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 Works Great, But I Had to Choose Better Office Apps

As I've been going on about for the past few days, Xubuntu works great.  It saved my computer, which was with Windows 7 was simply not worth keeping.

There is one point to Xubuntu that is a pro and a con at the same time:  it comes with a complete software package - word processor, PDF viewer, web browser, e-mail, photo editor ... the list could go on.  Everything is chosen to be reliable and light weight, since most users, like me, choose it for that reason.

However, not all of the apps turn out to be 100% reliable.  The following are the apps I changed, for anyone that cares.

Less than Perfect Word Processor - Abiword
Abiword is the word processor included.  It is most certainly light weight, and super fast with just about any function you could want.  Here's someone else's screen shot that I found on the web:
 

 
I believe for most users who are just creating their own new documents, it would be fine.  However, I had problems saving documents in other formats.  For example, the work I had saved from before was in docx (Word) files.   Within 2 days, it had corrupted 3 files.  Fortunately, the last two had been backed up (by Abiword, which is a point in favour), but I just wasn't going to take any more chances.  It was also messing up formatting, which was a minor point.

I tried "downgrading" to the last stable version (8.7, I think - it came with 9.2) but this didn't help.

An Old Favorite - LibreOffice
To replace Abiword, I installed LibreOffice, which is actually a package including pretty much the same stuff as MS Office.  Here's the start screen:

This is the word processor:

(This is my own customized toolbar, which I prefer to have very trimmed down.  The default toolbar has plenty of functions right at your fingertip.  It also has large zoom to make up for the mini netbook screen.)

Back when I had my last laptop (the one I revived 2 days ago) it hadn't come with MS Office Starter as this computer did (which, by the way, is also really annoying for a low-memory computer, since it eats up memory with constantly changing ads.)

So, when I first discovered Ubuntu in a local computer shop (in Playa del Carmen) I decided to give OpenOffice a try even though I wasn't ready to make the leap to Ubuntu; I had seen it listed on the back of the installation disk as one of the included software.  I had been quite happy with it, but when my computer supposedly got "fried" and no longer worked, I stopped using it.

When looking for a replacement for Abiword I discovered LibreOffice which is a branch from OpenOffice.  (It essentially the same thing, but based entirely on open source.  OpenOffice, in the last days I was using it had been acquired by Oracle, who had a dispute with the open source developers.  The developers just decided to continue the project on their own.  So, both exist parallel now.)

Advantages of LibreOffice
Of course, LibreOffice is entirely free.  It's also available for Windows if anyone needs a good, free office suite.  It is rich in functions, so it loads a little slower than Abiword, but it's a question of about 3 seconds.  It opens and saves Word files flawlessly, maintaining the format.  It also converts them really easily.

I've read that there are good, reliable word processors for Linux which are lighter than LibreOffice.  But, LibreOffice is very much like Word and it's easy to get used to.  So, since I'm very new to the whole Linux thing, I can live with the 3-5 extra seconds of loading time.  Most importantly, it works very well for all my needs.

Even the "heavy" programs are doing just fine within Xubuntu.

Spreadsheet
I had also been making heavy use of XL.  Xubuntu came with a spreadsheet called Gnumeric:

This worked better than Abiword, but it took a long time to load XL files (xlsx.)  Converting was also a pain, requiring a command line feature, which seemed to have glitches, or copying and pasting the content into a Gnumeric file  one page at a time.  It didn't corrupt any files, but it was becoming time consuming which defeats the purpose of having a light-weight program.

The spreadsheet in LibreOffice (Calc) also works very well, loading and opening files in a matter of seconds and reading and saving other formats without any problems. (The default format is the open document format, ODT, ODS, which are fairly universal in the world of open source programs, or so I've read.)

Here's a screen shot of LibreOffice Calc, again with my customized, trimmed down toolbar:

Finding, Downloading and Removing Software
The easiest way to find and download software or even plug-ins in Xubuntu is the Ubuntu Software Center which is included:

However, I found that it didn't do such a good job of removing software, leaving files and packages behind.  This is a normal problem with Linux.  It is also a problem with Windows.  (Most people wouldn't even notice this.) For me, it wasn't really a problem since my computer is working with a minimal number of programs and only 8% of my hard drive is full.  But I like to keep things clean from the beginning.

