“In times of radical change, the learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves perfectly equipped for a world that no longer exists.” - Erik Hoffer
Sometimes I just don't have as much time to write as I wish. Maybe it would relieve a little pressure on my guilty conscience by providing a list of some of the articles that I wish I had time to write about:
...The researchers and the
advocates and the regulators have had to rely on the company itself to
describe its practices. What Jonathan's platform has enabled, in
collaboration with the (Stanford Computer) Security Lab, has been the
ability to actually see what websites are really doing.
...Mayer's research most recently
led to investigations by the FTC and state attorneys general in New
York, Maryland and Connecticut, into Google's bypessing of the default privacy settings
in Apple's Safari browser, meaning that millions of iPhone and iPad
users that Google had said were not being tracked by its advertising
network, in fact were having their Web data logged.
One of my friends recently said he hadn't heard anything about Ubuntu running on an Android phone. I already want one!
...Carry just the phone, and connect it to any monitor to get a full Ubuntu
desktop with all the native apps you want, running on the same device
at the same time as Android. Magic. Everything important is shared
across the desktop and the phone in real time," Shuttleworth wrote. "It
just works, the way Ubuntu should. Lots of work behind the scenes to
make both systems share what they need to share, but the desktop is a
no-compromise desktop.
Several days ago, I was checking out a few technical websites when I found Russel Barnes' post on LinuxUser's site, "HUD to replace menus in Ubuntu 12.04 – a further kick to the hornet’s nest?" Having more or less successfully worked through two versions of Ubuntu's Unity interface and reached a working accommodation with the new features added in both Ubuntu 11.04 and 11.10, the title caught my attention. Without much other explanation, I played the YouTube video below. (You can also click through to the YouTube page for the larger HD version of both videos on this page.)
Based only on the video and brief description in Barnes' above post, the very first impression that could be printed on a family blog was, "We are NOT amused!"
Luckily, there was a link to the official announcement on Mark Shuttleworth's blog in the Barnes' article. For everyone's sanity at this point, Ubuntu users should first read Shuttleworth's original explanation of what may or may not appear in next version of Ubuntu, version 12.04. Read the full explanation of the Heads Up Display or "HUD" before the weak faint and strong men's heads explode. Yes, we're talking about a new twist on how to interact with a computer, but the new HUD builds on years of effort. See: Mark Shuttleworth, "Introducing the HUD. Say hello to the future of the menu." markshuttleworth.com, January 24, 2012. Available online: http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/939
Now, after reading Mark Shuttleworth's more detailed and measured introduction of the Heads Up Display, he also says,
We’ll resurrect the (boring) old ways of displaying the menu in 12.04, in the app and in the panel. ...But hiding the menu before we had the replacement was overly aggressive. [Amen to that.-Ed.] If the HUD lands in 12.04 LTS, we hope you’ll find yourself using the menu less and less, and be glad to have it hidden when you are not using it. You’ll definitely have that option, alongside more traditional menu styles.
So if I'm reading this correctly, current menu-driven users will have their menus, and those who want to explore the new HUD system can enable that method for an unlimited "test drive." If people like menus they can still use them, but Shuttleworth and his developers are betting that some currently unknown fraction of Ubuntu's current and future users will adopt the new HUD. It sounds as if Ubuntu is seriously trying to build a bridge to the future.
While in the infantry, I've waded across shallow creeks, swam or floated across deeper rivers, even crossed one or two upside down hand over hand on a single rope. Believe me. Bridges are better, and more troops, or in this case Ubuntu users, can reach the other shore. In their haste to get ready for Gnome 3's clean slate approach, both Gnome and Ubuntu created changes that were deeper than the developers first thought. Some users were lost in their attempts to get the new interfaces to work for them - they didn't make it to the other side and were lost. More likely, some users had too much work to do to make more than one or two attempts and even switched to other flavors of Linux like Linux Mint, Xfce, or a host of others. That's why real change agents have to think about building a bridge.
