Contributor dhart

If a friend is over and my session has been locked (due to screensaver, etc) there should be a "Guest session" button for them to open the Guest session, so they can check their email or whatever without knowing anything about Gnome or Linux or user accounts.

Currently the locked screen has:

Password: [_______________]
[Leave Message] [Switch User] [Cancel] [Unlock]

I'd say change it to:

Password: [_______________]
[Leave Message] [Guest Session] [Switch User] [Cancel] [Unlock]

I shouldn't need to log in just so that someone else can launch a Guest session.

Ubuntu 8.10 has a new pop-up balloon, every time the desktop starts, it says a network connection is found.

This is not necessary and annoying!

Pop-ups and pop-up balloons are only useful when there is something wrong and the user REALLY NEEDS to be aware of it before proceeding his/her current activity. Otherwise it's just plain annoying, inconsiderate and very windows-like.

Alright, how to solve it then?

1. Use balloons only when REALLY needed (lost network connection, etc...)
2. Provide at least an easy and intuitive way to disable them forever, like a little option button on the balloon itself.
3. Make them less intrusive. Balloons should softly come in, be opaque and softly go away after 5 seconds if the user didn't click it. Also keep them small.

in a tree becouse we'll know what to update:

1. for example:

>compiz
---compiz-core
---compiz-plugin
---compiz-gnome
>evolution
---evolution-data-center
---evolution-webcal
---evolution-plugin
>firefox
---firefox-3.0
---firefox-3.0-gnome-support
>security updates
---kernel

2. update manager should ask to confirm changes that also affect other programs

3. confirm recommended packages as dependencies like in synaptic package manager.

Update manager should be more intelligent in general!

Update-manager just shows a list. I have no way of knowing which repositories are behind which updates.

What is to prevent a third-party repository from pushing updates for *any* package on my system?

Example: Say I add the repo for Banshee media player. I expect (and trust) it will only push updates that involve Banshee, but what is to stop them from pushing a non-banshee related update? Maybe it's a bit paranoid of me, but I'd like to know which updates are coming from which repo. Then, at least if I see a third-party repo pushing an update for something like sudo, then I'll know something is fishy - but right now I have no way of knowing where the updates are coming from, and that bothers me.

Also, the update-mananger, could possibly group the update list by repository.

The default media player is called Totem Movie Player right? In the panel and the window heading it has this title, but in nautilus [when you right click for open-with] and the applications menu it is simply called 'Movie Player'.

It would be less confusing if the name was standardised across ubuntu

gnome-system-monitor provides a cleaner interface than Windows "Task Manager", and provides many useful features including list of processes running, memory and network usage, etc.

This functionality should be more accessible by key binding it by default to CTRL-ALT-DELETE as Windows does--as this is more familiar to users coming from Windows. The current key binding for CTRL-ALT-DELETE brings up the shutdown/logout options, which is already accessible as a desktop button, which is redundant for a relatively less used function.

gnome-system-monitor is an idle interface for monitoring the system and killing processes without using the terminal and provides an interface for doing this that most are already familiar with. Changing it's key binding would make it's functionality much more accessible.

Please add 'Backup and Restore' in 'System -> Administration', with ability to backup my personal settings (including mail), and backup entire system.

I just read the blog post about the new boxed retail version of Ubuntu available and this image was used to show the box art.

http://blog.canonical.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/bestbuy.jpg

Sorry, but since when did a professional company with millions of users just dump a lame ass blurry picture like this into an official press release/blog post?

Shuttleworth talks about aspiring to be as good as OS X. Do you think Apple would have a blurry snap shot of Leopards box art in a press release? Man it bugs me so much that you guys don’t take this stuff seriously. IMAGE IS EVERYTHING when attracting new users.

I love what you guys do, but you need to pull the finger out and realise that you’ve got to look professional at all times. Canonical come across as a half arsed amateur operation far too often.

You need to make sure that every document, press release, blog post, and piece of information that comes out of Canonical looks professional at all times, otherwise you need someone to say "No way is that going out in its present state. Fix it!".

There should be a more efficient format for apt-get (or the update manager) to download updates. Firstly, it should only need to download the files that have changed in a package (not the whole package), and secondly, it should download a DIFF of those files.

My latest update contains a 34.2 WHOPPING MB update to the linux restricted modules. Here's the changelog:

* Fix broadcom Makefile to get correct objects from split-module.

I'm downloading 34.2Mb just to get a *Makefile update*??? I don't even use any broadcom stuff. Even if I did, I probably wouldn't care enough about a Makefile to make it worthwhile downloading 34.2Mb!

Put a system of widgets like the gadgets of Windows Vista or Mac OS X widgets, installed as standard on the operating system ready for use when the installation finishes.
The program could be based on the source of gdesklets.
If implemented the idea would be good to be compatible with the widgets of google and gdesklets; and also would have their own native widgets for the program.

When you print to a PDF, is very annoying to then have to go to look for te file in the ~/PDF folder.
When I print to a PDF is because I want to save a portable version of my work, or becasue I want to send it by email.

So my idea is to create a script that works as a post-process for the cups-pdf backend.

