Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron review

Okay, as i mentioned earlier, I installed the new version of Ubuntu Linux, named Hardy Heron. I have been using this on my main desktop for a while, now, so I thought I might give it a review.

Given one sentence to describe it, I would say: “Stay Away.”

Having used Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon for a long time, and having seen reviews and articles about various other versions, I have come to the conclusion that this is the worst Ubuntu version to come out. Basically, just looking at it, there is no visible difference, except a slightly different wallpaper. My first point of contention was the graphics. It was a PAIN to get my Nvidia graphics card installed, I had to manually download and install the driver. In addition, the Screens And Grahpics manager that I had gotten so fond of no longer exists. I have yet to find a GUI that lets you manage your graphics cards and monitors. There is one simple window in which you can change your screen resolution and refresh rate, but that is all. To change my graphics properties, I have to boot into Recovery Mode. However, Recovery mode has been improved. When booting into it, a blue screen comes up with three options: Boot into normal mode, repair graphics, and boot into command line. This is a big bonus, whenever I had to repair the graphics via Recovery Mode in Gutsy, it was a PAIN, with my limited UNIX knowledge. However, as I mentioned earlier, I got Windows and Hardy Heron running simultaneously. However, this might also be possible on Gutsy, I do not know. Also, I have had some compatibility issues. VMware got trashed, and FF3b5 crashes more often. Also, that is another bone of contention. They installed a beta version of a browser in a full public release of the OS. No offense to them, but that is a …dumb… idea.

Other than that, I have not had any major problems, at least that I can think of. If you are a normal home user, looking for a more stable OS than Windows, you would not have a problem. However, for the more hardcore users, I would suggest you stick to Gutsy 7.10

Here is a link to Ubuntu, if you are interested in it, and do not yet use it (if that is possible).

Hardy Heron, HERE I COME!!!!

I was very reluctant about upgrading to Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron, and was running it in a VM, to test it. However, I then ran into this. Needless to say, once I read it, I immediately opened my Upgrade Manager, and told it to upgrade to Hardy. 21 minutes left. More to come, once I get it up and working. Meantime, here is a screenshot from the article above, to whet your appetite:

(credit: Lifehacker)

Here we go…

Okay, I am going to begin a learning experience, that will benefit both me, and you.   I am going to install  Ubuntu’s new version, 8.04 Hardy Heron, in a Virtual Machine.  I will write it as it happens, and we will see if it can live up to it’s amazing hype.

While you’re waiting, here is an interesting article about Hardy Heron, which I enjoyed, and learned a lot from.

Firefox 3 Beta 5 bug.

I have recently discovered a flaw in FF3b5: It crashes on some Flash apps, especially the more demanding ones, such as Pandora Internet Radio, and such. Fortunately, since Firefox saves all of your tabs in the event of a crash such as that, it is not that big of a problem, I just open the program again, and, if I really need/want the troublesome flash app, and it crashes several more times, I will use FF2 to open the page. I use FF2 for Pandora, now.

Welcome to the new blog!

Well, okay, same blog. Just different URL/host.  I have imported all of my other posts onto this blog, obviously.  I also have made a title picture for my blog.  Yes, I realize that the title and description of the page are above it, and that does not look good, but I will fix it.  You like my new URL?  I thought that I should change it to something more geek/nerd related, as that is what my blog is about.  I got it off of Stargate Atlantis, from this one episode where you see Dr. McKay wearing a shirt saying “I’m with genius,” and an arrow pointing up.  I thought it was funny.  Plus, everyone knows that I am just as smart as McKay is!  haha.  My other favorite McKay quote was “Carter: ‘Go suck on a lemon!’”  (he’s deathly allergic to lemons).  Well, I guess I can’t just stop to change blogs, and take a week off of posting, so I will try to keep posting posts that do not have to do with the new blog.

On that note, I have had a wonderful day  today, especially considering that it is the last day before Spring Break.  The weather was the best I have seen all year, I got %100 on my math today, and finished my school a hour and a half early.  The girls are having a sleepover/private party (they are not sharing the candy :P) with someof their friends, while we are left to watch movies all by ourselves.  *sniff.* kinda makes you feel lonely, doesn’t it? No? oh, well.

Wonderfull Newness! Oh, how wonderfull!

Spring Break is coming up, and, a while after that, Summer Break. Therefore, I have determined that NOW is the excellent time to make my blog what I always wanted: a REAL blog. up until a couple of months ago, this was a place where I would come on once or so a week, and post something funny, or useless. I got it up and running recently, but that is all I did. What I want this blog to become, is a blog that, in my future career of Technology, will serve me well. ESPECIALLY if I decide to go into Technology News, which I am leaning towards. So, I am going to turn this into a real blog, with YOUR help. I am going to incorporate regular events into this blog, as in a Weekly post on a particular topic, or a monthly, or bi-monthly, or bi-weekly, etc. But to do this, I need to know what you want to know about. To accomplish this, I have created a poll at the bottom of the page that will remain there for a month. Please vote on what you want to be added to the blog, and please, please, come back and see how it is progressing, and provide feedback on the new features. On the sidebar, you will find a link to the post that I want you to comment on, and provide feedback. Thank You very much!

~Trey Edwards~

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.

Opps

Ack! I just realized that my new page style now cuts off some of the pictures. I will go into the HTML soon, and fix that, I need to get ready for bed right now. Just letting those of you that have noticed that this is an issue that will be fixed soon.