Contributor hellocatfood - Ubuntu brainstorm

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The Ubuntu community has contributed 21986 ideas, 135057 comments, 2615221 votes

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Contributor hellocatfood

Tomboy and Evolution should use the same database

Written by welrbraga the 23 Jan 10 at 23:56. Related project: Evolution Mail and Calendar. New

Nowadays I use Tomboy to organize my notes and Evolution to organize my diary, schedule, contacts etc.

I suppose that if Evolution Memo were able to read and write the Tomboy files and vice versa it would be good.

-13
votes

47
votes

12
votes

See the 1 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 12 Apr 12 at 07:53) >>

Configure Ubuntu Programs During Installation

Written by Klau3 the 27 Jan 10 at 20:15. Related project: Live CD installer. Won't implement

Installation process should give people the choice to select some standard programms.
Someone using Thunderbird as mail client doesn't need Evolution...
It is not about installing all kinds of programms during the installation process, but about selecting the most common programms easily.

The other thing is that a lot of people don't know that ubuntu can play DVD videos, because they just don't know about libdvdcss2, “ubuntu restricted extras” and how to install them.

Example: my parents cannot install libdvdcss2 without my help. This should change!

1068
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685
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34
votes

533
votes

-250
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287
votes

414
votes

175
votes

-224
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229
votes

-144
votes

-49
votes

Solution #14: Optional Microsoft Application Compatibility

Written by justintime03_2 the 9 Feb 10 at 02:13.

I know this sounds like heresy, but Ubuntu already has this in the repositories. Why not make it easier for new Ubuntu users to run their Windows applications. That's one of the biggest complaints I've heard. A lot of people don't know they can use WINE without digging around on the net. There's a lot who never know they have the option. Have the option to install WINE in the Configure Ubuntu Programs tool at first boot. I think this is crucial.

37
votes

-22
votes

Solution #16: not enough space, internet and other problems

Written by Goury the 12 Feb 10 at 10:54.

there is no problems to include this one to DVD
also there is one more thing needed - ability to install more than one app of any type
there is tons of ppls who uses chromium AND firefox because first is fast and second sometimes shows pages more accurate and have more extensions

also: do not include opera and chrome. include chromium and some other free (as freedom, not as beer) browsers

70
votes

73
votes

Solution #18: add network-manager plugins here

Written by Goury the 13 Feb 10 at 08:17.

90% russian internets is pptp vpn so option pptp must include needed packages to pptp-vpn plugin works in network manager (its stable enough)
many ppl in europes uses some oter vpn (i am not sure) so option to install oter vpn type is needed too

a lot of peoples uses wifis or something else to interneting
and we all know that ubuntu without internet is 99% dualbooting to windows or uninstalling - ubuntu MUST HAVE internet after installation so all interneting packages must be included at least to dvd, but on cd is good too AND thete must be option to install them - its very difficult task to noobs to install vpn or something else packages

-102
votes

-55
votes

54
votes

Solution #21: Solution #3, but also include option to choose Office suite

Written by magallucas the 16 Feb 10 at 20:53.

Some people (including me) have a personal preference for certain Office suites. Include a chance to choose the preferred suite (OpenOffice by default) would also be interesting. The options could be KOffice, Lotus Symphony, etc..

Integrated to Solution #12, the idea is even more complete: Accessing "Favorite Applications", the User can change your kit software more easily after you install the OS. For example, to change the option favorite browser "Firefox" to "Google Chrome", the Software Center automatically uninstall Firefox and install Chrome, making it the default browser. Happen the same way with the other favorite applications.

In case if the User wants to keep the two browsers (Firefox and Chrome), usually just select the Software Center - as is currently done - so both will be installed. Then just go to "Favorite Applications" and switch to Chrome, which is already installed - Firefox would remain, but the Chrome would be the primary browser.

26
votes

14
votes

44
votes

0
votes

Solution #26: Not during installation, but in the Welcome Screen

Written by pazuzuthewise the 3 Apr 10 at 02:55.

