Hey phone makers, instead of copying all the stupid antifeatures crap (nonreplaceable batteries, glass enclosures, no 3.5 mm headphone jack, notches, absurd thinness, etc..) I got an idea for you: Copy the Nokia N900.
Yes! Please copy it and make a decent phone with a sliding physical keyboard where one can actually type and write! I don't care if the resulting phone is some milimeters thicker but GIVE US A PHYSICAL KEYBOARD!
If you like kanban, Kanboard is great. Is a web application but it's simple to install. If you can self-host a webserver, installation is really simple and has both kanban methodology and all the features you pointed out.
I will second the other commenters who suggest to install Slackware. According to your Mac's specs, they are plentiful for running 14.2 or -current.
In Slackware64-current you can have the latest and greatest GNU/Linux software. Kernel 4.14.4, the latest Plasma 5, the latest iterations of MATE and Cinnamon, Firefox 58, Chromium 63.0.3239.132, LibreOffice 5.4.4...
If possible I would increase the RAM but that's not really necessary if you plan to limit yourself to light browsing or text editing.
Use Slackware; it's simple, it's fast, it's light. It's not perfect, but I think it fits your bill.
Exactly. I always felt that KDE alwas had a much better potential (and actual strength) to become a great mainstream desktop environment. But then:
- Sun chooses GNOME for its Java DE; - Sun purchases StarOffice (which was adapted to KDE) and starts breaking it to GNOME-ify it - Ubuntu tries to market a desktop distribution. Chooses GNOME and fails spectacularly. Switches to Unity, still fails - GNOME receives funding, manpower, mindshare, and we got GNOME 3 (ouch)
and what we've got for that? Nothing.
Meanwhile, KDE is trying to make do with a huge platform and scarce resources, and the wonderful thing is that it manages.
This has not to be the complete solution; but if you would like to see a great Linux desktop, try to give KDE the support and attention it deserves. (btw they are holding now a fundraiser...)
I use Slackware Linux (-current 64-bit) and Windows 10 in a dual boot setting managed by GRUB. Both OSes are in partitions of a single drive (/dev/sda).
I thought of this setup as highly stable. It started as a dual boot between Slackware and Windows 8.1. It survived upgrades to Windows 10, Anniversary Update and Creators Update without any hassle, so I thought this time would be equally painless. I was wrong.
This Windows upgrade totally b0rked my previous partitioning scheme. Upon the first reboot I got the dreaded message "GRUB error: Unkown filesystem" and a generic GRUB prompt.
I managed to boot manually from GRUB, but Linux still could not recognize its root partition. It turned out that this Windows upgrade somehow changed the partitioning scheme. So, if my root partition previously was, say/dev/sda6, now it was/dev/sda4. But GRUB and the whole system kept looking for root still in/dev/sda6, which now was something else. After realizing what was going on, I was able to restore things to an usable state.
******
Besides the issue with partitions, there is also another problem with Fall Creators Update. The only USB ports provided by my laptop are USB 3.0 ports. All of them. I own a small HP LaserJet 1020 printer connected via USB (it uses USB1). After the upgrade I cannot print anymore. Windows says that the printer is an old USB1 device which cannot take advantage of the features of the newest USB3.0 port. Funny thing is that up to Creators Update I could print to that very own printer, with the same port and cable, without any complaining from the system.
In that case the operating system doesnt matter at all so why bother using something different to all the people in your organization to which the operating system does matter?
But I will answer you briefly: Linux offers openness, freedom, and control. It also does everything I need with increasingly little in the way of limitations for the things I need to do. That's why I use it. Whether that line of thought and practice provides a sufficient business case for others is up to them to decide. Obviously, we should use what works for us.
Second, as for using "something different to all the people in my organization", I'm my own organization. I work for myself so I get to choose my platform.
Agreed with parent. And in addition, the examples offered by grandparent are corner cases. Most desktop work is done in an office suite and/or a Web browser. In both regards, Linux is well covered.
I'm no Apple user so I don't know about Keynote. But for ensuring compatibility, I make sure that my wife's PowerPoint presentations are all converted to PDF.
Anyway, in Linux you could use Impress, which is more than enough for most people in need of a graphical slide editor.
As for me, in my lectures I use Beamer in LaTeX, which is more than enough for my needs. And its output is, again, PDF.
I can project anything of these with Okular in presentation mode, easily. So I think Linux is more than capable in the area.
It’s a minor change, but if you’re familiar with the Windows Console then it’s a welcome addition that developers have been asking for. It’s also a particularly relevant change now that Microsoft is supporting its own console alongside Bash, and another example of Microsoft paying attention to the small things that matter in Windows 10.
