notices of a newbie

[Chow Loong Jin]

On Saturday 11,July,2009 02:50 PM, Max wrote:
> Dear Ubuntu Developers,
> I am new to linux and ubuntu, but want to say thank you for the open
> source operating system and want to give some hints, what problems I had
> from the switch from windows to Kubuntu.
> 
> - first of all, installing 9.04 was very easy. I had a few tries on
> cheap desktop machines, which had a screen resolution for 800x600 after
> installation. That was ugly and i did not get to manage to install a
> linux driver for the grahic card, if there were any. So I switched back
> to windows. No on a new laptop 1200x764 size  looks great. Solution:
> Make more support for 1200 x 840 graphic cards. There should be a "Add
> Software" category for graphic card drivers, you need to mirror.
If your graphics card was not detected, then it is a bug. Could you post
the exact brand/model of your GPU?
> 
> - Now on Kunbuntu Laptop I have difficulties to install software. Some
> .deb files are easy to install. It is like an windows .exe file. The new
> Package Manager makes it as well easy to choose software. For that
> purpose, the Package manager MUST be in the Favourites. Furthermore the
> offer for software to download from your server needs to be bigger.
> There are many apps from sf.net <http://sf.net> e.g., that are not in
> your repository. Would it be possible, that there is a POST URL box in
> the Package Manager to suggest new software? So users can post the
> website / and or the URL for the to be mirrored ubuntu installer, and
> you either add this download-url or a human beeing revises the website
> and adds the installer manually.  Other installers like .iso files or
> .bin files or .zip or .bz2 or gz.tg <http://gz.tg> or tg,gz or gz.bz2
>  or whatever are unzipp-able, but what then? some zips i could unzipp
> and find any icon to click, but here I had as well the problem, not to
> know, in which folders applications are installed. So I made in my
> home/name/install an folder called installs and firefox e.g. is
> installed here in a sub-directory. So it is much easier to have a
> central download over the Package Manager. Please add to the favorites
> Start-Kick-Off Menu and add the category drivers + screen-drivers.
> Furthermore add more software to the download repository. Fourth mabye a
> suggestion system so that users are able to send urls for new software
> to you.
I'm not familiar with Kubuntu, but one of the first things you should
learn when using/administering a GNU/Linux distro like Ubuntu is how to
search for software using the package manager. Most software are already
in the Ubuntu repositories. For those that aren't, a lot of them are
present in Personal Package Archives (PPAs), which can be searched here:
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+ppas. For those that aren't in either, you
can file a needs-packaging bug in launchpad.net. It is important to
note, however, that packages require people to maintain them, and if
there is a lack of interest among the developers, you may get poorly
maintained packages, or no developer willing to pick up the package.

.tar.gz/.tar.bz2/.tgz/.tbz are usually source tarballs, meaning they
contain the source code, and need to be compiled before they can be
installed. Due to various reasons which I'm not willing to spend time
explaining, source tarballs are the preferred method of releasing for
open source projects; they will then be packaged by each distribution,
and added to each distribution's repositories. Either way, these source
tarballs are not the recommended way to install software from (from the
user's point of view). You should look for .deb packages instead.
They're usually lurking around somewhere, if not in the repositories
already.
> 
> No one of the normal users will use sudo get-apt in the terminal. If
> that is wanted to learn that, then the terminal needs to be as well in
> the favourtite start menu. Please expand the repository for Package Manager.
apt-get is the command-line frontend for the package manager, just as
Synaptic in Ubuntu and Adept in Kubuntu are the graphical frontends for
the package manager. Most instructions give the apt-get command line
because it's much easier (and shorter) to instruct a user to use that
command rather than teaching the user to use Synaptic for every package
installation step.
> 
> - I still have problems to install e.g. java or source-zips, or the VLC
> 1.0 media player
VLC 1.0 is in the Ubuntu repository (at least in Ubuntu 9.10 - Karmic
Koala), as the package called "vlc". Java is also in the Ubuntu
repository, as a whole series of packages called sun-java*. If you do a
search in the package manager for these packages, and view their
descriptions, I'm sure you will know which package(s) to install pretty
easily.
> 
> - I do not even know, where to install files, i do not even know, where
> they HAD installed. The Dophin File Manager is usable, but not good. A
> File Manager MUST look like the file explorer from windows XP.
I disagree. Windows XP's file explorer is deficient, and nautilus (on
Ubuntu) is much better than Windows XP's file explorer.

> So i tried to install xfe File Manager from Roland Baudin. I just again could
> unzip it (a subfolder of install) and add one start file to the desktop,
> but it is not in the start menu, nor the search in the start menu finds it.
Use the package manager. The package is "xfe."

