Maximum PC has a great article about Linux desktop customization:

The days of ugly Linux desktops are a thing of the past. Modern distros include many tools and options that enable them to look good and be more useful.

Unlike Windows, Linux has several different widget toolkits. The most well-known widget engines are GTK+, (distributed with GNOME) and QT. (pronounced “cute”) Widgets are the various elements which make up a program’s GUI: scrollbars, arrows, checkboxes, etc. However, take note that QT or GTK widgets are not the same thing as desktop widgets.

Widgets and other things like window chrome (the toolbars, panels, etc. of a programs interface) and window decoration (the window’s title bar, minimize/maximize/close buttons, and the window border) are the various elements that, when joined together, create a theme for QT or GTK. It is possible to modify the various themes in Linux to change how they look or even create your own. This article will address the various resources that are out there to help make your desktop look its best and help you get the most out of it.

This is one of those articles that I read and then think to myself “damn, I wish I’d written that!” Good job, Will Kraft.

One of the problems with desktop Linux is that it can be confusing to those coming over from Windows but Will has artfully covered how easy and fun it can be to take a Linux desktop and turn it into whatever you want it to be. For Windows users new to Linux this article is a great resource.

Check it out.

I think these tips are pretty much right on about how to ease the transition for users from Windows to Linux:

Moving users to Linux can be tricky, but Jack Wallen has some practical measures that should ease the transition.

Sheer economics are making the use of the Linux operating system increasingly widespread. It is free, reliable and safe. But when adopting any new operating system, users always have a lot to learn.

On top of that, many users think Linux is hard to use, which is, of course, not necessarily true. But it is your job to overcome their reluctance and train them to use Linux so it becomes second nature, and so they are just as at-ease with it as they are with Windows.

Without sending users on some sort of boot camp, changing the preconceptions of users may seem a daunting task. But there are ways to ease the pain of learning Linux.

1. Standardise on a Windows-like desktop

2. Get users familiar with applications before you switch

3. Choose the right distribution

4. Have a machine up and running for users to play with

5. Remove administrative menu entries

6. Adopt Adept

7. Offer printed materials

8. Make screen casts of more difficult tasks

9. Encourage the use of Linux-based forums and mailing lists

10. Have an installfest

Be sure to read the article to see the details of the list. Definitely food for thought for folks looking to migrate from Windows to Linux. Thinking ahead, planning carefully and anticipating potential problems can really work wonders at your company as you move away from Windows and over to Linux.

Wow. Well I’m glad I only have an iPhone 3G!

Technology sites and Apple forums have been indundated with comments about the new model overheating and becoming discoloured since it was launched on June 19. Some iPhone users have complained that the device has become too hot to hold to the ear during long calls while others have noticed that the white 32GB model has turned pink after overheating.

In a warning posted on one of the California computer maker’s support knowledge base sites, Apple says that users should not leave their phones in a car where temperatures can exceed the -20C to 45C range that the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS models were designed to function in.

Apple says in the support article that “if the interior temperature of the device exceeds normal operating temperatures, you may experience the following as it attempts to regulate its temperature: the device stops charging, display dims, and/or weak cellular signal”.

In its message, Apple says that the iPhone has a safety feature which warns users that the device is becoming too hot. As well as leaving the handset in a car, it says that the phone may overheat when left in direct sunlight for prolonged periods, when GPS tracking is used in a car on a hot day or when its iPod function is used in direct sunlight.

If the warning appears, Apple says that users of the iPhone should turn the device off and allow it to cool before using it.

This strikes me as a copout on Apple’s part. I suspect that they goofed with this 3GS and are simply trying to spin it as best they can. It’s got to irk the hell out of new iPhone 3GS owners to find out that there brand new smartphones are…er…a little too hot to handle at times!

I decided to avoid upgrading this time around because I didn’t see enough value in the iPhone 3GS. I’m very glad I did as it seems that a lack of additional value over the regular 3G wasn’t the only reason to avoid upgrading. Apple has a serious problem on its hands, I hope it has a good solution too.

