FireFox driving me NUTS !!!

[Bart Silverstrim]

Jan Sneep wrote:
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: ubuntu-users-bounces at lists.ubuntu.com
>> [mailto:ubuntu-users-bounces at lists.ubuntu.com]On Behalf Of Chris
>> Sent: June 2, 2007 9:12 PM
>> To: jan at azureservices.ca; Ubuntu user technical support, not for
>> generaldiscussions
>> Cc: jan at azureservices.ca
>> Subject: Re: FireFox driving me NUTS !!!
>>
>>
>> On Sat, 2 Jun 2007 21:01:55 -0400
>> "Jan Sneep" <jan at azureservices.ca> wrote:
>>
>>> I can't believe I'm the only one having this problem.

Unless it's not a Firefox problem, but one specific to your configuration.

>> ... as a follow-up, take a look at your /etc/resolv.conf - if you are
>> still doing DHCP (and I suspect you are) you might consider going
>> static and entering decent resolvers to the file mentioned.
> 
> My resolve.conf file contains the following;
> 
> # generated by NetworkManager, do not edit!
> 
> nameserver 207.164.234.193
> nameserver 206.47.244.135
> 
> I don't think I'm doing DHCP with the Ubuntu server ... or I wouldn't be
> able to get out on the Internet at all. I have a small LinkSys router and if
> the DHCP server inside that box doesn't hand out the address then the
> gateway doesn't allow you out. 

It's configured to only allow particular MAC addresses out or something 
like that?  Usually if you manually specify settings they will work as 
long as you're not clashing with another device.

> AND the reason I want a GUI is that they are SO MUCH MORE USER friendly than
> command line input ... having taken a few courses on User Interfaces and
> designed a few myself ... a good interface presents ALL the options to the
> user in a simple and logical manner ... command line stuff just doesn't cut
> it when you have to KNOW what to type ... :O) 

While GUI's can make it easier, I've seen many GUIs that make things 
just more confusing because of their wording or layout.

There are many subtle ways GUIs can make, for example...

>... the other day I wanted to
> do the most basic of things ... COPY a file from one folder to another ...
> one needs to KNOW that the command is CP, otherwise one can spend hours and
> hours doing nothing more than getting frustrated ... :O(

knowing the apropos command would probably be just as easy to *find* 
information.  I've always thought that all things being equal, knowing 
how to locate and utilize information is in many cases more useful than 
simply knowing the precise rote way of doing something, if for no other 
reason than the fact that things change and people who need to know the 
by-the-bulleted-list way of doing things usually get lost.

For a simple copy, using "cp filea.ext /mnt/destination" is faster than 
opening windows and dragging the file to another location if they're not 
already open or if I'm not doing something more complicated with the 
copy.  Plus you need to know how to drag and drop, and navigate to 
proper windows (or panes, if that is your application's way of doing 
things), and which mouse button to use...

But this is a near-religious debate that will get nowhere.  Point is 
that any interface has a learning curve, and users will always find 
something to whine about.

Did you try pinging addresses internally and externally to see what your 
connectivity is like on the Ubuntu system?