, Obi-Wan goes away until he becomes a lost dot in the distance. You are there, concentrating, left on your own to master every technique that you heard you were capable of and, to be honest, you can hardly wait.

YOUR FIRST TRIAL
You mastered the GRUB; Linux is right there on your screen. With your chest full of satisfaction, you decide that you want to practice some familiar saber moves. You browse the Web--by using Firefox, Chrome, or Konqueror-- and you see this wonderful picture of Tux that you want to keep. Thus, you download it and, a proud Padawan, you close the browser to look for your new image on your desktop, following your Windows training... WAIT A MINUTE! The file is missing! There's NOTHING on your desktop. With a little uneasiness, you think of a solution: to open "my computer" to look for your picture somewhere else...so you open the menu to discover that there is nothing like a "my computer" icon. With a paralyzing fear, you see the way-too-familiar face of Bill Gates on the screen. He is wearing a very appropriate Darth Vader helmet and extends his hand to you as he utters gravelly:
"I am YOUR FATHER"...

This is pretty much how I felt when I tried to locate my files in Mandriva the first time I used it, a year ago. As a desperate Luke, I ran away from Vader and stumbled on the home partition. Of course, I had absolutely no clue of what /home/ meant. I navigated the folder DOCUMENTS to see, well, nothing. So I went up a couple of levels. I found this red folder labeled ROOT and I said to myself "AHA! Now we are talking!" After opening several cryptic directories there (in which I found some funny-looking files with strange names and lots of empty folders with stranger names), I was completely baffled by this arcane puzzle. My Windows experience was that folders had to contain something. Why did Linux create so many empty directories? "Why is Linux so difficult?", I thought.

Then it hit me. LINUX IS NOT WINDOWS. If I wanted to locate anything, I had to understand the file structure of the system.

For those migrating Windows users that might feel like I did, this compass summarizes the basics.

WHERE TO GO?
1. ROOT (/)
Represented by / , this directory is YOUR SYSTEM. Do not do anything here until you know how to use your light saber appropriately, Jedi in training.

2. HOME (/home/you)
This is where your personal files are found in Linux. When you work in Linux, your documents, downloads, music, and videos will be stored here, inside a folder with your session name.


3. ETC (/etc)
Here, you will find system files that you will probably have to tweak to get certain things done in Linux. Again, stay away from this folder until you can handle the powerful light saber (konsole).


4. Media (/media)
This is important. If you plug in a USB drive, use a DVD, etc, your files will be found here. Your Windows partition is also mounted here, which means that you can access your Microsoft Office documents from this folder. But be careful; if you delete them in Linux, don't expect to find them in the Windows recycle bin.


With a little practice, you will be able to find your way in the Linux file structure and you will understand why it is so convenient. Then you will love Linux and you are going to see that, for computer standards, it is truly like using the Force!

What a Headache!

No, this entry is not about the poor performance of any OS. I have a terrible headache, so I decided to resort to humor instead of posting something serious.

Confirmation: Mandriva Spring to be Released Soon

As srlinuxx,from Tuxmachines had announced, Anne Nicholas confirmed the date of release of Mandriva 1010.1. It is FINALLY posted on the Wiki.

So, let's wait until July 5. And then, let's try to see what happens next.

Prufrock, Mandriva, and other Observations

One of the most well-known poems by T.S. Eliot is The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, in which there is a clear portrayal of how uncertainty becomes a paralyzing, counterproductive force. Prufrock wants to do something about his life, but his mind wanders and the continuous promise that "there will be time" to act prevents him from toeing the line and reaching out to what he wants.

This very same situation can be argued about Linux distributions and becomes particularly relevant concerning Mandriva Linux in the context of the stormy times that it has been facing.

Why? Well, one of the greatest strengths of Linux, in general, is community participation, or volunteer work. It is no secret that this mysterious factor bedazzles analysts and challenges economic paradigms: talented people invest their effort and time to develop a product even when they are not receiving any money for doing so. Their commitment makes it possible to find answers to the most diverse problems (ranging from security holes to minor tweaking of the final Linux distributions or free software) in a fraction of the time that mega-budget companies need to release patches or updates.

