This is a step-by-step process for taking a Screen Capture using a Ubuntu application named GIMP, saving that screenshot and inserting it into a WordPress post or page. Before I switched to Ubuntu I would have done this using SnagIt but it did not install properly for me under Wine so I went searching for another solution.

Searching online for +”screen capture” +ubuntu turned up How to take a screenshot or region capture like Snagit in Ubuntu. Thanks to Richard Baxter at SEOGadget for taking the time to share this process. This post elaborates on his by adding how to insert the captured image into a WordPress post.

I already had GIMP installed and using the directions provided at the SEOGadget link I was able to grab a piece of a screen using this step-by-step process:

1. Go to Applications, Graphics, GIMP Image Editor
2. Click file, acquire, screenshot
3. I selected “Select a region to grab”, left delay at 0, and clicked snap. (You can also select a specific image or an entire Web page.)
4. The cursor changes to a cross that allows you to place a box around the area of the screen you wish to capture.
5. That area is imported into a work area in a new window.
6. Click “file”, then “save as” and name your new screen capture. The save will default to .xcf but you can change that to .png by adding the .png extension to the file name you use, i.e., save the image as imagename.png
7. You can edit or change the image using the GIMP program, but for our purposes today we’ll simply take that captured area and add it to this blog post.
8. In this blog I have an upgrade called Kitchen Sink so I click on the Add an Image icon just to the right of Add media. This opens a window that allows me to “Choose file” and under “From Computer” click “Browse”, find the file and click upload. Selecting the .png image I saved, typing a caption,  and leaving all the defaults the image now appears as you see immediately below in step 9.

9. 

   Screen Captured Image

10. If I hit enter twice, this post resumes at step 10 or I could hit enter three times and go to a new paragraph. As you can see above, this function places the image within a border and adds a caption.

How to Use GIMP:

• How to Resize Images Using Gimp

In order to install .exe programs on a PC running Ubuntu you use an application called Wine. Installing Wine is simple. Just click on Applications, then Add/Remove, type Wine in the search box and and place a check in the box in front of Wine Windows Emulator. Click Apply Changes and Wine will be installed for you.

So far I have tried to use Wine to install two of my favorite programs that do not have Unix versions and found several excellent references on using Wine.

The first is SnagIt Screen Capture which is a great program any blogger could put to good use. It allows you to easily make screen captures of images and any part of or entire Web pages and add them to your posts. I encountered many errors trying to install it but kept going. Although it installed it does not work.

The other program I tried is the excellent Keyword Research program AdWord Analyzer. The good news was that this program appeared to install correctly. The bad news is it immediately tried to run an updater which gives errors. I haven’t been able to open the program.

Many commonly used .exe programs are more likely to run under Wine. You can search the Wine Applications Database for information on specific programs. SnagIt has been tested under Wine and parts of it did work for someone else.

As more people switch to Ubuntu more developers will create Unix versions and/or make their applications compatible with non-Windows operating systems. There is a process to assist developers with compatibility with Wine. I hope my favorite program and application developers decide to support non-Windows operating systems.

I realized that it would make sense to see if there were any Screen Capture applications already in Ubuntu. I tried going to Applications, Add/Remove Applications but no programs come up on a search for Screen Capture.

Next I did a search online for +”screen capture” +ubuntu and found How to take a screenshot or region capture like Snagit in Ubuntu. That looks like a good solution so I have created a post on how to get a screenshot into a WordPress post.

WINE REFERENCE RESOURCES:

• Official Wine Documention
  
• Wine Application Database
• Official Wine Help Thread

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

• Direct Marketing Review of AdWord Analyzer
• BC Software’s Review of SnagIt 9
• Digital Inspiration Review of SnagIt 9

We will always write so that those who have no computer background can understand. The information below is organized in sections to allow advanced users to skip over material they already know.

Many people who have used computers for years or even decades may be familiar with common terminology without truly knowing what it means or how it all fits together. It is not absolutely necessary to know any of this; however, I find that understanding the big picture helps me to learn new subjects faster. Read on for hardware, software, operating systems, Linux, and Ubuntu.

