Parting Words

This is Part 10 of a ten-part review of Ubuntu Linux.  The series is designed to give you a rough idea what it's like to try Linux.  It's not a how-to, and it's not a blow-by-blow recount of my experience.  For your convenience, links for each part of this series are located at the end of the article.

Now that I've carried this evaluation series as far as I possibly could (… is there anyone still reading this??) let me summarize my experience. I'm going to start by saying that I'm still using Linux. In fact, I've upgraded to Ubuntu 12.04 LTS. (LTS stands for long-term-support.) I guess, to some extent, that makes me a Linux convert. I want to clarify though, that I will not be ditching Windows.

There are a few reasons that I'm not ditching Windows... I need to know it for my job. There will be times when I need the interoperability of MS Office, and the fact is, I just like Windows. With that said though, I also like Ubuntu Linux... that's why I'm still using it, even after I've finished my evaluation. I'm still writing this review from LibreOffice.

I want to also re-iterate that Ubuntu Linux is not crash-proof, and it's not for the feint of heart. Ubuntu Linux 12.04LTS is a very mature, well-designed, user-friendly operating system. But anyone who tells you that it can't crash is smoking crack. Linux is not for the feint of heart. I've learned a lot during these past couple of months, but there's no doubt that I'm still a Linux neophyte. If cost or the desire to learn is your primary reason for choosing an operating system, then Linux is a great possibility. But if you want better support and/or greater interoperability with others, specifically in a workplace environment, then I'd stick with Windows.

Finally, I want to re-iterate that Linux is a fragmented operating system. This means that, while Ubuntu Linux was great for me, there are other possibilities out there. Don't let my narrow review and experience completely determine whether or not you try Linux.

P.S. Oh, Holy shizzle!! I just figured out the printer problem... it boiled down to this... when the printer auto-discovery process happened, it found a printer with a crazy name... BWDXXXXXXXX (whatever). For some reason, I decided to give this another try... okay, not “whatever reason,” the old printer died on me, and I bought a new one. I ran the install process – again – and it choked – again. But I got this wild hair, and substituted BWDXXXXXXX (or whatever it was) with the IP address of the printer. Lo and behold, the shizzle worked!! One less complaint about Linux... or not. I figured the issue out – on my own – but this was because I have a lot of experience with computers, and decided to try to carry some of my Windows knowledge over to Linux. For clarification, I spent a LOT of time trying to find the answer. At NO point in time, on NONE of the plethora of forums I caroused, did I EVER find this recommendation. Funny thing is, it's SO simple. This should be an early troubleshooting recommendation.
Part I, The Grand Experiment

Part II, So Many Flavors

Part III, I'm Kind of Slow to Commit

Part IV,  ASmall, Short-Term Commitment

Part V, Diving Below the Surface

Part VI, A Different Animal

Part VII, Okay, It's Pretty, but What Can it Do?

Part VIII, Okay, I'm Committed, But It's Not all Puppies and Rainbows

Part IX, Unity

Part X, Parting Words

Unity

This is Part 9 of a ten-part review of Ubuntu Linux.  The series is designed to give you a rough idea what it's like to try Linux.  It's not a how-to, and it's not a blow-by-blow recount of my experience.  For your convenience, links for each part of this series are located at the end of the article.

The first version of Linux I installed contained the Unity interface. Veteran users don't seem to like it much; I guess that it's a fairly radical departure from the previous interface. I thought that it was okay, but it was also fairly limited. Adding more icons to the Unity bar on the left was easy enough, but something was missing, and I still can't say exactly what it was. I decided to try a couple of other toolbars, and I settled on the Cairo Dock. It's look and feel is vaguely reminiscent of Windows, but it's definitely not a clone, and I appreciate Cairo Dock for what it is... a launching point for how I work with Linux files, folders and applications. I tried the Unity bar for a couple of weeks before deciding that it wasn't for me. I used Cairo for a week or so to determine that it does meet my needs, and the Unity interface has been hidden ever since.

