Just talked to my friend with the notebook.  It is still giving him some
problems - mostly the wireless networking.  Even with that, though, he has
learned to use only one program at a time online and it seems to work.  If
he uses more than that, he often has to reboot to get the net back.

But!  

Overall he *loves* it.  With Windows, he had to reboot often just to be able
to play videos, etc.  The computer would just get slower and slower.  No
such problem with Ubuntu - and the videos he has watched have not skipped at
all.  Even though he had multiple video players for Windows, *none* work as
well as Ubuntu is for him (I forgot to ask what player he is using - but I
set up VLC as a default).

He loves Amarok with its auto-finding of lyrics.  In his view that is just
amazing and something that is inexcusably missing from iTunes and other
Windows solutions he has used.

I asked him about UI issues - he said it is clunky in places but nothing
that is really giving him grief.   Some windows open in absurd ways with
much of the content hidden, etc., but when you open them up more the sizes
are generally remembered - not a big deal at all.

He has already gotten some updates - and they worked flawlessly.

Overall he could not speak highly enough about it.  Yes, he has to sometimes
reboot because of the network issues, but now that he knows how to deal with
that, he actually is rebooting less than he did with Windows to deal with
its issues.  And no real malware concern.

For RonB: I did not ask him about consistency and he did not mention any
problems with it.


-- 
[INSERT .SIG HERE]

On Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:17:54 -0700, Snit chiseled
C9B62CF2.93705%usenet@gallopinginsanity.com in stone using Trajan:

> Just talked to my friend with the notebook.  It is still giving him some
> problems - mostly the wireless networking.  Even with that, though, he
> has learned to use only one program at a time online and it seems to
> work.  If he uses more than that, he often has to reboot to get the net
> back.
> 
> But!
> 
> Overall he *loves* it.  With Windows, he had to reboot often just to be
> able to play videos, etc.  The computer would just get slower and
> slower.  No such problem with Ubuntu - and the videos he has watched
> have not skipped at all.  Even though he had multiple video players for
> Windows, *none* work as well as Ubuntu is for him (I forgot to ask what
> player he is using - but I set up VLC as a default).
> 
> He loves Amarok with its auto-finding of lyrics.  In his view that is
> just amazing and something that is inexcusably missing from iTunes and
> other Windows solutions he has used.
> 
> I asked him about UI issues - he said it is clunky in places but nothing
> that is really giving him grief.   Some windows open in absurd ways with
> much of the content hidden, etc., but when you open them up more the
> sizes are generally remembered - not a big deal at all.
> 
> He has already gotten some updates - and they worked flawlessly.
> 
> Overall he could not speak highly enough about it.  Yes, he has to
> sometimes reboot because of the network issues, but now that he knows
> how to deal with that, he actually is rebooting less than he did with
> Windows to deal with its issues.  And no real malware concern.
> 
> For RonB: I did not ask him about consistency and he did not mention any
> problems with it.

It's always good to hear success stories. Thanks for sharing.

An Old Friend stated in post pan.2011.03.28.20.33.28@friend.com.invalid on
3/28/11 2:33 PM:

> On Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:17:54 -0700, Snit chiseled
> C9B62CF2.93705%usenet@gallopinginsanity.com in stone using Trajan:
> 
>> Just talked to my friend with the notebook.  It is still giving him some
>> problems - mostly the wireless networking.  Even with that, though, he
>> has learned to use only one program at a time online and it seems to
>> work.  If he uses more than that, he often has to reboot to get the net
>> back.
>> 
>> But!
>> 
>> Overall he *loves* it.  With Windows, he had to reboot often just to be
>> able to play videos, etc.  The computer would just get slower and
>> slower.  No such problem with Ubuntu - and the videos he has watched
>> have not skipped at all.  Even though he had multiple video players for
>> Windows, *none* work as well as Ubuntu is for him (I forgot to ask what
>> player he is using - but I set up VLC as a default).
>> 
>> He loves Amarok with its auto-finding of lyrics.  In his view that is
>> just amazing and something that is inexcusably missing from iTunes and
>> other Windows solutions he has used.
>> 
>> I asked him about UI issues - he said it is clunky in places but nothing
>> that is really giving him grief.   Some windows open in absurd ways with
>> much of the content hidden, etc., but when you open them up more the
>> sizes are generally remembered - not a big deal at all.
>> 
>> He has already gotten some updates - and they worked flawlessly.
>> 
>> Overall he could not speak highly enough about it.  Yes, he has to
>> sometimes reboot because of the network issues, but now that he knows
>> how to deal with that, he actually is rebooting less than he did with
>> Windows to deal with its issues.  And no real malware concern.
>> 
>> For RonB: I did not ask him about consistency and he did not mention any
>> problems with it.
> 
> It's always good to hear success stories. Thanks for sharing.

