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What Would You Do to Improve Linux?
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Comments (68)
48 earlier comments in the full thread.
I went back and looked at what I wrote and I'm still laughing at the impossibility. However, hitting a new version of a DE that changes things, doesn't provoke the same reaction. It's something that seriously needs to be considered by the developers. After all, the distro sinks or swims on the basis of the GUI for a majority of users. CLI simply doesn't cut it despite its speed, flexibility and brilliance.
Many IT projects, and this is particularly true for the Linux and FOSS biosphere, seem to suffer from some sort of Sisyphus syndrome. Work hard until everything is perfect, then let everything roll down the hill and start over again. Add a frantic release cycle to that, and you get something close to utter insanity.
....Work hard until everything is perfect, then let everything roll down the hill and start over again
Isn't that called < football > ?
Isn't that called < football > ?
Quoting:Isn't that called < football > ?
No, that is called FOSS community, Developers and Users are never satisfied with anything.
Keep hacking till it gets better.
>> Keep hacking till it gets better.
Well that is one interpretation, that too often now is absent in reality. Different is too often the definition of better in the Devlopers' lexicon but results in too many deficiencies on the user's side. Your arguments in the past cited Devlopers' unassailable right to change code, however, when it is other's code and only the name remains the same they should be honest and bring out their own brand.
Well that is one interpretation, that too often now is absent in reality. Different is too often the definition of better in the Devlopers' lexicon but results in too many deficiencies on the user's side. Your arguments in the past cited Devlopers' unassailable right to change code, however, when it is other's code and only the name remains the same they should be honest and bring out their own brand.
My suggestions:
- Make the package descriptions more descriptive.
- Make man pages less cryptic so that you could actually use the program in a semi-meaningful way without having to look up a separate howto or guide.
- Make rolling updates truly rolling, not just rolling for a little while.
- Don't overhaul the entire system just for fun. [br] a. I stopped using Arch rather than upgrade to SystemD b. Amarok has never worked right since 2.0 came out c. And of course the horror of changing certain glibc versions.[/li]
- I know this is preference, but consumer distros shouldn't break packages up into a bajillion sub packages so that you never know if you've installed the entire program or not or make you choose between backends without explaining your choices. (Why would I choose a gstreamer backend over xine? Is there ever a situation where one is better than the other?) This is particularly irksome when the main package forces you to install all the subpackages anyway.
- Include the kernel headers (As you can tell, I like how Slackware operates)
- Work with Android. (I'm moving away from PCLinuxOS because getting MTP and Plex to operate with it seems to complicated.)
- Be FAST!
I just thought of an example, too --
When we finally get our land shark on the road (amazing how many things can go wrong when you mate a house and a bus), my better half is demanding a real GPS -- not the one in our smart phones. A GPS that has a nice big screen and needs no internet connection of any kind.
When we finally get our land shark on the road (amazing how many things can go wrong when you mate a house and a bus), my better half is demanding a real GPS -- not the one in our smart phones. A GPS that has a nice big screen and needs no internet connection of any kind.
I didn't see the word "Serious" anywhere in your comment so I assume you are kidding, right?
We can win them all can we?
I wonder why forking is so famous in the FOSS world? They mostly do but there are few who don't follow the rules here and there. :-)
Quoting:Different is too often the definition of better in the Devlopers' lexicon but results in too many deficiencies on the user's side.
We can win them all can we?
Quoting:however, when it is other's code and only the name remains the same they should be honest and bring out their own brand.
I wonder why forking is so famous in the FOSS world? They mostly do but there are few who don't follow the rules here and there. :-)
You should have known it was serious when I did not address you by the misapplication of your alias as the hated "Footsie", which you found in the past perplexing rather than humorous. I had a name more fitting, but was too cutting. Moreover, in more recent times that name was no longer even appropriate. [P.M. will follow.]
Comedy [or humor] even when not done well is serious business. Need I only cite a show that considers themselves to be satirists and purveyors of jokes. Nonetheless, on the stories it focuses on it has higher credibility than the purported news networks in many discerning minds.
