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Canonical Designer Demos Ubuntu Context-Aware UI
Blacklaw writes "Canonical's Christian Giordano has posted details of what he believes could be the future of user interface design in Ubuntu — a system that detects physical context. Designed to be paired with a webcam or other sensor system, the concept is that the computer is able to detect where a user is in proximity to the display along with an idea of roughly what he or she might be doing. Using this information, the operating system — in this case, Ubuntu Linux — can automatically make changes to the screen layout. For example, when the system detects that the user has leaned back in his or her chair, the system automatically makes the currently playing video full-screen. Lean forward again, and the video returns to its previous windowed mode."
So if the computer sees me with a box of tissues and some lube it will start up youporn?
Why does the summary not link the actual blog post at canonical.com instead of some ad-encumbered summary?
Greylisting is to SMTP as NAT is to IPv4
Another guess and pray system. Please don't. or at least make it optional (not that I use ubuntu, but)... Guess and pray system are often more of an irritation that usable.
It's time to realise that Abble's products are the biggest abomination these days. Just say NO to the dumb iAbble way!!
"Shall I queue up some porn?"
... that yells "Pay attention!" every time it detects my eyes focusing on my television rather than its monitor!
So now the computer starts looking at me, instead of just me looking at the computer?
Interesting. But sounds a bit scary too.
So if I dangle my Special Purpose in front of my webcam, will it boot me into Damn Small Linux?
when you lean forward then back then forward then back repeatedly while hiding an arm between your legs?
A good UI need to be consistent and predictable. When software tries to second guess what I want, glares at MS Word, it tends to piss me off instead.
And no, I don't want a video to full screen when I lean back or audio to mute when I switch app or whatever they think of next.
...I never leave a webcam hooked up to my computer unless I'm about to use it.
Living With a Nerd
I always feel like... Ubuntu's watching me!
Someone needs to contact Google, they'll provide a shitload of funding for something like this, as long as they can get some of the images to run through some sort of facial expression analysis.
Not only will they know the sites you are visiting, but they'll get an idea of how interested you are in each individual product you see, and whether you glance at their ads.
"This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
"...I'm afraid i can't let you do that, Dave..."
~men are from earth. women are from earth. deal with it.~
Now I can just start jerking off and it'll show me porn, instead of me having to find the porn first.
Thanks, auto-detect camera.
Lots of naysayers already.. this will suck as much as the first round of "tablet" laptops, like the thinkpad x60, et cetera. But you have to let the pioneers forge ahead. Let them do that, they will enjoy being at the forefront of development without you.
There's all sorts of sensors. And with something like a SerIO, you can just plug analog sensors into your perl/python/ruby/php/bash scripts. For instance, I believe I could take a capacitance sensor, hide it under the wood in my desk, run that into the SerIO (or I mean, if I was an engineer I could do it myself, but I am not, so the SerIO is my crutch), and then I could have my computer know when my hands are laying on the desk.
I could put a thermal sensor in my chair, so my butt triggers it. I could put motion sensors in the walls. I could put humidity sensors in my beer-hat, and it could tell me when to stop drinking so much booze.
There's so many neat ideas out there that haven't really been done yet. Well, I'm sure they've been done by shy introverts, brilliant kids that don't feel like sharing with the dummies. Heck I bet a ton are reading this very story and going "PSSSSSSSsh so?" Not as many as the armchair engineers going "PSshh stoopid idea", but they are still here too.
This isn't about getting it right. This is about playing. Don't critique the child playing with blocks.
slashdot: where everyone yells sarcastic metaphors to themselves to understand the issue
... like playing sounds from Youtube/Flash on Firefox and Rythmbox at the same time, without having to wait 5 Minutes after FF closes, for PulseAudio to reinitialize or whatever, to be able to hear Rythmbox or VLC sound.
