Don't Write an Obituary for the PC

Category: TechToday

Since his creation in 1961, Spider-Man has been declared dead more than a dozen times (not including comic book covers that imply he died) and last year was killed off again by a vacuous, inept writer that doesn't even deserved to be mentioned anymore. After Apple's rebirth through the iPod and subsequent successes, everyone thought Microsoft was dead and buried especially after Windows Vista. Well, they're alive and kicking on Wall Street, beloved by Xbox users, receiving fairly positive praise for their Phones, and made a little bit of money while they were at it. And Linux? Some people believe it long died, but pull up any of the forums and Linux communities and you'll realize there are millions of Linux users around the world - not including the administrators and staff that work on the servers and consumer devices that run billions of online services and machines globally.

It irks me how utterly ignorant some self-important articles are about blatantly announcing the "PC is dead". Some of them, like that bald dinosaur over at PCMag.com just want a headline and more hits. The sweeping generalization, made by writers from ZDNet, Fox News, or even Forbes, is just a way to latch on to the Internet's buzz and stay "updated". The result is a narrow-minded and ridiculous assumption that fails to consider the realities that go beyond making money of off new consumer devices. It fails to consider that most of the world is not Apple-toting, Android-loving users who can spend money on data plans. There are many places in Eastern Africa, Mindanao in the Philippines, Myanmar, rural China, and impoverished regions in Latin America where people don't care about smartphones and happily appreciate a working PC, much less a machine with Internet access. In fact, I encourage those with technical skills to try teaching Linux or even basic computer usage in these places - they'll realize just how wrong they are about the state of the PC in the world today. You'll experience farmers who use their PC's to check produce prices, teachers using content management systems to conduct classes, and kids learning English by watching videos on donated 15" CRT monitors.

The term "Post-PC" was nothing more than a buzz word - a marketing spin to jumpstart the consumer electronics market or remind people who are struggling from the recession that they need to buy these small devices. Doesn't the media take into consideration that they're using PC's at this very moment to write their articles? From the telecommunications industry, to the power companies, and more importantly, the schools, PC's are still being used on a daily basis, chugging along and making sure that utilities and services are working properly and children will learn all about physics, languages, and programming. And no, not all schools are like those in middle-class America where people bring their pearly white Macbooks and iPads into classrooms while brandishing spiffy new iPhones. There are schools in Europe that make use of mid-size to entry-level PCs running on openSUSEor Ubuntu while government offices in the U.K. make use of open source software on their whiteboxes. Again, don't forget the Linux servers that power the Internet and online services that smartphone and tablet users love so much and consider "replacements" for the PC.

"The PC is not dead!"
Kraven the Hunter art by Todd McFarlane from Spider-Man #4 (1990)

Digital and mobile devices are supposed to inform and educate people. The Internet was supposed to make people more intelligent and aware of how the world works. That's why industries and college courses were initially called "information technology". The world is a such a huge place and the technology running alongside it is even bigger so it's sheer ignorance that prompts the media (and even developers/users) to make these inchoate bubble conclusions and broadcast it as true. All you really need to do is search for steps to set up a PC, build a Debian server, customize a desktop, troubleshoot Windows, download a music converter and you'll get posts made this year, this day, and this hour about people working on their PC and being productive. The PC is dead? Right.

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MS Excel 2010 Basics: Creating a static Excel form Part 2

Continued from MS Excel 2010 Basics: Creating a static Excel form Part 1

In this next section for creating a static Excel form, we'll use a few ways to make sure the audience fills out specific areas of the form. We'll use mostly low-tech ways such as data validation. As an option, we'll also add a basic macro and discuss the disadvantages of using a macro when passing around an Excel form within a company.

Ensuring fields are completed by a User

The most basic way to catch a user's attention is just by changing the font color of an item to red. Of course, busy professionals will probably ignore even the blaring signs of red text so we'll add two reminders to make sure he/she fills out the item.

Adding a message when the cell is selected

1. In the example below, we want the user to fill out the Employee Name, Requested Item, and Manager.
2. Click on the cell to be filled out by your user. On the Data tab, click Data Validation and then Data Validation...
3. On the Input Message tab, check Show Input message when cell is selected. Enter a Title: and Input message.




4. With the input message setting enabled, the user will get a reminder whenever the user selects the cell.

Using the IF-THEN formula to prompt a reminder

In a very simple IF-THEN formula, you can trigger a message to appear if a user leaves a specific cell blank.
1. Select the cell where you want the warning message to appear.
2. Type =IF(E5=",","Cannot leave Employee Name blank",""). Substitute the E5 with the required cell to be filled out. Change the message in the quotations as needed on your form.




