Until they start listening to their users...

Story: Gnome answers Linux critics with 'big' vision planTotal Replies: 26
Author Content
helios

Apr 04, 2009
3:09 PM EDT
Look, the KDE changeover has me in gnome more and more...I just can't get anything done in KDE 4 as it stands. It's not going away and I need to learn it but three hours with it the other evening drove me screaming back into the afore-despised environment of bigfoot.

Here's the deal. Until the devs of Gnome and specifically Nautilus start listening to their users, they will continue to nibble around the edges of success. Damn scripts, I want to right click my file and move it just like I can in Konqueror, and I want to do it without a bunch of hassle. I want usable features like Kim (konq-kim in some distros...try this if you work with a lot of graphic files). Digging around to find Nautilus scripts, inserting them into an invisible directory and then digging three menu items deep for the feature might suit some but it's ridiculous to have to do so. We had this discussion a while back with two devs from the Gnome camp. Wanna know the reason stated for not implementing above-mentioned features?

"We don't want to be perceived as copying konqueror."

Again, political crap getting in the way of progress. Geez, that sounds awful familiar...

h
dinotrac

Apr 04, 2009
3:35 PM EDT
Hmmm. Let's hope the GNOME developers didn't look at the resounding success of KDE4 and get jealous, choosing to follow suit.
tuxchick

Apr 04, 2009
4:29 PM EDT
dino!! Where have you been?

I like KDE 3 a whole lot, and while I don't want to sound like a whiny crybaby, changing something that is good and works for me, and that I'm efficient in, isn't very appealing. The one change I would like to see a big change in is file management-- instead of navigating file trees, abstract it out a bit so we don't have to deal with a tree structure. I always make shortcuts to the directories I use the most, which helps, but it seems there needs to be something better.
helios

Apr 04, 2009
7:03 PM EDT
Hmmm. Let's hope the GNOME developers didn't look at the resounding success of KDE4 and get jealous, choosing to follow suit.

E17 here I come.

h
tracyanne

Apr 04, 2009
7:11 PM EDT
Well I'm using GNOME now, on Ubuntu, no less, because in my opinion KDE4 is teh suxors.
techiem2

Apr 05, 2009
2:39 AM EDT
Gnome/KDE pffft. When will you all realize that Fluxbox is where it's really at? :P
montezuma

Apr 05, 2009
10:01 AM EDT
I've used gnome on Ubuntu for ages and like it pretty much. Tried out kde, e17, fluxbox, xfce and others and simply reverted because I couldn't see any significant gain. You need a plus to overcome inertia. The one thing I do not like about gnome is the deliberate lack of configurability tools. You can fire up gconf-editor but it is hopelessly user unfriendly. I agree with Torvalds that the gnome attitude of choosing sensible defaults for everything in gnome and actively discouraging switching these is not good. Look if the defaults are good then users won't change them. Stop with the patronizing design decisions....
dinotrac

Apr 05, 2009
4:39 PM EDT
Hmmmm.

Time to move over to LEF5, which is a one-ups KDE4 in every regard.
montezuma

Apr 05, 2009
5:12 PM EDT
Dino,

Why stop there I have already trialled MFG6. It's Mofo good.
gus3

Apr 05, 2009
6:24 PM EDT
If HAL is one better than IBM, you're going the wrong way. You need JCD3 and IBC2.
jdixon

Apr 05, 2009
8:23 PM EDT
If you want to really change things up, try dumping X entirely and running MGR. The source code seems to still be available. The HOW-TO (http://tldp.org/HOWTO/archived/MGR-HOWTO/MGR-HOWTO-1.html) is dated 1995 though, so I wouldn't want to be the one responsible for getting it working. :)
dinotrac

Apr 06, 2009
10:50 AM EDT
jdixon -

Not to worry. The HOW-TO may be dated back in the stone ages of 1995, but the code itself is 1996 fresh.
azerthoth

Apr 06, 2009
2:33 PM EDT
I'll stick with my Fluxbox tyvm. winkey f for file manager (thunar) winkey t for terminal (eterm), a handful of aliases and a couple of scripts dropped into /usr/bin.
tuxchick

Apr 06, 2009
11:34 PM EDT
WTF is everyone talking about? LEF5? MFG6? Imlst.
gus3

Apr 06, 2009
11:54 PM EDT
I'm giving FVWM-Crystal an extended test run.
chalbersma

Apr 07, 2009
1:46 AM EDT
xfce4 user thought about joining the fight. Then realized the glitz and glamour should be left up to people with P4's and higher. :)
gus3

Apr 07, 2009
2:07 AM EDT
chalbersma: Have you considered Enlightenment? Both e16 and e17 have a solid base of code designed for un-optimized video cards and/or slow processors.

