OK, fair enough. Basically you're used to Photoshop, and you'd like for Gimp to work like Photoshop.
On the other hand, I don't have enough $$ for Photoshop, and don't care to pirate it, so my idea of how a graphics editing program should work is heavily influenced by Gimp.
As for OpenOffice, it's basically the old Office interface, which I (and most other computer users) are familiar with from the 1990s, so it's easy (for me) to use, and I do for production use.
Not trying to convince you or anything, but just for the record, the programs I normally use: Chrome, Firefox, Thunderbird, Open/LibreOffice, Nautilus, gedit, vim, CherryTree (notetaker), Gimp, Inkscape (vector graphics).
Regarding your first two points, I think if Valve builds it, they will come.
#3: Don't know, but I would hope the kernies don't deliberately mess things up.
Distro? Ubuntu. As far as trusting it, you don't have to. The fact is the free games on Linux are good enough (for me). If you're into gaming, you can run Ubuntu.
Last point: Well, if that were true, why didn't Gaming for Windows Live kill Steam?
I don't know what country you live in, but don't most European countries tax motor vehicle fuel heavily? Given that, doesn't that provide enough money to pay for the roads?
The income tax is basically superfluous to the one thing that most people really care about (roads).
If there are so many companies, how do they sync the command set? Or does each ARM processor line (from Samsung, Qualcomm, TI or whoever) differ slightly?
I will very much believe his son can handle Windows 8. But all he's doing is opening up a movie or a game. He's not using the computer in the same way people do at the office juggling all sorts of stuff simultaneously.
It seems that the devaluation of language skills would be a corollary of costs being cut.
After all, if companies won't pay extra for language skills, why acquire them (while you're in high school)?
Ironically, these sorts of apps may lead to lower levels of foreign language ability within a given society. Instead of having millions of French, Chinese, and German speakers in, say, the US, you would end up concentrating language skills in a few computer systems (Google's, Apples, maybe Wolfram's).
Talking about multiversion concurrency is a sure way to lose your audience.
Much better to be able to just say "Salesforce.com uses it". Answers all questions, and vaults it up to the level of "no one ever got fired for buying IBM".
Not to mention all the enterprisey changes which I suppose we could expect to Postgres.
I'll agree with you that the answer to someone asking about a particular MSO feature is not to say "You're stupid for requesting it."
On the other hand, I think OO is perfectly viable for use if you're a new company deciding on your own tech infrastructure as opposed to trying to be the OO loner in a MS-based company.
The reason I say 12.04 is that it's a good, LTS release.
11.04 was sort of in the middle of their ongoing experimentation with Unity.
At some point it was really difficult to have a work process with multiple desktops. Not so anymore. Alt+Tab in 12.04 only shows you the windows on your current virtual desktop.
Also, there are indicators to show you if you have one, two, or more windows of a given program open.
Multi-monitor works great.
If you're a typical power user or developer, 12.04 will work well for you (better than Gnome2).
Just because the icons look good does not mean it crashes.
If you already know where your files are, search isn't for you, right? Problem solved.
Next problem: You don't like Facebook. Neither do I. Nevertheless, billions of people do. Just don't use it, like I don't.
Social networking can be a part of business marketing, though, so it's useful for those people. If you make your company's product and have no responsibility to spread the word about it, just ignore the social features.
Please just install Ubuntu 12.04. If you're a developer or power user, you'll like it. I can tell you've not used it (seriously) because of your comment, which seems to be referencing development versions of Unity before the LTS.
Assuming Terminal is already open: a) Do Ctrl+Alt+T. Another terminal opens. b) Hit Super and type "ter". Hit Enter. Another terminal opens.
Or, if you've pinned it to the launcher like I have, right-click and "New Terminal".
Or, even cooler, Ctrl+click the icon (in launcher or Dash) and you get a new instance.
>keyboard/mouse context switches are time consuming..
While that's true, it doesn't have to be a context switch if you don't want it to be.
Don't click on the Dash icon. Just hit Super.
This is basically the equivalent of Launchy, Gnome Do, and friends. I used to have those set on Super+Space.
