UnitedLinux, the joint software development effort by four Linux distributors, is working on a version of its software for desktop computers, according to executive Gregory Blepp.
UnitedLinux Developing a Desktop
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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I can’t wait to try it out! Hopefully it will be like Redhat 8 except including all the flags, a stable good KDE and of course the necessary multimedia programs and much better setup tools.
I’m sure if SuSE, Connectiva, Turbo Linux, and SCO will all work hard and focus on the desktop as much as they have been on the server the end result could be amazing.
I am currently running Redhat 8.0 right now. What this will mean is that Mr Commercial Software producer now has two standards they can aim at when developing software for Linux rather than trying to aim at 7 or so different configuration settings.
As for the whindgefeast over Redhat 8.0, it is rock solid and stable. Stick to the standard installation and recommended configurations, you will be alright. Stray from those suggested setup or try to download untest drivers, and you will face nothing but pain, missery and other undesirable results.
Kinda off topic but I remember reading a review of RH 8.0 by Eugenia and it was said that RH 8 didn’t come with xmms to play MP3s. Yesterday I finally burned the RH 8 ISOs and installed it wipeing out the old NULL beta (the upgrade failed for some reason so I just formatted that partition) and when I booted into Psych and ran XMMS it came up. I’m confused. did they release new ISOs with XMMS installed or is my computer magic??
Just curious
Yes, XMMS in included, completely with ogg vorbis libraries. But no mp3 encoding or decoding ability. You see it’s really about patents, not about multimedia. So everything that they could include without infringing on patents was included. If you want a complete xmms, just go to their web site and get it. I think it’s xmms.org. They have a special section on what to do for RH 8 users. I am running RH 8 with all the multimedia stuff fixed and now it works just peachy. Also don’t forget freshrpms.net!
Erik
XMMS is loaded, it even comes with a nice theme. What was taken off was every single bit of MP3 support. What was taken off by Red Hat which Eugenia noted was xine.
BTW, back on topic, I doubt this would be much different that SuSE, with SCO or Conectiva, or TurboLinux logos 😀 I really hope they standardize on KDE (which they probably would).
One thing that would get me to use this is fonts as sexy as Red Hat. I mean, SuSE 8.1 was really nice, and if it has the fonts of RH 8.0, I might use that.
I never seen KDE crashed once. I found 2 apps that didn’t work with KDE< but it was because of a bug with the renaming of .desktop files used for KDE’s startup. But that will be fixed ASAP.
Sure the fonts don’t look quite as good in SuSe 8.1, but that can be fixed the hard way adn tehy are after all only a tiny piece of a Linux system. They’re just fonts, not the end of the world!
“…Stick to the standard installation and recommended configurations, you will be alright. Stray from those suggested setup or try to download untest drivers, and you will face nothing but pain, missery and other undesirable results.”
Would that defeat the notion that Linux can be installed the way the users want: lean, mean running PC or full of apps that the average users don’t know what to do with.
If the users choose to deviate from the default installation and choose to do a custom install of the distro (ANY distro), and the system fails to work properly, then Linux is not better than Windows in that respect. I am speaking strictly on the issue of installation for a no techie-users. If the custom install causes the problem for the users, then distro has bugs. (which I am sure would be fixed quickly if reported.)
just my 2 cents
slowly migrating to Linux…
Need I use the example of a certain reviewer + GeForce + Redhat 8.0. Everything was working well until she “upgraded” to the Nivida drivers.
For the record. Redhat, in its release notes suggest that one should not run 2.9x compiled kernel modules etc on Redhat 8.0 due to stability issues and so-forth. Also, the unnamed reviewer was using a Via based motherboard known for its instability issues, especially with Linux.
Sure, I do a custom install and I have no problems. It is when people go off, and download untested drivers and software, then complain when the whole thing turns to custard. It is like me installing the latest beta drivers for my graphics card for Windows XP. Whose fault is it? mine or the hardware manufacturer?
You have no arguements from me when the users upgrade to the untested drivers then complain. That’s just common sense (to those with certain degree of pc knowledge). My comment is on the “…Stick to the standard installation and recommended configurations, you will be alright. Stray from those suggested setup…” of your response. That’s all.
> They’re just fonts, not the end of the world!
Fonts are an integral part of a desktop system. I’m using Linux for quite some time now, and I’m very impressed by how far it has come. It might surprise you that the biggest problem I have with this platform is the chaos surrounding the “font issue”. Good font rendering is about usability, not about eye candy.
I can read the fonts in SuSe 8.1 perfectly, they are jsut a little more antiallieased in Redhat 8, that’s all I can see.
How many desktops and window managers are there now, about a nine zillion? Apps! This poor unworthy luser wants apps! I want lots of games, and desktop publishing, and small biz software as good as Quickbooks (sorry, Appgen is just not it), and multimedia without hassle, and business-quality shared contact/calendaring, and…and…and…. so much more! Apps! Not desktops!
thank you, I feel better now
Alex: Sure the fonts don’t look quite as good in SuSe 8.1, but that can be fixed the hard way adn tehy are after all only a tiny piece of a Linux system. They’re just fonts, not the end of the world!
The only two nice features that would make me consider SuSE is YaST 2 and the window decoration. The first one, I hardly need. Yeah, it would be nice. But hardly need it.
So at the end, it comes down to what I do mostly, reading. And fonts play a major part of that (why do you think I prefer to use Windows XP? :-).