Yeah right. If MS is paying attention to small things that matter and things developers (and other people) were asking for, why then they did not restore Classic style? Or disable telemetry...? Or refrain from forcing updates down our throats...?
The original article is nothing but blatant ad copy thinly disguised as editorial content. In other words, an advertorial.
I'd suggest you use Slackware. Solid and stable like a rock; and also, fast. The price to pay is that you usually should have a modicum of technical competence; which you appear to possess, given the distro history you claim. Try it; if you really are disappointed by what you mention in your comment, chances are these are nonexistent or highly mitigated in Slackware (for example, there's no systemd; init is a simple, easy to understad BSD init with a SysV compatibility layer for those who would want it).
Yeah, I thought exactly that, but then this dude's address is supposedly the same as mine but with a dot inserted. Looks like something is not working according to specification == bug.
I live in Paraguay. I got into Gmail back when it was invite-only and I was able to select the precise handle I wanted. Some years later I began to receive mail from a dude who apparently lives in Spain. Seems like the dude registered as his handle the exact word I used, only that he inserted a period. Looks like a period (.) is approved as a different handle but is treated as the same. Thankfully I have no lost incoming emails (apparently), but I also get all kinds of mail directed to such person. Baffling, indeed. Hope Google can solve this.
There is nothing wrong with the Windows 10 UI. I personally find it to be an improvement over Windows 7,
Windows 10's default window decoration makes a pain to distinguish among active and inactive windows. Compared to the Classic style (which MS stupidly removed as part of Windows 8's "improvements" (?), this is a monumental regression.
And yes, I asked in Windows Feedback for the return of the Classic style and, given the level of care shown by Microsoft, I'm not holding my breath.
BTW, you should really try a sensible implementation of Plasma 5. It's a great desktop and at least you can tell between active and inactive windows.
(I still have yet to find a distro that will detect compatible resolutions of any monitor hooked up and let you switch between them without some archaic command line and/or config file change...come on guys, it's been more than 20 years! Even Windows 3.x got this one!
Use Slackware then. When I plug my LG Flatron 1280x1024 monitor, it automatically uses 1024x768 in a compatible mode. Moreover, Plasma gives me a list of other compatible resolutions. So yes, Slackware (and presumably other Linuxes) could detect "compatible resolutions" of a monitor, and switching among them is no problem.
But let's see what about native resolution. In this case, neither Linux nor Windows could detect the monitor's native resolution so both are, theoretically, on equal footing.
Windows: I still cannot get native resolution from my LG Flatron 1280x1024 monitor from Settings / Control Panel. I have to settle with 1280x720 (horribly distorted) or 1024x768. While autodetection cannot show the monitor's native resolution, I cannot manually specify my monitor's resolution and frequency, either. I am stuck with low-res or distortion.
Meanwhile in Linux, I just have to use some xrandr commands in a script which I can use whenever I plug the monitor, and that's it. Native resolution, by a script invoked on demand whenever I plug the monitor. Linux wins.
The stubborness upon which Ubuntu and now System76 insist on choosing the clearly inferior choice (GNOME) when there's a much better option (KDE's Plasma), is impressive.
For many people, the scenario you depict still would sound bad. Besides that, even with self-driving cars, overcrowding and jams are not precisely nice. I'd rather sleep at home, thank you.
Now: eight hour workdays, one hour commute in each leg. Total: 10 hours.
The Future (TM): four hour workdays, three hour commute in each leg due to greater distances from home and increasing traffic congestions: Total 10 hours.
Banging one's head repeatedly against the wall should be painful. And yet Canonical insists on doing it. When the decision was made to abandon Unity, they chose the inferior solution among the GNU/Linux desktops. Plasma 5 (KDE) is HiDPI-ready. But no, they stubbornly chose GNOME and now they have to throw resources and manpower to hack at the GNOME codebase to fix something that was already fixed in Plasma.
They should have gone with Plasma which is IMHO much better.
OK, I get that it's their project and their choices, all right... but they certainly like to bang their heads against the wall, time after time...
GNOME, KDE, and Cinnamon have been removed from tasksel, but can still be installed although they "are known to suffer from some glitches due to the lack of systemd."
Cannot say anything on GNOME, but KDE (both KDE4 and Plasma 5) run fine in Slackware. As for Cinnamon, there's also an excellent distribution for Slackware, Cinnamon Slackbuilds . There are also implementations for Xfce, MATE, Lumina and LX-Qt, all up to date and fully functional. No glitches due to lack of systemd at all.
