Installing Linux on a Macbook Pro; KDE - to be or not to be; Microsoft Developing Emacs.net ... WTF?; Tricking out Gimp; Cool, or possibly utterly useless, Firefox add-in
From Kahvipapu...Why? install Linux on a Macbook Pro?
Just because I can. Believe me, I heard question "Why on earth you want to run Linux on mbp?! Why don't you just use OS X? It's purrfect!" more than once. Yes, OS X is nice and I do like it, it's hands down better than Microsoft's operating systems and has some extremely nice unique features. I just happen to like Linux more for the tasks I do (No doubt Photoshop junkies disagree with me). OpenOffice runs way faster on Linux than NeoOffice runs on OS X. SSH/Sftp mounts are must for me (though MacFuse works decently nowadays!), Apache/PHP /MySQL and friends just work better, Java works better (try running Apache FOP with OS X, not only when running from terminal, it bounces Java icon in Dock, and doesn't work at all when executed from PHP scripts. Maybe there's some workaround. Maybe not). And GNOME with Compiz Fusion is just faster environment to work in (Finder sucks. It really does).
He gets it to work, get Flash to work on the 64 bit chip, etc.
We heard recently that KDE is doomed, now we hear that it is the cat's pajamas:
There's one thing for certain: Now is an exciting time to be a KDE user. The much anticipated launch of KDE 4 is slated for January 11th, 2008. This is a major revamp of the look and feel of the KDE desktop, with the inclusion of a built-in compositor (think eye candy) and something called "plasmoids" (little functional widgets embedded into your desktop).
My reading of this is that Ubuntu is not going to support Kubuntu i its next release, but probably will later when KDE 4.0 not only exists but is actually stable. Of course, you will easily be able to install KDE 4.0 anyway. Just install it, and have it as a choice of session type when logging in.
Microsoft to build an 'Emacs.Net' text editor
if you don't know what EMACS is, then, well, you are probably better off. Emacs, developed by Richard Stallman, was the first really powerful super duper text editor, programmable, self documenting, etc. You can do anything in Emacs. Some people call it an operating system disguised as a text editor. Indeed, one of the coolest things you can do with an old low powered computer is to install the minimal OS (like Damn Small Linux) and run EMACS as your only software, and see just how much you can do. Probably everything.
So what is Microsoft up to? I couldn't care less, but if you care, go read the post.
I don't use too many (if any) Gimp plugins, but if I did, I'd look for them here.
Firefox Add-in: Grocery List Generator.
if you don't know what EMACS is, then, well, you are probably better off
Hah, the undergrads still get introduced to emacs at my university.
I still use it to play self made games. :D
"My reading of this is that Ubuntu is not going to support Kubuntu i its next release, but probably will later when KDE 4.0 not only exists but is actually stable."
My reading is that *buntu 8.04 will support also KDE, but only 3.5. As a result Kubuntu 8.04 won't be a LTS (Long Time Support) release like Ubuntu 8.04, because security maintenance of KDE 3 will be dropped too early. Kubuntu 8.10 will probably run KDE 4, and possibly be LTS.
Kubuntu isn't dying. It's just bad luck in timing. KDE 4 comes out at worst possible moment to be included in Kubuntu's next LTS version.
"if you don't know what EMACS is, then, well, you are probably better off."
I would have said you're probably better off if you don't know what .NET is ;) Still, if they come up with a Vi.NET project, I may just be tempted to put C# back on my CV!