Ha!

Honestly, it never even occurred to me that someone was already doing this right! To be honest, I'm not sure about that "right" part (haven't spent much time checking it out), but certainly more thoroughly! And with the same damn name. It's an industry! I thought I was being all vanguard-y and stuff. Who knew.

Anyway, guess what? I'm back on the iBook. Again, this was a Laptop-only excursion for me, lasting over two full months (iBook literally just gathering dust).

For me, laptop = writing, browsing, emailing. That's it. The writing is screenwriting. What brought me back? Turns out it's The Little Things (some of them very little, but, as it turns out, critical):

• One thing I'd noticed only recently in OSX is that once any key is touched, the onscreen cursor vanishes. Why should this matter? If you click to insert, then type, the damn cursor blocks out part of whatever you typed. Sounds insignificant, but this is a constant annoyance I never got over. Posts in Ubuntu and other forums were met by absolute silence. I guess it's just me.
  
• Final Draft 6. Piece of shit that it is, FD is still the easiest tool to use. Auto-sentence capitalization, remembered names/locations/times of day, adjustable magnification levels for viewing and other nice touches make this far and away the most intuitive and flowing app for the job. Version 7 was a gigantic step backwards, and the draconian licensing (two machines at a time) is laughable. Redraw and stability problems (luckily for me, mininal) continue to plague this glorified word processor... This company is just begging for someone to blow it away. Unfortunately, Celtx is just not quite there. It's pretty damn close, tho!
• ALso, a non-Linux issue: THere's something about the Thinkpad keyboard suddenly made me prone to double-caps. DAmn near every sentence, I'd find myself tapping back to fix it. I thought it would wear off, as I adjusted. IT didn't.
• Apple "gets it" in ways I haven't seen anyone else, yet. Fonts, menus, all interface items are incredibly easy on the eyes, and remind me that I have a finely engineered work of art in my hands at every turn. Without beating me over the head with it. For me, a near-perfect balance of form and function. Ubuntu is coming damn close, tho. Gnome seems headed in the right directions, and the consistency of solid design and functionality is encouraging.
• Sorry, but you can't beat having all these "proprietary" formats just work. Quicktime, Flash, etc. need to be there, already. I think Feisty Fawn is planning something nice in this department. Hope so!
• Geek Addiction. Subtle, but problematic. Linux leaves so many things "up to you," configuration-wise, plus requires enough hand-holding just to get things working right, that it's easy to spend hour upon hour tinkering. For better or worse, this tinkering supplanted other useless things, like blogging. I was writing a lot, no lag there, but all my "computer free time" was being taken up with configuration. The upside is, this meant getting very comfortable with command-line operations in the terminal, which is great. Though I've only used it on OSX a couple of times, really, it's nice to know your way around. having a Linux install handy is great for satisfying that tinker-itch, but for me, not the best full-time work platform.
  

Lastly, having spent time in the infinitely-configurable world of Linux, when I tested coming back to the iBook, I poked around online for utilities that might be able to help me achieve this on OSX. What I found changed everything:

• First off, can't say enough good things about SideTrack. Vert & Horiz scrolling, plus Right Click, all available on the touchpad. I never, ever have to use the big, clunky button.
• Menufella allows me to hide the damn menu bar at the top. Slide the cursor up top, there it is again. On a 12" laptop, vertical space is at a premium. Love it.
• DoubleCommand allows remapping keys to useful functions. The biggie here (and the only setting I've implemented) is "Remap Backslash (\) to Forward Delete." Godsend. Before, Forward Delete (which I use A LOT) was only available as "Fn-Delete," an exercise that made for awkward reorienting of typing hands. How often does "\" show up in writing, anyway??
  
• Desktop Manager allows multiple desktops (another awesome Linux feature) on OSX with breathtaking ease and beauty. Stunning transitions, infinite configurability, and (despite the dire warnings on the site) flawless operation on Tiger make this my favorite revelation. Okay, and having Forard-Delete RIGHT THERE, below the Backspace key.
  

Edgy Eft

Okay, long time no post. Been busy. Anyways...

The minute an Edgy (Ubuntu 6.10) beta was posted, I installed it. Voila! Sleep works perfectly. Close the lid, zzzzzz. Open it, Hello! Just installed the proper (final) release, and it's purring like a kitten. With healthy sleep, that means everything is working as it should. I mean, everything -- Thinkpad volume buttons (w/onscreen feedback), strange little ThinkLight, brightness, booyah. Edgy figured out EVERYTHING on it's own; the only "tweak" that was needed was to activate the 3rd-button scrolling (simple copy/paste of two lines into xorg.conf file). Wireless "just works," along w/all apps I use/need.

