So, we put it to the Slashdot community: How would you fix the Linux desktop?
Well, that all depends; by what metric are we describing "fix?" What's broken? Is it buggy code, or just that it's not, market share wise, where Linux gurus thought it would be at this point in time? And what, precisely, is meant by "the Linux desktop?" The interface? Software offerings? Distros?
If you want a straight answer from this crowd, myself included, you should probably rephrase the question.
That's some pretty dangerous advice. Flashing lights mean different things in different parts of the world. In England it means "come on out, be my guest." In Germany it means "Coming through, make a hole." In America there's no such clarity about what it means.
Depends on the situation, which is something most usually only learn through years and years of highway driving (and some never seem to learn at all):
If you're in the left lane and see someone coming up fast on you, flashing their lights, it means "please move over, I'm in a bit of a rush." Mind you, it's not your duty to determine what the rush is and whether or not it's justified - your duty is to ensure your safety and the safety of other drivers by following the law and getting out of the way (I have seen people pulled over for failing to clear the way for unmarked police car who was flashing his headlights).
If you're in the right lane, and someone in the left lane just ahead of you puts their right signal on, the proper thing to do is flash your lights to let them know" You're clear to enter the lane," assuming that is the case. Driving on US highways, you'll see truckers do this quite often.
You get close enough with that bumper and I'll slam on the brakes. Don't tailgate. If you don't like how slow I'm going, tough shit, I'm in the lead and I will drive at a speed I deem safe.
You know, it's selfish cocksuckers like you that kill people on highways. Since when are you charged with enforcing the speed limit by putting the lives of other drivers at risk?
You know, I really hope you end up driving in the middle east somewhere and cause an accident pulling that shit. I've seen videos of how they handle highway accidents caused by moron drivers over there, and you'd definitely get what you've got coming.
Let me have a another go:
Listen buddy. Gas is 4 bucks gallon and I only get 12mpg at 85mph. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going drive at 55mph and I'm going to get 18mpg. If you don't like it, you can overtake me and look at my middle finger at the same time.
Simple as that.
Yee Haw.
I now feel colourfully dirty. My favourite type of dirty.
Then drive on the non-toll road that has a lower speed limit, instead of being a selfish asshole and endangering the lives of others because you feel that you are too important to obey the same laws as everyone else.
If your riding up behind someone doing the speed limit or more pulling that idiot crap YOUR the one endangering lives (and the police WILL pull you over for road rage with the blinking lights idiocy around here). And yes a smart person will slow down when being tailgated. I have idiots ride my ass in any lane flashing brights when I'm doing the limit to 5 over.
Mycroft
Lot of assumption there, completely baseless and false. Congrats, you just put yourself in the running for "Bullshit Assumption of the Year" award.
Let me make a few things clear, as to curb further expression of idiocy from the ignorant: I don't drive aggressively (at least, not since I outgrew the teenage belief that driving is a race). I stay between 5-10 MPH over the speed limit (as do most drivers on the interstate, save the morons I lambasted in my earlier post), and never get more than 2-4 car lengths from the car in front of me. My outrage is directed toward those who abuse and violate the laws of the road by obstructing the flow of traffic, and in the case of the absolute idiots who like to slam on their brakes to try and force you to rear-end them at 65 MPH, endangering the lives of every single other person on the road. If it's not safe for the person in front to get over, I do not flash my lights until it is (which is typically when they slam on their brakes or begin pacing the car in the right lane).
I also feel I should qualify my statements by mentioning that in the state where I reside, it is a crime to travel more than 1 mile in the passing lane without actually passing anyone.
If the number 2 lane is clear? yeah I'll move over.
Then I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to the selfish assholes who treat the highway like it's their personal, private road, and blatantly ignore the laws.
Training is socialistic, isn't it?
That is why Americans don't do that.
Why would defining the training as 'socialistic' be a barrier for making it a requirement to operate a vehicle on America's "socialistic" public streets?
Ooh, lemme guess - you're just another one of those idiots who constantly spouts off about the 'evils of socialism,' all the while having not a single fucking clue what you're talking about, right?
The German Autobahn's have no speed limits in rural areas. I have driven at 160 Kph (i.e., 100 mph) and been routinely passed by faster vehicles. In fact, if you are in the left lane at that speed, they may get pretty annoyed with you if you don't get over immediately.
Thanks, that reminded me of something I've been wanting to tell the people I share the roads with:
When you're piddling along in the left lane, and you see a car coming up on you fast, flashing their lights, it means you need to GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY - not slow down and stay in the passing lane, not pace the car next to you, and definitely not slam on your fucking brakes.
The next one of you monkey-fuckers that tries to kill me just because you're too goddamn selfish or stupid to understand why it's called the passing lane is getting run off the road and beaten with cudgels.