The program is also slowed down by rotating, internet-fed ads as you can see in the picture above (like MS Office Starter.)  Since I use it infrequently, this isn't a huge problem, but together with the messy uninstallation, it's enough to find an alternative.

So, I installed Synaptic Package Manager, which not only installs and un-installs programs, but also identifies and removes orphaned packages to ensure the uninstallations are clean:

I'm still using the Software Center to install since I think it's easier for this, but Synaptic seems to be better overall.  Once I a more seasoned user, I will change completely to Synaptic.

Actually, either one of these alone is better than Windows; Windows has no single program or web page which lists out program options an offers easy installation - especially not FREE ones!

I also installed BleachBit which is a Linux version of CCleaner, to clean up unnecessary files left by internet programs (web browsers and e-mail.)

Ready to Rock and Roll
Other than some minor adjustments I made to individual programs (mostly just little, unimportant preferences), that's about it.  I think Xubuntu is completely ready for me to use just as it is now.

If anyone needs to know how to make any of the changes I listed above, I can share the links where others describe the steps in pretty easy terms.

For now, I just have one more post about Xubuntu coming up, which will be the story of my old laptop, abandoned for dead, now brought back to life.

And Now for Chrome ...

In the Beginning...

For a brief time in my teenaged years I used Netscape. At some point, I changed to Mozilla/Firefox and I never looked back.  I was a solid convert.

Internet Explorer never cut it for me, and it still doesn't.  Like so many things Microsoft comes out with, their user-friendliness makes no sense to me and I fumble over it all the time.

When Chrome was released I tried it briefly.  I could never find what I wanted to do (bookmarks, history, settings, etc.) and I had actually been quite happy with Firefox, so I just uninstalled it.  I had only tried it on the excitement of a new thing from Google, and the recommendation of a friend.  Later again, the same friend reassured me it had improved even more.  But basically, my contentedness with Firefox left me with no desire or need to try anything else.

Disillusionment

But that has changed.  A few months ago, my laptop (an under-performing mini from Acer that really isn't fit for Windows 7) started getting bogged down to the point where I couldn't even shut it down properly.  I found some online fixes, including registry and graphics adjustments.  They helped a lot, but not completely. Although it had stopped freezing up, it still slowed down to the point where I would have to waste half an hour closing everything and shutting down (that's how slow it was) and restarting to make it work properly.

And then came the shocking realization.

Could it be that some service or function of my dear Firefox was causing the problem?  I had realized that the slowdowns only happened when Firefox was running.  In fact that had always been the case, but for months I just assumed that it was the internet activity, and not Firefox itself.  But even after the registry and graphics fixes, the pattern just became that much more clear.

Just today, it struck me; for the second time in a week, Firefox was running like a tricycle on mud road, taking a good 20 minutes to open pages.  In good faith, I assumed that we were having internet problems.  (Even this morning, I still readily and undoubtingly blamed Bell Canada without even considering Firefox.) Then my wife sent me a message over Skype. She was upstairs in the same house on the same internet connection.  No problems. (With crawling twin babies, and two other young children, it's easier than trying to come downstairs in person.)  I opened Internet Explorer to finish something off before restarting.  No problem.  Could it really be?

The Big Move

Quickly coming to the (shocking, life-changing, devastating yet fully liberating) realization that it was becoming increasingly apparent that Firefox was probably the main culprit all along, and still disliking Internet Explorer, I quickly downloaded and installed Chrome, hoping to retrieve some work that had been unsaved when Firefox starting "spinning its tires."  No luck.  Firefox had cost me an hour of work this morning. (Yes, I know, you're supposed to save every few minutes but in this case it was clearly the case of Firefox.)  And how many hours of frustration and searching the internet for improvements to make Windows 7 faster had Firefox already caused me?

I did a few blog posts on Chrome, downloading and uploading pictures, everything moving rapid and easily, while Firefox was still chugging away in the background.  So, I knowing the drastic measure I had to take, I opened the task manager and forced Firefox to close.  I authorized Chrome to transfer the settings from Firefox, and - here it is - for the first time (in nearly a decade?) I uninstalled Firefox with the intention of doing so permanently.

Is This the End?

