The world's operating system is roughly divided into two at the moment. Linux/UNIX derivatives and Microsoft Windows. In terms of general engineering and architecture MS Windows isn't really top of the line. I'd say Windows as a whole is more like an inexpensive housing and UNIX derivatives Gothic cathedrals (it's actually quite an accurate description of the codebase of both operating systems), except that the housing project costs and arm and a leg and the cathedrals are more or less given away for free, provided that you have the technical proficiency to configure and maintain the juggernaut. Of course, the analogy is a little off in modern days. MS really made strides on their operating system (partly because everyone loves to hate MS) and current vista/win 7 lineup is leagues better than what xp and 98 was, at least in terms of general architecture of the os. And some of the linux/UNIX based oses are really cleaning up their acts and becoming impressively user-friendly, though there are still aberrations like some of the more hardcore BSD oses that seem to view usability=os hazard... Am I alone in thinking that kind of behavior is reminiscent of the old-old times when they complained about schools because having too many people learn will devalue education? (Yep, they really said that.)
Well, of the oses out there Ubuntu distribution more or less tops the chart in terms of user friendliness, along with OS X, which is really just a shiny shell on top of a BSD. Ubuntu is in turn based on Debian which isn't as user friendly but has remarkable stability and wonderful application depository meaning that whatever your needs are you'll probably be able to find and download it for free using synaptic or apt-get. The wonderful thing about such system is that you don't have to google for applications you need. You can just use synaptic and search-download on the spot, with the application being integrated cleanly into the os with rare need for post-installation configuration.
The problem with Ubuntu however, is their opensource-spirit inspired stance against anything proprietary, which is a big thing in this day and age. Take flash for example. It's everywhere and there are nebulous uses for it, ranging from online lectures to lab reports (ah the sad life of a sci student, first things to come to mind when thinking of flash isn't movies or youtube). On conventional Ubuntu distribution anything proprietary usually needs an extra step or two from the user to install them, unlike most modern oses of commercial flavor that tend to come with such necessities. Might not sound like a big deal but this is a deal breaker for a lot of non-hacker pc users out there. I mean, if you're going to advocate opensource to people at least provide them with a decent alternative. Don't just expect people not to use something just to safeguard some philosophical ideology. I'm sympathetic with opensource but some of the approaches being taken by its hardline proponents has a taste of cloistered conceit in them, which I think will hurt the movement in long run. There is a second problem in that Ubuntu is big. Of course, Ubuntu is probably one fifth the size of Vista even at its biggest, but when compared to other linux/UNIX distributions out there they just feel a little sluggish for some reason.
Well, I think I just found the ideal free operating system that has no qualms about providing its users with first rate experience regardless of whether the services are opensource or not. It provides basically all the essentials I can think of in an os, both proprietary and opensource, and it's much lighter compared to similar Ubuntu install. In fact, my fully tricked out installation of that os only clocks in at 1.2 GB of hard drive space (that's os+all the third party apps I installed off the net&depository) with 200MB of RAM usage when browsing with firefox at 5+ tabs open. The installation was a snap too. It recognized all my hardware including the wifi and SD-card reader, and all the laptop-system built in shortcut keys are working out of the box.
They call this the #! linux, which is read as crunchbang linux. It's a modified version of the Ubuntu os I mentioned earlier., except much lighter and more responsive. Unlike most other lightweight distros out there #! has really great hardware support and even better application compatibility. With #! you have the whole of Ubuntu depository on your finger tips, it would practically be impossible not to be able to find an application you need.
If I ever go all out with linux on my primary machine, I think I'll choose #! without a moment's hesitation.
Oh by the way, in case you haven't been keeping up with the news, Japan's Tokyo built a full scale replica of the original Gundam in the Odaiba area.
It's full scale, meaning it's ridiculously huge. For some reason the original UC gundams are rather big with following series progressively introducing smaller, sleeker models.
The amount of detail on this replica is amazing. They actually worked out all the decals and directions for the fictional Earth Federation engineers for repairs/upgrades/tuneups etc. It's obvious they put in a lot of thought into the whole thing. They should really, I think this is for the 30th year celebration of the birth of Gundam.
Again, amazing detail. And the building in the background somehow fits in well with the mecha.
Here's a picture of it at twilight. Just too cool for words. As a side note the apartments in the background aren't really that expensive. In many cases such apartment towns are for middle class housing and common sight in many parts of North East Asia. Some of the newer apartment towns have little streams and parks between the buildings. It's surprising how some people consider the dilapidated and overpriced housing condition in and around NYC is the same in other parts of the world.
And Gundam at night, with the eyes lit up. From what I hear it doesn't move, but the very fact that they were able to build something like that in a major city itself is a big news. Why won't NYC do something fun like that once in a while?
By the way, all the picture are from the Flickr and the wonderful people who decided to upload their pictures.
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