Desktop Linux for Everyone
I don’t know anything about email standards and the strengths and weaknesses of IMAP versus JMAP, but I’m intrigued that there is a new standard being developed. I don’t know if this will change anyone’s day-to-day with email, but who knows?
And obviously, I’m happy FastMail is a part of all of this.
JMAP is on the home straight | FastMail
Mariana works for Ura, the design studio featured here. I agree with Mariana that GNOME is a huge time-saver. I use Cinnamon on Linux Mint, and it’s mostly a great desktop, but I really wish I could search files through the application launcher. In GNOME, you search everything at one time, which works very well for me. Also, please remember I’m super behind in posting interviews, so I’m sure Mariana has made it to Fedora 28, if not past it.
You can find more of The Linux Setup here.
You can follow Linux Rig on Google+ here and follow me on Twitter here.
My name is Mariana Balla and I am an Information & Communication Technology student coming from Tirana. For the past two years I am a member of Open labs Hackerspace, a FLOSS community in my city that, since 2012, fosters events and meetups for open source projects. I work as Communications Manager for Ura, an open source design studio which also develops Identihub, a free software for hosting visual assets yourself. Additionally, I contribute to the Fedora Project as a Fedora Ambassador, to Wikimedia and CityZen. CityZen is an open source Android app that helps you navigate and explore points of interest with OpenStreetMap.
Why do you use Linux?
I had heard about Linux systems quite a lot in my early college years but I first “met” Linux at the hackerspace. Linux not only as a software, but also the ideology behind it. The values, the principals and the ethics. Also, I loved the fact that many Linux distros have communities of people that maintain the project. Later on I realized that the stability, security and freedom Linux systems offer cannot be compared to other proprietary operating systems. Also, the plethora of free apps and updates that you have at your disposal convinced me we should always choose open source solutions in tech.
What distribution do you run on your main desktop/laptop?
As a Fedora advocate it would have been weird if I was not using the Fedora distro. So, I’m a Fedora 27 user. Although, I am a little bit behind because Fedora 28 was just released on May 1st and I need to find time to upgrade.
What desktop environment do you use and why do you use it?
Currently I’m using GNOME 3.26.2. Fedora provides a pure GNOME experience. When I first started with Linux, I used Cinnamon. As a former Windows user Cinnamon helped me get familiar with Linux quickly. Now I just love GNOME’s features, as it helps me do everything faster and saves valuable time.
What one piece of Linux software do you depend upon? Why is it so important?
I’d say that I spend a lot of time using Mozilla Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird. Firefox is Fedora’s default browser and I am a huge fan of its extensions and add-ons. On the other hand, Thunderbird helps me quickly organize all my email accounts and keep track of all my conversations. I also use a lot of the LibreOffice suite, especially for work.
What kind of hardware do you run this setup on?
I own a Lenovo Thinkpad X220 with an Intel Core i5-2520M CPU, a 8GB RAM and a 250GB SSD.
Will you share a screenshot of your desktop?
Interview conducted May 2, 2018
The Linux Setup is a feature where I interview people about their Linux setups. The concept is borrowed, if not outright stolen, from this site. If you’d like to participate, drop me a line.
You can follow Linux Rig on Google+ here, follow me on Twitter here, and subscribe to the feed here.
I disagree with a few of these!
One Distro to Rule them All: Why? I know people complain about Linux fragmentation, but I think fragmentation is also what allows Linux to improve so steadily. All of these distros and desktop environments can “fail” quicker, allowing the community to learn faster. I don’t see multiple distributions as a problem. I’d be sad to see consolidation.
Culling the App Herd: Similar to above. Software moves in and out of development. It’s annoying if something you love disappears, but it happens across operating systems. It’s the nature of software. Very few programs last forever.
Real-Time Antivirus and Anti-Malware: The nature of Linux is different from Windows, which is what makes it more secure. I’m for anything that adds to the security of Linux, but I don’t see this as something needed urgently this year.
Prosumer-Grade Apps: “For those that don’t know, a prosumer is an amateur who purchases tools that are of professional-grade quality.” I think Linux serves pros, amateurs, and “prosumers” quite well. Not to brag, but I kind of have documented this pretty well. However, I would like to see more projects offer themselves a path to financial viability. Very few software projects make any money and depend upon donations. I wish we could figure out payment models that allow projects to see their work supported, while also letting anyone use their software, that also doesn’t bog projects down in accounting, rather than software development.
In fact, if I had to pick one thing Linux needs in 2019, I think the creation of inclusive-yet-realistic financial support models would be at the top of my list.
7 Things Desktop Linux Needs in 2019 | Linux.com
I love when Ars does these deep dives into a Linux distribution. This one is from Scott Gilbertson, whom you might remember from here.
The new, Juno version of elementary sounds interesting. I haven’t loved elementary in the past, but I might give it another look.
