With more time to finish my comments..
On 03/05/11 16:12, Nick Rout wrote:
> On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 2:46 PM, Rik Tindall<[email protected]> wrote:
>> 2. Top-left controls.
> This is easy to change (it was in gnome anyway), but I'd have to say
> MANY people have said that once they have persevered they like it.
It was by changing themes in gnome-2 on ubu 10.04 (by which time the
default side change had been imposed).
Having tested Unity some more, I can see why the top-left window control
buttons have become essential (disappearing the task and title bars,
while avoiding the top-right system controls already in place) so that
the _user_ must change. Hence acceptance of Volker's point - he still
has choice on other distros - and some digression into philosophy..
As a new user finding my gnu/linux feet, my primary choices for ease of
use became gnome + debian packaging (tried Suse & Redhat but found them
more.. difficult/problematic). Ubuntu then filled my basic user needs,
by efficiently fulfilling my choice. But now it does not, and
determinedly so. Quite a paradigm leap, that I will probably adjust to.
But should I? ...
>> This has grown into my chief annoyance with
>> Ubuntu's development track, which has now concentrated in Unity. Is it
>> Mark BDFL's personal preference to have these top-left controls, or was
>> it the Gnome crew's?.. The default theme for the last two releases at
>> least has had top-left window control buttons, but I liked the earlier
>> (Gn)Ubuntu with top-right window control buttons, thank you very much,
>> and don't understand the need for this change (forcing longer
>> mouse-reach upon right-handed people :-) - Is it to mimic MacOS? Why?
> Then again why mimic windows?
Because I actually think Redmond has this use-issue right, literally.
It is a work efficiency matter, whereby reaching up and through your
peripheral vision to reach the window control buttons is quicker and
easier for right-handed people, at the right side of the screen -
compared to the longer reach / mouse-ball roll, through central vision,
to reach the top-left.
I understand why the Android etc small device market - that are yet to
concern me - might be so appealing as to necessitate this change, but
herein lies the delicious irony..
Perhaps this "Unity" transition provides the perfect metaphor for linux:
a minority of 'lefties' forcing the majority to do what is 'right' for
them technically. But that's really just impression, because the
opposite actually applies, perhaps :-)
That may be hard to follow.
Back to work now.
>> 3. Firestarter, the failsafe firewall package for Gnome, has just been
>> made buggy to install and use. Having worked through googled advice, I
>> can cope with the result now and carry on with the potential migration
>> assessment ('no syslog access' / write for Firestarter).
> pretty sure it's a gtk, not gnome app, but I may be wrong. Also it is
> not currently in development and the last release tarball is dated
> 2005 (!). Frankly it appears to be dead, and some of the comments I
> see online indicate that it is not working so well with modern
> kernels. Not good for a security app!
Have really enjoyed using http://www.fs-security.com 2007 - contrary to
those reports - stable and reassuring in the often hostile, online world.
Long may Firestarter live on, and reliably deliver. Will resolve the 'no
syslog access' / write eventually, I hope.
Cheers & regards
Rik
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