In my own case, I found a way to get across without waiting for the bridge. I've used a program found in Ubuntu's Launchpad called Cardapio in both 11.04 and 11.10. Cardapio can be installed and updated from its own PPA. In 11.10, I changed the icon to one of my choice for the Cardapio launcher, placed it right under the big Ubuntu icon (BFB?) and fine-tuned the "Main Menu" (it's still there) to make all the various menus categories work the way I like to work. Check out Ubuntu Vibes' very detailed article on the set up and uses of Cardapio. Ubuntu Vibes also posted the video. Click on the small video below to view a larger version on YouTube:
In addition to menus, I like multiple windows open on the same workspace and switch back and forth between windows frequently. I also don't like icons, menus or scroll bars to appear or disappear. I want them to be in the same darn place I left them and don't want to wait even a second while they reappear. I'm not sold on the dash where some icons show up now and maybe totally different icons show up later. I like consistency on my big dumb screen but so far I still have the option of making those changes that help me work "my way."
After those minor adjustments with Cardapio and other tweaks, HUD's promised voice commands and learning how we work certainly have the potential to become a useful addition and that could help a transition to HUD. I may even be able to teach my big hulking HP quad core desktop to understand Anglo-Saxon voice commands. Ubuntu users need a little time to adapt to new ways of working but it looks like all of us at least now have the promise of the bridge that has been missing in the last two Ubuntu editions. So in the meantime, I suggest we hold our ire, save Shuttleworth's original HUD post for further reference and try to keep an open mind as 12.04 moves toward beta versions.
For the record, I've used menus since my first 9" black and white Macintosh replaced my earlier Kaypro and Apple IIe's. I actually tried one of Jef Raskin's early interface ideas that Shuttleworth mentioned in his article on a plug-in card added to an Apple IIe. Back then and in today's environment, testing new interface ideas is a normal part working with technology as long as we can take back a step if things don't work out as the developers originally planned.
Thankfully Ubuntu remains a high quality free distribution and I'm actually encouraged Ubuntu developers are extending the interface with new ideas. I also believe users will try to spend some time with HUD IF the Ubuntu developers give all of us the option of making the software work "our way" or if we can easily back up a step or two while HUD is further refined. Otherwise, we can also reload and relearn KDE's desktop after an early "April Fools Day" on March 26, if HUD and Ubuntu's 12.04 release doesn't work as advertised.
Ubuntu's developers and its larger community have always provided options and choices. As to Shuttleworth's article, no harm, no foul, play on!
It looks like old dogs and young pups will both need to learn a few new tricks!
For those who thought they could avoid joining the more than 400 million residents of Planet Facebook, abandon all hope. Social media — complete with Facebook-like status updates, profile pages and networks of social connections — is coming to your office cubicle.
The article includes info on Lotus Connections, Sharepoint 2010 and Socialtext. Maybe the larger companies can work out a few kinks in the privacy and security issues with Facebook, Twitter and other less business oriented social software programs. While it is entirely optional, Ubuntu 10.04 LTS has social networking - broadcast and chat accounts - baked into the OS with access from the top level menus. The fact that social networking is included in all installations of this important long-term-support release speaks to how popular the Ubuntu developers think social networking has already become.
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Updated - While business and other organizations move in the direction of social media, The New York Times has an article on the implications of social media on children:
The question on researchers’ minds is whether all that texting, instant messaging and online social networking allows children to become more connected and supportive of their friends — or whether the quality of their interactions is being diminished without the intimacy and emotional give and take of regular, extended face-to-face time.
What are the implications of more and more electronic communications between children? They obviously have some impact on relationships. Do social networks and texting potentially slow the development of social skills in children? Does this new means of communicating between friends help shy students come out of their shell? For the April 30th article with references to distinguished authors and books on the topic see: "Antisocial Networking?" by Hilary Stout.
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In either case, I wasn't overwhelmed with Facebook when I tried it a while back. On the surface it allowed a friend's visit to China to be quickly and easily shared with friends from halfway around the world. Technology always looks good until you can find and evaluate all the hidden costs. Actually I abandoned ship during the first round of Facebook privacy concerns, so I haven't rejoined the revolution... yet. But those of you who are (still) actively working with large organizations - corporations, non-profits, schools or voluntary associations - may find yourself needing to know more about this growing phenomenon from a business and a professional standpoint. I hope the articles will help and keep looking for those hidden costs.
