Re: Xy4 - OS options

[Paul Lagasse pglagasse@xxxxxxxx]

On 06/09/2011 12:50 PM, Raphael wrote:
> I had to massage the system clipboard share batchfiles, and I still
> have to go through an extra step on my Gnome desktop to paste
> Xy-originated text, a minor inconvenience -- even though the text is
> in the clipboard, it won't paste into a Thunderbird composition window.


Rafe, have you tried using clipboard-daemon, sometimes called
gnome-clipboard-daemon. It might solve the Tbird problem, and is
certainly an easy fix. Just put it somewhere in your path (mine's in
$HOME/bin, but it can be in /usr/share/bin) and add it to your startup
programs. see http://members.chello.nl/~h.lai/gnome-clipboard-daemon/
for the binary.


> A question, Paul -- are you having any issues with Unity? I'm not in
> a hurry to get to 11.04, but I am perfectly content with Gnome, to the
> point where if I do move forward I will probably install Gnome.


I have a few; one pertinent to this list is that a XyWrite launcher on
the Dock that runs the command "dosemu xy" launches Xy4 just fine, BUT
the Dock then tracks the running program with another, different icon.
The loss of a standard menu of programs, for another example, is not
acceptable in my book, and an odd choice for a distro that seems
interested in attracting new users. And to irritate more experienced
users, Ubuntu 11.04 is using some keyboard shortcuts that can't be
changed through compiz, gconf, or dconf settings. I could go on.
Frankly, not ready for primetime is how I'd describe Unity.
Additionally, Compiz in U 11.04 is buggy, so I degraded Compiz to an
earlier version per some online suggestions with good results and
uninstalled Unity (a requirement of downgrading Compiz; so lately, I've
had no more issues with Unity). Compiz caused similar problems in Mint
11, despite the absence of Unity, and so it also got downgraded in that
Mint release. So, instead of Unity in U. 11.04, I've got Gnome 2 with
Dockbarx, which I like a lot; it works very nicely, and doesn't have the
forementioned Unity Dock issues. Dockbarx functions very much like the
Win 7 taskbar; I gather that some positive features of the Unity Dock
are now being reflected in Dockbarx's development too.


All this raises an interesting issue, should Patricia or anyone be
thinking of trying out Linux -- Gnome, KDE, and Unity, the most common
graphical desktops found in Linux, are all undergoing transitions. KDE 4
is further along and more established; it might be fairer to say it has
transitioned. In Ubuntu, Gnome 2 (formerly the main desktop manager) is
being phased out and replaced with Unity (with the option of using Gnome
3 instead). These two desktop managers are works in progress, though
they do have some interesting features (none of them pertinent to
XyWrite). But, though Gnome 2 is no longer being developed, I think it's
a better choice for now; it's the desktop manager in U. 10.04 -- one of
the reasons I'd recommend installing Ubuntu LTS 10.04. I'd avoid the
most current Ubuntu release (11.04), and probably the next one too.


It's going to be hard to stay with Gnome 2 long-term; I might move to
Gnome 3, and if that's the way you go Rafe, you might take a serious
look at Mint, since that seems to be where they are headed. Other
options I'll be looking at include XFCE (in Xubuntu; which I've used
before), LXDE (in Lubuntu), or elementary (in elementaryOS, which like
the others is derived from Ubuntu). I'm also watching PinguyOS. But, who
knows, maybe Unity will be OK in a year or so.


Mint Debian might be worth a look too. Mint adds the proprietary
software Debian works to avoid, and the distro is updated on a rolling
basis, so, in theory, things are always current. No sure how they are
going to handle the Gnome 2 vs 3 thing; that will be a drastic update,
if it happens. Occasionally Mint Update chokes on the rolling updates,
requiring that I use "apt-get dist-upgrade" in terminal, but otherwise
there are few significant issues or differences, none of them
dealbreakers, and the distro seems pretty stable. And you avoid the need
to install a new release.
> And to amplify: many view Evolution as something of a bloated pig,
> since it's based on Outlook, I think. Thunderbird is leaner and
> meaner, and well-maintained.


I've read that Tbird might be replacing Evolution in Ubuntu's next
release (11.10) -- I think that installing Tbird is the most common
change that Ubuntu users make.


One more note re Mint vs Ubuntu -- I've found an odd quirk relating to
Firefox. The government's FAFSA site will complain about but accept
Firefox running on Ubuntu, but rejects out of hand the same Firefox
running on Mint, refusing to allow you to proceed. Beats me what the
issue is, but this sort of thing could affect your choice of distro if
you're choosing just one.


Paul Lagasse