General Computer Thread

[Amaris]

I have one Windows 95 computer, a Compaq Deskpro 2000, it's a Pentium 200MMX machine so plenty fast for 95.

The only Windows machine I have runs a Plex server, and I'm loathe to switch it out because I would have to repopulate all of that data and I have no desire to do that as it would take several days to go through and put everything back in order.

Everything else in the house runs Linux.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Btw, about the Windows Photo Viewer, in its settings I noticed they made the ability to download the old photo viewer. That must have been a recent change, because I never noticed that before. They call it 'Photos Legacy'.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...s-legacy-61255007-a189-4a02-8193-6ba18e5f96d3

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Btw, about the Windows Photo Viewer, in its settings I noticed they made the ability to download the old photo viewer. That must have been a recent change, because I never noticed that before. They call it 'Photos Legacy'.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...s-legacy-61255007-a189-4a02-8193-6ba18e5f96d3

Same for Windows Media Player. There is a shortcut in windows tools for it if you prefer the old over the new.

Also be wary of Photos Legacy they added buttons to purchase OneDrive storage

 

[Owain Taggart]

I don't use OneDrive, but I notice they periodically prompt to log into OneDrive when using Photos. They really want people to use it.

 

[Amaris]

I don't use OneDrive, but I notice they periodically prompt to log into OneDrive when using Photos. They really want people to use it.

There's a lot of exif data they'd like to have, and once it's on their server, they're allowed full access to it for "security" reasons.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

There's a lot of exif data they'd like to have, and once it's on their server, they're allowed full access to it for "security" reasons.

If only there was a neat quick way to kill that and get rid of that data

 

[Amaris]

If only there was a neat quick way to kill that and get rid of that data

There is.

If you're on Linux, there are several applications, like Metadata Cleaner, and Kleaner, both of which will strip your images of all EXIF data if you so desire. On Windows, there is Exiftool.

Metadata Cleaner and Kleaner are both available in numerous repositories.
Exiftool you can get here: https://exiftool.org/

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

There is.

If you're on Linux, there are several applications, like Metadata Cleaner, and Kleaner, both of which will strip your images of all EXIF data if you so desire. On Windows, there is Exiftool.

Metadata Cleaner and Kleaner are both available in numerous repositories.
Exiftool you can get here: https://exiftool.org/

But exif data is also what camera you use and settings too isn't it?
I do sometimes like to look at that stuff after taking photos

 

[Amaris]

But exif data is also what camera you use and settings too isn't it?
I do sometimes like to look at that stuff after taking photos

Yep. You can limit what the software removes, though.

 

[Marc]

I don't use OneDrive, but I notice they periodically prompt to log into OneDrive when using Photos. They really want people to use it.

It's more about giving people the option to backup their data without too much thought.

Same as your documents can automatically be synched with onedrive.

And given the number of people who don't backup when squeal like stuck pigs when something goes wrong and they loose all their data it's probably a good starting point.

 

[Owain Taggart]

It's more about giving people the option to backup their data without too much thought.

Same as your documents can automatically be synched with onedrive.

And given the number of people who don't backup when squeal like stuck pigs when something goes wrong and they loose all their data it's probably a good starting point.

Oh, no doubt. I was just remarking on the fact that it seemed like they were pushing it much more.

 

[Marc]

Oh, no doubt. I was just remarking on the fact that it seemed like they were pushing it much more.

Part of their bid to make computers idiot proof.

only the universe keeps turning out bigger and bigger idiots.

 

[Santaman]

^^ Yup.. stupidity is the most common element in the universe so it seems..

 

[Amaris]

I've been using Ubuntu 23.10 Mantic Minotaur, and it is excellent. Combined with Gnome 45's improvements, it's a stable, flexible operating system. Plus, the wallpaper is cool as hell.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

After letting my Cinnamon desktop sit for a month due to work deadlines, setting up a CTWM config (a Linux window manager developed in the early 90s) for really no reason at all, and the like, I returned to it over the weekend, and a happy accident sent me spinning in a different direction.

Pushing Cinnamon to the Edge by Allyn Gibson, on Flickr

I wanted to adjust the color when my mouse hovers over one of the notification icons upper right, which led to the .applet-box CSS descriptor. Fixing that led me to the realization that I could separate each of the applet icons in their own little bubbles, and then I could space them out a little better.

Which led to changing out how I handle the dock. The way I'd done the dock initially was to put margins on top and bottom to "squeeze" the dock. No, the better way is to simply put what I want in the dock in the "center" of the three regions of the Cinnamon panel, and then the dock will resize and recenter itself automatically as apps are opened and closed. So I use CSS to make the whole panel transparent, add margin-bottom: 40px; to account for the 40px of the top panel, apply CSS to the the center part of the panel to style the dock (and add some margin to get it off the edge), and move all of my applets to center.

I also learned how to adjust the Cinnamon panel widths from the command line, because the left panel is 70px (dock is 60, plus 10 margin-left), and Cinnamon's GUI maxes out at 60px.

There's about double the CSS of my original modification, which is to be expected. Doing more stuff, doing it better. It's a learning process.

If it weren't for the Linux Mint logo in the dock, you wouldn't think this was Linux Mint.

I've been using Ubuntu 23.10 Mantic Minotaur, and it is excellent. Combined with Gnome 45's improvements, it's a stable, flexible operating system. Plus, the wallpaper is cool as hell.

I keep meaning to download that, and then I keep forgetting. I will do that...

I also downloaded Fedora 39 this morning. I tilt at that GNOME windmill every year or so, and then I nope back out.

 

[Amaris]

After letting my Cinnamon desktop sit for a month due to work deadlines, setting up a CTWM config (a Linux window manager developed in the early 90s) for really no reason at all, and the like, I returned to it over the weekend, and a happy accident sent me spinning in a different direction.