I should clarify that I've been trying Linux in a relative vacuum. I didn't find out anything about Unity, how new it is, or what veteran Linux users think of it until I made my own decision to try something else. In fact, this has been my Linux experience overall. I've stayed away from Linux forums, except to find answers to specific questions, and I spoke to one person about Linux, which was only to discuss my aforementioned printer issue. But I'm digressing...

If you're avoiding Ubuntu because of Unity, don't let that stop you. Unity isn't exactly bad, it was just missing something. And there are plenty of alternatives out there.
Part I, The Grand Experiment

Part II, So Many Flavors

Part III, I'm Kind of Slow to Commit

Part IV,  ASmall, Short-Term Commitment

Part V, Diving Below the Surface

Part VI, A Different Animal

Part VII, Okay, It's Pretty, but What Can it Do?

Part VIII, Okay, I'm Committed, But It's Not all Puppies and Rainbows

Part IX, Unity

Part X, Parting Words

Okay, I'm Committed, But it's Not All Puppies and Rainbows

This is Part 8 of a ten-part review of Ubuntu Linux.  The series is designed to give you a rough idea what it's like to try Linux.  It's not a how-to, and it's not a blow-by-blow recount of my experience.  For your convenience, links for each part of this series are located at the end of the article.


After spending a couple of weeks with Linux on my USB drive, I was satisfied enough with Linux to install it to my hard drive. I backed up my hard drive, Repartitioned it so that Linux would fit without cramping Windows, and dove in. The main reason for this was because I understand that running Linux from a USB drive is significantly slower than running from a hard drive. With the original reason for trying Linux still in my mind (the desire to scan a Windows drive from Linux), I wanted to see if I'd get a noticeable performance increase by actually installing Linux to a hard drive. Sadly, my answer was no; the time difference was negligible. With that said though, things in general seemed to run faster from the hard drive than from the USB thumb drive. I didn't scientifically measure this, but it certainly seemed that way.

Like the original trial, and the installation to the USB drive, installing Linux to my hard drive was straight-forward. It even installed the boot manager.

I will say, though, that Linux is not bulletproof. Despite what the Linux fanboys may say, Linux can and does hang, to the point where I needed to restart the computer. It's been a generally positive experience, and I'm enjoying the learning process... getting to know Linux... but you need to understand that Linux isn't a mainstream application for a reason. Linux isn't Eden. Linux isn't bulletproof. Linux requires a level of independence, trial and error, and experimentation that most day-to-day users can't or won't tolerate.
Part I, The Grand Experiment

Part II, So Many Flavors

Part III, I'm Kind of Slow to Commit

Part IV,  ASmall, Short-Term Commitment

Part V, Diving Below the Surface

Part VI, A Different Animal

Part VII, Okay, It's Pretty, but What Can it Do?

Part VIII, Okay, I'm Committed, But It's Not all Puppies and Rainbows

Part IX, Unity

Part X, Parting Words

Okay, It's Pretty, but What Can it Do?

This is Part 7 of a ten-part review of Ubuntu Linux.  The series is designed to give you a rough idea what it's like to try Linux.  It's not a how-to, and it's not a blow-by-blow recount of my experience.  For your convenience, links for each part of this series are located at the end of the article.

After I learned how to change the eye candy, it was time to delve a little deeper. Keeping my original goal in mind, I decided to start out with an AntiVirus evaluation. The two top-rated packages were Avast and ClamTK. I decided to try Avast first, since I'd heard of it, and it has a good reputation in the Windows community. I was able to install it without difficulty, but it crashed every time I tried to launch it. So much for a flawless experience. Having no luck with Avast, I went to ClamTK. Like Linux in general, it took me a bit to figure out how this worked. I figured that a good test would be scanning my Windows hard drive. After all, the original intent of this experiment was to find out if I could use Linux on a USB drive to quickly and effectively scan a Windows drive for viruses. I am happy to report that ClamTK did successfully scan my Windows drive. It also found some temporary Internet files that it flagged as potential malware. Unfortunately, the process took several hours... approximately twice as long as if I'd scanned the drive from another Windows machine. Bear in mind though, that I was running this scan from a USB drive. Any OS running from a USB thumb drive will fail to perform as well as the same OS running on a hard drive.