Mandriva S.A. has two main assets: an enormous community and a nice product that includes tools than no other Linux distribution has, such as its Mandriva Control Center. Yet, it is the community that I would like to discuss here. A community is, in the end, a group of individuals, each one having his/her personal motivations, goals, and needs. Studies have shown that communities work because individuals understand that the wellbeing of the group somehow ensures their own wellbeing. This group-sense creates a collective culture that benefits everyone, even the "least productive" or the plainly unproductive members of the community.

Linux users show different attitudes. Free loaders are particularly problematic since they complain a lot and contribute with nothing to the common goal (bringing the developers' morale down sometimes with their leech-like lifestyle). These are the Prufrocks in the Linux community: they stay distant, entangled in a million indecisions and bringing nothing onto their plates.

The anxiety levels in the Mandriva Community chat forum have reached a boiling point as Mandriva S.A. has failed to communicate future plans involving the development of the desktop distribution to the members of the community. Mandriva users have waited patiently but no official words have come from representatives and, when enough is too much, anxiety can become a propeller.

So, following the lyrics of the French National Anthem ("Aux armes, citoyens, /Formez vos bataillons"), a member of the Mandriva community made a call for community organization to fork from the company and continue developing the beautiful distro. The response was one of approval.

At this point, I am sure that there are many self-calming J. Alfred Prufrocks thinking that "there will be time to contribute" and asking themselves if they have the courage to do something minimal ("to eat a peach", in the poem). With their passivity, all they are doing is staggering the progress of the distro they use.

I, for my part, lack expertise concerning packaging, so I cannot help there... But, if "the moment is forced to its crisis", I will work hard translating because I like Mandriva.

I will do it stealing time from the little time I have. For as long as I have strength. For free.

And I am not alone.

UPDATE:
Thanks to srlinuxx, from Tuxmachines.org, I discovered that, at last, there are some new words on the Spring Version release. Thank you!

Acerca de expectativas y realidades: Windows 7 mejor que Vista

He estado escuchando que Microsoft realizó un buen trabajo con respecto a Windows 7. ¡Es como para volverse loco! Me encataría entender lo que un buen trabajo significa para quienes comparten esta opinión. Después de todo, Windows Vista fuen un desastre y cualquier cosa que lo reemplace es preferible, aunque difícilmente se le pueda llamar "un buen trabajo" por el simple hecho de ser algo "diferente".

Microsoft defendió a Vista con todo el arsenal posible, pero la misión estaba condenada al fracaso. Los usuarios re rehusaban a abandonar a Windows XP para abrazar a Vista. Ni siquiera el experimento Mojave pudo cambiar la percepción que tenían del sustituto de Windows Longhorn. La última esperanza para Vista era el cambio de sistemas de 32 bits a 64 bits, pero hasta eso fracasó. Nada dio resultado. El último camino a seguir fue decir "Hasta la Vista!" al tan odiado sistema operativo y, así, todo el mundo celebró con bombos y platillos la llegada de Windows 7...porque tenía que ser mejor que Vista.

Sin embargo, si Windows 7 es mejor que Vista porque no es Vista, entonces cualquier cosa es MEJOR que Vista. XP es mejor que Vista. XP SP2 es mejor que Vista. XP SP3 TAMBIÉN es mejor que Vista. En resumen, hasta el Chapulín Colorado es más CONFIABLE que Vista.

Leí un aretículo que sostenía que los usuarios debían actualizar sus sistemas a Windows 7 y el autor listaba siete razones para sostener su argumento. EL problema es que, si se analiza con cuidado, ninguna es suficientemente sólida como para justificar el cambio de sistema. Las mejoras detalladas no van más allá de ser aspectos cosméticos que apenas representan innovación, efectos atractivos que podrán embellecer el escritorio, pero que no implican gran cosa en lo relativo a la funcionalidad que espera el usuario promedio. Para mayor decepción, el autor ni siquiera se menciona nada en cuanto a grandes mejoras de protección en contra de amenzas. De hecho, Windows 7 fue criticado por hacer gala de los mismos hoyos de seguridad que Vista tenía. Es más, el nuevo sistema operativo de Microsoft ha sido llamado ¡un Service Pack de Vista! Uno muy caro, si me permiten opinar.

