Fr. Stephen, MSC

Wubi is not just another strangely-named software, it is an Ubuntu installer for Windows. Yes, you can now install the Linux operating system from Windows. No more messing with your OS, no more need to install a new bootloader, no more need to burn iso images, and no more disk partitioning. Wubi installs Ubuntu as [...]

I recently facilitated a five-day workshop on web design. The participants were mostly priests, nuns and lay volunteers who work as media directors in their respective parishes and dioceses.

The core objective of the workshop was to teach participants how to plan, design, test, and promote websites that have the perfect balance of visual appeal and ease-of-navigation and utilize Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).

I have said in my previous posts that I firmly believe that the philosophy of FOSS are compatible with the ideals of Christianity. And this is one of the things that I highlighted in my inputs. Of course, I used only Free and Open Source softwares in the workshop. And in just five days, they learned how to use, customize and appreciate Firefox, OpenOffice, Gimp, Nvu, and Joomla.

I have encouraged them to use Firefox as their main web browser. Although I added that, as web designers, they also need to use IE, Opera, and Safari just to see how their websites look in other popular browsers. When I taught them the basics of HTML, XHTML, and CSS, I introduced Nvu/Kompozer to them.

I also taught them how to use OpenOffice, not only because the suite is great for text documents, presentations and spreadsheets, but also because it can be used as an html authoring tool. Aside from word processing, you can use OpenOffice Writer to make HTML and XML documents.

I was glad that not many of the participants have used Photoshop before because it made it easy for me to teach them Gimp. In my experience, hardcore Photoshop users find it difficult to migrate to Gimp because of the latter’s user interface. But those who have not tried any image manipulation application before will find Gimp user-friendly, even intuitive.

Much of the time was spent on Joomla, my content management system of choice. I have employed Joomla to construct these websites: www.misacor.org.au, www.misacor.com/ph, www.cfamedia.org, and some others. Since all of the participants never used a CMS before, it took quite a while for me to explain all the inner workings of Joomla. But I feel that my patience paid of because at the end of the workshop the participants were able to make their own joomla-powered websites.

As facilitator, I enjoyed every second of the workshop. Sharing skills and knowledge and knowing that the participants will also share with others what they have learned from me gave me immense joy. Another reason for my joy is the fact that the participants have not only learned to construct websites, they are now also beginning to love FOSS.

Here are some few resources that might be of great help to Ubuntu newbies.

If you like watching videos instead of reading manuals then the following sites are for you: Ubuntu Videos, Ubuntu Screencasts, and Ubuntu Clips. The goal of these sites is not only to introduce new users to Ubuntu but also to provide tutorials and other helpful tips through short videos.

If you are the type who likes to read (and probably print tutorials), then you should check out the following sites:

Ubuntu Questions and Answers
This site encourages new Ubuntu users to ask questions and find or provide answers rather than file bugs.

Free Online Ubuntu Linux Books
Titles include The Official Ubuntu Book, Moving to Ubuntu Linux, Ubuntu Unleashed, and Ubuntu Hacks.

The Ultimate Customization Guide
There are other customization guides, but I find this site to be one of the easiest to follow.

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Image credit: www.ubuntu.com

Finally, I found the time to upgrade my version of Ubuntu from 6.10 (Edgy Eft) to 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) today. Although it took quite some time to finish (my slow ISP is the culprit), the upgrade over the network was relatively painless. My laptop now feels like brand new again.

This was actually my first time to upgrade over the network. In the past, I would reformat my drive and do a clean install of the latest Ubuntu version. This time I opted for the network upgrade because I wanted to have a first-hand experience of how easy it is to accomplish the job.

All my files, my apps, my preferences, my tweaks – everything remained intact after the upgrade. This is a very good thing, because this means that I do not have to reinstall the codecs, the plug-ins and the apps that I manually installed in the previous version.

The only app I needed to upgrade manually was Automatix. Not a big deal though. All I needed to do was download this and let my package manager automatically remove the previous version and replace it with the latest.

Overall, I can say that Feisty really rocks. I’ve tried quite a few distros over the years, and not one comes close to the quality, hardware compatibility and ease-of-use that Ubuntu provides.

Linux Beryl is the real wow. A few days ago I saw this video on YouTube and I thought it would be good to post it here so more people can watch it. I mean, so that more people may be enlightened.

MS markets Vista as a “wow” experience by exaggerating on what its so called Aero technology, particularly its Windows Flip 3D, has to offer. But wait till you see Linux Beryl accelerated 3D desktop in action. I have tried it myself using Sabayon Linux 3.3 on my Toshiba laptop. You will not just say “wow” but “awesome”, “astonishing”, “breathtaking”, “overwhelming” and many other superlatives.

The awesome features of beryl includes scale effect, desktop switcher, desktop cube, windows animation, zoom and blur effects and many others. You can view all of its features here.

Don’t forget to read the comments and responses here, so you will get an idea how other people react to the comparison.

It was exciting to know that a FOSS Bill was filed late last year in the Philippine House of Representatives. Although it received lackadaisical support from Filipino congressmen I still have high hopes that soon many will push for the adaption of FOSS in the country. The lawmakers’ ignorance of the philosophy and benefits of [...]