Scanning for viruses is all well and good, but the majority of people trying Linux are more interested in different aspects, such as web browsing, word processing, spreadsheets, audio, picture and video editing, and so forth. One of the first things any user will do is browse the web, so let's talk about that for a moment. If you're thinking about Linux, chances are you've tried web browsers other than Internet Explorer. Firefox is installed with Linux, and it works just as well as Firefox in Windows.

If you want to do word processing and spreadsheets, you're in for a bit of adjustment. Ubuntu comes with LibreOffice pre-installed. LibreOffice is similar to MS Office, but it's not 100% interchangeable. LibreOffice has the same problem that other open-sourced productivity suites experience... LibreOffice can open and edit Excel spreadsheets and Word documents flawlessly, but it's not seamless going the other way, meaning that Word or Excel has problems with documents that are created and/or edited in LibreOffice. I can't prove it, but I have a hunch that this is a result of Microsoft's refusal to play nice with other productivity suites in an attempt to keep people locked into Office. On it's own though, LibreOffice (specifically the writer) has been a positive experience. Most of the shortcuts, hotkeys and so forth are the same as MS Office, making the learning curve much easir. In fact, this entire review has been written in LibreOffice writer, and copying/pasting the contents of a LibreOffice document is superior to doing the same from MS Word. What I've written in LibreOffice has gone to the blog perfectly, but when I write a post from MS Word, I frequently have to re-tweak things after pasting the text.

By far my favorite application has been Remmina Remote Desktop Client. Remember, I'm a System Administrator/Engineer. A large portion of workday is spent remotely monitoring, configuring, maintaining and troubleshooting servers and workstations. In order for me to work with Linux on a day-to-day basis, it MUST have a good remote desktop application. Remmina more than fits the bill. In fact, I think it's superior to Microsoft RDP. Remmina will allow you to connect to a remote computer using RDP or VNC. Furthermore, the client is tabbed, similar to Firefox, allowing you to quickly and easily switch between multiple RDP sessions. This is great for people who frequently run multiple, simultaneous RDP sessions! I was also able to customize the display resolution, so that client, toolbar and so forth were all able to fit into a full screen.

System and network monitoring tools, included with a standard installation, are also handy and straight-forward... another must for us IT-types.

I spent a little bit of time playing with GIMP, the photo editor that is loosely compared to Adobe PhotoShop, but I don't have enough experience with either program to make a fair evaluation. For the most part, my time with the various applications has been good. If you plan to leave the nation of Windows and live on your own little island of Linux, communicating with the outside world only through the web, you'll be fine. But if you plan to spend a lot of time actively collaborating with Windows users (writing and editing Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and so forth), be prepared for some heartache.
Part I, The Grand Experiment

Part II, So Many Flavors

Part III, I'm Kind of Slow to Commit

Part IV,  ASmall, Short-Term Commitment

Part V, Diving Below the Surface

Part VI, A Different Animal

Part VII, Okay, It's Pretty, but What Can it Do?

Part VIII, Okay, I'm Committed, But It's Not all Puppies and Rainbows

Part IX, Unity

Part X, Parting Words

A Different Animal

This is Part 6 of a ten-part review of Ubuntu Linux.  The series is designed to give you a rough idea what it's like to try Linux.  It's not a how-to, and it's not a blow-by-blow recount of my experience.  For your convenience, links for each part of this series are located at the end of the article.

When I first started writing this review, I mentioned that Microsoft and I go way back. My very first computer was a 286. I really started playing with computers in 1994, and I got my first IT job in 1997. Virtually all of my PC/server experience though, is Microsoft-based. With that said, I am not a Microsoft fanboy who believes that Redmond can do no wrong. In fact, I'm more than willing to concede areas where Microsoft could improve. My primary reason for saying all of this is to let everyone know that I know Microsoft, and I'm comfortable with Microsoft, so I will use Windows as a frame of reference. This should also help most of you reading this. After all, Microsoft rules the roost, so statistically speaking, you're reading this from a Windows computer. And if you're reading this with the idea of trying Linux out, then you too are probably familiar with Windows, so it's reasonable to use Windows as a frame of reference. Don't, however, consider this as a head to head comparison between the two platforms. That wouldn't be fair, because...

