Things I already hate about Kubuntu (new user)

'Forum Post ulist at gs1.ubuntuforums.org
Thu Dec 22 10:44:15 UTC 2005


There are different distros for a reason.  Each stems from a philosophy.
Part of this philosophy involves ease of use.  A long time ago I decided
I hated Macs.  They tried to do everything for me. Then Windows started
making these same assumptions about what it thought I wanted to do - it
was often wrong. Worse yet, there was no easy way to override/fix these
assumptions.



I am by no means a Linux expert, but I don't mind doing a bit of
poking. Ubuntu defaults to one tool one task. That is easy. Others
include every tool under the sun in the basic installation. That can be
confusing/complex. But I *do* like options/choices. This is where the
flexibility of Linux that we all like so much comes in to play.



Someone with enough knowledge and time can take Ubuntu and make it look
like Fedora by adding all of the extra software (and vice versa: Fedora
can use Synaptic just like Ubuntu can). They can take Linux From
Scratch, download rpm/deb tools, complie them, and do several other
god-awful complex things and make something that looks like Ubuntu. The
Ubuntu artwork can be downloaded and apt-get can be added in. My point
is, Linux is Linux. You can make any distro like any other distro with
enough time, knowledge and resolve. But why do that? Choose a distro
that is the most similar to what you would design and want.



No one wants exactly the same thing. The small details of a distro
can't be tailored to everyone. I don't like sudo, so I enabled root's
password. I also found it wierd/limiting that I couldn't even
-./configure; make; make install-, so I solved that by -apt-get install
build-essential-. For me, the ideal Ubuntu would ask for a root
password, and would enable gcc by default. But Ubuntu is aimed in part
at users who at least start out wanting to use synaptic and not the
CLI. This is deemed 'ease of use'. Although I was initially put off by
these things that, to me, were dumb limitations, I have come to
appreciate this ease of use that Ubuntu strives for in other areas.



In conclusion, I have never used Midnight Commander. Without any direct
knowledge of it, it seems that given the fact that gcc is not included
because it is assumed that many users wouldn't need it and that gcc is
not the general 'Ubuntu Way' to do things, that Midnight Commander
would fall into the same general category of being outside the general
targeted users of Ubuntu. If the lack of that program is the problem,
you could install it as I have installed gcc and enabled root. Of
course, if this is but one point on a laundry list of things that
generally irk you about (K)Ubuntu and it's feel, then it might make
sense to look for another distro. There are several for a reason. I'm
not sure that that is what you should do though; It seems that a lot of
your problems have been addressed already - and, IMHO, addressed well.
But that is not for me to decide. Pick the distro that is most similar
to your ideal. I believe I have.



psyguy


-- 
psyguy92




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