No, there is no way to make testing interesting. I hate it too. Its a "necessary evil" like grooming a dog. The dog survives without it, but that tick infestation can really stress your life out with bugs coming from all directions and showing up in places you never could have imagined.

> I know that Kubuntu is not as polished as Ubuntu. What would be a good KDE distribution to give a try, to see the desktop environment for all it is?

Kubuntu, unfortunately...

"Polished" is a tough one... I still have to type '&gt BR &lt' on slashdot for new lines. But it's the best I've found for it's purpose, and I keep coming back to it... :) SuSE does have a lot of cool features that you may like (that will be in Kubuntu a few months later).

To the OP:

Have you considered handling printing with an applet to minimize browser cross-compatibility issues?

Sorry to plug my own (FOSS) software, but you can't simply pick a browser to code to, you can only pick a minimum supported browser version to code to, and you ALWAYS have to support the big names, and the big versions so your customers are happy.

Printing with jZebra might solve your main printing issues, especially if they're set up on the OS as Generic/Text printers. -Tres

1. First reason I use KDE because it doesn't require me to open gconf to remap my "show desktop" icon. In fact, most key mappings can be remapped by right-clicking. This is an excellent reason to use ANY desktop environment: Customization.

2. Second reason is the idea of Right Click --> Properties on ANY shortcut/icon. Other desktops have different behavior depending on where the shortcut is located, and that makes it hard to learn how to make your own shortcuts. I like making my own fucking shortcuts.

3. Third reason is because it .

4. Fourth reason is to have arguing ammunition with haters (read below, there's plenty of them!).

There are many other conflicting reasons that I like to use gnome (example: Pidgin/Empathy > Kopete, Firefox/Gimp more "native"). I simply use whatever works. I actually enjoy switching back and forth between desktops because the concept of a computer desktop is still young and subject to change.

No one desktop has even come close to perfecting human interaction, so we should praise the work that goes into improving them.

What are you doing specifically with PCL? Could you get away with sending raw commands to your printer(s)?

Sometimes providing a modern interface doesn't sacrifice customization. An earlier post suggests watching others use the tool to gauge how difficult it is. If you have the time to improve, deliver both and have the user compare. In the end it's the users that decide. As long as .bat/.cmd files are supported in Windows, your solution could be not only the most efficient, but the most desired.

Until they add 1 to the end and get back in.

> Java really only has tools for programmers, not psuedo-programmer artist types who typically create cool things in Flash. Sun seems to have never gotten this aspect.


They actually have, and it's called Java FX.

Mine's called "Linksys" and the password is "1234", but there must be a problem because it always lists two of them and some times I make changes and it doesn't save.

Don't be discouraged by the people that learn by example. They just have a different way learning. Its no better or worse.

I think the OP is coding. The quizzes and assignments he speaks of include coding. Some of it more difficult than what a career programmer does on a daily basis.

There's two paths... 1. Learn more, or 2. Apply what you've learned.

If you decide to learn more (we're alway learning, right?), Servlets, Applets, MIDP are great paths to follow. They'll challenge you even more, and make you more hire-able than the millions of students out there that know classes, interfaces, data types and gui libraries.

Learning anything Thread related is great too. The concurrency packages introduced in more recent versions (Since 5.0 I believe) are great for writing server applications. Research Openfire as an excellent server project example that will win resume points.

To apply what you've learned (if you have the time, and it sounds you do), start a small project that solves a particular technology issue and make the world just a little bit better. It will all mesh together for your career.

-Tres

Yes, if all they use is internet, IM, email, then the Windows 7 transition may no be as hard as you think.

You can make most Linux distributions look and feel like Windows XP, but the differences between XP and 7 will still be there with XP and skinned-Linux.

For example, the differences in the Control Panel, Volume Controls, New Dialogs will all be there.

Give one advanced relative Ubuntu and see how they like it. If your use-case proves successful, upgrade the rest one-by one. Just because you are the "technical" resource in the family doesn't mean the other relatives don't talk. Let them decide what they like. Ubuntu spreads word for itself with many non-"Power Users". If you really want to use this opportunity, just plant the seed.

-Tres