Bueno, déjenme replantear lo anterior...es caro si uno sigue las relgas y lo compra. Por supuesto, algunos hancen trampa gracias a la información contradictoria de Microsoft sobre las licencias OEM (Fabricante de Equipo Original, en inglés). Estas personas obtienen un descuento al comprar la OEM porque indican que construyeron su propia computadora cuando no lo hicieron, pero tampoco reciben APOYO de Microsoft si obtienen la licencia OEM. Un lindo trato, ¿no? ¿Explica esto acoaso por qué la introducción de Windows 7 no ha logrado a los usuarios de XP uaceptar el cambio de sistema operativo en forma voluntaria? Porque la mayoría de ususarios de Windows que conozco se quedaron con XP y los que tienen Windows 7 lo adquirieron por la fuerza cuando compraron una nueva computadora. No obstante, he escuchado de usuarios que hasta han vado vuelta atrás e instalaron XP en su computadora.

Hace casi un año, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, un usuario de Windows 7 muy honesto (y a quien le gusta ese sistema), leyó el artículo que mencioné y su opinión apoya mis impresiones. Resumo su artículo de la siguiente forma: "Si ud tiene Vista, apresúrese e instale Windows 7. Si tiene XP, Windows 7 significa pagar un montón de dinero por una nueva barra de trabajo...pero si ud desea algo mejor, entonces consiga una distribución Linux."

Yo mismo no podría estar más de acuerdo.

About Expectations and Realities: Windows 7 Better than Vista

I've been listening that Microsoft did a good job regarding Windows 7. For crying out loud! I would like to understand what a good job is for the ones who share this idea. After all, Windows Vista was a disaster and anything that replaces it is preferable, but unlikely to be labeled "a good job" because of merely being "different".

Microsoft defended Vista with every weapon the company had, but the attempt was a doomed enterprise. Users refused abandoning Windows XP to adopt Vista. Not even the Mojave experiment could change their perception about the substitute of Windows Longhorn. The last hope for Vista was the change from 32 bit to 64 bit systems, but that also failed. Nothing worked. The only course left was to say "Hasta la Vista!" to the hated OS and, thus, everyone celebrated the coming of Windows 7 with fireworks...because it had to be better than Vista.

Yet, if Windows 7 is better than Vista because it is not Vista, then everything is BETTER than Vista. XP is better than Vista. XP SP2 is better than Vista. XP SP3 is ALSO better than Vista. Ultimately, that repulsive Garbage Pail Kids movie IS better than Vista.

I read an article arguing that computer users should upgrade to Windows 7 and the author listed seven reasons to do it. The problem is that, upon careful analysis, none of them is good enough to justify the change of platform. All of the listed improvements are cosmetic ones that barely represent innovations, eyecandy that might beautify your desktop, but does not mean much in terms of functionality for the average user. For further disappointment, there is no mentioning of significant improved protection against threats among the reasons that the author mentions. Actually, Windows 7 has been criticized for having the same security problems Vista does. What's more, the new MS OS has been called a Vista Service Pack! A very expensive service pack, if you ask me.

Well, let me take that back...it is expensive if you follow the rules and buy it. Of course, some people cheat because of Microsoft's contradictory information concerning the purchase of an OEM license, so they get a price cut by saying that they built their own home system when they haven't. But then they receive NO support from Microsoft if they get an OEM license. Cute deal, isn't it? Does that explain why the introduction of Windows 7 is not making XP users accept a change of platform willingly? That is, most Windows users I know stayed with XP and the ones that have 7 do so because they purchased a new system and Windows 7 was imposed to them. However, I have also heard of users that have "downgraded" their computer to an XP one.

