Shuttle's $199 Linux PC uses GNOME

http://techreport.com/discussions.x/14278
http://us.shuttle.com/news.aspx
http://www.foresightlinux.com/

Shuttle's $199 Linux PC is due out soon, with some decent (albeit low-end) specs. However, rather than using Ubuntu, it looks like they'll be using Foresight Linux and its Conary package manager.

Does a package manager *really* make that much difference, however? I argue that yes it does -- Conary was created by former RPM developers, who obviously also think that RPM leaves much to be desired. I've never had issues with Debian's DPKG; Conary, however, seems to transfer less data per update. Woopty do; at least its not RPM.

But, to really stand out in this suddenly-crowded field of low-cost Linux desktops, another system with a GNOME front end isn't going to do it. Different wallpaper and theme it may have, but its still the limiting GNOME desktop and GTK/GNOME apps.

This does go to show that other, smaller Distributions can get a great connection with a hardware manufacturer, not just Ubuntu. Maybe someone will wise up and see the power and functionality of KDE. Maybe it'll take KDE4 to really get there, unfortunately.

If a desktop came preloaded with KDE3 and then, in 1 or 2 years, a KDE4 version was available, I could see (less saavy) users paying to upgrade to the then-current release of KDE4. Foresight, huh -- it sure doesn't seem like it.

KDE-based Super-Distro, where are you!? Somebody save me!

I love KDE, the Kool Desktop Environment. It is slick and quick and has an application for just about every need that I have; it has options and ease-of-understanding that no other Desktop Environment has. Unlike GNOME (which seems to take more and more cues from MSWindows), KDE doesn't hide the system from the user. KDE doesn't dumb-down for me, but nor does it demand that I set everything up manually a la Fluxbox or another minimal window manager (which are fine but not for me, at least not today nor the last 5 years). KDE is grand, and the next generation KDE4 releases will be fantastic.

At home I have been using Kubuntu for the last three releases; before that I used Mepis, and before that was SuSE Linux. At work I have been all Debian Testing for my desktop, running of course KDE. My Asus EeePC is now running Debian Testing as well, with KDE.

But none of these Linux distributions seem to really *get* KDE. Here are my gripes about these, and a few other, distros:

SuSE: I started with you back in the SuSE 8.1 days, and although you gave me Linux and helped me into this world, your RPM hell was too hellish for me. The moment I tried to add third-party multimedia apps, my system fell apart. Every time. No more of you.

Mepis: I thought Mepis (aka SimplyMepis) was a toy -- it was too easy to use in comparison to the hell I was experiencing with SuSE on my other machine. I soon learned that Debian-based distros are really just that good! But over time, Mepis grew boring as I learned how customizable KDE and Linux are, and how Linux works, and I found Mepis wanting to be a refuge for Windows users. I was over that already, and I disliked the closed-source code that made up its tools. Then, after the great 3.1 release, future releases had a Kicker featuring a fishtank, and I was done with Mepis (yes, the fishtank can be removed, but really??).

Arch: I installed this on my laptop and it was fine, but I found its package list lacking. Based on Slackware GNU/Linux, it was fast, but its wifi tools were difficult and I spent too much time trying to connect to the same hotspot every Thursday. Done with you (for now, I suppose).

Kubuntu: My current home setup is Kubuntu. Pretty good selection of applications (ok, GREAT) and also based on Debian (but with painful deviations), but the interface is kinda dumbed down, I am tired of blue themes every time I install a new distro. Not your fault, I suppose, and I know that the Kubuntu development team is creating a distro via volunteers (as are most every other GNU/Linux distribution, of course). But you're the beat-down little sibling of the corporate-driven Ubuntu, and I am tired of living in the Ubuntu shadow. Kubuntu is still the distro I recommend for Linux newbies, but its a pain trying to explain to them the difference between Kubuntu and Ubuntu, KDE and Gnome, and why some of the instructions on the forum will work, when others won't, and how the hell are they to know the difference? As an experienced and interested geek of the Desktop Linux scene, I get it -- but do new users? I fear not. Kubuntu needs to really shine, and I fear it cannot do this in its current situation. Plus, software with the *buntus is only updated every six months (bug fixes come much quicker, obviously, but generally not new major versions of software), and the updates in these six months generally require a reinstall of the whole OS and apps. Not a bad move perhaps, but not always fun either (ok, usually it is, i know...)

