First of all,@gx_saurav,Ur review may be better if u tried Ubuntu or any Linux distro from a hdd partn.
To all New wanna be Ubuntu Linux users,First Check below site after install:
*ubuntuguide.org
gx_saurav said:
If you got broadband connection then do try linux. We really need to show to the world where Linux lacks & prevails & that the linux users should start making things properly & concentrate on improving the potential of Linux insted of singing the "M$ Monopoly" tune.
Oh!Now I understood,U though GNU/Linux is only for BB users waah!
I started using Linux even before i got an internet connxn (dial up!) that's way back in 2003!I used it for a month or so with additional CD's to configure.
But that was before.Now Ubuntu got DVD,OPen SUse does got most of its packages installed by default.even Debian comes in with DVD's and a no of CD's to trash ur claim.
as @eddie said ur review is here bcoz u wanted it to be bashing Open Source and lacks Open Mindness.
Now with ur review #
58
1) Linux without internet is nothing. Synaptic helps a lot but you will have to rely on the repository for packages. If some application is not in synaptic then u r mostly out of luck
I think i answered it in early paragraph.Ubuntu by default packages only those which are frequently used by average users.Linux cant take multimedia by default bcoz of the various licenses and patents.FOSS hardies
like me in turn changes all my audio even videos to ogg vorbis and ogg theora even!
2) Most of the apps which are not available in the native .deb format, have no other way to install for a general user.
Code:
@debian-sid:~# apt-get install
Display all 27746 possibilities? (y or n)
^^ see i pressed TAB key twice to just see how many packages are available via apt.native .deb is advicable and Debian and Ubuntu makes 90% of packages and most new packages u see for install from source are may be already queued in Debian and Ubuntu for a release!
Installing from Source-U can do it it two ways
1)after ./configure && make
do a checkinstall to make a .deb package.(apt-get install checkinstall)
2)GNU Stow
apt-get install stow)
GNU Stow helps the sysadmin organise files under /usr/local/ by allowing each piece of software to be installed in its own tree under /usr/local/stow/, and then using symlinks to create the illusion that all the software is installed in the same place.
I know of many new Linux users searching for source packages while .deb apt repos are already available!just be in sync in ubuntu forums.
3) I on my trial refrained from using the command line as much as possible. Its 2007, a general home user doesn't want to learn commands & type them, even though some might argue that command line is easy. For some users it is, for some it is not.
^^ this is ridiculous!.Command Line is the power source in UNIX* and its a privilage.but MAC effectively hides it,making its users not tasting CLI power.
Now see,what u see in win32 "cmd" is NOT U see in a shell like bash which by pressing TAB key completes the commands and more.Command Line makes it available to you the real stats of ur system to You.
You dont buy a book for commands in Linux unlike in Windows.All documentations are already packed in the system(most of them,even u missed a command doc,just google "man cmdname")
in man package.U just need to use it as "man commandname" and it releases.
In Today or tomorrow also Linux and UNIX® must be carrying command line.A small set of commands are only used by most.
Yes,Linux Newbies must be knowing something like nano editor(very easy) as of now to edit ur /etc/X11/xorg.conf for correcting DIsplay drivers etc.this is my experiance.I have a question?does windows user's Virtual TTY's?runlevels?
Now increasing ur knowledge with using bash shell or any in CLI is not a sin,eh?
just for You
:a newbie command line guide:
*www.linuxhelp.net/newbies/
4) A unified codec system is very much required. There is gstreamer & XINE. Now I don't know which one is better but in Totem using gstreamer & every plug-in available for gstreamer installed, I was not able to play all of my wma files. With XINE backend I was able to play all my wma files in totem but again the video quality suffered which I am attributing to the VMware video card (Software emulated).
gstreamer as of v 0.10 is almost well integrated.xine is a library which can use different player gui,for that matter mplayer too(available for win32 too)
Totem-xine and totem-gstreamer both worked very well in my Ubuntu installation.
Linux distros cant carry by default many multimedia apps and format support due to patents,license restrictions etc,the foremost being M$ wma,wmv etc codecs(which u can play by w32codecs pkg installed)
with all these plugins installed any Linux distro can play Multimedia audio-video content at ease.
Linux has no proper music player & library manager available. I used exaile & rythembox which both are based on gstreamer so the same problem as above. Some wma played while some did not. I couldn't even switch the engine to XINE in these. I installed everything, restricted codecs, win32 codecs, XINE FAAD everything, still no go.
