Tag Archives: windows

A Few Thoughts on Ubuntu One

Tech/Gaming, , , ,

Canonical has released it’s beta version of it’s first cloud-based operating system synchronization software, Ubuntu One. For anyone who knows me, I love Ubuntu and Dropbox. Although this is making big news, I am not very excited.

Cloud-based operating system synchronization software is a great idea; however, it will inevitably fail as the de facto standard. With the Ubuntu One service plan, you get 2 gig of storage for free and for $10 you get 10 gig of space. Smells like they are taking a bite out of the Dropbox success, right? Wrong. As much as this sounds like a match made in heaven to have a Dropbox like application built into the operating system, it is not. Instead, Canonical is going to add a service that is already provided but, with far less benefits.

Ubuntu is a great operating system and there are many reasons while I will continue to use it; however, the Ubuntu operating system is flawed. There are many problems with this operating system, see Bryan Lunduke’s presentation to get a view of the problems Linux faces on the desktop platform. Basically, Canonical is adding a redundant piece of software that they have to update and maintain; yet, they still haven’t addressed many of the problems that Ubuntu faces on a regular basis. Ubuntu 9.04 is the best version yet. Many improvements make it very stable, fast, and functional but, I still can’t use Photoshop, play mainstream games, and use other proprietary and superior, software that I can on windows. Perhaps Canonical should really be concentrating it’s resources on this aspect instead.

Since, I still have to switch to windows to use most of the industry standard software, Ubuntu One will not cut it. Dropbox will continue to serve my needs because I can install it on my work provided windows laptop, on both Ubuntu and Windows boots on my desktop and even if I had a Mac, I could install it there too.

In conclusion, software which caters to one operating system or oneweb browser will die a slow painful death. Every operating system has their benefits and draw backs. None of them are perfect. Take Internet Explorer for example. Microsoft keeps rolling out new versions of the web browser yet, they won’t create versions for different operating systems. Yes, you can install Internet Explorer on Macs but, there hasn’t been a new version since IE5. Also, there is IEs4Linux which hasn’t been updated since about 2006 with IE6 the highest version you can go and it is really buggy. Look at what we see happening, slowly but surely, alternative browsers like Firefox are taking market share. Even Apple understands this concept, you think the iPod would have had this much success if you couldn’t use it with windows? The era of operating system specific software is dead and gone. The companies that realize this will prevail, the others will fade away.

Dropbox File Synchronization Application

@RaNdoM Tip, Tech/Gaming, , , , , ,

There is a new application out there that is getting a lot of buzz lately. Dropbox, a free application that you install and it creates a local folder on your computer. Once you sign up for the free service you get 2 GB of storage space that you can use to store files online.
What makes this so awesome is that you can use this various different ways. The first way to use this is you can put files into the folder on your computer and Dropbox will automatically upload that file to your online account. They give you two options. You have a public folder and a private folder. When you put the files in the public folder you can get a link that you can pass out to whoever you want and they can access that file and download it. If you put the file in the private folder other people can access that file but, you can log onto your account from anywhere in the world and grab that file.
Another great use of this application is, you can install the app on all your computers. It doesn’t matter if it is Linux, Windows, or Apple. When you install Dropbox on different computers and you add or delete a file from your Dropbox folder on one computer, the application will update the other computers you have installed Dropbox on, once they are connected to the internet.
I have been using Dropbox since if was first announced and I have loved every bit of it.

Launchy Application Launcher

@RaNdoM Tip, Tech/Gaming, , , , , ,

I just downloaded and started using Launchy Application Launcher and it is a fantastic piece of software. It is similar to Gnome Do (frequently used by Linux users) and Ubiquity Firefox plugin. This application can be downloaded for Linux and Windows. So go and check it out, you may find it very useful. Have any questions on how to use this application? Click the Help! link and ask me.