For the times you need a hierarchical menu, install Cardapio and pin it to the launcher, as I have.
>They should offer hotkeys as well. I think this means you're talking about Unity without having used it. There are also hotkeys for your pinned items in the launcher.
Finally, if you don't like selecting stuff with the mouse, you might like the HUD. Think of it as a command line for your GUI menus, with completion.
I use the console constantly, but only for development and server config. I wouldn't want and don't need to to use the console for normal desktop use.
Anyway, they have not hidden the terminal away from you any more than they've hidden the movie player, PDF viewer, or any other program not on the left-side launchbar.
You say use the terminal constantly. Well, isn't it already open? I open it once upon reboot (every few weeks).
Even still, because it's one of my most launched programs, I have it pinned to the launch bar.
>Some distros use a hotkey combo to start a console session anywhere.
Here's where I can tell you have not even seriously used Ubuntu or Unity. The Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut works to open a terminal (not only for Ubuntu 12.04, but also for most others I've seen).
>I am not 12 years old. I don't need things hidden from me not my hands to be duct taped inside pairs of mittens.
Slashdot Mirror
OK, fair enough. Basically you're used to Photoshop, and you'd like for Gimp to work like Photoshop.
On the other hand, I don't have enough $$ for Photoshop, and don't care to pirate it, so my idea of how a graphics editing program should work is heavily influenced by Gimp.
As for OpenOffice, it's basically the old Office interface, which I (and most other computer users) are familiar with from the 1990s, so it's easy (for me) to use, and I do for production use.
Not trying to convince you or anything, but just for the record, the programs I normally use: Chrome, Firefox, Thunderbird, Open/LibreOffice, Nautilus, gedit, vim, CherryTree (notetaker), Gimp, Inkscape (vector graphics).
I don't think it's that. I think it's that apps not signed by M$ won't be allowed to run, going forward.
Whoever said anything about productivity software on Steam? Talk about a red herring.
Regarding your first two points, I think if Valve builds it, they will come.
#3: Don't know, but I would hope the kernies don't deliberately mess things up.
Distro? Ubuntu. As far as trusting it, you don't have to. The fact is the free games on Linux are good enough (for me). If you're into gaming, you can run Ubuntu.
Last point: Well, if that were true, why didn't Gaming for Windows Live kill Steam?
What is it about Open Office that makes you claw your eyes out? It's basically the Office 2K UI.
Any particular complaints about Gimp?
I don't know what country you live in, but don't most European countries tax motor vehicle fuel heavily? Given that, doesn't that provide enough money to pay for the roads?
The income tax is basically superfluous to the one thing that most people really care about (roads).
Didn't you get the memo? Slashdot is owned by dice.com.
Does Microsoft think it can just withhold updates and people will upgrade like lemmings to the Entity Formerly Known as Metro?
This is only going to accelerate the migration to Ipads, Android tablets, a bit of Linux, et alia.
Yeah. The search thing became necessary once the Start menu became ridiculously overloaded.
The Metro screen goes off in too weird a direction, though.
If there are so many companies, how do they sync the command set? Or does each ARM processor line (from Samsung, Qualcomm, TI or whoever) differ slightly?
I will very much believe his son can handle Windows 8. But all he's doing is opening up a movie or a game. He's not using the computer in the same way people do at the office juggling all sorts of stuff simultaneously.
So the question is not: Can people use Win8.
It is: Can people be productive with Win8.
You forgot one:
Magic cloud has Super Cow Powers (if you believe in it).
It seems that the devaluation of language skills would be a corollary of costs being cut.
After all, if companies won't pay extra for language skills, why acquire them (while you're in high school)?
Ironically, these sorts of apps may lead to lower levels of foreign language ability within a given society. Instead of having millions of French, Chinese, and German speakers in, say, the US, you would end up concentrating language skills in a few computer systems (Google's, Apples, maybe Wolfram's).
Is this Postgres's coming-out year?
Talking about multiversion concurrency is a sure way to lose your audience.
Much better to be able to just say "Salesforce.com uses it". Answers all questions, and vaults it up to the level of "no one ever got fired for buying IBM".