Just a heads up that there are a number of new desktop Linux reviews up on the DLR blog:

Live Linux Gaming

Tiny Core Linux 2.1

Knoppix 6.0.1

Kubuntu 9.04

I’m pleased to note that Linux Today has linkedto the Kubuntu and TCL reviews and Distrowatch has linked to the TCL review. So traffic has been up significantly and I’ve gotten some good comments from readers.

Drop by the DLR blog if you haven’t already. Good desktop Linux coverage.

Well the Michael Jackson story just keeps getting weirder and weird. It’s a never-ending circus. Today, I came across this:

Michael Jackson will live on as a ‘plastinated’ creature preserved by German doctor Gunther von Hagens.

Von Hagens has caused controversy with everyone from the Pope to the chief rabbi in Israel with his practice of embalming corpses with preserving polyurethane.

Yesterday, he declared: ‘An agreement is in place to plastinate the King of Pop.’

Von Hagens said that he spoke with representatives of the Jackson family ‘many months ago’ and it was agreed that his body will be plastinated and placed next to Bubbles, his late pet monkey who was plastinated a number of years ago and is exhibited at The Body Worlds & Mirror Of Time exhibition at the O2 Centre in London.

Von Hagens also confirmed it was one of Michael’s final requests to be reunited with Bubbles.

‘There is no better place than to do this at the venue where Jackson was due to perform his world record 50-date tour,’ said a spokesman for Von Hagens.

He added: ‘Von Hagens has hinted that a moonwalk pose would naturally be favoured. ‘It is hoped the exhibit will be unveiled towards the end of July.’

It was widely believed that the singer, who died yesterday from a heart attack, was interested in having his body frozen in the hope he could later be brought back to life.

However, it is now too late for his wish to be granted as the freezing process – cryonics – must be initiated almost immediately after death but an autopsy on Jackson’s body still needs to be carried out.

So just when you thought it couldn’t get any weirder, it apparently has gotten weirder. Or the story is complete bullshit. I don’t know which but on and on it goes.

By the way, if you’re looking for a good overview of what went on in Jackson’s life then try this story. It’s about the best I’ve seen at explaining what led up to his death. His life had become a true train wreck. Very similar to Elvis Presley.

‘I’m better off dead. I’m done’: Michael Jackson’s fateful prediction just a week before his death

By Ian Halperin
Last updated at 9:13 AM on 28th June 2009

• Genetic condition had ruined his lungs and left him unable to sing
• He became so skeletal, doctors believed he was anorexic
• He had nightmares about being murdered – and wanted to die
• He used swine flu as an excuse to avoid coming to England
• He thought he was agreeing to 10 concerts – it was 50

Whatever  the final autopsy results reveal, it was greed that killed Michael Jackson. Had he not been driven – by a cabal of bankers, agents, doctors and advisers – to commit to the gruelling 50 concerts in London’s O2 Arena, I believe he would still be alive today.

During the last weeks and months of his life, Jackson made desperate attempts to prepare for the concert series scheduled for next month – a series that would have earned millions for the singer and his entourage, but which he could never have completed, not mentally, and not physically.

Michael knew it and his advisers knew it. Anyone who caught even a fleeting glimpse of the frail old man hiding beneath the costumes and cosmetics would have understood that the London tour was madness. For Michael Jackson, it was fatal.

I had more than a glimpse of the real Michael; as an award-winning freelance journalist and film-maker, I spent more than five years inside his ‘camp’.

Many in his entourage spoke frankly to me – and that made it possible for me to write authoritatively last December that Michael had six months to live, a claim that, at the time, his official spokesman, Dr Tohme Tohme, called a ‘complete fabrication’. The singer, he told the world, was in ‘fine health’. Six months and one day later, Jackson was dead.

Just wanted to post links to the sites of my fellow ExtremeTech alumni.

I added them in the sidebar but here they are for anybody out there who is googling and trying to find them:

Joel Durham

Jason Cross

As of this writing, I don’t have a site yet for Mike Nguyen or Loyd Case but if they put one up I will add the links here.

Anyway, hope that helps if you’re looking for them. My stuff is pretty easily findable. Heh.

This seriously sums Twitter up pretty well. I know people that are totally addicted to it and can’t disconnect.

Sad.

Somebody posted a note on a site I frequent yesterday complaining about articles being broken up into too many pages. The point this person was making was that he/she found it annoying and/or thought that web publishers were being greedy or just otherwise trying to annoy readers.

