Linpus is pretty restrictive, I opened Nautilus by clicking “Documents” on the home screen, then a terminal using “File->Terminal”. Running nm-applet from the command line reveals a segfault. Running “sudo nm-applet” doesn’t cause a segfault and allows a connection, obviously lacking access to the keyring. Once connected to a network, running the update application shows a new version of nm-applet available. I ran the updates, rebooted and the issue is solved. It must have been broken in the last set of updates, ran before the user lost nm-applet. I wasn’t near a wired connection, which would probably be picked up and also allow an update.

Hope this helps someone. It does illustrate the downside of obfuscation – in this case the user has no feedback as to why there is no network connection.

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Generally, people seemed to like the idea of a welcome application – something to highlight Ubuntu’s abilities and to guide through common issues.

Here’s some mock ups that might show more of what I meant.

An introductory video is running [1] along with some short text explaining the application’s purpose [2]. Common tasks are listed [3]. What’s missing from this is two things – a close button and an install button. I’m not sure how to work this because I am trying to encourage it being run – I think a little install tab in the top right along with a small close button might work. I want to encourage not irritate.

The user is interested in getting online and has clicked on a link to get here. The application’s checked for available connections. In this case, there is a wireless connection available, so the context sensitive hyperlink [1] has linked a video/screencast [3] showing the user how to connect. With the failure to detect a wired connection, the context sensitive hyperlink links to a troubleshooting page. Successful connection has resulted in a notification [2] and triggered the “what now” box, guiding the user to what is now available.

I can see a number of issues:

• Videos and screen-casts have been requested from the doc-team for inclusion in the past but translation and localisation is an issue. I don’t spend a lot of time with screen-cast technology so I don’t know how easy it is to localize. Recording a new video for each release might be relatively straightforward if the tool chain is correctly configured.
• The feedback mechanism that would permit context sensitive hyper-links. I would like it to be as automated as possible.
• What to check, what to suggest and how to decide what tasks are most important for inclusion.
• Size – the Live CD is limited on space, video is large – how possible is this idea?

Of these, I think the size issue is the greatest. It might not be possible at all to have video or screen-casts but it should be possible to have room for images and text. It would also allow easier localisation.

Still – it’s just an idea. Oh and thanks to Pencil – rather impressive OSS mock up software.

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2. Live environments

I might well be miles off the mark (I haven’t researched anything) but I’ve a feeling most of our new users don’t spend time in the live environment before installing. Looking around the Ubuntu Forums there are an awful lot of posts which talk about hardware that isn’t working after install. Surely, if time was spent in the live environment such issues would have been noticed.

Stick an Ubuntu disc in a machine, boot it and the most visible icon on the desktop is the install icon.

When we run a live CD, we’re curious. We are looking at a screen and thinking “what do I do now”? Currently the option that draws the eye is to install – what if we replace this with something that showcases Ubuntu’s abilities? Something more than the samples folder. Ubiquity has a slideshow, I wonder if something similar but more interactive should be initiated on first run. Perhaps leading the user to confirm what works out of the box – invite them to run, say Rhythmbox then plug in an iPod. Suggest a web link, highlighting if there is a connection issue. Work in some basic diagnostics, we can have more useful information to provide further assistance.

This wonder if it would also presents an opportunity for marketing. If a happy new user wants to show off their new Ubuntu system, they are likely to draw attention to the features that interest them. We can be blinded by our perception to the needs of others. For example, I might be fascinated by a desktop cube whereas my colleague might not know that Openoffice supports Microsoft formats – something he needs. It could be taken further, allowing OEM systems displaying Ubuntu’s abilities in shops (maybe).

Just a thought.

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Watching TV earlier, it occurs to me that we really need to link the next release with the unbelievably popular Compare the Meerkat adverts. I can’t be the first person to have thought this – seriously this is not a trick to be missed – Sergei’s “computermabob” could be converted to Ubuntu.

I assume this advert is just in the UK, for those missing it – it’s for a company called “Compare the Market.com” and the meerkat proprietor of Compare the Meerkat is getting nothing but hits for the former. It’s pretty funny as these things go, especially here where ridiculous stuff like Crazy Frog take off. People are buying merchandise left and right and if I’ve heard the soundbites as ringtones on one phone, I’ve heard them on a dozen.

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As installations go, it was relatively painless – certainly better than reinstalling Windows. Don’t get me wrong, Dell is better than most in this respect as they gave us OEM install discs for Windows Vista, bundled software and the drivers.  As strait forward as this is with Dell’s resource CD (it mostly tells you what you need), it doesn’t know any more than what model you own. This is problematic with the wireless card for example as there are two revision states and the drivers are incompatible with each other – one crashes Windows.