3. Format the font and color of the text warning. In this example, the message (and formula) is red.
For the sake of clarity, the example had the formula just next to the cell and the cell to be filled is colored grey. With the formula assigned, the user will get a warning if he leaves the cell blank. Once the form is completely finished, we'll lock and protect the cell to hide the formula and prevent changes from being made.
We now have three visual cues to inform the user to fill out three fields in the example. First, the red font. Second, the message popup when he selects the cell. Third, the IF-THEN formula. As an optional step, we're going to add a very basic, straightforward macro to prevent the user from closing the form without filling out the three required fields. As "cool" as this addition is to your form (and impressive to the rubes), there are a lot of reasons why I discourage using this if the form is going to be exchanged within a company through e-mail:

1. If the Excel form is e-mailed, your company's IT security can prevent it from being attached or sent across the e-mail server due to the presence of a macro (digitally-signed or otherwise).
2. Anti-virus software might make a lot of noise. Though it's just a 6-7 line script, security software can be very finicky with Office files.
3. You have to make sure that the macro security settings for everyone who will receive the Excel form is set up properly for the macro to work. Otherwise, adding the macro is useless.
4. It's really, really annoying for a user to get a persistent message pop-up. Imagine if your user had to go attend a meeting and had only begun to fill out your form - he wouldn't be able to close Microsoft Excel without going through all the fields you're forcing him to fill out. And he can't remove the macro because the Excel form is protected and locked. Heads will roll!

However, if you're all right with the consequences of adding the macro, then by all means add it. The first step is to configure your Excel's macro settings first and the second step is to add the code using the integrated Visual Basic editor in Microsoft Excel 2010.

To check Macro settings and add the Before Close Macro

1. Click File then click Options.
2. On the Excel Options window, click Trust Center on the left panel and then click Trust Center Settings.




3. On the Trust Center window, click Macro Settings on the left panel and then select Disable all macros with notification. If you plan to test the macro first, you can select Enable all macros and just revert the setting later. Click OK then OK a second time.
4. On the Developer tab, click Visual Basic. This will open the MS Visual Basic for Applications interface.




5. on the left project tree, double-click "ThisWorkbook". In this example, the worksheet with the form was renamed "Request".
6. On the allotted area for adding the script, type the following:
Private Sub Workbook_BeforeClose(Cancel As Boolean)
If Range("F4,F6,F7") = "" Then
MsgBox "Please fill out Employee Name, Requested Form, and Manager."
Cancel = True
End If

End Sub
7. Click the Save button on the main panel. Close the VB interface or click ALT+Q.




Substitute the "F4, F6, F7" with the cells you want the users to fill out before saving the Excel file. Change the text in the MsgBox contents as needed. If you plan to add this basic macro script, save the Excel form as an Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm) in order to retain macro functionality. To test the macro, leave the fields blank. You should be able to save the Excel form but will receive a prompt if you attempt to close the Excel workbook or even close Microsoft Excel.




There are many, many ways to modify the script and there are plenty of VBScript experts out there with tutorials online. However, take note of the disadvantages of using macros on an Excel form. With the macro settings we configured earlier, you should get a "Security Warning" whenever you open the Excel form. The user needs to click the Enable Content button to get your Before Close macro to work. If you're going to e-mail the form, add a reminder instructing them to "Enable Content".

Additional Visual Tips for the Static Excel Form

If you're starting from scratch but want to imitate the white background of the forms typically found on the templates available from Microsoft Office Online, you can easily do this before you begin work on your form. It's much easier to do it on a blank worksheet than doing it when you're almost done with your form.

To Apply a white background for an Excel Form

1. Select all the cells.
2. Right-click and click Format Cells.
3. On the Border tab, select white on the Color: item.
4. On the Fill tab, click the white swatch on the Background Color: item.
Use the thick borders option for the cells to mark important sections and use colors to indicate specific areas of the form (for example, sections for "Official Use only"). Follow company color recommendations or limit color usage to the same tone. Most companies have a .PNG or .JPEG official logo you can use to tack on the Excel form to make it appear more official. Avoid fancy fonts and use a point size of at least 11.

Protecting and Locking your Excel Form

You can actually start marking off cells as protected and locked while working on the form. However, for the sake of clarity, this step was reserved for the end of the tutorial. The rule is simple: You want to protect and lock all the cells EXCEPT for the fields that the user needs to type text on or fill out.

To mark a cell as locked

1. We'll protect the title cells "Requisition Form" and "Control#". Select both cells and right-click. On the context menu, click Format Cells.
2. On the Protection tab, check Locked.




This will prevent others from changing that cell. For cells where you placed a formula, like the IF-THEN warning we made earlier, check both Locked and Hidden. It's extremely important that the fields that need to be filled out, such as Employee Name and Request Date in the example, should not be locked. After marking the cells, you now need to Protect Sheet or Protect Workbook.

To Protect the Excel form

1. On the Review tab, click Protect Sheet.
2. Check Protect worksheet and contents of locked cells. Enter a password inside the text box provided if needed.




Now that you've protected your sheet, any cell that you marked protected will display a warning message when double-clicked. Moreover, cells with formulas you marked as Hidden will not show up on the Formula Bar.