Celtx (OSS screenwriting program) 0.98 came out, and IT rocks, as well. Took a screenplay from concept notes thru detailed outline through first draft all in one project. PDF export & printing worked great, got a copy to my producer, now readying for a second pass.

But the real test result is: I haven't used my iBook for anything. No, really. Okay, just for my twice-weekly writing group (co-creating a piece w/3 other guys), where the iBook has become "home" for the works in progress, and gets handed around for us to read/type/etc. Just those to meetings; otherwise, there it sits, sleep light throbbing. I'm seriously contemplating selling it, 'cause I'd like to nab be a newer ThinkPad (T60? Maybe a T43?). I've seen folks who're running OSX on 'em (!). I mean, for those "just in case" moments. Anything but frickin' Windows. Augh.

Anyway, I gotta say, Ubuntu is working for me, big time. I think my 2x1.25 G4 desktop setup is going to get the dual-boot treatment, soon... For me, at this point, Final Cut and Dreamweaver are the only real reasons to keep OSX... I do my work work (3D animation) on Win2K PCs anyways, using Lightwave and After Effects (both unlikely candidates for porting to Linux, I'm afraid). Too lazy to learn Blender, but I'm sure it'd do. Oh, my nano (iPod), too. I know Ubuntu is supposed to handle it well, I just haven't tried it yet. Gotta check that out once I do the deed on the desktop Mac (all my music is on the desktop).

ThinkPad Heck

It's been a while, and for good reason. My ThinkPad T22 took for-frickin'-EVAR to show up, and then the party was only beginning...

Initial install of Ubuntu (Dapper, 6.06.1) went smoothly enough. The mini-PCI WiFi card I bought (on eBay as well, at the same time -- it arrived in days) meant swapping out the Ethernet/Modem card, but... Well anyway, the forums had lots of people singing the praises of cards like mine (Atheros chipset, AR5212) working like a charm, so I stuck with it for a while.

It didn't work. MadWifi drivers (built-in) recognized it, even gave a weak signal that worked briefly, but ultimately the card proved unusable (even w/ndiswrapper -- don't get me started). Back in went the Ether/Modem card, and I picked up a cheapo PCMCIA card (Linksys 802.11b, same as my network -- $12.95 @ Amazon). TA-DA! 100% signal, all the time. Sure, there's a damn puck hanging out the side, but what the hell, it "just works" amazingly well. No configs necessary.

The only other trouble I'm having is with Sleep (Suspend). I never turn my iBook off, and I'd like to do the same with the ThinkPad (which is, theoretically, replacing it!). First time I tried suspending the ThinkPad, it seemed to work great! Little "half moon" came on, everything spun down. Resuming, however, proved a bit more exciting.

It was dead. I mean, dead, like wouldn't restart! &%$@#. It was only after unplugging the AC adapter AND popping the battery out that things came back on... As if nothing had happened. Augh.

So, all the user forums seemed to suggest that APM was the way to go, with this model. ACPI comes standard, but it's an easy tweak to disable ACPI and enable APM (kernel line addition of "acpi=off apm=on" in /boot/grub/menu.lst -- Google for proper syntax/other tips). But APM simply wouldn't actually sleep. Blanked the screen, but the hard drive and fan stayed on... Hardly a useable "sleep."

So for now, it simply stays on (like my desktops). It's plugged in, most of the time, at my "writing chair," so no biggie.

Everything else "just worked": Video @ full res; Sound (volume controls buttons even show proper onscreen indicators when used!; brightness up/down buttons; "ThinkLight" button, the works. TrackPoint nav needed additional lines in _________ (xx) to enable scroll button, worked immediately and flawlessly.

So. Next it was on to the apps. This is a Writing Machine (screenwriting, specifically), so that meant (for me):

1. A good, full-screen, no-frills text writing environment (ala "CopyWrite," which I used on OSX) -- Abiword came to the rescue, quick-loading and configurable to my needs. OpenOffice is there, for more compex docs.
2. Screenwriting-specific app(s)... Meaning Celtx, which is really pretty amazingly "almost there," as far as all-round usability. Also, Final Draft (version 6, the only one I use -- 7 is a joke) via Wine. Mostly for xsfer/file conversion use, for existing scripts and/or sharing with others. Final Draft is, in many ways, crap, but remains the "industry standard."
3. FreeMind, an elegant and extremely smart piece of mapping software, xlnt for sorting out complicated story structures, gaining a broad overview, development, etc.