HARDWARE:

• PC – short for Personal Computer – either desktop (larger and stationary) or laptop (portable).
• Computer hardware – the physical parts of your computer. See Basic Computer Hardware Components for more detail.
• Peripherals – Extra hardware devices you attach to your PC such as a printer, mouse, keyboard, scanner, joystick, or external storage devices.

SOFTWARE:

• Software – the instructions that control what your hardware does – also called system software or software programs. Often also used when applications or application program is more accurate.
• Application or Software Programs – collections of programming instructions used by your computer to do specific tasks. System software programs control the actions of your computer while application programs perform actions directly for the end user (you) or another application. For example, they allow us to view Web sites (using a Web browser program), write a letter (using a Word Processing Program), create a spreadsheet, and so on.
• Open Source Software – software usually developed by placing the “source code” in a public venue where many can contribute to development and the end product is free software for anyone to use.
• Source Code – the program language used to create software or the completed (or in-process) program code that controls what a software program can do.

OPERATING SYSTEMS:

• Operating System – the management program that controls the other programs and hardware on a PC or personal computer.
• GUI – the “graphical user interface” that allows you to use a mouse to point and click at graphics to control what your computer does. The Windows “GUI” is what made it easier for new users to learn to use computers.(All computers have either DOS or a type of UNIX running under what the user sees.)

LINUX:

• Unix – a family of operating systems which includes Linux, AIX (IBM’s version), HP-UX, Solaris, etc.
• Linux – Linux is the variety of Unix that serves as the free base operating system on which complete systems such as Ubuntu are built.
• GNU aka GNU/Linux – the Linux operating system used by many Linux distributions.
• Linux distribution – an operating system based on Linux which include a customized GUI and preloaded and configured applications to make it easier to use. Ubuntu is one of the most common Linux distributions .
• Linux distro – short for Linux distribution
• Kernel – the core of an operating system. The kernel is what allows your software programs to direct what the hardware in your computer does. Ubuntu uses the Linux kernel.
• Linux Kernel – a core operating system based on Linux. All Linux distributions share the same Linux kernel.

UBUNTU:

(To understand Ubuntu see also the definitions under Linux immediately above.)

• Ubuntu – considered by many to be easiest to learn for new computer users and those already familiar with Windows or Macs, Ubuntu is an Open Source operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux
• Debian aka Debian GNU/Linux – the core Linux distribution upon which Ubuntu is built. Most Linux distros are based on either Debian or Fedora (formerly known as Red Hat).
• Gnome – the GUI desktop used by the developers of Ubuntu. It controls what you see when you turn on your computer. Gnome is an acronym for GNU Network Object Model Environment. (Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron comes with Gnome as the default.)
• Shell aka Linux shell – hopefully Ubuntu users will not need to understand how to use a Linux shell.

Understanding how all these terms fit together can be confusing when you read the help files or online information about Ubuntu. Here is the synopsis:

Ubuntu is built on the Gnome GUI desktop which uses the Debian distribution of the Linux kernel.

The latest version of Ubuntu is 8.04 called Hardy Heron. The previous version was 7.10 called Gutsy Gibbon.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

• What IS the Difference Between Ubuntu, Kbuntu, Xubuntu, Edubuntu?
• Gnome versus KDE
• GNU / Linux Distributions that include and only propose free software
• Free Software Directory
• NEW: Linux Tips and Tricks – understanding folder layouts, KDE or Gnome, shell usage, commands and other advanced skills

Do You REALLY Understand What It All Means?

Every day we’re confronted with unintelligible processes we’re expected to know. Using the Internet requires learning a whole new language. Be honest. Do you REALLY know what everything you come across every day means? Maybe the true geeks among us understand all the decisions we’re asked to make. Some of them boggle my mind.

I’m talking about things like this prompt I receive when I attempt to get YouTube Videos to work using Ubuntu:

Confirm installation of restricted software. The use of this software may be restricted in some countries. You must verify that one of the following is true:

* These restrictions do not apply in your country of legal residence
* You have permission to use this software (for example, a patent license)
* You are using this software for research purposes only

Hmmm. That doesn’t sound good. Maybe I don’t want to play videos after all. Well, maybe I’ll get chat working instead. I go to Jabber and need to select an End-User Jabber Client. Ok. The purpose of Jabber is “to unleash the power of presence”. Do you feel the need to unleash? I didn’t.

