Problems with gnome

**ComplexNumber** · June 23rd, 2007

praxis22
you don't have to use the 'default' applications that come with the desktop. that's another beauty of linux - if you don't like it, use a different one. for example, i don't have the gnome snapshot tool in my menu - i use Desktop Data Manager instead and it serves me fine.

**praxis22** · June 23rd, 2007

Aha! Forum staff...

I have a totally unrelated question to ask

Does the little sun icon next to your handle and mine, mean what I think it does? Namely that we're in the same timezone? If not, how come we're the only two with it, and everyone else looks like they have a small white disc, (moon?) next to their handles.

Also, while I'm at it, sorry for posting in the wrong forum, had I know there was a "cafe" I'd have posted it here. It was part rant/part vent, part "bleat in the night" looking for any kind of solution.

However, back on topic, anyone aggrieved by the apparent arbitrariness of decisions made higher up and further away should find this suitably amusing The gnome-screensaver maintainer feels the ire of rabid ubuntu users:

http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=316654

Kudos to 23meg for that.

**ComplexNumber** · June 23rd, 2007

Originally Posted by praxis22

Aha! Forum staff...

I have a totally unrelated question to ask

Does the little sun icon next to your handle and mine, mean what I think it does? Namely that we're in the same timezone? If not, how come we're the only two with it, and everyone else looks like they have a small white disc, (moon?) next to their handles.

Also, while I'm at it, sorry for posting in the wrong forum, had I know there was a "cafe" I'd have posted it here. It was part rant/part vent, part "bleat in the night" looking for any kind of solution.

However, back on topic, anyone aggrieved by the apparent arbitrariness of decisions made higher up and further away should find this suitably amusing The gnome-screensaver maintainer feels the ire of rabid ubuntu users:

http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=316654

Kudos to 23meg for that.

the sun icon means that a person is logged in. someone who has moon is either not logged in or invisible(to a member). moderators can also see a cloud, and that tells us that the person is invisible.

**needtolookatascreenshot** · June 23rd, 2007

Originally Posted by praxis22

However, back on topic, anyone aggrieved by the apparent arbitrariness of decisions made higher up and further away should find this suitably amusing The gnome-screensaver maintainer feels the ire of rabid ubuntu users:

http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=316654

Kudos to 23meg for that.

Actually, it's more disgusting then amusing.
A bunch of rather idiotic users blindly attacking someone who has the courtesy to provide his work for free to them.

Never mind that there are good reasons for the change from xscreensaver to gnome-screensaver, that have been explained again and again.

Never mind that it has been stated again and again that the option aren't missing because that's the way it's supposed to be but simply because they aren't implemented yet in gnome-screensaver.

As I said, a rather disgusting spectacle.

P.S.:
Instead of staying awake till three in the morning and instead of writing longwinded rants on forums, I'd recommend the following the next time around:
sudo apt-get install xscreensaver

**praxis22** · June 24th, 2007

Originally Posted by needtolookatascreenshot

Actually, it's more disgusting then amusing.
A bunch of rather idiotic users blindly attacking someone who has the courtesy to provide his work for free to them.

P.S.:
Instead of staying awake till three in the morning and instead of writing longwinded rants on forums, I'd recommend the following the next time around:
sudo apt-get install xscreensaver

Yes, I feel quite sorry for the guy, one moment he's dealing with polite geeks, the next he's got "user complaints" I've got users myself so I know how he feels

Though I do have Xscreensaver installed, I did this the first time I encountered the issue, but it stopped working, and no matter what I tried it refused to obey. I suppose it was just a red rag to a bull, I'm not used to having UNIX/Linux tell me no. It's so much easier with servers than desktops, you rarely have to worry about X at all.

I wrote it long form, more as a way to express my frustration, and so I could explain why I was so distracted to my wife. Had I known there was such a thing as an "off-topic" forum I would have posted it there. I was half hoping somebody would say, "you're an idiot do it like this" But in attacking the problem like I did, I stumbled across other stuff, and just got hacked of with Gnome.

That said, the KDE screensaver (slide show) just locked out on me, I could see the cursor and move it fitfully, but I had to restart X to get out of it. Ah well. I guess I shall press on with compiling this new screensaver, and see what that does.

**needtolookatascreenshot** · June 24th, 2007

Originally Posted by praxis22

Yes, I feel quite sorry for the guy, one moment he's dealing with polite geeks, the next he's got "user complaints" I've got users myself so I know how he feels

Nope, it's not "user complaints", it's simply mindless and insulting bashing of someone who does a lot of work for those people who attack him for free.

But the worst is that they, like you in your first post, don't even have the courtesy to do the 2 minutes research it would take to find out that:
a) There are good reasons for replacing xscreensaver with gnome-screensaver
b) The options are not left out as a policy decision but are simply not implemented yet.

**praxis22** · June 24th, 2007

Originally Posted by needtolookatascreenshot

Nope, it's not "user complaints", it's simply mindless and insulting bashing of someone who does a lot of work for those people who attack him for free.

But the worst is that they, like you in your first post, don't even have the courtesy to do the 2 minutes research it would take to find out that:
a) There are good reasons for replacing xscreensaver with gnome-screensaver
b) The options are not left out as a policy decision but are simply not implemented yet.

Spoken like a man who also has to take this kind of flak?

Like I said, this really isn't about a screensaver, I actually did read the FAQ, and did research, and find out how others had got around the issue, but in doing so I became disgruntled with the overall lack of control, I realise that Gnome is written for the Average Joe, and that as an admin I should probably be using the non-newbie version. But I'd just never butted heads with it before, I never gave it a thought, it's just a Display Environment.

I just expected that when you apply the appropriate switch to the config file with vi, that it should do as you tell it or fail in some interesting yet informative way. It did neither. Apparently this is by design, and that's what really irked me.

**praxis22** · June 25th, 2007

Call me sore loser, but I decided I wasn't going to let it lie

I downloaded the source for the screensaver, hacked it to suit, and then installed it, and told the screensaver to use that, it now behaves as I want it to