My pleasure.  Even with the hiccups of hardware problems and the poor
network driver, it really has been a great success.  The hardware is old and
miracles were not expected - but given the increased quality of the video
experience my friend pretty much sees it as a miracle.  He had no idea his
computer was capable of what he is seeing.

He is thinking of getting a new low-end laptop to replace his aging one (it
is bulky and has other issues such as buttons that pop off, etc.)  He is
already considering getting Linux for it... I will point him to distrowatch
and suggest he take a look at the Ubuntu and Mint sites - and maybe some
others.  I suspect he will, at the very least, dual boot Windows / Linux on
any machine he does get.   I might even suggest he run Windows in a VM on
Linux (or run Linux in a VM on Windows).  That way he can get the best of
both worlds.  Depends on how low end his hardware is though - running such a
VM with limited memory on limited CPU power is not likely to work well.

-- 
[INSERT .SIG HERE]

On 3/28/2011 3:17 PM, Snit wrote:
> Just talked to my friend with the notebook.  It is still giving him some
> problems - mostly the wireless networking.  Even with that, though, he has
> learned to use only one program at a time online and it seems to work.  If
> he uses more than that, he often has to reboot to get the net back.
>
> But!
>
> Overall he *loves* it.  With Windows, he had to reboot often just to be able
> to play videos, etc.

Why?


> The computer would just get slower and slower.  No
> such problem with Ubuntu

Give it a little time and a few software installs.



> - and the videos he has watched have not skipped at
> all.  Even though he had multiple video players for Windows, *none* work as
> well as Ubuntu is for him (I forgot to ask what player he is using - but I
> set up VLC as a default).
>
> He loves Amarok with its auto-finding of lyrics.  In his view that is just
> amazing and something that is inexcusably missing from iTunes and other
> Windows solutions he has used.

I used Amarok a few weeks ago and found out about the lyric download 
feature (and it has a wiki tab).  Very cool - absolutely love it!

I had installed Amarok on Ubuntu-Gnome and it wouldn't work at all until 
I Googled and downloaded/installed some library.  Then it mostly worked 
- the problem is Amarok chokes on .wma files, and it often went into a 
weird endless loop of 'downloading lyrics' everytime I tried to play 
anything.

But the lyric feature alone is really nice - otherwise you're searching 
Google one song at a time and being asked to download a ringtone each time.

On Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:27:10 -0400, DFS wrote:

> On 3/28/2011 3:17 PM, Snit wrote:
>> Just talked to my friend with the notebook.  It is still giving him some
>> problems - mostly the wireless networking.  Even with that, though, he has
>> learned to use only one program at a time online and it seems to work.  If
>> he uses more than that, he often has to reboot to get the net back.
>>
>> But!
>>
>> Overall he *loves* it.  With Windows, he had to reboot often just to be able
>> to play videos, etc.
> 
> Why?

Something seriously wrong with that system.

 
> 
>> The computer would just get slower and slower.  No
>> such problem with Ubuntu
> 
> Give it a little time and a few software installs.

Yep.
Not that it will get slower, but when the updates start coming it will
certainly get hosed.
Ubuntu is famous for that and you can bet your sweet bippy it will
happen.


> 
> 
>> - and the videos he has watched have not skipped at
>> all.  Even though he had multiple video players for Windows, *none* work as
>> well as Ubuntu is for him (I forgot to ask what player he is using - but I
>> set up VLC as a default).
>>
>> He loves Amarok with its auto-finding of lyrics.  In his view that is just
>> amazing and something that is inexcusably missing from iTunes and other
>> Windows solutions he has used.
> 
> I used Amarok a few weeks ago and found out about the lyric download 
> feature (and it has a wiki tab).  Very cool - absolutely love it!