It's this kind of crap that's getting us no where and still has Apple being a viable alternative for productive workers despite their cheapest 13" Laptop currently being twice as expensive than a 17" Dell Vostro running Ubuntu. And despite Apple moving into MS-Borg territory very fast with content distribution lock-in and all that.
I thought I was going to switch to Linux entirely this year, now that I don't play Windows Games anymore and currently don't develop Flash for a living and the newest Mac Mini suddenly costs upwards of 800 Euros. But it's crap like this that still has me fiddling with fstab IN FUCKING 2010(!!) when I want to mount my daughters Cellphones MicroSD Card and then still being unable to mount the damn thing rw, as any other sane OS would do.
John-Jesus H.B Christ, could we please try to get shit done, like, for instance, building a vialbe AD clone or something before tracking faces with some obscure library that only 10 people know how to compile and has absolutely no practical application what-so-ever? No matter how much money Shuttleworth has, he doesn't have enough to burn it on something like this I'd suppose. No?
It's not that I wouldn't like to help, but, honestly, there is so much work to be done, I don't know where to start and sh*t like the stuff mentioned in TFA isn't very encouraging to have me join in.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
When you stare into Ubuntu for a long time, the system also stares into you. :)
As people have said, you start showing skin, your fav vid site or cam streaming site loads.
When your done, a site for after glow loads?
It could also detect fixated 'interest' - the video your playing seems boring or you seem very interested in that clip - search for more in a hidden window?
Google could always link eye detection into ad viewing and cash flow. Was the ad on top of the window and did the viewer take in the ad?
Hook it up to the deep longterm database ads in html5 - did the 'consumer' spend much time with the new site today
"For example, when the system detects that the user has leaned back in his or her chair, the system automatically makes the currently playing video full-screen. Lean forward again, and the video returns to its previous windowed mode." Does it also provide a barf bag in this sea-sickness inducing mode?
My web domain.
I guess we all have aspects we would like about it and aspects we fear. We are comfortable in our old paradigms and we don't want computers to guess what we want or need.
But that said, using a webcam to determine certain things would be convenient. For example, I would like more work done on using a webcam for authentication and to determine if it is okay to go into screensaver/screen lock mode. THAT would be pretty nice.
As for changing my UI? Most of us tweak our UIs to match the way we use the machine. If I change my posture, I am not sure I want my UI changing to match. At the moment, I think authentication with my face and locking the screen when I am "away" will be enough.
My complaint with Ubuntu (who does a great job with customer service) develops features, but does not incorporate them into existing open source system, but rather built separate open source apps on top of projects like GNOME that do not contribute to GNOME.
Have the camera pointing outside your cubicle, pick up when the boss is coming, automatically switch to Workspace 4 which has a spreadsheet open on screen and a long list of business apps along the panel.
Hot secretary? Browser with "Ask Mavis" article half-posted voicing your concerns about your "copious" manhood. Suspicious 4-second lag between hitting minimise and it actually disappearing.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
Shouldn't we worry about a decent UI for today, before we start worrying about one for tomorrow...
Ubuntu Linux is NOT an OS. It is a Distribution. Linux (or even GNU/Linux) is an OS. Ubuntu is a (GNOME Based) distribution.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
No more rocking chair in front of the PC for me...
I use irony whenever I can, but my shirts are still wrinkled...
I would hate it that the screen changes just because I sit differently. Do NOT change the layout. There is a reason why the layout is as I have it. And my reasons are mine alone. I am sure you can NOT program them in a general calculation, even though they are very simple:
3 screens with 6 workspaces each. No Xinerama. Each screen as fixed programs on launching XFCE.
I am not sure if this will be equally or even more annoying as Copiz and other 3D stuff.
Nice to see once for about 10 seconds and after that I would like to shoot the screen and buy Windows.
I am for sure not going to use it and it is a pity that people waste time at things like this while there are much more important things requesting developers.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
If I could come home tonight, turn on the computer and for once since in installed 10 there would be no update screen with a 30% chance of reboot but I know better than that
I'd be happy if, on a multi-display setup, it could tell which screen I'm looking at and direct focus accordingly.