Debian: The great godfather of Linux, in my opinion -- Debian begets all of the usable distros, but its KDE is just so vanilla. Yes, I know that the point of Free Software is to make it your own, which I invariably do, and I suppose being the largest software project in the world somewhat demands a basic setup to satisfy the most users, but I wish I could run Debian and be impressed with the out-of-the-box look. Debian Testing does, however, supply me with a steady stream of updated software, which I appreciate, but very little innovation in how the desktop looks and acts (please, tell me if i am wrong!)

Linux Mint: OK, I've not used this, but it is based on Ubuntu and therefor uses GNOME. So does Ubuntu Multimedia. Yeck. However, both manage to make a distro that looks stunning -- this is what I want for my KDE use! I imagine soon someone will say, "well then of course, use PCLinuxOS!"

PCLinuxOS: Yes, I could use this distro, and I am eagerly awaiting the 2008 release (there is absolutly no news on its home page/news about its release though). But, even with its Synaptic package management, this is still an RPM-based distro, which I will not return to with a smile. I use Debian and Redhat on our servers at work, and guess which always is the easier to use and administer -- yep, Debian with its DEB packages, and never Redhat with its RPM packages. I fear that PCLinuxOS is going to cause me pains with the RPMs, and I know that its forums are less busy, meaning I have less chance to solve issues that pop up. Also, the package list here is about 7,000 applications, far short of the *buntus, which themselves are short of the official Debian available programs (not to mention the fantastic debian-multimedia repositories). Will PCLinuxOS have all of the apps I want? Will support be as easy to find? Will third-party apps have available RPMs to install if PCLinuxOS doesn't supply the package themselves?

Fedora: Yes, a KDE distro, but based on the pain that is Red Hat, and also RPM-based. I'll pass for now.


In short, I want the high-quality and high-profile distribution that Ubuntu provides, without being two releases behind in the system management tools that Kubuntu seems to run. I want a great Debian-based distro that runs KDE and takes over the world -- NOT a GNOME based distro that happens to supply KDE packages (*buntu); NOT a KDE-based distro that requires RPMs (PCLinuxOS); and NOT a fantastic overall distro that just happens to be kinda boring (Debian). I want a large, active community that focuses on fixing the same issues that I may be having in KDE, not in GNOME.

After checking out Kubuntu 8.04, I might move my home system to Debian, since it always is so nice at work, and probably has the largest community and the most vanilla KDE (meaning, other KDE people can help, even if they're not Debian users). Or, I'll find the best KDE4 community and move there, perhaps.

Basically, I want a Kanonikal.

Autostarting Windows apps in KDE on Linux

If you have an application that runs under Wine in your Linux setup, and want it to start when you log in, then this post is for you!

At work we use Nagios system monitoring software, and I've only found a single, outdated Linux application, but I cannot find binaries for it on a modern system, and I couldn't get it to build (with my limited knowledge). A small Windows system tray application named 'NTrayC.exe' works fine to monitor the Nagios monitoring software, and it works just fine under Linux using Wine.

When I log into my work desktop in the morning, I want to know if our network is up, if a server is failing, or whatever may be the issue du jour. I could start that NTrayC.exe program manually every day, but I figured out a better way :)

In your /home/user/.kde/Autostart/ folder (it's a hidden folder -- see that . in front of kde?) you can just copy a standard Linux launcher there and it will start when KDE starts. This application, requiring Wine to run, needs a bit more massaging -- we need to start Wine, with this application as its option (note the full path to both Wine and to the application that Wine runs).

Create a file in that Autostart/ directory named 'windowsapp.desktop' and put this information in that file:

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=NTrayC.exe
Exec=/usr/bin/wine /home/lefty/NTrayC/NTrayC.exe
Icon=
Type=Application
StartupNotify=false

Now save the file, log out of KDE and back in, and it should start up on its own just fine!