E-mailing the Excel form and Exporting to PDF

It's important that you test the Excel form even if you didn't add the Before Close macro. Open it using a different Office version (like the new Microsoft Office 365). Try it on different spreadsheet programs such as LibreOffice Calc or MacOSX's Numbers. Open the workbook and fill out the fields and form controls on your colleagues' machines running Microsoft Excel 2007. Since it's a static Excel form with very little embellishments, even the cloud-based Excel Web Apps in SkyDrive should be able to open it.
Finally, if you need the form as a PDF, saving the Worksheet as PDF is available in Excel 2010. This is particularly useful if your users need to print and sign the form as an alternative to digital signatures from Adobe. Moreover, PDFs are supported in almost every platform and device out there and is natively accepted in Linux. Remember, however, that when the Excel form is converted to PDF, the form is even more non-interactive and the user can't check boxes and select items from the drop-down lists.

To save the static Excel Form as PDF

1. Click File then click Save & Send.
2. Under File Types, click Create PDF/XPS Document. Click the Create PDF/XPS button to save the PDF.
Another disadvantage of saving the Excel form as a PDF is that you are restricted by paper dimensions. In general, you would need to keep your Excel table fairly slim and narrow to fit properly when saving to PDF.

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MS Excel 2010 Basics: Creating a static Excel Form Part 1

Category: Techwriter
If I was going to recommend one Microsoft application fresh graduates or job seekers should master it would be Microsoft Office Excel. The deceptively simple spreadsheet is more powerful than Word, Visio, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access and Publisher combined. I've seen the application used intensively in some of the industries I've worked with: health insurance, technical support, management, IT-enabled industries, technical writing, customer service, and publishing. Companies such as Thomson Reuters, Dell, and Time Warner Cable invest in classroom-led training just to increase Microsoft Excel skills. I'm constantly in awe and impressed with how dynamic and flexible the spreadsheets and Pivot tables Excel "gurus" design. And despite what all the press tells you about how many companies have migrated to Google Docs, don't be fooled: Excel is worshipped in the Enterprise. Of course, as a Linux user, I can pretty much install a few software packages that will do all the work for me, but having basic Excel skills is pretty essential and adds credibility to anyone's office/clerical/management skills.
The bottom line is that you get really good at Excel if your job or industry demands you use it daily. You can study the various formulas as much as you did with college algebra or trigonometry but until you apply it to a specific task, the formulas (and Excel's powere) are pretty meaningless. My current work doesn't really require me to use Excel and I use my copy of Excel 2010 for Home and Student for basic accounting and mundane projects. In short, I don't use Excel for enormous number crunching tasks that require several processor cores to run. However, most would be surprised that boring, static, server-disconnected Excel forms are passed around in huge companies. They're basically WYSIWYG documents and doesn't take advantage of Excel's power but almost all the managers I've worked with swear by them. Some of the reasons why Excel forms are used are:

• Some companies are attempting to nurture a paperless environment - without the complexities of Acrobat PDF, paying for online services (like the excellent Adobe Forms Central) and maintaining content management systems.
• Adobe products like Adobe Acrobat are cost prohibitive.
• Making and teaching people to fill out an Excel form is easier and creating one doesn't need much skills (as opposed to Acrobat forms where you might want to establish a server to collect the answers and validate the data).
• Excel forms are small files.
• Extracting data from an Excel file is easy and works very well with Microsoft Web-Apps, Sharepoint, and the Office family of Microsoft products. Excel files are also accepted with open arms in Apple systems (including iOS and even Android apps)
• Excel files are well-supported by open source software such as Gnumeric, LibreOffice, OpenOffice, and dozens of spreadsheet/database processing utilities in Linux. (Hey, this blog is primarily devoted to Linux)
• Microsoft Office, for all the doomsayers, is still ubiquitous in the office. And even if Excel isn't available, Microsoft provides Excel viewers for the various versions of .xlsx.

Ok, so an Excel form without fancy Flash or Javascript isn't the most sexy or impressive thing to e-mail around the office, but managers without time to learn online database forms or server-side scripting definitely prefer it. In this basic tutorial, we'll create a static form without VBscript macros, Javascript, or superlative features. Why not VBScript? Well, eight years ago one of the reasons I migrated all my machines to Linux was due to a nasty VBScript virus hidden in an Office file. Since then, I avoid using it when simpler options are available. For this basic tutorial, we'll add only one very basic (and optional) VBScript. For veteran Excel gurus and experts, there are plenty of Excel forums out there to browse for more sophisticated features than this Unsolicited But Offered tutorial.

Templates

All Microsoft Office versions, whether it's the cheap Home and Student you bought or the Enterprise suite installed by your IT staff, has access to Microsoft's prodigious online templates. Now, most people think "Hell no. I don't like templates!" but there are exceptionally well-designed templates available from the site. The templates designed by Microsoft staff are stable and clean, but it's the community contributed ones that impress. A well-designed template can cut work time by half especially if you choose a template that matches your needs. Colors, themes, logos, and strokes aren't important. Examine the structure of the Excel template if it provides the right number of columns, fields, and areas to customize. Some templates already have the correct formulas ready for you. If someone provided you with an Excel form that you need to tweak then you're halfway there.

