Linux so far

alan — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:18:34 +0000

reviews_Linux so far_Ubuntu vs. Windows and browser wars

I've had some trouble finding an FTP program for Ubuntu that works as well and reliably as WinSCP. In fact, it's got to the point where I've been considering running WinSCP under WINE (Windows Emulation for Linux). I've tried Filezilla, a very popular program, but it was a disaster. It dropped connections halfway through large transfers, transferred files using the wrong protocols when in auto mode, and cost me a lot of time in tracking down bugs due to files incorrectly or not at all transferred. In trying to figure out what was wrong with my setup I discovered the Filezilla support forum, where the developer was extremely rude to people reporting problems like mine. FAIL! I instantly uninstalled it.

I've also tried KFTPGrabber, another popular program that can be installed through Ubuntu, but I'm constantly getting unexplained connection failures and crashes. In fact, what I've been doing most often recently is typing the FTP commands manually using the Terminal - it's fast and reliable. The only area it falls down is in creating queues of large numbers of files/directories to be transferred. I'm sure there's a way of doing that, which probably requires Terminal Jedi powers, but I don't know how.

I don't know if anyone at all reads this blog yet, let alone Ubuntu users, but if anyone can suggest a reliable graphical FTP program - I stress RELIABLE - please let me know!

Browser Woes

Firefox has been my browser of choice for a few years now, and since I began full-time web development, the add-ons have been invaluable, especially Firebug. However, there appears to be a serious problem with Firefox for Linux. I've been having trouble with applications slowing down (both browser-based Javascript applications AND normal applications) when I've got Firefox open with many tabs, or open for a long time. A quick Google search reveals that I'm not the only one having this problem. I read several possible solutions from people within the Ubuntu community, and tried a couple of them (installing Swiftfox, disabling IPV6, starting up Firefox in safe mode) but nothing made any difference.

All this probably wouldn't have been enough to make me change if it wasn't for the existence of Chrome. I tried this when Google first released it, it crashed a couple of times, and I decided it wasn't ready. On trying it again, it's obvious that it's come a long way. Also, it's MUCH faster than Firefox (or IE) for Javascript (at least, one of my clients' websites with some heavy Javascript use runs way faster in Chrome). I also discovered yesterday that there are now a whole host of add-ons (extensions) for Chrome, including a couple which will probably do everything for me that Firebug does in FF. So I've made the switch, no complaints so far.

Ubuntu doubleplusgood

alan — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 02:36:23 +0000

reviews_Ubuntu doubleplusgood_Experimenting with Linux

Having gone to the trouble of making that long blog post about productivity tools in Windows for Web Developers, I went and switched to Ubuntu on my main desktop PC and I'm now wondering if I'll ever want to use Windows again. I'll briefly mention a few things about my Ubuntu experience so far that have really impressed me.

1) It's unbelievably easy to access and install new free software.

2) Unlimited desktop panels (really really useful)

3) Total control and configurability without the agony of trying to modify your Windows experience

4) gEdit (I know I JUST said I'd probably never switch from Notepad, but...)

5) They fixed it (I did try Ubuntu a few years ago, and after multiple compatibility problems with graphics cards, sound cards, etc, gave up. This time I have a PC with 2 CPUs, a powerful nVidia graphics card and a USB wireless adapter and everything pretty much worked straight out of the box (and with the nVidia drivers installed, works BETTER than on windows)

6) No need for antivirus software

7) No tears over losing WinSCP, I'm using Firezilla now and it's brilliant

The only big problem I encountered so far is that SugarSync doesn't yet have a linux client and doesn't seem to run properly under WINE (I tried). No problem. I've moved all my personal sync stuff to Dropbox, and opened a box.net account for collaboration.

I'll probably keep this blog posted with further n00b reactions to Ubuntu as I experience them.

my name is alan - something i just learnt

Linux so far

reviews_Linux so far_Ubuntu vs. Windows and browser wars

Browser Woes

Ubuntu doubleplusgood

reviews_Ubuntu doubleplusgood_Experimenting with Linux