Ubuntu to get prettier than OS X?

Word on the street is that Ubuntu is going to get prettified in the near future.


Well, maybe not that prettified.

From the original article:

When Mark Shuttleworth, the man behind Canonical/Ubuntu, made the comment that Ubuntu should be prettier than Apple OSX in near term I got excited - the man was absolutely right. It doesn’t matter how customizable and operating is, or how good can you make it look with some effort if it does look bad out of the box. The out-of-the-box experience is the key to reach the average users, and if that is not aesthetically pleasing a lot of effort is needed to win the user back. Interestingly Ubuntu with their orange/brown themes and very basic Gnome looks is possibly the worst looking distribution out of the major players. So here comes release 8.10, the Intrepid Ibex - a first step to the direction of making Ubuntu look good? We’ll see about that…
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Unfortunately the Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex does not live up to it’s name. It lacks any ground braking changes, innovation in design or brave new approaches on the visuals and usability.

One of my biggest complaints with Linux is the lack of a truly streamlined desktop experience. Each developer takes their own route for user interface and "prettification". This mean inconsistent menus, strange window behaviors, and even conflicting theming options that seeming to fight each other for control. I'm not a n00b, I've been running Linux for over 8 years now.

The real problem is, to impose usability standards on applications goes against the open-source grain of exploration and creativity in problem solving. There is no Steve Jobs to force developers into doing it in any particular way, and developers don't want that either. End users are another story.

I'd also argue that "pretty" is not vital to an OS, but usable is. Therein lies the rub for me. Until Linux runs Photoshop natively, it's usability as a desktop for me is dimished. Also, OS X has the pretty interface and the BSD based functionality to make it a daily driver operating system.

That being said, all of my servers are some flavor of linux.

So for now, I'd say embrace Linux for what it is - a user-friendly distribution with serious horsepower under the hood for power users. If you haven't tried it, and you are a Windows user, you should. Immediately. For OS X users, your mileage may vary.

40 of the Best Finder Keyboard Shortcuts for OS X

Anybody who has used OS X for a short period of time knows that keyboard shortcuts make your life much simpler. Here's a collection of 40 OS X keyboard shortcuts that you should know. It turns you into a power user, and helps speed up your everyday workflow.

1	Command-A	Select All Items
2	Command-C	Copy Selected Items
3	Command-D	Duplicate Selected Items
4	Command-F	Search with Spotlight
5	Command-G	Find Next Matched Search
6	Command-H	Hide Window
7	Command-I	Open Get Info (Property) Pane
8	Command-J	Show View Options
9	Command-K	Connect to Server
10	Command-L	Make Alias of Selected Items
11	Command-M	Minimize Window
12	Command-N	Open New Window
13	Command-O	Open Selected Items
14	Command-T	Copy Items to Sidebar
15	Command-V	Paste Items
16	Command-W	Close Finder Window
17	Command-Z	Undo Action
18	Command-1	View as Icons
19	Command-2	View as Lists
20	Command-3	View as Columns
21	Command-4	View as Coverflow
22	Command-Shift-A	Go to Application Folder
23	Command-Shift-B	Open Bluetooth
24	Command-Shift-C	Go to My Computer
25	Command-Shift-G	Open Address Bar
26	Command-Shift-H	Go to Home Folder
27	Command-Shift-I	Connect to iDisk
28	Command-Shift-J	Open Journler (If Any)
29	Command-Shift-K	Go to Network Folder
30	Command-Shift-L	Go to Safari
31	Command-Shift-N	Create New Folder
32	Command-Shift-Q	Log Out
33	Command-Shift-U	Go to Utility Folder
34	Command-Shift-Y	Attach to Stickies
35	Command-Option-D	Hide the Dock
36	Command-Option-M	Minimize All Windows
37	Command-Option-O	Open File and Close Finder
38	Command-Option-T	Hide Toolbar
39	Command-Option-W	Close All Windows
40	Command-R	Show Original (From Alias)

My Apple Boot Camp White Screen of Death Experience

So, I use a Sony eReader called the PRS-505. It's a great little eBook that keeps me informed on a daily basis. On problem, I'm an OS X guy, and Sony only supports Windows. That hasn't been a problem because I use OS X/Linux based software called Calibre to manage my eBooks - most of which can be found in a compatible .lit format.

However, last night I noticed the announcment of the PRS-700 included support for DRM Adobe PDF books with reflow. This is big news, because my library supports that format, which means I can check out hundreds of library books without going to the library! For free!

