Tuesday, March 22, 2011

My Selection of Linux utilities that Should make a Standard Distribution-K-Torrents-01

The list can be an endless stream of creative packages that makes Linux as versatile as it is today. There are over 33,000 of them in one repository constantly updated and maintained at cutting edge mentality but my selection is based on their utility value rather than face lift value that Microsoft always add to its Office Package and other ubiquitous utilities (which can be found in any Linux repository free) . I believe this can be easily accomplished with a paint brush but not with any worthwhile code. Any face lift that does not add to the functionality or productivity is a waste of computer resources only fools will try to keep in their armory of battle fatigued foot soldiers.

The are not commandos with swift command line direct action but fringe dresses to cover the ugly functionality.

So let me introduce the first of many such Linux Utilities.
K-Torrent comes to my mind for its versatile and nanosecond functionality.
This is something one should have in the third world (but would be a workhorse in the developed world) since our Telecoms are one of the worst (other two are water and electricity) Service Sectors for which we pay through the nose and get 10% of what they have promised. Right now I am paying for 56 bits for second and i get only 5.7 throughput. There are no regulatory bodies monitoring this or provide remedy for the users.
If I make a complaint, the context become even worse and there is vilification and victimization.
This is true for election malpractices too, if one reports an abuse of power or subdue of power of authority, there is no mechanism to address or redress. that is wished for.
There a re no good Umpires or Television reviews even though we a cricket frantic nation.

With that type of service available for one to download an unbroken data image and check integrity as it is downloaded and after the completion of the download we need a utility which react to sudden breakdown which include electricity supply.
We are heading for the Month of April which is the month of thunder and downpour and lot of computers burn down including processors and lot of little breakdowns in between and if we do not have UPS to support, I would have lost all my computers,
Even the laptop I provide power through another battery (UPS) and the standalone battery won't last its lifetime if that protection is not taken. Power surges and voltage drops are universal and no instrument is safe.
Worse scenario is that I have to get up and switch on and switch off the systems in the thick of my sleep when alarm bells go up.

With point to point download every time it breaks down I have to start again.
I was trying to download Taylor Swift which is a Mepis derivative for the last 3 months (unfortunately no Torrents) and it had broken down almost 40 times, sometime in the last few megabytes. I am trying it now to see how long it will last to report you like the ball by ball cricket commentary.

All these hassles are not there if one uses K-Torrents and that s why I use it.
If I list the its virtues for quick look at for a busy body, it goes like this.

1. It monitors the speed to nanoseconds.
2. Graphic face lets you instantly detect when it is broken down.
3. Integrate with the download folders instantly.
4. There is no repetition and once downloaded one cannot download it again.
5. It goes to check mode to see whether the existing image is not broken and report to you in graphic mode.
6. In the last few seconds of a download it had some problem and I ignored it's report (Image size was OK) and burned an image and it did not boot properly. I wonted to restart a fresh download and within seconds it cheeked everything and downloaded the tiny fragment missing and when I burned the image again everything was in working order.
7. If a file is moved it lets you reconfigure with the torrent so that seed activity is kept alive.

True to its form and as a literal illustration of the points raised, suddenly without thunder electricity supply was disconnected (I will write what i did during that period late at night with clouds covering the moon at leisure) and it came after an hour or so (guess work) and quite fortuitously , when it came sever providing connection to the wider world (Internet) was not switched on till late this morning.

In this country we pay a salary for those doing night work for sleeping and there is no supervision at night what they really do including some doctors too.

So my train of thoughts were rudely interrupted to add the last 3 points regarding K-Torrents which I have to do sometimes later, once my anger dissipates.

Mind you I was up till 4 am tidying up some (recovering some photos) computer configurations of my laptop including deleting Sinhala Linux etc.

As I expected Taylor Swift and MacPup were rudely disconnected without completing the downloads (point to point) and I did not have any K-Torrent downloads too.

Edited
Now I must add the missing points.

8. K-Torrent lets you control the download and upload speed and if like in house other members are using the same network it reserves bandwidth for other members. This is really handy in a community network, say in a school. I use this when I download point to point download through Firefox of small files or browsing the web and email.
9. It estimates and time the download and you know depending on the seeders (country and from where) how long it takes.
10. It lets you download several files at the same time and adjust according to the speeds of others. When some seeders become inactive it go for the active seeders of the other files. It is better to download at least two files and the best throughput is achieved but I generally use three.

