Why Ubuntu's Unity Interface and Search Privacy Issues Are Overblown?

Unity Dash Search Results
Okay.  I get it.  I'm all for the EFF looking out for the average consumer to ensure he/she is not being exploited by greedy corporations.  So, I read recently that there was some controversy and strong words being issued between the EFF and Canonical.  Look, can't we just all get along already?

Someone used Canonical's logos in an article and on their website to criticize how search results were being conducted using Amazon instead of Canonical servers.  Canonical asked them not to use their logos and the EFF called their lawyers on Canonical to defend that person's right to speak.

What does this mean if you are an average consumer looking for a good desktop alternative to Windows or MAC?  It doesn't mean a whole lot.  Why?  Because you can remove the functionality that sends your search results to Amazon if you don't want Amazon products to show up in your search results.  The point is you, as the consumer, DO have a choice.  You can either leave in the search results by default if you are using Ubuntu 12.10 or higher OR flip OFF the switch that allows your search results to be sent to Amazon.

According to How-To-Geek, it's actually a 4 step process:

1.  Search for Privacy in the dash and launch the Privacy application.

2.  Set the Include online search results slider to Off and you won’t see Amazon ads in Ubuntu’s dash.

3.  Uninstall the unity-lens-shopping package to remove only the Amazon advertising.

Type the following command into the Terminal window and press Enter:

sudo apt-get remove unity-lens-shopping

 Enter your password, type Y to confirm, and Ubuntu will remove the package.

4.  Remove the Amazon Launcher by right-clicking it and selecting Unlock from Launcher.

The Unity Dash
Next on the agenda.  Ubuntu user concerns with the Unity Dash are way overblown.  Why?  Because once again, if you do not like the Unity Dash Windows Manager you can swap it out for the more familiar Gnome look that you got used to.  Or, if you like to embrace change in a more gradual way, you can add the "Classic Menu Indicator" to the Unity Dash Windows Manager so that you have both on the same Window.  For those of you who are unaware, the "Classic Menu Indicator" provides a tree menu structure to navigate among your different software categories.  It looks like the "Start" button on Windows.

If you would like to deploy this on your Ubuntu desktop, here are the steps according to Liberian Geek:

1.  Press Ctrl – Alt – T on your keyboard to open the terminal and run the commands below to add its PPA archive:

     sudo apt-add-repository ppa:diesch/testing

     sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install classicmenu-indicator

2.  Launch the application from Unity Dash by typing "Classic Menu Indicator" and hitting the magnifying glass.

3.  Click the 3 horizontal lines icon from the top panel to access the new menu.

Here's a Youtube tutorial showing you how to install "Classic Menu Indicator".  It's 6:36 to 11:20 timeframe of the video.  (Note:  Since the filming of this video, the Ubuntu icon has been replaced by the 3 horizonal lines icon shown in the pic above.)




As for my experience with Ubuntu, I started using Ubuntu when it was Lucid Lynx and got used to the Gnome interface.  When Unity showed up in 11.04, I thought it looked very professional and pretty.  It was so easy to use that even my Mother in her 70's, who played more with her iPad, could navigate through it without any problems.  However, from a Power user perspective, Unity may be a tad bit too limiting due to a Power user wanting to see where all the applications are organized and stored in one view.  That is why, "Classic Menu Indicator" is so handy because it fulfills that need to see where all your applications are in one view.

Despite user paranoia on trying something new, there are quite a number of advantages to using the Unity interface, one of which is the HUD (short for "Heads Up Display").  By pressing on the TAB key, you can search for a menu item that you are too lazy to find within an application's menu tree structure by typing the "menu item" in the Unity dash, significantly improving your desktop task productivity time.  I could go on but I really wanted this post to focus solely on the controversial issues facing the Unity interface and why I don't think it's a big deal.  In a subsequent post, I will cover the advantages of using the Unity interface in more detail, including using the HUD.

That is the beauty of Linux.  You do have choices.  If your organization is using Ubuntu and you do not like the options offered with the latest releases, particularly with the Unity interface, realize that you do not have to go off Ubuntu to have your needs met.  Just improvise!

What About Ubuntu Edge on a Newkia Smartphone?

I've been reading the headlines lately of how Nokia put all its eggs in one basket and tanked with the Windows Phone instead of diversifying to include Android as one of its offerings.  Now from its ashes, in the aftermath of the Microsoft acquisition, rises Newkia, a company made up of former Nokia employees determined to provide the Android alternative on Nokia hardware denied them in their former company.

