Blogging by E-mail?

I'm getting close to perfecting my program set-up for my Acer One Netbook - something that would be simply an impossible dream in Windows.

Next step?

Find a good way to edit blogs.  Blogger's composition screen uses up so much space for menu items, settings and (unnecessary) Google options that it leaves less than 1/4 of the screen at the bottom left for actually writing. That makes it hard to edit, see what I've typed and work with images.

So, here goes my test with blogging by e-mail.

This is test #3:

#1 - Google Docs, failed
#2 - was an e-mail trial and didn't get the images right

Now, I got myself more screen space for composition in my e-mail program (Thunderbird) and I think I figured out the image thing.  Let's see ...

Xubuntu and The Perfect Programs for Me

Some of my new programs in Application Finder

Last post, I talked about how I made Xubuntu visually ideal for a netbook; it already functions perfectly.  Today, I'm just going to give a list of programs I added.  You'll notice they're mostly office items; for multimedia I just use the internet browser (Youtube for videos and Grooveshark for music.)

System and running utilities:

Synapse - Yesterday, I described this neat tool - the perfect combination of a menu and a program, document and folder search, as well as a bunch of other stuff.

Synaptic - Not to be confused with Synapse above, this program installs and removes programs. It has a simpler user interface than the default Ubuntu Software Center, but is faster, more flexible, and better at cleaning up removed programs.

Deja Dup (backup) - This backs up files onto a hard drive or cloud drive (like Google Drive or Dropbox.) The first back up took about 30 minutes, and after that about 10.

Gnome Disk Utility - This formats and creates partitions on disks. It also checks basic disk health and temperature.

Java (open jdk java 7) - LibreOffice needs this.

Firewall (ufw & gufw) – They say Linux doesn't usually need security software. Just in case.

Unebootin (create boot USBs) - This allows you to put any Ubuntu and many other Linux distributions on a USB, either to test run from the USB or to install on another computer. I used it for that second laptop, and just to have fun testing out other operating systems for netbooks.

Skype sign in on my desktop

Office & internet:

LibreOffice – This is a complete office suite, like Microsoft Office, but free. I hid the Standard menu since I use ctrl-s to save. I only have the formatting menu, again saving vertical space.

Chrome - Although I've reconciled with Firefox, in the end Chrome is still slightly faster. It also saves all my browser settings to my gmail account so I can use them on any computer. No bookmark toolbar or menus, only the tabs on top.

Skype - I use it for work. They don't let you open your user from other programs.

Adobe reader - The PDF reader included doesn't work for secured PDFs.

Cheese – This program takes pictures and videos from the webcam. Mostly for fun with the kids. (It also sinstalls Brasero, Nautilus and several other programs with it that are useless to me; so I removed them.)

Because of these additions, I could also eliminate: AbiWord , Gnumeric , Document Viewer , Firefoxy and Xchat . Firefox is fine, but I don't need 2. Xchat is redundant since besides Skype, Thunderbird also includes a chat option that can integrate Google Talk and Facebook chat.

Xubuntu: How to Adapt it for a Netbook's Small Screen

Chrome full-screen, with my adapted main panel to the left

I love minis – usually called “netbooks” in the normal world. In fact, I've come to like them so much, I would probably buy one even if I could afford a full-sized laptop.

But there's only one problem; as Isaid on Tuesday, most operating systems are not made for them. Either you get too much squished into the screen and everything's tiny, or the operating system eats up too much memory for these light-performance machines, or – most often – both.

Yesterday, we saw some nice options in the other Ubuntu variations for netbook-specific desktops that I've actually tried. There are other Linux-based systems also that look nice from the screenshots I've seen.

My solution: use an operating system that's light-weight but very customizable, like Xubuntu.

Xubuntu – Lightweight, Visually Pleasant & Flexible

As I pointed out last post, Xubuntu is not visually laid out for netbooks. However, it offers these advantages:

• it is lightweight – it works at lightning speed on my Acer One Aspire
• it looks nice – it's no Windows 7 or Ubuntu, but it's clean and elegantly designed; several other light-weight Linux distributions I tested looked clumsy, or at best very bland – not Xubuntu
• it's very customizable – for the most part, you can make it do what you want, if you know how; a few weeks ago I did not know how, but in the Ubuntu world, Google answers all

So, after being satisfied that Xubuntu was the best balance of rapid performance, features and visual appeal for my netbook and my needs, I set out to optimize it visually for a small screen.

I will start off by simply listing the changes I made with a brief description why. At the bottom I will offer brief instructions about how to make them, if anyone reading this is actually interested in installing Xubuntu on a mini.

The Changes I Made for a Netbook's Small Screen

The basic concept of these changes is to make everything as big as possible without cluttering the screen, and have everything appear full screen:

1. Synapse Searching and Launching – This is the best and fastest search and launch feature I have used. As you type, it auto-completes with suggestions from files, programs and folders, based on what you've used most and recently. Hitting “enter” launches the selection immediately. This is not specifically a netbook customization, but it eliminates 90% of menu use. On a very small screen, menus are a nuisance. It also eliminates the need for quick-launching buttons in the panels (for common programs like word) saving space.

This is what Synapse looks like:

2. Maximus – This simple program makes all windows open automatically maximized. On a netbook, fullscreen is the best way to go.

3. Panel Adaptation - I replaced the top menu panel and bottom quick-launch panel (which by default look pretty much like a simpler version of what you see in Mac) with 2 side panels:

• Left Panel – Start Menu (“Applications”), Synapse, Show-Desktop Icon, Clock, and all indicators and notifications (battery, network, etc.) I increased the size to 60 pixels and made it icons only with no text.
• Right Panel – Shows icons for all open windows; medium icons only (48).
• Auto Hide & Appear – When the panels are not being used, they are hidden. The appear when you move the mouse to the edge of the screen. This means maximized windows are full screen, optimizing the screen space.