To select a template from Microsoft's online service:

Click File then New. Click the Forms category to browse available Forms templates or search for a specific type of form template using the search box.




Using the Office templates is also making full use of the price of the Office product you paid for, so why not take advantage of it?

Adding Static Form Controls

Form controls like radio buttons, text boxes, Spin button, and Check boxes are typically used by developers to gather data to be processed or collected by a server. However, you can also add radio buttons and check boxes on a static, readable, and printable Excel form that your audience can mark and save. Using them in your form makes for a friendly and more professional Excel form when you e-mail it to your colleagues. The controls will also appear when you save the Excel file as PDF or XPS later on. For this example, we'll add a few types of static form controls and examine typical options available.

To add form controls:

1. Before you can add form controls to an Excel worksheet, you would need access to the Developer tab. Click File then Options. In the Excel Options window, click Customize Ribbon in the left panel. In the Main Tabs area, check Developer Tab.




2. Form controls are normally formatted and adjusted in HTML so provide plenty of Cell space before inserting in a control item. Increase the row or cell height to 20 or higher to accommodate the radio button or check box.
3. On the Developer Tab, click Insert and then Check Box [Form Control]. Click and drag inside the cell to draw the check box area. By default, the text "Check Box" is included.




4. Delete the "Check Box" text if you don't need a label. However, if you decide to add a label later, CTRL+click on the check box and click once to delete/type text.




5. You can right-click on the check box and click Copy if you want to create multiple instances of the checkbox. CTRL+click to select the control and reposition it in the cell or on the worksheet.
6. To change the default value of the checkbox, right-click and click Format Controls. On the Control tab, click Unchecked, Checked, or Mixed (shaded). Check the 3-D shading box if you want a 3-D box and not a plain square. However, when the Excel sheet is saved as PDF, the 3-D effect really doesn't make any difference.




7. To delete a form control, just CTRL+click to select the form control then click Delete on your keyboard.

Adding a Drop Down List

A drop down list is one of the more popular and useful Excel feature when creating a form. Managers love it for its simplicity and everyone should know how to make one.

Creating a Drop Down List

1. Type the options in a separate column a few cells away from your form. In this example, we'll list a few languages.
2. Select the cell where you want the list to appear. On the Data tab, click Data Validation then Data Validation...




3. On the Settings tab, select List on the Allow: item. On the Source: box, select the list that you typed out.
4. You now have a list. Take note, however, that if you plan to export the form to PDF or XPS, the list will not appear. The list will work fine if you e-mail the Excel file to a colleague.




5. Hide the text you used for the list by right-clicking on the column and clicking hide. You can also create the list on a different worksheet and hide it there but having it on the same worksheet makes for easy editing if you need to change the items on the list. Later, we will protect the sheet to prevent anyone from unhiding the list.

Cells for Text

Since a request form, requisition form, and feedback form focuses on text input, you may want to avoid Excel's propensity for expecting numbers and mathematical symbols. You don't want the user to suddenly get prompts for completing an equation especially if he/she puts an = sign.




1. Right-click on the cells and click Format Cells.
2. On the Category panel, select Text.

MS Excel 2010 Basics: Creating a static Excel form Part 2 - Making Sure the User Fills Out the Form, Protecting the Form, and Adjusting the Appearance of the Form

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5 Dilemmas of Linux Evangelists

Category: Linux

Stereotyping on the Internet is almost unavoidable due to the opacity of the medium and there are now hundreds of types of "fanbois" online since the dawn of the Internet. For tech enthusiasts with plenty of time on their hands, it's easy to troll for the occasional MacOSX, Microsoft, Android, iOS, and Apple fanboi (and yes, Apple has several categories on its own). I'm an unabashed Linux user and Linux evangelist despite being platform agnostic (the industry where I work in requires a certain level of MacOSX and Windows proficiency). Although Linux evangelists make up a small percentage (even smaller than the alleged percentage of Linux desktop users) of computer users out there, there are still hazards to attempting to promote Linux. The difficulties aren't always associated with the freakishly crazy Mac worshipers who would skewer you at any negative comment about their beloved Apple devices:

#1 Too many Linux distributions, not enough hardware

There are so many Linux distributions released regularly that merit attention and praise. However, even if I do run VMWare, VirtualBox, and Xen to test out select Linux distributions regularly (I'm currently testing Fedora 18 Cinnamon), my limited hardware really prevents me from running full installations on different hardware. As a non-gamer, I'm also particularly interested in trying out various ATI and Nvidia video cards to check performance and support. It also takes a considerable amount of time to fully understand how good or bad a Linux release is - reviewers who pan/praise a release after a scant hour on VirtualBox are questionable. As much as I'd like to devote my time working on and using distributions such as Bodhi Linux, Puppy Linux, FreeBSD, Snowlinux, and various Arch-based distros, I really don't have a fleet of desktops, hard drives, or laptops to use.