QuickSynergy quick HowTo

QuickSynergy is a GUI frontend to the command-line program, Synergy. This little app combo is fantastic -- it allows a user to control multiple computers with a single mouse and keyboard, allowing copy/paste from one computer to the other, and it functions with many different operating systems, including Linux, Mac/BSD, and Windows systems.

Today I was frustrated with not being able to make this work, but (like is often the case) a few minutes away from the problem brought on that Eureka! moment.

First, install QuickSynergy onto your Linux desktops:

apt-get install quicksynergy

Install on Mac or Windows is probably simple enough, but I am not really sure. Who cares?

Start the program on each machine. The machine you want to use for the mouse and keyboard is known as the 'server', or the "Share" machine in the GUI. On that machine, enter the hostnames for each machine that you want to connect with:
In this case, I have my 'debianano' system (Debian Etch installed on a 4GB SD-card, booting on my EeePC) to the right of my main computer, so that is where I put its hostname. This is where I was hung up before -- I kept using the client's IP Address (192.168.1.148 or whatever it was), which was failing. You need to use the hostname, which acts as a sort of guard to prevent connection to another machine on the network which may be using the IP address which you thought you were supposed to use. Click the [Start] button, and minimize the app or ignore it.

Then start the QuickSynergy application on the client machine (that which you want to use, but with a different mouse/keyboard -- laptops are the ideal candidate here). This would be my EeePC -- start the application and select the "Use" tab. Here, enter your server's IP address or hostname -- without a nameserver, though, your client may not be able to find the server, so I suggest using the IP address of your server (Shared) machine:
Click [Start] on the client machine(s), and go back to your main system (the Server, or Shared machine). Move your mouse to the edge (right edge in my setup) and the mouse should 'jump' off of the main screen and onto the client computer's screen. How cool, eh?

To get a hostname on your Linux machine, at a command prompt run 'hostname' all by itself. To get an IP Address, run 'ifconfig' (you may need root privileges, depending on the distribution which you're using). In the example below, I ran these two commands and have boldfaced the appropriate information which we need:

lefty@desktop:~$ hostname

desktop

lefty@desktop:~$ ifconfig

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:50:70:D6:2D:71
inet addr:192.168.1.102 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::250:70ff:fed6:2d71/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:2297486 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:1786329 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:2437460921 (2.2 GB) TX bytes:421445533 (401.9 MB)
Interrupt:20 Base address:0xe000

KDE4 - New look, new concepts, less functionality -- for now!

The KDE project, on 11 January 2008, released the first official version of the KDE4 series of Desktop Environments for Linux and Unix systems -- and soon for Windows and Mac OSX apparently.
KDE 4.0.0 packages were made available for my Kubuntu 7.10 installation, which I have installed and playerd with and I am here to give some initial impressions! Please note that the KDE4 series is just being released to create a solid foundation for the future of KDE, and that it is by no means feature complete or 'finished' in any way. This is a .0.0 release (4.0.0) meaning that future bug fixes and improvements will come with the first major update -- 4.1.x -- in about six months. At that point, the new KDE 4-series desktop will be much more usable.

KDE 4.0.0 is still usable now, however, and 'release early, release often' is the Free Software way to get bugs in to the open and fixed. Upgrade to 4.0.0 at your own risk of having too much fun exploring the new desktop and finding and reporting bugs!

Desktop
The current Desktop is nice, but limited. A photo slideshow can exist in the background but images are stretched to fit the screen; this isn't (yet) configurable.
Icons and files which exist in your Desktop/ folder are also scattered across the Desktop; right-clicking to align icons cleans them up somewhat, but not much and not in a grid-like layout. Each icon also can be 'selected', the same as a Widget, to have a translucent border around it which allows for rotating and resizing; hovering over an icon gives it this border and one has to re-hover to remove it. Sometimes my whole desktop seems to have these icon borders, which don't make much sense yet without tooltips. What is the Red X for? I hope its not deleting my file -- that is too easy to lose work! And if it did... where is my Trashcan?Luckily it all looks better when one removes the Icons from the desktop; this means to get to these files you have to use a file manager, and to make that easier you may want to change where your web browser default-downloads files (Firefox defaults to the ~/Desktop/ folder for example).

