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A lot of terminal apps make use of the EDITOR= environment variable, however we don't define one in our default bash profile. For instace, when I had to use mutt for the first time to check email using a shell account, I tried to write a reply only to be dumped into a vi instance.

vi is a great text editor, however if you've never used it before it is incredibly difficult. It's not even obvious how to quit or get help without opening up a man page in another terminal. For those who prefer it, setting the EDITOR= line is a fairly simple task. As a reasonable default, however, nano is the way to go.

Goal: De-geek compiling source-code.

Some users are savvy enough to navigate to a 'Download' section of a website for software XYZ but are unsure of what to do next after downloading source-code.

Manually compiling source-code should be a choice, not a requirement. :)

Scenario:
I choose "Open" versus "Save" to Download source-code from a website and Ubuntu automatically compiles and executes the source-code. ("it just works")

* Perhaps some sort of "Install and Run" option via Right-Click Menu for previously downloaded source-code.

That would rock, basically.

dotMac provides a (fairly) simple way for users to integrate with some remote services, have some webspace and synchronize multiple macs.

dotUbuntu could provide similar resources for users:

the ability to back up important files, have bookmarks and address books floating 'in a cloud' like the mozilla 'Weave' project
http://labs.mozilla.com/2007/12/introducing-weave/

drag-and-drop remote backup of valuable files

plain webspace or more structured 'blogspace' with preinstalled web apps

Wiki page: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DotUbuntu

People like games, and while Linux has done very well with the card games, minesweeper and tetris type games, lets get some games that people can really get excited about.

How about starting or supporting one each of a
1)First Person Shooter (FPS)
2)Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG)
3)Real Time Strategy Game (RTS)
4)Other popular game types that Linux lacks (Other people, submit your ideas)

I have seen these types of games on linux, and some of them have been pretty good, but not many people know about them. Start new or support existing game projects that work on most Linux platforms, and make them something to be excited about.

If we can have Linux games that people are excited about and like playing we will have less and less need for WINE and dual-boot machines. (although I personally appreciate the WINE developers, they work really hard).

I don't know if it is legal, but if it is would make Ubuntu much easier to new users

Although there are great alternatives to Microsoft Office such as Open Office, sometimes when viewing/editing documents between the two programs, the formatting and other small details do not match exactly.

When I am working with someone who only uses only Microsoft Office, I want to be sure that we are looking at EXACTLY the same document. MS Office is very widely used, and therefore I think that 100% compatibility between MS Office and some word processor (or wine) on Ubuntu is important.

I think Ubuntu would be a greater success story if popular (also new) videogames could be as easily deployed in Ubuntu (and used) as they are supported in Windows by use of DirectX 9 or 10. If playing such games would be possible with no negative impact on performance or otherwise in Ubuntu, I would not hesitate twice and would only use Ubuntu where as of today I still have to use Windows.

Please allow for Windows games to be easily installed and played on Ubuntu with as much support as possible.

At the moment it's possible to manage traditional wired and WiFi connections using Network Manager. To connect via a modem, a 3G/GPRS card, over bluetooth to a cell phone or via USB to another device requires that the user installs extra packages, and does a fair amount of configuration that isn't found in Network Manager.

A single unified tool should be provided which allows the user to connect to a network (or internet) via any supported method. It would also be useful to provide an extension to this tool to manage firewall rules and network connection sharing.

Although this website is great, it isn't at a major location. If it would be added to Launchpad, just like Answers or Bugs, all projects could use it and it would be some kind of buffer for Blueprints, since that's also way too often used as place to suggest ideas.
I know the launchpad team is a completely different team than Ubuntu QA and a lot of the code written for this website can be thrown away, but I think it would do a great job for Launchpad and Ubuntu.

For years now, I've been trying to find the best client for using yahoo messenger on linux and none of them really cut it. Most of them are lacking features, others are specific to a certain desktop. I use Fluxbox and dont want to run Kopete or anything under it. We need to push Yahoo to update their client much like Mac users have to push Microsoft to update their msn. The client as it sits right now looks like it was made in the 1950s or something.

