Took about an hour to download and install. Runs fine so far. More updates later.
Category: Linux
Liferea My New RSS Feed Reader
I don’t often read my RSS feeds as much as I used to. I just don’t have the time every day to read it. But I do like to catch up at the end of the week with a list of blogs that I follow on a range of topics.
I was using Google’s Reader product for years but that went away. So rather than bitch and moan on the social networks, I just switched to a Linux based reader that I use mostly at home. It’s called Liferea and here’s a shot of it in action on my laptop.
I was able to export all my feeds from Google and import them into Liferea with no issues at all. Since I don’t really need a web based client for my RSS feeds, I think this will suit me for now.
If you don’t need web access for your feeds, a client side program like this might just work for you too. You can pick up Liferea in the Ubuntu Software Center.
Sublime Text – Setup
I’ve recently converted my coding text editor to Sublime Text. This post is a reference for if I have to set it up again. The editor can be used on any OS and looks particularly nice on all of them. It’s also a Python program. (This post subject to updates, as I find nifty plugins)
Get it here: Sublime Text
Reference this blog post for common plugins and general tomfoolery.
HTML auto fill.
GIT plugin.
Code Completion plugin.
Lint plugin.
Make Sublime your default editor in Ubuntu.
Make your default Monokai theme have a dark side bar.
GIT Me
I’ve put my latest novel, The Rising, on GitHub. For the non-programmers out there, GitHub is a web based front end for the most popular Open Source code repository. Translated, that means that my novel is now being backed up in a version control system that you can browse from the web.
What was I thinking? Well, a couple of things. First of all, it’s a great way to back up your writing off-site and in the cloud. I already save my files in DropBox. But using a version controlled system is just another way to record my changes while I back it up. Git is a open source program written by Linux Torvalds, that guy who wrote Linux. You may have heard of that Operating System.
Secondly, a side benefit of using GitHub is that the public can check out what you’ve been doing. The file that I commit is actually a text dump of all my notes, synopsis and actual chapters. All of that is combined into one, slightly lumpy, slightly more information than you may need file.
I use the program, Plume Creator for my writing. Plume lets me outline and keep notes on each chapter and each scene that I write. This text dump includes it all in a single file. If you plan on following along as I write, good luck to you. But if anyone wants a record of how I write a novel, this Git repository will have it all. I plan on uploading it every week.
At this time I’m just committing this file manually, but in the future, I’ll be making a python update script.
Ubuntu 10.12 Installed
Visually, it’s not much of a change. In fact you can’t really notice it unless you start getting detailed. But that’s okay, it runs great on the Dell XPS. Above is a screenshot showing the new LibreOffice Write with integrated Unity menus in the top bar. Very cool.
I did an upgrade from 10.04 LTS and it went smoothly. No hitches and it didn’t take too long. After I’ve had some time to absorb the new bits, I’ll do a more in-depth review.
Why yes, that’s the new novel there. I’m in LibreOffice Write, going over it one last time before the editor gets her claws into it. By the way, the quote is from a character you will see in the next novel, The Rising, which I will be diving back into next week.
Have a great weekend. GO BRONCOS!
Writing Tools on Ubuntu
When you come to Ubuntu from the Mac or Windows worlds, you start looking around for programs that you used on your old system. Sometimes you easily find versions of your favorite tools and sometimes it can be a challenge and lead to frustration. This post will help you find the programs that I use when I write fiction. They are not in any particular order.
Writing
My primary writing application is Plume Creator. It works like Scrivener, so if you use that tool, you will feel at home with it. You can get it here and just double click on the file after it downloads to bring up the Ubuntu Software Center to install it.
I also use LibreOffice and that comes pre-installed with Ubuntu. This is the equivalent of Microsoft Office for most writer’s needs. Comes with spreadsheet apps and a word processor that works just like Word.
Another great writing program is Focus Writer.
For simple and quick plain text editing, I use Scribes.
Dictionaries
My favorite dictionary is GoldenDict and you can find that in the Ubuntu Software Center. I like it because it lets you use various online sources including the Urban Dictionary and Wikipedia. I always have this app open full screen on its own desktop.
AiksaurausGTK is a thesaurus and nothing else. Again, this baby is open when I’m writing. You can find that in the Ubuntu Software Center.
