Desktop Linux for Everyone
On the one hand, it’s annoying Joseph Gordon-Levitt is so handsome, talented, and versatile.
On the other hand, it’s very cool he’s supporting the open source cause.
Also, I like that he played Cobra Commander…
Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Speak on Art and the Internet at Open Source Summit North America
One of my dreams is to start doing my academic writing in LaTeX. I haven’t gotten around to it. But also, most publishers I work with just want a Word file. I suspect (or hope?) that will change as more publishers start to use git for manuscript preparation.
GNOME Flashback is a session for GNOME 3 which was initially called “GNOME Fallback”, and shipped as a stand-alone session in Debian and Ubuntu. It provides a similar user experience to the GNOME 2.x series sessions. The differences to the MATE project is that GNOME Flashback uses GTK+ 3 and tries to follow the current GNOME development by integrating recent changes of the GNOME libraries. The development currently lags behind a little but a lot of progress has been made and most importantly many open bugs have been fixed.
I love GNOME 3 but it’s nice that there are options for people who don’t. Flashback reminds me of Trinity, which is KDE 3.5.
No desktop environment truly ever dies.
I’ve written about my love of specific clipboard managers before (here and here) but I haven’t talked about why I love them.
A clipboard manager is a program that retains a history of items you’ve copied or cut to your clipboard. Most operating systems only save the last thing you copied or cut by default. The clipboard manager allows you to review your clipboard history. Wikipedia gets into the details.
As someone who works with a lot of text, I find the clipboard manager to be an indispensable tool. For instance, when moving text around, the clipboard manager allows me to go back to a previous cut-and-paste and insert text where it should have gone, rather than where I put it.
In moving this site to WordPress, I spent a fair amount of time copying-and-pasting text and HTML. The ability to go back to previously copy-and-pasted snippets was a huge time-saver. I also find it tremendously helpful when I accidentally copy something over what I really wanted to keep in the buffer. This happens a lot when I Ctrl-C when I really wanted to Ctrl-V.
GNOME has a built-in clipboard manager, but there are lots of them for Linux. I’ve used Parcellite and Clipman and couldn’t tell you the difference between either of them, which is the beauty of the clipboard manager. As long as it can show you a history of things you’ve copied or cut, it’s working just fine. The interface is usually less important.
I’ll acknowledge that there are security risks with clipboard managers. If you copy-and-paste passwords, they’re in your history. Most clipboard managers allow you to selectively delete items if having a password existing in your clipboard history troubles you. If you share your user account with someone, it’s a legitimate concern. I also had a colleague who used a clipboard manager on what was essentially a public terminal, which is a pretty awful idea.
With that caveat, clipboard managers are wonderfully useful tools. It’s almost like a time machine for your cut or copied text. Anyone who works with words will quickly come to appreciate the ability to return to text that was worked with just a few copy or pastes ago.
If your desktop environment doesn’t already include a clipboard manager, there are a few options in your repository. The clipboard manager will quickly make itself indispensable to you.
Update: Opensource.com has a nice roundup of Linux clipboard managers (via Scott Nesbitt)
Like Scott, I rarely use a word processor on Linux. LibreOffice is fine when I have to use one, but if I needed to word process more regularly, I’d use AbiWord, which is on his list.
I met Alan through Quora. I knew he’d make a great interview and I was right! As he writes, he’s a person who likes to tinker, and the tinkering he does in his physical life translates well to Linux. I wouldn’t say I’m done tinkering with Linux, because that’s rarely an option, but it’s not something I necessarily relish anymore. However, I do respect and appreciate the people who are brave and smart enough to experiment and make cool new things using Linux, much like Alan does.
You can find more of The Linux Setup here.
You can follow Linux Rig on Google+ here and follow me on Twitter here.
My name is Alan Dillman. I am Canadian, aged 44 as of November 2016.
I enjoy hiking in the mountains near my home, jogging, and outdoor activities, such as camping, and do this often.
I’m into wood, metal working, and electronics fabrication, as well as programming.
I’ve done half a dozen home renovations, and currently act as a handyman for a few rental properties. Some of the most fun aspects involve customizing things for residents.
Using my skill set, I’ve begun creating software, devices, and tools for people with special physical requirements, both impairments and regular specific needs. Some of these are inspired from my own life, both by people I meet, and ideas I have had.
For instance, I optimized the toolbox in Inkscape for a friend. A five-minute fix and a recompile and his workflow was improved.
Next on my list is to make a set of kitchen knives for myself. The skills I gain will be used to provide tools for people with arthritis and other grip issues. Or just to make beautiful things.
The main inspiration for my business comes from 30 years ago. When I was a teen, my high school guidance counselor asked me if I might help a young man. Nerve and muscle damage from a car accident had impeded his hobby of drawing. My counselor thought drawing with a mouse might restore the young man’s talent. I was asked to help because I was one of the rare kids with a home computer. A fancy 286+! I think it had a 10 megabyte hard drive? Ha!