Widgets
The desktop is no longer divided between the Desktop (wallpaper and icons) and the Kicker (the old panel with the KMenu, clock, task manager, etc). Now, Widgets can be placed on the Desktop OR the Plasma Panel (not Kicker). Currently there are not a lot of widgets available, but I would expect this to increase as (1) SuperKaramba widgets are ported to Plasma, (2) current KDE applets are ported to Plasma, and (3) Mac OSX widget support is added to KDE4. Until then, here are the available Widgets:
Any of these items can be added to either the Desktop or the Panel, but not all make sens in the wrong place. Who wants a System Tray, which tells you which apps are running in the background (like a music player or chat program), to be added to the Desktop? This interchangeability is handy for some of the applets (er, widgets), but at this point it's not making a lot of sense. Additionally, the Widget description isn't very useful at this point, so there will be some confusion as which do what and why.
To get a Widget from the Add Widgets box to the Desktop, one clicks "Add Widget"; to get a Widget onto the Panel, however, its a drag-and-drop task. This seems inconsistent, as Add Widget doesn't say *where* it is being added (Desktop) and Drag-and-Drop to the Panel isn't (imho) intuitive. Both should be Drag-and-Drop, and there should also be an [Add Widget to Desktop] and [Add Widget to Panel] buttons.
I am not sure what the Gold Star does next to these Widgets, but the red Minus sign will remove, with one click, ALL of the added widgets of that type. This can be painful to learn, since I removed my integral Panel's Task Manager (open programs) and had to rebuild my Panel with drag-and-drop of one applet at a time, trial and error.

Panel
The Panel holds widgets such as the Kickoff menu (ouch), links to added Apps, a Pager, a digital or analog Clock, running programs (Task manager) and backround apps (System Tray). It also seems to flake out now and again; notice my Clock and some open apps are all hidden:


Right-Clicking, or Configurability
When I want to change a setting, I am accustomed to right-clicking on a visual aspect of the Desktop or the Windows Manager. Right-click the Desktop to change the Desktop; right-click the Kicker to change the Kicker. But this doesn't seem to work so well in the current KDE 4.0.0. Right-clicking on the Plasma Panel only gives the options for that Widget which is placed there; I have found no ways to change the overall location of Widgets to rearrange them, nor any way to Hide the Plasma Panel or add a second Panel or change the colour or transparency; basically, a lot of functionality is missing here still.
Right-clicking on the Desktop is even less useful (this is with Desktop Icons turned off, or there would be two Icon entries here for arranging the Desktop icons):

The two ways to configure the Desktop are from the Desktop's right-click option, or from the new System Settings, which replaces the wonderful KControl with the Kubuntu System Settings (the Kubuntu System Settings has becaome the KDE4 default for all KDE4, not just on Kubuntu). On the left is from System Settings; on the right is the right-click Configure Desktop option. They are totally different and have no overlap; in my eyes they should be identical. The right-click allows to setup Wallpaper only at this point, while the System Settings > Desktop is for visual effects (which I've not yet tried) and the Screen Saver setups:

The new KMenu, named Kickoff, is not very fun to use. The menu is subdivided into Favorites, Applications, Computer (cdrom drive, usb drives, etc), Recently Used, and Leave. Passing the mouse over any of these auto-switches to that tab, making navigation a hassle; drilling through the menu levels in Applications doesn't leave any visual trail as the where you are in the menu, and the Back option isn't obvious. Clicking Leave brings up options to reboot or logoff; clicking any of these brings up another menu to do the same. Too many clicks to log off or reboot, but I bet this will be clarified with new releases.

Also notice in this picture, the Leave tab is missing and the Search box near the top is missing -- this is due to the flaking-out of Plasma, I think, just like the Panel above is missing its clock etc.
Here is the best Plasma flakeout I've seen yet (above -- ouch! its supposed to be a normal photo)... but even with this, newer updates and releases of the KDE4 series of desktops shows a lot of promise. Rome wasn't built in a day, nor the awesomeness of the KDE3 series (especially in 3.5.8, the current release) -- those have had a lot of work and testing and feedback put into them, and the same will happen with KDE4 over time.

