Comment Re:Its disgusting (Score 3, Funny) 101
(I'm being vague enough in my post here that I'm comfortable that she won't track down this post and connect the two.)
Sure, until God rats you out again.
Comment Re:Just leave LibreOffice off (Score 1) 488
You boot into a Live CD first and install from there for two reasons:
1. This is a computer that has never has Linux installed on it and you can find out really quickly if it's likely to have its hardware supported.
2. You can use the computer while installing. Especially when older machines can take 45-60 minutes, it can be really nice to have a Web browser or music player available.
I remember my old Slackware CD from 1995 having ctetris on VT2 and how fascinating that was since Windows had no similar concept and how convenient it was for a 15yo, considering installs took a good 90 minutes. Having the Ubuntu Desktop CD be a live CD also makes it a very powerful system recovery tool, and that's worth it too.
I don't agree with the complaints that the alternate install CD is "too hard", although I definitely appreciate the considerably higher user experience provided by the current graphical installer. This is especially important now that Windows Vista and 7 do the same.
Comment Re:Not many people want you to support consumer te (Score 1) 533
I don't expect you to support it, and most others don't either.... It'd be nice if you could spend a few minutes helping me to figure out how to make my email work on the thing, fixing any server related issues in the process.
This is the definition of support.
Comment Re:Active Direcotry Support (Score 1) 165
Okay, those are all important things but nothing you described has to do with the kernel.
plus I want me Email client to have full Exchange 2010 support.
And did you not want to download your email client as a third-party application along with that? But the graphical framework, the desktop manager, and the widgets framework will all be third-party apps as well.
The kernel takes care of hardware support and basic I/O such as file systems and things. Everything else is a "third-party" app.
Electric Tron Lightcycle Hits the Streets
113
cylonlover writes "Practicality tends to take a back seat when you combine sci-fi cult status with custom chopper building — and there's no room for a pillion passenger on the Lightcycle. We first spied Parker Brothers Choppers Lightcycle project last year when it surfaced in gas-powered form, now the company has released video of a fully-electric version of the neon-packing two-wheeler in action. The electric motor may be quieter, but this one's still guaranteed to turn heads."
Comment Re:Yay! (Score 1) 283
My favorite thing about buying a Kindle book, for example, is that I can then read it on any of my computers, either of my Android phones, or my Kindle e-reader. That convenience has been very enjoyable--especially since I don't bring my Kindle to a lot of places but I always have my phone.
Comment Re:First Download? (Score 1) 453
Not everything you wrote makes sense, but I'd like to address some of your concerns.
They make a USB version for purchase in the store.
Having used Ubuntu for awhile now I really appreciate the Apple way of doing things. A few complaints about ubuntu:
- when the version of my four day old local copy of the repository was not correct, the GUI offered no help, it just wouldn't work;
- the GUI for apt-get doesn't let me refresh the local copy of the repository, forcing me to us the CLI, sigh;
I'm not sure what you mean by the GUI for apt-get. Ubuntu doesn't strictly have one of these although it has a few programs which fill the role: Ubuntu Software Center, Update Manager, and Synaptic. Ubuntu Software Center doesn't have a way to update the repository listings but Ubuntu will check for updates once a day if you're on the Internet so this should be automatic. That's not to say the feature wouldn't be useful. The other two programs have fairly clear methods for updates. I'd argue that Synaptic is the true front end for apt-get, and it's very comprehensive.
- the Ubuntu package manager is crustier than the Mac package manager, i.e. the apt-get for unison is way out of date, the Mac Ports version is newer;
This has nothing to do with the package manager but with the Ubuntu repositories. This is probably something that can be fixed in in Debian and Ubuntu. It is annoying how some software lags behind. Sometimes PPAs (personal package archives) that individuals add can help with this but these can be risky as they aren't vetted like the rest of the OS.
As for sshd, it doesn't enable remote root access by password as Ubuntu ships with no root password.
GUIs for server daemons aren't unified because you can pick your favorite software package and use it. This gives you more power and choice with the drawback of needing to know how each package works. I disagree with your premise that a [system services configuration] GUI that doesn't support every possible package just shouldn't be shipped. I think it makes more sense to start with core functionality that's stable, ship what you have, and improve it rather than not ship or work on something at all. If the GUI tool proves unsuitable for your purposes, then it's easily ignored until such time as it is.
