The Cultivated Web Blog

Since delving into the Ubuntu version of the Linux operating system, I’ve been very impressed with the wide array of quality software not only available for Linux, but also for Apple, Windows, and several other specialized operating systems. So here are some of the sites that index totally free software.

The Free Software Directory from the Free Software Foundation (only for free operating systems)

The Free Software Portal from Wikipedia

And let’s not forget the venerable SourceForge.net.

Now, there are many other sources of “free” software and some of them are very good. Google offers some great stuff, Wordpress, CNET’s Download.com, and SoftPedia to mention a few. But I wanted to bring to your attention a couple of sites that index software that is totally free in all ways; free to use, free to share, and free to modify.

If you know of other sources of free software, please leave a comment and share.

When I first wrote about using Ubuntu Linux last month, I was just getting started. The installation and functionality on the Dell Dimension 4600 desktop was very smooth and the functionality was quite good. The OS recognized all the hardware and everything just worked, including some of the special visual effects. The performance was pretty respectable too for a machine with only 512KB of RAM.

The story was a not so pretty on the HP Pavilion dv9000 laptop. The performance is good. But I had two key issues. First was was getting the right video drivers to work with Nvidia GeForce graphics card to work and second was getting the Atheros WiFi adapter to work. I now have both issues resolved to a level I can live with….sort of.

First, I configured the Nvidia drivers so that I can extend the desktop across two monitors. However, this setup is not capable of using the software that provides the special graphics effects that makes using your computer a little more fun if not actually more efficient. Just take a look at Gnome-Look.org to get an idea of what’s possible at no additional financial cost.

The second issue with no WiFi was a big one for me. This may have been a real deal breaker for me, expecially with a laptop. While looking for some information about another topic, I stumbled onto a solution that got my WiFi working. So I’m a pretty happy camper.

But here’s the rub for most people. Both these solutions required a series of commands at the command line interface (terminal) that required root access. It’s not the root access that’s an big inconvenience. Window Vista asks for the administrator password all the time. But most people, including myself, don’t really have a working level knowledge of the OS command line language. And this, my friends, is why Windows dominates. And Apple? You know Apple is built on Linus, right? Apple has done a great job of developing a graphical interface that most people can use. The catch for most people is the price.

So, here’ my conclusion about Linux. It’s a great operating system capable of going everything Windows or Apple systems do. It’s free, not only to acquire but also to adapt to your own purposes if you have the requisite programming skills. Linux is more secure than Windows with a lot less effort and expense. But is it for everyone? I doubt it. With that said, let me tell you, it may be for more people than we think. My friend Richard asked me for some advice on what to do with his aging laptop that was just about useless with it’s bogged down Windows XP OS. I suggested he might want to try Ubuntu Linux since he was about ready to dump the old laptop. I gave him a copy of the Ubuntu CD and sent him on his way. An hour later he called me to tell me how good his computer was running. Two weeks later he was raving about how he now has an Ubuntu family after he installed it on his wife’s laptop. Granted they are doing the basic task many of us do; using a word processor, surfing the web, using email. For them, Ubuntu Linux worked without a hitch.

If you are at all curious about escaping from some of the pitfall of Windows, test driving Linux is not that hard. You don’t even have to install it on your hard drive. Just download it and burn the ISO image to a CD. Then you can run it right from CD to see how it works with your hardware. I encourage you to visit Ubuntu.com to read about it yourself, download it, and take it for a spin. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised at what you see.

By the way, did I mention I’m writing this post using my Ubuntu installation? Sweeeet!

This evening a friend called me after she watched a news report about the ZeuS virus/bot. Here is the text I sent her and though I would share it here.

You’ll find this article on the USA Today website very interesting and educational.

http://tinyurl.com/5olver

Then take a look at the blog post I wrote back in November.
http://www.cultivatedweb.com/blog/category/online-security

It’s about rootkits and provides links to some of the preventive measures and tools you can use. Here’s what I’m using on my PC now.