Congrats to the developers and supporters of KDE -- a lot of work has gone into this, it is obviuous, and it has been a lot of fun trying out and learning some of the new technologies behind KDE4.

KDE4 Released!

Today, 11 Jan 2007, the first official release of KDE4 was made! KDE 4.0.2 is a Free Software desktop environment built upon TrollTech's QT base, and released as Free Software under the GPL.

KDE4 is a major change in how the KDE desktop works, and promises to be a very solid base to future KDE4 releases. KDE 4.1 should be released later this year as a bugfix and improved-capabilities release, at which point it will be more stable for use in production environments.

Read more about the KDE4 release here. Congrats to all of the KDE4 developers and users -- the future does indeed look very promising! This will be even more exciting as additional applications are re-coded to work with KDE4's libraries and base packages.

The KDE4 series implements a lot of exciting changes (for software), such as:
- a smaller memory footprint - runs faster on the same hardware as KDE3! Try that, Vista! ;)
- new hardware backend named Solid, which helps to tie hardware better into the software that uses it
- a new sound mixer, Phoenon, which ties ALL of the various sound outputs in Linux to a single frontend - no more "Device is busy!" errors when trying to use multiple sources for sound
- Plasma, the new Desktop shell, with Scalable Vector Graphics to keep icons and images looking crisp at any size, and an incorporation of SuperKaramba widgets into KDE natively (Apple's OSX widgets support might be added for KDE 4.1 even!)
- Oxygen icon theme, to make your new KDE even MORE gorgeous
- and a lot of other fixes, improvements, simplifications, and applications!

I have loaded KDE 4.0.2 onto my home Kubuntu computer and I will post screenshots later today or possibly tomorrow. Until then, check out other screenshots or join the IRC channel on Freenode to celebrate KDE4: irc.freenode.net: #kde4-release-party (note: requires an IRC client like Pidgeon or Konversation)

The hidden cost of Linux? You're kidding me

This article is ridiculous! Author Adrian Kingsley-Hughes claims that Linux has its hidden costs and goes on to list them, but many of his arguments are flat-out wrong or unsupported. Let's check it out:

"When you take a copy of Windows XP, Vista or Mac OS X and you install it onto a system with the appropriate system requirements, chances are that unless you have a particularly bizarre configuration or a defective component, you can be pretty certain that the OS will install and things that you have installed (WiFi adaptors, network cards, graphics cards and so on) will work just fine."

I've seen plenty of MS upgrades go wrong; for ANY operating system, a fresh install is best. Chances are, EVERYONE has a somewhat bizarre setup. With GNU/Linux distributions, you know what is generally going to work and what isn't, especially if your educated guess is based on the last Linux install. With both Mac and Windows, however, once proprietary support is dropped for one component or another, there is a chance that part will never function again. Or maybe the new Vista doesn't have drivers, or they don't load properly (like all too many new Dell's with their soundcard in Vista). Point is, if you rely on an proprietary OS and drivers, you're stuck with their level of functionality and supported lifetime, AFTER going through the hassle of finding the drivers for everything. With modern Linux, almost all drivers are just built right in. Wifi and 3D Graphics Cards are known issues and we all wish they'd work flawlessly always using FLOSS drivers, but they currently don't; the situation is always improving and my graphics and wifi work, but not everyone has my equipment. Bizarre.

Hardware is designed to work on particular platforms and if you go out and buy something, again being mindful of the system requirements, things should work out OK for you. This isn’t true 100% of the time, but given the billion or so PCs in use, the failure rate is surprisingly low.

Really, I should expect my hardware to work with my platform? Because troubleshooting hardware on Windows is hard enough with an official fix; Free Software seems to power almost everything I need it to, and easily. In fact, the Linux Drivers Project is having trouble finding hardware that doesn't yet have Linux drivers, while Vista still struggles for its full driver set. And being Free software, the Linux drivers will never really go away. Score one for me, in three years.

Lets see the next paragraph...