LXDE notification tray

#2 MacOSX Users and Windows Users

Showing off a Linux desktop to a hardcore Mac or Windows user is like trying to convince someone to like smooth Jazz or even Duke Ellington. I once played some Richard Elliot, Boney James, Grover Washington Jr., Eric Marienthal, and David Sanborn saxophone tracks in my car to a group of friends just as a prologue before I moved on to real jazz by Lester Young and Miles Davis. Their response? "It's making me sleepy" and "Isn't that the music they play in 80s porn?"

I routinely get eviscerated by Mac devotees online about the praises I sing about Linux. In general, Mac users are considerably more harsh than Windows users. My experience with Windows users, even in the technical training classes I used to run, is that they appreciate the advantages of Linux desktop environments and Linux flexibility. They tell me they'd try it and though I know they never do because they're so comfortable with Windows, Windows users are at least civil. Mac users? They always look for what's missing and are quick to praise their platform of choice rather than observe the benefits of a Linux system. Windows users can be critical but they rarely defend their own OS (perhaps due to the amount of unfair dirt heaped on Microsoft's OS over the years). On a recent 3-part review of Linux Mint Cinnamon, I made a passing reference to MacOSX's dock. A day later, I received a comment from a MacOSX user who spent 4 paragraphs chiding me for expressing my opinions about the Dock and Launchpad. Dude, the article was about Linux Mint.

#3 Other Linux Users

Yes, we are our own worst enemy. The proficiency of Linux users and the experience with Linux varies greatly across Internet-dom. There are extremely generous and kind Linux users, honed by years of use, who would support your comments and offer timely and constructive suggestions. On the other hand, there are those battle-hardened Linux veterans who would belittle you for your lack of knowledge of bash scripts, Terminal commands, and innocent awe. Admittedly, I'm prone to gushing about a new discovery or a corrected issue (the Broadcom wireless chipset works!) on a Linux system. Grizzled Linux pros, however, are dismissive and critical (one commentator snidely remarked that "what next? toasters that work?"). Linux isn't perfect but it's free and it's gosh-darn amazing. Why shoot users who appreciate the small things about it? Not everyone needs or wants to be on the cutting-edge and some Linux users can be condescending and cruel towards other Linux users and projects developed by Linux developers. I don't really expect the Linux community to be all Kumbaya, but it's tough to get shot down while being on the same team.

Kitty Pryde assists a frustrated computer user, Cannonball, in Uncanny X-Men #201 (1986)

#4 Extreme Myths about Linux

Slightly relevant digression: Emma Stone's character of Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and Gwen in the widely popular animated series Spectacular Spider-Man is a combination of the original Gwendolyn Stacy from the 60s and Marcy Kane from the Spectacular Spider-Man books of the 80s. Marcy was a lovely (blonde) assistant of Dr. Curt Connors and fellow teaching assistant in E.S.U. for the Physics department with Peter (as seen in Spectacular Spider-Man#32 1979). Discussions about TASM (and Spidey himself) in the forums today are largely uninformed and there are plenty of myths floating out there written by largely ignorant Spidey readers who have never read the books from the 60s-80s and are fans of the garbage Marvel is printing today. Those myths, however, are harmless and real Spidey fans (ahem) have grown up and have largely let it go.

Peter meets the brilliant Marcy Kane for the first time in Spectacular Spider-Man #32 (1979)

In the same way, there are a handful of myths propagated regarding Linux over the years. My professor in Medieval Literature and History used to start off his course by saying that there is truth in every Greek and Roman myth. Darned right. There is some truth to Linux's desktop penetration, hardware issues, and "learning curve" but there are reasons why there are millions of closet Linux users out there. Most of the Linux myths can be debunked by users who have actually used a Linux system for an adequate amount of time. Today's users have the option to leave their preconceived notions out the door, burn a LiveCD or create a LiveUSB, and start running Fedora, Knoppix, Lubuntu, or openSUSE. I personally try not to fight against perceptions about Linux too much. I just want people to give it a go. If they gave it a fair shake (emphasis on "fair"), and realized it wasn't their cup of tea, then they have every right to go get a Windows 8-powered Lenovo Yoga (they're pretty good). And then I patiently wait until I can suggest they'd give a different or new release a try. That's freedom, choice, and Linux in a nutshell.

#5 When NOT to wear your Linux Evangelist hat

Linux conferences in Germany are well and good. Talking to the RD staff of your IT company about Red Hat is also great. However, I really don't recommend promoting Linux during social gatherings or while you're on a date. In fact, MAXIM magazine (or was it FHM?) suggested that talking about Linux during a social gathering is a sure-fire way to drive away a new acquaintance (or a sexy Kate Upton/Kim Hyuna clone).