Alex: I can read the fonts in SuSe 8.1 perfectly, they are jsut a little more antiallieased in Redhat 8, that’s all I can see.
That’s what I thought before using Null. For me, it is much easier to read. Much easier. Don’t care if it doesn’t look as pretty. But just as good for reading.
(Besides, it took me two days of using Null before I realize I really need this and can’t live without…)
Alice: How many desktops and window managers are there now, about a nine zillion? Apps! This poor unworthy luser wants apps! I want lots of games, and desktop publishing, and small biz software as good as Quickbooks (sorry, Appgen is just not it), and multimedia without hassle, and business-quality shared contact/calendaring, and…and…and…. so much more! Apps! Not desktops!
And you think there aren’t people working on apps? Well, well… Besides, the story isn’t about new desktops, but rather a bunch of distribution making some binary compatiblity between them. And most likely, they would be using KDE, the first, more or less, free desktop of its kind on Linux. Besides, on “business quality shared contact/calendaring”, IIRC, Evolution does a good job at it. Might not be what you expect comparing with Outlook, but I heard its quite good.
till i actually get to play with a united linux desktop based distro… but im actually holding up a fair amount of hope…
could be good :o)
Sure the fonts don’t look quite as good in SuSe 8.1, but that can be fixed the hard way adn tehy are after all only a tiny piece of a Linux system. They’re just fonts, not the end of the world!
Ohh speak for yourself “Alex”
Fonts are very important in a desktop based OS.
Okay, which of you is the fake? My guess; it is *.alphalink.com.au
>>How many desktops and window managers are there now, about a nine zillion?
This isn’t a new window manager, and it really isn’t a new distribuition either, remember United Linux is really just a base for other distro’s to be based off of so that they
can provide some level of compatibility.
In the end, this will actually HELP bring my third-party apps to Linux becuase it gives developers a more stable platform to develop for.
I hope you are correct, and it is not just a lame attempt at branding.
Anyway, isn’t X itself the stable, common platform to develop for? And the deskops/ window managers run on top of X?
>>Anyway, isn’t X itself the stable, common platform to develop for? And the deskops/ window managers run on top of X?
i think you are missing the point…
United Linux is creating a “desktop distribution” not a desktop environment or window manager. As in Mandrake, Lycoris, Xandros, etc…are considered Linux desktop distributions.
in all likelyhood it will probably be centered around KDE since all involved in United Linux development have centered their previous distributions around KDE.
United Linux is really a development distribution in an attempt to consolidate the research and development of SuSE, SCO (formaly known as Caldera), Conectiva, and TurboLinux.
So United Linux is a base for other distributions to be built off of. (kernel, libraries, X, standard apps) and This is the standard base i was talking about.
You will never actually see a United Linux distribution, you will see other distributions built off of it…
I hope i explained that a little better?
Here is some more info if you are still confused…
read the United Linux FAQ’s:
http://www.unitedlinux.com/en/faqs/index.html
The United Linux desktop could possibly be based on the Xandros distribution. I remember that Bego from Xandros said in a recent interview that they were considering joining United Linux, and it is evident that their contribution could be a perfect match with what United Linux already has to offer.
It just seems that this might be a lot of work since Xandros presently is based on Debian, but presumably Xandros knows how evaluate this themselves.
It would be a good choice for Xandros as well, since they will no longer have the considerable disadvantage of being a small niche distribution, and they can redirect development effort from the core functionality of a distriubtion to the parts relevant for a desktop. They will probably be allowed to have the “pure desktop” segment of the market.
“As for the whindgefeast over Redhat 8.0, it is rock solid and stable. Stick to the standard installation and recommended configurations, you will be alright. Stray from those suggested setup or try to download untest drivers, and you will face nothing but pain, missery and other undesirable results.”
So… let me get this straight… you are saying, basically, that as long as we let RedHat dictate what software we have installed, how our screens look, and how our computers are configured, it’s great? That sounds like something Steve Ballmer would say.
For what it’s worth, I’m using RH 8, with the NVidia drivers, a custom rebuild of KDE, and countless other changes. It’s all solid. But if it weren’t, my solution wouldn’t be to accept RedHat’s idea of what my desktop should look like. It would be to use Debian, Gentoo, or some other dist.
Okay, which of you is the fake? My guess; it is *.alphalink.com.au
Me fake?? LOL, no, no, I have been using “Alex” as a nick to this forum long time ago. The other Alex started using my nick. I am the original.
My comments were directed to the moaners of the world who complain about Linux’s so-called “complexity”, yet, they do everything humanly possible to make this myth true by buggering around with things they know nothing about.
Me? I’v never fiddled with the appearance of an OS. A computer is there to be used, not modified to “express ones own individuality within a cosmic grooviness of a <desktop>”.
btw. To those people who put a picture of their kid for the background. You may think your new baby is cute, beleive me, after fixing 1000’s of computers, everyone of them are ugly.
btw 2. I can’t stand people who clip their speakers onto the side of the monitor. If you are going to have sound, spend a few dollars and get a decent sound card and speakers. Me? I have a really nice $499 Creative SoundWorks 5.1 speakers. Sure, it is a little “excessive”, however, when one plays the 1812 overture, one want the whole house to rattle, not just the one room 😉
Yeah, you are right. 🙂 The other Alex sounded more Alexish than you 🙂