Windows and Linux are different animals. To give you an idea how different, when I wanted to find out my IP information, I opened a command console (called Terminal in Linux) and typed IPCONFIG... only to learn that the Unix-based Linux command is IFCONFIG, which doesn't tell me the default gateway... for that I had to type ROUTE. Another way that Linux differs significantly from Windows is how the OS thinks of disk drives. Windows thinks of each partition on each disk as a drive letter. Linux refers to them as volumes. This means that you won't have a D drive every time you launch Linux. It also means that you're not stuck using D for the same drive each time you start the computer. An optimist would think of the Windows method as “consistent.” The same optimist would see the additional flexibility that Linux offers.

Realistically speaking, someone trying Linux will at one point or another want (or need) to access files located on a Windows machine, across the network. In order to make this happen on Vista or Windows 7 machines, you will need to enable the Computer Browser service on the Windows machine, or Linux won't be able to mount the share volume.

By now, you should see that that Linux and Windows are different creatures. You need to be prepared to spend significantly longer finding the answer to something you could solve in seconds if you're a proficient Windows user. It can be frustrating at times, but if you like to tinker, it's kind of rewarding too. Don't let the differences stop you.

Part I, The Grand Experiment

Part II, So Many Flavors

Part III, I'm Kind of Slow to Commit

Part IV,  ASmall, Short-Term Commitment

Part V, Diving Below the Surface

Part VI, A Different Animal

Part VII, Okay, It's Pretty, but What Can it Do?

Part VIII, Okay, I'm Committed, But It's Not all Puppies and Rainbows

Part IX, Unity

Part X, Parting Words

Diving Below the Surface

This is Part 5 of a ten-part review of Ubuntu Linux.  The series is designed to give you a rough idea what it's like to try Linux.  It's not a how-to, and it's not a blow-by-blow recount of my experience.  For your convenience, links for each part of this series are located at the end of the article.
 
I had a couple of reasons for installing a full-blown copy of Linux to a USB drive. Though Linux Live was a great introduction, I wanted to learn more. But there wasn't much point in changing my wallpaper, installing printers, or trying out programs if I lost my changes every time I shut down. After installing a full-blown copy of Linux to USB2, I started playing with minor customizations that your typical user would do... new wallpaper, changing display resolution, downloading OS updates, installing peripherals, and downloading and installing software.

Changing wallpaper and display resolution was a breeze. This was easily changed in the System Settings applet, which is similar to the Control Panel in Windows. Downloading updates was also simple. Update Manager periodically calls home (for lack of a better term) and lets you know that updates are available. You, as the end user, can choose which updates to install, and when to do so. This is similar to Windows Update. I had to do a bit of hunting and pecking in order to customize default fonts (I think that the default Ubuntu font is a bit too blocky), but once I found the location, it was relatively easy to change. By the way, I'm not going to tell you how to make every little tweak that I made. This isn't a how-to, it's a discussion of my overall experience.

I'm also a fan of the Ubuntu Software Center. The Software Center is essentially a central repository and clearing house for Ubuntu applications. If you have an android phone, the Software Center is similar to the Android Play Store. The Software Center can tell you what's installed on your computer, or you can browse the store to find new and interesting software to download. You can search by name, or you can search by category. Each application has a five-star rating, so you can get an idea of its functionality, popularity, strengths and weaknesses, and so forth before you even download the software.