A tour of elementary OS, perhaps the Linux world’s best hope for the mainstream | Ars Technica
I agree with everything Nate says here. In fact, I feel like I could have said all of it, although not as eloquently and not as much from a KDE perspective. Linux is a fantastic resource for people who do work on their computers. The technical world is more and more oriented to people who are passively consuming content on mobile devices. That’s a fine thing, but it doesn’t work for everyone. I’m guessing it doesn’t work for most people reading this site.
You can find more of The Linux Setup here.
You can follow Linux Rig on Google+ here and follow me on Twitter here.
I’m Nate Graham, the Kubuntu Product Manager and organizer of KDE’s Usability & Productivity initiative. I blog about that and related topics at http://pointieststick.wordpress.com.
Why do you use Linux?
I use Linux because I believe it represents the last bastion of user-friendly and user-centric computing on this Earth, and I want to be a part of improving it and helping it to grow. As the major commercial players fall for the lure of mobile devices and let their desktop platforms stagnate or become spyware, it’s more important than ever that Linux be a credible alternative for busy people who actually have real work to get done.
What distribution do you run on your main desktop/laptop?
Kubuntu 17.10 with the Kubuntu backports PPA.
What desktop environment do you use and why do you use it?
I use KDE Plasma 5 because I believe it represents an ideal intersection of features and user-friendliness. Being built upon Qt—a high-quality industry-standard toolkit—it’s also got a very solid and maintainable foundation, which is important for the long-term health of the platform.
What one piece of Linux software do you depend upon? Why is it so important?
I’d have to say KDE KRunner, which is an instant search/app launcher/utility tool like MacOS spotlight. It also does unit conversion, calculation, runs searches on specific web pages using your web browser…it’s pretty incredible. KRunner is an example of the kind of magical software that lets you enter a state of flow, where your thoughts seem to effortlessly transform into actions. It’s a mind-blowing productivity booster.
What kind of hardware do you run this setup on?
An HP Spectre x360 laptop with a 13″ screen. I don’t use any additional displays or a mouse.
Will you share a screenshot of your desktop?
Interview conducted March 8, 2018
The Linux Setup is a feature where I interview people about their Linux setups. The concept is borrowed, if not outright stolen, from this site. If you’d like to participate, drop me a line.
You can follow Linux Rig on Google+ here, follow me on Twitter here, and subscribe to the feed here.
Kyle Rankin uses razors as a very effective metaphor for open standards. I wish more people thought like this about everything:
When my son gets old enough to shave, I can pass down one of my all-metal, decades-old antique razors to him, and it will still work. While everyone else in a decade will have to shave with some $20-per-blade disposable razor with three aloe strips, seven blades, and some weird vibrating and rotating motor, he will be able to pick any razor from my collection and find affordable replacement blades.
This is also why I don’t use streaming music services!
FULL DISCLOSURE: I use an electric razor.
Lessons in Vendor Lock-in: Shaving | Linux Journal
Of all the buzzwords in tech, perhaps none has been deployed with as much philosophical conviction as “frictionless.” Over the past decade or so, eliminating “friction” — the name given to any quality that makes a product more difficult or time-consuming to use — has become an obsession of the tech industry, accepted as gospel by many of the world’s largest companies.
Friction is OK. Friction means you’re making choices. It means you’re thinking. Tech companies couch the elimination of friction as “helping users,” but really they’re saying “let us make your choices for you.” Friction doesn’t hurt users; it hurts companies.
Tech (and that’s a huge, huge word—let’s say the Google/Facebook/social media world) isn’t too easy. It’s too devoid of choice.
Is Tech Too Easy to Use? | The New York Times
I wish every project had a document like this: something laying out all the different ways to contribute, from financial donations, to documentation, to, of course, coding. And there are links to everything. It’s a wonderful document and a great template for other projects.
Great work, André!
The Ultimate Contributor’s Guide to Xfce | AndreLDM Blog
The Great Linux Netbook Boom, which lasted from 2007 to 2009, was exciting. I forgot Ubuntu even made a netbook edition.
Siegel credits the iPad with helping to stave off netbooks, but I think the Macbook Air also did a lot of damage.
This article is a great read.
The Asus Eee: How Close Did the World Come to a Linux Desktop? | Linux Journal
I’ll continue being a Linux desktop user. For me, as a power user’s power user, it’s the best of all operating systems. But for most people, Linux will never be a drop-in replacement for macOS or Windows.
I like and respect Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, but I disagree with the premise of this article. Something doesn’t have to be popular to be successful. Desktop Linux works incredibly well. It’s an amazing tool for lots of people, many of whom you can read about here. Where is the failure? Is success defined just by “beating” Windows and OS X?
When I use Linux, all I see is success.
The Linux desktop: With great success comes great failure | Computerworld