Pushing Cinnamon to the Edge by Allyn Gibson, on Flickr

I wanted to adjust the color when my mouse hovers over one of the notification icons upper right, which led to the .applet-box CSS descriptor. Fixing that led me to the realization that I could separate each of the applet icons in their own little bubbles, and then I could space them out a little better.

Which led to changing out how I handle the dock. The way I'd done the dock initially was to put margins on top and bottom to "squeeze" the dock. No, the better way is to simply put what I want in the dock in the "center" of the three regions of the Cinnamon panel, and then the dock will resize and recenter itself automatically as apps are opened and closed. So I use CSS to make the whole panel transparent, add margin-bottom: 40px; to account for the 40px of the top panel, apply CSS to the the center part of the panel to style the dock (and add some margin to get it off the edge), and move all of my applets to center.

I also learned how to adjust the Cinnamon panel widths from the command line, because the left panel is 70px (dock is 60, plus 10 margin-left), and Cinnamon's GUI maxes out at 60px.

There's about double the CSS of my original modification, which is to be expected. Doing more stuff, doing it better. It's a learning process.

If it weren't for the Linux Mint logo in the dock, you wouldn't think this was Linux Mint.

That is awesome work! I've dabbled in window managers, and I just like my desktop environments too much to stay with them.

You've got a great looking setup there. I may have to yoink that idea myself and give it a shot. Such a handsome desktop!

I keep meaning to download that, and then I keep forgetting. I will do that...

I also downloaded Fedora 39 this morning. I tilt at that GNOME windmill every year or so, and then I nope back out.

I'm a huge KDE fan, but Gnome really is getting better, and while KDE is everything and the kitchen sink, I do like how unified Gnome is, and wish KDE could achieve that, because as much as I enjoy it, it does tend to look like they slapped a dozen different systems together and tied them with bailing wire, IMO.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I've dabbled in window managers, and I just like my desktop environments too much to stay with them.

I won't post a screenshot here, because it's bland as heck, but I've posted what my CTWM config looks like in the Fediverse.

It's stark and quirky, it's not intuitive, it's completely unlike anything I've used in the last thirty years, it will never be beautiful, and those window corners are so chunky and sharp someone's liable to lose an eye, but as a distraction-free working environment I've found it very useful.

The nice thing about running it alongside my LMDE Cinnamon install is that I have the applications I need, so all I had to do was to add them to the CTWM menu. Mind you, the default menu that comes with CTWM doesn't call any program a Linux machine built in the last decade years is likely to have, so it's completely useless out of the box.

You've got a great looking setup there. I may have to yoink that idea myself and give it a shot. Such a handsome desktop!

Thanks!

I'm a huge KDE fan, but Gnome really is getting better, and while KDE is everything and the kitchen sink, I do like how unified Gnome is, and wish KDE could achieve that, because as much as I enjoy it, it does tend to look like they slapped a dozen different systems together and tied them with bailing wire, IMO.

I have KDE on a Manjaro install I hardly ever use. It looks nice but unremarkable; I use the Sweet Ambar Blue theme with the Candy icons and the Plank dock. I neither like nor dislike KDE. I just haven't spent enough time with it. It works and looks nice.

 

[Shaytan]

I also downloaded Fedora 39 this morning. I tilt at that GNOME windmill every year or so, and then I nope back out.

I upgraded yesterday. 1st time I had a problem in the process, probably nvidia related. I could have sort it out but since all my data is stored on a NAS I went with a quick fresh install and now everything is clean.

I'm a huge KDE fan, but Gnome really is getting better, and while KDE is everything and the kitchen sink, I do like how unified Gnome is, and wish KDE could achieve that, because as much as I enjoy it, it does tend to look like they slapped a dozen different systems together and tied them with bailing wire, IMO.

After hopping between KDE and Gnome, Gnome is still my favorite choice : uncomplicated and looks good without effort. I even use it nearly vanilla, I just add Appindicator, GSConnect and Vitals and I am good.

 

[Amaris]

I upgraded yesterday. 1st time I had a problem in the process, probably nvidia related. I could have sort it out but since all my data is stored on a NAS I went with a quick fresh install and now everything is clean.



After hopping between KDE and Gnome, Gnome is still my favorite choice : uncomplicated and looks good without effort. I even use it nearly vanilla, I just add Appindicator, GSConnect and Vitals and I am good.

Yep. I just add GSConnect and I'm good to go. The nice thing about Ubuntu is they have Dash to Dock and AppIndicator already installed. I also like that they have all the codecs I could want or need. I like Fedora, it's got a terrific implementation of Gnome, but dealing with RPMFusion, repositories, and other things was something I didn't like, and while the issues were rare, they were enough to push me away.

That also means I've started using Snap, and I have to admit that it's not as awful as I believed it was. I only have it for Firefox and one or two other apps, but it stays out of the way, which works for me.

 

[Shaytan]

Yep. I just add GSConnect and I'm good to go. The nice thing about Ubuntu is they have Dash to Dock and AppIndicator already installed.

I stopped using Dash to Dock when Gnome 40 was released. It took some times for this extension to be compatible and I noticed that in the end, I didn't need it. When I want to keep an app open but not on screen, I just send it to another workspace.

That also means I've started using Snap, and I have to admit that it's not as awful as I believed it was. I only have it for Firefox and one or two other apps, but it stays out of the way, which works for me.

From what I have read, snap apps now are faster than what it used to be.

My only reserve with Snap is that Flatpak is actually more popular and I think it would be a great improvement for all Linux users to see Canonical work on Flatpak the same way Gnome improved a lot when Ubuntu gave up on Unity.