> [...]
> - The File Hiearchy is not quite clear, I installed an app and needed
> time to find the pathes to be installed, are they in usr/shared or in
> home/myname/.app . The .app pathes are hidden, so I do not find them.
> But they need to be shown by default, Though then the MyFiles-Directory
> is populated and in Chaos. So hidinng them is one option, I would though
> prefer to have MY Files in an own Directory of Home/myname  and the .app
> files in a second folder of that - but shown by default !!
The Filesystem Hierarchy is very clear, in my opinion.
/home/username/.app contain settings for every application that you
have, and all files and directories prefixed with "." are hidden by
default. You should not be editing any of these manually with a text
editor in any case, except for special cases.

I don't understand what you mean by MyFiles-Directory.
> 
> - Ideally rename the folder, in which applications are installed: to
> PROGRAMS. Like in windows. I hated as well vista having both Programs
> and Programsx64 for the 64-Bit Applications, ONE Folder for the Software
> called PROGRAMS.
No will do. Our Filesystem Hierarchy is fixed, and is pretty much the
same for all GNU/Linux systems. I think it would suffice to say that
most of us are very happy with the way things are at the moment, and any
move to change it in that ridiculous (as you can see, I don't like
Windows' way of storing programs) manner will cause unnecessary pain and
flames from the majority of our community, myself included.
> 
> - I still wanted to install Truecrypt. That was done. The Windows
> version has the option to encrypt the whole operating system. Linux
> Truecrypt has that not, maybe it is not implemented, maybe it is not
> needed. How can the linux hard disk be encrypted? If i take of the hard
> disk and connect it to a windows system, can i read and copy or backup
> the files? If I take out the hard disk and connect it to another linux
> system, can I then backup or copy out the files? Are only my
> home-path-files encrypted by the password?  Or should I open a truecrypt
> container to make a new virtual drive to save there all, i save in
> home/myname now?
Truecrypt provides debs for Ubuntu on its website. Due to licensing
issues, it cannot be included in Ubuntu's repositories. If you have a
problem with that, take it up to them.
> 
> - The same for the Password Safe "brieftasche" where is the file to make
> a backup of it or copy it to another system?
> 
> - On windows a user needs to care a lot about firewalls and virus scans.
> Why is there no firewall needed or integrated by default. IPTables?  If
> that is possible, maybe rename it to Firewall IP tables and place it as
> well to Favourites Menu, so that from windows  switching users get at
> least the feeling, that they do not miss that.
Security is very much a non-issue on GNU/Linux systems compared to
Windows systems. At the very least, in the default installation of
Ubuntu, you shouldn't have to worry about firewalls at all, simply
because of the secure design used by network services. I could go on
about this, but it's a long story and I'd bore myself to death.
> 
> - searching the web in the programs start menu refers to google by
> default, as y well the konqueror has only google as a search integrated,
> I tested http://sourceforge.net/project/screenshots.php?group_id=238964
> which has a p2p websearch integrated, maybe something to consider as
> well for kubuntu by default for each installation? I just installed
> kdesvn to try to compile it for ubuntu as currently only the win version
> is out.
> 
> - If the desktop starts, there is a splash with 4 symbols in it, what is
> this? just start without it, as the user starts his apps over desktop
> icons or the start menu.
I think it looks nice. But if you don't like it, go disable it. I'm sure
there's some way to, but I'm not familiar with KDE (the desktop
environment on Kubuntu).
> 
> -the ethernet and wireless connector, watch and power symbols are great.
> the Package Manager as well, the Desktop walls as well, the mini-app-bar
> I do not need, a clock and CPU and which processes are running on the
> desktop by default is not bad.
> Some apps are better than the default delivered, please evaluate that.
> In general, make the best apps appearing in favourites and why not right
> from the fresh install an icon on the desktop??
One man's meat is another man's poison. What you don't like, someone
else might like. The defaults are meant to please the majority of the
users. If you don't like it, it's very customizable, so go ahead and
customize it.
> 
> Applications users need are: Browser (firefox and one webkit
> alternative), Mail, Chat Messenger (pidgin, skype, retroshare), an of
> cours the main thing: the Package Manager, and the second main thing:
> the XFE File Manager. 
Dolphin's a pretty damn awesome file manager, if you're using KDE. If
you don't like it, Konqueror works too, as a file manager. But I stand
by Nautilus, which is the file manager in GNOME (the desktop environment
used in Ubuntu).

That said, I don't mean to be overly dismissive of your ideas, but many
of them come from ex-Windows-user habits, especially where the
filesystem hierarchy and package management is concerned. Something you
should remember:
The process for downloading and installing software on Windows is:
1. Search using your favourite search engine for software.
2. Search for a download link, optionally paying for it.
3. Double click on an exe.
4. Click 'Next' a hundred billion times answer another hundred billion
questions, and agree to the EULA without reading it, unless you've got
lots of free time.

The process for downloading and installing software on GNU/Linux
systems, Ubuntu and all other flavours of it included, is:
1. Search in the package manager for software.
2. Tell the package manager you want to install it (In Ubuntu, just
click a checkbox next to a package, then click apply)
3. Let the package manager handle downloading and installing the package
and all its dependencies for you.

-- 
Kind regards,
Chow Loong Jin (GPG: 0x8F02A411)
Ubuntu Contributing Developer

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