It is very cool!
One of the better things with Amarok.

I know it sounds silly, but once you try it you will miss it when using
other players.

 
> I had installed Amarok on Ubuntu-Gnome and it wouldn't work at all until 
> I Googled and downloaded/installed some library.  Then it mostly worked 
> - the problem is Amarok chokes on .wma files, and it often went into a 
> weird endless loop of 'downloading lyrics' everytime I tried to play 
> anything.

Biggest problem with Amarok is it chokes on large amounts of files and
goes belly up when it finds non music files that may have slipped into
the directory instead of ignoring them like say foobar2000 does.

> But the lyric feature alone is really nice - otherwise you're searching 
> Google one song at a time and being asked to download a ringtone each time.

I hate that...

DFS stated in post imqug3$gkt$1@dont-email.me on 3/28/11 2:27 PM:

> On 3/28/2011 3:17 PM, Snit wrote:
>> Just talked to my friend with the notebook.  It is still giving him some
>> problems - mostly the wireless networking.  Even with that, though, he has
>> learned to use only one program at a time online and it seems to work.  If
>> he uses more than that, he often has to reboot to get the net back.
>> 
>> But!
>> 
>> Overall he *loves* it.  With Windows, he had to reboot often just to be able
>> to play videos, etc.
> 
> Why?

See below:

>> The computer would just get slower and slower.  No
>> such problem with Ubuntu
> 
> Give it a little time and a few software installs.

Could be.  It is true that Windows had been on there for a long time... and
Ubuntu is getting a fresh start.

>> - and the videos he has watched have not skipped at all.  Even though he had
>> multiple video players for Windows, *none* work as well as Ubuntu is for him
>> (I forgot to ask what player he is using - but I set up VLC as a default).
>> 
>> He loves Amarok with its auto-finding of lyrics.  In his view that is just
>> amazing and something that is inexcusably missing from iTunes and other
>> Windows solutions he has used.
> 
> I used Amarok a few weeks ago and found out about the lyric download
> feature (and it has a wiki tab).  Very cool - absolutely love it!
> 
> I had installed Amarok on Ubuntu-Gnome and it wouldn't work at all until
> I Googled and downloaded/installed some library.  Then it mostly worked
> - the problem is Amarok chokes on .wma files, and it often went into a
> weird endless loop of 'downloading lyrics' everytime I tried to play
> anything.

He has not said anything about that - but I certainly am not saying you did
not experience exactly what you said.

> But the lyric feature alone is really nice - otherwise you're searching
> Google one song at a time and being asked to download a ringtone each time.

On a whim, I think I will share my music folder with Ubuntu and opened it
with Amarok (yes, I have a good backup of my music folder).



-- 
[INSERT .SIG HERE]

flatfish+++ stated in post vjhznm6fueyy.1pkh76m3ff5od$.dlg@40tude.net on
3/28/11 2:31 PM:

> On Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:27:10 -0400, DFS wrote:
> 
>> On 3/28/2011 3:17 PM, Snit wrote:
>>> Just talked to my friend with the notebook.  It is still giving him some
>>> problems - mostly the wireless networking.  Even with that, though, he has
>>> learned to use only one program at a time online and it seems to work.  If
>>> he uses more than that, he often has to reboot to get the net back.
>>> 
>>> But!
>>> 
>>> Overall he *loves* it.  With Windows, he had to reboot often just to be able
>>> to play videos, etc.
>> 
>> Why?
> 
> Something seriously wrong with that system.

Yes: it has been running for years and has had malware and the like.  It was
also older hardware.

>>> The computer would just get slower and slower.  No
>>> such problem with Ubuntu
>> 
>> Give it a little time and a few software installs.
> 
> Yep.
> Not that it will get slower, but when the updates start coming it will
> certainly get hosed.
> Ubuntu is famous for that and you can bet your sweet bippy it will
> happen.

If it does I will report it.

