Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Steam on Linux Beta

I've been using the Steam beta for a few weeks now, and let me just say, it's awesome. This is EXACTLY what we all have wanted, and what Linux needs.

OK let me back up a little. If you're a gamer who also uses Linux, then this is what you need. Linux doesn't need it, but if you want the convenience of playing games on your computer, then it basically does.

I know some Linux users want to take over the desktop market but that doesn't excite me personally. I don't feel the need to be using the same OS as everyone around me, or having everyone use the same OS as I do. But, I do want to be treated like a first class citizen the same way as everyone else. I don't want to go to a store to buy a peripheral and have to do three hours of research to see if something works on my OS. And I know it's not that hard to make it work on other OSes because the kernel development team (of volunteers) do it all the time, without any support from the manufacturers.

The point is that Steam will make Linux a more significant OS to companies, ideally. And that, in addition to being a gamer, is why I support it.

Friday, January 18, 2013

New Artistic Find

I was listening to one of the tech podcasts I partake of, and the host mentioned a new artist he had found, Ruji. The artist is a "she" and she's into Linux. So I thought I'd check her shit out.

I'll cut to the chase and just say that Ruji is a true indie artist in ways that shock and surprise and delight me. I love that she is a real indie, too, she's not one of those corporate-sponsored indie artists that gets marketed to us while we stand in line at Chipotle or the Apple Store. In ten years, I guarantee you we're all going to look back at some our most beloved indie celebrities and see nothing but Monkees.

Not Ruji though! She's got it all: talent, brains, wit, and rugged individualism. She's definitely not a cookie-cutter artist or geek. She strikes me as someone who truly walks her own path, putting out what ever kind of art she damn well pleases. I wonder how someone gets to be so fearless and confident? and then I also imagine that probably she's really not, in real life, at least not all the time.

Art is funny, and Ruji made me think about that a lot. And she made me think about a lot of other things. And any artist who can tear me away from games and computers long enough to ponder life gets high marks.

Her site is http://rujic.net

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Ubuntu Phones, My Brain Just Asploded

I love my Android phone. It does everything I need, and more. Until today, I'd have said you wouldn't be able to pry it out of my hands for anything. And then I saw the announcement: Ubuntu Linux is comming to phones.

I don't mean a dumbed down version of Ubuntu, and it's not some phone hack that a kid in his mother's basement created (although to be fair, those kids in their mother's basement have made some fracking COOL stuff for me in the past, so no disrespect!). This is a full Linux distribution on a phone.

The interface will be a phone interface, so it will look and feel and act like what we all pretty much expect from smart phones now. So, what's the big deal?

Well, imagine this. You're out at school or work, you're using your phone for chatting and texting and internet stuff, maybe for a phone call here and there, and then you get home. You take your phone out of your pocket, and you put it on your desk, and plug it into your monitor. A full desktop comes up on your monitor. You turn on your bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and suddenly - you're using a DESKTOP...off of your phone. And you don't have to sync your files to your desktop - what is that anyway? Whose idea was it to sync your phone to your desktoo? Not on Ubuntu Phones you don't, because all of your files are already there! And all of your apps are there. And since it's a full Ubuntu install, you can install more applications that you might want to use on a desktop but not on a phone (like an office suite or a paint program).

This isn't just cool, it's AMAZING. It is everything I've ever dreamed for, except..more because I didn't even have a concept that this was possible. I am so excited right now.

WILL BUY!