I'm typing this on a Slackware64-current box, using the latest KDE Plasma with no trace of systemd.
Since Slackware manages to avoid systemd like the plague even to this day, using modern desktop environments in a systemd-free environment should be no problem.
I use RSS and it's a lifesaver. I do not use for tracking news sites, but to track software updates in Slackware and other projects I follow. It's very useful and convenient.
Since I use KDE, I have a simple RSS Plasma Extension installed for that. Whenever there's an update which interests me, I get a notification. Before that I used the RSS plugin for Claws Mail.
Slashdot Mirror
Hey phone makers, instead of copying all the stupid antifeatures crap (nonreplaceable batteries, glass enclosures, no 3.5 mm headphone jack, notches, absurd thinness, etc..) I got an idea for you: Copy the Nokia N900.
Yes! Please copy it and make a decent phone with a sliding physical keyboard where one can actually type and write! I don't care if the resulting phone is some milimeters thicker but GIVE US A PHYSICAL KEYBOARD!
If you like kanban, Kanboard is great. Is a web application but it's simple to install. If you can self-host a webserver, installation is really simple and has both kanban methodology and all the features you pointed out.
I will second the other commenters who suggest to install Slackware. According to your Mac's specs, they are plentiful for running 14.2 or -current.
In Slackware64-current you can have the latest and greatest GNU/Linux software. Kernel 4.14.4, the latest Plasma 5, the latest iterations of MATE and Cinnamon, Firefox 58, Chromium 63.0.3239.132, LibreOffice 5.4.4...
If possible I would increase the RAM but that's not really necessary if you plan to limit yourself to light browsing or text editing.
Use Slackware; it's simple, it's fast, it's light. It's not perfect, but I think it fits your bill.
You could cite a bazillion distros but most of those are minority, community-oriented spins. The larger, "officially supported" ones are all GNOME.
Ah, and I forgot. Ubuntu did not learn from its past and is at it again, using GNOME one more time.
Exactly. I always felt that KDE alwas had a much better potential (and actual strength) to become a great mainstream desktop environment. But then:
- Sun chooses GNOME for its Java DE;
- Sun purchases StarOffice (which was adapted to KDE) and starts breaking it to GNOME-ify it
- Ubuntu tries to market a desktop distribution. Chooses GNOME and fails spectacularly. Switches to Unity, still fails
- GNOME receives funding, manpower, mindshare, and we got GNOME 3 (ouch)
and what we've got for that? Nothing.
Meanwhile, KDE is trying to make do with a huge platform and scarce resources, and the wonderful thing is that it manages.
This has not to be the complete solution; but if you would like to see a great Linux desktop, try to give KDE the support and attention it deserves.
(btw they are holding now a fundraiser...)
Just finished upgrading to Fall Creators Update.
I use Slackware Linux (-current 64-bit) and Windows 10 in a dual boot setting managed by GRUB. Both OSes are in partitions of a single drive (/dev/sda).
I thought of this setup as highly stable. It started as a dual boot between Slackware and Windows 8.1. It survived upgrades to Windows 10, Anniversary Update and Creators Update without any hassle, so I thought this time would be equally painless. I was wrong.
This Windows upgrade totally b0rked my previous partitioning scheme. Upon the first reboot I got the dreaded message "GRUB error: Unkown filesystem" and a generic GRUB prompt.
I managed to boot manually from GRUB, but Linux still could not recognize its root partition. It turned out that this Windows upgrade somehow changed the partitioning scheme. So, if my root partition previously was, say /dev/sda6, now it was /dev/sda4. But GRUB and the whole system kept looking for root still in /dev/sda6, which now was something else. After realizing what was going on, I was able to restore things to an usable state.
******
Besides the issue with partitions, there is also another problem with Fall Creators Update. The only USB ports provided by my laptop are USB 3.0 ports. All of them. I own a small HP LaserJet 1020 printer connected via USB (it uses USB1). After the upgrade I cannot print anymore. Windows says that the printer is an old USB1 device which cannot take advantage of the features of the newest USB3.0 port. Funny thing is that up to Creators Update I could print to that very own printer, with the same port and cable, without any complaining from the system.
So, be careful when upgrading.
I think you need to look yourself in the mirror again, Mr. Cook, on the matter of those pesky 3.5mm headphone jacks.
Fair question. First, I'll give you an answer which was already offered in this thread:
Second, as for using "something different to all the people in my organization", I'm my own organization. I work for myself so I get to choose my platform.