>>> - and the videos he has watched have not skipped at
>>> all.  Even though he had multiple video players for Windows, *none* work as
>>> well as Ubuntu is for him (I forgot to ask what player he is using - but I
>>> set up VLC as a default).
>>> 
>>> He loves Amarok with its auto-finding of lyrics.  In his view that is just
>>> amazing and something that is inexcusably missing from iTunes and other
>>> Windows solutions he has used.
>> 
>> I used Amarok a few weeks ago and found out about the lyric download
>> feature (and it has a wiki tab).  Very cool - absolutely love it!
> 
> It is very cool!
> One of the better things with Amarok.
> 
> I know it sounds silly, but once you try it you will miss it when using
> other players.

Just shared my iTunes folder and pointed Amarok to it... worked flawlessly.
And, of course, found the lyrics.

Then spend seconds (literally) and found this:
<http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/29554/tunelyrics>

Works great - though not as well integrated.  Amarok does this well - no
argument here.  Then again, I usually have my iTunes window closes (on OS X
you do not even have to have it minimized, just close the window).  Now I
can have the lyrics showing by themselves and pull up iTunes when I want.
Pros and cons to both methods.

>> I had installed Amarok on Ubuntu-Gnome and it wouldn't work at all until
>> I Googled and downloaded/installed some library.  Then it mostly worked
>> - the problem is Amarok chokes on .wma files, and it often went into a
>> weird endless loop of 'downloading lyrics' everytime I tried to play
>> anything.
> 
> Biggest problem with Amarok is it chokes on large amounts of files and
> goes belly up when it finds non music files that may have slipped into
> the directory instead of ignoring them like say foobar2000 does.

I have a fairly decent music library - and I ran into no problems.  How many
are you thinking of.

>> But the lyric feature alone is really nice - otherwise you're searching
>> Google one song at a time and being asked to download a ringtone each time.
> 
> I hate that...

Heck, TuneLyrics can pre-fetch them from multiple sources, etc.  I will
likely use it... pretty cool.  Looking now, though, there are several
alternatives:

<http://download.cnet.com/Return-Lyrics/3000-2170_4-10403272.html>
<http://download.cnet.com/Get-Lyrical/3000-2141_4-78572.html>
<http://download.cnet.com/iTunesLyrics/3000-18552_4-72802.html>

And I am sure more.   I shall play for a bit and see what they offer.


-- 
[INSERT .SIG HERE]

On 3/28/2011 5:41 PM, Snit wrote:

>> Give it a little time and a few software installs.
>
> Could be.  It is true that Windows had been on there for a long time... and
> Ubuntu is getting a fresh start.

The Ubuntu crapware will crap out before long - 100% guaranteed.  It's 
poorly tested amateur code - and that's a fact.

And your friend will go back to Windows before long - 99% guaranteed.



>> I had installed Amarok on Ubuntu-Gnome and it wouldn't work at all until
>> I Googled and downloaded/installed some library.  Then it mostly worked
>> - the problem is Amarok chokes on .wma files, and it often went into a
>> weird endless loop of 'downloading lyrics' everytime I tried to play
>> anything.
>
> He has not said anything about that - but I certainly am not saying you did
> not experience exactly what you said.

I imported a few hundred songs - they came in pretty quick, and it went 
through every song and imported the lyrics (or tried to).  It took me a 
while to figure out it was choking on the .wma files.

Overall, because of the Gnome/KDE libraries and .wma issues, it was a 
real hassle to setup and use.

I found a Win Media Player lyric fetch plug-in, but couldn't get it to 
work just yet.  http://www.lyricsplugin.com/

Snit <usenet@gallopinginsanity.com> wrote:
> Just talked to my friend with the notebook.  It is still giving him some
> problems - mostly the wireless networking.  Even with that, though, he has
> learned to use only one program at a time online and it seems to work.  If
> he uses more than that, he often has to reboot to get the net back.

I kept having flaky wireless with Ubuntu.
I eventually went with an external bridge. 

owl stated in post n9naf.g08hf@rooftop.invalid on 3/28/11 4:32 PM:

> Snit <usenet@gallopinginsanity.com> wrote:
>> Just talked to my friend with the notebook.  It is still giving him some
>> problems - mostly the wireless networking.  Even with that, though, he has
>> learned to use only one program at a time online and it seems to work.  If
>> he uses more than that, he often has to reboot to get the net back.
> 
> I kept having flaky wireless with Ubuntu.
> I eventually went with an external bridge.
> 
Thank you.


