A Man and his Penguin

In my post entitled "Cool Epiphany Feature", I said that I thought Epiphany should be the default browser in Ubuntu. At the time, I didn’t realise that this had been considered for Breezy (current version of Ubuntu), and reconsidered for Dapper (next version of Ubuntu). There’s a whole page on the Ubuntu Wiki about the pros and cons of Firefox and Epiphany as default browsers.

Also, someone started a new topic about the debate on the Ubuntu forum.

Anyway, I trust the Ubuntu developers in their decision; and I realise that it might be some work to stop Epiphany (and every other Gecko-based application) from depending on Firefox being installed. So I withdraw my statement.

(but I do think Epiphany is a great browser and that the move should be considered at each new Ubuntu version)

I have recently started running the distributed.net client on my computer. For those of you who don’t know, Distributed.net is a non-profit organisation that allows normal people to lend their computer’s processing time to some worthy pursuit. This happens by downloading a small program which in turn downloads some data, processes it in the background, and then sends the results back to the main server. It basically forms a huge supercomputer, AND there are cash prizes too for whoever finds the answer to whatever problem.

I’ve started running it to give the folks at Team Ubuntu a bit of a boost. With Distributed.net, you can form and join teams of people who are trying to win the prize and give themselves a bit of exposure. I’ve just got one and a half packets to process, and then I’ll be able to join the team.
——————-

I’m suddenly having trouble with Epiphany and Firefox. They crash whenever I try to go to my locker on mp3tunes.com. It must be that plugin I installed. Also, I tried to webload a song from my local computer using Apache, and apparantly the data rate is too slow. I tried uploading the song to my ISP’s web space, but apparantly that was too slow too.
——————-

As part of my neverending quest to find a good lightweight browser, I installed Dillo (one of the standard web browsers in the Damn Small Linux distro). Only a couple of hundred kbs, and it’s very fast. The only problem is, pretty much any site which requires a login is incompatible with Dillo. I suspect pretty much everything is incompatible. Still, considering that my previous lightweight browser was w3m (text-based), it’s a bit of a step up.
——————-

I’m working 6 days this week, so that’s why I haven’t had much of a chance to play around with Ubuntu again. Also, my father wants me to finish his podcast, so that’s going to take up some more time on the 1 day I’m free. Oh well. I’m looking forward to going on some kind of walk tomorrow after work.

I have recently started running the distributed.net client on my computer. For those of you who don’t know, Distributed.net is a non-profit organisation that allows normal people to lend their computer’s processing time to some worthy pursuit. This happens by downloading a small program which in turn downloads some data, processes it in the background, and then sends the results back to the main server. It basically forms a huge supercomputer, AND there are cash prizes too for whoever finds the answer to whatever problem.

I’ve started running it to give the folks at Team Ubuntu a bit of a boost. With Distributed.net, you can form and join teams of people who are trying to win the prize and give themselves a bit of exposure. I’ve just got one and a half packets to process, and then I’ll be able to join the team.
——————-

I’m suddenly having trouble with Epiphany and Firefox. They crash whenever I try to go to my locker on mp3tunes.com. It must be that plugin I installed. Also, I tried to webload a song from my local computer using Apache, and apparantly the data rate is too slow. I tried uploading the song to my ISP’s web space, but apparantly that was too slow too.
——————-

As part of my neverending quest to find a good lightweight browser, I installed Dillo (one of the standard web browsers in the Damn Small Linux distro). Only a couple of hundred kbs, and it’s very fast. The only problem is, pretty much any site which requires a login is incompatible with Dillo. I suspect pretty much everything is incompatible. Still, considering that my previous lightweight browser was w3m (text-based), it’s a bit of a step up.
——————-

I’m working 6 days this week, so that’s why I haven’t had much of a chance to play around with Ubuntu again. Also, my father wants me to finish his podcast, so that’s going to take up some more time on the 1 day I’m free. Oh well. I’m looking forward to going on some kind of walk tomorrow after work.

I have recently started running the distributed.net client on my computer. For those of you who don’t know, Distributed.net is a non-profit organisation that allows normal people to lend their computer’s processing time to some worthy pursuit. This happens by downloading a small program which in turn downloads some data, processes it in the background, and then sends the results back to the main server. It basically forms a huge supercomputer, AND there are cash prizes too for whoever finds the answer to whatever problem.

I’ve started running it to give the folks at Team Ubuntu a bit of a boost. With Distributed.net, you can form and join teams of people who are trying to win the prize and give themselves a bit of exposure. I’ve just got one and a half packets to process, and then I’ll be able to join the team.
——————-

I’m suddenly having trouble with Epiphany and Firefox. They crash whenever I try to go to my locker on mp3tunes.com. It must be that plugin I installed. Also, I tried to webload a song from my local computer using Apache, and apparantly the data rate is too slow. I tried uploading the song to my ISP’s web space, but apparantly that was too slow too.
——————-

As part of my neverending quest to find a good lightweight browser, I installed Dillo (one of the standard web browsers in the Damn Small Linux distro). Only a couple of hundred kbs, and it’s very fast. The only problem is, pretty much any site which requires a login is incompatible with Dillo. I suspect pretty much everything is incompatible. Still, considering that my previous lightweight browser was w3m (text-based), it’s a bit of a step up.
——————-

I’m working 6 days this week, so that’s why I haven’t had much of a chance to play around with Ubuntu again. Also, my father wants me to finish his podcast, so that’s going to take up some more time on the 1 day I’m free. Oh well. I’m looking forward to going on some kind of walk tomorrow after work.