"I wanna tell you about that new Linux distribution!"
Screen cap from "Touch my Body" music video by Mariah Carey

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Introducing Linux Desktop Environments featuring Fedora 18 and Iron Man Part 3

Category: Linux

Gnome 3.x

Gnome 3.6 is the default desktop environment of Fedora 18. Gnome 3.x is the successor to the popular but long-toothed Gnome 2. The controversial desktop environment is best described by its full screen Activities Overview, which is similar to Ubuntu Unity's Dash. Gnome 3.x has continued the tradition of Gnome 2's exceptional library of applications. Gnome 3.6 also retained the use of such tried and tested applications such as Evince and Nautilus while adding a revamped notification system and integration with web services.

Desktop paging, application switching, and launchers can be controlled using the Gnome Shell, which is a huge departure from "traditional" desktops like Gnome 2, Xfce, and LXDE. Gnome 3 is not as easily configurable as KDE and can be occasionally suffocating in terms of how you handle open applications and virtual desktops especially when used with a small screen.

Iron Armor: The War Machine or Variable Threat Response Battle Suit

War Machine art from Iron Man#287 (1992)

During the early 90s, there was an attempt to convert the shiny golden Avenger to a darker and more bad-ass character through the VTRB suit. As expected, it didn't last long though the heavily-armed, bulky (and overrated) armor was spun off as an also-ran character War Machine, which featured Stark's friend, Jim Rhodes. The character has been intermittently popular, though the fancy armor really wasn't as well-liked as any of Anthony Stark's other designs (kind of like Gnome 3). Despite all the laser-guided missiles, mounted machine guns, missile launchers, and cannons, War Machine was easily stumped by the original Cable-led X-Force, beaten by Hank Pym through Pym Particles and a pocket full of coins, and was practically useless against guys like Wonder Man.

Gnome 3.x, like the War Machine when it debuted, was heralded as a superior replacement to its predecessor, but its reception has been largely unwelcome. Gnome 3.6 is available for Fedora 18 Spherical Cow by installing the Fedora 18 Desktop edition or through the Fedora 18 DVD.

Cinnamon

The Cinnamon project was partially a response to the outcry brought on by the release of Ubuntu's Unity Desktop and Gnome 3.x. Developed largely by the team behind Linux Mint, Cinnamon incorporates features from Gnome 2 and Gnome 3 while updating features and usability for today's more discerning Linux users. Cinnamon is a relatively "new" desktop environment and despite receiving a positive reception from the Linux community, is still under development. Aesthetics and useful applications are an obvious goal for the desktop environment as seen in this short Cinnamon review for Linux Mint. Like Xfce and LXDE, Cinnamon decided to opt for its own Cinnamon Settings manager, a unique file manager (Nemo), and its own Panel features. Unlike the two lightweight desktop environments, however, Cinnamon has considerable options for desktop special effects and window enhancements. I had a good experience running Cinnamon for Mint, but have yet to run tests on a Cinnamon Fedora desktop. However, if Cinnamon fits comfortably with Fedora as it did with Linux Mint, then Cinnamon can very well be a frontrunner for Linux desktop environments.

Iron Man Armor: Space Armor

In the 60s and 70s, Iron Man was able to trek the stars and destroy alien starships as easily as Thor (see Jim Starlin's stories with Adam Warlock and the Avengers). However, the 90s brought a more realistic approach to Iron Man's space-faring capabilities with various incarnations of a Space Armor, which is seen prominently in the extremely long saga called Operation Galactic Storm. The armor was almost as bulky as the Silver Centurion and comparable to the boxy red and golden armor Stark wore during the 90s. Besides being optimized for alien worlds and the harsh environment of space, the Space Armor also made Stark somewhat more of a jerk than he normally was, pulling rank on Captain America, berating magic user Sersi for mystically disguising his armor, and ordering half of the Avengers to "kill" the Supreme Intelligence of the Kree at the end of the storyline. The Space Armor was practical, flashy, and functional. It was, however, short-lived but a recurring model.

Cinnamon is not yet widely supported by other Linux distributions, but may gain traction yet. Cinnamon is available for Fedora 18 Spherical Cow through the Fedora 18 DVD.

Iron Man art from Iron Man Annual #13 (1992)

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Adding open source software and Linux to your resumé - even if you're not an expert

Category: TechToday

True story: My ex-girlfriend, a devout Microsoft Windows user, struggled through years of my gushing about the latest Linux distribution and pleading with her to dual-boot her Dell and Fujitsu laptop with Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat or openSUSE 11  Gnome. It got to a point when my incessant ramblings about Terminal commands and package managers finally started to adhere to her brain cells against her will. One day, she attended an interview for a software company. The interviewer noticed "Desktop Linux" under the heading Technical Skills on her resumé. I had added this item to her resumé because she had consented to try a then-new Linux distribution and used it for a few days. The interviewer, who may or may not have had any technical skills, asked: "So what's your favorite Linux distribution?" She answered: "Linux Mint." (Linux Mint 10 was the distro I had asked her to try at the time). She got the job and is now a manager heading her own team (and no, I'm not bitter - I'm very good at mopping floors).