Well, that's 136km/h - that's what our recommended travelling speed (130) on the "Autobahn" is in Germany.
It has proven to be an excellent balance between emission (gears and cars are tuned to that speed), moving forward, but not braking too much due to other people's influences.
Once again I have deep mis-respect for you "best country in the world" guys.
The worst case Führeschein scenario is having to take a full driving course, like young German drivers do. "To get a regular driver's license," Christine explains, "you have to take 14 theory classes and at least 12 driving lessons. Driving schools usually offer them twice a week, so that takes about seven weeks. Depending on how quickly you learn, it can be done in about three months; but it usually takes longer, because of holidays and so forth. You start with the classroom sessions, and then move on to the driving portion, taking them in parallel so you learn the rules and also how to apply them." How many driving lessons you'll need to take depends on how quickly you learn. With 12 as the minimum, and 50 on the high end, the full licensing course can cost between EUR 1000-2000.
Compare that to getting a license in the US:
- @ 15.5 yrs, take lame written exam
- @ 16 yrs, take lame driving "test" where you drive a couple laps around the city square or a big empty parking lot, then parallel park
That is pretty much all the training most US drivers get, which may explain why we have significantly higher accident rates than Germany, even with lower speed limits on highways.
I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that fustakrakich doesn't want them there, either.
I won't assume to know their intent, I was merely pointing out the simple fact that yes, while prisons are supposed to be filled with dangerous criminals like murderers, rapists, and Wall Street Bankers, they are instead filled with what amounts to people who engaged in morally harmless activities such as recreational drug use, which the government decided, arbitrarily, ist verboten.
This is not meant to disparage fustakrakich's statement in the least.
Heard about this on NPR this morning, according to the report, Amazon buys a license to sell ebooks from the publisher, then proceeds to undercut the publisher by a fair amount.
Of course, the smart publisher would not sell a license to Amazon. Perhaps it's because my knowledge of the matter is admittedly incomplete, but I fail to see what leg these publishers have to stand on, considering.
Thankfully, Norton's security products are generally better than its reports.
Yea, and their security products suck donkey balls, so what's that tell you about their reports?
Citation?
Do the hours upon hours of my life wasted on fixing the issues caused by Norton's crap-tacular malware, er, "anti-virus," only to eventually be forced to completely remove any semblance of said malware, er, "anti-virus" to get the damn machine working again count?
How did a contentless one-liner like this get modded +5 insightful?
Perhaps because I'm not the only slashdotter who has experienced the unholy abortion that is Norton/Symantic AV?
Nortan's security products are pretty good.
I know it's just a typo, but if you're gonna shill, at least get the name of the company you're shilling for right. Sheesh...
Sure, they had their low point about 5 years ago, but their products are actually really good these days. Just google for some reviews and you will see that they are highly well reviewed, like this one for example:
Yea, because paid reviewers are always waaaaaaay more honest than we tech guys who have to deal with the aftermath caused by the shit code these reviewers are paid to say is awesome.
Speaking of which, what does shilling pay these days, o Obvious One? Maybe I'll get into the biz myself...
To say that "capitalism itself is inherently evil" is to overstate the case, but it certainly has very strong leanings in that directions, and unless closely regulated by an *independant* regulator it quickly becomes evil.
Disagree, to the extent that I always disagree when anyone implies that an inanimate object or idea is capable of expressing human emotions such as evil or greed. Capitalism itself is neither good nor evil - same goes for alternate economic theories such as communism - but can be applied in either a good or evil manner.
A great example of how capitalism can bring out the best in people would be Henry Ford's labor philosophy. Ford believed that if you paid a fair (to the worker, not the board) wage, you would get and keep higher quality workers, who in turn would spend their money purchasing the fruits of their own labors, thus creating a positive-feedback loop.
But given the current regulatory setup, I have to conclude that capitalism is not only evil, it's becoming increasingly evil. This also shows what needs to be fixed. Unfortunately, it doesn't reveal how to fix it.
Again, being a concept, capitalism is incapable of evil, however it can appear so if evil people are put in charge. With that known, the fix reveals itself - get rid of the evil people.
How to go about doing that, short of violent insurrection, is the true conundrum.
Slashdot Mirror
So, we put it to the Slashdot community: How would you fix the Linux desktop?
Well, that all depends; by what metric are we describing "fix?" What's broken? Is it buggy code, or just that it's not, market share wise, where Linux gurus thought it would be at this point in time? And what, precisely, is meant by "the Linux desktop?" The interface? Software offerings? Distros?
If you want a straight answer from this crowd, myself included, you should probably rephrase the question.
