5 years of support..!!??

[Bruce Bales]

On 03/05/2012 03:02 PM, rterry at pacific.net.au wrote:
> On Tuesday 06 March 2012 02:36:31 Bruce Bales wrote:
>> On 03/05/2012 05:07 AM, Mark Greenwood wrote:
>>>> On Mar 5, 2012 2:33 AM, "James Cain"<james.cain.25 at gmail.com
>>>> <mailto:james.cain.25 at gmail.com>>  wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>      On Sun, Mar 4, 2012 at 6:12 PM, Leslie Anne Chatterton
>>>>      <lahc2007 at gmail.com<mailto:lahc2007 at gmail.com>>  wrote:
>>>>
>>>>          Hi Bruce,
>>>>
>>>>          Well I guess Kubuntu isn't for everyone and we need to hear
>>>>          experiences like yours to bring us back to reality. I think
>>>>          there are
>>>>          probably lots of Windows and Mac users who have had similarly
>>>>          frustrating experiences but don't want to speak up and appear
>>>>          like
>>>>          dummies. Linux will become mainstream only when it offers a
>>>>          "foolproof" edition that is unbreakable, as well as the
>>>>          tinkerer's
>>>>          versions that most of us now enjoy.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>      Good point in pointing out that we need brought back to reality
>>>>      now and again :)
>>>>      However, 3 key points here that we free software users
>>>>      occasionally need reminded of:
>>>>
>>>>          * Kubuntu is developed (99%) by volunteers. For those who
>>>>            rant and rave about how nothing works, if you can't donate
>>>>            to the KDE e.V., help the community, or at least report
>>>>            bugs (if not triage them), what gives you the right to
>>>>            complain at all?
>> A few years ago there was lots of talk about "Linux on the desktop,"
>> where the intention
>> was that everyone could use the open source Linux and be free from
>> Microsoft.  I write a
>> newsletter that goes to 165 former High School classmates.  All use
>> Windows or Macs
>> and I am certain that none could install and configure and be satisfied
>> using Kubuntu 10-4.
>> If it is unusable, should we complain?
>> bruce
> That's almost enough to start a flame war!
>
> Kubuntu 10-4 is very very stable.
>
> I've had a number of my windows friends install this on their machines and
> were blown away by how easy it was to install, how quick the install was
> compared to Windows.
>
> Yes, like any new operating system one has to learn a slightly different way of
> getting around, but the same applies to Macs for windows users.
>
> None of your 165 high school mates would need linux to read a newsletter you
> wrote on a linux machine!
>
> A number of my windows based friends - tired of the perpetual problem with
> malware and virus's are now running Kubuntu side by side on a separate box on
> their desktop doing the comparison.
>
> I suspect there are a huge number of 'silent' linux users out there like
> myself, who have never registered with the wider community that they run linux
> - as mentioned in a previous post  I have (let me do an accurate mental count)
> 10 machines here at work including 2 servers and 1 laptop and 1 server at home
> running linux - all uncounted in the grand stats).
>
> I'd be keen for you to list all the unsuable features of a linux desktop.
>
> Regards
>
> Richard
Sorry, Richard.  I guess I wasn't clear about my own computing.  I use Linux
and have for over ten years and my only use of Windows was once at my
son's house I used the browser for a bit.  My 165 classmates have no 
problems
with my emails.  You don't have to sell me on Linux.

My problem is that Kubuntu 10.04 is very difficult to use compared to 
Kubuntu
8.04.  And was harder to install.  In fact I had to procure another computer
because neither 9.04 nor 9.10 nor 10.04 would install on my Dell Dimension
2400.  And the live CD would not run.
I don't like it that my email client (kmail) is unusable and Thunderbird 
only
a little better.  Is it possible that Thunderbird really doesn't have a 
word-wrap
function?  With kmail you could set it for the width you wanted.

I don't like it that the names of the programs in the tray at the bottom of
my screen don't show the name of the program, but show file name, which
changes when I look at another file; (I want to see "Firefox" and not
"Snopes.com".  I don't like the program names in the tray to be transparent
making them harder to read.  When the mouse passes over one of these
names in the tray a small worthless panel jumps up, covering all underneath.
When I have been writing an email and click on the Thunderbird icon at 
the bottom,
a double panel pops up showing the inbox and the drafts box.  When I
select one of these the double panel is no longer needed, but it stays 
up, blocking
whatever is behind it.

I made a panel on the left side to keep the icons representing my most used
programs.  The panel is fixed width, the icons can't be changed (with 
8.04 I
could make my own icon -- something I could recognize).The icons can't be
rearranged.
With 8.04, the tray was a double-decker, so there was room for more programs
there.  Am I the only one who has eight programs open at once?

I haven't had much time to try gimp -- just enough to find that It 
doesn't work
like it did.  More relearning to do.

bruce