At least install it...
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| HoTMetaL Sep 12, 2011 10:46 PM EDT |
Anybody else find it amusing that screenshots in the article are of the Linux Mint website running in... Ubuntu? Today I will: 1. Write a 2-page article on Mint and Lefebvre. 2. Discuss at length the software and release process. 3. Not care enough about said subjects to actually install the distro. 4. Done! |
| tmx Sep 13, 2011 7:29 AM EDT |
It's a better article than the average Lubotomy* articles. I noticed one guy in my class reccomending Lubotomy* to the other guy so to learn linux and bash, but I was going to intervene warning one might not learn so much with such dump down environment they're implementing, but then I decided to not bother. *Its what I call Ubuntu in its current state running Unity. |
| geekybodhi Sep 13, 2011 9:04 AM EDT |
@HotMeTaL: (a) this isn't a review of Linux Mint; it's a look at their build process and the screenshots of the website are to illustrate the community section of website, (b) the screenshots are from within Ubuntu because that was what I was running while writing the article. Since I am not a developer, I hop between distros on different computers all the time; all I need is a text editor, and access to my NAS device that has all the documents that I am working on, and (c) for FWIW there are screenshots of the distro on the second page. @tmx: Thanks for the vote of confidence. Btw, (and going off-topic) Unity isn't a bad interface to "attract" newbies to Linux. It's just not what many experienced power users need. |
| r_a_trip Sep 13, 2011 10:27 AM EDT |
Btw, (and going off-topic) Unity isn't a bad interface to "attract" newbies to Linux. It's just not what many experienced power users need. The above may be true, but herein also lies a major problem. While Linux has come a long way, most of the desktop tech support is still being formed by power users finding the solutions, which newbies and intermediates copy. When most power users don't use the new fangled desktops, which can be gleaned from the overal negative reactions, who is going to find the solutions for the problems with these new environments? Newbies probably won't, so they are up the creek when a showstopper appears. Why not a desktop that caters to both groups? Beginners and Experienced alike. I know one could say that power users should use the new desktops, in the interest of widespread Linux use, but let's be realistic here. First and foremost, we use any software because we like it and it does what we want and does it how we want it. If there wasn't an enlightened selfinterest at work, we would al be using Microsoft Windows to ensure the broadest use possible. |
| mbaehrlxer Sep 13, 2011 11:11 AM EDT |
r_a_trip: such a desktop does not exist. ever since i got my grandma set up with a gnome desktop as opposed to the xterm/emacs/latex/games that she was using before, i have a hard time to help her, even though i use gnome myself. because as an experienced user i do most of my work in the terminal, and gnome only serves as a framework to let me switch windows. with geekybodhis words i could equally say: gnome is not a bad interface to attract newbies to linux. it's just not what some experienced power users need. greetings, eMBee. |
| Fettoosh Sep 13, 2011 3:36 PM EDT |
Quoting: r_a_trip said: Why not a desktop that caters to both groups? Beginners and Experienced alike. I believe such a DE does exist. See KDE Workspaces And here Plasma Active |
| mbaehrlxer Sep 13, 2011 7:53 PM EDT |
fettoosh: i tried KDE, both 3, and 4. KDE 3 was ok. KDE4 was bearable, but when i switched back to gnome i felt a strong relief! KDE was just to in my face. i need a desktop that is invisible. gnomes panels are small enough that i hardly notice them unless i go look. KDE 4 wasn't like that... i do like KDE apps, some of them are very well done. but despite that, many KDE apps are just way to configurable. i do not want to always have to figure out where i can not click lest i change some layout somewhere. this is also a newbie nightmare. most issues with my grandma revolve around her accidentially hiding some part of the application, like "where did the firefox address bar go". this kind of configurability without being able to lock it down is very hard to deal with for newbies. greetings, eMBee. |
| Fettoosh Sep 13, 2011 9:17 PM EDT |
Quoting:KDE 3 was ok. My point wasn't to convince you to use KDE, it was simply about whether there is a DE that gives users the choice of both interfaces. KDE 4 does Quoting: many KDE apps are just way to configurable. Many users consider that a plus. Quoting:this kind of configurability without being able to lock it down is very hard to deal with for newbies. On the contrary, users can lock down anything they wish, more so than Gnome 2.x but I am not sure about Gnome 3 or Unity. In KDE 4, users can even lock/unlock all desktop and panel widgets with a single menu selection. That shouldn't be hard for a newbie Any how, that is besides the point If KDE is not what you are comfortable with. |
| tmx Sep 13, 2011 10:06 PM EDT |
