LarsonsWorld -- just another persons /dev/null

Well, I've come full circle and am back to Ubuntu.

When Ubuntu dropped Gnome and went to Unity, I couldn't take the change and switched to Linux Mint Debian with Xfce. I used LMDE till I had issues with Wifi and switched to Linux Mint 13. I did play around with Cinnamon and Mate, but settled on Xfce as with LMDE.

When I started playing around with XBMC on the Dell 6000, I switched that machine to Ubuntu 12.04 LTS. With that change, I used Ubuntu a bit and found I liked it. Thus, I have changed over the Acer Aspire One to 12.04.

Up front, let me say, I had no problem with LM13 Xfce. I guess I was ready for a change and/or bored and wanted something new to play with.

Other that a new look, for me, there really isn't much of a change in my day to day use. I use alt+f2 to start a program, so that is no different. I really only use my Acer for email -- Gmail, internet surfing and my website -- Firefox and listening to music -- Rhythbox. Other than those 3 things, I do occasionally use LibreOffice, Bluefish and Gedit, but, really, overall, I can live in Firefox with no issues.
round and round -- back to ubuntu
I think this is why I like my little netbook so much. With what I do with a computer, I really don't need much power. Granted, it can be a bit slow interent surfing because of the lack of CPU speed and memory, it really doesn't bother my to much. I like the portability of it. And, as opposed to a tablet, I do like a keyboard and like the functionallity of a keyboard since I use shortcuts all the time.

But I digress, back to Ubuntu. My current thoughts and comments.

• It did take me a couple days to get use the the workspaces being in a square as opposed to inline. If I remember correctly, this is actually better than the old Gnome inline. With Gnome, once you where at the end you had to back track. I was use Xfce, with it's flow back to the first workspace. The square gives you a round flow that I am finding I am liking.
• Since I am using a netbook, I full screen all programs. It threw me with the tool bar being intergated into the top bar, but I got use to it.
• I can't quite figure out the HUD deal. If I hit alt, it asks for a command. Nothing happens when I type in anything. If I type in Firefox, nothing happens. If I hit alt+F2, it asks to run a command. When I type in Firefox and Firefox starts.
• I like the little scrolling box with up and down arrows and how you just have to click up or down to scroll each way.
• I am not sure, but it does seem like battery life is not as good as under LM13. This may or may not be true, I really haven't done a test of any kind.
• I don't use the Launcher bar and like how I can auto-hide it.
• I need to figure out the touchpad sensitivity. I have noticed it doesn't always pick up to touchs when selecting links and such.

Have to say, I am happy with the current install of Ubuntu. For one thing, I know whether it is Linux Mint or Ubuntu, I will be staying with the long term releases. I can remember back in the day, when I first changed to Linux and was using Ubuntu, I changed with every release. This is not the case for me anymore. If I do any change, it will be to check out Linux Mint 13 with Cinnamon.

Changed things up a little on the Dell XBMC machine. I switched from Linux Mint 13 Xfce to Ubuntu 12.04 LTS with XBMC as the front end.

This change started with my fucking up my LM13Xfce install. Somehow I messed up apt causing it to be unable to update anymore. I found the only option was to re-install the OS. This brought up the option of just going with XBMCbuntu. I tried going with this, but I had issues with the installs attempts to connect with the internet -- I think this stemmed from my use of a USB wireless toggle. Since I couldn't get it to install, I decided to go with Ubuntu over Linux Mint so I could add the XBMC ppa for updates. Had a couple of issues at first, but this was resolved with deleting the .xmbc folder from the previous install and restarting XBMC.

Here are the notes and observations from this change:

• Sound started of much better and I found I didn't have to install XBMC Audio Mixer to tweak it.
• Remote no longer makes the little beeps when pushing the buttons. This really threw me at first as I thought there was no sound. Tried playing with the settings but no luck.
• I'm am liking he updated interface.
  • Weather is much more in depth with 10 day forecasts.
  • Like the recently added videos showing above the navigation bar.
  • Just like the whole nicer look overall.
• I have noticed some issues playing .wmv files, although I haven't really dived into this issue yet.

And that is all for now. I'm going to enjoy a beer and watch the Masters for a bit.

Previous XBMC posts: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4

Life is grand with XBMC these days. I've spent time RTFM and learned quite a few things.