-- 
[INSERT .SIG HERE]

Snit wrote:
> Just talked to my friend with the notebook.  It is still giving him some
> problems - mostly the wireless networking.  Even with that, though, he has
> learned to use only one program at a time online and it seems to work.  If
> he uses more than that, he often has to reboot to get the net back.
> 
> But!  
> 
> Overall he *loves* it.  With Windows, he had to reboot often just to be able
> to play videos, etc.  The computer would just get slower and slower.  No
> such problem with Ubuntu - and the videos he has watched have not skipped at
> all.  Even though he had multiple video players for Windows, *none* work as
> well as Ubuntu is for him (I forgot to ask what player he is using - but I
> set up VLC as a default).
> 
> He loves Amarok with its auto-finding of lyrics.  In his view that is just
> amazing and something that is inexcusably missing from iTunes and other
> Windows solutions he has used.
> 
> I asked him about UI issues - he said it is clunky in places but nothing
> that is really giving him grief.   Some windows open in absurd ways with
> much of the content hidden, etc., but when you open them up more the sizes
> are generally remembered - not a big deal at all.
> 
> He has already gotten some updates - and they worked flawlessly.
> 
> Overall he could not speak highly enough about it.  Yes, he has to sometimes
> reboot because of the network issues, but now that he knows how to deal with
> that, he actually is rebooting less than he did with Windows to deal with
> its issues.  And no real malware concern.
> 
> For RonB: I did not ask him about consistency and he did not mention any
> problems with it.
> 
> 

   I do believe (in a terminal - could be set to a Fn key)

pccardctl eject

and

pccardctl insert

may reset the wireless without the reboot.

-- 
Norman
Registered Linux user #461062
AMD64X2 6400+ Ubuntu 8.04 64bit

Norman Peelman stated in post imrbu6$mb2$1@dont-email.me on 3/28/11 6:16 PM:

> Snit wrote:
>> Just talked to my friend with the notebook.  It is still giving him some
>> problems - mostly the wireless networking.  Even with that, though, he has
>> learned to use only one program at a time online and it seems to work.  If
>> he uses more than that, he often has to reboot to get the net back.
>> 
>> But!  
>> 
>> Overall he *loves* it.  With Windows, he had to reboot often just to be able
>> to play videos, etc.  The computer would just get slower and slower.  No
>> such problem with Ubuntu - and the videos he has watched have not skipped at
>> all.  Even though he had multiple video players for Windows, *none* work as
>> well as Ubuntu is for him (I forgot to ask what player he is using - but I
>> set up VLC as a default).
>> 
>> He loves Amarok with its auto-finding of lyrics.  In his view that is just
>> amazing and something that is inexcusably missing from iTunes and other
>> Windows solutions he has used.
>> 
>> I asked him about UI issues - he said it is clunky in places but nothing
>> that is really giving him grief.   Some windows open in absurd ways with
>> much of the content hidden, etc., but when you open them up more the sizes
>> are generally remembered - not a big deal at all.
>> 
>> He has already gotten some updates - and they worked flawlessly.
>> 
>> Overall he could not speak highly enough about it.  Yes, he has to sometimes
>> reboot because of the network issues, but now that he knows how to deal with
>> that, he actually is rebooting less than he did with Windows to deal with
>> its issues.  And no real malware concern.
>> 
>> For RonB: I did not ask him about consistency and he did not mention any
>> problems with it.
>> 
>> 
> 
>    I do believe (in a terminal - could be set to a Fn key)
> 
> pccardctl eject
> 
> and
> 
> pccardctl insert
> 
> may reset the wireless without the reboot.

I shall suggest for him to try it... thanks!

