Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
My name is Richard, but you can call me Flash. It's an old high school nickname, replete with irony now, as I am a recent amputee and not quite as fleet of (one) foot as I once was. I have dabbled in *nix off and on for about twenty-five years now (counting a period of employment in a Unix house in 1992), but there have always previously been issues or shortcomings that kept me from really going to GNU/Linux full-time. I still use Windows quite often, Android and Chrome OS occasionally, and Mac OS pretty frequently (BURN the heretic, I hear the chant go up.) I did Windows support for quite a few years, so I know it well and do like it. That said, there are surely many good reasons to like GNU/Linux, and I do.
What I propose to cover in this series are my adventures and/or struggles with accomplishing everyday tasks in Ubuntu (or Kubuntu), typically in the KDE or Unity environments. I aim to help people discover how to solve problems, find work-arounds, and optimize their use of Linux as everyday users. I'm not aiming to become or create GNU/Linux gurus (although I'm surely not opposed), and I invite feedback on easier/better ways to do things. Any such submissions in response to articles or content will be considered the property of Full Circle Magazine for publication purposes, without remuneration, unless the writer/commenter specifies otherwise. That said, commentary and feedback are heartily encouraged and appreciated, at acer11kubuntu@gmail.com.
First, I'll describe my setups on my two main GNU/Linux machines, for context. One is an Acer Cloudbook, a thin, light machine with a modest 32 GB internal memory storage capacity, two GB functional RAM memory, a 128 GB microSD drive, and a 128 GB Ultrafit USB stick. This machine is pleasantly low-profile and light, was very inexpensive (just over $100 refurbished), and has sufficient space with the additional USB and microSD cards to actually be pretty useful. Battery life is all day, about 12-15 hours, The machine has Kubuntu 17.04 (Zesty Zapus) running, along with LibreOffice, Calligra Office, and a LOT of games I got from GOG.com, which I recommend highly. The speed for everyday tasks is quite adequate, and the keyboard and screen are fine for everyday work.
My other system, and the one I use most, is a Fujitsu Lifebook T4215 convertible, a form factor I really like. It converts from laptop to tablet by swiveling and folding down the screen, and is, of course, pen-enabled. It is a nice size with a good, typable keyboard, a clear and reasonably bright screen (although only 1024×768), a maxed out four GB RAM, a two TB upgraded hard drive, and a battery life of around two and a half hours, which I find acceptable for my usage patterns. It also has both LibreOffice and Calligra Office, but is still pending installation of a lot of my games, it is set up to dual-boot with Windows 10 (KILL the INFIDEL, I know.) The desktop is Unity, and Ubuntu is version 16.10 (YakketyYak).
I was pleasantly surprised that pen capability, and screen orientation switching from portrait to landscape or vice versa, actually worked 'out of the box' – a major plus. I needed to install only Tegaki to enable handwriting recognition. While this is an older, lower-powered machine, it runs Windows 10 just fine and Ubuntu like a champ. One of Linux's nicer advantages: it typically does run well on older hardware, just as claimed. This machine cost me about $70 on eBay, and I spent about $110 more on upgrades (including a replacement pen, as it had none initially). So, with an under $200 investment, I have a nicely functioning machine with pen capability, plenty of storage space, and good speed for everyday tasks. Dual-boot setup was simple and straightforward, and worked without a hitch. The only caveat to the installation process, really, is install Windows first, then Linux. The rest is a breeze.
Both machines are set up to print to an HP B210 Photosmart printer via CUPS, and both are set up to use portable external hard drives, add-on USB powered speakers, and to transfer data to and from an Android smartphone. I also have USB joysticks hooked up for game playing.
One thing that I really enjoy on these machines is retro gaming , and I have gotten a good many terrific games from GOG.com, as previously mentioned. For those who still appreciate golden oldies like “Grim Fandango”, “Doom”, “Baldur's Gate”, and “Duke Nukem 3D”, GOG.com is really a great resource. They focus mostly on Windows, with a fair number of Mac OS titles, but they also have a good selection of games that run on Linux.
Of course, a lot of older games can also be run effectively via DOSBox, which I found to be much easier to use than expected, and which I routinely use to run old favorites like Wing Commander I and II, System Shock, and Ultima Underworld. Expect a later column with a focus on retro gaming.
As an old (certified) hand on Microsoft Office, I am keenly interested in Office suites on GNU/Linux, so expect some material on LibreOffice and Calligra Office as time goes on. I also used to work for a graphics software company, the late, lamented Micrografx, so I'll be looking at Inkscape, the GIMP, and other graphics software.
Any suggestions or requests for topics to address in future installments are welcomed, again at acer11kubuntu@gmail.com. Please understand, as I live in a rural area with low quality internet access (mostly via cell phone tethering), responses may not be as timely as we would all like, but there's little to be done about that for the time being. Input is still much appreciated.
Next month: Getting started with key software installations.
Bio Richard 'Flash' Adams spent about 20 years in corporate IT. He lives in rural northwest Georgia, USA, with his adopted 'son', a cockatiel named Baby.