The idea was to try my machine, then his caretaker would assess whether or not to purchase one for him. We met twice. The experience turned out less than optimal, and in the MS-DOS days, there wasn’t a lot of fine-tuning to be done with computer periphrals. It was a frustrating experience for that man. It has bothered me ever since, and I realized that I now have skills which would let me help people in those sorts of circumstances. Plus I love creating stuff!
For employment I am in the vending business. I do machine repair, and also supply a remote petroleum camp with snacks and sundry supplies like toothbrushes. I am rather distant from my employer, so the job requires a lot of self-motivation. On the other hand, it provides a lot of freedom. To go hiking. And start my own business.
Why do you use Linux?
I use Linux because I must meddle with things. I like breaking and fixing software other people have made. I like making my own. I like seeing what’s out there and what is possible.
Overall, Linux is a wonderful environment that lets me poke my nose in all sorts of interesting files. Other operating systems would not condone this, so they are of little interest to me. Why eat hamburger out when you have steak at home, right?
What distribution do you run on your main desktop/laptop?
I use Ubuntu.
At times in the past I have used Crunchbang Linux, and like many other people, I have tried quite a few distributions. I’m not hung-up on Ubuntu, I just find their minimal image CD to be useful as a base system.
What desktop environment do you use and why do you use it?
I run Openbox for a desktop environment, using bits and pieces that I have written for my own use and enjoyment. Openbox provides a minimum of functionality, allowing me freedom to write what I need. Currently I use tint2 as a taskbar/panel. Someday I will replace that with my own.
I’m not too interested in software like Unity, KDE, and GNOME, as I feel the goal of those environments is a uniform and standardized user experience. This conflicts with my desire to replace individual elements of the desktop with my own creations.
What one piece of Linux software do you depend upon? Why is it so important?
Python, and Geany as an editor. I program primarily in Python. In addition to that, there are bits and pieces of software I have created for myself. There is so much satisfaction in using what you make, and making what you need.
What kind of hardware do you run this setup on?
I’ll include that in the screenshot!
Will you share a screenshot of your desktop?
NO!
Just kidding.
Most everything you see is at least customized. I have to change things and will never be satisfied with someone else’s vision. Wallpapers are set at log in (or whenever) via a script called randwall.
I have two monitors. On monitor one you can see the shutdown menu that I wrote for myself using pyqt. A friend provided the icons. I created the “menu” button too, since tint2 lacks this feature. Both have been rewritten three to four times over the years, and I expect I am not done there.
You can also see some system stats displayed using neofetch. I just found it and I really like it.
On monitor two is a series of lists (using conky), which are controlled via bash scripts in terminal. At the top is a little date/time bar. It is a new project which eventually will become a replacement for the tint2 panel at the bottom of monitor one.
Interview conducted October 3, 2016
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.
Nabeel gives a great interview. What makes it so great? The level of detail is fascinating. But also, I agree with just about everything he says about why he uses Linux. Right down to his recommendation of Decoding Liberation. Knowledge workers need machines that make their life easier and Linux lets people simplify their lives by creating custom workflows. As Nabeel alludes to, finding the right setup can take time, but once it’s been created, you’re pretty much set. Then, it’s just a matter of tweaking when necessary. Not everyone needs this level of customization, but I think lots of people would benefit from trying it and seeing if their work does become easier.
You can find more of The Linux Setup here.
You can follow Linux Rig on Google+ here and follow me on Twitter here.
I am a doctoral candidate and teaching fellow in American Studies at the College of William and Mary. My research focuses on digital media studies, information studies, digital humanities, and cultural history. Very broadly, I am interested in the ways that humanities questions can inform our understanding of digital technology, and similarly, how digital technology allows us to ask new humanities questions. Currently, I am writing a dissertation examining the cultural history of personal computers and their relationship with the private sphere. Hopefully, I will be able to complete it sometime between my computer tinkering and teaching duties!
Why do you use Linux?
I can go to length about this, but as brief as I can be, there are four reasons.
First, I care deeply about the philosophical implications of our digital world and the tools we scholars use to do our research. Samir Chopra and Scott Dexter’s Decoding Liberation: The Promise of Free and Open Source Software is the best work I have found on the subject, and I recommend it to anyone interested in the exploring free and open source software’s implications.
Second, I like tinkering with my computer, and Linux allows me to learn about its makeup, which benefits and informs my teaching/research.
Three, I have a broader range of hardware to choose from. The last Macbook I had stopped working due to a logic board failure. I still don’t know what happened, and the cost to replace it was about the same as a new computer. I had a similar experience with two iPhones and realized remaining locked to a vendor was a bad idea.
Four, it matches my workflow. I try to stick to a keyboard-centric workflow, and some tools I use work better and are easier to customize in Linux.
What distribution do you run on your main desktop/laptop?
I run Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS. I like the community and philosophy behind it and think it’s a great, fast distribution for beginners and experts alike. I don’t really need the latest software, so the Ubuntu Long Term Support distributions work for me. I can find a PPA if I really have to. I don’t have the patience or time anymore for something like a rolling distribution. Thus, I’ll probably keep this setup until the next LTS or the computer gives out.
