My brief foray into Linux has now ended. I decided that I am not interested in an operating system that makes me work that hard to get things to work - entering a string of commands in a terminal window (to enable the sound hardware), reinstalling the operating system *twice* because it didn't like the hardware (I think) and trying to find an application to play music that didn't require me to either put up with an application that would crash just because I wanted to create a playlist, or trying out a string of applications that didn't really meet my need.
If I had wanted to tinker this much with an operating system, Ubuntu (or any Linux variant) would have been perfect.
I have since installed the RC of Windows 7. It installed in less than 30 minutes and every step of the way since has been rocket-fast. I like what I have seen so far, with one tiny exception: it seems that my touchpad is very touchy. So much so that I have to pay close attention or I will find myself typing where the mouse pointer is, instead of the cursor. That's quite a small price to pay, I think. It might even make me a better typist. :)
I have Thunderbird, Firefox, iTunes and OpenOffice already loaded. I am going to take a different approach to iTunes this time around. I am going to load only those CD's that I really want in my database (instead of all ~600 of them) and I am going to have iTunes keep everything in the MP3 format. After all, that's the format my Garmin needs. Why have multiple file formats for the same data?
I discovered a Linux-based Bible study environment based on the Sword Project (http://www.crosswire.org/sword/index.jsp), with the BibleTime application (http://www.bibletime.info/). So far, it seems to be on a par with my favorite Bible study environment for Windows - e-Sword (http://www.e-sword.net/) - in terms of usability, though it can't yet match e-Sword for the range and number of resources available. However, there are enough resources to keep me busy so I can continue my Bible studies when I travel without thinking I have to take a ton of books with me.
I also wanted to try Xiphos (http://xiphos.org/), but the download link returns an error. I'll see if they respond to my query.
I finally finished converting my music files. It looks like some tracks may not have come through the conversion process, but I think I am going to re-check what has been loaded into the database anyway. It took a most of this afternoon (and I may have to manually kill and restart a process at each reboot, at least for now), but I finally have music playing through Rhythmbox (an iTunes-like application).
Installing the printer was easy - I think that was aided by the fact that it has a dedicated IP address all its own. Now I just have to replace the black toner cartridge.
So, what do we have at this point?
- Browser: Firefox v3.0.13 and all extensions
- E-Mail: Thunderbird v2.0.0.22 and all extensions
- Office Suite: OpenOffice.org v3.0.1 - includes spreadsheet and word processor
- Music Organization & Playback: Rhythmbox v0.12.0
- Printing: Xerox 6110 color laser printer
What remains? Music composition software: There are a couple currently in the running:
Once I have that last piece in place, I'll have the full system running.
... it turns out the only problem was that I had to shut down and restart the computer. After that, Thunderbird has performed flawlessly - all my extensions are working and mail is coming in and out. Excellent.
I am in the process of converting my large (>5,100 songs) iTunes database to the OGG format so I can play the music from my Ubuntu box. From there, I will convert albums and songs to MP3 on an as-needed basis, since that format is the only thing the Garmin understands.
Next, I'll be searching for an application like Finale or Sibelius that will allow me to create and play back original music scores.
The replacement hard drive arrived yesterday and I loaded Ubuntu last night. Fired up Thunderbird and Firefox after migrating my user profiles and almost all is well. My only problem is that Thunderbird isn't able to connect with any e-mail servers.
Troubleshooting, here we come.
