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View Full Version : Small things about Linux that you love



Dayofswords
March 12th, 2010, 08:15 AM
ubuntu, fedora, arch or whatever

what is that small feature that you love

mine: hovering over audio files makes them play until you move your mouse away, love it

Dayofswords
March 13th, 2010, 07:23 AM
bump-ness

oh and i like the small applets for the panel.

teKro
March 13th, 2010, 07:29 AM
Being able to change the icon to any picture. My music is arranged so each album has its own folder so it looks nice being able to see all the cover art in my music folder.

Chronon
March 13th, 2010, 07:30 AM
Convenient "run" dialogs and single keypress to get to a shell.

inobe
March 13th, 2010, 07:34 AM
the ability to do whatever i want without restrictions.

themusicalduck
March 13th, 2010, 07:34 AM
The fact that my computer doesn't grind to a halt when I try to run many apps at once.

Tikkyca
March 13th, 2010, 08:03 AM
Because it is open source,it makes you feel free,because there is no viruses and that makes it more fun to use.

linuxisfree
March 13th, 2010, 08:07 AM
mine: hovering over audio files makes them play until you move your mouse away, love it

+1 for that!!! :D

NightwishFan
March 13th, 2010, 08:08 AM
I like being to optimize my systems for their tasks. For example, I have my desktop set up for performance in non-interactive tasks such as rendering and downloading. My laptop is much better than my desktop, but I have it set up for max battery life since I use it on the go a lot.

As for interfaces, I like how GTK can drag and drop nearly anything. I have not tried QT/KDE in a while, I plan on giving it a go. Oh yeah, did I mention that I like how I can choose what software goes into my system and what interface I use.

This thread is destined to go into recurring I think.

inobe
March 13th, 2010, 08:18 AM
i can go ape :filtered: using it

http://thelephants.net/files/images/MV5BMjEyNTcyMTUwNV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNTc4ODQ2._V1._ SX276_SY400_.jpg

murderslastcrow
March 13th, 2010, 08:19 AM
Oh my goodness, where to begin??

1. New ability in Lucid to drag unused menu bar space.
2. The chunkiest DE with compiz can still run on a computer from the earlier 00's. I have a friend who can run it on a computer they bought before XP came out. (might be a big thing)
3. Accessibility features for my blind Uncle.
4. You can use keyboard shortcuts for EVERYTHING.
5. The help menu in most applications is actually extremely detailed.
6. Standardized packages, like deb/rpm, which enable quite a few proprietary applications to run, while of course a trusted PPA is always better (that's one more thing, the ability to add PPAs and verify their trustworthiness simultaneously without downloading the PGP key).
7. One click to get into files in Dolphin.
8. Itsy bitsy boot time (getting smaller in Lucid).
9. Banshee can convert ogg to mp3-only devices on the fly.
10. You can order pizza automatically with Ubuntu- I'm thinking of using Python and wxWidgets to make a GUI for that tool, in fact.
11. VLC.

I think what it comes down to most for me is that the applications available aren't only good media players, good word processors, amazing multimedia programs, but they are also extremely convenient for Mac or Windows converts to use their old files with, their old media player with (iPod Touch, iPhone, and Nano 5g all working in Lucid's libraries), their media server, their video card.

It's just outrageous how well it works in so many situations, and by the power of a community. Because people like me can see something and say, "I want that," and suddenly everyone has it. It's a beautiful thing, and it's only getting better.

Dayofswords
March 13th, 2010, 08:33 AM
10. You can order pizza automatically with Ubuntu- I'm thinking of using Python and wxWidgets to make a GUI for that tool, in fact.

sweeeeeeeeet...

ssj6akshat
March 13th, 2010, 09:34 AM
Freedom to customise.I tweak it to my heart's content.It feels so grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat.

Giant Speck
March 13th, 2010, 11:07 AM
Anyway, back on topic: Middle-click paste. The downside is that, unlike Windows, if you close an application, whatever is saved to the clipboard becomes lost.

Fenris_rising
March 13th, 2010, 11:24 AM
It never falls over if you look at it in a funny way!

regards

Fenris

icyzer
March 13th, 2010, 01:17 PM
The fact that you can scroll background applications! I love that:D
That and the repo's, it is just great to install with one single click

audiomick
March 13th, 2010, 01:22 PM
That I don't have the feeling it is running around doing things automagically behind my back that I don't want it to do.

kaldor
March 13th, 2010, 01:24 PM
When I first tried Ubuntu, I had *no* idea about Linux. I didn't even know what the desktop looked like.