• I have figured out file management so I no longer have to use log out and into Xfce for this.
• I've played around with a few other skins to see what is out there, although I am staying with the default.
• Sound seems to have come around nicely. It is still a bit low but not as bad as it originally was.
• Even though I haven't figured out how to program buttons on my remote yet, I have learned quite a few shortcuts via the keyboard.
• Since my Dell 6000 is pre SATA drive, I set up an external 2.5" USB drive for extra room. Since it is powered by the USB cord, it only is on when the laptop is running.

I have to say, I am very happy with how this experiment with XBMC has worked out. I am at the point of just using the XBMC GUI and no longer switching back and forth with Xfce. If you are looking for a Media Center program, I have no problem suggesting XBMC.

Previous XBMC posts: #1 | #2 | #3

I've been using XBMC on my Dell Linux Mint laptop for a week or so now and these are the current thoughts.

• Figured out the scanning of folder issues to a point.
  Some shows you have to include the year in which the show started:
  Castle = Castle (2009) / Archer = Archer (2009)
  Some shows are peticular in how they are spelled:
  Once Upon A Time = once upon a time (2011)
• I am still having issues with a few shows -- Rizzoli & Isles and The Daily Show come to mind.
• Movies ripped from 2 CD's play one after the other without an interuption.
• The amount of information that is available about TV shows and movies is really nice.
• I have gotten sound a bit louder but still not really happy so far.
• Still haven't played around with file management via XBMC. I am still logging into Xfce for this.
• I would like to figure out how to get more of the button on my Firefly Mini remote working. Buttons that do work are fast forward and rewind; 10 minute forward and back jump; 30 second forward and back jump; volume; mute; play and pause. Option and menu pull up various things based on the area you are in.

Previous XBMC posts: First | Second

Have to say, wish I would have tried XBMC a long time ago, it makes watching video so much easier / pleasant. The SnapSteam Firefly Mini remote is working great. As this was my motivation for checking out XBMC, hey, I am a very happy camper. I am also loving how XBMC has a weather display. I commute by bike and the weather is always a step or two back from the front of my mind.

Overall, I am psyched with XBMC , but there are a couple issues I am experiencing and want to figure out.

1) Sound. I am using my Dell laptop with its audio-out fed to a Sony receiver. Even with the volume level around 80% in XBMC, I am having to turn up the receivers volume to 50%. Prior, when in the Linux Mint 13 Xfce environment, I only had to turn up the receiver to 20% for the same audio output. It makes my nervous having the volume turned up this high in case I forget to turn it down before switching to another audio source.

2) For some reason, the automated scan doesn't recognize a few TV shows. For example, Once Upon a Time episodes are skipped during the automated scan. The Once Upon a Time folder is recorded but none of the episodes. If you look in the 'Files' section, they are all there. Stange

One thing I need to learn in XBMC is file management. Right now, I log out of XBMC and into Xfce for file management. No biggie, but I should figure out the file manager in XBMC.

Many moons ago -- circa 2007, I had a DIY PVR. I built the PVR with parts from my DIY desktop along with BeyondTV and a Happauge TV tuner card. With either the BeyondTV or card, I received a SnapStream Firefly Mini remote.

These days, my Dell 6000 laptop, which replaced the desktop, is replaced by my Acer Aspire One. The Dell is mainly used for watching video. This can be a pain in the ass though. Once a video ends, I have to venture to the Dell and select my next video whim.

Hmmm, a remote would come in handy for this.

Thus, on a whim, I added XBMC to the Dell's Linux Mint 13 installation to see if the remote worked. And once again, Linux put me in my place.

I had read the XBMC wiki pages about remotes. I read about how you had to edit this and that config file to set up a remote. I, on the other hand, just plugged in the remote receiver and started pressing buttons. Wow, I can navigate the XBMC screen with my Firefly Mini. Awesome.

Now, I haven't played to much with it yet. I am currently cleaning out the home folder to create plenty of room for storing video. I had used an external drive for video, but with a remote, I use the 250 GB drive the Dell has from now on. That should have enough room for a while.

As I play with this, I'll post more.

Having a strange sound problem with my new Linux Mint 13 install on my Dell 6000. Login and Logout sounds are heard but I get no audio from video or audio programs.

Have no problems with my Acer Aspire One.

Strange

I'll have to go spend some time on the Linux Mint forums and see what I can find out.

Update -- 01 August 2012
For whatever reason, sound is working fine now. I did stop using SMPlayer.