On 02/11/10 08:45, Natalie Hooper wrote:
Just wondering if any of you read Linux Format's "24 Things we'd change
about Linux" (issue 137) and what your thoughts were? It got me thinking
about what I'd like to see changed in Linux so I wrote a blog post about it
(see link below).
http://cogitas.net/blog/2010/11/01/10-things-id-change-in-linux/
I'd like to know your thoughts about this, what you agree/disagree with,
what you would add etc.
My list would be:
(1) Create a way to share files between machines on a LAN really easily
that doesn't hang the system if the network goes away. SAMBA is too
complex. sshfs can hang a whole machine if a network goes down.
(2) Create something to rival and improve on Remote Desktop on Windows.
VNC, remote X11 and No Machine don't quite do it, although all of them
are good in some ways.
(3) Better graphics drivers: fully working Gallium3D for nouveau on
NVidia, ATI drivers that actually work, DRI2 and KMS across the board.
(4) Better wireless drivers, especially for 802.11n, especially USB.
(5) An open source VoIP program that interoperates with Skype. Hey, I
can dream can't I? Skype indicated they were going to split their Linux
client and release the core stuff (protocols etc) as a binary and open
source the GUI and all the other bits. That's a start, I suppose ... if
they actually do it.
(6) I'd like it if the XDG stuff worked better for systems that lacked
Gnome or KDE. I'd also like it if some of the XDG projects were a bit
more lively, and accepted bug reports, suggestions and patches.
(Portland..) I'd also prefer it if some of the XDG standards were a bit
simpler... the .desktop setup for preferred applications, MIME types,
program menus and so on is pretty bizarre. Does anyone know how, for
example, chromium works out what app should open a downloaded file?
Have you ever tried to work it out? Apparently the system for a trash
bin for file managers is deeply weird too.
(7) A system for applications of all kinds across all desktop
environments to share image thumbnails would nice. It wouldn't have to
be complex either.
(8) I really don't like Open Office much, and I think the FOSS world
needs a top notch office suite. My biggest gripe at this precise moment
is that there's no way to import XML data into oocalc, but overall the
suite lacks polish and seems clunky. I hate MS Office too, so I'm not
sure what my ideal suite would look like! Something that didn't suck
:) I agree actually that non-WYSIWYG systems like LaTeX or troff are
probably better for document generation, that there's usually a simpler
way to solve a problem than a spreadsheet, that powerpoint is pure evil,
and so on. But most people want an office suite, and to interact with
modern business you often need to use one, like it or not.
(9) Flash. It's horrible, but you need it sometimes. For some people,
most of their PC interaction involves flash (Miniclip, YouTube..). Yes,
it's better than it used to be. It still sucks, and full screen video
is a total gamble. It eats CPU. Either it needs to die, or Adobe need
to release the specs or open the code and let everyone have a go at
improving it, or they at least need to make a Linux version that doesn't
fail massively.
(10) MS Exchange + Outlook is a truly horrible combination, but if I
want to use Linux at work - which of course I do - I'd like to be able
to smooth out the problems. If the company use MS Exchange + Outlook,
I'd like to be able to interact with them better. Alternatively (and
preferably), I'd like MS Exchange + Outlook to conform to standards or
sod off. The best way for that to happen is for competition from cloud
services (like Google Apps) and/or a really good alternative system that
is standards compliant and open source yet enterprise ready to force MS
to do something. Are Zimbra and others in with a shot? Most
"alternatives" (e.g. Lotus Notes) impress by actually being worse.
That's all I can think of for now! I understand the motive of the
original post - changes to help with wider adoption of Linux by the
masses. Mine, however, are entirely personal.
Also, I entirely realize the issues behind bitching about hardware
drivers. I am fully appreciative of how vastly things have improved
over the years. Also, I think that often installing hardware on Linux
is easier than Windows now. There are just a few weak points, and the
problem is mainly the manufacturers.
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