Wubi is something I should’ve posted about a long time ago, but I just saw that a new version was out, so here we go. Problem: You’ve always wanted to try Linux out, but were afraid to mess around with partitioning a hard drive or otherwise hacking up your system. Solution: Wubi. Wubi is a Windows application that installs Ubuntu Linux 8.04 (Hardy Heron) to your Windows hard disk, and adds a boot record to the Windows Master Boot Record. It installs the OS on a file that Windows treats as a separate hard disk, thereby negating the need to partition your own hard disk. Awesome.

Ubuntu Linux is, in my opinion, the most accessible and usable version of Linux out there. I’ve been dual-booting with Ubuntu for about a year now, and I started out by trying the previous version of Wubi. I had so much fun with Ubuntu that I decided to go ahead and get another hard drive and install the OS the proper way. Not that Wubi is a lesser version of the OS - it isn’t - but since it installs to your Windows hard disk, it’s not a “real” install. There have been some minor bugs with Wubi (it is a beta product), but I’ve encountered none of them personally.

Moral of the story, if you’ve wanted to try Linux but were afraid to, there’s no longer a reason to be afraid. A nice bonus to using Linux: It’s uber-secure, and worrying about viruses and spyware is a thing of the past. I don’t even have any anti-virus or anti-spyware installed on my installation of Linux.

Enjoy.

Update: I should’ve mentioned that Wubi is a Windows only app. Not sure if there are any alternatives for OS X or not.

My stay at KnowledgeWorks Foundation is coming to an end shortly, due to staffing model changes, and I am officially back out in the wild. If you know of someone who needs a web designer/developer skilled in PHP, ASP.NET(C#), XHTML, CSS, Javascript, XML, and various SQL-based databases, design software (Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, Flash, etc.), Subversion, and a bunch of other apps, please pass my name along. If you’re an employer yourself, you’ll find a copy of my resume, here.

On a side note, I’m also interested in learning Ruby on Rails a little more in-depth, so if you’re willing to let me do some on-the-job training, I’m willing to learn!

Cheers,
Ben

I’ve been keeping up with Carsonified lately, the small team behind Future of Web Apps, Future of Web Design, Vitamin, and much more. They’re another one of those great small companies that gets things done the right way, without any bullshit.

Ryan Carson wrote a post recently about PR people, and he quoted Robert Stephens (founder of Geek Squad):

“Marketing is the price you pay for being unremarkable.”

I love sayings like that. Simple, true, and inspirational. I had never really thought about it, but it’s true. You only need to market yourself if you don’t otherwise stand out in the crowd. He references another small team, 37signals, who are also uniquely remarkable. They create simple, useful apps for small businesses. They’re not for everybody, but for the people that use them they’re a godsend (most of them anyway).

I think we need more companies like Carsonified and 37signals. We need to move away from larger market-dominating companies that try to please everybody with overly complex software, and move towards smaller companies that meet the needs of smaller groups. If there are enough of these small companies going after certain market segments, people will end up being happier in the long run. At least I think so.

I know it’s just a pipe-dream, but I think we’d truly be better off with fewer big companies, and more smaller companies.

That is all.