Almost a year ago, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, a very honest Windows 7 user (and someone who LIKES IT), read the article I mentioned and his opinion backs up my perception. I summarize his article as follows: "If you have Vista, go ahead and get 7 ASAP. If you have XP, getting Windows 7 means that you have to pay a lot for a new toolbar...but if you want something better, then get a Linux distro."

I couldn't possibly agree more.

Smoke Screens and Linux

In my net surfings, I have encountered that smoke screens about Linux security are becoming popular. The way in which certain threat alerts were made public amused me. I believe that there was a malicious intention to discredit the Penguin OS using slanted information behind the sensationalist hype.

I found one smoke screen in Yahoo. The feature was a post titled: "Linux Trojan Raises Malware Concerns". I guess the point was to make Linux beginners question their choice. After all, if we migrate to Linux to feel safer and this OS is as vulnerable as Windows, why the bother? However, the strategy did not work so well because even Linux newbies could see beyond the alarming news. (You can read a Linux beginner's nice response about this story here). The original news read "a vast collection of Linux systems may, in fact, be pwned". Let's see:
1. According to statistics, Linux has the 1% of the desktop market.
2. The threat was neither found in the official repositories of "major" Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSuse, Mandriva, etc) nor in "minor" ones (Mepis, Zenwalk, Pardus).
3. Users had to download and install the infected file themselves from a site (This means we are not talking about MOST beginners, who are becoming familiar with the repositories of their distros).
4. The file is a tarball. For computer beginners, installing one of those is like changing the computer processor.
5. The infected file is for chatting using a specific platform.
6. The threat was not likely to have compromised enterprise Linux servers (where more Linux systems are found).

Then, what does "a vast collection of systems" mean here?
---

Why aren't people buying these things so easily anymore? I have the theory that, while the success of Windows was the ignorance of the user, Linux communities teach their users and this knowledge empowers people. After all, in the 21st Century, more computer users are awakening. Little by little, we are breaking this shell of fear and gullibility and we are beginning to see through the smoke generated to make us stumble. We read. We check. We double-check. We participate in forums and get informed.
Above all, beginner Linux users are abandoning herd mentality.

Linux: Beyond an OS

I was considering writing about something that characterizes Linux and that makes it particularly different from Windows and Mac OSX...However, it won't be necessary as this post in "La Esquina de un Migrante a Linux" summarizes what I have seen.

Read it here in English and here in Spanish.

Japanese Student? マンドリバ、日本語ができるよ

昨日、問題がありましたが、今、パソコンは大丈夫です。そして、日本語を書くことができます。マンドリバはおもしろくて、使い安いです。うれしい！
とことで、新しいパソコンを使っている時、とんでもないことを見ました。　ありはパソコンの中から出ってきて、私はおどろきました。

I guess I need to write my tutorial for writing in Japanese in Mandriva before I forget. Or before the ants damage my netbook. 56 hormigas viviendo en mi Netbook...MiniME アリア, jajaja!

Actualizacion: 70 hormigas. Espero que la grande haya sido la reina.

No One Takes Linux Seriously Until...

Find the computer that works in the picture above.

Yes, nobody takes Linux seriously until you are face to face with the Blue Screen of Death, your system refuses to start, or maybe it does, but then it goes into a never ending loop of booting. I have never experienced anything like this in Linux. All those critical moments become particularly nerve-racking when you depend on your computer for turning in a vital assignment, when you are waiting for an important document file, or the day in which you must retrieve information that happens to be stored only inside your HD.

WHAT TO DO: LIVE CDs
You want to give Linux a chance but you are afraid of "not understanding it"? Well, remember that you can RUN the Linux OS from a CD or DVD without installing anything to your computer! All you have to do is put it on the CD/DVD tray and run it. It's as simple as that. Of course, you must remember that the performance is going to be a bit slower, but this way you can learn about Linux without committing to a full migration until you are ready for it.

