I recently read this article written by a friend of mine known as DedRyzing. In it he defuncts four of the most common myths that revolve around the common use of Linux on a desktop computer.

The article could not be more “Ded” on! Linux is and will continue to be an exciting a usable desktop alternative. The article mentions the ease of install, the common applications that are available and disproves the myth that Linux is “too complicated to use” by pointing to distributions like Ubuntu. Ded says: “If all you ever knew was Linux and you decided to try Windows for the first time, I am sure that you would find Windows complicated and hard to use.”

Ded lists five reasons to use Linux including security, support and cost. These alone are good reasons to give Linux a try. What he did not mention is the desktop eye candy and choice of desktop environments that is available. Choices that are not available in other operating systems. You can do things that are not even possible in other operating systems.

When the dust is settled and, logic and open mindedness is applied; Linux is a viable, usable desktop operating system.

Give it a try!

You can find blist here

On with my top-5:

#1 emerge –sync
This command synchronizes your local collection of packages with the latest sources available from Gentoo. You should sync your portage directory at least weekly. You can’t get more important than having the latest, up-to-date packages to chose from. This is what keeps your system on the “bleeding-edge” of the linux world.

#2 emerge -av
The -av switch to the emerge command tells emerge to ask (-a) before it performs any actions and, to be verbose (-v) with the details of what it is going to do. This is usually very important because you will (IMHO) want to check the USE flags on a particular package before installation. (USE flags are not addressed in this post and, will be addressed at a later date. Check the Docs if you want to know right now)

#3 emerge -u ( –update)
The -u switch tells emerge to update the packages installed on your system. You would want to use the –sync command just prior to the -u switch so that you are sure to upgrade to the latest package available. ( Again with the bleeding-edge thing)

#4 emerge –resume
The resume switch gives the user the ability to restart the last emerge session. Lets say there was a power outage or, for some reason emerge needed to be stopped in the middle of upgrading a large number of packages. The –resume switch will allow you to restart the session immediately after the last installed package.

#5 emerge -c ( –unmerge)
This one is almost self explanatory. Unmerge means remove, Uninstall. Use the to completely remove a package from your system. Do not use this command unless you really want the package removed from your system. Although there are times when you want a package removed. If this is the case then, the -c switch is the one for you.

I can’t compare emerge to Debian based package management utilities. I haven’t used those enough to do so. I can compare them to distros like Fedora and Suse. My opinion is that emerge is a more efficient and controllable system of package management.

The NAACP is not a group that wants to hear that a person is responsible for his own actions and situations. It appears to me it’s behind the belief that the government should be there to “catch me when I fall.”

The question  that I pose is this: Is Mr. Obama a real believer in self-reliance or will he waffle when the heat is on? Will he stand on self-reliance if he takes office as the President of the United States, or will he continue the liberal stand of more government, less personal responsibility? I think he will continue in his liberal ways.

I haven’t actually touched the surface of what Conky can do on top of being some pretty cool eye candy for you. Customizable colors and fonts, cpu, memory, and swap graphs … whew! Too much to type!

Anyway, on to the how to… Conky is easily installed on all Linux systems. Most distros have it in their packaging system. Just emerge, yum or whatever suites your chosen distro. Myself being a Slackware user, ./configure && make && make install went pleasantly smooth. I could have chosen a pre-compiled .tgz from somewhere, or found a SlackBuild script but, this way I have the newest compiled for my system. I’m sure it will go the same for you.

Next is the config file. This is the conkyrc file. When started with the command “conky,” the default file loaded on Slackware is located at /usr/local/etc/conky/conky.conf. Copy this file to ~/.conkyrc and Conky will look there first henceforth. There are many resources for he conkyrc file available on the internet. Listing of the various variables and internal commands. I found one that I liked courtesy of “iplaythisgame” at gnome-look.org
and adapted it to my system and needs. The process took all of 30 minutes to get this great looking, functional eye candy going.

And, last but, not least, have a look at my conky …