Coming Back Soon!

I know that apologies don't count on blogs...  I also know blogs are supposed to be dead...

The thing is, if you write a blog, you need time to write one and need info to blog about...

I've had none of the first, but tons of the latter.  I brag now that I have not booted my own machine into Microsoft (dirty) Windows - and have spent all of my time in Ubuntu. And that time has been spent assisting my father-in-law with his retirement sale... That includes setting up his social media presence, sending out press releases and I've even managed to get to air (radio) with the aid of Ubuntu applications.

I do have plenty to write about... and as soon as I have one last monkey off my back - I'll be posting again!

Damn the day job!

My day job is getting in the way of blogging!  But there are benefits...  I was working with a couple of people today - and they were bemoaning their laptops for taking to long to boot up.

One of them was getting so frustrated, I thought he was going to take a mallet to his laptop - and he only needed to access the web to get something from his cloud...  My first thought was why doesn't he own a smartphone or tablet... But who am I to judge...

As I watched these people wrestle with madness, I returned to my office, recovered my personal laptop (my dual boot beast) took it back to where they were and booted to Ubuntu.  They started by looking at me thinking I was there to provide redundant assistance... Until I was in my Operating System and had opened Chromium and was surfing while they were still trying to boot or access the right application.

When I invited these folks to use my 'PC' (I say it that way - as they assumed I was on a 'better' version of Windows) the queue formed... There were 4 people waiting to use my laptop to send info to their companies - even though by this time, their laptops had booted.

They did what they needed to do - but 2 stopped afterwards and asked how I had Mac software on my non-apple laptop.  When I explained it was Linux they were using, both baulked!  But both asked what 'version' I was using.

I may need to make cards... As I found myself writing on Post-It notes, how to spell U-B-U-N-T-U.

I'm a novice, but a total convert kind-of-novice... In the words of AA or NA... 'Hello, I'm an addict! It has been  2 weeks since I booted into Windows... But I have invited at least 2 people to join me on the path to righteousness.'

I need to write more, I need to write more for the novice like me... I just hope that I find the time and that someone out there would set me a challenge that would help a novice like me to enjoy this OS/System/Community even more than I already am!

Quiet for a reason

Work has been a tad hectic recently. But then again, tell me about someone that isn't in this climate...

But my major joy is the fact that when I get home, I fire up my laptop and get back to work.

That should not sound in any way or form like joy.

The thing is, albeit I have a dual boot installation - since my last problem - I've not needed to boot Windows. The duel boot was there for when I really needed it.

And so far, I haven't.

Each and every time I've needed a system at home, I've fired up Ubuntu, in the hope that it would see me through... And it has!

Like I said, quiet, but there's a dammed good reason.

Terminal Idiot! (I have OCD wrt OCR)

A work-related issue managed to intrude on my Linux conversion studies.  I ended up with a 2003-dated document that needed reformatting and significant updating.  I knew I needed employ Optical Character Recognition to convert the document, or I'd be copy-typing into the early hours (Warning! Education Inbound! It's commonly referred to as OCR - where the system looks at the letters in a printed document and converts them into a computer file).

I ended up booting up my PC in Windows for the first time in ages...  I have to explain that justification for reverting to my old operating system is because I have an HP wireless printer that I have not installed in Ubuntu.  So the only way that I thought I was going to convert the document was with the installed HP drivers I had on Windows.

So I boot up the PC, go to the printer applications... and there's no OCR function!  The first time I use Windows in some time and the application that I took for-granted would be there, wasn't - I even visited the HP site for my printer and couldn't find an application that would do what I wanted.

Having now become an Ubuntu evangelist, I restarted the machine, entered Ubuntu and went to the Software Centre.  There I found XSane, which appeared to do everything I wanted.  With more joy than I can state about my operating system choice than I can mention, I happily installed the app and fired it up.

