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701

General Software Discussion / Re: opera downward spiral into oblivion: most sites don't work, they don't care

« Last post by urlwolf on August 24, 2008, 08:58 AM »

Well, my concrete examples:
deutschebank: worked well in 9.51, borked in 9.52
HSBC: indeed it works. Formatting is funky, but it's just aesthetics
Smaller banks from Spain: (caja rural, general) Not working
PNC (pittsburgh) didn't work last time I tried, but it was ages ago.

With google:
- gmail works 90% right, but you never know what you are missing
- calendar has some problems when editing an item, and sometimes it displays complex calendars  wrong
- google docs has some issues;
- google sites (former jotspot) is a true disaster. I think cookie behavior is to blame here.

Pretty much every new startup site I try (just go to techcrunch for a list) has misbehavior that is hard to predict in Opera; since it's the first time you try it, you don't know if that's the way it's supposed to behave or you are missing something.

Having said that, I use admuncher and I have the sneaking suspicion that it may be interacting with sites the wrong way. I've seen people (on opera forums) saying that development is too slow - I'm just too used to it to switch it off, but it may be causing more harm than good.

702

General Software Discussion / Re: opera downward spiral into oblivion: most sites don't work, they don't care

« Last post by urlwolf on August 23, 2008, 06:06 AM »

Why don't you just switch browser? You've certainly written a lot of negative Opera posts, so I don't understand why you don't just ditch it... If a piece of software made me write so many negative posts I would just move on.

-TucknDar (August 23, 2008, 04:50 AM)

Because, like you, evertime I tried I ended up going back to Opera. Plus I use M2 to handle my mail. I'd be a pity (and waste of resources) to have any other browser and opera open all the time.

You can see my frustration: it really is good software, but at the same time some small things are broken. And no matter how you report them, it will never be fixed. Being with Opera since v 5, it would be really a dissapointment for me to finally ditch it. It's also my most used piece of software. I know that DC is probably the best site on the net to talk about software, so I always hope someone with my same problem has found a solution. I hate to post negative comments, too. The only constructive thing I can think of -and that is very far-fetched as a solution- is to actually collect signatures for a radical change in Opera: a team that maximizes compatibility. This is probably an entire new company or at least CEO

703

General Software Discussion / opera downward spiral into oblivion: most sites don't work, they don't care

« Last post by urlwolf on August 23, 2008, 04:30 AM »

I'll give you a mountain bike for every bank site you can find that works with Opera. I'm talking released versions, not betas. This cannot be.

And of course every single ajaxy startup website will fail too. Some in obvious ways, some in subtle ways; you don't even know it's broken, then one day you open it in FF and marvel at the functionality you were missing...

And then there's google. Most of their offerings don't work with Opera either.

The web is an adverse environment for Opera users. This is getting worse, not better, because people create broken sites in Opera faster than we can report them and Opera devs can fix their releases. Not to mention that Opera decision-makers take pride in ignoring user feedback like no other company.

I'm considering collecting 'signatures' to ask Opera to change their behavior. It may imply renewal of the director's board, so it may never work no matter how many people sign it. Why? Because they still make the best browser, and I want it not to suck.

It'd be a first in history that users care so much for a product that they ask the company to find responsibles for current suckage and fire them . Note: this is clearly sci-fi. But would you sign that petition?

[end rant]

704

General Software Discussion / Re: GNU/Linux Desktop Market Share is 4%

« Last post by urlwolf on August 16, 2008, 09:32 AM »

Ok, some more info:
http://www.linuxloop...ere-any-way-to-know/

The fundamental problem is that it is really, really hard to know how what the marketshare of Linux, or any open-source software, is. After all, one download might never be used, or only be used for a short time, and another might be used to install Linux onto 100 computers.

705

General Software Discussion / Re: What would your ideal Operating System be like?

« Last post by urlwolf on August 16, 2008, 06:04 AM »

Some of my thoughts, that will sound bad to many people i'm sure.  I note that i am talking about a desktop operating system not an internet server OS.

1) no appearance customization /skinning. enforce a completely standardized user interface.  I think predictability of user interface and good guidelines for coders is important.
2) no different distributions of the OS.  i recognize how cool it is that there are so many linux distributions but i just tend to prefer a more standardized controlled predictable approach to the core OS (im not saying anything about application "packs").
3) no included applications in the OS distribution, other than the most bare minimum (basic text editor maybe, and control panel type utilities).
4) minimal user interface fancy effects -- just a personal choice that i would rather keep the visuals to a minimum.
5) a focus on clean file system -- all of the current major OS make me crazy with how messy and chaotic their file systems are.
6) a focus on providing a clean object oriented API for programs.  The entire focus of the operating system should be in providing a clean efficient interface to coders.
7) a focus on eliminating all hidden system settings.. do not use a registry system.  software should be install-less, and installing a piece of software should be a simple matter of copying files to a fixed location.  uninstallation would be just a matter of deleting the files.

-mouser (August 14, 2008, 01:13 AM)

hmm, mouser, most of your features remind me of OSX. And that cannot be as I know you don't particularly like OSX. The GUI is standards-heavy; install seems to be drag and drop , etc.