My absolute biggest complaint about the customization process was installing my printer. I have a Brother MFC-J415W, and I just could not get that printer to install properly. I spent WEEKS trying to get the printer to install, and it never worked properly. I searched the Internet for hints and tips, and downloaded countless drivers; I tried connecting over the network, and directly via USB, but it just wouldn't print. I did try two other printers, one was another Brother, and the other was an older HP printer... those printers installed and functioned flawlessly. Eventually, I was able to find a workaround... I shared my Brother printer from my Windows computer, and Linux was able to print to the shared printer. This was my first, and still is my biggest complaint about Ubuntu. If Linux Lovers want their beloved OS to truly go mainstream and eradicate Microsoft, then they will need widespread, virtually flawless support for just about every device out there. By the way, I've never seen a list of supported hardware. Being open-sourced, this kind of makes sense, but it would be good if the OS could give us some basic idea of hardware that can be reasonably expected to work with a given install.
 Part I, The Grand Experiment

Part II, So Many Flavors

Part III, I'm Kind of Slow to Commit

Part IV,  ASmall, Short-Term Commitment

Part V, Diving Below the Surface

Part VI, A Different Animal

Part VII, Okay, It's Pretty, but What Can it Do?

Part VIII, Okay, I'm Committed, But It's Not all Puppies and Rainbows

Part IX, Unity

Part X, Parting Words

A Small, Short-Term Commitment

This is Part 4 of a ten-part review of Ubuntu Linux.  The series is designed to give you a rough idea what it's like to try Linux.  It's not a how-to, and it's not a blow-by-blow recount of my experience.  For your convenience, links for each part of this series are located at the end of the article.

As I said in my last post, I'm kind of slow to commit. But Linux Live convinced me that it was worthwhile to delve deeper into Ubuntu. Still not ready to commit to a hard drive installation, however, I figured that I'd compromise and install Linux onto a second USB drive. The fact that I could install and run Linux off of a USB drive (not to mention a CD in the case of Linux Live), by the way, should give you an indication of how lightweight Linux is, especially when compared to Windows 7, which requires a minimum of 16 Gig of drive space. My full install of Ubuntu 11.10, on the other hand, required about 5 Gig.

Before continuing, I need to back up a bit to clarify/reiterate a couple of things. As I said in my last post, I initially downloaded Linux to a USB drive, which I'll call USB1 from now on. When I downloaded Linux to USB1, I configured it so that it was bootable. (I hope you'll forgive me, but I don't remember the specifics of how I did this. I do, however, remember that it was relatively straight-forward.) When I booted to USB1, I had the option of booting to Linux Live, directly from that USB stick, or installing Linux from USB1 to a different device. I ran Linux Live for a while from USB1, and then decided to install Linux onto a second USB device, which I'll call USB2. This allowed me to test a fully functional version of Linux without having to commit to installing the OS to my actual hard drive.

Installing Linux from USB1 to USB2 was another straight-forward task. It asked me a few questions, and I was off and running. The biggest pre-installation factor that you should consider is this... Linux uses a file system that's foreign to Windows. Windows uses NTFS by default. Linux uses EXT3 or EXT4. What this means to you, as someone who may install Linux, is that Windows will not natively read the Linux file format. Linux, however, seems to be a bit smarter in this area, and WILL natively read NTFS. In fact, I believe that Linux will install on an NTFS partition, which would allow Windows to read the contents of the Linux drive. But I wanted to see Linux in its native environment. By the way, I don't know anything about EXT3 or EXT4. I went with EXT4 because I figured that 4 is bigger than 3, so EXT4 must be bigger, better and faster than EXT3. Hey, I'll admit when I'm not scientific in my approach.

But I'm digressing... The real point of today's post is to let you know that installing Linux was just as easy as installing Windows 7. If you're not evaluating Linux because you're afraid that the installation process will be difficult, then let me allay your fears. Linux is easy to install.
 Part I, The Grand Experiment

Part II, So Many Flavors

Part III, I'm Kind of Slow to Commit

Part IV,  ASmall, Short-Term Commitment

Part V, Diving Below the Surface

Part VI, A Different Animal

Part VII, Okay, It's Pretty, but What Can it Do?

Part VIII, Okay, I'm Committed, But It's Not all Puppies and Rainbows

Part IX, Unity

Part X, Parting Words

I'm Kind of Slow to Commit

This is Part 3 of a ten-part review of Ubuntu Linux.  The series is designed to give you a rough idea what it's like to try Linux.  It's not a how-to, and it's not a blow-by-blow recount of my experience.  For your convenience, links for each part of this series are located at the end of the article.