On to more decisions. Which to choose? It looks like PSI is the most popular. It is a GPL. GPL? Ok, let’s look that up. General Public License usually refers to a GNU GPL. Oh, yes, that clears things up. Sure. So we look up GNU and find we need to know what a Linux kernel is.

Wait. Didn’t I just want to get a YouTube video to play and chat with my peers? Do I really need to know what all these acronyms mean? Do I know any more now than I did when I started? I confess that I’ve made a living in the computer world for three decades so all that may make more sense to me than it does to the ordinary individual who simply wants to watch that video!

So maybe this has made sense to the true geeks among us so far. But it gets worse. We choose PSI and are greeted with this end-user-friendly statement:

Psi is a free instant messaging application designed for the Jabber IM network (including Google Talk). Fast and lightweight, Psi is fully open-source and compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. With Psi’s full Unicode support and localizations, easy file transfers, customizable iconsets, and many other great features, you’ll learn why users around the world are making the switch to free, open instant messaging.

What’s that you say? Unicode? localizations? iconsets? I just want to chat with my friends. What DOES all that mean? Ok, the geeks are still on board. The ordinary PC user has learned to ignore geek-speak and gobble-dee-gook and just click on whatever is clickable.

What a call-to-action here: Visit Project Homepage. I don’t want to visit anything. I just want to install PSI. But that is the only button so click it you do. More geek-speak here but Download sounds good so off we go. Look at all those options. If you have Windows or Mac you may get the job done. If you’re new to Ubuntu now what? Well, maybe I didn’t want PSI after all.

So we bring up our trusty Zuula search engine to see if we can figure out how to get Pidgin running. Check out the instructions to install Pidgin. You have GOT to be kidding. No clue. If I have absolutely no idea what to do with all this, imagine the poor Newbie’s dilemma. (That would be a good book title: The Newbie’s Dilemma – if there weren’t already a book called The Omnivore’s Dilemma.)

Wait…we don’t have Feisty Fawn; we have Hardy Heron. Let’s try again. We find Enable Pidgin Plugins in Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron). Thank goodness. They’re actually in ordinary English. Maybe we’ll get there after all. The instructions fail to mention going to Applications, Internet, Pidgin and they’re not really about getting it working.

Nothing so far has mentioned where or how to get an account specifically to use in Pidgin. Finally I manage to get an account using IRC by finding AbleNet IRC Network. Finally: success! After I got it working I found Using Pidgin which will be very helpful.

So why didn’t I just use one of the major messengers: AOL, ICQ, MSN, or Yahoo!? I am determined to go totally open source and non-corporate if there is any possible way to do it. Besides, if geek-speak isn’t confusing enough, does anyone REALLY understand the legaleze of all those EULA and TOS agreements we’ve been accepting?

Be honest – do you sincerely believe you KNOW without a doubt what all that stuff means? That there are no hidden agendas in there somewhere? Even if you did, most of them reserve the right to change them at any time so who knows what they say now? Who even reads them?

We really only have two choices: agree or leave. Life’s too short. Let’s just wander over to ProBlogger and check out their new Killer Titles contest.

Although some people object to being called geeks, I use the word geek lovingly: I wish I were one. I hope those who think technical things are so simple that the rest of us must be morons will read this post. Perhaps then they’ll understand why mere mortals – and quasi-geeks like myself – have kept paying for operating systems and programs when better free versions are available.

I finally figured out what the geeks have that we don’t: awesome - maybe even photographic – memories. Those awesome memories make it easy for them to remember all those commands and directions that take pages to type up.

There is a good reason someone invented GUIs. Ordinary humans just don’t have it in us to remember all these numbers and letters that don’t mean anything to us. IF we knew programming and already understood what some of them meant MAYBE we could remember them. Then again, probably not.

Here is a simple example of the difference between using a GUI or the command line to reboot Linux:

• NON-GEEK – Click on the red power button (icon) and select restart
• GEEK: Go to a command line and type in $ sudo shutdown -h now

As a quasi-geek with decades of computer experience, I already know what a command is; however, as a new user of Ubuntu I don’t have a clue how to get to a command line yet. Even when I look that up, would I rather remember how to shut down using that command or just click on the two icons?