I believe that this option for adding software during OS install that cannot possibly fit on a CD medium, and therefore necessitates internet connection, could end up in a failed install process if the connection fails, as could happen with a 3G connection during bad weather conditions.
I certainly agree that the options presented in Solution #3 should be presented to the user in an informative manner - who, especially if new to linux, would otherwise have no clue what to do to be able to watch a DVD, for example - but not during OS install, but integrated in the Welcome Window that appears at the first login, maybe having a link in it to the Add/Remove Software, which, in turn should have these options on a main page.

15
votes

-5
votes

Solution #28: Choose the applications from the website before download

Written by thipv the 9 May 10 at 23:12.

It would make the process more flexible letting us to choose the programs before getting the iso, creating a customized image. You would select everything from the system architecture (32, 64, ppc, arm...) to desktop environment (gnome, kde, xfce, lxde...) or special environments (moblin based, netbook remix...), suggesting their default applications for each one, and let you change or remove them and choose additional programs, even restricted ones, informing the restrictions.
This would also be good because you would always be getting the most updated packages.

5
votes

Solution #29: Solution #3, #21, #23 ... + User choise

Written by JasLicno the 12 May 10 at 23:26.

User should decide which program will use.solution is simple:
Configure programs during installation:
1. button - ubuntu suggested
2. button - user defined ... list of all available programs
+ (because is impossible to have that big source of programs)

after installing, program that will give you option to make a clone of your installation, so next instalation of your system will be faster and with 100% personal programs. (this is not my idea, I have read about this as option in one of linux distributions)

7
votes

Solution #30: enable account transfer

Written by switchgirl the 30 Jun 10 at 21:21.

enable a way of saving account details to ubuntu one so that one can transfer all your accounts (yahoo, hotmail,gmail icq... irc... jabber.. everything) to the new machine this will help with setting up of new machines - like if someone has a laptop, web book and other machines, they really down want to have to set up all the different accounts multiple times. i'm not suggesting emails as this is too much data but enabling people to sync account details, and passwords would be good and improve ubuntu installs

0
votes

See the 55 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 29 Mar 12 at 21:01) >>

GIMP is out from Lucid Lynx.

Written by hellmet the 20 Nov 09 at 18:49. Related project: GIMP Image Editor. Won't implement

GIMP is being taken off the default install due to "CD space" problems. However, it should remain easily accessible/installable.

-450
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-45
votes

146
votes

409
votes

550
votes

Solution #5: give a simple paint app

Written by yzarc the 21 Nov 09 at 14:37.

Very often I just wanna draw an arrow over a map and write "the party is here!". Or just crop a picture.

And it's a pain to do it in gimp. It's like operate war tank to kill an ant. Please give us a simple image editor, no layers, no vectors, no Filters, etc. Try to remember the first time you opened the gimp. What do I do with all these windows and tools?

341
votes

Solution #6: Add an applications section to the installer

Written by tehalynn the 21 Nov 09 at 23:31.

When someone installs Ubuntu, they are shown an applications page with the following options:

1. Install all default applications. Some will need to be downloaded.
2. Install only default applications that do not need to be downloaded.
3. Select which applications to install.

Option 1 will install applications that are not on the CD, such as GIMP, by downloading and installing them when an internet connection is made.

Option 2 will install only applications on the CD. It should tell the user how to get them later if they change their mind.

Option 3 shows a page listing applications that will be installed. The user can exclude applications they do not want, and include ones they do. Here's a mockup of the general idea:

Only major applications need to be mentioned here. This is not a replacement for Ubuntu Software Center/Synaptic.

-165
votes

-117
votes

Solution #8: first run

Written by nloewen the 23 Nov 09 at 05:02.

At the first boot of the system after install, a dialog box could pop up asking if the user would like some help setting up there system. It could go through users and what not as well as ask what the user would like to use there computer for. if they select something like photo editing or replacement for photo-shop, the program would select GIMP for install with a button to let them select a different program from the repository.

-49
votes

-123
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Solution #10: Offer Multiple ISO downloads

Written by fix98-win the 24 Nov 09 at 09:58.