I'm fed up with pressing Cmd-W to close the top window, only to find out that the focus was on the top window on the other screen.
Would still need to tell the difference between "glancing at screen 2 to check something" and "actively focusing on screen 2", of course...
Never mind Spamassassin. When's Spammerassassin coming out?
To be honest, your parent's post is a much more useful feature than yours.
Hi Bob, Clippy, all your friends, welcome back. I see they've finally ported you over to Linux.
So if I'm of the more bouncy kind, my video player will constantly go full-window-full-window-full-window-etc. until I explicitly tell it to stop, sit in the corner and be a bad dog?
Yeah, that's exactly what I want in a computer. Look, no matter how smart you think you are, there is no way you can find out my intent without telepathy. All you are creating is yet another interface that people have to learn and deal with. Get the interface out of my way, not into it.
This is from the geek perspective. From the non-geek perspective, regular people are already afraid of computers because they don't understand them and they constantly do weird stuff. Making them do even more weird stuff for no apparent reason, even if you're not even touching the damn thing, will put the final nail in the coffin. After this, regular people will treat computers as some kind of black magic, just when we were beginning to get off that train.
Nice work.
Here's to hoping that it'll crater just like Bob did.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
Why does the summary not link the actual blog post at canonical.com instead of some ad-encumbered summary?
Summaries have three purposes. First, a good executive summary adds context that may not have been in the article. Second, a good executive summary gets the point across so that readers don't get attacked by a tl;dr. Third, a well-known online encyclopedia is likely to care more about a press release if the mainstream news media have reported on it.
FEATURE REQUEST: Retreating keyboard and mouse
PROBLEM: Users who pick their nose and then try to use your keyboard or mouse
LEVEL: Urgent
REPEATABILITY: Way too often, especially around flu season!
PROPOSED SOLUTION(S): When the OS detects a luser digging for "nose gold", both the keyboard and mouse should immediately retract. Failing that, the computer should copy their personal info (not yours) to the system clipboard and then do a redirect to a Final Measure site so as to play "Hey everybody, I'm looking at gay porno" loudly until the luser withdraws from the scene.
ASSIGNED TO: Anyone who doesn't have/want a keyboard stained with "crunchies."
NOTES: I don't care that there are studies claiming that engaging in automucophagy is healthy - it's disgusting. etc, etc, what was this woman thinking?.
One of these days, someone's going to end up in the ER with their finger jammed through their brain at 200 mph when their air-bag goes off. Do you really want to explain why you look like this guy?
I need the opposite in fact. If I'm leaning in towards the screen, it's because I CAN'T see the video/text well enough. Making it smaller is defeating the purpose. I lean back when I can see it fine. Blowing it up is pointless. If I lean in, make it bigger. If I lean back, leave it be.
Assuming you're relaxing when reclined and about to do something when you're sitting up? Don't the Canonical programmers know that the optimal hip angle for coding is 78 degrees?
"...And who wants to make buttprints in the sands of time?" ~Bob Moawad
In Soviet Russia, Ubuntu watches you!
wait, no...
Look, no matter how smart you think you are, there is no way you can find out my intent without telepathy.
That's a few versions down the road.
Webcams are more common but a proximity sensor would be better. It can tell more easily if somebody really is there... without complicated image processing.
And its more private since it doesn't record your image.. you can be in your underwear.
As for the all the negative comments... its great that people are trying new things in UIs. I bet mouse got a lot of negative comments too when it came out back in the day.
What happens when me and my wife are watching a movie and she leans back and I'm sitting up? Does it adjust to her or does it stay adjusted for me? How would it decide?
And, would it be easy to turn off? Sometimes convenience can be more of a burden than we expected it to be.
I do not want a spying web cam.
I do not want it, Sam I Am.
