KDE 4.00

A couple of days ago, I impulse-installed KDE4 on my main Ubuntu machine. After hearing a lot of hype about it, I decided to see what it was like, and if it was worth all the attention. I had, a while back, impulse-installed KDE3. I uninstalled it within a few hours. Because of that, I cannot give a fully accurate review of it, which is why you have never seen one. However, from what I saw, in that little amount of time, i was not very impressed, to say the least. the applications bar was very windows-ish, and I just got this general feeling of Windows-ness. It also did not look any better than gnome, and I just did not see the appeal. However, that is NOT the case with KDE4. After using it for a couple days, I am simply amazed! The interface is more intuitive than anything I have ever seen, it’s usability is just incredible, it logs in faster than GNOME, and the graphics are incredible(not special effects). I have not had to use a terminal for anything so far, except for an error I had when I tried to soup up the graphical effects. This is the perfect Windows alternative. The graphics appear to be much better on it than on GNOME, although I do not see how that is possible. I watched a DVD a few minutes ago, and it actually looked better than DVDs normally do under GNOME, even though I was using the same player, Gxine.

As I said at the beginning of the post, the interface is amazingly intuitive. The file manager that comes installed with it, Dolphin, has so many features in it that the default GNOME file browser does not have. It has an optional file tree on the side, it has an optional terminal at the bottom, and the window can be halved, allowing you to browse two separate locations simultaneously, in the same window. The launcher bar, known to you Windows users as the Start Bar, is amazingly designed. You have your Favorites on the front, and then there are the applications, divided by categories, then there is the Computer tab, the equivalent to My Computer in Windows, but it is in the “Start” bar itself. Then there is Recently Used, which (obviously) lists your most recently used applications. Lastly, there is a tab where you can log off, restart, shutdown, etc. Also, another thing that I thought was cool, was the alternating wallpapers.  It comes with a wonderful selection of default wallpapers, one of which you can set as the default desktop wallpaper, or you can set them as a slideshow, along with any other pictures you wish.

However, after all of that, I have decided to switch back to GNOME. If you are looking for an alternative to Windows, I would suggest KDE, because it would most likely be easier to get used to. But, if you are a fluent computer person, who is willing to accept some change, I would suggest GNOME. Gnome may be a little more complicated, but in my case, and in the case of most computer geeks/engineers, complicated is better. KDE is simple, and easy to use, GNOME comes packed with as many advanced features as you could ever want, and has incredible graphical effects that KDE cannot even attempt to match. KDE’s package manager is not nearly as good as GNOME’s. You can only select packages to install one-by one. GNOME’s Synaptic Package Manager is very good at installing large amounts of packages simultaneously. Also, GNOME is very customizable, and that is very important to me. I did not get the impression from KDE that it’s look was meant to be changed very much. However, I did keep Dolphin. I really, really like dolphin as a file manager, and I will recommend it to anyone. Also, I will be keeping Konqueror, since not only is it a web browser, it is a file manager, and an application manager, with all the features of Dolphin, too.

So, in conclusion, I would say that neither KDE or GNOME is better than the other. It depends on your wants, needs, and preferences. If you

want simple, easy to use, and a good alternative to Windows, use KDE. If you want advance functionality, and extreme customization, as well as better graphical effects, I would recommend GNOME.

(edited at 2:57:  Added screenshots and wallpaper feature description)

Another Reason Linux trumps Windows any day!

I ran across this article on Cnet today:

“Comparisons between two mass Javascript injection attacks suggest they may be related, according to a security company. The latest attack has compromised various sites including one United Nations and several UK government sites with links to malicious servers.

On Tuesday Websense reported seeing distinct similarities between attacks staged earlier this month and over the weekend. Specifically, they cite the use of the same tool to execute the attack being resident on the malicious server. Last summer various groups used the MPACK toolkit to propagate a similar series of Javascript injections.

Javascript injections are browser attacks and require no more effort than appending a script tag to the end of the URL. If a legitimate site is vulnerable to script injection, an attacker can add a script tag to the Web-facing page of the site so that subsequent views will automatically download whatever content is within the script tag. Often the script tag contains calls out to a malicious server.