Signature Based AntiVirus: BitDefender
http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-2216-en–BitDefender-Antivirus-2009.html

Behavior Based AntiVirus: Threatfire
http://www.threatfire.com/

COMODO Firewall
This is a great firewall. It monitors inbound and outbound network traffic, unlike the firewall in Windows that I’ve read only blocks inbound traffic. Think about it. If you get a virus that tries to phone home, the Windows firewall may not stop it or notify you of it. Firewalls must monitor outbound traffic too. But COMODO is almost too good. it also monitors program behavior. I get a lot of warnings about legitimate programs creating files, trying to launch another program, or accessing memory. Maybe I just have not configured it adequately yet. I suggest you may want to consider a less technically demanding firewall. Take a look at the firewalls reviewed at Top Ten Reviews and see what’s available for free at Download.com.
http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/download_firewall.html

As I mentioned, keeping ALL your software updated is an important step to thwart malicious software. I use Secunia Personal Software Inspector.
http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/

I’m also running a program from TrendMicro to detect bots like the Conficker virus that’s been in the news. It’s called RUBotted.  Still in beta and free but has not caused problems. Although, it does seem to be giving me a false positive on the 404 error pages (the page that you see when a page doesn’t exist) from sites hosted with IX Web Hosting. I’m working through the problem with IX and TrendMicro.
http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/tools/security_tools/rubotted

Read a review here:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=802

Finally, read this series of pages on “Ten free security utilities you should already be using”.
http://content.zdnet.com/2346-12691_22-95490.html

This is a ton if info so take your time to work through it and be a responsible internet computer user. The fact that I’m still using these programs after about 6 months and don’t have any problems (as far as I know) is my testimonial and recommendation.

Mitch

I’ve had a nagging curiosity tugging at me on an off for about two years. About a month ago it started up again and I just had to take time to satisfy it. Part of the motivation for this is the performance of my Windows Vista HP Pavilion dv9000 laptop. It’s been a little slow to start up in the past few months. I’m also concerned about preventing virus and malware attacks so I have four programs (five if you count the firewall) running to monitor and prevent problems. I suspect this has something to do with the less than desirable performance. To make a long story short, as a Windows user since it first arrived, I have dipped my toes into the Linux pond via the Ubuntu distribution of Linux. For those who are not aware, there are many flavors of Linux available but all use the same core of the operating system.
I have to tell you at the outset, so far, my experience has been that Linux and Ubuntu are not for everyone and for every computer. I’ve installed Ubuntu 8.10 on these two systems:

1.    An old Dell Dimension 4600 with an Intel Pentium 4 2.8Ghz CPU, 80GB hard drive, and 512MB RAM
2.    A 1 year old HP Pavilion dv9000 with a AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL60 2.0Ghz CPU, and 3GB RAM

Here’s my conclusion so far in comparing Windows to Ubuntu Linux. When it comes to productivity, I think it’s a draw. If I had as much experience with Linux as I have with Windows, my productivity would be about equal. One thing Ubuntu has yet to do is make software installation drop dead fool proof. But the one thing Windows does not do is give you the depth of control over your OS and computer that Ubuntu can, and that’s where the learning curve is.

But how does this relate to web design? I believe it boils down to productivity and efficiency. Productivity in getting the work you need to do as quickly as you can. Efficiency in how much time and money you spend getting your work done. There are free programs available for Ubuntu for office applications such as Open Office, graphics, web design, audio and video editing, and much more. One of the glaring shortcomings of Linux distributions is the complete lack of Adobe software.

The most obvious benefit of Ubuntu is that it does not cost anything and you can adapt it to your purposes as best you can. Although no OS is 100% immune to virus and malware attacks, Windows is much more susceptible for several reasons, the most obvious of which are it is a huge target and in its underlying architecture, the way it’s built and operates. Make no mistake; I’m not making the case here for the use of one OS over the other because they both have strengths and weaknesses. So, why not use both if for no other reason than to be able to use your computer when a malware or virus hoses your Windows? The Ubuntu installer can set up a dual boot arrangement so you can choose which OS you want to use. I’m not ready to forsake Windows but I may be using it a little less. Stay tuned as I continue my journey of discovery into Ubuntu and please feel free to share your experience by leaving a comment to this blog post.

The more time I spend on the web the more gems I stumble upon. But I did not find this gem on StumbleUpon.com. This time I was venturing into a new (for me) service to reach out a little more and enhance my online identity with Gravatar. What Gravatar does is provide you with a globally recognizable avatar. For those who may not know, an avatar is representation of yourself, in this case a small image. When you open an account and upload your avatar, the Gravatar service will show it on blogs, forums, or any other web site that supports them when you do something like comment on a blog post or participate in a forum.

But I digress. Gravatar is not the gem I am talking about, although I believe it will prove to have value. Gravatar.com is the starting point that led me to 24 Ways to Impress Your Friends, a wonderful collection of web design and development articles and tutorials posted each year on the first 24 days of December. The authors are a diverse group of rather pretigious personas in the web design and development world such as Jeffrey Zeldman, Eric Meyer, and Kevin Yank. As you might expect, the design is a good example of blending functionality, information architecture, and content. Make no mistake, it’s the content (as should be with all web sites) that is the real value here.

