Well, if that's what you want, you have plenty of choices. If you want something full-featured, both Gnome and KDE will fit the bill, and you can download themes that even make the icons and windows look similar to Windows.
I never liked KDE either, but there was a time (~1997?) when KDE apps would "just work" and were a lot more stable than their Gnome equivalents. However, that was never quite enough for me. I found myself getting irritable or angry whenever I used KDE (also my reaction to using Windows), so I decided not to torture myself any more.
Having said that, I do still make occasional forays into KDE just for perspective. But KDE4 was a non-starter until I found the setting to make the desktop usable as a desktop again; but let it not be said that Gnome developers have been innocent of imposing craniorectal notions on the hapless user.
I would have thought they could use as much or as little of Gnome as they please. This is hardly anything new: for instance, back in the late '90s, RedHat shipped with Gnome by default, using Enlightenment as its window manager. (IIRC in at least versions 5.2 to 6.2 of the distro.)
On my present (Arch Linux) desktop boxes, it's no longer immediately obvious how much of Gnome I'm using any more. At the UI level, I've done a bit of cherry-picking, using things like compiz-fusion for managing windows and Avant Window Navigator instead of gnome-panel. I spent some time playing with other file managers, but in the end decided Nautilus was actually pretty OK. I haven't had any good reason, however, to replace much of the stuff under the hood that gets fired up by gdm, since I'm fairly happy with how everything works.
"The mystery of the legendary chupacabra, a beast said to drain the blood of domestic animals at night..."
There's nothing wrong with my reading skills, but in true Slashdot tradition I didn't get as far as reading TFA before I saw that. I have no animus against your alma mater, so I'm sorry if I gave offence.
Clearly not a wombat, whose only super skill is being such a solid bastard...
Depends on what kind of wombat. If you're in Tasmania (IMO the unquestionable road-kill capital of the world), the wombats are mostly cute little things with button-noses that are intelligently designed [that's a joke, guys] to make you feel really guilty when you hit them with your car, leaving them on their backs with their round, cuddly tummies facing the sun.:-(
If a researcher at the University of Michigan is incapaple of recognising that wombats and squirrels are vegetarian, I wonder about that institution's selection processes. Neither beast is likely to "drain the blood" of any animal, for fun or otherwise. A mangy animal is just a mangy animal, which, while sad, does not mean they are vampires.
We, as the developed world (US, Russia, China, India, UK, EU, etc.) might not develop them...
I can remember a time when most of the world outside the US was seriously worried that the US president (who was already gaga) might push the button simply because he didn't get enough whiskey on his granola one morning.
It's the fact that every distro team spends a lot of efforts to make it unique. Instead of making it working.
I respectfully disagree. The more responsible and well-established distros - by which I mean Slackware, Arch (my current preference), Debian and I guess RedHat/Fedora - are pretty solid on their quality control. They all "Just Work"(TM).
Slackware (with its team of one individual) and Arch are pretty much BSD-like in their approach to setting everything up, while Deb and RH follow a more SysV-like approach.
I won't get started on Ubuntu, because that distro just makes me irritable every time I install it. Sorry.
Exactly. And, to be honest, I don't really care. I wouldn't even consider taking the time to view a full-length Flash movie. Flash support for Linux is more than adequate for viewing crappy YouTube movie clips, which is just about all Flash is good for in the first place.
Many site designers seem to think it's cool to embed the entire content of their webpage into a Flash presentation, but I find this irritating enough that unless I have already decided I am really keen on investigating the content for some compelling reason, I will usually just pass the site by.
Yup, that's 100% Adobe's fault... and also 100% Linux problem.
To be fair (FWIW), Adobe didn't actually create the Flash can of worms. For some bizarre reason, they apparently thought the technology was actually worth buying.
Come on, get real. Anyone with a 3-digit #UID is probably still using emacs as his web browser. And by the way, there's nothing wrong with that. (I was slow to catch on to Slashdot.) Now I'll just get off my own lawn...