Image Manipulation
If you are like most writers, you have lots of images that you use for inspiration when you write. I store mine in my novel folder on Dropbox. When I need to view them, I use ImageViewer which is built in to the OS. When I want to modify them quickly, I use Pinta Image Manipulator. Pinta is in the Ubuntu Software Center but you should make sure you get the latest 1.4 version for best results. This is actually based on the code used for Paint Plus on Windows.
If you are serious about Photoshopping something, use Gimp. You can find that in the Ubuntu Software Center. The latest version of Gimp is pretty awesome.
Lastly, I use Inkscape to do any vector based images, like maps. You can find that in the Ubuntu Software Center.
Ebook Creation
I no longer build up my own ebooks, but when I need a quick one made, I use Sigil. I also have been known to dable with Calibre for ebook organizing on my laptop.
Notes
These days, I’m always using my phone to take notes. I use Evernote on that and on my Ubuntu, I sync with Evernote using EverPad. EverPad even has a lens. So be warned, Lensmen! Okay, bad Sci-Fi joke.
Of course Dropbox is well integrated into Ubuntu and I recommend everyone use it or UbuntuOne to back up your writing.
That’s just about all the apps that I use when I write or work on author related things. If you can think of anything else to add, please leave a comment and tell us about it.
Geany IDE and Python Programming
I’ve been helping my youngest son, Spencer, learn to program in Python by designing an RPG game. We’re following this guy on YouTube and will then branch off and add to his framework. Spen’s using my old netbook running the latest Ubuntu and he decided that he liked the Geany IDE the best. I checked it out and have to agree with him.
The screenshot shows our first class and a bit of test code to see if it works. The IDE will let you hit Run and open the program in a terminal to see the results. Very handy. Personally, I’d just use Scribes with an open terminal, but since he’s new to programming, I think it helps to have an IDE.
We set up our project on Dropbox so we can both access it from different computers. We have a Windows laptop that he also uses and yesterday I set up Python on that and wrote a quick batch script to run the current test class automatically. I think we are set for some fun times ahead.
The Humble Indie Bundle 6 for Linux
I’m not really a gamer, but I buy games on Linux sometimes to support the idea. We need more gamers on Linux. Gamers bring expectations for better graphics, hear that nVidia? Which brings better performance for desktop users, like me.
So if you’re looking for a review of the latest games in the Humble Indie Bundle, you’ll have to talk to my kids. They’ve only played a few of them so far, but they seemed entertained. I’ll put some of them on the netbook that my 9 year old uses. It’s running the latest Ubuntu right now.
Currently, the Humble games are on my Dell XPS, the fastest computer at the McConnell household. Of course this means the games run very fast and crisp. I think gamers on a modern computer using Linux will be quite pleased.
My only suggestion for Ubuntu in particular, is that they need to better integrate the bundled games into the software center. You shouldn’t get a click yes to purchase button after you have already been charged by Humble for the games. I didn’t install the first game for quite some time, as I thought it would charge me a second time. Not good.
It should be noted that the gaming engine Unity, is coming to Linux soon. So now you can build your own indie games on Linux. Very cool. Also – watch the Indie Game documentary!
One last item of note about the Humble Bundle in particular is about the average price that Linux users are footing for these games. It’s close to $10.00 and way, way more than Mac and Windows users are choosing to pay for them. So much for Linux nerds only wanting free stuff.
Sputnik Program Updates PPA Location
The ppa that I linked to in my post about installing the kernel fixes by Kamal Mostafa has moved to a Canonical server. Please update your Dell XPS laptop to get the latest fixes.
Type the following lines into your terminal one at a time, hitting enter after each one to update your system:
sudo apt-get-repository ppa:canonical-hwe-team/sputnik-kernel
sudo apt-get update
This will start the updater program and get you all the latest fixes from Canonical.
Clementine on Ubuntu
Sometimes when I write, I like to listen to film soundtracks. Since I don’t own any soundtracks these days, I use Clementine and tune into SKY.fm. They have a channel for movie soundtracks.
Clementine ties into my top bar and lets me control it from there without even opening the main program. But when I do open the program, it provides me with all kinds of cool stuff about the musician.
Clementine is one of my favorite apps on Ubuntu. Check it out!