We begin a new year, with a new focus, or shall we say a re-focus on working smarter, more efficiently, more productive, more economically, and hopefully with less stress. If you’re still using Windows 7, then make note that the support clock may be winding down. If you’re using Windows 10, then you may be looking forward to the possible Spring update, or not.
I’ll most likely continue working with Windows when absolutely necessary, but Linux based objectives should remain my main focus.
As noted in early posts, I remain a big fan of Lenovo laptops (mostly older models) – which really shine once you dump the Installed OS and install an up to date version of Linux.
It’s possible that some people are not overly excited about using older, less powerful hardware, but once you find the Linux Distro that suits your requirements you may be pleasantly surprised how well things function.
I’ve gone to using Debian based MX on my older laptops, and started using the Ubuntu flagship on my latest and “slightly” more powerful ThinkPad.
For content creation I’ve retired my old MacBook (the new ones are a bit expensive) and reluctantly decided to walk away from Logic Pro and see if I can squeeze any more out of LMM and Audacity. I haven’t decided if I should just install Ubuntu Studio or stick with the main Ubuntu LTS
On another interesting note, it looks like my favorite packet decode tool for troubleshooting networking issues is getting a refresh – Wireshark 3.0 will be available in the next few weeks. I’ve looked at the Windows development release 2.9 in the last few days, and look forward to the Debian and Ubuntu supported releases. If I was a true minimalist I would see if I can get more out of tcpdump and not rely on Wireshark as much. That will take some discipline. I have worked with Tshark at times when I probably could have used tcpdump. It might be worthwhile to go old school more often.
I believe the latest version is
4.9.2 released in 2017. I’ll have to explore this a little more.
It looks like 2019 could be a great year for Linux, at least from my perspective, and support of Linux apps also promises to be a interesting Chrome OS development heading our way. It’s already available for some Chromebooks, sadly not mine – yet.
I’m not quite as excited about the latest predicted Windows 10 browser changes, or underlying Linux support. I’m sure some users will be, but part of my New Year’s resolution is to simplify my work flow. I don’t need to get too distracted with MS developments at this time unless something truly amazing appears in the horizon.
I would like to eventually pair down to using only one OS, one laptop, and improve my personal and productive time management in the process.
Even with all the security concerns in the news recently (last year was not so good) I still think Windows does a good job of addressing security. That isn’t enough of a reason to restrict my options to Windows only. Linux may have had the edge years ago, but whatever OS you use requires some effort on the user’s part. Sometimes this boils down to what system you are more familiar with, and how much control of the system you have.
There are a few things I would like to see from any new Windows release, such as the option of a true minimalist installation without all the programs I would never use anyways. I’m also not a fan of the “store”, but a repository similar to Linux installs would be a considerable improvement. I’d also be very interested in a simpler, more streamlined HotFix/patching update process. This would also apply to the big system-updates that seemed to get pushed as opposed to downloaded when I want them downloaded – unlike most Linux Distro upgrades.
On a more positive note;
I do appreciate the development of Powershell. Microsoft’s new shell continues to get better with age. I’d also like to see some developments with the mysterious Microsoft Message Analyzer application. I thought that it had a lot of potential and was very useful, but I haven’t seen much noted on it’s future development lately. I thought it was a nice complement (not competitor) to Wireshark. (anyone need a second opinion?)
In all it looks like some operating systems and applications may be improving in the next year. It looks like Windows and Linux users should have a lot of enhancements coming.
On a side note, I’m sure many will continue to use their smartphones more than any other tech device in the coming year.
Smartphones still appear to be the most portable, and the easiest devices to use.
I think we might continue to see laptop use decline this year. I would also not be surprised if someone actually builds a tablet that really gives the iPad Pro some real competition. This could cut even more into laptop use if the price is attractive enough to compete with entry level laptops.
If Apple ever releases a full fledged version of Logic Pro on the iPad Pro (no Mac required) – I’d probably venture down that road and possibly – if not temporarily forget all about my laptop OS. That would really make 2019 a fun year for tech – at least for me. Talk about simplifying your work flow.
I guess there’s always GarageBand. Hmmm? Interesting concept, but it might wind up being another distraction. (If it we’re to become available)
Focus, focus, focus, that’s what I need to do.
Alright, so now where was I?
Oh, yes, I’m going continue to concentrate my energy on working with Linux for the majority of my efforts and opportunities for efficiency as well as productivity.
As you can see, with so many options, it’s probably is best to limit my time to a few stable Linux Distros and concentrate on improving my skill set. Any other diversions could ultimately cut into my forward progress. There is always more to learn. There never seems to be enough time to focus on one operating system let alone trying to learn everything about every system. Just like last year we’ll just have to go one step at a time.