When I first downloaded the Linux  installation software, I discovered that I didn't have to immediately install it to a hard drive. In fact, they have what's called a “live” version. Linux Live (which may or may not be available in every flavor of Linux, but I know it's available in Ubuntu) is designed to be run from a CD or USB thumb drive, and is read-only. I should clarify the “read-only” comment. If you boot to Linux Live, the OS will find your monitor, mouse, keyboard, Ethernet devices and so forth, and will install the drivers for you. Linux Live will contain a generous amount of pre-installed software (word processor, spreadsheet, audio software and the like), and you could theoretically write up and print a document, listen to your MP3s, surf the Internet, and so forth from Linux Live. But you could not save the document to your Linux CD or Live USB drive (without some front end work). Linux Live is designed to give you an idea of what Linux is like, and to give you a consistent experience from device to device. Linux Live is a great way to let you try Linux on several different machines, without having to commit to repartitioning hard drives and so forth. I found this to be an excellent way of introducing me to Linux, because I can be kind of slow to commit.

Part I, The Grand Experiment

Part II, So Many Flavors

Part III, I'm Kind of Slow to Commit

Part IV,  ASmall, Short-Term Commitment

Part V, Diving Below the Surface

Part VI, A Different Animal

Part VII, Okay, It's Pretty, but What Can it Do?

Part VIII, Okay, I'm Committed, But It's Not all Puppies and Rainbows

Part IX, Unity

Part X, Parting Words

So Many Flavors...

This is Part 2 of a ten-part review of Ubuntu Linux.  The series is designed to give you a rough idea what it's like to try Linux.  It's not a how-to, and it's not a blow-by-blow recount of my experience.  For your convenience, links for each part of this series are located at the end of the article.

One aspect of Linux that makes it unique when compared to Apple, and Microsoft to some extent, is that it you have more choices to make. This is a double-edged sword. If you buy a Mac, it comes with MacOS, and that's it. If you buy a Windows computer, it comes with the latest release of Windows, and you can choose between the home-oriented release, the business-oriented release, or both. Linux takes things several steps further. Linux is open-sourced, which effectively means that anyone and everyone can make changes to the core operating system. A loose analogy for what results is buying a car. If Linux is Chevy, then the various distributions would be the Impala, the Camaro, and so forth. They're all distinct from one another, with different features and limitations, but there are also many things that are interchangeable from one to another, and they're all Linux.

Making this choice in and of itself could be enough to prevent some from venturing into Linux land, but I am not your run-of-the-mill trepid user. No, I simply went to Google and asked “Which Linux distribution is best for me?” One of the results brought me to a Linux distribution chooser that asked me questions relating to my computer knowledge, peripherals, preference for command line vs. graphical user interface (GUI) and so forth. I had planned on going with Ubuntu, based on preliminary reading. The test confirmed my hunch, so I went with it, and downloaded Ubuntu 11.10.

If you're considering Linux, don't be overwhelmed by the choices. Chances are good that, with a cursory amount of research, you will find the flavor that's right for you.

 Part I, The Grand Experiment

Part II, So Many Flavors

Part III, I'm Kind of Slow to Commit

Part IV,  ASmall, Short-Term Commitment

Part V, Diving Below the Surface

Part VI, A Different Animal

Part VII, Okay, It's Pretty, but What Can it Do?

Part VIII, Okay, I'm Committed, But It's Not all Puppies and Rainbows

Part IX, Unity

Part X, Parting Words

A Grand Experiment with Linux

This is Part 1 of a ten-part review of Ubuntu Linux.  The series is designed to give you a rough idea what it's like to try Linux.  It's not a how-to, and it's not a blow-by-blow recount of my experience.  For your convenience, links for each part of this series are located at the end of the article.

