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**Earthwings** · Jan 31, 2007, 02:14 AM

Re: Boatload of Questions Part II: The Return of The Noob

Originally posted by fdv

1. Matching the app to the error
I couldn't find my icon for launching Kate to compose this message so I opened the console and types "Kate". This worked, Kate launched, but I got "X Error: BadDevice, invalid or uninitialized input device 166 / Major Opcode: 144 / ... Failed to open device."
A Google search tells me "it's a bug" but I don't know what kind. Show me CD-Rom errors when I launch an app that uses the CD-Rom, and I could understand that. I am sure I have something misconfigured, I get that, but why show me this error when I'm launching a text editor?!

See here

Originally posted by fdv

2. Philosophical interface question
Adept installer is different than Add/Remove programs. These are related conceptually. Why aren't they at least grouped together? Or why not subsume one into the menu item of another? This kind of thing reminds me of Windows in a bad way.

I think the argument was that the original adept manager was too confusing and there should be something easier (that add/remove thing). I don't like it, therefore don't use it, you can do the same :-)

Originally posted by fdv

5. I am still stuck on this Apt-get update concept
Last time I asked about why I have to separately Apt-get update. Well, came the answer, maybe you'll want to install something without updating. Okay, I guess I buy that. What am I updating? Does the update part of the command refresh a local list of available programs stored on my hard drive? If I am going to install a program that has to connect to the Internet in order to install, why wouldn't I want "update" to happen anyway without having to type it separately? I guess maybe I don't buy the answer I was given. Can someone explain it using a metaphor? I am totally serious. If I am going to purchase a new shirt, I would apt-get update to get a new catalog, and apt-get install to get the shirt. Now, leave out update. Without update, I would be trying to purchase a new shirt using an _old_ catalog. Is this correct?

Yepp, comes close, although that metaphor doesn't cover upgrading (i.e. applications with new versions) and security updates.

Originally posted by fdv

6. The future of everything Linux
Is there a place where you guys In The Know go to find out what will happen in Linux' future? Example: a long time ago, almost 10 years,I was told that automounting would never come to Linux. There was simply no reason for it. Now of course it's standard. I was recently told by one of you fellows that some day we may witness RPM and DEB becoming more interchangeable. How do you guys find out these things? Is there a Slashdot for Linux? (Haha, I can't believe I typed that)

There is not one site. You'll have to do much reading, mailing lists, blogs, forums, wikis, other things.

Originally posted by fdv

7. Automatic icons for my drives on the desktop
I know how to make them manually. But I booted with Knoppix a while back and they were on my desktop automagically. How do I make that happen for all of my devices in future installs?

That should be the default in Kubuntu as well. You can enable/configure it in the "Configure Desktop" dialog when right clicking on the desktop, I think.

Originally posted by fdv

8. Seeing everything at once
So I open Konqueror and enter "/" into the URLbar. I get Home, Media, Recycled. Hmmm. So I try /root. Nothing at all, now. I think the reader knows where this is going. Now, as I type in the URLbar, I see the directories I expect to see (/lib, /var, /etc). So why is it I am "protected" from viewing everything in Konqueror's main window?

That's another (IMHO poor) usability decision. There's some file that contains a list of what is hidden, removing items from the list or deleting the file fixes it.

Originally posted by fdv

9. I want to update the settings of something but I dont know what
Say I just want to browse. Look around. Is there an app to launch, in a text editor(s), every single config file on my entire hard drive (after the program runs a search for them)?

Most configuration files are in /etc and ~/.<appname>. You don't want to see them all at once though :-)

**kubicle** · Jan 31, 2007, 02:21 AM

Re: Boatload of Questions Part II: The Return of The Noob

Originally posted by fdv

1. Matching the app to the error
I couldn't find my icon for launching Kate to compose this message so I opened the console and types "Kate". This worked, Kate launched, but I got "X Error: BadDevice, invalid or uninitialized input device 166 / Major Opcode: 144 / ... Failed to open device."
A Google search tells me "it's a bug" but I don't know what kind. Show me CD-Rom errors when I launch an app that uses the CD-Rom, and I could understand that. I am sure I have something misconfigured, I get that, but why show me this error when I'm launching a text editor?!

