Lucid Lynx: Mockup

Well… Everybody in the Ubuntu world is pretty much excited about the new design of upcoming Lucid Lynx. Lots of discussion is going on. Some says the new design is pretty Macish, some are in opposition of putting the maximize-minimize-close buttons in the left corner, some says the button chronology should be in a way so that the close button should be in the either corners, and so on. Lots of propositions are taking places. So why shouldn’t I propose something? Who knows, may be Canonical will find something important from my design! (If they dare to choose mine 😀 )

Here goes my (insane!) proposal. Look at the following window of  newly designed Lucid Lynx.

I’ve just put the maximize-minimize-close buttons at the bottom! Well, Mac has their button at the upper left and Windows has in the upper right. So by following on of the architecture implies that Ubuntu doesn’t have anything of its own! Here goes the identity of Ubuntu. Again in case of usability, when we scroll the window, it is always in the direction of top to bottom. So When we reach at the bottom, we move our cursor again to the top to close (or maximize or minimize) the window. Isn’t it be easier to perform those tasks by not moving the cursor to a 180 degree opposite direction? I think so. And it would be a pretty easy method to perform those tasks. Though it needs some practice.

At the upper left corner a logo of the program can be placed, and the title can be placed at the centre of  title bar. May be a click on the logo will show a text menu of maximize-minimize-close-move-etc.

So what do you think? Don’t hesitate to tell me, How insane is this design! 😉

Are you an open source user? Then you are a pirate!

I’ve just read an interesting article in the Guardian, which states that a US lobby group is trying to get the US government to consider open source as the equivalent to piracy. That means, to that well suited “moron” group, the open source free community is actually a large group of pirates!

Countries like Indonesia, Brazil and India is asked to be considered for the “Special 301 watchlist” by International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), because they use open source software. So what on earth is “Special 301“? According to Guardian’s Bobbie Johnson it is:

a report that examines the ‘adequacy and effectiveness of intellectual property rights’ around the planet – effectively the list of countries that the US government considers enemies of capitalism. It often gets wheeled out as a form of trading pressure – often around pharmaceuticals and counterfeited goods – to try and force governments to change their behaviours.

Continue reading Are you an open source user? Then you are a pirate!

Block Google Buzz updates from your Gmail inbox

Probably you already heard of Google Buzz. It’s the new twitter, actually it is more than twitter. Moreover it is integrated with Gmail inbox! That means you don’t need a separate signing up or signing in to access Google Buzz. Once you sign in to your Gmail inbox and voilà… it is there! The one irritating problem is that every time any one buzz you, that will be stored in your inbox (just like the facebook or other social site’s notifications). Though there is no direct option to disable the buzzes for avoiding your inbox to be flooded but… don’t worry… you can still block those buzzes from pouring your inbox. Or even you can turn off all the buzzes altogether from Inbox and from Buzz.

Block buzz from the Inbox

1. Open your Gmail and click on the Settings from the upper right corner.

2. Select Filters, then click on Create a new filter.

3. Now you’ll find a field named Has the words. In the text field write is:buzz.

Continue reading Block Google Buzz updates from your Gmail inbox

These are the reasons why I am promoting Ubuntu!

Recently I am trying to inspire people to use Ubuntu; more and more. And the people often amazed why on the earth I am doing this? What is my benefit? Am I paid? Too many questions! But wait… I am here to answer them all, at least I can try!

Firstly: Canonical, the company behind this wonderful operating system, distributes Ubuntu for free, like free beer. I am using that one in my PC for free and Canonical doesn’t expect me to repay any cost. But I should repay, as Canonical gives me an wonderful opportunity to use one of the world’s best operating system for free. So I am promoting Ubuntu to others as a way of repaying.

Secondly: Lots of people in Bangladesh are using pirated software. They even have no idea what does pirated software means. Any software in Bangladesh is available for less than a dollar! And people think this is the only way to buy software. This fact turns Bangladesh into the second most pirated software using country. As a Bangladeshi I think this is my responsibility to aware people about the piracy. Bangladesh is a poor country, people can’t afford to buy the genuine software. So the alternative way for them to use Free Software. Among the Free Operating System, I found Ubuntu as a very user friendly. That’s why I am promoting Ubuntu to my country men.

Thirdly: When I see people around me dealing with Viruses, Crashes, Defragmentations, Windows Re-installations etc, I really pity for them. Everyday they are facing trouble using their PC. To some people in Bangladesh, installing Windows in every week is a routine work! To make their life smooth I suggest them to use Ubuntu, which is more stable, more secure and ofcourse ease-of-use.

Fourthly: Well… I am not completely selfless. I have my own issue in promoting Ubntu. It is difficult to be a different. Everybody around me is using Windows and I am using Ubuntu. So if I need to send any one a document, I’ve to convert that from .odt to .doc, as they are not using OpenOffice. And there are more example like that. If all were using Ubuntu then I don’t have to think about file compatibility or other issues. Also I would find lots of helping hands if I were in any problem with Ubuntu.

Yeap… that’s all.

Avro is in Linux!

Probably the most popular Bangla writing software Avro Phonetic is now available for Ubntu. For a long time, many linux users of Bangladesh were expecting this great news. Though there is a semi-phonetic writing tool in Ubuntu named Probhat, but still that is not considered as complete replacement of Avro.

Avro running in Linux Mint 7
Avro running in Linux Mint 7

Scim-avro, the open source edition of Avro Phonetic typing system in Linux, works as an IMEngine (plug-in) of scim (Smart Common Input Method). Scim is delivered now a day with most of the major Linux distributions, so the installation is really simple. Upto now the binary package only for Ubuntu 9.04 (32 bit) desktop edition is released. Within a very short time the source code will be available, so that you can compile it in any Linux distribution you are using.

The installation is really simple. And right now I am using it in my laptop. And it works fine except some minor bugs. But  keep in mind that it is still in beta. So the final edition will be error free.

For more information please visit here.

Now I am in Linux!

ubuntu_tux

At last I’ve shifted to Linux! I’ve removed the Windows XP completely from my laptop and installed Ubuntu there. From now officially I am a Linux user. 🙂

My laptop is running like hell, I’ve not seen such speed for last several months. At first I was little bit worried whether I would able to connect to internet. But to my surprise, Ubuntu detected my LAN card and wireless port automatically! More over it automatically installed all the drivers of my Dell Inspiron!

At the first sight I fell in love with it. And now I am totally into it! I’ve no intention to move into Windows again (as I’ve gotten rid of my gaming addiction).

Long live Open Source!

It’s Exam Time!

Well… for me it is exam time. Litterery my university exams are going on. No time for watching movie, no time for browsing, no time for blogging, no time for playing games even no time for sleeping! What a hell of life!

Exam

My exams will be continued upto first week of July. After that its summer vacation! Hope to do well in my exams, may Allah help me.

Hopefully I’ll return to my blog after my exams. I said ‘HOPEFULLY‘ because I am not into my blog as I was in past. Life becomes busy. I am humming just like a busy bee. Sometimes I asked myself – Where is my usual  happy and carefree life?