But again, I've never used OSX so I have no idea what I'm talking about.

I can see the point of the standards for GUI/windowing systems.
I wanted to code up something similar to intellicomplete for linux... only to realize that it's impossible; such a huge variety of windowing systems/toolkits (Qt, GTK, etc). Something like ahk (which is a hack, but does wonders) is not possible on linux I'd say.

I once discussed with my partner how a REST-based OS would work. That is, there are basic operations that all devices/files should know how to do -CRUD-. That's maybe a good topic for a post...

706

General Software Discussion / Re: New Linux Distro specifically designed for programmers

« Last post by urlwolf on August 15, 2008, 02:20 PM »

install a screen recorder for creating instructional videos

Well, that seems to a a reeeally difficult thing to get going on linux (i.e., a camstasia equivalent)

707

General Software Discussion / GNU/Linux Desktop Market Share is 4%

« Last post by urlwolf on August 12, 2008, 11:14 AM »

GNU/Linux Desktop Market Share is 4% -- Gartner. This explains why we had a surge of linux posts here in DC

Good news even if you don't use linux. A varied ecosystem is a healthy one.

708

General Software Discussion / Re: Linux is Not Windows

« Last post by urlwolf on August 12, 2008, 07:14 AM »

Is it me or are we having more and more posts about linux lately?
If this is any indicative of the interest level, I'd say linux is growing.
At least in the DC audience. Which is good.

709

Living Room / Re: which operating system you like most....

« Last post by urlwolf on August 08, 2008, 03:28 PM »

Not to mention that most people use more than one computer and modern OSs are still NOT built with that in mind.

Some apps offer some degree of shareabilty. Most don't.

I'm now feeling the pain of trying to administer 2-3 comps and keep them in synch. But that's probably a whole new thread

710

General Software Discussion / Re: BeyondCompare 3 Released

« Last post by urlwolf on August 08, 2008, 12:24 PM »

Can anybody compare BC3 to any of the powerhouses in linux? For example meld. There are others doing 3-way comparisons too.

711

Living Room / Re: Can you live with *just* opera?

« Last post by urlwolf on August 05, 2008, 01:09 PM »

and.., I installed safari. No support for intellicomplete.
Better than Opera: mispellings underlined.
Fonts are different, and look weird when using cleartype.
Scroll is jumpy instead of smooth.
Not very good catching (hitting back takes seconds to rerender the page). Bah.
It has less options than IE, if that was at all possible.
Lacks keyboard shortcuts. Not to mention assignable.

Not a competitor. A pathetic attempt.

712

Living Room / Re: Can you live with *just* opera?

« Last post by urlwolf on August 05, 2008, 12:55 PM »

So anyone here using safari full-time for windows?
Because last time I checked, it had less features that a barebones FF and it wasn't rock-solid stable. But maybe now it is.

I'm really looking forward something that displaces opera. FF 3 is out of question for me since it doesn't work with intellicomplete.

713

Living Room / Re: Can you live with *just* opera?

« Last post by urlwolf on August 05, 2008, 12:10 PM »

One thing I don't understand. Opera says that web development people ignore them due to market share. This is why the suck so much in anything AJAX-y.

But then, safari (on windows, which probably gets 1/100th the attention of 1/1000 of the devs at cupertino) gets all those pages that fail with Opera right. And faster.

What am I missing?

714

Living Room / Re: Can you live with *just* opera?

« Last post by urlwolf on August 05, 2008, 12:08 PM »

Just tried it for a few mins... supremely bad. No way to undo closed page. Horrible interface, need to dig into internet options for seconds just to not find what you are looking for.

Pathetically slow going back to previous page (no catching? OH MY GOD! ).

FF and Opera (maybe Safari) have left IE in the dust completely. And still IE has the largest market share, and every web development firm has to do contorsions to adapt to this monstrosity.

We should do something about it. A public demonstration or something.

715

Living Room / Re: Can you live with *just* opera?

« Last post by urlwolf on August 05, 2008, 11:51 AM »

Has anyone tried IE 8? Maybe we are past due for a surprise from microsoft.

716

General Software Discussion / Re: BeyondCompare 3 Released

« Last post by urlwolf on August 04, 2008, 03:29 PM »

hmm, there are a bunch of good linux alternatives.
Is BC3 head and shoulders above those?
Has anybody tried it?

717

General Software Discussion / Re: Opera and google. Incompatible as ever

« Last post by urlwolf on August 04, 2008, 03:26 AM »

Is thunderbird indexed? (i.e. searching full text is immediate, no matter how large your inbox is). Can you press a shortcut and get an 'send email' window in thunderbird even if you are in FF?

718

General Software Discussion / Opera and google. Incompatible as ever

« Last post by urlwolf on August 04, 2008, 02:19 AM »

I use IMAP gmail from opera M2.
Right now, I cannot access my mail, it says 'Invalid credentials'.