I booted into GNOME and saw the menu's "Applications Places System" approach and fell in love with it instantly. It's great.

Living2007
March 13th, 2010, 01:34 PM
How it just works with everything. And the fact that I can run X11 on my Mac. Perfect for school work that need printing. (The printer is on the Linux Machine!!)

_h_
March 13th, 2010, 01:38 PM
Being able to rotate images and not have the picture degrade or save that way (like when you rotate in Windows Image Viewer it degrades and saves it as you rotate).

eriktheblu
March 13th, 2010, 03:30 PM
FSTAB
Symbolic links
SSH
Repositories
mouse wheel scrolling on background windows.
MythTV.

First I've heard about the pizza ordering, I'll have to look into that.

Which reminds me: Ubuntu Forums

dragos240
March 13th, 2010, 03:32 PM
It's fast,
It's free,
It's open source,
Way less issues than windows,
etc.

karthick87
March 13th, 2010, 06:26 PM
My system doesn't get slower dad by day...

Phrea
March 13th, 2010, 06:39 PM
When hovering over the trash can in the Dutch version of Ubuntu tells you that there are x amount of 'propjes' in there.
It loosely translates to 'little crumpled pieces of paper'.

Don't know if this is a GNOME or Ubuntu translation, but it's fun.

LADmaticCA
March 13th, 2010, 06:56 PM
Auto-copy with highlight/middle mouse button pasting.

hessiess
March 13th, 2010, 07:09 PM
Easily mount any partition anywhere in the file system.

Lux Perpetua
March 13th, 2010, 07:12 PM
I always liked the ability to focus a window just by moving the mouse over it (without clicking).

Fenris_rising
March 13th, 2010, 07:31 PM
Finding the following out, much to my delight!


Auto-copy with highlight/middle mouse button pasting.

+1

Regards

Fenris

ratcheer
March 13th, 2010, 08:02 PM
The small thing I like best about Linux (I run Ubuntu Karmic) is that when I enter "sudo init 0", my machine turns off in about 4 seconds. Windows XP seems like it takes about 4 minutes.

Tim

themarker0
March 13th, 2010, 10:53 PM
Being able to use the terminal, being able to say yes and y. :)

koleoptero
March 13th, 2010, 11:08 PM
The small thing I like best about Linux (I run Ubuntu Karmic) is that when I enter "sudo init 0", my machine turns off in about 4 seconds. Windows XP seems like it takes about 4 minutes.

Tim

That's a bad idea...


I am in love with tab auto-completion.

Matthewthegreat
March 13th, 2010, 11:24 PM
being able to right click a window bar and make the window always on top. Very useful!

Matthewthegreat
March 13th, 2010, 11:25 PM
Finding the following out, much to my delight!


Auto-copy with highlight/middle mouse button pasting.

+1

Regards

Fenris

I didn't know this either... Thanks!!

Blackmag+c
March 13th, 2010, 11:49 PM
That's a bad idea...


I am in love with tab auto-completion.

Why is this a bad idea?

Im not all that up on the terminal tbh

tekkidd
March 13th, 2010, 11:59 PM
not having to activate it

koleoptero
March 14th, 2010, 12:06 AM
Why is this a bad idea?

Im not all that up on the terminal tbh

Ignore my comment, it isn't.

chriswyatt
March 14th, 2010, 12:10 AM
The small thing I like best about Linux (I run Ubuntu Karmic) is that when I enter "sudo init 0", my machine turns off in about 4 seconds. Windows XP seems like it takes about 4 minutes.

Tim

Ooh, I didn't know that command, I always do 'sudo shutdown -P now'.

sambita
March 14th, 2010, 12:18 AM
The fact that you can scroll background applications! I love that:D
click

Ha! i was doing exactly that and thinking how cool background scrolling is when i read your post.

chriswyatt
March 14th, 2010, 12:24 AM
Ha! i was doing exactly that and thinking how cool background scrolling is when i read your post.

It's always frustrating when I try to do the same thing in Windows and it doesn't work.

The scrolling thing in Linux can actually be annoying sometimes, I go to scroll through a page of settings and I often accidentally adjust a slider here and there. Also Linux dialogue boxes often lack an OK and Cancel button.