This all reminds me of back when I worked on IBM AS400s. The commands were long strings of nearly all consonants – many of them identical except for one letter. I always wanted to get hold of the designers of OS400 (the Unix code that runs AS400 systems) and ask them if I could buy a vowel.

Hmmm…maybe I should call those brilliant people with incredible memories computer geniuses instead of geeks? Maybe not. Geeks rule.

Ubuntu is not quite ready for non-geek users.

After years of cursing you know who I finally took the plunge. I decided to switch to Ubuntu cold turkey. I love it – am glad I did it – and do not regret. I just wish it were finally ready for prime time – it isn’t. IF you personally know a computer geek who will assist you or are a do-it-yourself type with the time to figure it all out I encourage you to go for it now.

If that does not describe you hang on for a bit. I will be posting here about learning Ubuntu and recording the how-to information I have to research. I will also do my best to help the wonderful folks donating their time and expertise to the Ubuntu project so we can get it to the point that it IS ready for anyone currently using Microsoft Windows, Vista, Apple or Mac.

Installing Ubuntu was easy. Using it is easy to figure out – until you run into something that is not already set up. And then the non-geek user is stuck. IMHO (Internet geek-speak for in my humble opinion), that is the reason Ubuntu is not ready for the regular user.

You have to know or figure out how to do things that are done for you in Windows or Mac. For example:

• PDF Files: You have to select a PDF viewer. I chose one of two open source offerings. It took three tries to get it to install.
• VIDEO: Instead of the usual video view window I have a multi-tone gray box with a gray arrow inside a circle. When I click the arrow to start play I had to install a player. That process hung Firefox. I tried restarting Firefox – no help. I had to reboot Ubuntu. Repeated tries end in that same “search for codec” message or acting like the video is playing but only a black box in the viewer.
• INSTALLING SOFTWARE: Will it work? How do I install it? Firefox automatically downloaded my favorite keyword research program. It is a .exe file but Firefox doesn’t know what to do with it and neither do I. I just found How to Install ANYTHING in Ubuntu so off I go to figure it out.
• ADDING FEATURES: Ubuntu comes with all kinds of neat “stuff” you can add – IF you can figure out how. You go to System, Administration, Synaptic Package Manager and check what you want to add. That is the easy part. The challenge is figuring out which package you want because the descriptions are unclear to mere mortals. Then if you figure out what to add many of them require manual (non-GUI) set-up. For example, I loaded kweather which “displays your area’s current weather. Information shown includes the temperature, wind speed, air pressure and more. By pressing a button a full weather report can be obtained.” Since I have no idea how to change the location setting it sits in my toolbar with — displayed. When I point at the dashes it says updating. Hmmm….maybe I’ll get it figured out later.

About installing programs Jonathan Schlaffer of Tech.Blorge wrote, “I know plenty of people that think doing so is hard in Windows and for them it would be impossible in Linux.” He’s right. In his excellent post he asks “why can’t I just install an executable or msi file and be done with it? Linux doesn’t work that way which is why it will never be ready for Joe Schmo user…”.

[Corrected Nov. 5, 2008] In his Sep. 14, 2007 post titled Ubuntu Not Ready for Prime Time, Says Walt Mossberg, Jack Schofield, Computer Editor for The Guardian.co.uk, quoted Wall Street Journal’s technology columnist Walt Mossberg. Walt sums up his opinion of Ubuntu this way:

“My verdict: Even in the relatively slick Ubuntu variation, Linux is still too rough around the edges for the vast majority of computer users. While Ubuntu looks a lot like Windows or Mac OS X, it is full of little complications and hassles that will quickly frustrate most people who just want to use their computers, not maintain or tweak them.”

I believe it CAN be made as easy to use as Windows or Mac as soon as the brilliant people who design it accept that it must be really, really GUI simple. Hardy Heron is MUCH easier to use than Feisty Fawn was. The other thing Ubuntu needs is documentation written for non-technical users. I’ll be happy to contribute them – as soon as I can figure it out myself.