I was overjoyed that Ubuntu recognised my printer (I had to do a wired connection - I didn't have time to work out how to set it up a wireless).   So I scanned the first page and pressed the OCR button...  And then I encountered an error saying I didn't have 'gocr'.  Now my total ignorance kicked in.  I read that as 'I didn't have "go-cr" installed'.  Having a newbie panic attack, I clicked buttons left, right and Chelsea to no avail.  So if in doubt, Google it!

Did I feel like a total dork when I realised this was a command line application?  (Answer - Yes!)

So here was the first time that I had to enter the Terminal in anger.  I opened the terminal and tentatively typed the letters 'gocr'.  Again, this was a moment of shock at how user-friendly Ubuntu is, even in the Command Line.  It told me that 'gocr' wasn't installed, and then told me how to use the command line to download it!  I faithfully followed the instructions - and BINGO - successful installation of 'gocr'.

Feeling more pride than was right, I revisited XSane and tried to use the OCR.  And it worked...  Sort of...  Well, it worked to the sense that maybe 1 in 4 characters were recognised.  The one page I scanned looked like a cross between a computer crash that had been translated into Arabic with the random English word thrown in.

I was certain that I had some of the scanning settings incorrect, so up'ed the scan resolution, changed the file type, full colour, monochrome... every option that I thought was open to me, I changed...  But I was still presented with total gobbledygook.  Clearly it was time to revisit Google.

Here I found a reference to another command line operation I could use - this time 'tesseract'.  Again, just by typing the command, I was told how to install it.  So I did.  This application enables you to OCR .TIFF documents.

Well, I knew that XSane would scan a page to make a .TIFF, so I could use 'tesseract' to OCR such files.  I also knew from a manual I downloaded to my Kindle (I told you I was a gadget geek) that one of the advantages of using the command line was that you could batch process files (Warning! Education Inbound! To perform actions to multiple files with a single command).  So I scanned the document as separate .TIFF files.

The first problem I encountered was how to change directory in the Terminal...  Remember, the last time I used a command line was in MS-DOS.  I soon learned how to do it, then tried a batch conversion.  So I then typed 'tesseract *.tiff *.txt'... and was told that I had entered the command incorrectly.  I tried a couple of variations of typing the command, but nothing worked.  (Caution! Question Incoming!  If you can tell me what I did wrong, I would love to learn what to do next time.)

So I had to resort to converting each file one at a time... and it worked!  Sure this was not the most efficient way of doing it, but it worked and saved me the hours it would have taken to copy-type the document.

So, I'm no longer scared of playing with the Terminal.  I've learnt I can do it without the PC blowing up.  I can do it, albeit inefficiently, but get my work done faster than I would have done in Windows.  I know that I have more to learn - but then again, name a new Linux user that doesn't.  But again, I encountered a problem and ended up enjoying learning how to fix it - and delivered something to my workplace that would never have happened if I hadn't started this journey.

Sure, at times I feel frustrated - but I'm getting the job done faster than I would have if I hadn't started it.  This is turning into something that is not only teaching me, but it's teaching me there is a far better way to get stuff done - even when you're making novice mistakes that I'm making.

I'll never use Linux... (But did you know you're probably using one of its cousins ...?)

The old adage says that we all hate change.  But people do like trying new things...  The trouble is that the 'new thing' you're playing with probably isn't all that new.

There are some stock responses I get when I mention that I have started using Ubuntu, (I usually get the questions "What's that?" and then they look at me in a strange way when I explain it's a version of Linux) the more memorable of which are:

• Why would you want to use something that nobody else uses? (Nobody...? Really...?  At the time of writing this post Google had been running its 'Communities' functionality in Google+ for just over 2 months.  The OMG! Ubuntu! community has over 10,000 members.  That's on a so-called small social media platform.  The Facebook Ubuntu page has nearly 700,000 likes.  Don't tell me nobody uses it.)
• Why use something that's unsupported?  (Unsupported...?  If you're using a LTS release - I mention it in this post - you're getting five years worth of support...  If you're not using a LTS release - take a look at AskUbuntu and you'll find tons of support by people that want to help you - not forced to, because they're paid to do so.)
• Yeah, I know it's free... But you get what you pay for... Pay nothing and you get low quality.  (Again, this post counters that.)
• I don't want to learn a new operating system.  (If you're a Windows user, you remember converting from XP to Windows 7...  How about moving over to Windows 8?)
• You'll never convince me to use Linux.  (Thing is, you probably are using something very similar already.)