...so that when I cold boot the machine it comes up in the state I left it when I powered down, like Linux does?
I'm not sure what you mean here. (Maybe because I don't run Windows.) Linux always boots in a "known-good" state - which is exactly the way I like it. I really hate it when I see fag-ends or other artifacts of previous sessions appearing in a new session after reboot.
In fact, they're asking for all money made from such photos...
Ha. Well, asking isn't getting. I still have a number of really good photos I took back in the '60s, before they put up all those barriers to stop anyone getting near the stones. These guys weren't even a gleam in a bureaucrat's eye then, so they would have a hard time defending a claim on my work.
Apparently replacement batteries are indeed available for Apple handheld devices. The trick is to get them open, but kits are available. As for replacing the battery in your MacBook, though, I wouldn't have a clue.
However, I would actually consider the inability to have a recount a positive. It saves money for the taxpayer and reduces confusion and legal challenges after the election.
Written like a true neo-con. Of course, it's even more efficient if a court decides that the votes don't need to be counted at all. Recent history: check it out. Just don't call it democracy.
In a time when just about everybody uses some form of media player, whether it be an iPod, phone or whatever, it never ceases to perplex me that so many car manufacturers bother with CD changers at all; a frustratingly small number of new cars arrive fitted with even a line-in socket. I know there are lots of FM transmitters you can use, but the sound quality universally sucks, and there's always that struggle to find a frequency that isn't occupied.
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I want something that looks like Windows...
Well, if that's what you want, you have plenty of choices. If you want something full-featured, both Gnome and KDE will fit the bill, and you can download themes that even make the icons and windows look similar to Windows.
I never liked KDE either, but there was a time (~1997?) when KDE apps would "just work" and were a lot more stable than their Gnome equivalents. However, that was never quite enough for me. I found myself getting irritable or angry whenever I used KDE (also my reaction to using Windows), so I decided not to torture myself any more.
Having said that, I do still make occasional forays into KDE just for perspective. But KDE4 was a non-starter until I found the setting to make the desktop usable as a desktop again; but let it not be said that Gnome developers have been innocent of imposing craniorectal notions on the hapless user.
I would have thought they could use as much or as little of Gnome as they please. This is hardly anything new: for instance, back in the late '90s, RedHat shipped with Gnome by default, using Enlightenment as its window manager. (IIRC in at least versions 5.2 to 6.2 of the distro.)
On my present (Arch Linux) desktop boxes, it's no longer immediately obvious how much of Gnome I'm using any more. At the UI level, I've done a bit of cherry-picking, using things like compiz-fusion for managing windows and Avant Window Navigator instead of gnome-panel. I spent some time playing with other file managers, but in the end decided Nautilus was actually pretty OK. I haven't had any good reason, however, to replace much of the stuff under the hood that gets fired up by gdm, since I'm fairly happy with how everything works.
That indeed is a KDE (or any other UI) thing which happens if you want it.
I prefer a reboot to leave me with no applications running, but their "state" to be recoverable if I want it.
Try line 1 of the submission:
"The mystery of the legendary chupacabra, a beast said to drain the blood of domestic animals at night..."
There's nothing wrong with my reading skills, but in true Slashdot tradition I didn't get as far as reading TFA before I saw that. I have no animus against your alma mater, so I'm sorry if I gave offence.
Clearly not a wombat, whose only super skill is being such a solid bastard...
:-(
Depends on what kind of wombat. If you're in Tasmania (IMO the unquestionable road-kill capital of the world), the wombats are mostly cute little things with button-noses that are intelligently designed [that's a joke, guys] to make you feel really guilty when you hit them with your car, leaving them on their backs with their round, cuddly tummies facing the sun.
I don't go camping or walking in the national park near my parents' house without my bearspike and/or a bottle of vinegar now.
Spot the newbie.
I thought everybody knew that if you rub Vegemite behind your ears, the drop-bears will leave you alone.