That's some pretty dangerous advice. Flashing lights mean different things in different parts of the world. In England it means "come on out, be my guest." In Germany it means "Coming through, make a hole." In America there's no such clarity about what it means.
Depends on the situation, which is something most usually only learn through years and years of highway driving (and some never seem to learn at all):
If you're in the left lane and see someone coming up fast on you, flashing their lights, it means "please move over, I'm in a bit of a rush." Mind you, it's not your duty to determine what the rush is and whether or not it's justified - your duty is to ensure your safety and the safety of other drivers by following the law and getting out of the way (I have seen people pulled over for failing to clear the way for unmarked police car who was flashing his headlights).
If you're in the right lane, and someone in the left lane just ahead of you puts their right signal on, the proper thing to do is flash your lights to let them know" You're clear to enter the lane," assuming that is the case. Driving on US highways, you'll see truckers do this quite often.
You get close enough with that bumper and I'll slam on the brakes. Don't tailgate. If you don't like how slow I'm going, tough shit, I'm in the lead and I will drive at a speed I deem safe.
You know, it's selfish cocksuckers like you that kill people on highways. Since when are you charged with enforcing the speed limit by putting the lives of other drivers at risk?
You know, I really hope you end up driving in the middle east somewhere and cause an accident pulling that shit. I've seen videos of how they handle highway accidents caused by moron drivers over there, and you'd definitely get what you've got coming.
Let me have a another go: Listen buddy. Gas is 4 bucks gallon and I only get 12mpg at 85mph. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going drive at 55mph and I'm going to get 18mpg. If you don't like it, you can overtake me and look at my middle finger at the same time. Simple as that. Yee Haw. I now feel colourfully dirty. My favourite type of dirty.
Then drive on the non-toll road that has a lower speed limit, instead of being a selfish asshole and endangering the lives of others because you feel that you are too important to obey the same laws as everyone else.
If your riding up behind someone doing the speed limit or more pulling that idiot crap YOUR the one endangering lives (and the police WILL pull you over for road rage with the blinking lights idiocy around here). And yes a smart person will slow down when being tailgated. I have idiots ride my ass in any lane flashing brights when I'm doing the limit to 5 over. Mycroft
Lot of assumption there, completely baseless and false. Congrats, you just put yourself in the running for "Bullshit Assumption of the Year" award.
Let me make a few things clear, as to curb further expression of idiocy from the ignorant: I don't drive aggressively (at least, not since I outgrew the teenage belief that driving is a race). I stay between 5-10 MPH over the speed limit (as do most drivers on the interstate, save the morons I lambasted in my earlier post), and never get more than 2-4 car lengths from the car in front of me. My outrage is directed toward those who abuse and violate the laws of the road by obstructing the flow of traffic, and in the case of the absolute idiots who like to slam on their brakes to try and force you to rear-end them at 65 MPH, endangering the lives of every single other person on the road. If it's not safe for the person in front to get over, I do not flash my lights until it is (which is typically when they slam on their brakes or begin pacing the car in the right lane).
I also feel I should qualify my statements by mentioning that in the state where I reside, it is a crime to travel more than 1 mile in the passing lane without actually passing anyone.
I don't know where you learned to drive,
I learned to drive on a farm.
I became licensed to drive in Missouri, where the process is pretty much exactly as I described it.
If the number 2 lane is clear? yeah I'll move over.
Then I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to the selfish assholes who treat the highway like it's their personal, private road, and blatantly ignore the laws.
Take your trolling somewhere else, douchbag.
Training is socialistic, isn't it? That is why Americans don't do that.
Why would defining the training as 'socialistic' be a barrier for making it a requirement to operate a vehicle on America's "socialistic" public streets?
Ooh, lemme guess - you're just another one of those idiots who constantly spouts off about the 'evils of socialism,' all the while having not a single fucking clue what you're talking about, right?
This term is a far more accurate descriptor.
The German Autobahn's have no speed limits in rural areas. I have driven at 160 Kph (i.e., 100 mph) and been routinely passed by faster vehicles. In fact, if you are in the left lane at that speed, they may get pretty annoyed with you if you don't get over immediately.
Thanks, that reminded me of something I've been wanting to tell the people I share the roads with:
When you're piddling along in the left lane, and you see a car coming up on you fast, flashing their lights, it means you need to GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY - not slow down and stay in the passing lane, not pace the car next to you, and definitely not slam on your fucking brakes.
The next one of you monkey-fuckers that tries to kill me just because you're too goddamn selfish or stupid to understand why it's called the passing lane is getting run off the road and beaten with cudgels.
Capisce?
Well, that's 136km/h - that's what our recommended travelling speed (130) on the "Autobahn" is in Germany. It has proven to be an excellent balance between emission (gears and cars are tuned to that speed), moving forward, but not braking too much due to other people's influences.