You may wonder why I used K-torrent as the number one. Worldwide it is the most used utility apart from Flash and it is generally used for downloading films and TV programs, sometimes violating the copyright law. I have never downloaded a song or a film since I do not like to steal and not because I fully endorse the copyright law.

Sorry for the broken file and every minor irritation I take as a
challenge and try to overcome my frustrations.
Next one would be on gParted.

What to Look for in a Standard Linux Distribution

I have talked about practically all the possible combinations of Live and Standard Linux it is time for me to wind up with a guide for selection of a distribution without giving a particular distribution.

I will not go into hardware compatibility even though it is a major issue since what innovation are round the corner is difficult to predict after this ipod and mobile utility craze is over and done with it.


But before that I must tell you my favorites without any order of merits.

I go for several light weight distributions and for one Gorilla Edition.

The Gorilla Edition is PCLinuxFullMonty which is almost comprehensive and lacks only XBMC but that also can be downloaded.

For Sinhala Linux Lovers (SLL) it is Debian 6.0.0

They are as follows


1. Puppy Linux and its various editions. you can simply carry in your front pocket (carry when I go abroad-an use it as an Acid Test of the computer, laptop or netbook I may buy-not that I want any more with all the assortments i have at home an office.
If I cannot boot it it with Puppy, I won't consider buying the stuff, whatever the vendors gimmick may be.

2. Knoppix the 10th anniversary edition to show off its graphic capabilities including compiz and cheese the web camera. Now it has found a permanent place in my computers in spite of its finicky requirements for hardware configuration.

3. Gparted (Debian's), the best companion to partition my computers when I reformat. Mind you it is light weight and does not say no to any complicated partition composition within the framework of the standard laid down principles.

4. KDE base nothing to choose between Mepis and PCLinux but I prefer PCLinux since I got a good hang of its versatile performance which SuSe lacks.

5. SuSe for my long association with it after Fedora in spite of craving for RAM (the new with Venation blind appearance but in vertical orientation of strips)I. It has the the best configuration utility called YAST (I call it Yet Another System configuration and teaching Tool) but the partitioning is limited to 15 which is a handicap when I want several distributions installed in the same computer.

6. Debian for its versatility and the ability to recognize all the hard disks of various make (SATA, SCSI, IDE) and the ability to write the partition table without getting confused when a fellow like me install assortment of operating systems in my own finicky ways.

It has taken a special place now with Sinhala capability of its installation.

7. Fedora for its ability to take on board changes which commercial operating systems resit and for my yesteryear long association with it and the Hanthana Sinhala Linux which is a derivative of it.

It was the first Linux distribution that I have used which could accommodate Sinhala fonts way back when other Linux distributions were learning the tricks of the trade.

8. GoBO Linux for its innovative approach but no new version for a long time.

9. YOPER for trimming, shedding dropping extra fringes to get it running fast but it has a big problem with its GRUB file.

10. Pure KDE without a brand name since it is the one made Linux desktop eye candy and a market force of its own and still introducing new innovation but one need at least 1 GiB of RAM and still more RAM for it's better performance.

11. LXDE is my favorite even though I am hooked to KDE and its plane and bird like logo.

12. Cloud Linux

13. MeeGo

14. Pendrive Linux

15. PureOS, Saline OS, Peppermint, LinuxMint, Console Linux, Morphix, MYAH, ADIOS and the lot I forgot because of my bad memory.

16. Scientific Linux of course is my ultimate goal and that is where I belong to as a professional and where my personal biases are rooted, which I am trying to wean off and become an ordinary man again with taste and flair.

If I have left any other distribution, it is all because of my finicky behaviour and lack of space.

It is a fact that any one of them do the day to day work for me.

Please excuse for my bias since I am an ordinary human being with lot of personal deficiencies and lapses in my memory with geriatric age approaching fast.

Young ones are the live blood of Linux, you need to keep on innovating and also have a pause and listen to ordinary uses too.

Next few editions will be based on the packages one should have in a distribution that may vary from person to person.

I will start with K-Torrent and gParted.

I am afraid I may have to group them since there are over 60,000 of them, if one takes Debian as a base.
With that exercise I may finish my engagement with the wider world and go back to my normal life of gardening, fish keeping and looking after my dog.