  

  both panels with the panel modification menu open: notice the green "S" Synapse icon, top left, 2nd from the top

With Synapse, I found all the quick-launch icons have simply not been necessary. On the whole, the narrow main panel that appears on the bottom for windows and on the top for Xubuntu/Ubuntu is not very useful for netbooks, since it's hard to see and eats up much needed vertical space. As an auto-hide side menu with large icons it takes less space and is easier to see everything quickly.

4. Windows & Themes – The following changes in the Settings Manager work wonders:

• “greybird compact ” theme, which has a very narrow, grey header on all windows (with Maximus, mentioned above, there's an option to make all the headers disappear entirely!)
• default font size - 12
• reduce workspaces to one 1 – the default is 2, but I found I can work with everything in the same workspace; with two I found I kept having to move open windows between them, although it can help to keep the “open window” panel less cluttered.
• desktop icons – only removable devices, like USB sticks or external hard drives; For some reason, Synapse doesn't search for these or their content, so it's nice to have a quick-launch somewhere
• increase menu icon and text size – As I said, Synapse eliminates the need for most menu use, but when I do use the main menu, I don't like to squint; with a size of 28, they are nicely visible, but the entire main menu still fits on the screen; it almost fills it. (This change isn't in the Setting Manager. It requires changing the menu settings file, which is easy, you just have to know how.)

My full screen in the file browser; notice the larger fonts and icons, and the open-window menu on the right

5. Program Zoom – Besides increasing the size of everything in the Xubuntu desktop, I found it more comfortable if I increased the zoom within each program to about 125-140%. In word documents, this still easily fits the entire text onto the screen. On the internet (Firefox or Chrome) I found most pages have all of their main information on 2/3 of the page (either left or right side); the rest is ads or menus. For a few, you have to scroll back and forth, but I haven't found this is common. (See the screenshot at the very top of this post.)

Come to think of it, this post is already too long, so I'm not going to describe how to make these changes step by step. If you need to know how to do any of this, please let me know.

Tomorrow I will share a list of programs I added, that have nothing to do with netbooks, but make life easier for me.

Are There Operating Systems for Netbooks? Windows vs. The Ubuntus

Ubuntu - with large icons and large, clean menus

A few weeks ago, I wrote a series of posts about how I rescued two netbooks (which I usually call “minis”) from the trash heap by removing Windows and installing Xubuntu. Today I'm going to write about how Ubuntu and its variations (of which Xubuntu is one) are ideal specifically for netbooks. Tomorrow I'll share some info on specific customizations I made to Xubuntu.

Not for Netbooks!!!

Before entering the world of Ubuntu (the Linux operating system of which Xubuntu is a lighter variation) I had never seen an operating system for a mini. I just assumed that you had to deal with the fact that you would be seeing everything in fine print, simply shrunk down to fit on a smaller screen.

Windows 8 has addressed this somewhat with their tablet-like app-focused start-up screen, and automatic full-screen for all apps run out of the start screen make it visually ideal for minis. Menus and search bars also disappear and only appear on demand.

Visually, they got it right. Not perfect, but definitely the right concept.

Kubuntu's Netbook Remix

However, considering that Windows 7 and even XP bog down minis to the point of complete dysfunction and uselessness, I'm not sure that Windows 8 which is even heavier and messier woud work well on a mini. It's not worth my while to try.

The Ubuntu Solution for Netbooks

The Ubuntu family of operating systems includes 4 main options. Of these:

Ubuntu's desktop (called “Unity”) is already ideal for netbooks with a sleek sidebar for launching programs quickly, and a universal search/menu button in the top left corner. It searches your entire computer, and the web, as you type!

Lubuntu's bland & funtcional netbook option

Kubuntu has a built-in netbook “remix” (see the screenshot above.) When you run Kubuntu it automatically detects that you're using a netbook and runs the desktop as a visually-appealing full-screen menu with the menu headings (“Office”, “System”, “Internet,” etc.) appearing as icons across the top, and the program options appearing as icons on the desktop. Only the items in the category selected appear. There is an automatic search which (as with Ubuntu) searches as you type, bringing up any programs, files, folders and locations.

Lubuntu, the lightest-weight option (with which I rescued an abandoned PC in my parents' house 2 weeks ago) also has netbook desktop, but you have to log out and choose to log in again as a netbook. Like Lubuntu in general, it looks rather bland, offering the desktop as a full-screen menu, with tabs on the top for the menu headings and icons for each program – kind of like Kubuntu, but “stone-age” instead of “space-age” in appearance. Also like Lubuntu in general, it works at lightning speed and very clean.

But I Chose Xubuntu – With No Netbook Option

Of the 4, Xubuntu, the second lightest, is the only one without a netbook design or option. And it's the one I'm using. I've chosen to stick with Xubuntu because it's noticeably faster than Ubuntu and Kubuntu; both of those are much faster that Windows 7 on this mini, but I like the fact that I can open 6 programs at once and begin browsing the web immediately while the other programs load without any delay.

Xubuntu, nice but not visually netbook friendly - yet

My wife pointed out to me that I was talking about seconds of waiting. I'm being picky. But I like the fact that I can be picky and have my computer working almost exactly as I want.

The bottom line is that Xubuntu is almost as light as Lubuntu, but looks much better. Since it works fast enough on my Acer Aspire One mini, I'm sticking with it.

And the final point is that, perhaps more than the other 3 options, and 1000x more than Windows, Xubuntu is very flexible and adjustable to make it look how you need.

So tomorrow I will write about how I've tweaked Xubuntu to make it visually netbook-friendly.