I do not want it on my box.
I do not want it tuned to Fox.
I do not want it on the air.
I do not want it anywhere!
WALSTIB!
I really don't want the computer doing things unless I actually direct it to do so with either keyboard or mouse. I do not want the computer to change what's on the screen unless it is a situation that really needs my intervention.
http://www.acetonestudio.com
I'm all for someone developing a tool/app that alters window positions, volume etc when various inputs generate specific events. Of course it should be highly customizable.
However, I'd hope it's built as a standalone distro-independent (or platform-independent at best) tool. TFA doesn't really point one way or the other on this.
I'd also hope that no special-purpose development is done to Ubuntu itself solely to work with this tool. A tool like that shouldn't need distro-specific help.
Personally, I'd have no interest in a tool like this.
Voice commands, gestures etc to control the UI are fine (as long as they never ever cause false-positives) only because they're deliberate actions.
I'm not entirely sure I'm using the right OS for me, though.
You agree with me.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-ML-2851ND-Network-Ready-Monochrome-Printer/dp/B000XZ1LJG
Well under $200 mono laser, supports auto duplexing, network printing. Threw in some old laptop RAM for the lulz.
In Ubuntu Gnome under System | Administration | Printing, I just pointed it to the printer's IP address, and it was done! Even easier than trying to install the Windows driver.
If employers can get the operating system to monitor IT users, it will be a great boon. Not enough lines of code, too much sitting back in the chairs, not enough eye contact with the screen, not enough keystrokes, use of non-sanctioned websites, then modify the user's environment say to provide random electric shocks of sufficient voltage to "encourage" productivity, perform personality scans, initiate increased video surveillance, monitor "independent" contractors, initiate urine tests, etc..
Clearly, this may propel Ubuntu to the top in commercial settings. Microsoft look out!
Wow, way to miss the point! Yet again after touting over and over Linux is a "drop in replacement for Windows" you instead suggest throwing out perfectly working hardware in order to buy a much more expensive brand so it will work with Mac...err I mean Linux.
And this, this right here folks, is the problem. I can send my customers into any B&M and they have a 100% chance of getting hardware that works in windows. Yet if I were to send those same customers into any B&M the odds aren't even 50/50 that they will get something that isn't a paperweight. Now you can blame the manufacturers, although considering Linux is less than 2% most simply can't afford to support you due to the fact that a driver that will work with Ubuntu 8 may not work with Ubuntu 9 thanks to the kernel and everything else constantly changing, or like I have seen you can blame the user, your customer, by claiming it is up to them to do "research" which apparently means scouring badly designed forums trying to find a person that actually has the hardware they want to buy, which means TWO trips to the store...one to write down models, the other to buy if you are lucky enough to find something on the forum that is actually in stock.
The sad part is Linux could be a contender, all it needs is a Steve Jobs or Larry Ellison to come in there and demand that usability be made job #1. I had hope Mark Shuttleworth would take that role, but sadly he seems to be happy doing crap like the above, meanwhile simply walking into a Walmart and coming out with a Linux capable device without studying like its the fricking ACTs is a complete and total crapshoot. But pretending that "If they only buy product A" is simply magical thinking that changes nothing. can you guarantee that product a will continue to work after three or four of those 6 month upgrades? Can my customer walk into any Walmart or Staples and buy without having to study their butts off? Nope and nope.
So demand that Linus quit changing the damned kernel every time you turn around, focus instead on rock solid stability across upgrades and a goal of "100% or bust!" for the devices carried in your big box retailers (BTW can you tell which laptops they stock will work with Linux just by looking? Me neither.) and you will gain marketshare, hell you might even pass Macs. Stay on the road you're on and 5 years from now Linux desktop adoption will still be below the margin for error. Its been 15 years folks, when you can't make major inroads with a free product after 15 years you really need to look at the path you are taking and what you can do to change it.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
Yawn. I can send my customers to buy a copy of Windows 7 only to find some of their existing hardware doesn't work with it. Yet the probability is high that it will work with Linux. When Vista had much publicized driver issues, all you guys were saying, "It's not MS's fault, it's the hardware manufacturers." The troll would be so much more effective if you stay consistent and a little less obvious. Another way to not be perceived as a troll is quit pretending that the internet doesn't exist on a troll of an internet forum. Two trips to the B&M indeed.