Like I said a unified codec approach is really required. So that all codec’s are at a single location & shared, meaning all the media players can use the same codecs. If I go in control panel & select the XINE engine means all the media players switch automatically to XINE engine. Some users might argue but this is a good thing that Windows have been using from ages. Unified direct show codecs for audio & videos which results in any media player which is directshow compatible to play using that centralized codec.
Or if u do want to use multiple engines then make a player such that it switches the engine if one engine is not able to play a file. Like in my case, totem should have switched to XINE engine automatically when it encountered new WMAs.
This is FUD!.Linux got
100's of players for video and audio which are very capable.exaile and rhythmbox plays very well here.may be in that case u dont have esd sound server running that u can enable by going to menu System>Preferences>SOund>Sounds=enable sound mixing(esd) or via gstreamer-properties from a run dialog(ALT+F2)
all my test .wma,.wmv files played with out any glitch!FUDing ?
For ur Debian/Ubuntu to play all these codecs(try from installed partn in hdd,I dont know anything about Vmware
)
Use Automatix to install all these codecs and other support.
Automatix2
Automatix2 is a proprietary script that tries to install some software, and often fails and breaks systems. The Ubuntu community doesn't provide support for it, and we strongly discourage its use. Problems caused by Automatix are often hard to track and solve, and it might sometimes be easier to install a fresh copy of Ubuntu.
- Get this package (Be advised that the package version can change, check for the latest here):
- *www.getautomatix.com/apt/dists/feisty/main/binary-i386/automatix2_1.1-3.10-7.04feisty_i386.deb
- Install with this command:
sudo dpkg -i automatix2_1.1-3.10-7.04feisty_i386.deb
- Automatix2 is available in Applications > System Tools > Automatix
- Automatix2 Installation guide with Nice Screenshots
*ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Feisty#Automatix2
OR
try these from a terminal(Applications>Accessories>Terminal)
Code:
:~$apt-get install gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad
gstreamer0.10-plugins-base-apps gstreamer0.10-plugins-good gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-tools
and for windows media download and double click to install w32codecs.
*www.debian-multimedia.org/pool/main/w/w32codecs/w32codecs_20061022-0.0_i386.deb
and read more about RestrictedFormats/WindowsCodecs
About photo management in Linux, well I was not expecting an ACDSee clone but atleast an XNView clone. Again both FSpot & gthumb are not upto the mark. FSpot doesn’t shows a folder view while gthumb doesn’t let me increase the thumbnail size. Anyway, gthumb was a bit good. Again, linux needs some good apps to achieve desktop acceptance. Fpost & gthumb are severally limited in features compared to any windows counterpart.
there are many a s/w available for this.Dont expect Windows Clones be available mostly for all apps.
as with ACdsee like ui,try gtksee - GTK-based clone of ACDSee (an image viewer) for widows movers.
These 2 point, audio video & photo management summarize the multimedia flaws of linux. Unless these are solved Linux is not a threat to Windows in desktop market.
these are not the flaws of Linux,but of the License and legal restrictions that cant be accepted along with a GPLed Kernel and to distros which mosty composed Of GNU softwares .But..........U can buy a Linux with all these proprietory codecs installed by default for eg:SUse Linux(not opensuse),Linspire etc (even something called freespire also bundles these all)
Now coming to the usability part. I wanted rythembox to be my default audio players. Means when I click on wma file it should open in rythembox instead of totem. How do I do that? I selected an audio file -> & the open with dialog in from Windows 98 in functionality. I had to write rythembox cos it was not showing up in the dialog. Ok fine, I wrote but it opened rythembox but didn’t play the file as I intended for it to. There was some other command like “ rythembox –u “ or something like that. Go tell this to a noob who is just trying to play an mp3.
stop these waste whining.
Simple to associate any apps to be the default for that purpose.for eg: as u told to make rhythmbox,the default audio player,just right click the media>properites and browse to Open With to select the player as default.
“ rythembox –u “ is u dont mind that.just enter rhythmbox and start playing
I tried GAIM for IM & it looked & worked like some 2001 era chat client. No webcam support, no voice chat support. (yahoo can be attributes that it is proprity)
I went to Trash & where is the "restore" button?
Yes,In IM with video support etc LInux still lags,as with the no of games for this platform too.
As with Trash,dont compare with Windows as u did again.restore?why!bcoz a UNIX/Linux users got only /home/username directory to work with!all other areas are locked for local user and external ppl too.drag-n-drop is supported in trash.
In nautilus>preferences>U can have a delete command too if u want.
the virtues of Linux can be seen:
*whylinuxisbetter.net
Now be opened to Linux and FOSS philospohy,that one thing windows fanatic users lacks
now wat 2 say?