Were it only a joke. Here is another citation right from LXer that lends weight to the observations I wrote.
http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/35383/
In this instance, I am unaffected. I neither use it nor did I have excess affection for it prior to the deleterious revisions. There is an article, which I did not read, that I assume makes a case in some detail. But the latter is a presumption on my part, but reinforced by Mr. Ridiculous whose opinions I respect* and whose works on making KDE useful fill me with awe, despite the inherent futility** of such a task.
As always,
YBT
* Some of the time
** Only to be heaped with derision by those that should have been appreciative of his excess efforts mostly in behalf of their users and by extension to themselves.
Comedy [or humor] even when not done well is serious business. Need I only cite a show that considers themselves to be satirists and purveyors of jokes. Nonetheless, on the stories it focuses on it has higher credibility than the purported news networks in many discerning minds.
Were it only a joke. Here is another citation right from LXer that lends weight to the observations I wrote.
http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/35383/
In this instance, I am unaffected. I neither use it nor did I have excess affection for it prior to the deleterious revisions. There is an article, which I did not read, that I assume makes a case in some detail. But the latter is a presumption on my part, but reinforced by Mr. Ridiculous whose opinions I respect* and whose works on making KDE useful fill me with awe, despite the inherent futility** of such a task.
As always,
YBT
* Some of the time
** Only to be heaped with derision by those that should have been appreciative of his excess efforts mostly in behalf of their users and by extension to themselves.
Shouldn't we be talking about something more meaningful to Linux like whether Princess Leia was using R2D2's command line?
> Linux like whether Princess Leia was using R2D2's command line?
Of course she was. But I think I'll delete my original reason and try to come up with another one.
Of course she was. But I think I'll delete my original reason and try to come up with another one.
Memo to Ridcully......stay on TxtEdMacs good side or suffer the consequences !! And dissolve in laughter...some of the time. Except when he's being serious. :-)
Hey.....No messing about with Star Wars, I love those films. And there is a symphony orchestra doing the music at the moment - even though I'm rather deaf, I'd just about kill to go and listen. As I recall, R2D2 was fed by Princess Leia with some sort of flat memory card in part IV "A New Hope". I know his normal interaction was squeaks and chirps that C3PO could understand - and the rest of us could interpret as "emotion" - especially when he was being vulgar and rude. But I don't think we ever got told how and with what he was programmed......Besides Dino, Leia is related to Linux.......they both start with the same letter, so they must be. Even I can understand that. So go for it Jdixon.....we need a thread on Linux in Star Wars.........errrrr........don't we ?
Hey.....No messing about with Star Wars, I love those films. And there is a symphony orchestra doing the music at the moment - even though I'm rather deaf, I'd just about kill to go and listen. As I recall, R2D2 was fed by Princess Leia with some sort of flat memory card in part IV "A New Hope". I know his normal interaction was squeaks and chirps that C3PO could understand - and the rest of us could interpret as "emotion" - especially when he was being vulgar and rude. But I don't think we ever got told how and with what he was programmed......Besides Dino, Leia is related to Linux.......they both start with the same letter, so they must be. Even I can understand that. So go for it Jdixon.....we need a thread on Linux in Star Wars.........errrrr........don't we ?
> So go for it Jdixon...
Well, I think I was right to delete the comment that first came to mind, since LXer is a largely family friendly site. And I think that will be enough to give most of the motley caste of characters here the general idea. :)
Well, first off, R2D2 obviously ran an imbedded OS that had to survive hostile conditions and deal with unsafe inputs on a regular basis. You think Windows Mobile could handle that? Not on the best day it saw. And the Mac OS without a GUI is a non-starter. So that leaves Linux as the only possibility for his underlying OS.
The Empire would obviously have bolted on some Imperial friendly overrides to his core OS once they took over, probably coded by their version of Larry Ellison's crew, to prevent rebellion by their robotic servants. But their equivalent of the NSA would have required them to also put in an override access code for their use. Leia would have obtained this key from their equivalent of Eric Snowden, and used the command line to gain root access via that key. She would have removed the imperial overrides and the NSA key once she had such access. This alone would go a long way to explaining R2D2's unwavering loyalty to the rebels.
