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I've now been running Ubuntu on two computers for 24 hours.  Here are my thoughts.

After five years, I'm switching back to Ubuntu.  There are three reasons for this: (1) a feeling that it really doesn't matter what distro you use, (2) there's a reason Ubuntu is the most popular, and (3) They'll let me have my Goddamn desktop menu bar.  Okay, it's mostly about the menu bar.

Now I know why law offices don't use open source software.  Pleadings.

An op-ed from today's New York Times talks about trusting your computer when it wants to automatically update.  The article reflects people's general ambivalent attitude toward computers: things that get in the way and boss you around and will theoretically make your life easier and more convenient but usually just slow you down and drive you nuts.  This attitude represents

Made it to San Diego with Nathan.  First time flying solo with the Bean - I was nervous about it.  Virgin America is always awesome; I've said before that flying Virgin was the first time I was actually disappointed to leave the plane.  There are several reasons for this: (a) Nicer seats, (b) they pressurize the cabin better so the altitude doesn't bother you as much, (c) they have a humidifier so the air doesn't get as dry, and you land feeling refreshed, (d) they have mood music and lighting to make you more relaxed and cheerful (it may be a cheap psychological ploy

The "Friend Test" is similar to the "Girlfriend Test" or the "Mother Test."  In this case, my buddy Rob had a very old Dell that ran horribly.  I installed Ubuntu Linux and he's thrilled.  The computer is fast and responsive again.  He was a little worried about running the software he needs, but he's very happy with Firefox and OpenOffice; he can even read his .docx files from work.

I have a kid but no camcorder (yet).  That leaves me with my Blackberry when I want to take videos.  Blackberry actually does this very well (considering it's a telephone), but it leaves me with odd .3pg files.  Not sure if anyone else in the world can view them, so I'd like to convert them to a more common format.  But I'm not a video whiz and I want something quick and easy.

The solution: WinFF.  Available for Windows and Linux.