Blogging on Linux is Badass, especially when you buy a cheap Lenovo notebook from Ebay and install Ubuntu Linux on it along with the Cairo Dock to make it look like but actually be more powerful than a Macbook. Turning an older but still powerful used machine into a Linux blogging rig is very satisfying indeed. Check out my article on it. http://www.ipblogging.com/blogging-on-linux-is-bad-ass/

1. March 3rd, 2015 Published by: worlok
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Blogging on Linux is
Badass
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Blogging on Linux Is Bad Ass
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Blogging on Linux is About as
Good as it Gets
This is for you technology freaks out there.
You can blog from any computer that has an operating system
and a supported web browser. Basically, you just need to be
a compliant linux blogging client. Well, Linux is about as
compliant as you can get, when you consider that the actual
blogging server side software is probably already running on
some form of Linux anyway, since Linux pretty much OWNS
the web hosting and server space.
So, who would want to do this?
Anyone who wants to do it without the unreliability of a
Windows machine, which slows down the longer it’s been
running and makes you wait and wait to get things done, even
on a fast machine. I know it because I’ve been there. I am
there with another machine that I own. That one is not new,
but it’s a powerful machine. It has a quad core CPU and 8GB
of RAM. The disks are fast too, spinning at over 7000 RPM.
Well, it takes forever to boot up and when it’s been running
awhile it just slows to a crawl while stuff is swapping to and
from disk. Te reason I stay with Windows on that machine is
that there are a few things I need Windows for, and I’ve built
another machine for Linux and my daily work.
It was cheap and easy.
First off, if you have an older machine or laptop lying around
doing nothing, you may want to try this on it. I don’t mean
something that is like 10 years old and less than a gigabyte
of RAM, although you could try one of those. You might be
pleasantly surprised. What I’m talking about here is a machine
that is a few years old, like maybe 5 or 6 years old. That should
work well. You want 2-4GB of RAM (4 is ideal but 2 will work
okay) and 160-250GB hard disk just to have some room to
grow. The cpu can vary. While a one GHz machine will work,
a 2 or higher is ideal. Most machines in the last few years are
multi core, so they are much faster than the old single core
machines ever where at the same speed.
Blogging on Linux – The Machine
That I Used
I built the best linux blogging client by just going to Ebay
and creating a search that would alert me when new machines
meeting my search requirements are added. I specifically was
looking for the Lenovo Thinkpad T61 models because they are
durable. IBM sold their Thinkpad business to Lenovo, and
the machines are the same configuration and the look and
feel is identical. The only technical issue on the model I got
involves the sleep mode. It goes to sleep fine but waking up
messes things up and it needs a hard reboot. I turned off going
to sleep when closing the lid as a result. I use this machine
as my workhorse so I won’t bee “sleeping” is frequently, and
hopefully the issue will be resolved in the future, but it’s no
biggie. The thing I was looking for was a machine that is built
like a tank and was fast and cheap.
I found it.
This particular machine as a 2GHz dual core Intel Centrino
cpu, 4GB of RAM, and a 250GB hard disk. This is perfect. If
the disk ever dies, I can swap in a solid state drive for a little
bit of money, but those use less power, are MUCH faster, and
create less heat. The only reason I don’t do it now is because
this machine works great and I was going for a cheap and quick
solution to needing a mobile and smaller machine than the
huge 18″ Windows powered monster that is my main machine.
That one is 5 years old and the fan is loud and I know there
are subtle hard disk issues, so it isn’t ideal for a quick booting
blogging rig.
This Lenovo only set me back $139 with free shipping from
a reseller in Pennsylvania. They refurbish off lease corporate
machines. This one that I bought also came with what looks
like an extended capacity battery which holds a charge for over
an hour, so I couldn’t be happier with what I got for such a
small fee.
If I wanted Windows 7 on this, it would have cost another
$70 for them to install and configure it, but I can tell you that
Windows would have sapped the power from this machine and
made it a slow booting bookend in no time.
Blogging on Linux – Linux to the
Rescue
I built this Linux blogging client originally with a distribution
called Opensuse. Linux “flavors”, or bundles, are called
distributions, or “distros” for short. All they are are the linux

2. March 3rd, 2015 Published by: worlok
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and GNU software wrapped with whatever configuration or
theme which that bundle uses, and they have created their own
installation programs, package management (software install
and management) system, and the like. There are some distros
that are almost unheard of, some that tailor to specific small
market niches, and some that are very popular. Opensuse is
based on a German distro that went corporate, the way that
Red Hat went corporate but still has the totally free Fedora
distro to mirror that one. Opensuse was okay, but some guys
at work convinced me to give Ubuntu, which is based on
Debian Linux, a shot. It’s VERY popular, which means a large
support community, and thus problem resolution that is way
faster than other distros. The Ubuntu distribution is very slick
and comes with a great installation and package management
solution. It’s a breeze to get new software and to keep the
installed software updated.
I installed Ubuntu Linux and then I went to the package
manager and searched for the Cairo-Dock software, which
emulates the MAC OSX dock. What I have is a desktop that is
as pretty as MAC OSX but it just as powerful, and much more
stable and quicker than Windows.
I then went on to install a plethora of web browsers,
including Google Chrome and the freer version which is
called Chromium. The system came with Mozilla Firefox
preinstalled.
What Else Does a Linux Blogging
Client Need?
You can blog just by using any of these web browsers to log into
your online blog platform, whether it’s WordPRess, Blogger,
Tumblr, or any other, including WordPress powered
Kalatu, and blog away.
Well, that is great, but if you want to jazz up your blog, then
you need graphics and such. You might also want to be able
to capture screen sessions if you are into doing demos and
uploading YouTube content… You know, stuff like that.
Okay, there is a free software equivalent to everything out
there.
For graphics, I recommend the Gimp, which is the Gnu Image
Manipulation Program. It’s basically like a free Photoshop,
with all of the capabilities you need and then some. Filezilla
is great for uploading files to web hosting accounts via FTP,
and Simple Screen Recorder is great for recording desktop
instructional sessions. The VLC Media Player is great for
playing back multimedia content. Libre Office is a full
featured office suite that can open MS Office file formats,
and You can even install Skype and other communication
programs. It can print to Windows printers as well. Adobe
Reader is available too. One of the things that I need my
Windows installation for is my keyword research tool, Micro
Niche Finder, but much of my blogging uses other keyword
research methods that focus less on researching strength of
competition and just goes for using long tail keywords and
producing great content, like this article.
Building a great linux blogging client is easier than you think,
and even newbies shouldn’t be afraid to pick up a cheap
machine to experiment with. If not having that whiz bang
Macbook pro or Air is your excuse for not taking action and
really going for it online, then you’re being silly when you can
create a veritable Mac killer for pennies on the dollar, as I have
just proven.
Blogging on Linux is a power user’s dream come true because
your machine is now powered by open source software that
will never go out of business and be without support because it
is not created by a private company. It’s created by an internet
connected network of open source developers that love to do
open source work. They take donations, so if you have the
means, by all means donate. If not, then use it guilt free.
If you need advice here, you can always comment or hit me up
on Facebook.
I hope that this intro has perhaps opened up your eyes to
the world of different software, and also educated you to the
FACT that what you thought was an older machines could
actually run FASTER than a more modern machine running
Windows when that older machine is now running the Linux
operating system. It’s free to get and easy to install and get
up and running in no time. There are loads of free references
material and whole sites dedicated to using Linux. You can
even head off to the nearest bookstore and pick up some books
on it if you are so inclined.
Blogging on Linux is a great thing so get blogging!
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3. March 3rd, 2015 Published by: worlok
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