Tag: linux

The Linux Setup – Peter Y. Chuang, Writer

May 22, 2018

Peter is a writer who makes a great case for Linux. I’m surprised more writers don’t use it. It’s got so much flexibility, it’s easy to make it look and act just right, which I find important for writing. In fact, I kind of like toggling between different distributions, just for a new look when I work. It’s like working in a new place without leaving home.

You can find more of The Linux Setup here.

You can follow Linux Rig on Google+ here and follow me on Twitter here.

  1. Who are you, and what do you do?

    I am Peter Y. Chuang. I am a writer. I write novels, short stories, and other stuff, some of which I put on my website, which is hosted on a server running Linux (of course). I also make a GNOME/GTK+ theme.

  2. Why do you use Linux?

    I tried Linux for the first time nine or ten years ago out of curiosity, and I was very much impressed by its performance, its virtual desktops (coming from Windows, that was quite a revelation), and its customizability. Unfortunately, it took me a few years before I could switch to Linux full-time, as I relied on Microsoft Excel for the financial modeling work that I used to do.

    After being a full-time Linux user for about five or six years, using Linux has now become a habit, so I don’t usually think too much about why I use Linux until I have to touch a Windows machine (I am the tech support guy in my house, so touching Windows machines is inevitable). These days I find Windows very difficult to set up and use. A lot of things that Linux users find very basic require convoluted solutions on Windows. Also, Microsoft’s endless attempts to trick users into letting their computers do unwanted stuff is, quite frankly, sickening.

    To put it simply, I use Linux because Linux is better, easier to use and control, and it’s free and open-source software.

  3. What distribution do you run on your main desktop/laptop?

    Arch Linux. I use it because it is a rolling distribution, has a very good package management system, and is very easy to configure, even though it doesn’t seem like it.

  4. What desktop environment do you use and why do you use it?

    GNOME. I like it for its minimalism, and I think it’s perfect for users who are familiar with keyboard shortcuts.

  5. What one piece of Linux software do you depend upon? Why is it so important?

    LibreOffice Writer. I use it to do most of my writing and editing.

  6. What kind of hardware do you run this setup on?

    I run Linux on a custom-built desktop machine and, until a few weeks ago, a late-2015 Dell XPS 13.

  7. Will you share a screenshot of your desktop?

    Sure. This is my desktop with the theme I made, which is forked from Flat-Plat.

Interview conducted June 17, 2017

The Linux Setup is a feature where I interview people about their Linux setups. The concept is borrowed, if not outright stolen, from this site. If you’d like to participate, drop me a line.

You can follow Linux Rig on Google+ here, follow me on Twitter here, and subscribe to the feed here.

E-waste recycler Eric Lundgren loses appeal on computer restore disks, must serve 15-month prison term

May 3, 2018

A California man who built a sizable business out of recycling electronic waste is headed to federal prison for 15 months after a federal appeals court in Miami rejected his claim that the “restore disks” he made to extend the lives of computers had no financial value, instead ruling that he had infringed Microsoft’s products to the tune of $700,000.

I don’t understand the legal issues here, so I don’t have an opinion, other than the best way to recycle electronics is to use Linux. I’ve never understood how the Windows restore disks work (and don’t work). But Linux is easy! And runs better on older hardware.

E-waste recycler Eric Lundgren loses appeal on computer restore disks, must serve 15-month prison term | The Washington Post

The Infamous GNOME Shell Memory Leak

May 1, 2018

I never noticed the leak. I just love being part of a community that lets me know this much about problems plaguing my technology, but also solutions that solve the challenges.

And Georges ends on a very interesting note:

It almost feels like there’s a wall between the community and the users of what this community produces. Which is weird. We are an open community, with open development, no barriers for new contributors – and yet, there is such a distance between the community of users and the community of developers/designers/outreachers/etc.

The Infamous GNOME Shell Memory Leak | GEORGES STAVRACASU

The Linux Setup – Chris O’Donnell, Promet Source

April 10, 2018

Chris’ interview is short and sweet. Like Chris, I’m constantly impressed by LibreOffice. In the past, I tried to work around Word issues by saving files as RTFs and trying to keep files simple, but LibreOffice handles things, like track changes, like a pro. I haven’t used Cinnamon in quite a while, but similarly to Chris, I have a fondness for its old-school GNOME 2 look.

You can find more of The Linux Setup here.

You can follow Linux Rig on Google+ here and follow me on Twitter here.

  1. Who are you, and what do you do?

    I’m Chris O’Donnell. I do business development for Promet Source, which is an open source consulting firm.

  2. Why do you use Linux?

    Originally, it was just curiosity and learning something new. Over time I became a true believer in open source and got involved with my local Linux user group. Now open source is my career as well as my passion.

  3. What distribution do you run on your main desktop/laptop?

    Linux Mint 17.3.

  4. What desktop environment do you use and why do you use it?

    Cinnamon. Mostly because it was the Mint default, but it does remind me of Gnome 2.x, which is nice.