Things just work, and given the complexity of that device you’re sitting in front of to read this, it’s amazing that computers hum along as reliably as they do. Mostly this is down to the principals of “survival of the fittest” being at work – if a company produces a product with too many bugs too often, that company is doomed.

Sounds like Linux in the first sentence, and a Microsoft bashing in the second -- but apparently this article is in support of a closed-source, non-Free operating system, and an article against Linux.

But when it comes to Linux, things aren’t as straight forward. First off, Linux commands a tiny market share. Net Applications shows Linux web usage currently sitting at just under 0.7 per cent. That level of market share is far too small and insignificant to command much sway among software and hardware vendors. While Linux communities like to believe that this 0.7 per cent user base is bigger than it is, and some companies are now paying lip service to Linux, no matter how you look at it, 0.7 per cent is a small number

It is indeed a very small number, but one that is based on NetApplication's survey of sold desktops, not the install base. Not too many Linux machines on the market at this point. We would like to see our ranks grow, of course.

And even with the best will in the world, the amount of effort that vendors can seriously be expected to put into Linux, given the low market share, is not much. With profit margins getting ever smaller, supporting countless Linux distros just doesn’t make good business sense.

First off, Microsoft is biting into those profits as much as anything else; create a great Linux distro and the users would come -- the EeePC showed us that. So have those that install Linux on their own, without vendor 'support'. Have you ever called for help on hardware and got real help? Second, Software as a Service (SaaS) is taking off in a big way; supporting 'countless' Linux distros makes wonderful sense. Supporting one makes sense! Open some code and let us support ourselves! We've come this far without their help, to the point where we have to read rubbish articles like this one to try to scare people away from Linux. Embrace Linux and users will embrace your company.

Another hidden cost is time. While it’s true that installing Linux has become quicker and easier over the years, the process is still far from perfect. Some severe problem areas still exist (for example, WiFi adaptors, which is very hit and miss) and if you happen to run into the tar pits, you can expect to be stuck there for a long time.

Linux install: 20 minutes; Windows, over an hour, plus all of the additional applications and drivers to find and install. I've spent more time on unknown Windows-platform bugs (both OS and software) than ever on a Linux bug; live help is always a few questions away in an IRC channel (a chat room where people hang out to help and discuss Linux), and IRC programs come preinstalled on every desktop distro I have used, except Edubuntu.

Besides, everyone knows that a Google search is how most computer issues are resolved anyways. But I'm glad we could quick cover the wifi issue again; that and this next part are pretty much the only ammo left out there:

While Vista and Leopard are ready to play DVDs out of the box, Linux users have to mess about with codecs and agree to legally indemnify everyone for using legally dubious codecs. Sure, you can buy software players, some of which are rather good, but the advantage of a free OS starts to be eroded if you instantly have to put your hand in your pocket.

I am pretty sure thats a part of the "paying for Windows" is that you're also paying for a DVD program. No, I know it is. Windows doesn't play DVDs out of the box any more than Linux; Windows requires a properly licensed program to be installed; the same with OS X. Do that with Linux and you're golden.

Another element that consumes time is deciding which Linux distro to use. Many in the Linux community still refuse to accept that the number of Linux distros available acts as a barrier to adoption.

The way we see it, the freedom provided under the GPL allows for anyone to be artistic with this medium -- and that is a good thing, and it fosters innovation and competition. If you don't want something obscure, pick from one of the popular ones on Distrowatch.com and give it a spin. It isn't going to hurt anything, and maybe you'll end up like some choice in your OS. Mix it up a little. Those other two OSes will be for sale for a little longer yet, if you find Linux not to suit your tastes.


Really, the rest of the article is mindless arguments that either you can believe or not. Trying Linux is the only way to get a feel for it, and trying another will help somewhat with the understanding of the issue of 'too much choice.' It's still the same point and click and type stuff that any other OS has. Linux has friendly people (and big business!) behind it, however, that strive to make each distro the best that it can be. No bureaucracy forcing it to have certain DRM features. No sellouts to record companies in exchange for their users souls. Just plain and simple computing, the way it was meant to be -- in the Open.