I applaud their bravado in responding to an untapped market - Satisfied Android users who wanted a Nokia phone optimized for their needs.  I suspect that when Nokia longtime users needed to upgrade their Symbian phones, they either elected to buy a Samsung Galaxy or an iPhone because the only alternative available to them was a Windows Phone with limited apps availablity.

Although they do have the talent of former Nokia employees, they are going to be restricted by the Nokia hardware patents now owned by Microsoft.  Therefore, they will have to come up with truly new and innovative hardware which won't infringe on those patents yet still allow them to produce their Android alternative smartphone.  I've seen reader comments asking "What are they going to do different than HTC because Samsung has pretty much cornered the Android smartphone market."

I think in order for them to succeed, not only do they have to find a way to lure former Nokia consumers back to their familiar hardware look and feel, they have to differentiate themselves on the software functionality side as well.  They need to focus their efforts on two primary markets:  business and consumer.

On the consumer side, because Android is based on Linux, which is under the GNU/Linux Public License, they can create their own custom Android User Interface that allows them to optimize the software for their hardware and add more features.  Battery life is a major thing for a lot of smartphone users because the more apps you add, the more it strains your battery usage.  If they can find a way to optimize battery life while being able to retain what the average user considers a maximum number of apps, consumers will take notice.

On the business side, Ubuntu came out with a cutting edge concept of a desktop converged on a smartphone when docked.  If Newkia is able to partner with Ubuntu to make that concept come to fruition in an effective and exciting way, the corporate world will definitely take notice.  That would be one way both Canonical (Ubuntu's parent company) and Newkia can corner the enterprise market.  With the way technology is transforming how work is conducted and executed today, work is becoming more and more "mobile".  As far as I'm concerned, it would be an ideal pairing with Canonical's software expertise and Newkia's hardware expertise converged in one device. 

As a side-note, the cool thing about Linux is it is "modular".  You can strip off what you don't need from any base "distro" and add the programs you do need to optimize the operating system software for the hardware and its components.  Just look at what the PC gaming company, Valve, has done with the SteamOS.

Linux on the Desktop is Expanding

Ubuntu To Become The Official OS Of China  http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2013/03/ubuntu-to-become-the-official-os-of-china

Now that Canonical is collaborating with China to make Ubuntu its official OS, it's only a matter of time when Linux on the desktop will become more mainstream.  I feel ahead of the curve that I am learning and using Linux now.  Don't you?

Let's see...I first started using a computer to access the Internet in 1996 for personal use.  It was a Packard Bell that I bought for cheap at Sam's Club.  I remember when my provider was Earthlink on dial-up.  Man!  We've come a long way since then.

Next, I got my first cell phone around 1999 or 2000.  Can't remember exactly when.  I thought it was cool then because I used to be on call for work using a pager.

Fast forward to October 2012, I finally get my first smartphone.  My LG Env Touch got worn out after 3 years and I was eligible for an upgrade by Verizon and my choice was a Samsung Stellar Android.  Did not realize that it was run on a Linux kernel.  Oooh and I've been using Linux since November 2011 after my brother loaded it on my old Dell Inspiron.

I'm glad he did that because to me, Linux has opened a world of unlimited possibilities for me to tinker with for FREE!!!  And I get to share this world with you all...

One more thing I want to add is Linux's albatross of lack of driver support and variety of hard core games is going to diminish as the Chinese market is penetrated with Ubuntu predominantly.  What WhoHa Biz Wiz is gonna ignore the Billion people market in China??!

Canonical's Ubuntu for Android: Getting the Desktop Experience on Your Smartphone

In my post called the "Cool Things About Linux" I talked about the advantages of running Linux on your Android smartphone.  Well, here's an example by Canonical, the Engineering company that provides support services for Ubuntu:

The example demonstrates a business user receiving an email with a LibreOffice (Word Equivalent) document attached and needing to edit the document on the fly.  Another way of exchanging and working on documents is making use of Cloud storage like Ubuntu's UbuntuOne, DropBox and Google Drive.  The business user could have downloaded the document directly from something like Google Drive and edited it in LibreOffice while he had his Android smartphone docked to a monitor at the office or hotel.

The Linux desktop in this example is Ubuntu 12.10 which looks the same as navigating on a real PC or Laptop.  Notice the icons on the left side panel.  This style of desktop is called Unity.  Notice how very different it is than Windows or Apple.  In Linux there are several styles of desktop (Windows Manager) formats:  Xfce (which is what I am using on my Toshiba Satellite with Linux Mint), KDE, LXDE and Gnome.  There are more but I want to keep this post on point with the title and its original intention.