How about it the camera senses no motion for awhile, it blanks the screen, but on motion it unblanks.
That could be useful for a screen that "un-sleeps" when you come back into the room,etc, rather than waiting on a screensaver timer.
Oops, sorry if I struck a nerve :P
I've been through a fair share of cheap inkjets and multifunctions... Epson, Brother, Lexmark, Dell, etc. They'd get gummed up and burn through ink and have all kinds of problems... Not the least of which includes driver support. It can be a real pain to get older hardware (5 year old Dell laptops with Intel 855 GPU?!) to work in newer versions of Windows when the drivers were only signed for XP/2K
So yeah, I do my research, checking out reviews at http://cnet.com/ as well as scoping out the Linux support situation. To me it's a sign of quality and maturity... some hobbyist saw the product was 133+ enough to spend the time getting it working. And sometimes the manufacturer invests their time into better interoperability as well, and I appreciate that (but tend to trust the hobbyist packages more).
I run a mixed shop, so Linux is just another *NIX (as opposed to a Windows "replacement"). I do have a Windows box or two to play games. Most of the transition pain is felt on the Windows side... like having to tweak a bunch of registry settings to connect to the samba file server with Vista/Win7 ... or getting legacy programs to work on 64-bit Windows since they had the *brilliant* idea to move legacy apps to "C:\Program Files (x86)" and put the new 64-bit stuff in the old "C:\Program Files" location.
Obviously we've had different life experiences, but interoperability weighs in pretty heavily with mine, and I laugh if you really think the Windows world is all the compatibility and stability you say it is... you really haven't been in the field that long :P But at least it seems like we both enjoy tinkering with the tech... by all indications there will be plenty more where that came from ;-)
if such a system could reliably detect which window I'm focusing on/looking at, to keep the focus on it or to bring it to the front. I know such systems exist but having it as a feature of the operating system (I can use it instantly without any installation or other annoyances) would be awesome.
And then your facial expression at the moment of orgasm will be for sale a few seconds later.
Why do you think the free porn sites all switched over to Flash video? Does you webcam have a hardware-only 'recording' light?
I say that only to scare people, but a friend of mine was recently on a boring webx screencast and began clicking on the interface elements to see what was there and noticed that the organizer had turned on video conferencing and there was one of the other attendees in her undies, doing some work from home. A PM was sent and she ran scurrying off to get her robe.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Why buy a new printer? The vast majority of all printers work fine with Ubuntu, it even has a handy setup wizard, you just need a couple of brain cells sometimes to choose a similar model's driver if you can't find an exact match.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Why is everyone behaving so totally conservative? Like we already have invented the desktop in its "final" and "best" version and all that's left is cleaning up some driver bugs? Yes, I suffer from the bugs, too (every day), and I hate clippy as much as everyone here. However, there also needs to be some playing with new, innovative stuff. And the video linked to the article actually looks like quite a bit of fun. I especially like the effect where the relative window positions are slightly moving when the head is moved. It's a bit like a 3D effect where you can look behind the windows by turning your head. Looks pretty cool to me.
./ is now above 60?