Saying that though I still think this is a great feature :)

Swagman
March 14th, 2010, 12:25 AM
Being able to surf bare-back

Dig that groove, baby

Berk
March 14th, 2010, 12:58 AM
I just discovered I can scroll up while hovering over the top bar thingy to change windows then simply scroll down when I get the one I want to open it, thanks to this thread!

ratcheer
March 14th, 2010, 02:29 AM
Ooh, I didn't know that command, I always do 'sudo shutdown -P now'.

"init 0" is old-fashioned UNIX style. I have been doing various forms of UNIX since the early 80's.

Tim

dragos240
March 14th, 2010, 02:35 AM
I also like:
init 6 which is restart.

robertcoulson
March 14th, 2010, 03:08 AM
Free

bikodog
March 14th, 2010, 03:55 AM
Having a true /home partition!!!

In the course of installing various new pieces of hardware, or even just when I have "broken" something important, on a few occasions I have found the need to "reinstall" my OS.

This is as simple as:


insert livecd
install OS in /
wait 5 minutes ;)
reboot ONCE!
viola! everything is just as I left it


Granted, i do have to run apt-get update and then reinstall my various programs from the repo...but when I do all the settings left in /home are there and it is as if nothing ever changed.

To expand on this even further, when I was facing a planned rebuild including installation of new hard disks, using dpkg-repack to neatly package all programs into .debs that could then be burned on a DVD blew my mind! Why would anyone ever consider using that other OS?

Linux...Free as in Freedom...

markbuntu
March 14th, 2010, 05:21 AM
Small things I like about Linux

Live distros on usb sticks.
Thats pretty small.

timsdeepsky
March 14th, 2010, 05:46 AM
me likey !!!!

Lux Perpetua
March 14th, 2010, 06:10 AM
Anyway, back on topic: Middle-click paste.


Auto-copy with highlight/middle mouse button pasting.Good call. This is what always trips me up when I have to use Windows (on other people's computers).

dearingj
March 14th, 2010, 06:26 AM
Compiz's 'Enhanced Zoom Desktop' and 'Maximumize' plugins
Forums like this
Stability - in my experience Linux is significantly less crash-prone than Windows
The organization of the Applications, Places, and System menus
The ability to make any window stay always on top

Phrea
March 25th, 2010, 10:30 PM
Another small thing I love about Ubu/Gnome/whatever is the fact that the 'enter' key in OnBoard [the on screen keyboard] is called 'Return'. Gotta love that. :D

Austin25
March 25th, 2010, 10:41 PM
Said before, but middle(middle emulation) click to paste. I love it, and missit all the time on the schools windows computers

t.rei
March 25th, 2010, 10:50 PM
I love the "small" feature of making my computer assist me the way I like it, not having to take anything and adapt to the way someone thought I might be able to work efficiently.

Also: you just have to love 'apt-get' and its counterparts in other distributions. The amount of well developed software is HUGE!

And finally: The support. There are so many great an helpfull people out there that help you without charging amounts that are totally absurd for private users.

spaik
March 25th, 2010, 11:07 PM
wow there was a stuff i didn't know about before.... thanks for this topic.


for me the small thing about Linux that i love is Ubuntu... its not small tho :)

pme 72
March 25th, 2010, 11:47 PM
When I type 2.1+6.78+7.34+1.01-7.93 into Calculator...

the screen shows 2.1+6.78+7.34+1.01-7.93

Shpongle
March 26th, 2010, 12:04 AM
the fact you can choose any combination of software components eg any file manage with any panel with any gtk etc , you can do what you want!. gotta love that!

linuxman94
March 26th, 2010, 01:50 AM
That all the stuff you will ever need is on the Applications Places System menus and that there is a HUGE library of open-source applications. All you have to do is apt-get it.

Austin25
March 26th, 2010, 02:47 AM
I love that once something is set up, it works perfectly

ndefontenay
March 26th, 2010, 03:00 AM
Oh my goodness, where to begin??

10. You can order pizza automatically with Ubuntu- I'm thinking of using Python and wxWidgets to make a GUI for that tool, in fact.


How do you do that?!

JDShu
March 26th, 2010, 03:28 AM
not having to activate it

This definitely qualifies as small and enjoyable.

Irihapeti
March 26th, 2010, 03:59 AM
I can reinstall it as many times as I like, and it doesn't mind.

I don't have to worry about whether I count as a home or business user because I'm doing a small amount of paid work at home.

eksasol
March 26th, 2010, 04:35 AM
double post

eksasol
March 26th, 2010, 04:41 AM
I am surprised no one mentioned the most obvious: Immediately change font sizes system wide. Unlike Crapdow that if you want to change the fonts dpi, you have to logout or reboot, and it screw up the applications interface too. Of course, one time I mentioned this to a Windows users and he "said what makes you think Windows can't change font size", but he doesn't really gets the point.