What do I mean that you're probably using something similar already...  Well that takes a bit of a history lesson.

Danger! Education Inbound!  Back in the late 80s, when I was studying Electronic Engineering, one of the computer systems I used in the college was a UNIX network.  This may be a familiar term to many of you.  Unix can be considered to be the father to a lot of operating systems out there.  Unix is trade-name protected, proprietary software that when something is developed for it, requires certification before it's released.  Of the many adapted versions of Unix, you may be familiar with OS X and iOS - Yep Apple's operating system is a modified and certified version of Unix.

Linux is effectively a clone of Unix, but differs in the fact that its 'free and open source' software.  That doesn't mean that the software free of financial cost, it's more of liberty to the software.  But the code is shared for anyone with the skills to develop and enhance it.

Like Unix, Linux has a lot of adapted versions - and this blog is about one of them, Ubuntu.  But one you're more likely to be familiar with is something called Android.  So if you use an Android phone or tablet, you're using a Linux based operating system.  If you use a Mac, iPhone or iPad, you're using its cousin (if you're a Mac user and have used Linux at any time, that's the reason why you know where the close, maximise and minimise buttons are).

So I don't have to convince the vast majority of you to use a Linux system - as the chances are, you're already using one...  Or a very close relation.

I'm too scared!

So was I for too many years.  If I had just tried earlier, I wouldn't be going through what I am now and I would have saved myself a load of cash.

So just give it a go as a trial - you don't even need to install it.  And it couldn't be easier.

Just go to the Ubuntu download page and click on the 'Get Ubuntu 12.10' button.  You'll then be presented with a donations page.  By default, it will ask for a $16 donation, but if you scroll down the screen, you'll find a link that says 'Not now, take me to the download'.  Click on it - don't worry, no one cares if you don't donate for a trial.  No one cares if you don't donate when you come to install it if you like it.  But I'll I'll take a wager you'll donate later on when you see what you've got and you'll want to see it grow.

Once you've downloaded the file, you'll find you've got a file with a file type of .iso. Place a blank disc in your drive, double click on that file and it will create an Ubuntu boot/installation disc.  Leave it in the drive, make sure that your machine will boot from the disc drive first rather than the hard drive (you can do that in your setup screen - normally F2...  Whine at me if I'm wrong!) and reboot your machine.

It will take longer to load the operating system than normal as it's working from a disc drive, rather than a hard drive.  Then click on the 'Try Ubuntu' button.  You now have the chance to play with a new operating system for the cost of a disc.  If you don't like it, bin it.

However, I'll lay my second wager...  I'll bet it you get intrigued.  You may not install it, you may not dual-boot...  But you'll hold on to the disc and read a few more of my entries to see what I've managed to do using that operating system.

As a final note, I was informed by a member of the Google+ OMG! Ubuntu community, that this tour is available to see what Ubuntu looks like.  So if you just want to see what the environment looks like and how it may work for you, try this link and you won't even have to download anything.

So, how do I get stuff that works on Ubuntu?

I have to admit, this was a significant fear of mine before installing Ubuntu.  I stated before that I have been a fan of +Nixie Pixel for a while and have been watching her tips and reviews for a while.  But what scared me is she totally qualifies as a super-user (Linux fans will see what I did there) and so many of her videos centre on using the 'Terminal'!

