Get Out Of Firefox Full Screen n00b moment.

Just had a serious n00b moment. Surfing the net in the dark, hit the wrong key and Firefox went into full screen mode. Hit a bunch more keys to try and get out of full screen mode and nothing worked. Continued on like this for about 5 minutes, then decided to do a search.

Did a quick google search and discovered that hitting F11 will get you out of full screen mode in Firefox. NOW DON'T I FEEL STUPID. However, I was happy to discover that I wasn't the only one. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/959183

Doing this will get you out of full screen mode. Took me about 5 minutes of hiting keys, and a google search to discover what I was doing wrong. n00b moment !

15 Month Update Linux Full Time

It's been about 15 - 16 months since I switched over to Fedora from Windows 7. I have to say, the longer I use Fedora full time the happier I am with my decision to drop Windows all together. The more I dive into using Linux the more useful stuff I discover. Much of this I will start sharing on the blog.

After using Microsoft operating systems for a little over 20 years, I had a real comfort factor using the product. If anything broke, I knew what the problem was and how to fix it immediately. It was an almost Zen like computing experience, and things rarely went wrong. If it wasn't for the fact that I really hated Windows 8, and the over priced software updates that came with it,  I may never have switched.

This confident user experience is a feeling I miss using Fedora. It's not for any bad quality in the Fedora product itself, but a simple lack of understanding on my part. When something goes wrong, I have to really research and read, and learn in order to fix the problem. Just like I had to 20 years ago when I started using Windows 3.11.

Just this week I  realized that familiar safe feeling is coming back with Fedora now. I may not know how to fix everything but if something is off I can usually figure out whats wrong, and what needs to be done to fix it.
I occasionally make a n00b mistake, like the other day when I deleted yum instead of a different program using RPM. Ya, I was using RPM to remove part of a package without removing all the dependencies and thinking yum for some reason and with a quick $ rpm -e --nodeps yum return, yum was gone. Dope !!! Yet, even after doing something so ridiculously idiotic, it only took about 15 minutes to fix ! Something that probably would of taken all day 15 months ago :) I have to say, it was a bit of confidence builder.

The mystery repair is always nice as well. Although it sucks not really understanding how you fixed something, and what you did to actually fix the problem. The fact that you got it to work, and knew what you had to do to make it work, is always gratifying. When this happens it's just a matter of time before you understand the "why" and "how" of it all !

I look back on learning Windows 20 years ago and remember how amazed I was with the computer. I read everything I could get my hands on, and learned the system inside and out. I could tell you what files did what, and why Windows used that file. I want to get this feeling with Fedora and Linux in general. Then I thought about it and realized 15 months into this and I've got a pretty good handle on this thing. Everyday I learn a little more now, and the more I learn the easier it is to understand. In a couple more years I'm sure I'll have that zen like feeling using Fedora or any brand of GNU Linux I choose. In the mean time I have a ton of great open source software to use, and a million ways to tweak my system for maximum work-flow.

On a final note, that is one of the things I'm getting really comfortable with now. I love the way a system can be tweaked a dozen different ways depending on what you're doing. Things like multiple desktops, and setting up the alt tab Windows switching are all huge time savers. The more I learn about KDE and the Linux command line, the more I incorporate the functions into my daily work-flow, and the more time I save. This in itself is worth the price of admission and will probably be the reason I never switch to a different operating system again. Only time will tell.

Linux Beginers Tip, Back Up Your Files !

So I've been using my Linux partition on an almost full time basis. I've only discovered a couple things I can't do just as easy or easier in Linux and KDE than in Windows 7. One realization that I came to, and mentioned in an earlier post is that I just need to start using it. Stop screwing around with Windows unless it's an absolute emergency, and focus completely on Linux and KDE.

So far I haven't been able to find a program that batch converts images to thumbnails. I used thumbsplus in Windows, and this should be remedied by creating a script. Something I'll have to work on when I get a chance. I do a lot of stuff with images and web design and a script to work like thumbsplus will be wonderful. The other problem I've had is finding a decent program to convert .docx files. I don't have a lot of those files, mainly recipes for cooking, so I may just start rewriting them for now. I have them on my Google drive and just convert them online using Google drive as I need them not a major pain.

Enough about me, lets talk tips. I haven't had many system problems and everything seems to be running great. There are a ton of things I want to configure differently and I'll be working on that down the road. Now that I have my drive somewhat comparable to what my Windows drive looks like as far as music, graphics work, and various docs and images, I started backing everything up regularly on a terabyte hard drive. Being new to this, I know it's just a matter of time before I really screw something up in a config file, so backing up the drive is probably a good idea.

Just like in Windows, I have a Documents folder, Pictures folder, Music Folder, and Video folder, I also added a couple additional folders. I just copy them to the terabyte portable drive, and if I screw anything up, I should have about 95% of my work backed up. No problem, then format, reinstall and all the important work files should be saved.

On that note, while I was trying to configure a simple program the other night, I had memories of Windows 3.11 back in 1992 or 1993. Although it was easier to use than Linux back then, there was no such thing as plug and play and although software was always easy to install, hardware like scanners, fax machines (lol, not many people use those anymore), and printers could at times prove difficult to install. Yet, learning to install hardware, was one of the things that really helped me become Zen with the Windows environment. If I screwed up, I'd grab my box of floppy disks, format the machine and spend the afternoon inserting disk after disk into the floppy drive, and try not to make the same mistake twice. I also did a lot of tweaking back then.

Many people poo poo OS tweaking but I think it's a great way to learn your system. By doing this you have to learn how to play with config files, and learn basic directory structure, and where everything is on your machine. Yes, there are a lot more important things to configure than that cool picture that loads in grub when you dual boot your system. But by starting out with these simpler tasks, when you decide to bust into iptables, or your boot configs, you will have a general idea of how things work and will be less likely to make mistakes.

So to end this long winded post, I guess what I'm trying to say is don't be afraid to use your Linux partition if your just learning. Start hacking around in there, learn your directory structure, make some subtle tweaks to the machine, and above all else BACK UP YOUR DATA, so if you screw up it's only a mild inconvenience and not a major loss of work. The more you install stuff, tweak, and configure the sooner you will be blasting around your system confidently with few set backs.