Some. I prefer running native apps, because although you can easily run KDE apps under GNOME, doing so involves basically installing KDE and not using it (vice-versa when you're doing it the other way). Unfortunately, I'm finding that the "GNOME version" of DigiKam (a photo management tool), F-Spot, just isn't ready for prime time as far as I can tell. It seems like it would be very useful for a bunch of casual jpegs, yes, but for a bunch of "serious amateur" shots taken in RAW format, not so much; I wasn't seeing the EXIF data I need and I was having the same problem with accessing GIMP directly from F-Spot that I was having in DigiKam.
So I might be installing some non-native apps after all. If I have to tuck KDE in there somewhere to get DigiKam, I may as well go ahead and get Amarok back along with KStars (which is mostly just for fun, although I actually used it a little when researching the last writing project--if you want an idea of what the night sky looked like in New Mexico in 1863, KStars can do it).
However, there are some issues with DigiKam running non-natively. ::sigh::
All of which is a long way of saying it may be a while before my sister gets any of those pictures she asked for. :-)
On the plus side, I only had to format / and /usr during the install, so when I reinstalled Writer's Cafe, ::boom:: all the data that had been in /home was still there and I don't have any reconfiguring that I didn't have to do anyway to transfer files from the old Dell. So, y'know, that was nice, f'r'nstance. And I had less struggle getting Ubuntu to recognize the proprietary ATI drivers than I did under Kubuntu, also nice.
Reinstalling user fonts, once I figured out where GNOME hides them, was pretty easy (why GNOME doesn't seem to have an installer is a little puzzling, though). Cosmetically, GNOME doesn't offer as much eye candy or (as far as I can tell) customization, but that's a bittersweet pill--for every feature I liked in KDE4, there were about two things changed from KDE3.5 that I hated.
Whether I'll bother with getting my Canon printer to work or not is a side issue; CUPS is frequently a hard thing to work with because some of the manufacturers (yes, Canon, everybody looked at you when I wrote that) aren't as friendly about making drivers accessible. I never was able to get a printer to work on the previous Dell, but then I never tried that hard, since I rarely actually use my printer at home, and can just use a Windows machine to print a PDF export if I absolutely have to print at home. So I may not even bother, honestly.
A Linux system, in a lot of ways, can always be a work in progress, which is awesome if you like that sort of thing. (Obviously, I do.)
If I do break something else, I'm sure I'll gripe about it here. :-)
The Linux distribution's name comes from the Bantu languages, and roughly refers to maintaining humane relationships between human beings. Mark Shuttleworth, the South African entrepreneur backing the Ubuntu OSes was motivated in part by philathropical concerns, wanting to put together a free computer operating system that could be used to facillitate computer use in developing countries--hence the name "Ubuntu" is apt because it's about making computers foster humane relationships between people; i.e. Ubuntu is an operating system assembled around a philosophy of ubuntu (or at least that's where it started).
Comments
That's always the hardest part. Hope you made progress.
So I might be installing some non-native apps after all. If I have to tuck KDE in there somewhere to get DigiKam, I may as well go ahead and get Amarok back along with KStars (which is mostly just for fun, although I actually used it a little when researching the last writing project--if you want an idea of what the night sky looked like in New Mexico in 1863, KStars can do it).
However, there are some issues with DigiKam running non-natively. ::sigh::
All of which is a long way of saying it may be a while before my sister gets any of those pictures she asked for. :-)
On the plus side, I only had to format / and /usr during the install, so when I reinstalled Writer's Cafe, ::boom:: all the data that had been in /home was still there and I don't have any reconfiguring that I didn't have to do anyway to transfer files from the old Dell. So, y'know, that was nice, f'r'nstance. And I had less struggle getting Ubuntu to recognize the proprietary ATI drivers than I did under Kubuntu, also nice.
Reinstalling user fonts, once I figured out where GNOME hides them, was pretty easy (why GNOME doesn't seem to have an installer is a little puzzling, though). Cosmetically, GNOME doesn't offer as much eye candy or (as far as I can tell) customization, but that's a bittersweet pill--for every feature I liked in KDE4, there were about two things changed from KDE3.5 that I hated.
Whether I'll bother with getting my Canon printer to work or not is a side issue; CUPS is frequently a hard thing to work with because some of the manufacturers (yes, Canon, everybody looked at you when I wrote that) aren't as friendly about making drivers accessible. I never was able to get a printer to work on the previous Dell, but then I never tried that hard, since I rarely actually use my printer at home, and can just use a Windows machine to print a PDF export if I absolutely have to print at home. So I may not even bother, honestly.
A Linux system, in a lot of ways, can always be a work in progress, which is awesome if you like that sort of thing. (Obviously, I do.)
If I do break something else, I'm sure I'll gripe about it here. :-)
You know, I think you are speaking Greek. Or maybe Swahili.