Well, I think I was right to delete the comment that first came to mind, since LXer is a largely family friendly site. And I think that will be enough to give most of the motley caste of characters here the general idea. :)
Well, first off, R2D2 obviously ran an imbedded OS that had to survive hostile conditions and deal with unsafe inputs on a regular basis. You think Windows Mobile could handle that? Not on the best day it saw. And the Mac OS without a GUI is a non-starter. So that leaves Linux as the only possibility for his underlying OS.
The Empire would obviously have bolted on some Imperial friendly overrides to his core OS once they took over, probably coded by their version of Larry Ellison's crew, to prevent rebellion by their robotic servants. But their equivalent of the NSA would have required them to also put in an override access code for their use. Leia would have obtained this key from their equivalent of Eric Snowden, and used the command line to gain root access via that key. She would have removed the imperial overrides and the NSA key once she had such access. This alone would go a long way to explaining R2D2's unwavering loyalty to the rebels.
Cor blimey Jdixon.....what a delightful explanation. At last the mystery solved....Told you there was Linux involved didn't I Dinotrac ?
Are you sure you aren't on the Disney staff and writing the script for the next episode Jdixon ? Seems to me you have far too much hidden knowledge on the matter.....Possibly a retired rebel spy ?
Are you sure you aren't on the Disney staff and writing the script for the next episode Jdixon ? Seems to me you have far too much hidden knowledge on the matter.....Possibly a retired rebel spy ?
> Possibly a retired rebel spy ?
There aren't any "retired" spies of that level, Ridcully. :)
There aren't any "retired" spies of that level, Ridcully. :)
Quoting:...Mac OS without a GUI...
Umm... that would be OpenBSD. That's doable.
> Umm... that would be OpenBSD. That's doable.
I thought it was FreeBSD based. But my memory isn't what it used to be, and it was never that good to start with.
But the plot works just as well with any of the BSD's rather than Linux. The only problem I can see there is driver support for the various and sundry add-ons that would be expected in the field. Linux tends to have wider driver support (though not necessarily better drivers).
I thought it was FreeBSD based. But my memory isn't what it used to be, and it was never that good to start with.
But the plot works just as well with any of the BSD's rather than Linux. The only problem I can see there is driver support for the various and sundry add-ons that would be expected in the field. Linux tends to have wider driver support (though not necessarily better drivers).
Quoting:I thought it was FreeBSD based.
Could be. My memory is a little rusty as well.
Oh my.
Rusty memories.
What next? Waxy buildup on the processor cores?
What next? Waxy buildup on the processor cores?
Here are my tips for Linux, please make VSynch work reliably out of the box im fed up of the tearing issues with practically every distro I have used over the last 18 years and this is still true now yes even with KDE 4.11 with which I have been dealing with lately and had to make some file changes to get its synching to work.
Its not much to ask, I mean I dont expect DE's like XFCE to fix it as they are kept deliberately lite and use xrender for performance sake but the other heavier DE's need to get this sorted. Maybe these things will get better once Wayland comes along as I hear it does not have any of these issues.
And the other issue is Sleep/Hibernate again I have never yet had a distro that has worked on any of my machines out of the box as far as this is concerned.
So developers stop with all the UI changes and just get the stuff that matters fixed first.
BTW: anyone with tearing issues on KDE 4.11 + NVidia try the following:
Add
export __GL_YIELD="USLEEP" to /etc/profile, and reboot.
Then in KDE Settings>Desktop Effects>Advanced set VSync to full screen repaints and this should fix tearing until they get the bug fixed.
Its not much to ask, I mean I dont expect DE's like XFCE to fix it as they are kept deliberately lite and use xrender for performance sake but the other heavier DE's need to get this sorted. Maybe these things will get better once Wayland comes along as I hear it does not have any of these issues.
And the other issue is Sleep/Hibernate again I have never yet had a distro that has worked on any of my machines out of the box as far as this is concerned.
So developers stop with all the UI changes and just get the stuff that matters fixed first.
BTW: anyone with tearing issues on KDE 4.11 + NVidia try the following:
Add
export __GL_YIELD="USLEEP" to /etc/profile, and reboot.
Then in KDE Settings>Desktop Effects>Advanced set VSync to full screen repaints and this should fix tearing until they get the bug fixed.
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