Main Area and Open Discussion > Living Room
Is Linux just a hobby?
bobc4012:
BTW, if BobC4012 is still around, maybe he can tell me how to replace the Chrome icon from the panel with another like... Opera! yes! :Thmbsup:
-dantheman (July 13, 2012, 12:36 AM)
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Hey Dan, if you want an Opera Icon, check the following directories.
/ usr/share/opera/styles/images or
/usr/share/icons/hicolor/256x256/apps
A little exploration in the icons directory and its sub-directories may be of value.
Regards.
-bobc4012 (July 13, 2012, 03:01 AM)
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I should have added, similar to Windows, right click on the item, select "Properties" and then click on the icon in the "window". On Ubuntu or Zorin (or other Linux), it will bring up a menu. Under "Places" (on the left), select "File System" and then you will see from "bin" to "var". Click on "usr", "share", etc. When you see the icon you want, then click (double-click?) on it and it will replace the existing icon.
Good luck.
dantheman:
Thank you bobc4012!
I'm going to be away this weekend but as i get back,
i'll follow up on those good tips.
Getting used to where program and data files are is one of the hardest things for a Windows user.
bobc4012:
You are welcome Dan.
Glad to have been of help this time. Sometimes I know enough to be dangerous. I took a Unix certification course at the local CC about 20 years ago and file structure-wise not much has changed. Linux follows the Unix pattern. I find books like "Linux Unleashed" quite good (but can be expensive - I go to used bookstores and pick up an occasional book for $5 or $10 - may not be the latest, but sufficient for getting a clue as to what is going on). BTW, the certification course never did me any good job-wise, even though I had tons of programming experience.
Edvard:
@Edvard,
Now we're getting into the deep end! :o-dantheman (July 12, 2012, 08:59 PM)
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Yep, and it goes as deep as you're willing to swim...
To be honest with you, Linux for me is like playing 3D chess.
I can play some chess (Windows) but 3D just doesn't make it in my head.
So, i'm trying to get more and more familiar with it by installing it and breaking it so that i can fix it.
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One of the best ways to learn it, IMO, but now that it's my only OS, I'm a little more interested in keeping it UN-broke ;)
I happen to "work" for a non-profit association and the folks know little about computers (let alone Linux!).
They get viruses and bring their computers to the shop @ $100 bucks a shot etc.
Their laptops have hard drive crashes, computers need replacement.
Those are big bucks for non-profits! :tellme:
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I know, right? Seems Linux would be a great fit for a non-profit, but due to the fact that it's uncharted territory for even junior admins, it's just not doable for many of them. That, and a dependence on Windows-only software for administration and operations (an even larger consideration), and you have quite the hurdle to overcome. Understandable in a practical sense, but I still get the voice inside that says "It could be so different..."
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/opensource/why-linux-is-a-perfect-fit-for-charities-and-non-profits/2209
http://www.phillipadsmith.com/2004/12/what-not-for-profit-organizations-need-to-know-about-free-software.html
http://textbookrevolution.org/files/pitp.pdf
There are a zillion computers available on eBay that could be transformed with Linux and behave even better than Windows7 or 8.
I need to prepare the proposition by being more knowledgeable with Linux but especially so that they don't get lost in Linux.
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An admirable effort. Just don't get too flustered when someone inevitably starts yelling and pointing fingers because "on Windows, this was easy". They often turn out to be right. Your job will be to make it just as easy, granted that it's even possible.
Also, i'm fed up with the fact that Microsoft keeps on pushing us to new versions (which are often regressions) with a price tag that... well, you know the story.
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Yes, that's one of the single largest complaints that can be levelled their way, but really, it's all in a business day in tech land. The hardware keeps getting better and better so you build larger and more complex software that takes advantage of the new goodies to be played with, all while still trying to maintain legacy support, driver compliance, shareholder value, yada yada yada, and suddenly people are calling you "bloated" and "greedy".
Jeez, can't win for losing...
Don't think Linux is immune, either. Compare the latest 3.something Linux kernel with the first iterations of 2.6.x and you'll see that the code and driver base has gotten a little thick.
The good side to that story is that it's all so customizable that you can slim down the fattest kernel and get it to run on almost anything. Windows, of course, not so much, but things like making sure the latest version is going to run on the kinds of machines non-profits can afford does nothing for their bottom line, and so it goes...
Conclusion?
Well, Linux for me is a hobby still in the sense of not really taking the plunge (like yourself).
Why? Well, i have this CanoScan Lide70 that Linux still can't handle.
What do i do if i propose Linux to others and their scanners or whatever other application can't be connected?
Tell them to buy another scanner to have a free Linux system?
You don't leave a good first impression in those conditions now do you?
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Of course not. But you can have the same problems on Windows. That ancient lazer printer that works like a draft horse, and only goes down when the lights go out in a thunderstorm, but the drivers haven't been updated since Windows '98, and the shop just got offered a sweet bulk deal on Win 7 licenses?
Yeah, good luck explaining that one, too.
One trick I've used is to explain that the money saved on licensing can be put toward new hardware; like a sleek new wifi-connected printer that's running some form of Linux under the hood anyway.
I prefer to think that it's hardware manufacturers that can't handle Linux, rather than that Linux can't handle the hardware. After all, many folks have asked Canon for decent Linux support and they refuse to even allow others to do the job, much less do it themselves.
The first alternative that comes to mind would be to set up a Windows box as a print/scan server, and enable Internet Printing Protocol for printers, or Scan to FTP for scanners, but that's not for everybody...
As Joyce(?) once said, "ya pays yer money, and ya takes yer cherce"
bobc4012:
I prefer to think that it's hardware manufacturers that can't handle Linux, rather than that Linux can't handle the hardware. After all, many folks have asked Canon for decent Linux support and they refuse to even allow others to do the job, much less do it themselves.
-Edvard (July 14, 2012, 10:45 PM)
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It tends to be that H/W vendors don't want to put any support into Linux, because they feel there are insufficient users and no money in it for them. As far publishing I/Fs so the Open source people can write their own drivers, they are hesitant to do so because it may expose some of their "proprietary" implementation. Broadcom is another example, but when people who were using Linux shied away from H/W using Broadcom cards, it started to affect their bottom line (even, if a little bit). After all, a lot of Linux users still use Windows too and dual boot or use a VM. I read recently, that Broadcom is changing its position now.
A lot of ordinary people who were comfortable with XP commplained a lot about Visa and, even Windows 7. Wait until they have to buy a new box and get Windows 8. It will be like they just woke up on a planet in the Andromeda system. BTW, the same thing happened with Ubuntu when they moved to Unity in 11.04 (rumors are Windows 8 copied some of the good ideas from Unity). The GUI in Ubuntu up until 11.04 was not much different than Windows XP. You populated the screens with icons (Firefox, text editor, OpenOffice oor LibreOffice, etc.) and then it became point and click. You could surf the internet, do e-mail, IM, etc. Granted, the underlying support was different, but once set up (which, if you learned a few simple things about Ubuntu) was as easy (or even easier than) as doing it in Windows. I have played with Ubuntu 12.04 and am not thrilled with the Unity I/F for populating my desktop (or generating panels - like Window's task bar). I haven't tried the same thing with Windows 8 Metro, primarily because I could not get any of the three "preview" versions to install (on a Win. 7 machine with ample memory and HD space (1TB)). When I get sufficient time, I'll give them another shot - maybe I'll get lucky.
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