So I try to go to the actual page. It opens just fine with the same username and password. But then, any action like going back to inbox gets an 'still working' message for ... minutes.

First, I need to point out Opera's general bugginess when working with anything google makes. Or more so, with anything that has javascript on it. This is getting to the point that one never knows if what you see is the default behavior or some weird interaction. Result: I trust Opera less and less, to the point that I'm thinking about abandoning it (being an user since v. 5).

Second, using free software (gmail, Opera) has one big downside: where do you go for support? You can of course post in forums, but if your issue is unresolved (nobody knows the solution) you are on your own.

Back in the day, I paid for opera and got support by mail. Nowadays the situation is a lot worse. It's forums post, and pray.

Same for gmail: where do I go for support? They just redirect you to their help files.

My browser and mail are critical for me. I cannot afford to be without good support. And I'm not even a business: I can imagine how stressing it can be for corporations.

Although, now that I think of it I have 1st hand experience with two large universities in the UK with mail down for weeks (Warwick and Surrey, if you must know). That is totally unthinkable. This is what made me move to gmail even though I always have an alternative provider (employer).

All in all, this is a sorry state. Suggestions?

719

General Software Discussion / Re: Is Whole Disk Encryption Just Wishful Thinking?

« Last post by urlwolf on August 02, 2008, 01:52 PM »

Game over (for now).

Travelers' Laptops May Be Detained At Border
No Suspicion Required Under DHS Policies

By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 1, 2008; Page A01

Federal agents may take a traveler's laptop or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed.

Also, officials may share copies of the laptop's contents with other agencies and private entities for language translation, data decryption or other reasons, according to the policies, dated July 16 and issued by two DHS agencies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Full article at: http://www.washingto...8/08/01/laptops.html

-40hz (August 02, 2008, 12:00 AM)

So, if you are a company and have some secret sauce (algorithms, data) on your laptop, you may be screwed.

Either leave any sensitive data on a server before traveling into the US (hard!), or don't travel at all.

This is getting ridiculous. Stallman and his 'right to read' essay, but a lot worse.

720

Living Room / Re: OneLaptopPerChild drops Linux and goes XP

« Last post by urlwolf on July 30, 2008, 12:08 PM »

I think this is the direct result of the work of the linuxhater blog guy

721

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Quality Comparison: 8 x freeware PDF Readers / Viewers

« Last post by urlwolf on July 29, 2008, 08:40 AM »

I'm still surprised that after testing a few dozen pdf readers for linux and windows, I have to come back to adobe. The rendering quality and text selection is not good in all the alternatives. Is it really that hard to get this right? It must be. I hate to admit I need adobe: their software is horrible resource-wise.

722

Living Room / Re: Can you live with *just* opera?

« Last post by urlwolf on July 27, 2008, 08:48 AM »

Same here, Allen. So much so that I'm considering moving back to FF. I've been using Opera full-time since v. 5.

I think the problem is that AJAX sites debug their stuff with firebug. They of course test it with FF and maybe with IE for those grandmas out there on the internets who have 7 toolbars installed because they don't know how to remove them

Opera created dragonfly, but by the time devs realize it exists, and -maybe- start using it, we could all being too bored and using FF.

Opera's dev team is the most resilent to criticism, so my guess is that posting in their forums will do nothing.

It's sad, because they are very innovative, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to let Opera go. Problem is, I have a few thousands login passwords on the infamous wand. Now I have no idea how to export that to FF.

Bummer.

723

Living Room / Re: Linux needs more haters

« Last post by urlwolf on July 27, 2008, 05:46 AM »

Thanks renegade for an excellent post.
We run freeBSD on the server; it's not only TCP/IP, it's also mysql performance (20% better than linux according to some benchmarks).

When the primary cost is development, then Windows is an excellent choice with ASP.NET.

I have to admit I have never tried ASP.NET, but this statement is surprising. Which start-ups or top-100 sites are running on ASP.NET? In the startup world, development speed is everything. If what you say is true, ASP.NET would be under every startup's hood. I don't think that's the case, more like they tend to use PHP/django/rails.

Still, the fastest framework seems to be seaside (smalltalk). But's that's a left-field choice.

724

Living Room / Can you live with *just* opera?

« Last post by urlwolf on July 26, 2008, 11:22 AM »

Can you live with *just* opera?

I can't. Even though it's my default browser, I need to have FF open at all times. Too many sites don't work well with Opera (google calendar being one of them).

This is getting tiresome; it's a bit of a waste of memory.
I like Opera over FF because I don't have to pay a person full-time to keep all addons updated, it has an integrated mail client that I love, and it can do the 'fit to width' thing.

On rendering speed they are about the same right now. Used to be the case that Opera was faster. FF is also less memory intensive now.

All in all, Opera is losing ground against FF in my book. What's your take?

Also, I keep Opera because FF 3 broke intellicomplete (no prompts!).

725

Living Room / Re: Linux needs more haters

« Last post by urlwolf on July 24, 2008, 04:59 AM »

Great blog.
I agree with most of what his criticisms.
Still, I think if you do any web-related programming (client-server) linux must be your home.