Earlier in the evening I briefly considered changing the description of this blog to say:

"... an expat writes of his escape to Mexico and then back to Canada, a spiritual journey, a change in web browser and many discoveries in unexpected places in life."

 But the emotional pain is still to deep.

Firefox has let me down.

But so far, with 6 hours of using Chrome, all is well, not a single slow down or even delay or glitch.  In the past few months, this is a record.

(And just so you know that I'm not all that emotional about all of this, here's a good laugh:)

Coffee Press Offers End to my Coffee Woes - Soon

A Coffee Press

Among all my recent coffee woes, there is some exciting news.  About 2 weeks ago, I found a coffee press in perfect condition in a thrift shop for $2!  I bought it without a second thought.  Coffee presses make amazing coffee, and they're also very easy to use and versatile. For example, you can easily use one to make good tea, and use the press to keep the leaves out of your cup (without violating the integrity of your coffee maker or creating a mess that's hard to clean up.) Also, there's not much that can go wrong with them, unless you have a habit of dropping glass things.

There are only two problems with my coffee habit.  One is that I'm in Mexico (as of Wednesday) and I now have to be content with Nescafe (which is superior Folgers beyond a doubt) for 2 and a half weeks until I get back.  The good thing is that they have regular coffee maker at work, and I bought some good Mexican coffee to use there.  I'm still trying to figure out the right measurement since I'm not used to using a drip pot anymore.

Moka Pot

The other problem is that when I get back, at least half a kilo of Folgers is waiting for me.  Folgers doesn't taste any better in a coffee press.  It also doesn't taste any better in a moka pot (those little stove-top coffee makers that make really strong coffee which many people stove-top espresso machines.)  I tried everything.

When I get back, I'll have to get a bit of good coffee just to enjoy my coffee press - just once.  Then I'll suffer through the Folgers.

Another Odd Job; Butchering Chickens

During the past week, some of the Mennonites ladies who live in the community found a new way to generate some income.  They bought living chickens for 75 cents a piece, butchering them, removing feathers and gutting; then they sold the chickens for $3 a piece.

Recently, these ladies had been inviting my wife to join in their enterprises (including the garlic scrape cutting job I wrote about a while back.)  However, although my wife spent a few months every year of her childhood on her grandpa’s farm, she could not, for the life of her, get herself to kill, pluck or clean chickens.  What she could do was take pictures – of everything but the beheading.

Enjoy the pictures.

P.S. – I would have expected this to be a part of my Mexico experience rather than my wife’s Canada experience, but in any case, here it is.

Back to the Fields – Picking Garlic Scrapes

I've always wondered what it is like for families coming from other countries that do temporary field work on top of their regular jobs to help get ahead in their new home; many Mexican immigrants, among others, have experienced this.  Here in Ontario, many "Mexican Mennonites" who have arrived from Mexico over the past decade participate in this kind of activity, bringing their whole family out to the fields.
Two days ago, my wife and I decided to try it out for ourselves (we don't bring the kids along.)  The job we found, through our neighbours, was picking the tops off garlic plants; after I finish my day's work on the computer, we drive out and start the field work.
The hardest part about this job is bending over.  You half to walk along the rows of garlic, snapping off the tops.  The second hardest part is that the juice from the plant burns, especially if it gets between your nails.  Today, the only pain I feel is in my thumb nails; or perhaps it's just that the pain is so sharp that I don't feel the rest of it.
Both evenings we've been there, we go with neighbours, and see other families show up.  The kids run along the rows breaking off the tops almost as fast as I do; it's easier in a way since they don't have to bend over.  Apparently some families, eager to earn money, started taking their kids during the day, instead of sending them to school.  The farmer realized what was happening and started sending families away if they showed up with kids during school hours.  (The work is come-and-go as you please - you just have to ask him where to work when you show up, and report what you've done when you leave.)  I'm really happy that he made that decision.  It's good to see that at least one person values education over quick cash.  He pays decently as well.
This isn't the first time I've done work like this, but it's the first time seeing families work like this together. My parents always told me about it (they had to do it when they arrived from Mexico as kids.)  It's a new experience.  For me it's not quite the same since it's not out the same pure necessity that the other families have.  But at least I can see it, feel it, and do it, first hand.