Ubuntu 10.04 runs fine with one exception, its Broadcom wireless card – I found that enabling the restricted driver on installation caused a crash and that I had to remove linux-backports-modules-wireless-lucid-* before I could re-enable it on the installed system. I must confess, I didn’t bother to snag a bug report as it was probably me being impatient and trying to do too much at once.

Lisa knows her way around the Gnome desktop, we have used it on several machines and several distributions (she used to prefer KDE in it’s 1.x incarnations). Predominantly, this laptop is used online – we use Firefox on Windows so there’s no issues there.

The next day I realised I had made the cardinal error of switching someone to OSS – I hadn’t really considered her needs. I forgot about that shiny new piece of Apple hardware that she carries everywhere – an iPhone. I don’t have an iPhone and have never really taken more than a passing interest in the latest Apple hardware so I had no idea that you needed to use iTunes to do everything – including syncing. I checked the net and found that the general consensus was not to bother with it in Linux. I saw several howtos , all discussing changing iPhone firmware. With a year left on the contract, the thought of my wife’s reaction, Apple’s somewhat draconian lock-in and the potential to brick her phone I preferred not to take that course.

Even if I did, I think she might be reluctant to use it. Apple seem to achieved marketing zenith – when people refer to a brand name rather than what it is (Playstation, iPod, Coke, etc.), perhaps not with iPhone but certainly iTunes. Lisa is not the only person I have heard mention iTunes – so I had a good look over it. I see the positives – I organises music, applications, videos and applications well, structuring them on the device and the laptop; there is only one way to do everything, so it’s simple and memorable; purchasing is easy (I suppose it was bound to be) and seems trustworthy. It’s good old encapsulation – the mechanics of syncing, purchasing, organising, backing up, charging and updating are obscured and centralised. There are negatives but I have to say they’re not obvious to the average user – I don’t care for the way it overrides other software for example but in truth most Windows software does that too.

As I said earlier, Lisa is familiar with Ubuntu’s desktop and applications. She knows that it is maintained mostly by volunteers (better than most – she’s seen me doing it for many years). She even acknowledges advantages – faster booting, better stability and security – in particular viruses, which seem to be on every geek stick she receives (cloud computing hasn’t caught on amongst the charity she works with). She is annoyed that Apple haven’t made iTunes available for Ubuntu too but it doesn’t change anything. As we speed evermore to living online, the platform supporting those applications becomes less relevant. While this means we can happily forgo Window’s failings, it unfortunately works both ways – if the hardware we use doesn’t work with our chosen platform then we can switch.

If there’s anything I can take away from this its that Linux is a tool, one which I might be blinded to it’s negatives because of my involvement. Sometimes it isn’t the best solution for everyone so recommending it when its not appropriate might be detrimental. In this case, she thinks Apple are to blame but she could have assumed it was our fault as a distribution. If someone has never tried Ubuntu, then the worst the can really say when someone asks is that they don’t know – if their only experience is negative then there is a risk their assessment will follow suit. Perhaps, in some circumstances the best advocacy is not to advocate.

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So I stuck the battery in after it was booted and it charges… I’m at a loss to explain this. I’d have thought charging was carried out at hardware level.

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I find these objectionable though – they appear to be WordPress and I guess are using a plugin to pull feeds in and publish as articles. They’re not as bad as flat out plagiarism – which I’ve experienced. Mind you even that isn’t the worst, I once wrote a howto which was CC licensed and I realised it had been ripped off when someone posted a comment on it suggesting (quite strongly) that I had taken it from the thief!

So it occurs to me that maybe this is a WordPress thing. Then again maybe not. Like so many of us I get stuck in my ways and WordPress is like a pair of comfy shoes. Maybe I should try a new platform, so I wondered what was popular out there in Ubuntu-land.

I’ve tried Drupal (I don’t like it, sorry Emma), Serendipity and Pixie (I quite liked that but baulked at the theming system). Mind you I also have quite a lot of time to myself over the next four months, maybe I should roll my own, I’ve hacked around in PHP but have never developed a large project using it.

So let me know, suggestions on a postcard. Maybe just a comment here will suffice.

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Basically it’s like spot the difference, see how many things you can spot that are wrong with it and post them here.

Here is the post in question and it is a cracker. I can think of several things that are wrong with it but see what you can come up with. Here’s a starting hint – man visudo.

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