how do i love linux, let me count the ways

[cimorene]

• How to password-protect rar files: check! File-roller.


• How to use Konqueror for file browsing, local area network filesharing (SFTP), and internet uploading (FTP): check! Konqueror rules. I won't part with Opera for web browsing, though, even though it's got some flash player bugs.


• How to rip cds to mp3: check! Grip.


• How to load and manage iPod: check! Banshee.


• How to find and replace long strings including carriage returns: no, but how to run ancient shareware CuteHTML with Wine: check


• How to word process without editing comments, formatting, and sometimes actual text changes simply vanishing into the ether: still fucking working on it


• How to do 3/4 of everything right in the console, including downloading programs automatically when you tell it you want it: awesome.


• How to waste all the time you could ever want: console-based tetris. It's called Tint.


• How to have like as many desktop backgrounds as you want: check.


• How to chat with any program you want, including jabber: great except for how it never fucking works with MSN. Gaim is good otherwise, though. I hear Kopete works, but I'm a creature of habit.


• How to desaturate or colourise your icons on the desktop and in filebrowsers and OS-native applications: I never knew I needed it until I discovered I could do it! Bless you, Kubuntu!


• How to do everything Photoshop does for free: The Gimp is pretty rad, I admit, and it really is that sophisticated, and it works on Windows too. The problem is if you're used to Photoshop it takes some adjustment. I can figure out how to get the effects I want, but it takes a lot more work still. There's a huge knowledge base on the net to help you out here, but it still takes some trial and error, and the more you understand the how-and-why of what you're doing with those pretty filters and sliding bar charts and things, the easier it is to adjust. So like, a lot easier for me than for Wax, but still kinda headache-inducing.

OpenOffice is surprisingly the least functional part of the Linux experience for us, so far. Wine will even run Semagic and reportedly an old version of iTunes for you, if you don't mind some computing slowness that doesn't really seem to be worth it to me for the extra features.

Comments

[dunautremonde.livejournal.com]

What's so great about Opera though? Like I guess it has some nice features, I don't know, to me Opera seems like the most "radical" of all the browsers. Aki uses it too though, when I first saw I was like, "Omg Opera's still around!" Don't ask why I thought it wasn't around anymore. :/

And yeah so you guys are using Kubuntu right?

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Opera has pretty good native mouse gestures and has for years. It's also about as compliant as Firefox, but has a much smaller system footprint (good if you're pressed for processor and memory as I was until recently). Firefox has had several releases where it froze up a lot - I've used it as my primary browser for a while and a secondary browser in between - but I've never had that problem with Opera since I started using it years ago. And it's pretty good at popup blocking too if you're in Windows - like, for the uninitiated user (say my mother or sister) who doesn't have a clue how to stop popups without some help.

Yeah, Kubuntu. I'm just using the same one as Wax. :) I think she picked it out on the basis of... internet research.

[dunautremonde.livejournal.com]

True, I remember Firefox using more memory than Safari and taking longer to load too. But I suspect that Safari was probably like IE and had code it needed already running when the system loads up, sort of like how Internet Explorer and Explorer go hand in hand.

I looked at Opera's feature page and it looks like it has a lot of the same features as the mac browser OmniWeb, which is funny because now it's obvious that they just stole all of Opera's features. Right now I'm temporarily trying Camino, which is basically Firefox macified. Maybe I'll end up with Opera?

Yeah Wax gave me her Kubuntu CD to install but for some reason my laptop just won't boot it. :(

[cimness.livejournal.com]

What about Safari? That's the most popular browser for Macs, right? I think it's what most of my Mac friends use.

[dunautremonde.livejournal.com]

Safari (at least the current version, not sure about the newer one which may still be a beta) is probably the worst browser on mac in my opinion, and everyone uses it probably for the same reason why everyone used to use IE, in other words because it comes with the OS. It's slow, takes up LOADS of memory, doesn't comply with everything, has nothing but the most basic features, blah blah. The only reason I used it for so long was because it was the best looking of all the mac browsers but after a while looks isn't everything.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Wow, bummer. I had no idea the experience of Mac browsing was so fraught with difficulty. There's Firefox and Opera for Macs, isn't there?

[dunautremonde.livejournal.com]

Yeah there is, and I'm gonna try Opera out next right after I get finally fed up with Camino. But yeah Camino is Firefox, at least the renderer, so I'll skip the firefox test-out.

[vass]

But yeah Camino is Firefox, at least the renderer, so I'll skip the firefox test-out.

Firefox runs a little slower than Camino, but has so many more features that there's almost no comparison. Firefox's adblocking and scriptblocking alone made me switch from Camino to Firefox when my primary computer was a Mac.

[dunautremonde.livejournal.com]

I tried out Firefox yesterday and couldn't figure out how to change the way Firefox handles different file types. That is.. I could but there was only listed png and tiff, but no way to add more. Or maybe I'm just missing something really obvious?

I love how your icon for this comment has Camino in it. :P But what's the turtle/Bowser looking creature for?

[vass]

I could but there was only listed png and tiff, but no way to add more.

That's odd. I don't have a clue, sorry.

But what's the turtle/Bowser looking creature for?

He's a web Bowser!

[vass]

How to waste all the time you could ever want:

Some addenda to time-wasting item:
- xgalaga (old school shoot 'em up)
- kbounce (like Jezzball)
- kmahjongg, kshisen (Mah-Jongg type games)
- knetwalk (highly addictive puzzle thing)
- NetHack (dungeon-crawler. I find it helps to name my players, and pets, after either politicians or people in bandom, because playing as a chaotic elf wizard named Gerard with a pet cat named Mikey makes everything better.)

You haven't mentioned, but I'm hoping you know about:
- LogJam: LJ client.
- Akgregator: RSS aggregator.

I'm not overfond of OpenOffice either, but then, I never liked MS Office, so I'm used to doing most things in plain text.

What software are you using to play the mp3s once you've ripped them? I use AmaroK, but I'm always hoping there's something better out there.