If you practice with a Live CD of your favorite distro, next time your Windows computer crashes, you will be ready to operate it temporarily using Linux. A colleague of mine (who happens to break his computer from time to time with the aid of the most destructive viruses I've ever seen) started his computer, checked his email, and browsed the Web this way for almost a month before we could restore his Windows XP. I personally don't recommend surviving on a Live CD for so long, but it was his choice and Linux was up to the job.

If you practice, you will use your knowledge about Linux for your personal advantage in a crisis.

OK, I started the system with a Live CD...
Now, how do I get my file?
First, if you want to rescue a fle, you must have a USB stick to save the file to it. You must be familiar with Windows Explorer (not the browser, the file manager). Well, in Linux, there are several file managers, like Dolphin. Open Dolphin from the system tools menu and, to the left, you will see the different partitions on your HD. Explore them to find the Windows partition and then locate the folder where your file is. Once you see it, right click on it and copy it to a USB drive. If it is a document file and you want to work with it, Open Office will open it and you can change it. Just be careful and make sure you save it to your USB drive.

WARNING: This process works particularly well in Mepis. You get a desktop environment similar to Windows (KDE), which facilitates things for Windows users. You can also do it from Ubuntu Live CD, but you must take into account that this distro uses a desktop environment that is more like Mac (Gnome). Don't panic, the bar is up, not down, but you'll get used to it. Mandriva might not let you open the Windows partition from a Live CD, but you can do this if you have a dual boot (Windows/Mandriva). Some other distros may not come with an office suit (like Vinux), so check first.

Microserfs and the Future of Microsoft

I started this interesting novel by Douglas Coupland. The book is entitled Microserfs and it manifests Geek culture by depicting the lives of several coders who work for the software giant in Redmond. Along with the movie Pirates of Silicon Valley, in which one can see the origins of Microsoft, this book has given me a lot to think about...and I am only on page 40!

The novel shows how MS employees developed a certain "Microsoft culture" that happens to be very interesting. Of course, corporate culture is nothing new, but there are certain factors that acquire an undeniable notoriousness (not to mention a somewhat prophetic glow) when one considers that the book describes the reality of the 90's.

The first factor that I saw is the omnipresent figure of Bill Gates (B-B-B-B-B-B-I-L-L!) that gravitates in the minds of the characters and determines their motivations and actions: They walk in certain way if they believe that B-B-B-B-I-L-L is watching them; Bill's biomass becomes a separate category on MS Campus (19% humans, 0.003% Bill), and they feel both depressed and honored when they get a scolding email from him, to illustrate. This made me think about what Microsoft is today, a feudal land without the lord everyone admired.

I must admit that the leadership of Bill Gates has turned him into a mythical creature, just like a unicorn or a pegasus. True, there are tons of Gates jokes around, but, in general, I get the impression that Gates is treated kindly. I mean, he is caricaturized and everything, but his eternal Geek aura has protected him from vicious graphic representations, even after the disastrous release of Windows ME (Millennium Edition, jokingly nicknamed "Mistake Edition"). I understand that the last Windows project he was involved in was Windows XP, released in 2001 after he retired. Therefore, Windows XP vindicated his honor and he left the company in triumph.

Microsoft is in now under the leadership of Steve Ballmer. Microserfs deals with Ballmer as a rather second-class respect figure. Once again, the prediction became true. Ballmer's first OS was... yes, you guessed it: VISTA! Accordingly, Ballmer's image as a leader has eroded terribly. You don't believe me? Run a quick search of videos under "Steve Ballmer" in Youtube and you will understand. He is depicted as a rather laughable, tempestuous, and big-mouthed version of the Cobra corporate twins in the G.I.JOE cartoon series, Xamot and Tomax. Nobody would say with reverence "B-B-B-B-B-B-allmer!" Judging from popular depiction, when referring to Ballmer, people are more prone to saying "B--b-b-ozo!" Plus, the use of the first name does not help him, either. When one says "STEVE" in the computer world, the image that is conjured is that of Apple's Steve JOBS!

No wonder why Linux is becoming more popular under Ballmer's dinasty.