Mix'n'match

[robinturner]

Non-geeks ignore ...
I've finally got my upgraded system into some kind of working order, but it's even more of a mixed bag than before. I have Mandrake8.2, but with the kernel from 8.0, as the new kernel won't play nice with my hardware (freezes when I do anything online for some weird reason). This works OK except my kernel and my compiler are now out of sync, but this only seems to make any difference when I compile kernel modules (e.g. the NVIDIA drivers). On the desktop, I decided to stick stubbornly to KDE after a flirtation with GNOME/sawfish - I just prefer the Qt widgets to GTK, which I find rather clunky. OTOH, I'm using fewer KDE apps. KMail had to go because our SMTP server won't talk to it any more, so I'm using Evolution for mail (which means I'll probably transfer my calendar there). Actually, Evolution looks like a nice program, though does far more than I need it to. For writing it's still good old LyX, or OpenOffice if I need to deal with horrible Word documents, which means that I also use it for spreadsheets (OpenOffice 1.0 is a slight improvement on previous versions, and now has KDE integration, a feature we haven't seen since that ghastly SO5.2). Koffice still doesn't have a hope, though out of curiosty I instaled Scribus in case I need to any fancy frame-based layout.
Konqueror is still ahead in the browser wars, though I'll probably have to install Netscape to talk to my bank. Opera is out for good. And for games, having failed again to compile and run winex, it's still, erk, Windows.

I've also managed to get my equally mismatched "home entertainment" system working more-or-less as it should. This consists of a Sansui music centre, a Telefunken TV, a Philips decoder, a Pioneer DVD player, a Panasonic VCR and a host of wires and adaptors. All apart from the DVD and the decoder are ancient, and prefer different methods of input/output. But at least it all works now, with no blackouts on the DVD or wavy lines when more than one item is connected to the TV. The only glitch is that if I want to record one thing while watching another I have to fiddle with SCART plugs for a bit.

Anyway, it's time to downgrade to a more basic tool, i.e. a pen, and correct some papers. The end of the semester is nigh.

Comments

[hyperina.livejournal.com]

but GNOME is more artistic! function and stability, pffft! who needs it.

and don't you like the cute little foot?

[solri.livejournal.com]

When I first got into Linux (must've been RedHat 6.0) I had GNOME with Enlightenment. I liked it because Enlightenment was (and maybe still is) the wackiest window manger out there (admittedly, the alternatives then were things like fvwm. Aside from sexy frames, it gave you all the SIG options, like "kill" and "nuke". I had KDE installed as well, but in those days it was a really dull Windows-clone, and I wanted something that was as far from windows as possible.

Some time later I re-encountered KDE because I'd installed Linux on one of our office boxes and wanted something computer-illiterate Windows junkies could relate to (a waste of time, given that some people were confused by the transition from Windows 95 to 98). I tried it out at home and found that I kind of liked it, except for KOffice, which sucked big time - I don't know if it still does.

Now I'm divided. I still find the GNOME widgets look like something a ten year old made and his/her teacher tidied up. KDE has a much cleaner look, and also allows me to indulge in multiple backgrounds (I'm a sucker for eye-candy). Desktop 1 has scenes from the Matrix, 2 has scenes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 3 has dragons and 4 has pictures from the Hubble telescope. All of them rotate every ten minutes, so when I change desktops, I can go "Whoo, there's Buffy getting bitten!" or whatever.

As I said, however, there are some good GNOME apps around. I'm pretty impressed by Evolution. I've never been into the portal thang, but it's nice to open my email client and also get a weather forecast and what's nes in Linux today or Nanotech News.

And I have to admit, the foot is good.

[fynne.livejournal.com]

this non-geek as a question, please, sir.
Why should I get a dvd player? Low income suggestions please.
I can't let go of VHS...

[solri.livejournal.com]

There is no low-income solution, unless, like me, you live in a developing country where they sell VCDs on the street for about $2 (legit DVDs sell for about three times that here). I mainly bought a DVD player as a way to play VCDs on my TV rather than my computer. After almost two years of owning a DVD player, I only own 4 actual DVDs - the price is silly. Most of the time, instead of buying a DVD I'd rather feed a village-full of 3d world children*.

[Hey, any rich LJ friends - my DVD wishlist starts with Buffy the Vampire Slayer!]

* This is a rhetorical device. In the last decade, excluding being importuned on the street (which happens to me all the time) I have only donated to Comic Relief (while drunk and impressed by Billy Connolly) and an obscure Turkish feminist foundation. But I promise I will send some money (as I promised) to <a href="http://www.rawa.org>RAWA</a>.

[solri.livejournal.com]

legit DVDs sell for about three times that here
What's happened to my maths? VCD on the street = $2; DVD in the shop = $20. So ten, not three.

[fynne.livejournal.com]

cheers Robin for taking the time to write......one great thing about dvd is the option of buying film overseas....and not being concerned if the PAL is VHS playable...or whatever.