updates in the war between man and computer

By basd on Sep 17, 2011 | In kde4, opensuse, gnome, -arghhh!!

I prefer to use kde4 "just because" and also due to issues I have outlined with my interim standard, lxde. But, all computers are not created equally. KDE 4.6 is running flawlessly on my 6 core desktop. Different stories all the way around on my other computers.

...

So, by quirk of fate and economics, at one location my "primary" computer is a very aging hp pavilion zd7000, chronicalled here often. As noted, it ceased to be bootable in the native WindowsXP several years ago, leading to some disasterous years with a Sony Vaio that was at war with the Vista that came on it; conversion of all my primary systems to linux, etc., etc.

And oddly, not only does the zd7000 soldier on, it has moved up the "viability" ladder. For a couple of years, it gathered dust ... until I needed it at a second location.

In the interim, linux has made astounding gains. Let me repeat that term, "astounding." Because, when WindowsXP died on the zd7000, my linux distro was using KDE 3.5, KDE 4 was in alpha stage and the only way to get external video was through a strange lash-up of "tv for linux". Additionally, the computer was quite noisy because of high cpu usage and the fact that the zd7000 is from the "two really big fans" generation of laptops.

Let's revisit the linux situation on this computer as of a few years later. Unlike the way Windows slowly strangles computers, linux slowly improves them -- somewhat surprisingly, because why would programmers be supporting a computer this old?

"Effects" have been a rather on again/off again affair, due to the internal nvidia on this computer. But, realistically, what do I need effects for anyway? Well, the "gloss" factor does have some appeal -- I rolled back from KDE 4.7 to KDE 4.6 expressly because "effects" were functional in 4.6 and not in 4.7 on the zd7000.

More recently, the effects have started being somewhat haphazard. The "windows" have been turning into a black bar on which the buttons are also black, which is to say, cannot be seen. Which makes "minimizing" the window somewhat experimental.

Well, we can always resucitate the running window manager by running "kwin --replace".

But, I documented another irritant in an earlier post. In KDE I could put my internal and external monitors as "above" and "below", but not "left and right". I would get only 1/2 of a window manager on the "right" (or external) screen.

So, occasionally I have tested whether I could get "left" and "right" or not. I had a moment of optimism because of another observed improvement in the underlying software -- suddenly my settings were "sticking," whereas for some time the monitors have been coming up in "clone" and the wrong resolution(s). But today, surprise, the monitors came up in the default I had set them to.

I tried left and right, which "worked" -- but I noticed I had the dreaded "black band" in place of my oxygen windows boxes. So, I ran "kwin --replace", which returned oxygen for me -- but also gave me the only 1/2 screen of window manager on the external monitor.

Drat!

But then, it occurred to me that as I have "effects" shut off anyway, why not run "icewm --replace"? After all, I have been running lxde on icewm, so why not run kde on icewm?

Amazingly, I how had full screen windows. And, I am rather fond of the infidel theme -- I used to use it when it was available in KDE 3.5, but at some point it was removed.

So, at least for my usage, computing has gone another step forward for me!

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