This doesn’t happen very frequently to us. Our bank is Mac- and Linux-friendly. Pretty much anything we use these days is Mac- and Linux-friendly. Up until today, Netflix was also Mac- and Linux-friendly. I just got an email from them telling me Your $____ plan not only gives you 3 DVDs out at-a-time but you… Continue reading Netflix’s new feature screws Mac and Linux
Category: Linux
ReactOS could be good… much, much later
Many hopeful migrants to desktop Linux expect Linux to be a cost-free version Windows without problems. It’s with that expectation that many of these potential convertees run back to Windows at the first sign of trouble… or just culture shock. Well, there is a free version of Windows called ReactOS. It’s done in partnership with… Continue reading ReactOS could be good… much, much later
Open Source for Non-Programmers
On a Linux forum, when you get into discussions of the benefits of open source over proprietary software, inevitably someone will say something to the effect of If you don’t like it, you can change it—that’s the beauty of open source. While that may be the beauty of open source for programmers, how does that… Continue reading Open Source for Non-Programmers
Zenity is Cool
I’d heard of Zenity before, but I had no idea what it was. Then, the other day on the Ubuntu Forums, I was looking for a way to create a keyboard shortcut for emptying the trash in Gnome (not immediately, but with a confirmation dialogue), and the fine folk at the Forums suggested I use… Continue reading Zenity is Cool
The Top 5 Gnome/Ubuntu Usability Bugs I’d Love to See Fixed
I’ve been a Linux user only two years now, and I’ve tried KDE, Gnome, Xfce, IceWM, Fluxbox, Openbox, Sawfish… and a lot of random window managers. Right now, I’m at a place in my computing life where I like Gnome. That place may change, but Gnome has finally grown on me, as it does to… Continue reading The Top 5 Gnome/Ubuntu Usability Bugs I’d Love to See Fixed
Another tired phrase: Year of the Linux Desktop
Recently, another year of the Linux desktop article appeared: “2008: Year of the Linux Desktop” by Robert Strohmeyer Why? There are always great steps in Linux desktop development. There are always more and more people trying out desktop Linux. Does there need to be a “year of the Linux desktop”? Like Linux isn’t ready for… Continue reading Another tired phrase: Year of the Linux Desktop
Linux Mint Review
For quite a while I’ve heard hype about Linux Mint. A lot of people make it sound as if it’s the perfect Linux distribution—Ubuntu but more polished. Other people think it’s just Ubuntu with some different artwork, nothing special. As usual, the critics and the devotees both fail to give a real sense of what… Continue reading Linux Mint Review
Should the Linux Filesystem Hierarchy Change?
I’ve read a lot of complaints about the Linux filesystem hierarchy. If you haven’t read them, you can check out this search of the Ubuntu Forums for the phrase filesystem confusing. The main arguments against the current FSH are: The programs scatter their files in too many directories The are too many directories in general… Continue reading Should the Linux Filesystem Hierarchy Change?
My time has no value?
Have you ever read the phrase Linux is free only if your time has no value? It’s the mantra of the frustrated migrant—the Windows user who’s sick of Windows, thinks desktop Linux is a drop-in replacement, and then has no idea what problems she’ll run into installing and configuring a new operating system from scratch.… Continue reading My time has no value?
Types of desktop Linux adoption barriers
I don’t want to get in another argument about what the “biggest” barrier to desktop Linux adoption is. What’s the point? Even if “big” could be quantified, who cares if one is the “biggest”? There are a lot of barriers, and they all work in tandem. These barriers to adoption rarely operate alone. Awareness I… Continue reading Types of desktop Linux adoption barriers