New Linux User » features http://www.everyjoe.com/newlinuxuser Linux Tips - Information for Using Linux Sun, 13 Dec 2009 23:48:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 New Features for Mandriva 2010 http://www.everyjoe.com/newlinuxuser/new-features-for-mandriva-2010/ http://www.everyjoe.com/newlinuxuser/new-features-for-mandriva-2010/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:11:36 +0000 Clair Ching http://www.everyjoe.com/newlinuxuser/?p=1635 Post from: New Linux User

]]> Mandrake was the first Linux distro that I tried and liked a lot. It was a newbie friendly enough distro back then and I still hear (and read) about it these days. Although now it is called Mandriva. LinuxCrunch talks about the 20 new features of Mandriva 2010.

mandriva-logo

  1. New design for the installer.
  2. Live upgrade
  3. Moblin desktop
  4. Guest accounts
  5. 3G features request
  6. Better wireless support
  7. Easier wifi key setup
  8. Better boot time
  9. Better rpmdrake start up speed
  10. Urpmi media auto configuration
  11. Better user information in rpmdrake
  12. Better Drakguard
  13. Better krandr
  14. OpenOffice.org 3.1 and KDE 4 integration
  15. gcc 4.4
  16. Improved diskdrake
  17. GNOME 2.28
  18. KDE 4.3.2
  19. Nepomuk integration
  20. Plymouth boot splash

I really liked it that the installer of Mandrake give us users the freedom to choose the kind of desktop environment we want. Looks like they still give users the option and they even included Moblin for good measure, to keep up with netbook users. I think this will be interesting to test eventually. Moblin offers users an interesting layout for netbook users so that the space is maximized. There’s also the improvement of the tools users use to manage things like disk partitioning. After all, this is one of the things which would be tedious on the command line and could be tricky and scary for users who are not used to the command line interface.

All in all, it does look like Mandriva is going to improve everything to make it usable to users. If you’re a user who’d like the fancy stuff of KDE, it might be an advantage too since there are improvements in krandr (for easy management of the resolution of your monitor, etc.) and then there’s also the OpenOffice.org integration with KDE. GNOME fans also have something to look forward to because GNOME 2.28 is the basis of GNOME 3.0!

Mandriva is looking mighty tempting. But I am really thinking about this well because of the comfort level I currently have with Ubuntu. Ah well, who knows? I might go back to where I started if things keep looking this good. : )

Post from: New Linux User

]]> http://www.everyjoe.com/newlinuxuser/new-features-for-mandriva-2010/feed/ 0 What’s Missing in a Linux Distro? http://www.everyjoe.com/newlinuxuser/whats-missing-in-a-linux-distro/ http://www.everyjoe.com/newlinuxuser/whats-missing-in-a-linux-distro/#comments Thu, 09 Apr 2009 01:08:34 +0000 Clair Ching http://www.everyjoe.com/newlinuxuser/?p=1051 Post from: New Linux User

]]> This is a question I’d like to ask you whether you’ve been using a Linux distro for only a couple of days or maybe many years.  I suppose that there are still things that we can’t do properly on many Linux distros.  Are you contented or are you still bothered by what’s missing?

sometimes we still look for a feature in Linux but it doesn't exist yet

sometimes we still look for a feature in Linux but it doesn't exist yet

Is there something that you’ve been used to that you miss?  I suppose that you’ve been using Windows for a long time now, then the Linux distros would look quite differrent for you because … well, they are.  It’s as simple as that, really.  But if you’re trying it out for the sake of using something they claimed to be user-friendly, maybe it’s not your kind of user friendly.  So what will make it feel like really usable to you especially for your work + personal needs?  Are there features you wish it could have?

For me, right now, I’d like to change desktop environments without logging out.  Something like switching from GNOME to KDE (or anything) while I am logged in, so that when I am using an extended screen, I could use a full DE of my choice.  When I am using my netbook alone, it’s perfectly fine for me to use Openbox but sometimes I wish to switch to GNOME for the full DE experience when I have an extra screen.  Oh well.

Post from: New Linux User

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