Everyone here seems to be about as open to new UI ideas as the Catholic Church to Galileo's ideas. (Yet we are still dreaming about "Minority Report" type interfaces?) Or is it just that the average age on
And therein you have just fallen for yet another logical fallacy. did you see it? Oh and for those who labeled troll? Don't blame me if your emperor is naked. as a retailer you need guys like me to sell and support your product, which is at its current state a minefield of pain. Not my fault. as for the logic fail you fell for here it is "I can send my customers to buy a copy of Windows 7" fail. Nobody buys windows 7, they buy a new PC! The ONLY windows 7 upgrades I've been selling is those stuck in Vista hell, and if it worked with Vista it worked with 7, simple. on the other hand YOUR customers have to install your product
The point, which Linux guys can go "LA LA LA!" all day long and won't change, is the VAST majority of users out there are NOT IT guys, nor are they CS grads. No they are people like your Aunt and Uncle, who know how to put in a CD and go clicky clicky, and know how to shop at Walmart. And for them Linux equals a giant FAIL, whether you want to believe, though I am willing to prove it. Ready? Take the Hairyfeet challenge: Load up walmart, Staples, And Best Buy's online pages. From now until the experiment is over you are NOT a Linux guru, you are a normal noob. Buy these three things WITHOUT research, and for fairness go by price alone with 2 out of three stores. A USB Wifi card, a USB TV Tuner, and a USB AIO Printer. These are the big three sellers. Go ahead, I'll wait. Now go to Ubuntu forums and see how many actually worked OOTB.
Looking at about 30% aren't you? and that is if you count "support" as putting in 3 pages of CLI junk, which I don't. windows has had a simple GUI to search the web for drivers since XP, in Vista and 7 this works quite well. WTF Linux? Why can't my aunt just right click on a non working device, choose "find driver" and have the damned thing work? Remember, nobody cares about excuses, all they care about is does it work. Until you fix problems like these and the dreaded "update foo broke my hardware" problem, which honestly out of 4 bog standard PCs I never had Ubuntu update it self not ONCE without breaking something, then I stand by my statement: Linux is NOT like windows and is instead more comparable to Apple. Like apple one needs to throw out most if not all the hardware for more expensive hardware designed for that OS, unless you are just dumpster diving and using ancient hardware that has been in the kernel forever. But of course nobody wants the old and busted, they want the new hotness which Linux does NOT support unless you research your ass off and buy hardware A, rev g, which if you are gonna go through all that, why not just buy a Mac?
So don't blame the messenger, having everyone sitting around going "Gee, isn't Ubuntu swell? It sure is Biff!" doesn't gain share, which you desperately need to get manufacturers to support you. I sat up 4 boxes in the shop hoping that Linux had finally gotten average Joe friendly, instead what I found was a mess with more hours wasted on CLI bullshit than I care to count, and even bog standard hardware like Broadcom, Realtek, SiS, ATI, and Nvidia being seriously hit or miss across upgrades. As a retailer I want Linux to succeed, I really do. I remember the days of the atari and commodore when one had real choices in the market. But my time costs $50 an hour, at that rate it only takes 2 hours to equal a copy of Windows XP or 7 Home. Hell I couldn't even write off the hours wasted and just sell the machine once I had everything settled, because guess what happened in less than 6 months when Ubuntu updates rolled around? Yep back to square one with broken shit. I can sell a windows box and know my customer is good for 7 years minimum of security updates and often even longer. The BEST Ubuntu has to offer is THREE, and that is if you count not bothering to port most newer software and just leaving it old and busted.
don't blame the messenger when even /. brags when Linux reaches 1% like that is
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
of a computer trying to examine what we're doing in front of it when there are so many things we do which aren't related to the computer.
Leaning over to grab a cup of tea or pick up the phone will parallax scroll the windows? Or will it be able to tell if I'm not looking at the screen and so ignore that. Chances are most of the CPU will be spent working out what *not* to react to.
Making body movements instead of a flick of the mouse or the tap of a key? Come on. It's like the idea of a touch-screen PC, which is just a recipe for sore shoulders. Touch-screen laptop maybe. But motion sensing for laptops? Even worse situation than a PC.
I can see this being very useful for the disabled, but I think other systems, like brain signalling, will be more popular when that matures.