Danger! Education Inbound!  Computer users of my pedigree will remember using devices like the ZX81, BBC - even the early days of the 'IBM Compatible Personal Computer' (when was the last time you heard that phrase?) will remember typing commands into the keyboard to get the computer to do something.  These days we use the mouse and pretty graphics to accomplish our tasks.  I pointed out in this post that using the mouse and screen is something called the Graphical User Interface or GUI.  Using the keyboard to enter commands is something called the Command Line Interface or CLI.  In Ubuntu (hell, all Linux Distributions, or 'Distros') enable you to use both a GUI and CLI.  As the linked post explains, the GUI in Ubuntu is called Unity.  In all distros of Linux (someone correct me if I'm wrong) the CLI is called the 'Terminal'.  No, it's not fatal, and no it's not where American trains stop to collect passengers.  Without massive knowledge, I'm going to guess it named after what we used to call access stations to the centralised computer - a computer 'terminal'.

By first impressions it appeared that to install a new program on my system, if I were to head down the Linux route, I would have to learn a series of commands that to all intents and purposes would be a new programming language.  That terrified me - and I'm a qualified (albeit outdated) geek... what would it do to the uninitiated?

As it transpired, my fears were unfounded.  One of the default applications you get when you install Ubuntu is something called the 'Ubuntu Software Centre'.  If you own an Android or Apple smartphone, it works in the same way as Google Play or the App Store.  And much like those app providers, many (indeed most) of the applications you'll find there are free.

As soon as I installed Ubuntu, I set about getting the applications that I knew I needed.  So I installed Dropbox, (I have it on my work PC, my home laptop,  Android smartphone and tablet - and share a load of data with my family with it) Gimp, (the open source equivalent of Photoshop - just don't ask me why it has such a S&M descriptive name) and Chromium (Danger! Education Inbound!  I had been using Google Chrome on my laptop for a while...  What I didn't realise is that Chrome is a Google branded - and cut-down version - of a Linux web browser entitled Chromium).

So I can't show you how easy it is to install all of those applications short of removing them and re-installing them - and what would that do for me... better to get new free stuff!  So here's how I got a cracking audio recording/editing package entitled Audacity (I hasten to point out that I had been using it on my Windows PC for years - but it was designed for Linux).

First I selected the Ubuntu Software Centre from my launcher.  This is a great start for any new user, as it shows a ton of applications that other users have installed as well as adverts for new apps that are out there.  (And before anyone gawks at the price of games for Linux... how much did you pay for your last XBox game?)  Then in the search box, enter the name of the app you want - or the type of functionality you want (entering 'audio editing' provided Audacity as the second result).

That done you can click on 'more info' for just that, but I know this app and didn't bother.  Then you just hit the 'Install' button, enter your password as authentication, and away it goes.

Once it's installed, and I'm sure there's a more elegant way of doing it, I just hit 'Dash Home' icon on the Launcher (it's the one that looks like the Ubuntu logo) and start typing the name of the application you've installed.  As if by magic, the application will appear on the screen below.  If you want to, you can click and drag the icon for that app to the Launcher and place it wherever you want it.  Else you can click on it - and Huzzah...!  It's running.

Honestly, that's as complicated as it gets for getting free software.  I do have to be honest, I have not downloaded any software that I have to pay for - but when I do, I'll make sure that I post about any differences.

I'm sure there is a reason why you would want to install software using the Terminal...  But so far (agreed, I've only been playing with Ubuntu for a couple of months) I haven't found the need.  I'm sure I will - and when that happens...  Yeah, you've got it - I'll post about it.

On that note, if you have any burning 'asks' for a new user like myself - or are an experienced user that wants something dumbing down to a level that I can understand - please leave a comment and I'll see if I can answer it, either as a reply or a post in it's own right.

Post Publishing Note: When looking for some advice on Google+, +ryan rochford put up a link to this...  Makes more than enough sense to me!