It seems that I have been writing a good bit lately about the Google. And before anyone asks…. I am NOT employed by Google in any way. I do not receive any special privileges from them and, other than via their great search engine, they do not even know my name. I only recommend the company and its products because I use them and like them.

Google just seems to be a FUN & active company. Also, it appears to me that (from an end user’s perspective) that they are one of the most innovative companies around. And the really neat thing is that most of what they are doing is open sourced and free to use.

I am a real fan of open source software. I have converted to Ubuntu Linux in support of the open source concept. (And, because Ubuntu is one of the most secure operating systems around – AND it has a great interface that rivals anything from the Apple or Microsoft worlds.)

I just read an article written by Don Dodge who evidently was a fairly major player at Microsoft. But, he was one of 5000 that they company just laid off. However, his skills landed him a great position at – you guess it – Google. (Read the entire article here.) He writes about the comparisons of all the MS stuff to the similar Google product. It is refreshing to see the difference – and of course (as a new Google employee, we would understand his bias), Google wins!

At any rate, since I was writing about Google so much, I decided to create a series to link the articles together. This article will be the first in the series – even though it was written AFTER some of the others, it is logically the first so that is where it goes. There will be dialog boxes either on the right side or below each post to help you move to the next article in the series.

Enjoy.

Recently, a friend asked me to recommend a computer solution for editing video. Here are my ideas. Do you agree? Add your comments at the bottom of the article.

The three elements to consider when purchasing a computer (either desktop or notebook):

1. Operating System (OS)
2. Software Applications (Apps)
3. Hardware to run the system.

OS:
I don’t do a lot of video editing but I use a small Dell with a 1.8ghz processor. But then I do it on Ubuntu Linux which is MUCH less demanding on the hardware.

If you are not familiar with Linux, it is very similar to Windows from the UI (User Interface) but it is much more secure and no viruses. The OS and practically all the apps you could ever need (same formats as their Win equivalents) are all free. That, along with the reduced hardware requirements could easily save you over a thousand dollars for the same processing power.

Apps:
You can easily drop several hundred bucks on the software if you go the Win7 or Mac route. The (nearly) equivalent software in Linux is free. Check out this link for info about some of the Linux video editing apps.

Check my review at http://raywaldo.com/2009/08/ubuntu-linux/ for some idea of what using Ubuntu Linux is like. BTW, the one app  that I needed but could not use in Linux (OnlineBible) now works in Ubuntu. There are a couple of emulators (free also) to allow you to run Win apps if you must have them.

Hardware:
Regardless of what computer you buy, there are three hardware elements that make the computer work well – especially for video editing.

1.  Processor: speed is everything in video. Most software today (Win, Mac or Linux) will not effectively use the “quad-processor” – If you have a choice between processor speed and the number of internal processors, select the highest processor speed that you can afford.

2. Hard Drive size: Video can eat up the storage space very quickly! A DVD is about 4 gigs and to produce it, you will need to splice together a lot more video than that. Add the original video size (likely will be 6-8 gigs) plus the 4 gigs output to the DVD and you will need about 10 gigs to each project that you want to keep on the hard drive. Again, the larger, the better. Also, (I don’t fully understand the technical reason here) but for some  reason, the LARGER the hard drive, the faster it generally operates.

3. Memory (RAM): For a given class of computers, the speed of the memory is generally the same. But save enough money to boost the memory to the full capacity of the hardware. There is a point where adding memory will not give as great a return on investment but you probably could not afford to buy that much <grin>. Realistically, for video editing, you will need a MINIMUM of 4 gigs of RAM.

Last November, I took the plunge and converted both my Dell Inspiron E1505 (notebook) & my (homebrew) desktop to Ubuntu Linux. I was just reading the article that I wrote describing the conversion, here. After almost a year of using Linux, I have grown much more comfortable with it.

Althought I still use the VirtualBox VM to do occasional Windows tasks, I finally gave up and created a Windows partition and now do dual boot when I need REAL windows. That allows me to OBJECTIVELY compare my XP installation’s speed and usability with Ubuntu. I have to say that there is still a VERY noticable difference. And, Ubuntu is my favority by far!! It looks better & runs better than Windows XPpro. And, when I need a new software package, it is only a few keystrokes away. Almost every software you need, in order to do ANYTHING on Linux, is available FOR FREE on the Internet.

You can check out the current version of Ubuntu at http://www.ubuntu.com/ where you can download the latest version as an .iso file. Then use your CD Burner to burn the iso image to a CD. Place the CD in your computer, turn it off – then back on again and (in most instances), Ubuntu will offer a menu – whether you want to install the software or just run it from the CD without writing to your hard disk. If  you choose the later, be aware that it will run MUCH slower off of the CD than it will when you install it on your hard disk.

If (should I say “WHEN”) you decide to install Ubuntu, you can choose whether to dual boot (choose at boot time if you want to load up Windows or Linux) or not. If so, Ubuntu will install in the unused portion of your hard drive – leaving Windows untouched. Almost nothing is absolutely certain so I highly recommend that you back up any important data, but I have yet to read about anyone who tried this and wasted their Windows stuff. The installation is all graphic-based and, after answering a few questions, it will just work. About 15-20 minutes later, you will be booting into Ubuntu for the first time! Congratulations.

Although Linux is pretty intuitive, there are some things that you will have to learn to do differently than how it worked in Windows. Most things are pretty easy to discover but, when you get lost, just “google” your question and it will almost certainly be answered online! I converted my daughter’s netbook to Ubuntu and she loves it. She has yet to ask my how to do anything. She just figures it out!

Remember… With Windows, almost everything is VERY expensive and the end result is proprietary. With Apple, everrything is even MORE expensive and MORE proprietary. With Linux, everything is FREE & OPEN Source. You have to SEARCH to find something in Linux to pay for (other than business level support).

My next Operating System (OS) change? I just cannot wait until a carrier in my area (hear me AT&T?) carries a AFFORDABLE smartphone with the Android (Linux for the phone) OS!