CD-Rs come in packs more often than not.

Offer for download in ISO format a two disc system with just Ubuntu on the first disc and extra applications on the second disc. This would possibly be in addition to the standard one disc system.

This way, users can save both discs for when they need to reinstall software that came with the system, but are offline.

Besides, using two discs frees up space for more software to be included with ubuntu by default.

ps: Don't forget to give users a choice of which applications to install from the second disc.

176
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242
votes

-285
votes

-197
votes

Solution #14: Remove every internet related application.

Written by Vladimir Hidalgo the 26 Nov 09 at 01:46.

This is a mix of previous solutions, but what I propose is to remove basically everything on "Internet" menu but Firefox.

Why?, because people that need those internet related apps do *have* internet to use them, therefore they can download & install them in an easy one-click install process like described in #1.

That is, to remove by default:

-Transmission
-Pidgin/Empathy/Ekiga
-Terminal Server Client
-Evolution
-Ubuntu One

I mean, common, those are needed only if you have Internet, so they can be pulled & installed on first use.

429
votes

Solution #15: Software Center should have a "recommended Software" section

Written by Umang the 26 Nov 09 at 12:59.

The software center should have a "Recommended Software" section where programs such as Thunderbird and GIMP are offered for downloading.

New users are flooded with too many packages to actually get a taste of the best FOSS can provide them. This section should be some sort of an exclusive section and only stable and very popular software should be included.

153
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-72
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Solution #18: Include KolourPaint instead of GIMP

Written by 8bit the 27 Nov 09 at 07:34.

The thing missing from Ubuntu is a simple, MS Paint-like program. These are nice in that they are easy to learn, run smoothly on low end system, lack clutter, have small install footprints, and open up seemingly instantly. KolourPaint is all of these:

Pros:

-The design is good. It doesn't feel cramped, it feels uniform and inviting, and most of the button icons are self-explainable. It basically looks like a prettier, shinier pre-Windows 7 MS Paint.
-It functions almost identically to MS Paint. A casual Windows user likely wouldn't be able to notice the difference, and the time it would take to transition would be minimal
-Start up time is fast
-All features that are in KolourPaint and not in MS Paint are pretty useful, and in no way get in the way of the MS Paint-like features.
-The undo history is huge. Where as MS Paint only allows 2 undos, I've gone back hundreds of actions and still haven't hit a wall
-Anything that's been changed from MS Paint has been changed for the better. Zoom is more powerful, the eraser has more brush sizes, the shape tools let you choose line thickness from within their tool box, and don't require you to switch to the line tool to choose line thickness.
-It's pretty stable. I had a weird hangup when using the zoom tool once, but I haven't been able to reproduce it since, and gPaint, on the other hand, crashes whenever I click on the 'fill' tool.

[...]

-As I mentioned, there are a couple of original tools- The connected lines tool, the color eraser tool, the freeform selection tool, but the most interesting addition is the Color Similarity tool which allows a user to set selection threshold for the fill tool. (and other tools, presumably) What this means is that you can have two, very similar colors, set this setting to something high, and then use the fill tool on one, and it will fill two. This is very useful, and is somewhat analogous to the magic wand tool/color select.
-Supports saving in a multitude of files.
-Supports editing in a multitude of files. (including XCF)
-Sort of has support for transparency (THIS IS AWESOME!)
-Only just over 2MB in size, as compared to GIMP's 14MB
-Everything is in one window. I quite like this.
-Free and open source. Uses the BSD license.
-It's being actively developed.