That was one hell of a troll of a troll and dude you just got trolled bad.
Hi MR AC! How did he "troll" me when he has been spilling the same tired old lies guys on Linux forums have been saying for ages? Go to ANY Linux forum and you'll hear them gush about "No need to get all new hardware, just use Linux!" but when you actually try that and find a good 30-60% of your stuff works only halfway, if at all, you get "Oh the support for that is awful, teh won't give us their code! you should buy product X!" which of course means throwing out working hardware and buying more to use Linux.
I truly believe the only way to change things is to make one's voice heard. I believe if we retailers and consumers call out the groupies when they lie, then maybe, just maybe, the Linux users will join in and pressure the developers for change. Hell look at TFA, is there users out there clamoring for this "feature"? Hell no! Instead of wasting resources on more bling bling crap that a good 90% of the population couldn't give a crap about focus on stability and usability and make that job #1. Oh and Linus needs to stop acting like a prima donna and allow a stable hardware ABI that allows for drivers to actually work across upgrades, thus making it easier for manufacturers to support Linux. you listen to the arguments Linus makes and it all boils down to 'I don't like it, so there!'. Also development of the kernel needs to be split between a server team and a desktop team, because as we saw with Con things that are good for desktop users may not be good for servers, and Linus will always bow to the server users, since that is who is paying him.
And finally, if you are calling me a troll, nope. Just someone who spent nearly two years trying to get Linux to work well enough to sell it to the common man, only to watch it fall down like a house of cards over and over again. Ubuntu, PCLOS, Mandriva, Puppy, you name it I tried it, hoping beyond hope that someone, anyone, would actually care about making a distro that could compete with OSX and Windows. Instead what I found was just like TFA, where bling bling crap was given priority while important things like having hardware that worked in Foo work in Foo+1 or having a simple GUI to deal with driver issues were repeatedly ignored. Oh, and have you ever looked at a Dell Ubuntu machine, MR AC? notice anything...funny...about them? Dell disables the Ubuntu repos in all their offerings. why? Because even Dell, an OEM with a one on one relationship with Canonical, can't even allow their machines to update without the hardware failing to work after updating that's why. That is...well it is beyond inexcusable.
But things never change if we all just sit back and take it. We should be pointing out that if Canonical can't even be bothered to do basic QA on the very few models their OEMs offer, then what chance do normal folks have? Calling them out to the carpet on such things is the only way things will ever change, and if we don't in 2014 we'll be talking about the runaway success of Windows 8 while listening to Ubuntu guys here say "next year is the year of Linux on the desktop" while the numbers are STILL below the margin for error.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
How 'bout bringing up the window I am currently looking at?
You cann't force people to want to sacrifices something for their freedom.
If a person does not want to be free and is happy with his computer being a jail for his thoughts, then he can happily buy an iPad or a Win7 laptop and be with it. If, however, a person does want freedom and is prepared to sacrifice something for it (time, more limited features, ...) then he is already prepared to do what is required to get a Linux desktop up and running. And such a feat requires less and less sacrifice and provides more and more benefit with every passing year.
Linux is not useless of dying. It is liberating peoples minds one by one, when these people prove with action that they deserve their freedom.
Just someone who spent nearly two years trying to get Linux to work well enough to sell it to the common man, only to watch it fall down like a house of cards over and over again.
It works for my wife, mom, brother, and in-laws. And my in-laws are the types of people that assume their online banking is not working because they have the num lock keys turned off.
It also worked on the laptop I randomly bought off amazon.
That said, Windows 7 does not work on my computer for my sound card and XP wants me to use a floppy disk (no floppy drive) to install whatever drivers my hard drive needs. I cannot get XP to install on my laptop (except in VirtualBox.) The windows problems could have been avoided if I had researched before buying, but the same is true for linux.