Great news right? Well, in order to make it work on the PRS-505 I need a firmware update, through the Windows only Sony application.

No problem, I have some old registered copies of XP from a previous life, and Boot Camp will allow me to put it on my MacBook no problem right?

Wrong. Boot Camp created a 10 Gigabyte partition, asked for the XP CD, then rebooted. Well, when I tried to install XP, it only shows me the entire HD partition, not the 10 Gigabyte partition that Boot Camp was going to create for Windows.

I immediately cancelled the install, and when the system rebooted I was greeted with a WSOD (White Screen of Death). No amount of refreshing, rebooting, resetting PRAM etc, made it go away. Holding option down only showed me a Windows partition on boot. Screwed.

I booted into the OS X DVD, and the Disk Repair Utility didn't even recognize a single partition on the HD. Only one option, a complete re-install.

Did I backup? Well, not really. I use my iDisk for all my files, so those were safe. But lots of misc files were located throughout the system. All toast.

Long and the short, I had to take a day completely reinstall my laptop, losing a whole day of work. I'm going to try it again tomorrow with a Vista install to see if I can get it to work.

All this to get free library books, and the library is only a 5-block walk. I'm thinking it might not be worth it.

Google's new web browser not compatible with Apple OS X or Linux

Google has announced a new web browser called Chrome to compete with Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera. However, the new browser is not going to be available for people running Apple's OS X operating system or Linux.




Does the world really need another web browser? Where is Chrome's advantage?

Google Chrome is said to be redesigned completely from scratch and promises to load pages faster and more securely. It also includes a new engine for loading interactive JavaScript code, dubbed V8, that is designed to run the next generation of not-yet-invented Web applications.

Chrome is going to be available for downloading Tuesday in more than 100 countries for computers running on Microsoft’s Windows operating system only. Google said it’s still working on versions compatible with Apple Inc.’s Mac computer and the Linux operating system.

Google is touting Chrome as a more sophisticated Web browser better suited for displaying the dynamic and interactive content blossoming on the Web as people migrate from television, radio and newspapers.

Personally, since I'm an Apple user, and since I'm completely dependent on Firefox's plug-in architecture, I'll be passing on Chrome for now. It will be an interesting project to follow however.

Using Linux for Photography

As many of you may know, I do professional commercial and studio photography through my business K2 Photo Studio. Currently I've been using OS X on Apple hardware as my workflow method of choice. Simply put, using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Bridge, and the OS X color management is essential to my image workflow.

Here's an image I shot for Sublime Fashion's product catalog.

When working with clients like Sublime Fashion, accurate reproduction of color is extremely important. This is an example of where the OS X workflow cannot be beat. Or can it?

I am a Linux lover from way back. The advantages are that the operating system and most software is available for free. I used Linux long before I used OS X, and it really was my operating system of choice. It has the stability of OS X. It can run on cheap hardware with great results, so you are not locked into Apple's historically higher prices.

Unfortunately, about 4-years ago, as a photographer, I felt I had to move to OS X. The availability of commercial image manipulation programs, plug-ins, and native camera raw support were important. OS X had it and Linux didn't. Additionally, Linux color management needed to come a long way before I was able to use it reliably.

It looks like things might have changed recently. The folks over at Linux Photography are saying that it might be time for photographers to give Linux another look. Their conclusion.

I don’t think that the answer to Linux for photography is “Photoshop & Lightroom on Linux”. Open Source Software has developed some amazing pieces of software and I don’t see why photography would be an exception. My dominant feeling is “work in progress” and I see the “Linux photography ecosystem” maturing and moving forward in the right direction.

But let’s face it: Linux is not a drop-in replacement for Windows or MacOS for photography yet. Far from it. You can use Linux for serious photography, but critical pieces are still missing or are too kludgy for efficient work; you need to be willing to accept sacrifices. I use Linux for photography as an amateur, but I would never recommend Linux to a pro photographer with time / production constraints.

So there you have it. If you are rocking a DSLR, and are trying to get the advantages of using the high-level tools without the high pricetag, give Linux a try. There are lots of great flavors out there, and each comes with a plethora of image editing tools. Color management has come a long way on Linux, and that is an exciting step in the right direction.

My recommendation is Ubuntu if you are new to Linux. You can even run Ubuntu without installing it to your hard drive by using a Live CD. Setup is easy, and it runs on just about any computer you have lying around. You can dual boot it with Windows/OS X as well. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Personally, I'll be sticking with OS X for now. However, I might just have to give Linux another shot when it is time to upgrade my system again.