Did I deceive anyone by adding "Desktop Linux" to her skills? No. I didn't say "Linux Desktop Administration" or "Network Administration with Linux". The key word is "desktop." This meant she could e-mail, browse, play music, write documents, and run basic tasks on a PC with Linux. The word "Linux" got her foot into the door even though she had never run an ls or apt-get command in her life. However, it distinguished her from other applicants who were restricted to Windows.

Silver Surfer can destroy small planets with his power cosmic . . . but is computer illiterate.
Silver Surfer was looking for a job in Silver Surfer #41 (1990). Art by Ron Lim and story by Jim Starlin.

The World as We Know It

Despite unemployment at dizzying heights in the EU and in the U.S. of A, today's generation shouldn't lose hope. They have time to bone up on their technical skills and they have the best resources to achieve their dreams. Consumer electronics and hardware are cheaper than ever. The greatest reference tool in the universe, the Internet, is ubiquitous and affordable with faster speeds and better quality. Linux distributions, web standards, and programming languages are now easier, more refined, and more useful than ever.

Contrary to the smug IT professionals who flaunt their certifications and look down on their nose on anyone who doesn't know at least 1000 Terminal commands and 5 platforms, you don't need to be "certified" or an "expert" to add open source software to your resume.

Adding Open Source Applications on your Resume for a Non-IT job

In one of my stints as a trainer, I worked with a well-known and very successful Indian conglomerate. The expatriate staff that flew in were exceptionally efficient and fast in their IT deployment. They set up the rented offices and computer hardware in a few weeks for an employee number of more than a hundred to start. One of the productivity software packages they installed? A network-installed OpenOffice Suite.

Adding open source software to your resume is easy. If you're applying for a non-IT job, just place it under "Software" or "Technical Proficiency." In this fictional example below, proprietary software is mixed with open source software just to make it more realistic:

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Peter Crenshaw
Shipping/Warehouse Assistant Coordinator
Software: Windows 2000/XP/7, Ubuntu, Microsoft Office 2007, LibreOffice, OpenOffice, Google Docs, and Lyx

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Lyx is a free WYSIWYM word processor which is loosely related to LaTeX. In this second example, we'll add software categories under "Technical Skills" to this jobhunter's technical skills:

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Robert Andrews
Public Library Administrator/Researcher
Technical Skills
Operating Systems: Windows 7/8, Ubuntu, openSUSE, and Mageia
Image, vector, and photo-editing: Adobe Photoshop Elements, Krita, Blender, Inkscape, and Gimp
Desktop Publishing: Microsoft Publisher 2010, Adobe PageMaker 7.0, Adobe InDesign CS3, and Scribus
Content Management Systems: Drupal and Wordpress

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Adding Open Source Applications for an Entry-Level IT-job

Obviously, most companies would probably want someone with experience, professional certifications, or a college degree for an IT opening. Entry-level jobs, however, like technical support, programming, search engine optimization, web writing, technical writing, online advertising, and many more jobs are great targets for jobhunters with adequate skill with open source software. In fact, some of the most fun IT jobs involve updating company social media accounts,YouTube videos, and blogs to keep the company "relevant" and "updated". And no, they don't use proprietary Oracle or Adobe software. The trick is to specialize. The IT industry and IT-enabled industry is much broader than what you normally see in the classifieds. It's not always about SAP, Windows Server, Java programming, and Network Administration.

Kate Upton's Mercedes Benz commercial quickly spread across the Internet (even to China's Youku.com) hours after its release - and it wasn't done through high-end "techie" methods.

List the open source software you frequently use and figure out how relevant they are to the job opening. Then organize the list in the "Technical Skills" or "Technical Proficiency" section of your resume. Some of the areas you might want to include are:

• Kernel development
• application programming
• multimedia (video, audio, animation) production
• office productivity
• system and network administration
• desktop administration
• backup and desktop maintenance
• documentation and technical writing
• Linux security
• iOS, Windows, and Android app development
• Webcasting and podcasting
• vector drawing and illustration
• math and science
• Web application development and social media
• Game development
• Linux security
• Distributed computing
• Virtualization
• database
• Blogging and online learning

Even small companies with little use for advanced hardware and software have an IT staff. Moreover, almost all companies need to be on the Internet whether in the form of a website, LinkedIn profile, Twitter account or blog. As a final example, we'll focus on a task-based approach to the resume entry. Under "Technical Proficiency", we separated "Software" and "Technical Skills" to better identify the job applicant's capabilities:

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Jupiter Jones
Desktop Administrator/IT maintenance
Technical Proficiency
Software
Operating Systems: openSUSE, Lubuntu, Fedora, Windows 2000/XP/7, and MacOSX
Database: Oracle Database Software, Linux SQL Database, and MySQL
Programming and Markup Languages: PHP, Javascript, XML, HTML5, XHTML, Java, and Docbook
Backup and Maintenance: Norton Security Suite, McAfee Total protection, VNC, Clonezilla, Deja Dup, Remmina Desktop Client, KDE Remote Desktop Client, and Rsync
Additional Technical Skills

• Web development with Adobe Dreamweaver, Bluefish, Eclipse, Kwrite, XML Copy Editor, and Geany
• Virtualization with VMware, VirtualBox and Xen

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There are people who either overestimate their technical skills (like the guys who boast and criticize others in forums) and there are those who underestimate their technical skills. When adding technical proficiency to your curriculum vitae, be realistic about how good you are. The world is a big place and there are millions of IT professionals and non-professionals who are incredibly skilled and knowledgeable. However, that doesn't mean you're bereft of any technical skill at all.