The 'X-error: Baddevice' errors are related to the wacom tablet entries in xorg.conf (wacom tablets are enabled in xorg.conf by default so that they would work out-of-the-box). The errors are just informative (and shown if you launch an x-application, like kate, from the console), and won't affect the program/system. If you wish to get rid of them, you have to remove the appropiate entries in xorg.conf. (search the forums with the error message or 'wacom' and you should find what exactly you need to do/remove)

2. Philosophical interface question
Adept installer is different than Add/Remove programs. These are related conceptually. Why aren't they at least grouped together? Or why not subsume one into the menu item of another? This kind of thing reminds me of Windows in a bad way.

The different 'flavors' of Adept are part of the same suite (they are just different interfaces). 'Add/remove' is simpler to use (and designed for the new user).

3. Chicken or the egg
Who premiered the "clicking on something once actually double-clicks it, isn't that aggravating? Ha ha ha!" behavior? Was that Linux or Microsoft Windows? I want to know whom to poormouth.

I believe the 'single-click interface' comes from Apple Macs initially, this behaviour in changeable in SystemSettings (or KCOntrol) > Mouse. Choose double-click to open, single-click to select.

4. Package -philosophy- question
APT did not show Opera. Yet Opera maintains a .DEB file. I know how to install that. My question is this: did APT not show Opera because .DEB is technically a Debian package which is not meant for K/Edu/X/ubuntu, although it will in fact run?

Apt will only look for software packages that are available from the online repositories defined in /etc/apt/sources.list. And Opera is not available from the default repos (as a commercial product). There is a commercial repository available for (k)ubuntu which includes opera, but you have to add the repository to be able to install it with apt.

5. I am still stuck on this Apt-get update concept
Last time I asked about why I have to separately Apt-get update. Well, came the answer, maybe you'll want to install something without updating. Okay, I guess I buy that. What am I updating? Does the update part of the command refresh a local list of available programs stored on my hard drive? If I am going to install a program that has to connect to the Internet in order to install, why wouldn't I want "update" to happen anyway without having to type it separately? I guess maybe I don't buy the answer I was given. Can someone explain it using a metaphor? I am totally serious. If I am going to purchase a new shirt, I would apt-get update to get a new catalog, and apt-get install to get the shirt. Now, leave out update. Without update, I would be trying to purchase a new shirt using an _old_ catalog. Is this correct?

That metaphor is fairly accurate, the update fetches the list of available software packages from the repositories (the catalog)

6. The future of everything Linux
Is there a place where you guys In The Know go to find out what will happen in Linux' future? Example: a long time ago, almost 10 years,I was told that automounting would never come to Linux. There was simply no reason for it. Now of course it's standard. I was recently told by one of you fellows that some day we may witness RPM and DEB becoming more interchangeable. How do you guys find out these things? Is there a Slashdot for Linux? (Haha, I can't believe I typed that)

There are many ways to get a look on what's happening, mailing lists are my favorites.

7. Automatic icons for my drives on the desktop
I know how to make them manually. But I booted with Knoppix a while back and they were on my desktop automagically. How do I make that happen for all of my devices in future installs?

Try Right-clicking on desktop>Configure Desktop>Behaviour>Device Icons

8. Seeing everything at once
So I open Konqueror and enter "/" into the URLbar. I get Home, Media, Recycled. Hmmm. So I try /root. Nothing at all, now. I think the reader knows where this is going. Now, as I type in the URLbar, I see the directories I expect to see (/lib, /var, /etc). So why is it I am "protected" from viewing everything in Konqueror's main window?

That was an experiment on edgy to hide 'system' folders, the problem with it was that even with 'Show hidden' selected, konqueror can't show hidden folders in the treeview-panel, the 'rather-useless' feature will be removed in feisty.

9. I want to update the settings of something but I dont know what
Say I just want to browse. Look around. Is there an app to launch, in a text editor(s), every single config file on my entire hard drive (after the program runs a search for them)?

Haven't seen one (and I don't think one would be very useful, since there are *a lot* of config files on a linux system, basically every program has at least one global config file in /etc and user-specific config file in /home, some have several...and not all config files are plain text files, some are xml etc.

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Boatload of Questions Part II: The Return of The Noob

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