Even experienced computer users can have a "bad day." Two weeks ago I managed to mangle my desktop OS when something hiccupped while downloading several updates to the networking software. Kernel panic. CPU went to 100 percent. System wouldn't shut down. To condense the next several minutes of troubleshooting into a single sentence, it looked like the easiest way to resolve the issue quickly was to spend 15 or 20 minutes and reload the OS.
That's not as drastic as it sounds. First off, I had a fresh backup of the home directory from the day before. Even better, since the home directory and all the current files were on a separate partition, so I could reformat and reload just the partition with the OS without harming the other working files. I might not even need the backups. Once the decision to reload was behind us, the next question was what version of the OS should I install?
The desktop was originally running Ubuntu 9.04 when the confusion started, which was about a year old. I could have reloaded with Ubuntu 9.10, released in October 2009, which is running very smoothly on my laptop. I had already been hearing good reports about the next release of Ubuntu, 10.04, nicknamed Lucid Lynx. Ubuntu 10.04 is still only available as a Beta version for testing, and not recommended for a production computer in daily use. Having had good experiences with earlier Ubuntu Beta's, I decided to move forward - not backwards.
Downloading the 10.04 Beta, I burned a copy of the OS to a CD and within 30 minutes was looking at the test version of Ubuntu's "latest and greatest" operating system. It booted right up and seems to have given my aging desktop a vitamin shot. The new version 10.04 boots noticeably faster, shuts down even quicker. The new OS still has a couple of wrinkles and I've filed a few minor bug reports. The best news is that the normal series of OS update over the past two weeks have shown visible progress. Ubuntu 10.04 already seems very stable and I'm looking forward to the final release on April 29th. Lucid Lynx is one of Ubuntu's long-term-support (LTS) releases and security and other updates will be provided for an extended length of time.
A few applications from the Ubuntu repositories that aren't automatically loaded with the new OS were checked off my checklist of installed software, and as usual, I tweaked a few configuration files. In summary, I saved time in the long run by jumping ahead to the new version a little early. So far everything seems to have worked out very well. My personal seven-year migration to a free Linux OS certainly paid back the investment with interest these past two weeks.
The ease of the upgrade has pushed me to reconsider some of my recommendations for intermediate and advanced computer users. I'm still reluctant to recommend Ubuntu or any Linux OS system to outright beginners. I want people to have access to a modern, secure operating system that anyone can use and anyone can have free for the asking. I want people to enjoy their computer without constantly worrying about the next virus or other malware attacks.
I also want new Linux users to have a successful experience transitioning to their new OS. If someone doesn't already know where to find and download a free copy of the OS software, or doesn't know how to burn a CD with the operating system to load on their computer, they probably wouldn't know how to use the appropriate Linux forums to get help nor how to resolve questions about their version of the OS. There's no such thing as a free lunch.
If this sounds harsh, it's really meant to be realistic. Time -- not money -- is the most important resource any computer user has to invest. If you enjoy learning new things and are willing to spend some of your own time to learn, exploring Linux and particularly Ubuntu, can be a very rewarding experience. If you're willing to invest in yourself, then the learning process can be as much fun as the feeling of accomplishment as you master any new skill or any new OS.
From my recent experience, this new version of Ubuntu, 10.04 - Lucid Lynx - may be the Ubuntu version that makes me change my mind about the minimum skill level needed for most people to use Linux. The Ubuntu system of regular improvements, delivered on schedule, has provided great advances in usability. This LTS version was built for stability. Throughout the process, the Lucid Lynx version of Ubuntu has been easy to use and shows great potential for wider acceptance by hardware manufacturers and by consumers.
I may be a little behind on updating the three websites that I help maintain, but I've got a new, stable computing platform that I can use to catch up.
One of my friends recently said he hadn't heard anything about Ubuntu running on an Android phone. I already want one!
