Copy.com

You might have noticed that the frequency of my blog posts has slowed down considerably.

This normally happens once I have gotten my system up and running with a fresh install, the kinks are worked out (meaning that my wifi driver is installed), I have my favourite apps installed and I am basically almost out of material.

Don't despair however, as I recently discovered Copy.com (a suggestion someone made on a forum for a discussion of what to do now that Ubuntu One has closed down). I am interested in Copy.com because of the initial 15 GB you get when you join and for the additional 5 GB you get for every referral (up to 5 referrals) and the rest you pay for. I am a long term Dropbox user, and they have been very good to me. During the time that I did computer training I installed Dropbox on a lot of computers and I was able to get my storage up to 13 GB free space.

Although, I normally don't use more than about 1 GB of space in my Dropbox account - I considered Copy.com because of the benefits it has for people I know. I know a lot of people who have a free 2 GB Dropbox account which is nearly full, and migrating over to a new service makes a lot of sense if you get more space.

Caution, rant follows >>>

My max upload speed is about 50 kb per second at the moment (the joys of adsl in South Africa, where our maximum Internet lines in my area are 10 Mbps for R399 (USD 38) per month, with an additional R399 (USD 38) per month fee for Uncapped Internet. So I have a slow entry level line, which means that it will take days (maybe even a week) to fill my copy.com account.

Internet access in South Africa is expensive by my standards. 3G data is very expensive as well, but I am getting totally off track now.

<<<<<< rant ended

My point is that I was only able to really get into Linux when I had a "decent" Internet connection. Downloading a 700 MB file over 3G can easily cost R200 (USD 19) and I am sure that a lot more people would be using Linux in South Africa if our Internet fees were lower.

Getting back to the matter at hand, Copy.com comes to the rescue of folks everywhere who want more free space than what Dropbox is willing to offer them.

Go to www.copy.com and create a free account. Here is my referral code: https://copy.com?r=vEWnoM if you like, you can post your code in the comments section and I will try to rotate them from time to time.

To install Copy.com in Linux, you can do it the hard way (on their website you can download the tarball) or check http://www.webupd8.org/2014/06/install-copycom-client-in-ubuntu-or.html for a great tutorial on how to set up everything. I will highlight the important part now:

• Open a Terminal window (click Menu >> Accessories >> Terminal)
• Type in:
• sudo add-apt-repository ppa:paolorotolo/copy
• Press <ENTER>
• Type in your sudo password, press <ENTER>
• Type in:
• sudo apt-get update
• press <ENTER>
• Type in:
• sudo apt-get install copy
• Press <ENTER>

If Copy.com does not run automatically after this, click on Menu >> Accessories >> Copy and sign in with your username and password.

The future is definitely in cloud computing, something that Peppermint Linux does very well. For me, being able to use a hybrid OS, where I have LibreOffice downloaded for when I need to work offline as well as all the Cloudy goodness that comes baked into the OS is perfect.

Getting 3G to work

Networking and especially being connected to the world wide web are especially important to Linux systems.

I have loads of install files and programs on my flash drive that I can install Windows applications from, but Linux needs to download things from the web the first time you install it. There are updates and essential apps that you need to download, you also need access to the forum for when things go wrong or when you need help.

My next item was getting 3G connectivity, as I do not have ADSL at home. I have a Huawei E160g data stick and a Samsung M3200 (which has a modem in) and neither worked as a modem in peppermint.

I am used to plugging in my data stick in Linux Mint or Ubuntu and it telling me that a new broadband device has been detected. I tell it which country I am in and which network I am on and presto, I have a broadband connection.

Not so with Peppermint. I read somewhere that peppermint detects the card reader, mounts that and the virtual CD ROM (in my case) and ignores the modem (I don't know why).

A nice person on the peppermint forum gave me the solution:

go to lxterminal

type in :

sudo leafpad /etc/etc/modules

you will be prompted for a password.

After it opened, enter the following 2 lines at the bottom of the document:

usbserial

option

Save the file, close leafpad and reboot.

Go to network manager and set 3G to connect automatically and set up your connection.

Those 2 lines, usbserial & option make a world of difference. My Huawei data stick and Samsung M320 now work perfectly for Internet connectivity.

How frustrating: Well, I don't particularly like sending email from my phone, it's difficult and tiresome. So I would prefer to use the data stick or modem on my eeepc. Needing internet connectivity to get help on internet connectivity problems seems redundant, but it is exactly the problem that I was having. I give it a 5/5.