It is anything like the previous generations the drivers will either be mainlined already or in a PPA (in which case they be in a future mainline kernel release).
I have the previous gen Ivy Bridge XPS 13 and everything (even the function buttons on the keyboard) works out of the box on Kubuntu 13.04+ and Opensuse. Even Arch was no trouble.
because it is irrelevant. people just want to use their applications and moving to linux doesnt make that any better in fact it makes it worse.
It is relevant. The only route to mainstream desktop Linux adoption currently is install it yourself, something that most users would not do whether or not they knew it was an option.
in addition to Macs there are quite a large range of Chromebooks now which have taken off bigger than any traditional Linux distro ever has.
OSX is pre-installed. ChromeOS is pre-installed. Many of the applications "people just want to use" don't exist on those platforms either. This is very much the case on ChromeOS where it has less applications than desktop Linux but that has not stopped it from taking off. The lack of Linux pre-installs on hardware from major manufacturers and subsequently on the showroom floor of brick and mortar shops is the single biggest factor in play here.
and linux has been free for 20 years and 98% of people still dont use it on their desktop.
While I think desktop use of the OS is underestimated, most normal people (your 98%) wouldn't install their own OS (let alone know that Linux even exists). Of those that would, many would just be reinstalling a clean Windows install either to keep it performant or clean manufacturer installed bloatware (and because of games but that is slowly changing). Also, almost all new PCs that are not Macs ship with Windows by default because of Microsoft's monopolistic actions in the past and their current OEM/refund tricks that have a subtle monopoly reinforcing effect. Is it any wonder things are the way they are?
Where X = what 99% of computer end users do on a computer
I am assuming you mean "X" is being useful as a desktop OS. Every modern Linux distro can do what most typical end users need: a browser, an office package, media playback and games (Steam). Sure if you need a particular program for your work (eg CAD, graphic design etc), those may only be available on other platforms but that has nothing to do with whether or not Linux is capable of running those programs (it is more than capable) and more to do with what has been preloaded on systems sold in stores via vertical integration (Apple) or monopolistic practices (Microsoft) and therefore is what people have by default on their systems (most people will not install their own OS) and what those software vendors will write to.
Exactly. The Linux kernel might not get a heap of vendor driver support but it has a gigantic list of supported hardware and peripherals, and that support is not dropped between OS versions. I find more things, particularly older devices that don't work on later versions of Windows, "just work" under Linux.
Arch. The main point is that add almost no modifications of their own, and always have the newest version. And with KDE4 you always want the newest versions, because since the 4.0 fiasco, they've been very busy improving, and still are.
This. I have one system running Kubuntu and one system just switched back to Arch. Based only on current releases, Kubuntu will be getting replaced with Arch on that machine too when I get some spare time. Arch will get Frameworks 5 etc sooner too which I will be looking forward to:)
I just opened Dolphin, clicked on the location control to edit, leaving the mouse cursor over the control, and when I type the mouse cursor disappears. In Kate the mouse cursor vanishes when over the edit area while typing. Same behavior with the search control in the main menu.
Open Kate, click File, Open; note that folders appear before non-folders. Click the wrench icon in the upper right, click "Sorting" and turn off the extremely useful "Folders First" feature; the file dialog will now sort "pure alphabetical."
Someone should probably close those bug reports then; they're clearly both fixed.
Yep. Also, some of us even update our systems to benefit from the ongoing and diligent work by KDE developers. That way we're not complaining about flaws from five years ago.
This is why I love KDE. If you don't like something, odds are there is a setting for it. KDE unfortunately does suffer from bad default settings, mainly in the look and feel department but being able to change everything to your liking makes up for it. I just wish syncing settings between machines and/or new installs was more robust than copying the.kde folder...
This campaign was launched at enthusiasts who are mostly spec obsessed and they did not have complete specs on the device. There was no working prototype either so for most of us it was too rich to throw money in without knowing what we would get and how it would perform. That leaves Ubuntu fanboys, seems there are quite a few:-D
Just because they're hand-picked doesn't mean they're not as good. No company is going to hire an auditor that simply passes them, and no auditing company will risk their reputation by giving a company a passing grade for an insecure system.
iOS still has less vulnerabilities than Android, so I'm not sure how you can back up your raging fanboyism.
Please link your evidence of less vulnerabilities for iOS or you are just showing your raging fanboyism.
ActionBarCompat was announced at I/O this year so once that arrives in the v4 support library, I can't think of any core functionality that is not a corner case that is not supported.
Slashdot Mirror
It is anything like the previous generations the drivers will either be mainlined already or in a PPA (in which case they be in a future mainline kernel release). I have the previous gen Ivy Bridge XPS 13 and everything (even the function buttons on the keyboard) works out of the box on Kubuntu 13.04+ and Opensuse. Even Arch was no trouble.
because it is irrelevant. people just want to use their applications and moving to linux doesnt make that any better in fact it makes it worse.
