Category: Linux

Even though the big hoopla was supposed to be Dell’s new Ubuntu offerings, the Linux sleeper hits of 2008 were Everex’s gOS “green” PC and ASUS’s Eee PC mini-laptop—$200 and $400, respectively. I’m amazed that these two models seem to be doing well. After all, the cheap Linspire-loaded PCs Wal-Mart used to sell made no… Continue reading How can preinstalled Linux be successful?

Do you know when old people talk about the good old days? Do you know when they talk about not having to lock their doors at night? That’s what the Ubuntu Forums used to be like. Sure, we had the occasional crazy troll, and we definitely had lots of advertising spam (cell phones, porn, viagra,… Continue reading All it takes is one annoying user to spoil the fun

I’m really sick and tired of people on the Ubuntu Forums arguing about which is better—command-line or graphical user interface. Why does one need to be better? Can’t we have both? Alas! Not only can we have both, but we do have both. That’s the direction desktop Linux is heading and has been heading the… Continue reading Let’s have the CLI cake and eat the GUI too!

Linux users often debate about whether it’s a good idea to evangelize about desktop Linux or not. Many are quite enthusiastic to the point of misrepresenting desktop Linux as some cost-free version of Windows that also has no problems. Others have a quiet elitism that says, “I don’t really want the masses using desktop Linux.… Continue reading A New Desktop Linux Tactic: Play Hard to Get

Introduction I’ve often seen Linux users on forums link to “How To Ask Questions The Smart Way” by Eric Raymond in response to “dumb questions” asked on the forums. I’m not sure this is the best link to refer people to. The tirade is quite wordy and will bore the “noob” who is “too dumb”… Continue reading Getting the Best Help on Linux Forums

Even though there is a bug report on this for Nautilus, I didn’t include proper implementation of privilege escalation as one of The Top 5 Gnome/Ubuntu Usability Bugs I’d Love to See Fixed (well, it would then be six instead of five, anyway)—mainly because it’s not unique to Gnome. I haven’t seen proper file browser… Continue reading File Browser Privilege Escalation Done Right

Automatix is definitely a hot-button topic in the Ubuntu community. If you’re curious to read what people are saying, here are some threads to check out. Automatix (Automated GUI installation script) aaahhh whats happend to Automatix Automatix “misinformation”? Automatix? Is it a good thing? So why are there a lot of users who dislike Automatix?… Continue reading A collection of Automatix threads