>>Why not a desktop that caters to both groups? Beginners and Experienced alike. I have to agree with Fettoosh here. I think KDE4 have been improving. I wasn't going to say that with KDE 4.4, but I'm beginning to see speed increase and much better stability and bug fixes with this new 4.7. And KDE is committed to keep the desktop version, but they still need a bit customization to compete with Unity on the tablet version. |
| mbaehrlxer Sep 14, 2011 1:45 AM EDT |
Quoting:My point wasn't to convince you to use KDE, it was simply about whether there is a DE that gives users the choice of both interfaces.i understood that. Quoting: KDE 4 doesthere is at least one experienced user here who disagrees. my point was: i tried kde4, and as an experienced user i found kde4 not practicable to use. however, in order to avoid arguing just for arguments sake, i should add that i'd probably reject most existing GUI environments and prefer a terminal/command-line over all of them. therefore i may just not be the right person to judge whether a GUI is suitable for experienced users. greetings, eMBee. |
| HoTMetaL Sep 14, 2011 3:31 AM EDT |
@geekybodhi: I apologize for the assumption in my post. I was particularly crabby yesterday for reasons that were Ubuntu-related, and coincidentally a Mint LiveCD fixed it in a pinch. Your article was well-written, informative, and appreciated. I was simply thrown off a bit by the screenshots of an operating system I am officially taking a vacation from. Which is kinda bad news for a distro that I have migrated over two dozen Windows refugees to. Because I'm just one person. And if I'm looking at other future distros for my technology-challenged group, who else must be jumping ship and taking others with them? |
| tracyanne Sep 14, 2011 3:56 AM EDT |
With the exception of Dolphin and Dolphinised Konqueror, KDE4.6.x is actually quite good, I am forced to say very good. As for Dolphin, thankfully I can use nautilus. |
| helios Sep 14, 2011 9:17 AM EDT |
I agree TA...Konq was (and is) a superb file manager. I am running a modified KDE 3.5.11 install on my computer at the shop and every time I sit down, it's like having coffee with an old friend. It's comfortable, it's reliable and it's not too hard on the eyes. I played with KDE 4.6 and have to agree it's made huge inroads but for me it's just too busy. I am of the mindset that if one was to put it in KDE3 mode, as the good Doctor suggests, it would be fine. Kudos to the KDE guys for making a silk purse from a sow's ear. They've done good work. It's just way too much DE for my needs. Also worked with Gnome3 shell the other day. Medication has calmed the PTSD that ensued. I won't be visiting that mess again for at least 3 more releases. Maybe sanity will make a house call by then and it will have become a usable DE...sans keyboard shortcuts. I still haven't figured out what they were thinking there. |
| mbaehrlxer Sep 14, 2011 10:36 AM EDT |
Quoting:I played with KDE 4.6 and have to agree it's made huge inroads but for me it's just too busy. yeah, to busy, that describes it for me as well. i need a desktop to be calm so i can concentrate on my work. greetings, eMBee. |
| Jeff91 Sep 14, 2011 11:50 AM EDT |
Back to what the OP was talking about - we are long past the days of quality distro reviews on the internet. I've found that almost half of all that are posted are done from only live cds/VMs Such a pitty. If your going to be a lazy reviewer, just save us all the hassle and don't write anything. ~Jeff |
| geekybodhi Sep 14, 2011 11:53 AM EDT |
mbaehrlxer wrote: i do like KDE apps, some of them are very well done. but despite that, many KDE apps are just way to configurable.Have you tried the new Mandriva 2011? I was talking to one of their developers (for a feature similar to this Mint one <-- shameless plug) and he agrees that KDE is a great desktop environment, but its broad range of settings may confuse the inexperienced user. Mandriva's main challenge while designing the new interface was to keep things simple for new users, and expose just the right amount of settings for most users. HoTMetaL wrote: I was simply thrown off a bit by the screenshots of an operating system I am officially taking a vacation from.Have you tried the Ubuntu 11.10 beta? They claim to have tweaked Unity based on user feedback on Unity in 11.04. helios wrote: I played with KDE 4.6 and have to agree it's made huge inroads but for me it's just too busy.They have tried to address this visually in 4.7. And you gotta give some credit to these DEs. They are atleast taking the effort to introduce features for both new and power users. Dolphin in 4.7 for example has the Mercurial VC plugin as well as a plugin to let users rate files. Although one can argue, why take them out in the first place? |
| mbaehrlxer Sep 14, 2011 12:03 PM EDT |
geekybodhi wrote:Have you tried the new Mandriva 2011?no, sorry, i have hardly enough time to contribute to Foresight where i am listed as a developer. but i'll try to remember geekybodhi wrote:They have tried to address this visually in 4.7.and test it in Foresight when i find the time. thanks, eMBee. |
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