A user need only stumble upon a compromised site to become infected. In this case, when viewing a compromised site, the injected Javascript loads a file named 1,js. The file is located on a malicious server, which then attempts to execute eight different exploits targeting Microsoft applications.

As of Tuesday, two other files named McAfee.htm and Yahoo,php were no longer active.

A quick review by CNET News.com found that travel and academic sites continue to host the injected Javascript code.”

Yes, the virus was inserted through a vulnerability through the browser/site, and not Windows, but that is not the point I am trying to make here.  The key phrase in this story is ” attempts to execute eight different exploits targeting Microsoft applications.”  As I have mentioned before, one of the biggest reasons that viruses are less common on Linux systems, besides the fact that the OS itself is significantly more secure, is that pretty much all viruses designed these days are for Windows, and, recently for Macs. I use Ubuntu Linux, as you know if you have spent 2 minutes on this blog.  I have never gotten a virus.  Admittedly, I have not used Ubuntu that long, but In the amount of time that I have used Ubuntu, I would, at the rate I caught viruses on Windows, through AVG, have probably 7-10 on here by now.  I feel much safer when browsing the internet, and take a lot more risks.  I know that I can safely go onto any site I want, and not suffer any ill effects, because I am invulnerable to outside attack.  I would like to point out though, just to prove that I am being fair here, that browser-specific viruses can still be caught, while on Linux.  No matter what the Operating System, a virus designed for Firefox will still penetrate Firefox.  However, there are still ways to circumvent this.  Firefox is good, because the majority of the browser-specific viruses are targeted for IE6/7.  Also, Opera is another alternative, although it might be vulnerable to some of the Firefox-specific viruses, since it uses the same plugins as it.

Note: Original Cnet.com post can be found here.

A New Beginning.

As you know, I have just passed the 200th post mark. And yet, in all that time, Almost no one has bothered to check my blog on a regular basis. Using several methods, I have determined that the reason for that is because all I post are either really long posts that no one wants to read, or I post small tidbits about what is going on in the family. Also, it is the lack of regular posts. I do tend to post sporadically. So… I am going to start anew! Next week is Spring Break, and I plan on spending some time then to work on some projects, which I am currently trying to think of ideas for. One thing I am thinking about is creating yet another blog, dedicated to geek news. But, that is only an idea, since I am already trying to maintain two blogs, one of which I really need to post something on. I am brainstorming in my spare time, trying to come up with ideas. I will soon post a poll, or multiple polls, asking for your opinion on these things. What I am going to institute, as of right now, is going to be called “The Weekly Funny,” in which I will post a bunch (not sure how many yet) of funny quotes/lines/pictures/short stories, etc. This will be posted every Monday. Starting Next Monday. And, no, this will not hold only techno-babble, I will post stuff that anyone can understand, and appreciate, along with a geek section (maybe). Please, provide input on all these issues, while I brainstorm over the next week and a half, trying to make my blog more… real. One of my objectives, one of the goals I am trying to accomplish with this, is, when I apply for a technology-oriented job, and they ask for examples of my work, I hope to be able to point them to this blog. This will also most likely involve changing the name AND URL of the blog, if I do not create an entirely new one. Also, I will soon be getting a new desk, which will be a more ergonomic one, which means I can type more efficient posts, instead of having to stop short because my arm hurts. Yes, I am being serious. Most of the posts on were only half as good as I wanted them to be, but I had to stop typing, because my arm/hands hurt because of my small desk, combined with a multimedia keyboard, large CRT monitor, speakers, mouse/mousepad, cupholder, and CD spool.

Note: next post on My Music Blog will be on Apocolyptica, not a Christian band, but a very unique one, without lyrics in any form. It is four cello players, with a drummer.

Just So You Know…

I support the decision to blast the spy satellite from it’s rapidly decaying orbit. I mean, if America had an ulterior motive, that is fine with me, but, even so, they spent $40,000,000 to launch that missile. They can’t have been completely selfish.