But if you'd really prefer XFCE4, the glitz and glamour are optional. That is, compositing can be turned off.
Sander_Marechal

Apr 07, 2009
2:25 AM EDT
No mention of LXDE yet? It's a pretty nice DE.
DarrenR114

Apr 07, 2009
8:44 AM EDT
I installed LXDE (using the package from the Canonical repositories) on top of the base system of Ubuntu 8.10 (no X) and it was very incomplete. For instance the default web browser didn't work and there was no xterm.

I wiped the system, installed the base system of Ubuntu 8.10 (Net install) and installed XFCE (using the xubuntu-desktop package) on top of that. Very responsive, and very complete. I can choose to use xterm or xfce4-terminal (depending on my mood and objective of the moment.) Firefox is there by default.

NoDough

Apr 07, 2009
1:25 PM EDT
>> WTF is everyone talking about? LEF5? MFG6? Imlst.

Start with what you already know. HAL was IBM +1.

I +1 = H B +1 = A M +1 = L

Now apply the same logic to KDE4.

K +1 = L D +1 = E E +1 = F 4 +1 = 5

L +1 = M E +1 = F F +1 = G 5 +1 = 6

Then we go into reverse.

K -1 = J D -1 = C E -1 = D 4 -1 = 3

J -1 = I C -1 = B D -1 = C 3 -1 = 2

I believe the concept has now been tortured to death and beyond.
dinotrac

Apr 07, 2009
1:44 PM EDT
NoDough --

There is no horse so dead that it cannot withstand another beating. MPM
tuxchick

Apr 07, 2009
2:50 PM EDT
Neigh.
ColonelPanik

Apr 07, 2009
2:54 PM EDT
These are Desktop Managers. None are perfect, none evil. Everyone of them will get the job done. If it is Linux, it is Linux, good enough.

Things change, people cope.

"Beware of those things that begin and end in words."
azerthoth

Apr 07, 2009
3:19 PM EDT
@Darren the problem with the missing packages isnt the fault of LXDE, its a problem with the meta-package (i.e. package maintainer needs to be more observant). One of the problems inherent in the system, we expect the meta-packages to be complete and 100% every time, so when it isnt we dont blame the meta, we blame the package.

Ran into that problem several times, KDE for example in one distribution I have used. An X server is not part of the meta package nor a listed dependancy, so fat lot of good installing the KDE meta package will do for you. Thats not the only example, just the one that sticks in my head as a wtf moment.
Sander_Marechal

Apr 07, 2009
4:23 PM EDT
@Darren: Also, LDXE is really, really new. Ubuntu 8.10 is based off Debian code circa April 2008, about a year old. You really should try LXDE on a more up-to-date distro like Debian Lenny or Ubuntu 9.04 beta.
helios

Apr 08, 2009
1:11 AM EDT
Sander I have to go with you on this one. Now Knoppix was my first Linux Distro and I haven't tried it since 2005. For a lark, I downloaded the LDXE version and pumped the live cd into a Dell Optiplex G1. We're talking a PII 400 here folks with 256 meg of ram. Not only did it perform amazingly well, the 3d worked out of the box without a hitch or stutter. No lag whatsoever even on live cd. I have it installed now on that machine. It is one of my "museum display pieces" that I show people at shows. The only distro aside from Vector lite that has ran on it. Aside from being ancient, it is further crippled by the intel 828 chipset, a known problem child for our community.

h
Sander_Marechal

Apr 08, 2009
4:30 AM EDT
You're not the first person who I hear raving about the new Knoppix with LXDE. I think I'm going to try it out for myself as well.

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