Ubuntu Screenlets

Ubuntu Screenlets are very similar to the Gadgets that Microsoft added to Vista or Apples dashboard widgets. I have added several to my desktop (on the right hand side of the screen). Just like Ubuntu itself, these are highly customizable "information portals" (my term) that really add a lot of useful information and tools that are always visible on your screen (if you choose them to be). You can think of these as mini applications that are running in mini windows on your screen. As you can see, the ones I have running are:

• Calendar
• ClearWeather
• Clock (always gotta have one of these ;^)
• Convert (F to C, cm to in, etc)
• NetMonitor (monitors my network activity, # of bytes sent and received)
• Places (shortcuts to folders such as Desktop, Pictures, Music, etc)
• Sensors (monitor you CPU, RAM, CPU temp, WiFi strength, etc)
• Slideshow (picture slideshow)
• Speech (speaks whatever you type, just a geeky thing or if you want to carry a conversation with your computer late at night. Don't tell my wife!)
• Stocks
• Trash (Ubuntu does not have a Trash icon on the screen by default)
• Volume Control (simply hover over top and slide the mouse wheel up and down)

Screenlets comes with about 50 screenlets pre-installed but you can add more from their website. Installation is easy but takes a few more steps than a normal install since it does not use the typical "Add/Remove Applications" program. I followed these steps for using Synaptic Package Manager (located in the menus at... System | Administration | Synaptic Package Manager) and it worked just fine. Just to clarify, these are not strictly for Ubuntu even though I referred to them as "Ubuntu Screenlets". These will work for other linux distros too.

After using this for a few days I've noticed that sometimes not all of the screenlets start when the PC restarts. I'm not sure what causes this yet but one way to correct it is to run the Screenlets Manager (Applications | Accessories | Screenlets Manager) then click the "Re-Start All" button.

Let me know what you think of Screenlets and which ones you choose to install.

Linux is Not Windows

For anyone considering switching from Microsoft Windows to Linux (Ubuntu is a "flavor" of linux), I would recommend reading this excellent article titled, Linux is Not Windows. It is a very long article and most of it applies to Linux as it is today but some of it appears a bit dated (i.e. 2004 and earlier based on his own personal use of linux timeline). Ubuntu, which came out in 2004, has matured a lot in 4 years and has simplified the usage of Linux to make some of what the article addresses, not such a big concern anymore.

I like the articles use of analogies to help explain the differences between Linux and Windows. I plan to highlight and summarize the main points and update this post as I go. So check back soon.

In the mean time, here is the outline of it:

#1: Linux isn't exactly the same as Windows.
#2: Linux is too different from Windows
#3: Culture shock
... #3a: There is a culture
... #3b: New vs. Old
#4: Designed for the designer
#5: The myth of "user-friendly"
... #5a: Familiar is friendly
... #5b: Inefficient is friendly
#6: Imitation vs. Convergence
#7: That FOSS thing.