The default applet to upload photos to Facebook does not seem to work for anyone in Gutsy, and that includes using ies4linux, which makes me think it may be an OS problem. If it is, please fix, if not, tell me I'm wrong and maybe suggest a solution.

make it look like IE

It has been generalized in the past that the desktop is merging with the Internet and its services (in some form or another) and that TV will merge with the Internet until the two are indistinguishable. This may be a little ways into the future, but it is coming.

I'm a web developer and although I am not a big social-website user, I still believe a highly beneficial product for Ubuntu would be integration with social websites such as Last.FM, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, MySpace, etc.

For two reasons:
1) This sort of integration has not been seen by Apple or Microsoft and would be a great migration point for users
2) This sort of integration is coming to the desktop in the near future, so it's good to start thinking of it now, rather than later.

I'm not just talking of F-Spot supporting MySpace or Rhythmbox supporting Last.FM, I'm speaking of real integration with Nautilus to the point where you can right-click a photo (or multiple) and click "Upload to Facebook". Then, if you're not logged on, it prompts you for your password, and continues on. However, this functionality would be available to all forms of media and website (audio, video, pictorial, etc.). What would be needed, however, is drivers for each website. If we built a framework that would enable open-source drivers to be built for each website, then ultimate usability and flexibility would be achieved.

Please! Please! Please!

>. Lower consumption of memory

Preferably make all the binaries in the system be digitally signed.

Or at least digitally sign some of the most important system binaries.

Canonical Ltd. can sign the Ubuntu system binaries.

This gives enhanced security because it verifies the application identity and ensures its integrity.

Microsoft and Apple digitally sign their binaries.
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/300.html#security

They might add GNU/Linux to the name, example:

Ubuntu GNU/Linux.

Sometimes Cononical refers to Ubuntu as Ubuntu Linux, and other people more...

Linux is only the kernel of the OS, the complete OS is named GNU/Linux.

Ubuntu as son of Debian GNU/Linux, must use GNU/Linux in its name.

It's GNU/Linux, dammit....

It's easy for anyone who likes complicated interfaces to hit an "advanced interface" option and go to a desktop with multiple start bars at top and bottom and menus and desktop pagers.

It is not symmetrically easy for a basic computer user to find out how to make their interface more simple.

Thus, the initial interface for most installs should begin with a 10 foot, wii like, gOS style, matchbox like one window at a time, one task at a time interface that all users will find intuitive.

My favorite interface would blend some current genres to give them a taste of all.

Whatever app or screen they are on should fill the screen at all times, unless they specifically request to use it split screen with another app.

Any Modal box that pops up requiring them to do something to continue should be centered in a translucent grey haze covering what they were doing so they know they must address that issue first.

A big fat bar should go across the top of the screen, with the icon of their current application or window on the far left (clicking it provides the start menu, and options like "See Desktop (minimize)", and "Complicated Interface"). Then, along the top as you head right, large colorful icons of other, minimized active applications, then smaller grey icons of common applications not in use yet in a nice dock. Then a clock widget (and let them add others, like bluetooth) and finally a big bold X which gives a menu (Close current Window (default if they just hit and let go), Change User, Shut down, etc).

Wii and the EE prove there is a hunger for the simple and easy to use, even among people who can use the complicated.


The icon for the application they are currently using

I hate to say it but Dell's Ideastorm is better than Brainstorm. Ideastorm provides statistics, a far wider range of categories, more options to organize ideas and comments and is better at promoting cooperation and communication between users. Ideastorm also has html enabled so you can add pics and things....

A lot of things that are really needed for a nice desktop experience are crippled because of american software patents. It's very annoying to have to recompile freetype, install codecs and other things to get to the point where the system is usable (for me), just because of software patents which aren't even applicable where I live.

I'm pretty sure that just about every non-american would LOVE a special version of Ubuntu where these things are default. It would be perfectly legal also, similar to the old -non-US versions of Debian.