Posts by Dr_Bingley

How to get the latest Linux kernel on your Ubuntu box

Glad to hear the mainline kernel works again. A few months ago new kernels failed to build, which is why I switched to Xanmod (which works fine, by the way). Normally I just stick with the kernel my distro came with, but I needed kernel 6.1+ for some of my hardware.

Laugh all you want. There will be a year of the Linux desktop

Re: No. Stop it.

I've heard this argument before, of course. Yet the real problem, I think, is not that the Gimp does not have all of the features Photoshop does, or that Kdenlive isn't identical to Final Cut Pro - it's that many users think they need complete equivalence. The vast majority of people can do all the things they used to do on Windows or Mac on a Linux PC. For instance, I used to run Photoshop through Wine until I discovered that I could achieve the same results using Krita + Darktable.

Something similar applies to MS Office versus LibreOffice: people still draw comparisons between the two whereas LibreOffice does all the things regular and 'power' users need it to. MS Office does, of course, have an edge when it comes to online collaboration, but even that is available through companies like Collabora.

Sadly, my employer still believes that they need the full suite of MS products. The increased reliance on MS Teams for online collaboration hasn't helped, as people are now used to being able to access MS 365 products through its interface.

Weighing the less mainstream Ubuntu remixes: Including China's Kylin

Re: Thank you, Mr Proven

Not so very different, I imagine. KDE, the DE I am the most familiar with, is a mature desktop environment, and I found the same thing was true of Gnome when I used it a few years ago.

Although there are inconsistencies within the environment, this is also true of MS Windows 10/11, in spite of all the money that Microsoft has spent on redesigning the desktop since the Win8 era.

Microsoft shows off Office 2021 for consumers ahead of the coming of Windows 11

Re: Standalone versions need an MS Account

[quote]Outlook is probably the only real 'dependency' business users really have. Other mail/calendar clients are available.[/quote]

Unless they've decided to use Sharepoint, OneDrive & MS Teams, that is. I work for an organisation that uses all three. I don't think we'll be breaking free any time soon.

There's no place like GNOME: System 76 introduces COSMIC desktop GUI for its Pop!_OS Linux

Efteling - the world's finest gnomes since 1952

Photograph of Efteling gnomes on the front page? Instant click from me!

LibreOffice 7.1 Community released with user-interface picker, other bits and bytes

Re: I donated

IIRC, the ODF cannot actually use donations to help pay for development due to the way it is registered in Germany. They can use it for promotional activities and things like server capacity, though.

I'd actually be happy to pay or donate money to Collabora, which I think is the largest contributor.

All of their subscriptions seem to be aimed at companies, however. Why not do wat Crossover do? Offer a refined version of the Open Source product for a reasonable price, and thus allow users to get a better user experience as well as an opportunity to support a product they value.

Why make games for Linux if they don't sell? Because the nerds are just grateful to get something that works

I only game on Linux, but tend to favour Windows versions since I think them more likely to continue to run once they are no longer supported, thanks to Wine.

Interestingly, one of my favourite games - The Witcher 3 - now runs as well on my system as it did under Windows. The FPS and stability are equivalent.

KDE maintainers speak on why it is worth looking beyond GNOME

Re: The "Problem" with Linux

KDE can, too. Just enable a different application style like Fusion (included in KDE Neon and Kubuntu) or QT Curve (quite easy to install), install a different icon theme and, if you like, change the window decoration.

Thank you for this interview!

KDE Plasma easily is my favourite desktop environment. I couldn't get used to Gnome when Win10's user-unfriendly shenanigans (like ads in the start menu) finally drove me away from Microsoft's offerings, but KDE immediately felt like home.

Purism's quest against Intel's Management Engine black box CPU now comes in 14 inches

Re: Why Intel?

PSP can be disabled though, can't it? It's disabled according to my BIOS, in any case.

Logitech G915 TKL: Numpad-free mechanical keyboard clicks all the right boxes

I have two Model Fs, but the spacebar is far too heavy for my taste. Apparently those 'brand-new model Fs' that are currently being sold online (not sure if I'm allowed to provide a link here) fix the issue, but they're rather expensive.

I tend to rotate my keyboards, but I do most of my typing on a 1991 Model M. I love its sound and keyfeel.

Thank you for the review! The switches sound interesting (I like Kailh switches generally).

One correction though: Unicomp doesn't make Model M clones. IBM spun off its keyboard and printer divisions in the 1990s. They became the new company Lexmark. When it stopped making Model M keyboards, a number of former employees acquired the moulds and tooling. Their Model M's are, in other words, 'real'.

Welcome to life in the Fossa lane: Ubuntu 20.04 let out of cage and Shuttleworth claims Canonical now 'commercially self sustaining'

Re: Are we there yet?

It's on their FTP servers. Typing this on a machine running Kubuntu 20.04.

Internet Archive opens National Emergency Library with unlimited lending of 1.4m books for stuck-at-home netizens amid virus pandemic

So the Internet Archive believes it can decide to provide access to content it has digitised on behalf of those who actually wrote and published the texts concerned.

This completely undermines copyright. If what they are doing remains unchallenged, claiming that releasing content to which another party owns the rights is in 'the public interest' will be sufficient grounds for avoiding being fined.

Whether or not you think that is a good thing I will leave up to you.

'Developers have lost hope Microsoft will do the right thing'... Redmond urged to make WinUI cross-platform

Re: I don't see the point.

I was thinking in terms of the OS itself. To be honest, I don't care that much about how the UI looks on VLC, Handbrake, Audacity and the like. All of the functions are easy to find, which I do find important.

One of the reasons why I've switched to Linux on my home computer is that it has allowed me to install KDE Plasma, which gives me much more direct access to my computer's functionality than the Windows 10 interface did. The lack of advertising integrated into the application launcher also helps.

But if having consistent interfaces are a concern, there are, of course, options available, such as using Qt.

Re: I don't see the point.

Well, second-class citizens or not, LibreOffice, VLC, Handbrake and Audacity have performed just fine for me on Linux as well as Windows.

I am not a programmer, but I have believed for some time now that the future on the desktop, at least, should be cross-platform. This would allow end-users to pick an OS on the basis not of what software it will run, but what it can offer them in terms of the overall user-experience.

Tens to be disappointed as Windows 10 Mobile death date set: Doomed phone OS won't see 2020

I've got Linux on my desktop and Windows on my phone.

I guess I just like being part of an elite minority.