PhillipStewart
I am a new Ubuntu ["Edgy Eft"] (6.10) user. I am trying to permanently switch [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwitchingToUbuntu/FromWindows from Windows] after 11 years. I'm switching for the freedom and fun. Initial [http://www.flickr.com/photos/phillipstewart/395947521/ desktop screenshot].
Age: 31
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
To do
- Change resolution to 1600x1200 somehow. (done, see next item)
Probably install NVIDIA driver. (Installed "NVidia binary X.Org driver", rebooted, no change in options; [http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Edgy#How_to_install_Graphics_Driver_.28NVIDIA.29 found] that I needed to run sudo nvidia-xconfig; no change; saw --mode option in the man page: sudo nvidia-xconfig --mode=1600x1200 made option show up) (weeks later: just [http://software.jessies.org/salma-hayek/ubuntu-setup.html read about] nvidia-settings program)
Get media playback working for patent-encumbered formats (MP3, Xvid, [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats RestrictedFormats]). VLC plays everything. Still need to get video working with Totem. (Installed "GStreamer ffmpeg video plugin", still can't play AVC1 or MP4A.)
Install ["ntfs-3g"] [http://www.ntfs-3g.org/ NTFS-3G]
How do I add unrar support? I don't like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAR_%28file_format%29 RAR] and never create rar files, but I need to unrar some: sudo apt-get install unrar
- Upgrade to Feisty when released.
Check out PyPar2, other software...
Ubuntu annoyances
- Window minimization animation. Disabled by unchecking apps/panel/global/enable_animations in gconf?
- Unable to close window by double clicking on top left icon. I'll get over it.
- Unable to rename file by a slow double-click (desktop, Nautilus).
- Unable to right drag items (desktop, Nautilus).
- When previewing a screensaver, Esc should also leave fullscreen. I'd also change "Leave Fullscreen" to "Exit Fullscreen". I was all, "how the hell do I exit the preview?" since moving the mouse and hitting Esc didn't work.
That this wiki doesn't use [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki MediaWiki]. Seriously.
Bad documentation: There is no System -> Administration -> Disks like [https://help.ubuntu.com/6.10/ubuntu/desktopguide/C/ch10s02.html the docs] say. [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=353746 Others] found the same thing. Hard to convert from Windows if there is no way to access you NTFS files to copy them over. (Used [http://www.skullbox.net/newsda.php this guide] to manually mount it; found [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MountingWindowsPartitions better docs])
- GNOME Terminal doesn't copy on highlight or paste on right click but instead shows a worthless little menu.
- Arrow keys don't work in VIM in Terminal when in insert mode.
Many applications don't display their name in the title bar. ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banshee_%28music_player%29 Banshee], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totem_%28media_player%29 Totem], [http://xchat-gnome.navi.cx/ XChat-GNOME], gnome-btdownload)
Missing just a few fonts that I would like, such as [http://www.languagegeek.com/font/fontdownload.html Aboriginal] and [http://www.fixedsysexcelsior.com/ Fixedsys Excelsior]. I think these two are just gratis and not Free. How to add fonts? ([http://penguinfonts.com/howto/ubuntu.php found]) Need ability to add fonts via GUI.
- Unable to uninstall Evolution via "Add/Remove Applications", must use Synaptic. What the hell is the difference between "removal" and "complete removal" in Synaptic? Which should I choose? Can Evolution even be uninstalled? Synaptic appears to want to uninstall ubuntu-desktop with it. I'm freakin' tired of Evolution starting when I accidentally click on an email address in Firefox.
Sound Juicer: No way to rip a whole CD to one file? Options for Speex and MP3 (after gstreamer codec installed?) would be nice. Ah, the "Voice, Lossy" option is for Speex inside an Ogg container. Someone has already filed [http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=413379 a bug] on this unclear labeling. Well, not Sound Juicer just locks up whenever I hit "Encode".
Ubuntu joys
- Add/Remove Applications
- Software Updates
Proprietary software
The whole point of using GNU/Linux is to get away from proprietary software. This is a list of proprietary that I still use and why and plans for Free software replacements.
Nvidia video driver
Maybe I can make do with Intel's graphics chip, which has a fully open source driver, in my next computer.
μTorrent via Wine
I first installed ["Azureus"], which I guess is using [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Compiler_for_Java GCJ] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Classpath GNU Classpath]. The transfer rate would quickly drop to zero. What's causing this? Perhaps immature network code in GCJ or GNU Classpath? gnome-btdownload works fine, but doesn't have the sophisticated interface that I need. I could installed Sun Java to see if that fixes the networking issue, but that's just substituting one proprietary software for another. I think I'll just use μTorrent via [http://www.winehq.com/ Wine] until either GCJ gets better, or Sun Java is [http://www.sun.com/software/opensource/java/ fully released] as GPL.
Adobe Flash
I tried for a couple days to use the web without installing this plugin. I installed it via Firefox and not a repository, which will probably prevent auto security updates. Keep an eye on [http://gplflash.sourceforge.net/ GPLFlash].
My uses of Flash: YouTube, Google Reader MP3 audio playing, that's all I can think of for now.