The result is:
Every time you print to PDF you get a Save As Dialog that also has a "Don't save, Send by email" button

In the attached ubuntuforums thread I have a quick and dirty hack that does exactly this,

Currently network manager can assure you that you're connected to a network, but if you want to be sure that that network is supplying you with the internet, you have to go check it for yourself. I propose some kind of indicator in the notification area that indicates access to, say, the ubuntu website.

In addition to simple broken connections, this would be useful when using public wifi that requires a logon.

Remember the bad ol' days of EasyUbuntu and Automatix? How many of you (and how many times) ran them on fresh Ubuntu installs as a first step? The "ubuntu-restricted-extras" metapackage made them obsolete for good.

But what about now? Have you tried to play your legal DVDs with menus(!) in Hardy, even with libdvdcss2 enabled, and it failed miserably? So - as everybody knows for sure - it's time to install VLC. Easy, done with no effort. Now, set it up to pop-up automagically when you insert your disc. What?! No bloody way?! So, the solution is pretty simple and obvious: google out these instructions: http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Hardy#How_to_make_VLC_open_when_you_insert_a _DVD and follow them step-by-step. Got it? Voila! It works! Hip-hip-hurray!

But this can be done MUCH better. Simply provide one "vlc-dvd-support" (sort-of-meta)package with reasonable description and decent ./postinst and ./prerm scripts, which will do EVERYTHING of above for you. And yes, put it in the medibuntu repository if none of official repositories cant't bear it.

And make it the same way with as many other common post-install tasks and workarounds as possible.

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PS: If you vote this idea down (as somebody just did), explain WHY by adding a comment, please.

We need to change the default screensaver. The problem with the current screensaver is that the first time you meet it is when the screen suddenly turns black during the installation. That is very confusing for most users, as the first thought always is that the installation has crashed.

I suggest a screensaver that helps brand Ubuntu, like for example the "Floating Ubuntu" screensaver. It could also be a textbased screensaver that could run on older machines witch doesn't support 3D.

If we really want to make (K/X)Ubuntu for the layperson, than we need to be able to set up more than one user account during the installation.

Families won't like (K/X)Ubuntu if they can't make all their own personal user accounts from the get-go.

Right now, to install (K/X)Ubuntu for multiple users, you have to set one up, then log in, add a new user, and go through the process of setting of group permissions mirroring that of the first user. This is NOT intuitive.

This is what the setup looks like (KDE-wise),
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunarcloud_88/2879394590/
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3085/2879394590_d72d2664d7.jpg

Here is an acceptable mock-up, feel free to post your mock-ups:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunarcloud_88/2879462152/
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3163/2879462152_585c12d986.jpg?v=0

There should be a guest user in there to show that it will exist (possibly disabled).
The user icon can be selected (gdm/kdm should set icon source to "user,admin")
You can add a user, and the computer name is a seperated entity, automatically defined by the FIRST user's name, but obviously changeable as before.

For instance, if you plug in a USB device that is malfunctioning or not detected correctly, errors will be generated in the System Log, but nothing at all will happen in GNOME. Things like this should generate friendly graphical error balloons so that people at least recognize that something's gone wrong, instead of just thinking the device was not even recognized.

As braaivleis points out, it doesn't have to actually pop up the balloon; it can be like the updates icon that appears, but only shows a balloon when you click on it.

When you use quite often USB key, you always have to unmount them correctly to keep your data safe. When you're copying a file on a USB key, you must wait to empty the copy buffer.

I would propose to link the USB key icon to the state of the transfer :
- If there's a transfer, we can see clearly that we can not take the USB key away.
- When transfer is finished and the buffer emptied, the icon can show that the USB key can be safely removed

and thus it's not yet useful to click on "unmount", because the unmount management is totally transparent, and treated by the system. We can simply pick the USB key away because transfer is already finish and correctly closed. This will be a great innovation to simplify unmount such usual disks.

edit : Maybe the icon can stay like the same, but w can add some little sub-icon to inform of the state.

(see also ideas 1373 and 10032)

In a bid to make new users feel as though they can 'contribute' to Ubuntu, and give them an opportunity to discover brainstorm, I suggest a menu linking to sections of the website.

The menu would be added underneath the 'About Ubuntu' item and link to the options of the 'Get Involved' page on the website like this...

System
>Get Involved
>>Development
>>Design
>>Documentation
>>Brainstorm
>>etc...

The icon for the menu should be the from the 'Get Involved' link on the Ubuntu home page, and the sub items their icons from the get involved page.

This should get more people involved in development, and give none technical users, like me, the chance to contribute on brainstorm, making Ubuntu a bit more personal.

Finally Wine 1.0 has been released after 15 years or development.

http://www.winehq.org/?announce=1.0

Please update the repository to 1.0, there has been lots of work to make sure its stable.

I've found myself several times needing to manually edit a file in /etc for a package that has no front end, or otherwise needing to edit a root-owned file. It would be very nice to allow for gedit to prompt for administrative password, or have the ability to see that a file is not owned by you and allow one to choose to edit as an admin, thus gksudo'ing it.