-- 
[INSERT .SIG HERE]

Norman Peelman stated in post imrbu6$mb2$1@dont-email.me on 3/28/11 6:16 PM:

> Snit wrote:
>> Just talked to my friend with the notebook.  It is still giving him some
>> problems - mostly the wireless networking.  Even with that, though, he has
>> learned to use only one program at a time online and it seems to work.  If
>> he uses more than that, he often has to reboot to get the net back.
>> 
>> But!  
>> 
>> Overall he *loves* it.  With Windows, he had to reboot often just to be able
>> to play videos, etc.  The computer would just get slower and slower.  No
>> such problem with Ubuntu - and the videos he has watched have not skipped at
>> all.  Even though he had multiple video players for Windows, *none* work as
>> well as Ubuntu is for him (I forgot to ask what player he is using - but I
>> set up VLC as a default).
>> 
>> He loves Amarok with its auto-finding of lyrics.  In his view that is just
>> amazing and something that is inexcusably missing from iTunes and other
>> Windows solutions he has used.
>> 
>> I asked him about UI issues - he said it is clunky in places but nothing
>> that is really giving him grief.   Some windows open in absurd ways with
>> much of the content hidden, etc., but when you open them up more the sizes
>> are generally remembered - not a big deal at all.
>> 
>> He has already gotten some updates - and they worked flawlessly.
>> 
>> Overall he could not speak highly enough about it.  Yes, he has to sometimes
>> reboot because of the network issues, but now that he knows how to deal with
>> that, he actually is rebooting less than he did with Windows to deal with
>> its issues.  And no real malware concern.
>> 
>> For RonB: I did not ask him about consistency and he did not mention any
>> problems with it.
>> 
>> 
> 
>    I do believe (in a terminal - could be set to a Fn key)
> 
> pccardctl eject
> 
> and
> 
> pccardctl insert
> 
> may reset the wireless without the reboot.

Wait - it is a USB device: ZyXEL G-202


-- 
[INSERT .SIG HERE]

On 2011-03-28, the following emerged from the brain of DFS:
>
> But the lyric feature alone is really nice - otherwise you're searching 
> Google one song at a time and being asked to download a ringtone each time.

Amarok works pretty nice on Windows too by the way, along with many
other KDE applications.

-- 
Let there be Rock!
	~ Bon Scott

On 3/29/2011 1:22 AM, TomB wrote:
> On 2011-03-28, the following emerged from the brain of DFS:
>>
>> But the lyric feature alone is really nice - otherwise you're searching
>> Google one song at a time and being asked to download a ringtone each time.
>
> Amarok works pretty nice on Windows too by the way, along with many
> other KDE applications.

Amarok 2.3.2 (KDE 4.5.4) for Windows downloaded, installed and played 
without a single error on Win7.  I'm truly shocked.

But, when you Quit it leaves a bunch of orphan processes in place 
(conhost.exe, dbus_daemon.exe, kded4.exe, kglobalaccel.exe, 
klauncher.exe, knotify.exe, kio_http_cache_cleaner.exe)

And the interface is pretty bad.  The 'choose columns' doesn't work on 
the left side of the screen.  And it doesn't obey the rules: after 
install it doesn't show up in Programs and Features.

Except for the lyrics and wiki features, it's a bust.  Deleted!

On Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:06:08 -0400, DFS wrote:

> On 3/29/2011 1:22 AM, TomB wrote:
>> On 2011-03-28, the following emerged from the brain of DFS:
>>>
>>> But the lyric feature alone is really nice - otherwise you're searching
>>> Google one song at a time and being asked to download a ringtone each time.
>>
>> Amarok works pretty nice on Windows too by the way, along with many
>> other KDE applications.
> 
> Amarok 2.3.2 (KDE 4.5.4) for Windows downloaded, installed and played 
> without a single error on Win7.  I'm truly shocked.
> 
> But, when you Quit it leaves a bunch of orphan processes in place 
> (conhost.exe, dbus_daemon.exe, kded4.exe, kglobalaccel.exe, 
> klauncher.exe, knotify.exe, kio_http_cache_cleaner.exe)
> 
> And the interface is pretty bad.  The 'choose columns' doesn't work on 
> the left side of the screen.  And it doesn't obey the rules: after 
> install it doesn't show up in Programs and Features.
> 
> Except for the lyrics and wiki features, it's a bust.  Deleted!

The interface, unless it's changed in the last 6 months, ranks amongst
the most non-intuitive interfaces ever.....

The problem with Amarok is that it does a million and one things, but
doesn't do many of them too well.