If a researcher at the University of Michigan is incapaple of recognising that wombats and squirrels are vegetarian, I wonder about that institution's selection processes. Neither beast is likely to "drain the blood" of any animal, for fun or otherwise. A mangy animal is just a mangy animal, which, while sad, does not mean they are vampires.
We, as the developed world (US, Russia, China, India, UK, EU, etc.) might not develop them...
I can remember a time when most of the world outside the US was seriously worried that the US president (who was already gaga) might push the button simply because he didn't get enough whiskey on his granola one morning.
The translators of the bible got it wrong. What they were supposed to say is:
"It is easier for a man to enter a camel if he stands upon a box."
Damn, I hate it when I get first post. Too many replies to read through when people can't be bothered starting their own threads.
It's the fact that every distro team spends a lot of efforts to make it unique. Instead of making it working.
I respectfully disagree. The more responsible and well-established distros - by which I mean Slackware, Arch (my current preference), Debian and I guess RedHat/Fedora - are pretty solid on their quality control. They all "Just Work"(TM).
Slackware (with its team of one individual) and Arch are pretty much BSD-like in their approach to setting everything up, while Deb and RH follow a more SysV-like approach.
I won't get started on Ubuntu, because that distro just makes me irritable every time I install it. Sorry.
flash has poor support for linux.
Exactly. And, to be honest, I don't really care. I wouldn't even consider taking the time to view a full-length Flash movie. Flash support for Linux is more than adequate for viewing crappy YouTube movie clips, which is just about all Flash is good for in the first place.
Many site designers seem to think it's cool to embed the entire content of their webpage into a Flash presentation, but I find this irritating enough that unless I have already decided I am really keen on investigating the content for some compelling reason, I will usually just pass the site by.
Yup, that's 100% Adobe's fault... and also 100% Linux problem.
To be fair (FWIW), Adobe didn't actually create the Flash can of worms. For some bizarre reason, they apparently thought the technology was actually worth buying.
Come on, get real. Anyone with a 3-digit #UID is probably still using emacs as his web browser. And by the way, there's nothing wrong with that. (I was slow to catch on to Slashdot.) Now I'll just get off my own lawn...
...so that when I cold boot the machine it comes up in the state I left it when I powered down, like Linux does?
I'm not sure what you mean here. (Maybe because I don't run Windows.) Linux always boots in a "known-good" state - which is exactly the way I like it. I really hate it when I see fag-ends or other artifacts of previous sessions appearing in a new session after reboot.
Selling personal information on its users is how it makes money, and Facebook is above all a business.
Why is this news? Nothing to see here, move on please...
In fact, they're asking for all money made from such photos...
Ha. Well, asking isn't getting. I still have a number of really good photos I took back in the '60s, before they put up all those barriers to stop anyone getting near the stones. These guys weren't even a gleam in a bureaucrat's eye then, so they would have a hard time defending a claim on my work.
Pfft, femtoscopes. Anyone not using a yoctoscope might as well turn in his nerd card now.
Apparently replacement batteries are indeed available for Apple handheld devices. The trick is to get them open, but kits are available. As for replacing the battery in your MacBook, though, I wouldn't have a clue.
But does anyone even make or use NiCd batteries any more?
However, I would actually consider the inability to have a recount a positive. It saves money for the taxpayer and reduces confusion and legal challenges after the election.
Written like a true neo-con. Of course, it's even more efficient if a court decides that the votes don't need to be counted at all. Recent history: check it out. Just don't call it democracy.
Or, more succinctly, Money Talks.
And, as we all know, money is the root of all evil.
But then, everybody needs roots...
Indeed. This laptop has files on it dating back to 1976. They don't take up much space, so there's no need to remove them.
In a time when just about everybody uses some form of media player, whether it be an iPod, phone or whatever, it never ceases to perplex me that so many car manufacturers bother with CD changers at all; a frustratingly small number of new cars arrive fitted with even a line-in socket. I know there are lots of FM transmitters you can use, but the sound quality universally sucks, and there's always that struggle to find a frequency that isn't occupied.