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Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail Released

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Re: Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail Released

#131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Said user should then have a system administrator to set up the system. Really, you either read the manual to learn such things or you get someone to do them, expecting a system as complex as a computer to work out-of-the-box is nonsense.

What you seem to be saying is that in order to use a personal computer, you should be an expert. I disagree, and I'm glad that most people disagree as well. User-friendliness is important regardless of what system it is, even Linux. Have you noticed that the most successful distributions of Linux are the ones that are most friendly to beginners? This elitism is destructive and serves only to make the "experts" smug a…

While I agree that we should do everything we can to be user-friendly and not allow what I'm about to suggest to take the form of "elitism", I think we underplay the importance of helping the user understand the system. I think your typical user should understand SSL before they do online banking and shared libraries before they let their work rely entirely on their computer, in the same sense that I think you should know how to change a tire and change your oil before you buy a car or go on a long road trip.

Yes, they all should just "work out of the box", but in a more and more literal sense we trust a lot of machine with our lives. We ought to understand all of these machines better before we trust them with our lives or vote on the leaders who will regulate their use.

Re: Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail Released

#132
post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've always just used ctrl-alt-arrow for ubuntu (and other nixes)- add a shift and the current window comes along for a ride. When did this break? (I'm still on 12.04 LTS)

If your hands are on the keyboard that's fine but I also need a good solution for when I am using the pointing device.

You can swipe to a new space.

Re: Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail Released

#133

Is it now possible to perform basic tasks like specifying font and icon sizes without installing third-party tweak tools or manually editing text files? I know a lot of work goes into these releases but when basic desktop functionality has been missing/broken since the 11.x series and fails to be addressed with each new release it starts to become depressing.

Ubuntu is a lot more tolerable when you just decide to live with the fonts, window decorations, icons, as the defaults. Just like you have to on the Mac.

I could tweak a Linux box all day long. On a Mac I just turn it on and go to work. Now the hard part is deciding between GNOME3, Unity, LXDE...

Re: Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail Released

#134

They supposedly address the privacy bug: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/04/ubuntu_13_04_review/

Well, I wish I saw the other review (or downloaded it) before getting my hopes up. It looks like they didn't fix f*ck all.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/04/25/ubuntu_13_04_review/

Note to self: continue to expect the worst in people.

(Edit: no malice understood, just brooding...)

Re: Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail Released

#135
post #56

Poor GPU support (lack of drivers) is still a major deal-breaker for home and media use. As of now hardware should still be selected on the basis of available driver support and it's a major obstacle and the situation doesn't seem to have improved significantly since 3-5 years ago.

The only problem I have is with the Nvidia drivers, especially Optimus/separate video card on my laptop which doesn't work. :( But the stock Intel driver works well enough, just don't want to figure out what sort of CLI cargo cult fixing it will take to get it going.

Have you tried using bumblebee[1]? I use it on my Samsung QX411 which has an NVidia GeForce GT 525M video card along with the onboard Intel. The Intel card is used by default at all times. If you want to run a program using the NVidia card, just prepend 'optirun' to the command.

[1] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bumblebee

Re: Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail Released

#136
post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've always just used ctrl-alt-arrow for ubuntu (and other nixes)- add a shift and the current window comes along for a ride. When did this break? (I'm still on 12.04 LTS)

If your hands are on the keyboard that's fine but I also need a good solution for when I am using the pointing device.

Do you regularly use the pointing device with both hands?

Re: Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail Released

#137
post #4

Now what about releease notes? :-) (edit: some information is here https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RaringRingtail/TechnicalOverview ) Currently i am thinking of switching to LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition) because i don't really like the way Ubuntu is going with Unity, Mir, upstart, doing too much stuff on its own. Anyone with experience from LMDE here? Is it stable? Pros? Cons?

I've switched from Ubuntu to Bodhi and then to Gentoo. Much more enjoyable experience for my power-user needs.

Re: Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail Released

#138

Warning: according to the known issues in the release log [0]: * Skype won't start (without a fix [1]) * Google Chrome won't install (without a fix [2]) [0] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RaringRingtail/ReleaseNotes [1] https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/skype/+bug/1155327 [2] https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=226002#c...

"Actually, having a workaround by definition lessens the severity, as if someone wants to still run Skype, they can."

I don't think everyone is on the same page about Ubuntu being a consumer distro and not a hacker's only distro... I have definitely noticed a decrease in the stability of Ubuntu releases over the years and it's attitudes like this that seem to be in part responsible for it.

EDIT:

Oh I kept reading, this is better:

"Rainer, a better solution for international calls is to stop using Skype (which is closed source, and frequently has problems with its Linux client) and change to a service that supports standard protocols (SIP etc.), e.g. using Ekiga"

Yes, the client should change their software and infrastructure to better suit your product...

This makes it pretty much impossible for me to "sell" Ubuntu to any of my friends who aren't programmers AND tinkerers (many of my programers are too busy being productive to be interested in dicking around with making things work anymore, and increasingly I hold this view).

Re: Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail Released

#139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is still possible to customize Ubuntu, but you cannot customize Unity itself. It is no longer the goal of canonical. Canonical is trying to make an OS for an average person, who doesn't care about customization. Power users (ie normal GNU/Linux users) are not their target audience.

I went through a phase in which I wanted to be able to go to great lengths to customize the UI. Lately I've realized that in the end, virtually all of my "power user" use cases are served by the terminal and emacs. When it comes to the UI, I just want something with reasonable behavior, that allows me to launch apps, and generally stays out of the way. Now days when I set up a new linux machine it's mostly just a mat…

Same. Terminal + Tmux + Vim + launcher (Gnome-Do or Synapse) + Vim keybindings for everything (browser, anything else) = couldn't care less what desktop I'm running (minus privacy concerns like embedded Amazon searches).

Re: Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail Released

#140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you seem to be saying is that in order to use a personal computer, you should be an expert. I disagree, and I'm glad that most people disagree as well. User-friendliness is important regardless of what system it is, even Linux. Have you noticed that the most successful distributions of Linux are the ones that are most friendly to beginners? This elitism is destructive and serves only to make the "experts" smug a…

While I agree that we should do everything we can to be user-friendly and not allow what I'm about to suggest to take the form of "elitism", I think we underplay the importance of helping the user understand the system. I think your typical user should understand SSL before they do online banking and shared libraries before they let their work rely entirely on their computer, in the same sense that I think you should…

We have abstraction layers precisely so that you can use things without understanding them. It's not just computers, every day we use all kinds of technology without properly knowing how it works.

Of course, sometimes those abstractions are leaky, and we have to change a tire or apply an update. But suggesting that typical users should read up on SSL (and therefore asymmetric cryptography) before they use online banking is as ridiculous as saying that every new driver should study the detailed workings of the internal combustion engine. Someone needs to know how it works, but my mother really doesn't.

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