I've been in the IT industry for fifteen years. During that time, I've seen a lot of things come and go. Being a generalist by nature, I've dabbled in many different aspects of technology during this time... I've built countless PCs from scratch, designed and published web pages, played with audio and video editing software, and constructed an entire enterprise domain from the ground up. Two areas that I've stayed away from, however, are Linux and Mac. I've avoided Apple products primarily because of the cost. I've procrastinated on Linux mainly because I didn't have a method and/or time to do the testing.

All of that came to an end recently when I decided to give Linux a try. This grand experiment started about a month ago, and it was actually a Microsoft issue that got me to do this. As a computer geek, I am frequently asked to help friends, co-workers and/or clients eradicate virus(es) that have infested their computers. In all honesty, I'm one of the best virus hunter I know. I freely admit that better virus hunters exist; I just haven't yet met any of them. The thing is, it can take quite a bit of time and effort to find and kill viruses, especially if the user has administrative privileges on the computer.

A couple of months ago, I started wondering if it would be quicker and easier for me to install Linux to a USB drive, boot to Linux on the infected machine, and then use Linux to scan the infected computer's hard drive for viruses. I realized that if I were to go down this road, I'd be opening a whole can of worms. After all, there's no way that I'd be able to just install Linux and AntiVirus software and not see what else the Operating System has to offer.

As you've probably guessed by now, I decided to try Linux, and I've been using it almost exclusively for approximately a month. After a couple of weeks of dabbling in Linux, I decided that it would be fun to immerse myself into the Linux experience and write about it. I believe that enough time has passed for me to write a reasonably-educated critique of my Linux experience. Today's post is just a teaser. My next several posts will be dedicated to telling you what I think...

Part I, The Grand Experiment

Part II, So Many Flavors

Part III, I'm Kind of Slow to Commit

Part IV,  ASmall, Short-Term Commitment

Part V, Diving Below the Surface

Part VI, A Different Animal

Part VII, Okay, It's Pretty, but What Can it Do?

Part VIII, Okay, I'm Committed, But It's Not all Puppies and Rainbows

Part IX, Unity

Part X, Parting Words

Evaluating the Traxxas Velineon Brushless Motor System (VXL)

Early last month, I wrote an article about my new toy, a Traxxas Stampede RC car.  Out of the box, I concluded that everything was great, except for the motor.  Since then I replaced the stock Titan 12T motor with a Velineon Brushless motor system.  The motor system consists of a motor and speed controller.  If you are converting from a standard motor with brushes to a brushless system, you will need to purchase a speed controller as well.

With that  little tidbit out of the way, I'll just cut to the chase and say that the upgrade is absolutely worth it!  I didn't do a scientific before and after comparison, but I noticed a tremendous increase in speed and torque with the brushless system.  It also seems that my run time is slightly longer with the Velineon motor, but again, I wasn't scientific with my approach.  The motor is absolutely able to run through grass, and the VXL motor has better heat tolerance as well.  (The 12T manual said to stop running at about 150 degrees, and the VXL motor said that it could tolerate 200 degrees.)  As for the torque?  With the 12T, I could only pull wheelies for the first few minutes of a run.  With the Velineon motor, I can pull wheelies until shortly before the motor dies.

If you're considering the purchase of an RC car, I suggest that you purchase a model that already comes with a brushless motor.  The initial sticker price is a bit higher, but it's less expensive than converting to a brushless motor later on, and there will be less initial frustration.  But if you're like me, someone who purchased a low-end model and are wondering if it's worth it to go brushless, well, let me put your mind at ease... it's absolutely worth it.  Now, what are you waiting for?  Go order that new brushless motor!

Meet Gilmour

This is Gilmour, the new addition to our family.  My younger daughter has been asking for a puppy since Athena died in March.  After some patience and time, we found this little guy at the local animal shelter.  He's a six month old lab mix, with blue eyes like a husky.  He's definitely a puppy... bursts of intense energy, followed by the sleep of the dead... exuberance combined with a lack of focus... a desire to learn, and a short attention span.  Duchess, my 12-year-old lab mix, is getting used to the change, but I think that Gilmour will be an awesome addition to our family.  Gilmour, by the way, was named by my younger daughter, after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.