What desktop environment do you use and why do you use it?
I use the MATE applets with the i3 window manager. For anyone interested in a similar setup, all you have to do is go to to the startup applications of any modular desktop environment (Xfce, LXDE, or MATE) and execute the “startup applications” terminal commands in your i3 config file.
I also like having multiple workspaces. For instance, this is how I set up my workspaces for writing:
I would say that my workflow is definitely niche, and I am aware of that.
What one piece of Linux software do you depend upon? Why is it so important?
My must-have application is probably the terminal (with fish shell), since the majority of my workflow involves it. Here is a list of applications I use regularly:
Outside of the web browser (sometimes, I even use w3m) and the PDF readers, I don’t really use that many GUI centric applications that aren’t desktop applets.
What kind of hardware do you run this setup on?
For work, I just have a single laptop, which is a Dell XPS 13. I attach it to a 29-inch LG ultrawide monitor, which shines tremendously with i3. I use a constantly-running script to change the DPI, turn Bluetooth on and off, etc, when I connect and disconnect the monitor. As for other hardware, I use a Kinesis Freestyle 2 Keyboard (a Bluetooth split keyboard), and a Logitech MX Master mouse. I also have Bose Q25 noise-canceling headphones to drown out noise.
Will you share a screenshot of your desktop?
Sure. There are usually five or six workspaces I have setup, but I’ll provide a screenshot of a blank desktop and a fake “busy” one. I set my terminal to an Arc-dark theme one afternoon, while I was bored, so they all match my GUI theme.
Interview conducted September 30, 2016
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.
My publisher created another slide deck from Learn Linux in a Month of Lunches. There’s also a discount code for the book. I’m not sure how they arrived at a 42% discount. Maybe double blackjack?
In the five years since this question was asked, there have been over a million other developers who got stuck in Vim and couldn’t escape without a bit of help.
This is a hilarious Stack Overflow milestone. Not that I haven’t gotten stuck in Vim before…
I moved to GNOME from Xfce a few months ago (spurred by a new desktop machine), but I couldn’t find the time to write up my experiences. Canonical announcing the death of Unity last month seemed like a good to finally get my thoughts down.
Way back in November, I got a new desktop. My beloved Thinkpad T420 was aging and slightly slow, but since it never left my desk, a small desktop and large monitor seemed to make more sense. I knew from the beginning I was going with GNOME, since it’s always felt fast and wired for people like me, who don’t want to use their mouse. Of course, Xfce has that same kind of configureability, but if I was using new hardware, why not take advantage of the processing power and use something nice looking, like GNOME?
I went with Ubuntu GNOME 16.04 and it required very little time to perfect. As near as I could tell, it came with GNOME Tweak preinstalled, making it easy to customize (and making me, like Steven Rosenberg, wonder why any GNOME system wouldn’t have it pre-installed…).
After that, I was all set. I wanted to change the background color of my desktop, but I couldn’t figure out how to easily do that so I gave up and my computing life hasn’t suffered too much for it.
I also wanted to use the default system-wide GNOME calendar (aka, Calendar), but to do that, I had to configure an Evolution account (Evolution is GNOME’s default [and bloated] email/calendar application), which felt annoying since I use Thunderbird for my email and calendar. I was able to add and then remove the Evolution account and preserve my Calendar settings, but it would be great if there was a direct way to configure Calendar. The new, much more robust California calendar application, which isn’t installed by default, seems to allow you to manually add calendars. Also, here’s a nice explanation of why GNOME has two calendars.
The California Calendar app
I installed a few extensions (AlternateTab, which should be called NormalTab; Clipboard Indicator; and Hibernate Status Button). I love that the extensions are handled through the web browser. And now you can even use Chromium, which wasn’t the case a few years ago.
Other than that, using GNOME has been easy and uneventful. The worst thing I might say about it is that the software updater hides from my mouse the first time it opens.
Start to finish, from installing Ubuntu (the Dell never even got to boot into Windows!), to having all of my accounts set-up and configured, was like two hours. I think I’ve spent more time deciding what to order for lunch.
My workflow is that I use the super key and type whatever files, folders, or programs I want to open. Everything is fast and looks nice, but most importantly, I don’t have to think about my desktop experience.
In reflecting upon the move to GNOME, I’ve wondered if GNOME is that good, if I’ve gotten good at understanding what I need from a desktop environment, or if I’ve matured and am less concerned with tweaking every aspect of my desktop experience. After much internal deliberation, I really do think it’s that GNOME is a great fit for someone like me, who doesn’t want to use a mouse. It works very well out of the box and requires very little customization to work for me. What little customizations I did want are amazingly simple to implement with the extensions.
I remain surprised GNOME Tweak doesn’t let the end-user easily do more with the overall look and feel of the desktop—especially the desktop background—but it’s an extremely small price to pay for being able to have my desktop environment perfectly configured in just a few hours.
