If you read this blog regularly (and who does?) then you probably know that I’m an avid fan of Ubuntu Linux, having previously used a few other distributions. In the last few weeks I’ve made one more switch: from a GNOME desktop (Ubuntu) to a KDE desktop (Kubuntu). Continue reading ‘Confessions of a Recovering GNOME Addict, or Why I Switched to Kubuntu’
Archive for June, 2007
Keith Olbermann knows! Ok, so he doesn’t exactly know, but I think his guess is at least as good as some hacker’s revelation about the book’s ending.
There’s one way to know for certain: buy the book and read it for yourself.
OK, I wrote that title with tongue firmly planted in cheek, but it might be true. I just read this article that reminded me exactly why I switched to Linux in the first place.
Paul Nowak, it would seem, has experienced exactly what I did when he made the switch to 100% Linux on his computer. In short, once you switch over to Linux, you wonder why you ever used Windows in the first place.
I can also report that I’ve helped several non-technical (read: Average Joe and Jane) people make the switch and they report exactly the same happiness with Linux. More happiness and less frustration probably does equal lower blood pressure, and that can only be a good thing.
I have a dear, dear friend who I wasn’t able to visit recently because she was traveling to visit friends. And when she travels, she really travels! During the weeks of our separation, I apparently didn’t find anything worth blogging about (co-dependent, anyone?), and I even got a call from Friend to ask if I was OK since I hadn’t blogged.
Today I read this article in the Charlotte Observer. In case the article has expired, I’ll break it down for you: two-thirds of North Carolina adults favor a smoking ban in enclosed public areas (restaurants, shopping centers, stadiums). That’s huge. The number who favor a smoking ban in all North Carolina schools is even bigger: a whopping 90%! Of course, the latter figure is quite a bit less important since many N.C. counties have already gone tobacco-free in their schools. Even so, it’s nice to know there’s support for it.
Among non-smokers, a whopping 81.5% support banning smoking in public enclosed spaces. I would have thought that figure would be higher, but I suppose that’s the reason for polls in the first place.
It’s important to note that the poll is from the Tobacco Prevention and Evaluation Program at UNC Chapel Hill. Even the name is obviously biased (their mission: “to prevent tobacco use, tobacco-related addiction, and exposure to secondhand smoke”), but it happens to be a bias I can support so I’ll accept their figures. You can read the full report at their website.