-I can mount /boot in a seperate EXT2 formatted drive and share it with other distros that does not yet have EXT4 support. Or for secure purpose, mount /boot on a USB drive so others can't boot into your computer.

-Much easier reinstalling of Grub. Restoring Windows bootloader can be hit and miss with the Windows CD.

-Not uniquely linux, but Eye of Gnome actually smooth out the image when you zoom it, unlike Vista and 7.

-Not having to defrag and running antivirus scanner. I can see how running both background auto defragmenting and virus scanning help to reduce your HDD life span.

-Being able to change the position of the min, max and close button.

deer dance
March 26th, 2010, 05:01 AM
I like bash, a lot.

ubuntu27
March 26th, 2010, 05:51 AM
How do you do that?!

http://www.coryarcangel.com/things-i-made/PizzaParty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7pPajOvQGo&feature=related

http://lifehacker.com/388708/track-your-dominos-pizza-order-from-a-terminal

Khakilang
March 26th, 2010, 06:11 AM
Ubuntu Software center. You can pick and choose whatever you want download use it don't like just uninstall. No more having that guilty feeling when browsing some pirated software.

phrostbyte
March 26th, 2010, 06:11 AM
apt-get source

'nuff said ;)

HermanAB
March 26th, 2010, 06:21 AM
It is the Energizer Bunny feature that I like most. A Linux system just keeps going and going...

I once left a web server running with zero maintenance, zero updates and zero problems for 4 years non-stop - the data centre power supply eventually failed and caused it to reboot.

Austin25
March 26th, 2010, 12:51 PM
Many people say the color is a bad thing, but I switched to darkroom, and it is much better.

bullet311
March 26th, 2010, 12:57 PM
Changing the backgroud/themes. Possibly the most useful thing. And that its preloaded with everything you need!

dmizer
March 26th, 2010, 01:24 PM
1) Being able to pull the hard drive out of a working computer, install the hard drive in a completely different machine and have it boot. Makes for seamless hardware upgrades.

2) Live CDs.

3) Software repositories.

cgroza
March 26th, 2010, 01:43 PM
I like bash commands... In windows the CLI commands are confusing.

sv87411
March 26th, 2010, 02:05 PM
It's small but huge in my mind... Linux, the operating system, becomes transparent, I don't notice it, I just use my PC to do what I need. I am more productive in Linux because the OS doesn't get in your way at every turn, it just facilitates what you want to do. No spurious pauses, no random application crashes, no constant re-booting, no nagging feeling that at any point it could all just crash on you...

Dayofswords
March 26th, 2010, 02:29 PM
1) Being able to pull the hard drive out of a working computer, install the hard drive in a completely different machine and have it boot. Makes for seamless hardware upgrades.

i install it once through wubi on vista on my removable hardrive at school

it died one time after like 4 different places and had a kernel panic

(dont offer to help i dont have the drive anymore)

it was linux on windows, its understandable

pgordon
March 26th, 2010, 02:39 PM
When coping files to a USB key the system telling me I don't have enough space left BEFORE trying to copy the files. Works even if there are multiple file operations going on. Just great.

sleepee
April 15th, 2010, 01:08 PM
im a relatively new linux user, so i've noticed some really cool convenient differences from windows...

-i really like the fact that i can cut/delete a file while im using it, instead of having to close out the app/file/folder beforehand..
-i haven't had to run a diskdefrag and my system is still pretty quick.
-the variety of free software (as in freedom and as in beer) is really cool. when i switched to linux, it opened me up to free software that i never knew about and is even better than the commercial software i used to use.
-i love the update manager system. i like how it doesn't automatically download and install updates unless you want it to, and i like how you don't have to reboot after every update like in windows..
-compiz effects are cool-looking and useful at the same time.
-tabbed browsing in nautilus is cool
-i like multiple desktops
-i like the idea of having /home directory separate from the / directory.
-the startup time is really fast compared to windows... at least for me.

everytimeref
April 15th, 2010, 02:09 PM
When coping files to a USB key the system telling me I don't have enough space left BEFORE trying to copy the files. Works even if there are multiple file operations going on. Just great.

.....and when you are copying multiple files, the progress bars just append to the same window, instead of having loads of separate windows.