For those who are out there unemployed and struggling in this horrible global economy, don't be discouraged. You have the right skills you need! Good luck and happy hunting!

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Introducing Linux Desktop Environments featuring Fedora 18 and Iron Man Part 2

Category: Linux

This is the second part of a brief introduction to Linux desktop environments. Just for fun, we'll match the Linux desktop environment with Iron Man's different armors. Marvel's currently popular character, who has changed his armor every time a new writer pens his tales, is a great way to give users an idea of the varied desktop environments available for Linux users (and those interested in installing Fedora 18). A desktop environment really doesn't change a Linux distribution to the core - just like Iron Man's ever-present uni-beam, pulse bolts, jet boots, and repulsor rays remains present in 90% of his armor models.

**Disclaimer: Armor designs included in this list purposely only include selections from Iron Man's 1960s-1990s publishing run. Some armor details are from this great article written by devoted fans.***

Xfce

Xfce is the extremely popular lightweight desktop environment preferred by Linux users tired of desktop effects and an overloaded desktop. Unlike LXDE, which typically comes with the least number of applications, Xfce distributions often come with a complete set of utilities, from VNC desktop clients to IDEs aside in addition to the standard accoutrements of text editors, e-mail clients, and browsers found in most distros. Xfce's most unique feature is the Application Finder, which is triggered by ALT+F2. Also commonly found with Xfce is the Thunar File Manager and its own window manager, Xwfm. Like the more robust but hobbled KDE, Xfce is easily customizable through the GUI or by modifying specific scripts. Click here for a quick recent review of the Fedora 17 Xfce spin.

Fedora Xfce spin LXPanel properties

Fedora 17 Xfce spin menu

Iron Man Armor: Auxiliary/Modular Armor

In an effort to boost action figure sales for ToyBiz and add a bit of convenience to Stark's constant armor changes, the Auxiliary Armor was introduced by the Iron Man writers in the comic books around the same time the 1994 Iron Man cartoon was broadcasted (paired with the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Action Hour). The design (like Xfce) was focused on being extensible and modular with weapons and armor being switched at Stark's whim. The highly modular armor allowed Stark to remotely call out equipment/peripheral sets like the Hulkbuster and Hydro Armor when he needed it.

Modular Armor art from Iron Man#294 (1992)

Although the Modular armor lacked the aesthetics of the golden armor or even the Silver Centurion armor, it was inexplicably popular and was used in the Marvel Super Heroes/Marvel vs. Capcom arcade game.

Xfce 4.10 is available for Fedora 18 Spherical Cow through the Fedora 18 DVD or by installing the Fedora 18 Xfce spin.

KDE

KDE 3 was beloved by veteran Linux users and had the same popularity as Gnome 2 when KDE 4.x, a decidedly pimped out upgrade, was released. When KDE 4.x's bugs were ironed out, the fully-loaded desktop environment came out streamlined and spiffy with a host of desktop effects and design improvements. KDE 4.x is recognizable by its Plasma Desktop Interface, which has several prebuilt widgets, the improved KDE Kickoff menu, a netbook interface, and a bucketload of KDE apps.  KDE has been historically more buggy than any other desktop environment and is fairly slower compared to more practical desktops such as Xfce and LXDE. Moreover, the pre-installed KDE applications, though powerful, often have better alternatives. KDE is quite popular, however, with many Linux distributions like openSUSE, Kubuntu, Fedora, Mageia/Mandriva, PCLinuxOS, and many others providing full support for the desktop environment.

openSUSE 12.x KDE widgets and desktop add-ons

openSUSE 12.2 KDE Kickoff Menu

Iron Man Armor: Silver Centurion

In one of the more memorable storylines in the Iron Man mythos, Tony Stark donned the Silver Centurion armor for the purpose of hunting down and disabling his stolen tech in "Armor Wars." Stark's singular purpose helped him design an armor that was not only powerful but functional, allowing him to quickly accomplish his goal. The scarlet and silver design is fondly remembered by fans and stands out as one of the more original armor designs that appeared in the books (all the new armor designs during and post-Marvel bankruptcy in the late 90s were all forgettable save for Extremis). The Silver Centurion was either heavier, shinier, and bulkier than any of Stark's previous armors (kind of like KDE).

Silver Centurion art from Iron Man#225 (1987)

KDE Plasma Workspace 4.9 is available for Fedora 18 Spherical Cow by installing the Fedora 18 KDE spin or through the Fedora 18 DVD.

Introducing Linux Desktop Environments featuring Fedora 18 and Iron Man Part 3: Cinnamon and Gnome 3.x

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