But getting these apps installed and working took a little muscle. More later.

new hotness

If ever there was a geek bandwagon to jump on, Ubuntu is it. The buzz is audible on all channels. It's getting so popular, die-hard geeks have taken to bashing it. They must be on to something.

An intro: I'm a long-time graphics professional, since the late 80s (print, then web, then motion graphics, then VFX & 3D) who has always used Macs as my "main workstations." PCs became a necessity for 3D work, but my Mac always handled all my personal creative pursuits and "digital lifestyle" management. Circa 2000, I began taking writing seriously (screenplays, short stories, essays), and being a decently fast touch-typist, I fell in love with the TrackPoint ("nipple") navigation on the ThinkPad. I used Win2K as long as I could stomach it (hideosity/idiocity that Windows is), then finally got myself a G4 iBook. The SideTrack utility (allows right-clicking and scrolling via taps/rubs) made the trackpad tolerable, and is now required for me to function at all.

But something else happened, before I got the iBook. I discovered Linux, which at the time (for me, a mere semi-geek) meant Manrake 9. I set up a dual-boot on the ThinkPad. But... Well, it was almost there, but not quite. Too buggy, too many "fixes," not enough "just working" for my tastes. So I got the iBook, and now, with OSX Tiger, Apple has kicked some serious booty and made things sing. And yet... Never as "snappy" as the WinBoxes. Plus all those "pro" apps giving me "spinning beachballs" way too often (for a dual 1.25 ghz G4 w/1.5G RAM, today an antique, I suppose, but in it's day...)

Anyway, the incredibly appealing idea of people making software they thought was cool, and giving it away, never left me. I love my Apples, but I'd seen the Peaches, and damn it, I wanted to shake that tree. Yeah, that's a Steve Miller reference. I don't even like Steve Miller.

Then came Ubuntu. I read about it, and I dugg what I saw. I came across a posting with Ubuntu's benefactor/daddy Mark Shuttleworth's actual email, soliciting suggestions, and I sent a note telling him that if Airport Extreme worked on my iBook, I'd install it in a hearbeat.

He answered me. Yes, the multi-gazzilionaire making Ubuntu happen sent a nice note, regretfully informing me that as far as he knew, Broadcom had so far made Airport Extreme impossible to implement.

I was floored. Now that is a frickin' community.

A side note, here: I once had a chance encounter with Steve Jobs, just the two of us. I smiled in recognition, said his name, and extended a hand, about to say what an honor it was to meet him. He freaked. Recoiled, stammered an apology, and walked away. Yes, my friends, Steve Jobs is a weirdo who wouldn't shake my hand. Freak. Okay, brilliant freak.

Anyway, long story short (as if), someone, somewhere, made it work. Airport Extreme, that is. So I downloaded the latest PPC iso, and set up a dual-boot on my iBook. Sweet. Pretty much everything worked, but no Trackpad utility to make the pad truly usable, for me. Plus I wanted to really try out Celtx (in lew of Final Draft, somehow the "industry standard," for screenwriting, but something users mostly tolerate... Okay, it's crap, that mostly works, pretty much). But alas, no PPC version of Celtx. Augh.

There it was, though (Ubuntu, on my desktop), and it looked sweet. All chocolaty 'n' slick. Pretty, and smart as hell. The Lisa Loeb of Linux distros. I cruised around, messed with some incredible free apps (more on that, later), and it wasn't long before I'd decided to go for it. I went on eBay and picked up a decent ThinkPad (T22/1ghz) -- for $250! -- and it's on its way. In the meantime, I've set up a dual-boot on one of my faster Win2K PCs, and well, here I am. Ubuntuing. Ubuntuitively. Ha! Did you see that? What I did there? Ha.

So now I'll really be going for it, making this Ubuntu box and my better-get-here-soon-dammit ThinkPad my "main personal workstations," for whatever graphics/web/music/etc. stuff I do, and for writing. I want it to work. Not sure why, exactly, but others have written about that in great detail, and I agree with a lot of it. Plus, Open-Source just feels good. Better, dispite not actually being "better," in many regards, if you know what I mean.

So, next up will be the apps I'm using, and how they compare to the pricey bloatware I know (and that will, in all likelyhood, totally kick ass, comparatively). But if I can find viable alternatives... Viable alternatives, I'm staying here! 'Cause who wouldn't wanna spend time with Lisa Loeb?