If, like me, you’re just NOT going to use Vista and you’re willing to be a leader, read Making the Switch to Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron. As soon as I get up to speed I’ll be adding lots of how-to posts and willing to help non-technical users get it working for them.

Please share your insights, comments, and experiences in the comments. Feel free to drop links to related information you find helpful. Periodically I will move those links up into the body of the most appropriate post here for fast and easy reference.

• Are you using Ubuntu? Tell us about it.
• Is there something you just can’t get it to do? Let us know and we’ll research and post the answer.

NOTES:

* I am using Ubuntu 8.04 The Hardy Heron released April 2008. It came preloaded with Firefox version 3.0.1. I welcome comments from Ubuntu developers and users and am interested in offering feedback and writing documentation for non-geeks.

** I know that true geeks do not understand why we non-geeks struggle with all this. Imagine that you don’t know anything about computers, hardware, programming, Linux terminology and jargon – not even what a command line is or how to get to one – nothing at all. Then try having to read the [completely incomprehensible to us] help files and look up every acronym and figure out every instruction.

UBUNTU HOW-TO:

• Get Organized Using Tomboy Notes
• Using the Wine Windows Emulator to Run Windows Programs on Ubuntu
• Taking a Screen Capture in Ubuntu Using Gimp and Inserting It Into a Blog Post

OFFICIAL UBUNTU REFERENCE RESOURCES:

• Documentation for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Official Help)
• Adding and Removing Software
• Add/Remove Applications (Similar to Windows Add/Remove)
• Switching From Windows
• Ubuntu Community Provided Documentation

Special thanks to Boo Radley for providing the information that led to the above Official Ubuntu Help links.

BLOGGERS WRITING ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES LEARNING TO USE UBUNTU:

• The Linux Terminal for Beginners from Dave’s Tech Blog – “A very long time ago, computers didn’t have mice, icons or fancy graphics.” Great resource here – go directly to his Ubuntu posts.
• Still Stupid: STumbling in Linux Land – Unlucky Pablo: The tribulations and happy discoveries of a Linux Newbie

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ABOUT UBUNTU:

• Has Ubuntu Lost Its Relevance? (Aug 27, 2008)
• Ubuntu Attracts Lion’s Share at LinuxWorld (Aug 10, 2008)
• I Love Wine Under Ubuntu (Jul 30, 2008) [NOTE: Wine allows Windows programs to run on Ubuntu]
• Six Annoyances in Hardy Heron by Matt Cutts (May 20, 2008)
• Ubuntu Hardy Heron Distro Review (May 15, 2008)
• Ubuntu 8.04 Not Quite There Yet (May 9, 2008)
• What to Say About Hardy Heron (Apr 28, 2008)
• Make the Switch to Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron (Apr 27, 2008)
• FOSSWire Hardy Heron Review (Apr 24, 2008)
• Jack Schofield finds Ubuntu “unusably user hostile” (Sep 14, 2007)
• Linux’s New System is Now Easier to Use, But Not For Everyone (Sep 13, 2007)
• Ubuntu Not Ready for Average Users (Sep 12, 2007)
• Ubuntu is Not Ready for Prime Time (Aug 10, 2007)
• Switching to Linux? Look Before You Leap (Jul 9, 2007)
• Confessions of a Linux Fan; Ten Things You Might Want to Know Before Switching Over to Linux (Jul 8, 2007)
• Ubuntu is Not Ready for Most, Even From Dell (May 6, 2007)

ONLINE REFERENCE SOURCES:

• Full Circle – Free online magazine devoted to Ubuntu
• Excellent Ubuntu Reference – direct links to frequently used information including free formats for video and music

HOW TO GET UBUNTU THE MOST PAINLESS WAY:

Buying a PC with Ubuntu already installed on it from someone who really knows Ubuntu is the most logical, pain-free way to get it. The most promising offerings I’ve found so far come from system76. Their systems are preloaded with the software programs you’re most likely to need, saving you the challenges of figuring out which to use and how to install them. There are other companies that offer preloaded Ubuntu hardware internationally.

DISCLAIMER: We are not being compensated in any way by system76 – they don’t even know we exist – yet. We do intend to contact them and will provide additional information in the near future.