Agreed with parent. And in addition, the examples offered by grandparent are corner cases. Most desktop work is done in an office suite and/or a Web browser. In both regards, Linux is well covered.
I'm no Apple user so I don't know about Keynote. But for ensuring compatibility, I make sure that my wife's PowerPoint presentations are all converted to PDF.
Anyway, in Linux you could use Impress, which is more than enough for most people in need of a graphical slide editor.
As for me, in my lectures I use Beamer in LaTeX, which is more than enough for my needs. And its output is, again, PDF.
I can project anything of these with Okular in presentation mode, easily. So I think Linux is more than capable in the area.
In Linux I use:
- Clementine
- Sayonara Player
- mp3blaster
- plain old mplayer
In Windows:
- Clementine
- Foobar2000
In Android:
- Foobar2000
Too bad it got killed when Macromedia was acquired by Adobe. FreeHand was a nice vector drawing tool.
From TFA:
Yeah right. If MS is paying attention to small things that matter and things developers (and other people) were asking for, why then they did not restore Classic style? Or disable telemetry...? Or refrain from forcing updates down our throats...?
The original article is nothing but blatant ad copy thinly disguised as editorial content. In other words, an advertorial.
I'd suggest you use Slackware. Solid and stable like a rock; and also, fast. The price to pay is that you usually should have a modicum of technical competence; which you appear to possess, given the distro history you claim. Try it; if you really are disappointed by what you mention in your comment, chances are these are nonexistent or highly mitigated in Slackware (for example, there's no systemd; init is a simple, easy to understad BSD init with a SysV compatibility layer for those who would want it).
Yeah, I thought exactly that, but then this dude's address is supposedly the same as mine but with a dot inserted. Looks like something is not working according to specification == bug.
I live in Paraguay. I got into Gmail back when it was invite-only and I was able to select the precise handle I wanted. Some years later I began to receive mail from a dude who apparently lives in Spain. Seems like the dude registered as his handle the exact word I used, only that he inserted a period. Looks like a period (.) is approved as a different handle but is treated as the same. Thankfully I have no lost incoming emails (apparently), but I also get all kinds of mail directed to such person. Baffling, indeed. Hope Google can solve this.
Disagree on both counts.
The stubborness upon which Ubuntu and now System76 insist on choosing the clearly inferior choice (GNOME) when there's a much better option (KDE's Plasma), is impressive.
For many people, the scenario you depict still would sound bad. Besides that, even with self-driving cars, overcrowding and jams are not precisely nice. I'd rather sleep at home, thank you.
Now: eight hour workdays, one hour commute in each leg. Total: 10 hours.
The Future (TM): four hour workdays, three hour commute in each leg due to greater distances from home and increasing traffic congestions: Total 10 hours.
So, I'd say it could even be worse.
Banging one's head repeatedly against the wall should be painful. And yet Canonical insists on doing it. When the decision was made to abandon Unity, they chose the inferior solution among the GNU/Linux desktops. Plasma 5 (KDE) is HiDPI-ready. But no, they stubbornly chose GNOME and now they have to throw resources and manpower to hack at the GNOME codebase to fix something that was already fixed in Plasma.
They should have gone with Plasma which is IMHO much better.
OK, I get that it's their project and their choices, all right... but they certainly like to bang their heads against the wall, time after time...
my bad. It should have been 's/en/w/g'. FTFY.
Apologies. My sed-fu is kinda rusty nowadays.
$ echo "Screening Room" | sed 's/n/w/g'
GNOME, KDE, and Cinnamon have been removed from tasksel, but can still be installed although they "are known to suffer from some glitches due to the lack of systemd."
Cannot say anything on GNOME, but KDE (both KDE4 and Plasma 5) run fine in Slackware. As for Cinnamon, there's also an excellent distribution for Slackware, Cinnamon Slackbuilds . There are also implementations for Xfce, MATE, Lumina and LX-Qt, all up to date and fully functional. No glitches due to lack of systemd at all.
I'm typing this on a Slackware64-current box, using the latest KDE Plasma with no trace of systemd.
Since Slackware manages to avoid systemd like the plague even to this day, using modern desktop environments in a systemd-free environment should be no problem.
I use RSS and it's a lifesaver. I do not use for tracking news sites, but to track software updates in Slackware and other projects I follow. It's very useful and convenient.
Since I use KDE, I have a simple RSS Plasma Extension installed for that. Whenever there's an update which interests me, I get a notification. Before that I used the RSS plugin for Claws Mail.