While I will be getting Ubuntu CD's in the mail in a few weeks, I have always wanted to try out the XFCE branch of Ubuntu, Xubuntu. It is lighter and made to run on older machines that have less horsepower than more modern boxes. I have a 650 mhz laptop that I was itching to try Dapper Drake (6.06 Ubuntu) on and I figured the XFCE version would do me well. Here is my first impressions of it:
The install is very slick. It almost looks like a Mac or Windows install with the wizard. The install only took about 20-30 minutes and 1 reboot. Try that with Windows! I received no errors during the install and the nice thing is that you can use the CD as a "live" CD if you chose, so it serves a dual purpose. Again, try that with Windows.
Performance was pretty good and the total install size clocked in at 1.3 gigs. Considering it has more default software and is more stable than Windows, I thought that was pretty good. My full blown install of Breezy badger (5.10 Ubuntu) clocked in at 2.1 gigs, so this was a welcome change. One thing I found odd was that localepurge was not included in the standard install. This neat little util will (after configured) remove all the locale info from your system that is not specific to your region. It even removed man pages in that are not in the language you are used to using. Seems odd not to include that OR at least purge all the locale info when installed. It removed some, but not all. No real issue, really...just a oddity in my opinion.
Xubuntu does not have Open Office, but it does have Abiword and Gnumeric. Open Office can be install from Synaptic, but it is not a standard fixture to the XFCE environment. Which brings me to my next point. Why does the default install look like Gnome? It is not that I mind, but the only way to tell by looking at the desktop (and not clicking on the menu), is the XFCE logon on the launch button. Again, no big issue, but it looked odd to me.
It appeared to detect all the laptop's hardware (a feat in itself) but to be honest, I started the install at 10:00 PM and was tired by the time it finished and I rebooted. I will give my full review once I have had time to evaluate it.
On the home improvement front, the carpet was dry when I got home, so I vacuumed it (per my wife's instructions) and pulled a surprisingly large amount of "dust" (carpet cleaner residue?), pet hair (the dogs had not been on the carpet since it was cleaned) and carpet nap. While not as much as I would get during a normal vacuuming, it was still more than I had expected.
Once that was done, I ate and fed the dogs and when my wife came home and got organized, we started moving the furniture back in place. It was not easy on her to help me. She gained some respect for amount of work that goes into moving furniture.
After the furniture was moved back into place, I walked little man and helped my wife with her cactus. She had a tall cactus that was in a shallow pot. The post was big (12-14 inches in diameter) but not very deep (10 inches) for the 4.5 foot cactus, so it was not very stable. So we ditched it and plan on bringing the one home from her workplace. It is not doing well there an she only works 2 days a week in that office.
Like the previous night, I was craving ice cream. This time, I found out that my wife was craving some as well. So we got in the van and made a run to Kroger's for some treats. Before we left, we realized that we needed a few things so we decided to pick them up as well. Milk was cheaper for 1 gallon than 1/2 a gallon (odd) and we had several coupons for things that we needed. Total savings in coupons was $4.75. Our total was only $26 and some change. It would have been less, but we picked up a bottle of gourmet raspberry chipotle sauce (you have to try it in chicken!) that did not have a price on it, but had a $1 off coupon. The normal price was $5.29 for about 10 oz! My wife apologized but I told her not to worry...it is good sauce and we will not buy it often.
My ice cream (Dreyer's Grand, peanut butter cup) ended up only costing $2.00 for the 1.75 quart size, versus $3.99 normally. I love it when I can save some cash.
I am now clocking in at just about 48 hours without taking any Aleve and also my other weird issue (the sharp pain in the read of my hip) has been very minimal. I still feel it every so often, but it is not near as sharp as it was this weekend. I tested this with some front kicks (not hard, just the motion) and did not have any pain, although I could still feel a mild discomfort. One step at a time.
Thank you God for giving me this healing. I hope that the lessons you are wanting me to learn will be revealed to me. I know one of them and that deeply private issue I will no doubt work on for a very long time. Please be patient with me...I am trying!
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