Dorsai65 - Slashdot User

Is there a Linux distro that isn't hogtied? 2

Submitted by

Dorsai65

on Tuesday March 30 2010, @12:09AM

Dorsai65 writes "Having tried and used a number of different Linux distros (Redhat, Fedora, SuSE, Mepis, Gentoo, and (K)Ubuntu, among others) since I made the big switch several years ago, there are certain applications and utilities that I prefer to use over the one that some distros make all but mandatory. For example, I much prefer VLC to any other video player, but my current Fedora12 is adamant that I have to have Dragon Player. I don't care for the default Dolphin file manager, but can't find/see how or where to tell my system to use something else (or even to REMOVE Dolphin, for that matter). So my question for my fellow Slashdotters is this: is there a distro that actually practices freedom (as in free-to-choose) utility/application selection, versus insisting on whatever the devs think is cool/sexy? Can I (relatively) easily have a Linux system that lets ME choose what I want on it without insisting I have to have stuff I don't like or want?"

Where has the "beginner" software gone? 0

Submitted by

Dorsai65

on Friday January 08 2010, @10:16PM

Dorsai65 writes "Several months ago, I got started with the Arduino, and have been having a lot of fun with it while applying it to some use.

Something that I've run into, however, is that to get any real mileage out of it, it's almost mandatory to have it communicating with something on a desktop machine — whether that's to do intermittent data collection, provide oversight, implement command and control that the Arduino doesn't provide, or some other functionality. In an effort to share some of what I've learned, and perhaps save others some time and trouble, I'd like to be able to make available the host-based software that I've written to complement my Arduino projects. The problem I've run into, however, is that there seems to be a notable lack of cross-platform (Win/'nix/Mac) tools appropriate to the non-tech and non-programmer that the Arduino hardware is so useful to. I've tried a variety of different languages and environments (Java, Qt, GTK, etc), but found all of them falling short for different reasons.

My question for Slashdotters is: does there exist a language/environment (cross-platform, and preferably GUI) that's both simple to start with, yet has power and flexibility as the user's skills grow? Is there a graphical version of "BASIC" out there that works on the Big Three systems?"

Is Linux fragmenting? 0

Submitted by

Dorsai65

on Sunday August 17 2008, @03:06PM

Dorsai65 writes "I've been using Linux (Redhat, SuSE, Ubuntu, Mandriva, and a couple more) for several years now, and while checking out a different distro the other day, it really hit me that almost none of the different flavors of Linux bear a whole lot of under-the-hood resemblance to each other.

By that, I mean that the update option for each distro is for that distro almost exclusively: even rpm- or deb-based distros don't share software repositories; each distro seems to decide for itself where things go (SuSE creates a /srv/html directory for Apache; other distros go with /var/www, for example).

While some of the 'problems' can be addressed by add-in tools (the Smart package manager comes to mind), that's something a n00b likely won't be aware of. I've talked to a few people that have tried Linux, and this distro-centeredness is something that put all of them off; while a Windows box may be branded by Dell, Gateway, HP, or someone else, it's still consistently Windows — updating, adding software, and so on all still work the same.

So what I'd like to ask Slashdot is: Is it time for Linux to establish (and implement... Linux Standard Base seems to be an example of What Not To Do) some standards? And for the different distros to start 'playing nice' with each other, so that there's a level of consistency?"

Is documentation dead? 0

Submitted by

Dorsai65

on Tuesday June 24 2008, @03:34PM

Dorsai65 writes "In the process of researching a CMS (Content Management System) or groupware solution for some folks, I visited a lot of product sites. One of the first things that I looked at was the documentation: checking for readability, thoroughness, and so on.

Something I noticed in the process is that it seemed like a lot of big-project sites are only making their documentation available online — there's no option to download a pdf, zipped copy of the pages, or anything else that would allow the user to read the stuff offline.

I'm curious to know: is this the wave of the future? Am I stuck in 'old fart' mode, thinking that documentation should be something I can look at without a net connection? Have any other Slashdot denizens dismissed an application from consideration because of something like this?"

Is BitTorrents popularity going to be its demise? 0

Submitted by

Dorsai65

on Friday April 18 2008, @05:35PM

Dorsai65 writes "The recent observation about the increasing popularity of BitTorrent makes me wonder: Is that popularity going to end up with the protocol pretty much falling on the floor because of all the uninformed n00bs, l33t haxx0rz, and I-wanna-so-I-will types essentially abusing it? As someone that has used several of the torrent trackers (including Pirate Bay), I've noticed that a lot of people are throwing torrents up, but either failing to adequately describe them, or overloading the descriptions with drivel. By way of example, one torrent description I looked at (of a movie) simply included a link to IMDB — nothing about whether it was PAL/NTSC/HD/WideScreen, language, subtitles, or anything else; another went into elaborate detail of the codecs used, bitrates it was sampled/converted at, and a lot of other fluff — and only briefly mentioned that it was appropriate for PC-playback only.

Is this something that will ultimately kill using BitTorrent for most people (because, essentially, they can't find what they're looking for), and useful only in specific instances (such as distributing a distro or other massive file)?"