I’m interested in what you think about 24 Ways, so leave a comment.

What? Use videos for marketing? Everyone knows about that. Yes, yes. I know. But here’s a great example that really made me want to gladly buy this company’s product….if I didn’t already have one, and provide what I think is great entertainment and a great marketing example for the rest of us to consider. Live, learn, enjoy.

Sublime, elegant, well written design blog of Jeff Starr. This most informative blog covers a wide range of technologies that pertain to digital design. Jeff reminds me how much I have to learn and I always learn something new. The Perishable Press challenges us all to be better designers. Remember the quote from the potato chip commercial, “I bet you can’t eat one”? Well, I be you can’t just read one Perishable post. They just make you want more and what may start out as a 10 minute visit will often turn into a 30 minute read and an hour of putting your new found knowledge into practice and then going back for more. Head over to Perishable Press and see for yourself.

1. Visibility – let people searching the web for the products and services you provide find your business. Your website is your sign on the Internet.
2. Credibility – it tells people about your business and that you care enough to invest in letting them know.
3. Marketing – websites should be a relatively inexpensive part of your overall marketing and public relations strategy.
4. Communication with existing clients and, perhaps equally important, potentially new clients.
5. Education – people need to know more about your products and services so they cane make the informed decision to buy from you. Share your knowledge and add value to your website for your site visitors to encourage visitor loyalty.
6. Sell online – this one should be self-explanatory. But the old adage that it takes money to make money was never more true. Selling online can be lucrative as long as someone is minding the store, providing customer service, monitoring inventory, and so on. Then there’s the infrastructure: e-commerce software, online merchant account, and a payment gateway. Finally, let’s not forget about getting some traffic to our site.
7. Competition – I guarantee some of your competitors have a website and if you’re not in the game there’s no way you can win.

If the search engines can’t find you, how can anyone else? Valik Rudd over at WebDesignIdeas.org gives a good overview of the benefits of making your websites accessible and some good tools to help you do it. Making an accessible website not only involves a good visual appearance, it also requires a usable organization of the site’s information, and the ability to view that content without the visual design aspects of the site. That’s why Rudd suggests using a text-only browser to look at and navigate your site. If you have problems doing so, so will most of the search engines and part of your audience. In a nutshell, good design must allow everyone, including the search engines, the ability to access your content. To do otherwise is like shooting yourself in the foot. Ouch!

Most of us know that pie are square, especially if you use a square pie pan. Oh! No, no….sorry, wrong pie. I know you’ve heard of Pi, the irrational number equal to the circumference of a circle to the diameter of the circle. Pi = 3.14159265358979323846…  The trailing numbers go on forever.

That’s not the same as Phi, another irrational number equal to 1.61803399…  What’s interesting about these numbers is how often they pop up in the universe and the world we humans perceive.  Now, Pi is a little easier to get your head around because we all know what a circle is and its diameter. But Phi is a little phunnier. So rather that go into where Phi comes from mathematically, you can read all about in Wikipedia. One way to estimate Phi is the Fibonacci sequence. The easiest way to describe this sequence of numbers is this: the number following the number before it is the sum of the two preceding numbers. So it looks like this:

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, 4181, 6765, and so on forever.

If you move into the sequence past the first few numbers and divide any of these numbers by the one preceding it, guess what you get? Phi. It’s actually only a close approximation after all because Phi is irrational. But the further you go in the sequence the more accurate it gets. To wit, 6765 divided by 4181 = 1.618033963… That’s accurate to the 7th decimal.

“Big whoop”, you say. This is just a bunch of boring math stuff. But consider this, the curve of the human ear is the same as the as the Fibonacci spiral. The proportions of the body segments of ants, the body features of an angel fish, the human body, the arrangement of leaves on their stem. There are too many examples to mention here.

If you’ve never heard of the Golden Ratio,  Phi, or the Fibonacci Sequence,  you really should check them out. They are the basis of many great designs that have been created throughout history by architects, artists, and musicians, and the Creator of the Universe. There are as many ways to apply Phi to a design project as you can imagine and use it to produce just about anything pleasing to the human senses. Just don’t blog about it when you’re hungry.

Further reading and listening:

GoldenNumber.net

Phi, the Golden Ratio

Fibonacci Sequence

Pi

Debussy’s “Reflections in Water” performed by Yukino Kano

Videos about the Golden Ratio