New Kid in the block

I was getting a little frustrated with how Ubuntu was becoming bloated (with wrong choices of UI shell and basic stuff like media player ) and "un-userfriendly". My quest for a faster/better ubuntu alternative took me to Linux Mint. And what a pleasant surprise. Though based on ubuntu itself, this avatar impresses with performance - especially on a lower end hardware like the cr-48 or my co-worker's age old Dell latitude.

The first remarkable feature that you will note (of course after responsiveness) is the improved user interface. It is not only the theme, that makes the user comfortable but the improved menu. Ignore if there is some resemblance to windows 7, but the menu is far more organized and user friendly.

This is one of the best application menu I have seen in recent Linux systems. The feel is more windows like - something that I do not like personally. But if you are a recent switcher, you will feel at home and find that the UI work flows are simplified for good. For the usual Linux user, this distro is also as flexible as anything other. You can turn around things depending on your taste and usage. 

Plus, it takes care of installing all necessary basic applications and codecs that you need. It will not trouble you with a cryptic message box about codecs and copyrights when you try to play mp3 for the first time. The default music player seems to be banshee, personally I like rhythmbox.

Another is the software updates. It follows the tried and tested Ubuntu/Debian style of package management, which is pretty solid. The update management is very user-friendly.

You may even like the little "geeky Easter eggs" that shows up as you open terminal session - if you ever do it. 

And what more, the recent release supports "mate", the gnome2 fork for people who think gnome 3 is a bloat.

Go ahead try it as your next Linux installation.

Another step towards disaster

The decision to allow FDI (foreign direct investment) in Indian retail sector is going to kill all small scale store businesses in a few years. Corporate retail giants like Walmart will not think twice before opening their acre long stores in every nook and corner of India as the customer base is so enticing. No matter what they invest, the are going to make a profit - such is the the Indian consumer base and greed to certain extent.
Memories about the "main road" back in my home town is associated with a long array of small individual stores that sells only stationary or house hold items or grocery or vegetables etc. Once the big retailers open their "everything-under-one-roof" style stores, all these stores will be out of business and the whole "main road" is going to look like a zombie strip.
On the positive side, those who have money can plunge themselves in to shopping bliss for hours in those retail stores. There may be an initial price discounts to help such businesses catch up. Hopefully the government will introduce some regulations to these big retailers that they can not operate all over the place and kill local businesses.
Thinking about this, India is emulating that is bad America - like the saggy pants that show your under pants - like focus on celebrity personal life etc. In India, it is capitalism mixed with "license raj" and corruption at each level. We do have all the ingredients to head to an economic situation similar to what USA is in right now. To a worst kind where the poor and unemployed will be a great part of the population and 90% of the wealth will be with nation's 5%.

Linux thoughts

I closely follow updates happening in Linux desktop software releases. Especially Ubuntu, which has reached 11.10. It is hard to believe that I had been using - or trying so to speak - Ubuntu since 5.10 - the breezy "badger".

Good stuff - things that improved along the way :

• Font rendering (anti-aliasing) - Current on-screen font rendering beats Windows and OS x by miles.
• Speed - yes most of the OS's had been focusing on this and Ubuntu also has improved it constantly. Currently 11.04 boots up in 20 seconds in my Intel Atom based Netbook.
• Multimedia/flash - Nothing to credit Ubuntu, but these work better in Ubuntu than other (Fedora) notable distros. Also plenty of free tools to manipulate all kinds of media.
• Updates - If you like living on the edge, Ubuntu can offer you about two OS releases every year.
• Gnome2 - The Gnome user interface and applications were maturing in a nice way.

Now to the bad stuff.

Do you remember the days of Compiz vs Beryl days ? Gnome vs KDE arguments?

If not, don't worry, it is all stories from the past. Welcome to the Unity, Gnome Shell and Gnome2 melting pot. The confusion around next big user interface is definitely going to impact popularity of Linux as a desktop operating system. Most of the Linux fans dislikes   It is going to be more of an OS for "interest groups".

Big names like Linux Torvalds have already despised these.

Since this is my blog, I am going to air my opinion. Gnome Shell and Unity were a bad move. It not only discourage new users but slows things a bit too. All the applications (such as Nautilus, Ubuntu update managers etc) looks really armature and confusing. Compatibility is completely broken between Gnome2 and 3 themes. There are great theme engines and themes that were created since 2006 - all will go waste unless someone spends time porting those. Instead, more focus should have gone in to improving performance of Gnome2 and polishing already existing applications.

I just hope that Ubuntu spends more time in fixing quirks of Unity and making all over user experience better in the platform. As long as Gnome Shell is concerned, I have serious doubts about its future unless it undergoes some radical changes.