The "Ubuntu GUI" is more of a way to use the standard desktop stuff, not to administer a server. So unless you're referring to server administration tools specifically, I'm not sure I agree with your opinion that Ubuntu would be better off as a CLI-only OS.
Comment Yay! (Score 1) 283
First vote!
I love paper books but ebooks are so handy... I keep reference books in print and light reads electronic.
Marooned Off Vesta 55
mcgrew writes with this quote from an AP report:
"After four years sailing through space, the Dawn spacecraft was expected to slip into orbit late Friday around a giant asteroid to begin a yearlong investigation into the origins of the solar system. It is the first of two scheduled tour stops for the NASA probe that almost never made it to the launch pad. Because of its stunted growth, Vesta holds 'a record of the earliest history of the solar system,' said the mission's lead scientist Christopher Russell of the University of California, Los Angeles."
Dawn's mission homepage has all the information and pictures collected so far. On July 9th, it snapped our best look to date at the ~530-kilometer-wide Vesta, from 40,000 kilometers away. When it arrives, it will take observations from successively lower orbits, the final one being only 460km above Vesta's surface. Next May, Dawn will break orbit and head to Ceres. (mcgrew adds, "The submission's title is a nod to Isaac Asimov. Lets hope Dawn doesn't get marooned!")
Police Say Mac Tech Installed Spyware To Photo Women
235
CWmike writes "He was hired to fix their computers, but police say that Trevor Harwell instead installed spyware software that took candid photos of his clients in various states of undress. Harwell had been a Macintosh specialist with a Los Angeles-area home computer repair company called Rezitech. That's how he allegedly had the opportunity to install the spy software, called Camcapture, on computers. While working on repair assignments, the 20-year-old technician secretly set up a complex system that could notify him whenever it was ready to snap a shot using the computer's webcam, according to Sergeant Andrew Goodrich, a spokesman with the Fullerton Police Department in California. 'It would let his server know that the victim's machine was on. The server would then notify his smartphone... and then the images were recorded on his home computer,' he said. Police say they've found thousands of images on Harwell's computers and have identified dozens of victims, all of them women in Los Angeles and Orange County. Harwell was arrested Wednesday by Fullerton police." But was he a good repairman?
Comment Re:Yes. (Score 1) 367
The WD TV Live HD Media Player does not contain the necessary hardware to support Netflix and some other commercial content providers, unfortunately. Happily, most of the other features of the WD TV Live Plus and even the WD TV Live Hub in many cases have been brought back to the WD TV Live where possible. As for Netflix Canada support on the WD TV Live Plus and WD TV Live Hub, this is supported and should be fully operational.
Western Digital KB 6612: NetFlix support in Canada for the WD TV Live Plus and Live Hub
Disclaimer: I am a technical support auditor for Western Digital.
Comment Re:unity (Score 3, Informative) 729
Actually, there's an Ubuntu 6.06.1 LTS and 6.06.2 LTS, and 10.04.1 LTS and 10.04.2 LTS as well. Ubuntu 10.04.3 LTS comes out on July 28th.
The LTS releases are supported for 3 years/5 years on the desktop/server, so the CD images are rerolled with updates every 6 months.
Comment Re:problem is, Unity is a disaster (Score 1) 511
It does take a little getting used to. I still tap Super to bring up the Dash and then start typing away, but for casual browsing, well, I'm hoping there are improvements to be made.
I don't see anything wrong with the GNOME 2 desktop with panels, but between Unity and GNOME Shell I definitely greatly prefer Unity. But what I'm most grateful for in Linux is that the desktop environment and window managers are all decoupled from each other and the OS itself so that we really do have as much choice as we're willing to configure.
Comment Re:problem is, Unity is a disaster (Score 1) 511
Who the hell thought it was a good idea not to have a decent easily accessible menu with all your applications?
That'd be the Applications Lens that comes up when you press Super+A or click on the application lens icon in the Launcher?
Comment Re:Linuxconf (Score 5, Insightful) 539
I never had the pleasure of using it. However, making things easier in Linux isn't "dumbing down" the operating system. It's simply making things more accessible. Done properly, the fancy GUI stuff just snaps together with the existing CLI and config file stuff and then you get to choose the most appropriate way to manage and configure your system. That's a win for absolutely everyone.
And that's what will keep Linux competitive--the ability to meet novice computer users alongside having the power and the efficiency for die-hard CLI lovers.