Uuungh yeah Apple slashvertisements...racist troll posts...dupe story...idle shit post...Soviet Russia joke...libertarian soapboxing...hot grits on Natalie Portman naked and petrifi..OH YEAH *jizz*
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Your problem with Windows could be fixed in UNDER 30 minutes, and that is giving you extra time. For the "no sound" you simply use SIW which will tell you who makes the sound card, then Google does the rest. If you are talking about a laptop the OEMs never bother updating those, which means you have to go straight to the source. as for WinXP? XP ISO Builder which is also free like SIW will have you a custom XP disc with drivers in under 10 minutes, and is so simple my 15 year old made his own XP disc.
Now let me ask you a question, and be honest: How much CLI did you have to do to set up those "clueless relatives" of yours? How many times when Ubuntu upgrade came around did you have one or more pieces of hardware that worked before not work afterward? How much time did you spend on forums hunting for "fixes"? If you handed these clueless relatives their PC with a blank HDD and Ubuntu, what are the odds they will have a COMPLETELY working system when they are done?
You see it is quite easy to have clueless relatives on Linux...if you are willing to be unpaid tech support for life. MY time costs $50 an hour, and I don't do freebies, which means just TWO hours of hunting forums or dealing with CLI hoops costs me MORE than a copy of windows Home. A wise man here on /. once said "Linux is free if your time is worthless" and no truer words have ever been spoken. Until the day comes that I can hand a customer a working Linux box and have at LEAST a 90% confidence that when the 6 month upgrade cycle comes around they won't be stuck with a paperweight then it is worthless to me and most retailers.
BTW, what do you think of the fact that Dell has to disable updating and Canonical repos from ALL their Ubuntu offerings, because even with the tiny subset of machines Dell offers Canonical can't even be bothered with basic QA to ensure they don't break on update? I mean if Dell, a billion dollar company with a one on one relationship with Canonical, can't even get basic QA support or allow their machines to update without it falling like a house of cards, what chance do the rest of us have...hmmm?
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
Your problem with Windows could be fixed in UNDER 30 minutes, and that is giving you extra time. For the "no sound" you simply use SIW which will tell you who makes the sound card, then Google does the rest. If you are talking about a laptop the OEMs never bother updating those, which means you have to go straight to the source. as for WinXP? XP ISO Builder which is also free like SIW will have you a custom XP disc with drivers in under 10 minutes, and is so simple my 15 year old made his own XP disc.
Now let me ask you a question, and be honest: How much CLI did you have to do to set up those "clueless relatives" of yours?
I don't have windows installed so I can use that program. In order to you SIW or XP Iso Builder, I have to install xp. I wasted a lot of time trying to install XP and Vista where as with ubuntu or sidux, I pop in a live cd and it works.
As far as CLI time spent, none. I installed linux mint on both my mom's machine and my in-laws with no issues.
You see it is quite easy to have clueless relatives on Linux...if you are willing to be unpaid tech support for life. MY time costs $50 an hour, and I don't do freebies, which means just TWO hours of hunting forums or dealing with CLI hoops costs me MORE than a copy of windows Home.
I don't spend any time supporting them (other than reminding them to turn on the damn num locks key over the phone (which I should have just set to auto-on but I didn't expect that to be such an issue>) The reason I switched them, in fact, was because I was tired of fixing their XP and later vista install (which took 2-6 hours since they ignored every virus update warning they would get and then when they would run across an web site that told them they had viruses, they would install whatever software was on that site that offered to fix it.) I tried setting them to auto-update, but they would turn off their machines and kept missing the update windows. (They are retired and have inconsistent hours.)
As to how much I charged, I don't charge family because they are my family. My family has also been their to help using their skill sets that I lack. And even if they weren't, they are family.
I switched everyone to linux because my time is not worthless and when they were running XP and Vista, I had days (not hours) of my life wasted.
Sounds as a nice experiment. As long as i keep the option to sudo aptitude purge idiocracy
Remco Siderius
Amsterdam