Well why do sites break up articles into multiple pages? Well it’s simple really. Money.

What is the business model of most web publishers? A few like the Wall Street Journal charge a subscription but most can’t get away with doing that or are simply afraid to try. And so advertising is how they generate revenue. Breaking articles into multiple pages lends itself to generating a revenue stream for the site by creating inventory for ads to be served on.

If you aren’t familiar with how web advertising works then go and read this this article. There’s quite a bit there but it will give you a good overview and will help explain some of the reasons why publishers do what they do.

The guy who was complaining about having to click too much is basically an anti-clicker. He wants all of his content on one page and without having to click. This, unfortunately, conflicts with his reader nemesis the anti-scroller. If an article was really long and required a lot of scrolling then you’d have the anti-scrollers complaining that they’d rather click and not have to scroll.

Between the business needs of the site and the conflict between anti-scrollers and anti-clickers, publishers really can’t win.

I pitched it this morning and they linked to my Linux Mint 7 review over on my new Desktop Linux Reviews blog. Thanks so much Linux Today guys! It made my day to see that.

One of the nicer things about mintInstall in this release is Featured Applications which highlights some popular apps for users. While the list might seem basic or obvious to experienced Linux users, newbies might find some of the suggestions listed there quite helpful or at the very least interesting. I like this kind of approach for a desktop Linux distribution.

It’s important not to assume that everybody knows everything about every last Linux application ever created. Welcoming new people into the Linux fold by gently giving them an introduction to some useful apps is a very good thing.

Having said that we could debate whether or not the Featured  Applications list should have more or less apps. I am in favor of not overwhelming people with too many especially people newer to Linux so I think the amount listed by default is pretty good. Your mileage may vary, however.

As far as mintUpdate goes, I’m glad its system tray icon no longer blinks. Let me tell you that I hate any freaking update prompt that bounces, blinks or otherwise distracts me. Don’t even get me started about the idiotic bouncing blue ball in OS X. Damn annoying thing, I can’t stand it. For a company that is supposed to be so slick, Apple does some stupid things sometimes.

I really couldn’t agree more with this.

Lately it seems I can’t go anywhere without running into a gaggle of social media consultants bloviating about the wonders of social network marketing. Sure, you’ve seen ‘em, too. Slick shake-and-bake “experts” promising to help you leverage the power of Twitter and Facebook to raise your profile and, inexplicably, boost your profits. But scratch the surface on most of these claims and they instantly crumble. Meanwhile, it seems the only people making any money in social media are the consultants themselves.

For anywhere between a few hundred and a few thousand bucks, you can hire a social media consultant to come to your office and put on a training seminar for your staff. They’ll spend an hour or two pontificating about the power of social media to raise awareness of your brand and the magical benefits of building closer relationships with your customers in 140 characters or less. They’ll probably even offer you a few “insider tips” based on their “deep expertise” in the field. The only problem? It’s a load of bull.

Unless you define success by the sort of loosey-goosey standards that might make your horoscope appear to actually predict the future, the real measure of any business undertaking is that it increases your profits. But in the vast majority of use cases, neither Twitter nor Facebook stands any significant chance of doing that for business users. And if you’re a small business that depends on, say, actually selling real products and services to actual paying customers, wistfully tweeting about your daily specials is almost certainly a waste of resources.

But time spent typing 140-character updates about your company is nowhere near as frivolous as time and money spent listening to a self-styled guru blather about how to do it.

I’ve seen so many of these people floating around on Twitter. It’s “social media” this and “social media” that over and over and over again. It’s one of the worse cases of jumping on a bandwagon and spewing buzzwords over and over again.

What real value do most of these people bring to a company? Can they actually build and manage a community? Is Twitter or Facebook or any other “social media” platform really that difficult for businesses to understand that they need to hire these people? I’m not trying to knock anybody making a buck but I don’t really see the value of this kind of consulting.

And I have to say that, while I find some virtues in social networking and social media, it can also be a huge waste of time and an unending stream of inane babble! Seriously, I have to simply avoid Facebook and especially Twitter sometimes because I don’t really have the bandwidth to wade through a non-stop flood of insignificant babble.