Getting things done...one day soon

I've been so extremely busy this past month, that I've let this blog sit idle.
Here's a brief update of what I'm up to and what I'm thinking about for the future. I'm still using Ubuntu 8.10 on my laptop, which is running extremely well and I haven't encountered any glitches at all. Tomorrow is the day of the final release.
Download and enjoy!
I'm debating making the switch from 8.04 to 8.10 on my desktop computer. I don't want to risk breaking anything and losing the data I've got stored there. I'll eventually attempt it when I've got time to do a thorough backup.
There are a few ideas and projects that I want to accomplish with Ubuntu in the near future.
I have some high definition video archived on my hard drive that I want to convert and burn to DVD one of these days. I'm not sure how easy this will be since the hi def video format is still relatively new and not so easily recognized by main stream players/editors.
I also would like to scan the transparency slides that I have stored all around my house that I took before I made the switch to digital. I'll have to reconnect my old slide scanner and capture them at the best resolution that I can for backup and for future use.
I'm working on a website for my daughters soccer team and am testing out the various html editors available in the repositories such as screem, quanta and bluefish.
Also, I'm debating taking FreeBSD out for a test drive as a friend doesn't stop taking about it. Sounds interesting and I've downloaded the iso files, but I'm still having fun with Ubuntu for now.

Happy Birthday Tux!

On October 20th Ubuntu will celebrate the 4rth anniversary of its initial release.
This month also marks the 17th anniversary of Linux. These are two small milestones, but I thought it was worth acknowledging them regardless.
This post gives me a chance to have some fun with using Gimp. I've created a simple graphic of Tux celebrating both events by hosting his own party where he spins his favorite Linux tunes. Not the best graphic that you'd be able to create using Gimp, but I'm far from being the artistic type.

Countdown to Eight-ten

 

The month is flying by quickly and it won't be long before the next version of Ubuntu will be released.
It's currently available as a beta, and I did test out Ubuntu when it was still in alpha release.
Currently, I have the Kubuntu 8.10 amd64 beta running on my laptop.
I've never been too fond of Kubuntu or KDE in the past, but I've got some new respect for this new and updated version of KDE. It really makes me seriously consider switching over to Kubuntu for the next release.
I never felt completely comfortable with previous versions of Kubuntu. Maybe at the time, I expected it to look and run more like Windows. I was told that it was more "Windows-like" than Gnome.
The new version using KDE 4.1 really impresses on first bootup. Although still in beta, the interface is very pleasing and is easily navigated. I would have prefered to see Firefox as the default browser rather than Konqueror and Thunderbird rather than Kmail, but those are personal options and easily installable.
I suspect that there will be many Ubuntu users making a permanent switch to Kubuntu once the word starts spreading about this release.