Cons:

-No layering support
-Very limited transparency support. While transparency itself is supported, translucency isn't, so you can't have an image with parts that are sort of transparent. It's either completely transparency, or completely opaque.
-No transparency for the tools. This seems obvious considering the above. You can't set transparency levels for, say, the paintbrush, for example.
-There's an uneven number of tools, meaning that there is a space where an icon could go which is empty. (Not a big deal at all.)
-The 'fill' tool isn't a paint bucket, so it may be confusing for a half a second, but the icon makes sense, and is more elegant than a paint bucket.
-The color picker icon looks like a safety pin to me, which was confusing at first.
-When you pull on the edge of the canvas to enlarge it, it doesn't resize in real time. Instead, it shows you a selection box sort of thing. (MS Paint does this in real time.) This is incredibly knit-picky. 99% of people wouldn't even notice this, I don't really care, some might even prefer it.
-Does not support saving in XCF format.
-It ate up my processor once, forcing me to restart my whole system, once. I've tried pretty hard, though, and I haven't been able to show the issue again. It's entirely possible it was another piece of software I was running. Other than that, it runs completely smooth.
-On a live CD 2MB can still be substantial, but it's definitely an improvement over 14.
-The color swatches bar takes up a little bit too much vertical space in my opinion. Why can't the color profile be on the right side, rather than above? There's all that extra horizontal space, afterall.

In conclusion, the cons are either extremely knit-picky, or exist in similar programs, such as gPaint and MS Paint, anyway. KolourPaint seems perfect for the live CD as a lightweight, Paint-like program. I highly recommend it.

GIMP, on the other hand, is just too large for Live CDs, too unweildly for casual users, and really easy to get for anyone who actually needs it.

Pros:

-The design is good. It doesn't feel cramped, it feels uniform and inviting, and most of the button icons are self-explainable. It basically looks like a prettier, shinier pre-Windows 7 MS Paint.
-It functions almost identically to MS Paint. A casual Windows user likely wouldn't be able to notice the difference, and the time it would take to transition would be minimal
-Start up time is fast
-All features that are in KolourPaint and not in MS Paint are pretty useful, and in no way get in the way of the MS Paint-like features.
-The undo history is huge. Where as MS Paint only allows 2 undos, I've gone back hundreds of actions and still haven't hit a wall
-Anything that's been changed from MS Paint has been changed for the better. Zoom is more powerful, the eraser has more brush sizes, the shape tools let you choose line thickness from within their tool box, and don't require you to switch to the line tool to choose line thickness.
-It's pretty stable. I had a weird hangup when using the zoom tool once, but I haven't been able to reproduce it since, and gPaint, on the other hand, crashes whenever I click on the 'fill' tool.
-As I mentioned, there are a couple of original tools- The connected lines tool, the color eraser tool, the freeform selection tool, but the most interesting addition is the Color Similarity tool which allows a user to set selection threshold for the fill tool. (and other tools, presumably) What this means is that you can have two, very similar colors, set this setting to something high, and then use the fill tool on one, and it will fill two. This is very useful, and is somewhat analogous to the magic wand tool/color select.
-Supports saving in a multitude of files.
-Supports editing in a multitude of files. (including XCF)
-Sort of has support for transparency (THIS IS AWESOME!)
-Only just over 2MB in size, as compared to GIMP's 14MB
-Everything is in one window. I quite like this.
-Free and open source. Uses the BSD license.
-It's being actively developed.

Cons:

-No layering support
-Very limited transparency support. While transparency itself is supported, translucency isn't, so you can't have an image with parts that are sort of transparent. It's either completely transparency, or completely opaque.
-No transparency for the tools. This seems obvious considering the above. You can't set transparency levels for, say, the paintbrush, for example.
-There's an uneven number of tools, meaning that there is a space where an icon could go which is empty. (Not a big deal at all.)
-The 'fill' tool isn't a paint bucket, so it may be confusing for a half a second, but the icon makes sense, and is more elegant than a paint bucket.
-The color picker icon looks like a safety pin to me, which was confusing at first.
-When you pull on the edge of the canvas to enlarge it, it doesn't resize in real time. Instead, it shows you a selection box sort of thing. (MS Paint does this in real time.) This is incredibly knit-picky. 99% of people wouldn't even notice this, I don't really care, some might even prefer it.
-Does not support saving in XCF format.
-It ate up my processor once, forcing me to restart my whole system, once. I've tried pretty hard, though, and I haven't been able to show the issue again. It's entirely possible it was another piece of software I was running. Other than that, it runs completely smooth.
-On a live CD 2MB can still be substantial, but it's definitely an improvement over 14.
-The color swatches bar takes up a little bit too much vertical space in my opinion. Why can't the color profile be on the right side, rather than above? There's all that extra horizontal space, afterall.