It is relevant. The only route to mainstream desktop Linux adoption currently is install it yourself, something that most users would not do whether or not they knew it was an option.
in addition to Macs there are quite a large range of Chromebooks now which have taken off bigger than any traditional Linux distro ever has.
OSX is pre-installed. ChromeOS is pre-installed. Many of the applications "people just want to use" don't exist on those platforms either. This is very much the case on ChromeOS where it has less applications than desktop Linux but that has not stopped it from taking off. The lack of Linux pre-installs on hardware from major manufacturers and subsequently on the showroom floor of brick and mortar shops is the single biggest factor in play here.
I wouldn't use it if it was free.
and linux has been free for 20 years and 98% of people still dont use it on their desktop.
While I think desktop use of the OS is underestimated, most normal people (your 98%) wouldn't install their own OS (let alone know that Linux even exists). Of those that would, many would just be reinstalling a clean Windows install either to keep it performant or clean manufacturer installed bloatware (and because of games but that is slowly changing). Also, almost all new PCs that are not Macs ship with Windows by default because of Microsoft's monopolistic actions in the past and their current OEM/refund tricks that have a subtle monopoly reinforcing effect. Is it any wonder things are the way they are?
What you described can be summarized by the Peter Principle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle
Nap time pre and post work would make me very happy haha
Where X = what 99% of computer end users do on a computer
I am assuming you mean "X" is being useful as a desktop OS. Every modern Linux distro can do what most typical end users need: a browser, an office package, media playback and games (Steam). Sure if you need a particular program for your work (eg CAD, graphic design etc), those may only be available on other platforms but that has nothing to do with whether or not Linux is capable of running those programs (it is more than capable) and more to do with what has been preloaded on systems sold in stores via vertical integration (Apple) or monopolistic practices (Microsoft) and therefore is what people have by default on their systems (most people will not install their own OS) and what those software vendors will write to.
Exactly. The Linux kernel might not get a heap of vendor driver support but it has a gigantic list of supported hardware and peripherals, and that support is not dropped between OS versions. I find more things, particularly older devices that don't work on later versions of Windows, "just work" under Linux.
Yep, this. I am so sick of people saying "xxx invented xxx" when they don't actually understand the meaning of the word invention.
This is why aliens do not want to speak to us.
Arch. The main point is that add almost no modifications of their own, and always have the newest version. And with KDE4 you always want the newest versions, because since the 4.0 fiasco, they've been very busy improving, and still are.
This. I have one system running Kubuntu and one system just switched back to Arch. Based only on current releases, Kubuntu will be getting replaced with Arch on that machine too when I get some spare time. Arch will get Frameworks 5 etc sooner too which I will be looking forward to :)
I just opened Dolphin, clicked on the location control to edit, leaving the mouse cursor over the control, and when I type the mouse cursor disappears. In Kate the mouse cursor vanishes when over the edit area while typing. Same behavior with the search control in the main menu.
Open Kate, click File, Open; note that folders appear before non-folders. Click the wrench icon in the upper right, click "Sorting" and turn off the extremely useful "Folders First" feature; the file dialog will now sort "pure alphabetical."
Someone should probably close those bug reports then; they're clearly both fixed.
Yep. Also, some of us even update our systems to benefit from the ongoing and diligent work by KDE developers. That way we're not complaining about flaws from five years ago.
This is why I love KDE. If you don't like something, odds are there is a setting for it. KDE unfortunately does suffer from bad default settings, mainly in the look and feel department but being able to change everything to your liking makes up for it. I just wish syncing settings between machines and/or new installs was more robust than copying the .kde folder...
The LeapPad probably has more apps than the Surface but that does not make it any less a toy.
Your mama's research methodology is so flawed... oh wait...
When I read this I instantly thought of Docker. Wonder what the advantages of this are over Docker...
This campaign was launched at enthusiasts who are mostly spec obsessed and they did not have complete specs on the device. There was no working prototype either so for most of us it was too rich to throw money in without knowing what we would get and how it would perform. That leaves Ubuntu fanboys, seems there are quite a few :-D
Just because they're hand-picked doesn't mean they're not as good. No company is going to hire an auditor that simply passes them, and no auditing company will risk their reputation by giving a company a passing grade for an insecure system.
iOS still has less vulnerabilities than Android, so I'm not sure how you can back up your raging fanboyism.
Please link your evidence of less vulnerabilities for iOS or you are just showing your raging fanboyism.
Can you give an example of which APIs it lacks?
ActionBarCompat was announced at I/O this year so once that arrives in the v4 support library, I can't think of any core functionality that is not a corner case that is not supported.
I prefer "All Things Douche-canoe conference" but I like yours too.
Tech journalists are terrible. That is all.