Linux Desktop Readiness Thread

[MechR]

You can fix the stall at the boot for network devices (if the cable is unplugged) by
sudo gedit /etc/dhcp3/dhclient.conf

and change timout from 60 to 1 or 5 seconds. no real reason to have anything but 1.

Neat, thanks!

OTOH, my sound and wireless networking (which I had gotten working previously) seem to have stopped working since my last boot. *thinks* Maybe it was that kernel update a few days ago? I'm gonna try re-fixing them...

Edit: Got them working again

[cinematography]

I voted 'need to wait a little longer'. Ubuntu is a great OS but I don't think it has enough automation for the average user. For example, I don't think most average users would have the patience to research and learn how to install the things they need to get mp3, mpg, and other things to work properly.

[davidmigl]

Yup same here: 'need to wait a little longer.' Ubuntu is a great distro, but it simly refuses to work out of the box. Want a higher screen resolution? Sorry, you can't just adjust a slider, you'll have to go in and edit a file through a terminal with root privileges. Want to play mp3 and wma files? You'll have to go days searching the internet and posting on the forums to find the script that sucessfully installs the package that just wouldn't work. Want to boot into Windows? Sorry, Grub didn't quite get that right, and now you'll have to change boot priority to select OS's. Have a wireless network card or ATI video card? You can't depend on those working. Want to.... well, you get my point.

Now don't get me wrong, I love Ubuntu. I have the technical know-how to pick around all these problems. I'm not leaving Ubuntu anytime soon: these problems are too little to cause me to change. But what about the average user? What about the person who has never used a computer before? How is he supposed to know what to do when trouble strikes?

[cinematography]

Want to play mp3 and wma files? You'll have to go days searching the internet and posting on the forums to find the script that sucessfully installs the package that just wouldn't work.

This I can relate with this VERY well. However...

Want a higher screen resolution? Sorry, you can't just adjust a slider, you'll have to go in and edit a file through a terminal with root privileges. -- Want to boot into Windows? Sorry, Grub didn't quite get that right, and now you'll have to change boot priority to select OS's.

I didn't have any problem with this.

[aysiu]

This I can relate with this VERY well. However...


I didn't have any problem with this.

I did. That was a big barrier in me even trying Ubuntu. Mepis had my monitor settings right away.

[MechR]

This I can relate with this VERY well.

Installing just the ffmpeg GStreamer plugin (probably from multi/universe) seems to have worked for me. That was something I tried on my own, though... most instructions seem to be along the lines of "add the marillat repositories to your apt sources and get w32codecs," which for me has never gone smoothly Totem-xine also used to work, but last I checked, no longer does.

I didn't have any problem with this.

I actually did; my laptop's widescreen resolution wasn't being picked up (neither by Mepis nor Ubuntu), and I had to read around to get the answer.

[weekend warrior]

Originally Posted by aysiu
I did. That was a big barrier in me even trying Ubuntu. Mepis had my monitor settings right away.

And for me it was exactly the opposite, Mepis giving me the "you have passed an undefined video mode" error that I wasn't able to solve, which was the end of Mepis for me. Just goes to show the extremely wide variety of hardware out there and the difficulty Linux has coping.

Also shows that this poll could be labeled is Linux ready, not just ubuntu.

Apple may have the last laugh, sticking to their own hardware that will work for anyone using OS X. Here's a recent article where both Debian and ubuntu lost out to OS X. read about it >>>

Saving grace for Linux is price, but it needs to move fast to improve the user experience.

[potomacus]

I've just tried the live cd on my notebook (toshiba m45) and once again I find that linux is still a long way from becoming a usable os. The cd worked fine and I was able to run the os, but I wasn't able to configure my modem properly and my wireless connection, and software as simple as Totem didn't work.

The modem (Intel AC'97 rev04) is not autodetected and the wireless connection (Intel 2200bg) isn't even available in the networking tool reachable from the system menu.

Totem says that some "resource is busy or not available" and that's it.

The obscure Device Manager lists both devices but there's nothing to be done with it. No help, no clues, nothing.

Compare that to what happens when I run Windows XP and it's clear that it's not a viable alternative.

Nowadays 99% of the users just want to boot and be online, etc without spending hours in forums, trying to understand arcane command line tools,
or having to recompile the kernel (!). That is just the Middle Age of computing...

I know it's free and I recognize it's great, but it can't be advertised as a Windows alternative because it's not. I've been trying to switch to Linux for 5 years (last time I tried RH9) and I guess I'll have to wait a few more years.

[5amYan]

I've just tried the live cd on my notebook (toshiba m45) and once again I find that linux is still a long way from becoming a usable os. The cd worked fine and I was able to run the os, but I wasn't able to configure my modem properly and my wireless connection, and software as simple as Totem didn't work.

The modem (Intel AC'97 rev04) is not autodetected and the wireless connection (Intel 2200bg) isn't even available in the networking tool reachable from the system menu.

Totem says that some "resource is busy or not available" and that's it.

The obscure Device Manager lists both devices but there's nothing to be done with it. No help, no clues, nothing.

Compare that to what happens when I run Windows XP and it's clear that it's not a viable alternative.

Nowadays 99% of the users just want to boot and be online, etc without spending hours in forums, trying to understand arcane command line tools,
or having to recompile the kernel (!). That is just the Middle Age of computing...

I know it's free and I recognize it's great, but it can't be advertised as a Windows alternative because it's not. I've been trying to switch to Linux for 5 years (last time I tried RH9) and I guess I'll have to wait a few more years.

Sounds like a short between the keyboard and the seat.

[trash]

but most windows users buy their systems with windows installed, if you did the same thing with a configured linux system i bet your experience would would be similar and linux systems can be bought and have support... I do know MS windows users who can't even re-install windows so your comparison is kinda flawed.