In conclusion, the cons are either extremely knit-picky, or exist in similar programs, such as gPaint and MS Paint, anyway. KolourPaint seems perfect for the live CD as a lightweight, Paint-like program. I highly recommend it.

GIMP, on the other hand, is just too large for Live CDs, too unweildly for casual users, and really easy to get for anyone who actually needs it.

127
votes

Solution #19: Ubuntu App Collections

Written by 8bit the 27 Nov 09 at 07:41.

Mozilla has a section of their Firefox add-ons site dedicated to Add-on Collections. These are collections of add-ons handpicked by developers for different uses, (Web developer, family, etc..) which can be downloaded and installed with a single click. Implement a similar section for full applications in the AppCenter. Have one for artists, one for web developers, one for gamers, etc...

-36
votes

Solution #20: Solution #10 Revised.

Written by fix98-win the 29 Nov 09 at 09:39.

I think it might have been the double ISO thing that ruined it. Lemme try again.

Offer Ubuntu for download one one disk. This will save download time, and installation time.

Forget the second disk. I was trying to imply the second disk would be optional, or even nonexistent.

Why would anybody want to backup their software anyway? (sarcasm)

24
votes

16
votes

Solution #22: Like Solution #19, but have it where any user can suggest applications

Written by aubre the 30 Nov 09 at 18:12.

Allow users to submit lists of applications that they like to have on their machines, have them assigned a "collection name" and then give users the option of either browsing the lists or searching for the list name (perhaps they already know the list they want to install).

An example is perhaps an academic lab manager has certain applications they install on each machine. They make a list, submit it to Ubuntu, and then as they install new machines they can simply input the name and all the packages they need will be pre-selected for them. Even better, an academic lab manager on the other side of the world can browse the list, find this pre-built list, and either use it unchanged or adapt it as a starting point of their own list.

There are text/CLI ways to do these things but it would be nice if it could be incorporated into the graphical install interface.

26
votes

-26
votes

-151
votes

53
votes

Solution #26: Gimp Light (a easy and not so messy Version of Gimp)

Written by account the 5 Dec 09 at 13:54.

The newest Gimp is a single-window-Application. The source is open. So I propose to take that source, delete all what is not really necessary and create by this way a simpler Version of Gimp. I call it Gimp-Light and I think it's a great idea. So peoples can accustoms the feel of Gimp, but without the messy feel of the normal Version of Gimp. If they needs more, they can install the regular Gimp. The Gimp-Light shouldn't have many functions - only basic ones for painting etc. This will reduce the weight of this application and can be shipped also in the CD-Version of Ubuntu without problems. A paint-application can stay also in the whole amount of the packages! What you think about my idea!?

-47
votes

-11
votes

Solution #28: Remove extra stuffs or compress less used with paq

Written by DrG the 7 Dec 09 at 08:36.

Remove some of the

Games totalling > 3.0 MB
Backgrounds 9.5 MB ( replace high detailed ones with less detailed ( ie. more compressible to the sqashfs ) ,but eye candy ones.
Themes 1.4 MB - ( remove some ugly ones )
Sounds 3.1 MB - these can be replaced by symbolic format sound ( which takes very little space )
Screen Savers

And such similar items
( choose only a few of these items by voting )
------
or
compress the less used one with paq8px
Example - in karmic , when Shoes.jpg was compressed with paq806 -6 the size was reduced to 802.3 kb from 1016 kb.
( lzma , which is used in the Karmic CD squashfs is not able to reduce the size )

For more informations on compression
http://www.maximumcompression.com/data/summary_sf.php

[...]

----

To make space for GIMP or GIMPShop

19
votes

38
votes

-6
votes

-27
votes

Solution #32: Develop www.phofiltre-lx.org an include in in Lucid Lynx

Written by walo the 12 Dec 09 at 16:56.