Being able to format a new hard-drive to whatever file format I want without installing third party software. Today I reformatted an external hard-drive for a friend (to fat32) so she could use it on her Mac and her ******* pc. Windows 7 couldn't do it (I did try it from a windows command line but if fell over after 4 hours)and neither could the mac.

asddf
April 15th, 2010, 03:52 PM
It works.

When I tell a program to close, it closes.

Frogs Hair
April 15th, 2010, 03:55 PM
Synaptic Package Manager , because it's easy to remove residuals from uninstalled programs. No messages stating that I need trusted installer permission to perform certain actions. When you try something in Linux it either works or it doesn't, it never says you can't.

Objekt
April 15th, 2010, 04:21 PM
No forced obsolescence. Linux is all about running on whatever hardware you have, even if it is 10 years old. Contrast this with the Windows world, where hardware manufacturers often expect you to throw away perfectly good hardware simply because they don't feel like writing new drivers.

Linux is even more amazing when you think about the burdens that have been overcome with hardware. While manufacturer support for Linux is more common than it was 5 years ago, life hasn't been easy. Linux users and developers have had to struggle against closed specifications, proprietary architectures, and non-cooperative vendors at nearly every turn.

undecim
April 15th, 2010, 04:25 PM
Alt-Click to drag windows around.

EDIT: Or the fact that I can press the power button, then close my laptop without worrying about it going to sleep while it's shutting down.

lvleph
April 15th, 2010, 04:28 PM
I like bash commands... In windows the CLI commands are confusing.

+1 and Perl.

EarthMind
April 15th, 2010, 04:28 PM
mine: hovering over audio files makes them play until you move your mouse away, love it

One more vote for that. Also: weather notification next to the clock

chriswyatt
April 15th, 2010, 11:43 PM
Alt-Click to drag windows around.

EDIT: Or the fact that I can press the power button, then close my laptop without worrying about it going to sleep while it's shutting down.

Yes! That's one thing about Windows that pisses me right off! Bugs like these that never EVER seem to get fixed.

That's one great thing about community-driven software, if enough people have an issue, someone out there can fix it. I'm not sure why Windows never seemed to fix this issue, is it fixed in Windows 7?

undecim
April 15th, 2010, 11:55 PM
Yes! That's one thing about Windows that pisses me right off! Bugs like these that never EVER seem to get fixed.

That's one great thing about community-driven software, if enough people have an issue, someone out there can fix it. I'm not sure why Windows never seemed to fix this issue, is it fixed in Windows 7?

As far as I know, it isn't.

This used to be really annoying in high school, too, because the computers would take forever to shut down, and I had comp lab 1st period. The day before, the last kids there would shut it down, but the computers would go to sleep while shutting down and wake up when the power button is pressed the next day, so we would have to wait for our computers to shut down, then come back up.

gemmakaru
April 16th, 2010, 09:38 AM
I love being able to choose from the massive amount of software and be able to browse and install easily
I love being able to configure to my hearts content
I love being able to try software without having to pay for it 60 days later
I love also how fast and stable it is.
I love that if I break it I can fix it, one way or another and that reinstalling doen't involve a call to india for ten minutes typing in dozens of digits, 3jzxy no thats 3y2xy grrr.
I love that there are many choices, distros, versions, window managers, desktop environments, software you name it.
I love that after installation it all works, I don't have to search for dozens of hardware driver cds and remember what kit is in which pc.
I do miss Visual Studio though Mono IDE just isn't as good.
Lets on a high, I love Ubuntu.

ade234uk
April 16th, 2010, 12:14 PM
the ability to do whatever i want without restrictions.

Seconded.

BlueWolf_
April 16th, 2010, 12:27 PM
When hovering over the trash can in the Dutch version of Ubuntu tells you that there are x amount of 'propjes' in there.
It loosely translates to 'little crumpled pieces of paper'.

Don't know if this is a GNOME or Ubuntu translation, but it's fun.
That was the first thing I noticed too when I first used Ubuntu. I laughed :biggrin:

Also something I like: Almost anything is just one apt-get away.

drascus
April 16th, 2010, 01:22 PM
less maintenance that might not be a feature per say but I consider it one.

cespinal
April 16th, 2010, 01:54 PM
alt+f2 in kubuntu

bhakeman
April 16th, 2010, 02:52 PM
What do I love about Linux? It's Free, and it works!

I installed Ubuntu 9.10 on a laptop I got from Freecycle and I hardly spend any time on our home Vista machine anymore. I finally have a machine that I can stream home movies from our Sony Digital8 Camcorder onto thanks to Kino.