  5. What one piece of Linux software do you depend upon? Why is it so important?

    My employer is primarily a Drupal shop, so I pay my bills with Drupal. On the personal side, I’ve been a Firefox fan since it was called Netscape, and Audacious is running on my desktop pretty much anytime I’m on my personal desktop box. Also, I haven’t owned an MS Office license in over 15 years. LibreOffice, and previously OpenOffice, have always handled what I needed to do.

  6. What kind of hardware do you run this setup on?

    It’s a refurbished Dell Optiplex 7010 that I bought on eBay cheap last year.

  7. Will you share a screenshot of your desktop?

    It’s attached.

Interview conducted May 24, 2018

The Linux Setup is a feature where I interview people about their Linux setups. The concept is borrowed, if not outright stolen, from this site. If you’d like to participate, drop me a line.

You can follow Linux Rig on Google+ here, follow me on Twitter here, and subscribe to the feed here.

The Linux Setup – Justin W. Flory, Student

March 13, 2018

Justin is a person of varied interests, which makes Linux a great option. Fedora, Justin’s distro of choice, can handle writing and photography like a champ. It’s also interesting how Justin came to Linux from the server side but fell in love with the desktop. It’s not an uncommon trajectory by any means, but it’s still nice to read about.

You can find more of The Linux Setup here.

You can follow Linux Rig on Google+ here and follow me on Twitter here.

  1. Who are you, and what do you do?

My name is Justin W. Flory. I’m a university student at the Rochester Institute of Technology, an active contributor to the Fedora Project, a former staff member of the SpigotMC project, a community moderator for Opensource.com, and more. I mostly contribute to non-technical areas like the community operations, marketing, and Fedora Magazine teams in the Fedora community. You can read some of my writing on my blog!

Did I mention that I’m also a hobbyist photographer?

  1. Why do you use Linux?

I first started using Linux when I was 15. I have run a Minecraft server called CrystalCraftMC for almost five years now. Originally, I was running it with a shared host, and my monthly bills were becoming too expensive. I found dedicated servers running Linux to be much cheaper and more affordable, so I began doing research. I remember figuring out how to SSH into my-then-CentOS-6 machine so I could begin learning how to run my Minecraft server on it. In retrospect, many mistakes were likely made, but it jump started my interest in Linux. Using it on a server motivated me to install and use Linux on a personal computer too, so I could better learn.

Later on, I learned more about the free and open source background behind Linux and became introduced to many of the ethical questions surrounding the world of software. This added and expanded on my interest, locking it in.

In short, you could summarize why I use Linux to two ways: freedom and to learn!

  1. What distribution do you run on your main desktop/laptop?

Given my role in the Fedora Project, it probably comes as no surprise that I’m running Fedora 25 both on my desktop and laptop.

  1. What desktop environment do you use and why do you use it?

I started using GNOME when I installed my first distro, Fedora 20, in December 2013. It felt natural and easy to use for me, although it did take some getting used to, as I was coming from macOS. Nowadays, I’m in the process of migrating to i3wm for a more minimal and organized workflow, but I’m still working out a few kinks that are preventing me from going all-in.

  1. What one piece of Linux software do you depend upon? Why is it so important?

There’s a lot of software I use and depend on daily, from Firefox to Hexchat to LibreOffice to Thunderbird. However, one of the most interesting programs I am an active user of is MusicBrainz Picard. Picard is an interface you can use to add and edit metadata in local music files on your system. It uses the MusicBrainz database to get this information, and it can even use acoustic IDs to identify and categorize songs on your system. If you’re a music lover, it’s especially handy to keep your large library of albums and artists sorted in whatever music player you use.

The MusicBrainz project is a fantastic project and if you’re looking for small, easy ways to contribute to open source software, consider checking for some of your favorite artists to see if their entries are accurate! Services like Last.fm, Spotify, Amazon, Google, the BBC, SiruisXM, and more all use MusicBrainz, so your contributions have the potential to make a huge impact. Here is a quick demo of it.

  1. What kind of hardware do you run this setup on?

My desktop is a homemade machine! I built it in November 2014 to replace my aging 2007 iMac desktop. It has an AMD FX-6300 @ 3.5GHz, 8GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti, and dual SSD/HDD hard drives. You can see my full build on PCPartPicker! I named it “FOSS Fighter,” which might make more sense when you see the stickers that cover it on all sides.

Additionally, I also use a Toshiba Satellite C55-A laptop, which was upgraded to an SSD and 16GB RAM, with an Intel i3 processor. It’s my primary machine while I’m studying abroad. I’ve given it the nickname “FOSSbook.” It’s nothing too fancy, but it’s lasted for a fair bit of time. I also have the top of it covered in stickers, similar to my desktop.

  1. Will you share a screenshot of your desktop?

Interview conducted March 11, 2017

The Linux Setup is a feature where I interview people about their Linux setups. The concept is borrowed, if not outright stolen, from this site. If you’d like to participate, drop me a line.

You can follow Linux Rig on Google+ here, follow me on Twitter here, and subscribe to the feed here.