Once again I have deep mis-respect for you "best country in the world" guys.
From Expatica:
Compare that to getting a license in the US:
- @ 15.5 yrs, take lame written exam
- @ 16 yrs, take lame driving "test" where you drive a couple laps around the city square or a big empty parking lot, then parallel park
That is pretty much all the training most US drivers get, which may explain why we have significantly higher accident rates than Germany, even with lower speed limits on highways.
I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that fustakrakich doesn't want them there, either.
I won't assume to know their intent, I was merely pointing out the simple fact that yes, while prisons are supposed to be filled with dangerous criminals like murderers, rapists, and Wall Street Bankers, they are instead filled with what amounts to people who engaged in morally harmless activities such as recreational drug use, which the government decided, arbitrarily, ist verboten.
This is not meant to disparage fustakrakich's statement in the least.
It is a monopoly if they are colluding on prices.
No;
That word doesn't mean what you think it means.
Don't like the higher speed limit? Don't drive on it.
Doesn't get any simpler than that.
So instead of Amazon having a monopoly the publishers [i.e., more than one] get one. Your logic fails.
Speaking of logic fails...
Take their money and property, but jail time? Please.. Prison is supposed to be for people that are actually dangerous.
Like potheads? Prisons are full of those...
Heard about this on NPR this morning, according to the report, Amazon buys a license to sell ebooks from the publisher, then proceeds to undercut the publisher by a fair amount.
Of course, the smart publisher would not sell a license to Amazon. Perhaps it's because my knowledge of the matter is admittedly incomplete, but I fail to see what leg these publishers have to stand on, considering.
Thankfully, Norton's security products are generally better than its reports.
Yea, and their security products suck donkey balls, so what's that tell you about their reports?
Citation?
Do the hours upon hours of my life wasted on fixing the issues caused by Norton's crap-tacular malware, er, "anti-virus," only to eventually be forced to completely remove any semblance of said malware, er, "anti-virus" to get the damn machine working again count?
How did a contentless one-liner like this get modded +5 insightful?
Perhaps because I'm not the only slashdotter who has experienced the unholy abortion that is Norton/Symantic AV?
Nortan's security products are pretty good.
I know it's just a typo, but if you're gonna shill, at least get the name of the company you're shilling for right. Sheesh...
Sure, they had their low point about 5 years ago, but their products are actually really good these days. Just google for some reviews and you will see that they are highly well reviewed, like this one for example:
http://download.cnet.com/Norton-AntiVirus-2012/3000-2239_4-10592477.html
Yea, because paid reviewers are always waaaaaaay more honest than we tech guys who have to deal with the aftermath caused by the shit code these reviewers are paid to say is awesome.
Speaking of which, what does shilling pay these days, o Obvious One? Maybe I'll get into the biz myself...
...buffering...
Buffering a 68 attosecond video?
Lemme guess - Comcast?
LXMenuEditor works with XFCE, per this article on the XFCE wiki.
Hope that helps.
Can't we get a video?
There was, but it was only 68 attoseconds long, so you must have missed it.
No, the problem is people like these on /. who criticise everything.
That's stupid. You're stupid. Everything is stupid. Nyah :P
Compare this to games developers that give in to their fans and give them whatever they want, usually go bankrupt.
Like how Valve started circling the drain the moment TF2 went free to play?
To say that "capitalism itself is inherently evil" is to overstate the case, but it certainly has very strong leanings in that directions, and unless closely regulated by an *independant* regulator it quickly becomes evil.
Disagree, to the extent that I always disagree when anyone implies that an inanimate object or idea is capable of expressing human emotions such as evil or greed. Capitalism itself is neither good nor evil - same goes for alternate economic theories such as communism - but can be applied in either a good or evil manner.
A great example of how capitalism can bring out the best in people would be Henry Ford's labor philosophy. Ford believed that if you paid a fair (to the worker, not the board) wage, you would get and keep higher quality workers, who in turn would spend their money purchasing the fruits of their own labors, thus creating a positive-feedback loop.
But given the current regulatory setup, I have to conclude that capitalism is not only evil, it's becoming increasingly evil. This also shows what needs to be fixed. Unfortunately, it doesn't reveal how to fix it.
Again, being a concept, capitalism is incapable of evil, however it can appear so if evil people are put in charge. With that known, the fix reveals itself - get rid of the evil people.
How to go about doing that, short of violent insurrection, is the true conundrum.
Switching to Debian 6 XFCE.
You had your chance, GNOME, and you wasted it.
Thankfully, Norton's security products are generally better than its reports.
Yea, and their security products suck donkey balls, so what's that tell you about their reports?