I have recently started running the distributed.net client on my computer. For those of you who don’t know, Distributed.net is a non-profit organisation that allows normal people to lend their computer’s processing time to some worthy pursuit. This happens by downloading a small program which in turn downloads some data, processes it in the background, and then sends the results back to the main server. It basically forms a huge supercomputer, AND there are cash prizes too for whoever finds the answer to whatever problem.

I’ve started running it to give the folks at Team Ubuntu a bit of a boost. With Distributed.net, you can form and join teams of people who are trying to win the prize and give themselves a bit of exposure. I’ve just got one and a half packets to process, and then I’ll be able to join the team.
——————-

I’m suddenly having trouble with Epiphany and Firefox. They crash whenever I try to go to my locker on mp3tunes.com. It must be that plugin I installed. Also, I tried to webload a song from my local computer using Apache, and apparantly the data rate is too slow. I tried uploading the song to my ISP’s web space, but apparantly that was too slow too.
——————-

As part of my neverending quest to find a good lightweight browser, I installed Dillo (one of the standard web browsers in the Damn Small Linux distro). Only a couple of hundred kbs, and it’s very fast. The only problem is, pretty much any site which requires a login is incompatible with Dillo. I suspect pretty much everything is incompatible. Still, considering that my previous lightweight browser was w3m (text-based), it’s a bit of a step up.
——————-

I’m working 6 days this week, so that’s why I haven’t had much of a chance to play around with Ubuntu again. Also, my father wants me to finish his podcast, so that’s going to take up some more time on the 1 day I’m free. Oh well. I’m looking forward to going on some kind of walk tomorrow after work.

Because my computer is a bit old, slow, and lacking in memory, I use the GNOME Epiphany web browser instead of the standard Mozilla Firefox one that comes with Ubuntu.

After trying for the third time to get RealPlayer to actually play RealVideo files, I decided to go into Epiphany and see if the RealPlayer plugin worked any better. I didn’t have any files handy, so I went to Realguide.com.

I think I confused the computer, because Epiphany crashed. (the same page worked in Firefox - I tried it). I went back into Epiphany to look at one of my favourite web forums and it asked me if I’d like to go back to the same pages I was browsing when it last crashed.

This is a great feature that should be looked at for Firefox 2.0. I hate it when I follow a convoluted trail of links, opening several tabs along the way, only to have the browser eventually crash and me have to start again.

As Epiphany has the same rendering engine as Firefox, most of the same appealing features, and more speed; it should be the default browser for Ubuntu. Anyone else with me on this?

…I hear you ask. Here’s a summary.

Ubuntu is a Linux-based operating system. Linux is a kernel - a kernel is the foundation of a computer operating system such as Windows. Unlike the Windows kernel, the Linux kernel is free to download, modify, and use.

There are many operating systems that use Linux. These include Red Hat, Debian, Gentoo, Mandriva, and Linspire. You may have heard of some of these names before. These OS’es are all said to be Linux Distributions because they contain other application programs as well.

Ubuntu is also a Linux Distribution (abbreviated to distro).

Linux is the operating system that powers most of the world’s web servers, and probably most e-mail servers too. This is so because it’s safe against attackers/hackers, it’s stable (i.e. rarely crashes), and can multitask (walk and chew gum at the same time - you know what I mean).

Recently though, the various Linux distributions have gotten a lot easier for mere mortals to use. They include graphical user interfaces, useful applications for business and pleasure, and lots more stuff that you never dreamed you’d want to use. Ubuntu is one of the easier-to-use distros. And it’s free to download, free to use, and free to modify.

If you want to start your Linux journey and have some Linux adventures just like me, you’d better get yourself a Linux distribution. If you just want to run a simple, fast distro from CD without touching your hard disk, try doing a web search for "Puppy Linux". Apparantly it’s great. If you want to take the plunge and install a Linux onto your hard disk, there are plenty of distros to choose from. If you want more info about Ubuntu, go here: www.ubuntu.com

I know what you’re thinking: "A Man and his Penguin? What kind of silly title is this?" Well, rest assured: It’s not really a silly title. It’s actually an apt (apt-get?) description of what this weblog is about. It’s about my experiences with running Ubuntu Linux on a Mac.

You see, when Mac OS 9 became superceded by OS X, I was kinda annoyed. OS X’s interface is more like NeXT than the Mac. It also uses more processing power, memory, and hard disk space. I started investigating the possibility of running a different operating system; but without broadband, there was no way I could actually get another OS.

When I got broadband last year, I started investigating the possibility again. I don’t remember how, but I found out about Ubuntu, and I downloaded a Live CD on Christmas Eve 2005. A little while later I worked out how to run it, and I quite enjoyed the horribly-slow experience. So I ordered some CDs from Ubuntu’s "ShipIt" service (where they send you CDs for free).

In Janurary, my CDs arrived, and I installed Ubuntu. Now whenever I start up, I have the option of using Mac OS 9, or Ubuntu. Most of the time I choose the latter.

This blog is aimed at experienced Ubuntu users who don’t mind reading words from a comparative newbie, but it’s also aimed at my friends who might possibly be interested in running some form of Linux. I hope you enjoy it.