Elementary OS: Initial Impressions

Given that I've just recently install Elementary OS on my 2023 Macbook Pro (see previous post), it seems appropriate to make some initial observations about its functionality. The OS doesn't come with much software installed and my first order of business was to download the Chrome browser which is my browser of choice and upon which I am heavily reliant. That proved relatively painless thanks to Google's clear instructions. The OS has a so-called App Centre but Chrome was not listed there and so was of no help whatsoever.

The App Centre Software Categories

Next I installed my ExpressVPN and once again that was easy enough thanks to their very helpful website. No help of course from the App Centre but typing "torrents" into the search bar of the same brought up Gabut Download Manager that supposedly handles torrent files and I needed that. Happily, the app works fine when I downloaded a test ebook but that's when the awful realisation downed on me that I'd erased my Calibre library of ebooks. For some reason it didn't cross my mind and given that the laptop wouldn't reboot, the library was probably lost anyway. 

Opps! I forgot to keep my eLibrary backed up

I do have a backup of the library but my last back up was quite some time ago so many books have been lost. I got out of the habit of backing up regularly and have paid the price. The library is too large to back up online. Calibre is not listed at the App Centre but I happened to notice a small link that leads to Flathub and a message that apps can be side-loaded from that source. The download was successful. I also noticed that Chrome and a great many other apps are available on Flathub so that's probably the best place to retrieve apps from. 

The native video player opened an AVI file that I'd downloaded but played only audio with no video. However, VLC from Flathub came to the rescue and I had video as well as audio!

Installing Calibre and Other Software on Ubuntu

At long last, I've managed to get Calibre working under Ubuntu 20.04 on my 2013 Mac Book Pro. I just followed the recommended procedure using the terminal as outlined on the Calibre website:

sudo -v && wget -nv -O- https://download.calibre-ebook.com/linux-installer.sh | sudo sh /dev/stdin

I'm sure I tried this before but perhaps whatever bug was stopping Calibre from working before has now been fixed. Calibre and the Windows-based Astrolog were the two programs that I really wanted to get working under Ubuntu and now I've succeeded.

My VPN is also working and so the laptop is fully functional again from my perspective. There's nothing that I was doing under the Mac OS that I can't now do in Ubuntu. On the general topic of software installation, I watched an interesting YouTube video titled Flatpak Tutorial - Setting up Flatpak and installing Packages:

The author references the FLATPAK website that explains how to install the software on the various Linux distributions and FLATHUB that lists the software available for installation once FLATPAK has been installed. I managed to install it on my granddaughter's HP Pavilion x360 so far attempts to install it on my 2013 Mac Book have failed. I'll keep trying. Nothing of course is ever easy or straightforward with Linux.

There's no urgency as the normal software installation works fine. I've just installed Stellarium and TexStudio and TexMaker without any issues.

Chrome OS Flex Update

Having installed Chrome OS Flex on my 2103 Mac Book and replacing the Mac operating system, I've been using it successively to carry out my everyday tasks. On the plus side, the WiFi glitch that so bedeviled my Mac with the old operating system has gone. The problem arose when I tried to access the WiFi from a repeater. I would get an IP conflict error message. Not anymore.

On the negative side, the touch pad remains problematic. The pointer works but sometimes is not responsive for a few seconds and this makes it impossible to use for sustained periods of time. Fortunately the mouse works just fine. However, when connected to an external monitor, the mouse becomes "twitchy" and suddenly jumps from the laptop screen to the external monitor. This becomes quite an irritation when using dual screens for extended periods of time.

I've tried to download Linux but so far I've not been successful. Figure 1 shows what happens.

Figure 1

Setting up a recovery image on my USB drive also fails as can be seen in Figure 2.

Figure 2

I don't print anything so I've no idea what problems there are with printing. I would suppose many but fortunately that's not an issue for me. I've learned about PWAs or Progressive Web Apps, defined by Wikipedia as:

A progressive web application (PWA), commonly known as a progressive web app, is a type of application software delivered through the web, built using common web technologies including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WebAssembly. It is intended to work on any platform that uses a standards-compliant browser, including both desktop and mobile devices.

I've set one up for Twitter so that I'm saved from needing to open it via the browser. Here is some additional information from Wikipedia:

In 2017, Twitter released Twitter Lite, a PWA alternative to the official native Android and iOS apps. According to Twitter, Twitter Lite consumed only 1-3% of the size of the native apps. In July 2019 Twitter started serving all website users to Twitter Lite by default. On June 1, 2020, Twitter deactivated the legacy website layout, leaving the progressive web app version as the only option.

Starbucks provides a PWA that is 99.84% smaller than its equivalent iOS app. After deploying its PWA, Starbucks doubled the number of online orders, with desktop users ordering at about the same rate as mobile app users.

Several businesses highlight significant improvements in a wide variety of key performance indicators after PWA implementation, like increased time spent on page, conversions, or revenue.

As I take many screenshots, I was relieved to discover the following keyboard shortcuts:

• Take a screenshot: Press Ctrl + Show windows 
• Take a partial screenshot: Press Shift + Ctrl + Show windows , then click and drag.

Another issue is that my poor quality webcam does not work which is unfortunate but it's something that I never use so it's no great loss to me. Obviously, it could be a deal breaker for some who need to use the device on a regular basis. 

Additionally, my Express VPN does not support Chrome OS which seems odd but I'll investigate the matter further and will consult with the company's technical support if I can't resolve the issue.

Overall I'm happy with my new operating system that is still in unstable beta release. I'll look forward to some of my existing problems disappearing during future updates to the operating system.