Ubuntu Desktop Favorite Apps

Sat Jul 22 09:26:56 UTC 2017

Dustin Kirkland schreef op 21-07-2017 17:26:

> You're welcome to engage in discussion here, or in any one of the
> following venues where we've cross posted this request, in the
> interest of the broadest possible engagement with the Ubuntu community
> at large:

The only things I would personally insist on would be VLC and 
Clementine.

Of course Ubuntu is not Kubuntu.

Kubuntu/KDE has gone with "Dragon Player". I would insist that you 
picked best-of-breed applications rather than stuff that more fits your 
peculiar environment.

But currently as a dual Windows/Linux user the only normal desktop user 
scenario preference I have for Linux is Clementine.

Apart from development/console work, which is easier in Linux, and gives 
a sense of peace to the mind, for ordinary usage there is nothing in 
Linux currently for me that makes me prefer Linux. Inkscape is available 
on Windows, as is GIMP and LibreOffice.

Inkscape didn't work on my 16.04 Kubuntu install until I fixed a gvfs 
related file. I couldn't open SVG files (hence my other message).

The "file" protocol was turned off for some reason.

Another thing that doesn't work in Linux is proper font rendering with 
antialiasing for Java applications.

But most importantly: ensure that the best apps are available by 
default.

Please don't pick something inferior just because it is your brand (just 
like Dragon Player on KDE). Gwenview is fine on KDE, as is Okular. 
Printing is difficult, with particularly scaling of documents 
unavailable and margin settings not being remembered from one print to 
the next, but this is a KDE issue.

Linux does not have a good single-window (no tabs) text editor. Xed 
comes closest (from Mint) but is multi-tab. The problem with multi-tab 
is that you cannot have separate sessions for separate tasks. It is all 
in one window even if you want things to be separated.

A scratchpad like Notepad or Xed is essential in copy-pasting between 
several applications and writing quick notes, or writing things for 
submission in other programs (such as web browswers). This capability is 
missing from Linux the way I see it.

Another big issue in Linux is the 2 separate copy-paste systems and the 
fact that console applications (terminals) use ctrl-shift-c to copy when 
the same keyboard shortcut opens a developer console in every web 
browser.

The only viable solution for copy and pasting in terminals would be that 
selecting text freezes the window and halts keyboard input until "enter" 
is pressed to finalize the selection and the copy. Ctrl-C cannot be 
used, Ctrl-shift-C is undoable, and nothing else exists (ctrl-insert is 
not available on many keyboards).

Another thing that has to be solved is running administrator-privilege 
applications in the desktop. Having to use "kdesu" or "gksudo" or 
equivalent is NOT acceptable. It has to be an automatic thing based on 
standard tools. We MUST do away with the corruption that results from 
forgetting to use these tools. Programs must also be written to allow 
elevation while running, but that's a different discussion.

Ie. it should be possible for any say text editor to execute a 
background process with elevated privileges that does the saving for 
you. Using the standard desktop elevation prompt. Also important would 
be fine-grained user-messages that allow the user to know what 
privileges are actually requested. I understand that Linux generally 
does not use capabilities a whole lot and requests plain root access 
most of the time but for security the undifferentiated sudo system is a 
great risk. But anyway...

It's for the same reason that the Microsoft Windows system does not 
work, in that it gives the user no information whatsoever on what the 
application wants to do ahead of time. If the user makes the wrong 
choice, the system is compromised, but could not know in advance what 
was going to happen...

Microsoft buckles down on this by pushing this dialogue in peoples faces 
MORE and with greater feel of severity to it, but this just causes 
fatique and disinterest in the user who will try to disregard those 
dialogs; you know what I mean.

The only solution is more information; not a more angry computer.

Linux could make great headway and lead the way out by actually 
providing meaningful capability request information and giving programs 
capabilities instead of full root access; and this would be the single 
most capable way, effective way, and impacting way that the user would 
feel safe.

Another something that needs to be solved is being able to unmount 
devices when only a PATH (directory) in the mounted device is currently 
still opened. DO NOT prevent unmounting when only a terminal is opened 
somewhere! Multi-level sudos quickly hide whatever current working 
directories may still be open and there are no tools to easily find out; 
and programs opened from a certain directory often do not need that 
directory; particularly if they are GUI apps!!!

You can delete something just fine when it is opened (the actual file is 
not deleted until all handles are closed) but you cannot unmount 
anything, while the former action is clearly more destructive.

There are lazy umounts but this is something of an anomaly to use.

Well anyway I guess this goes all too far for this question.

But this is just off the top of my head stuff Linux needs to solve in 
order to be more successful.

1. A good, no-tabs notepad.
2. Ctrl-shift-c no longer used to copy text in terminals.
3. Ensure best-of-crop applications always work (e.g. VLC, Inkscape).
4. Allow editors and other such applications such as file managers to be 
elevated in-place.
5. Try to introduce a capabilities-based elevation system in which the 
user can be informed as to what capabilities have been requested.
6. Fix the java font issues.

7. Get rid of gksudo and kdesudo as separate applications.
8. Make sure printing dialogs can scale documents (while centering) and 
that print settings are remembered from one invocation to the next
9. While you're at it, support more scanners out of the box, or ensure 
that their configuration is automatically done correctly.

That's all I can say here. It is probably too much, but anyway.

Regards.

Oh and also try to ask users ;-).

> 
> Google Forms Survey:
>  - https://ubu.one/apps1804
> 
> HackerNews:
>  - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14819508
> 
> Reddit:
>  -
> https://www.reddit.com/r/Ubuntu/comments/6on93z/ubuntu_1804_lts_desktop_default_application_survey/
> 
> Slashdot:
>  -
> https://slashdot.org/submission/7250965/ubuntu-1804-lts-desktop-default-application-survey
> 
> Cheers,
> Dustin Kirkland
> Ubuntu Core Developer
> Ubuntu Product and Strategy
> @dustinkirkland