Not to mention all the enterprisey changes which I suppose we could expect to Postgres.
How did that work? You just call up from some random number (the restaurants?) and say that the phone with number XYZ is stolen?
Meaning anybody can randomly shut down anybody else's phone?
Yeah, that's what I do (tabs in terminal) for most shell tasks.
It's only that the guy asked about opening another terminal window.
(I also do that if I have to work with a group of servers I don't normally work with.)
I'll agree with you that the answer to someone asking about a particular MSO feature is not to say "You're stupid for requesting it."
On the other hand, I think OO is perfectly viable for use if you're a new company deciding on your own tech infrastructure as opposed to trying to be the OO loner in a MS-based company.
The reason I say 12.04 is that it's a good, LTS release.
11.04 was sort of in the middle of their ongoing experimentation with Unity.
At some point it was really difficult to have a work process with multiple desktops. Not so anymore. Alt+Tab in 12.04 only shows you the windows on your current virtual desktop.
Also, there are indicators to show you if you have one, two, or more windows of a given program open.
Multi-monitor works great.
If you're a typical power user or developer, 12.04 will work well for you (better than Gnome2).
Just because the icons look good does not mean it crashes.
If you already know where your files are, search isn't for you, right? Problem solved.
Next problem: You don't like Facebook. Neither do I. Nevertheless, billions of people do. Just don't use it, like I don't.
Social networking can be a part of business marketing, though, so it's useful for those people. If you make your company's product and have no responsibility to spread the word about it, just ignore the social features.
For a hierarchical menu, install Cardapio.
>Want to arrange the icons on that ubiquitous screen waster on the left? You can't.
Wait, what are you talking about? You just click on them, hold, and move to where you want the icon.
>Trying this version out on VirtualBox is abysmal.
Maybe that's the problem. It works well on real hardware. On a VM, I think it goes to a fallback mode.
Please just install Ubuntu 12.04. If you're a developer or power user, you'll like it. I can tell you've not used it (seriously) because of your comment, which seems to be referencing development versions of Unity before the LTS.
Assuming Terminal is already open:
a) Do Ctrl+Alt+T. Another terminal opens.
b) Hit Super and type "ter". Hit Enter. Another terminal opens.
Or, if you've pinned it to the launcher like I have, right-click and "New Terminal".
Or, even cooler, Ctrl+click the icon (in launcher or Dash) and you get a new instance.
>keyboard/mouse context switches are time consuming..
While that's true, it doesn't have to be a context switch if you don't want it to be.
Don't click on the Dash icon. Just hit Super.
This is basically the equivalent of Launchy, Gnome Do, and friends. I used to have those set on Super+Space.
For the times you need a hierarchical menu, install Cardapio and pin it to the launcher, as I have.
>They should offer hotkeys as well.
I think this means you're talking about Unity without having used it. There are also hotkeys for your pinned items in the launcher.
Finally, if you don't like selecting stuff with the mouse, you might like the HUD. Think of it as a command line for your GUI menus, with completion.
I use the console constantly, but only for development and server config. I wouldn't want and don't need to to use the console for normal desktop use.
Anyway, they have not hidden the terminal away from you any more than they've hidden the movie player, PDF viewer, or any other program not on the left-side launchbar.
You say use the terminal constantly. Well, isn't it already open? I open it once upon reboot (every few weeks).
Even still, because it's one of my most launched programs, I have it pinned to the launch bar.
>Some distros use a hotkey combo to start a console session anywhere.
Here's where I can tell you have not even seriously used Ubuntu or Unity. The Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut works to open a terminal (not only for Ubuntu 12.04, but also for most others I've seen).
>I am not 12 years old. I don't need things hidden from me not my hands to be duct taped inside pairs of mittens.
Do you also run root all the time?
What's wrong with Unity (in 12.04, not the braindead initial versions)?
What are you talking about? Word is famous for crashing on huge documents, especially master documents. OO is great for large documents.
OO has fundamental advantages over MS Word for large documents, including the fact that it has page styles while Word does not.