¿Haven't you used photofiltre fow windows?

This is one of the best free and useful image tools i have ever used.
Photo filtre LX (http://www.photofiltre-lx.org/) was created to have this simple but really useful aplication under GNU/Linux. I think this develop needs to be released as soon as posible in order to replace GIMP or to have other SIMPLE image manipulation program.

It's going to ve developed using C++ and imagemagic library

42
votes

-10
votes

9
votes

Solution #35: Use a more efficient compression algorithm

Written by dant1612 the 18 Dec 09 at 02:50.

use the xz utils package to compress the files instead, the author claims that it produces archives up to 30% smaller than gzip (although decompression speed would probably be sacrificed)

http://tukaani.org/xz/

(Its still in beta, but I've noticed quite a few GNU programs have started providing source packages in the .xz format)

5
votes

4
votes

Solution #37: Let the user compose their own CD from selectable components

Written by 10110111 the 7 Mar 10 at 13:08.

Make a program which would let the user select the needed packages (or use defaults like official Ubuntu compilation, Kubuntu, etc.), which then would be fetched from the repos and packed into a bootable CD/DVD image.
And leave the official CD as its maintainers want (including removal of some packages like GIMP).

Edit: hmm... it's sorta dup of #30...

See the 30 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 13 Dec 11 at 07:11) >>

Redesign the CD Boot Menu

Written by anzeige the 20 Nov 09 at 17:59. Related project: Live CD. Implemented

Redesign the Menu of the CD to something looking smoother and better for new Users

893
votes

189
votes

-27
votes

81
votes

Selected solution (#4): add backup options and system info to menu

Written by tommynz1975 the 5 Dec 09 at 05:46.

People we don't want to get to the stage of other OSs that require you to continuously get new hardware with every release.

But the biggest cry seems to be needing to backup your system before an install.

Have the backup, backup systems or files of your choosing including MBR and other things that made the system boot nicely before hand.

Have the backup and I guess restore utility know what to do with the backup.

System info might examine the system and give its two cents worth on how well Ubuntu will run on your system, it would also display and allow you to save the out put.

This could be useful before loading the live cd.

140
votes

66
votes

40
votes

-109
votes

Selected solution (#9): Try, Install (Clean), Install (Dirty), Upgrade, Test

Written by rrnwexec the 6 Dec 09 at 19:52.

This solution builds on #1.

There should be two additional options to cover the cases where:

1) Users are upgrading from a previous version of Ubuntu. (Upgrade)

2) Users want to contribute to solving Bug #1 "Microsoft has a majority market share"".
a) The "Clean" option: Install Ubuntu and remove Windows.
b) The "Dirty" option: Install Ubuntu and share the disk with Windows. Risk continued monopoly.

16
votes

Selected solution (#10): High resolution with more options

Written by DrG the 8 Dec 09 at 11:35.

( karmic )
At present the Graphic Boot Menu is handled by isolinux.
If you take the option for a live section , the splash screen appears .
It has got a high resolution . The files are situated inside initrd.lz
It can be changed to give all the options listed above , with more options ( animation ; may be sound and mouse ) . ( will be more comfortable than developing isolinux )

Disadvantage – It may take some 10 sec to reach the menu ( This can be solved by an optional entry in isolinx boot screen to go to the original one or adding an option to go to the the improved menu to the existing menu - making the improved menu optional)

110
votes

46
votes

73
votes

6
votes

Selected solution (#14): Add "Upgrade" entry to the boot menu of the Alternate CD

Written by Monika the 10 Apr 10 at 21:03.

It looks like for many users the "intuitive" way to try to upgrade with the Alternate CD is to boot from it and then they are confused because there is no "Upgrade" option in the start-up menu. So it would be good if it were possible - if this is technically easy - to upgrade by booting from the (Alternate) CD, too, or - if this is technically impossible or hard - to add a menu entry "Upgrade note" that, when selected, tells the user they should boot into their to-be-upgraded system and then put the CD into the tray again and which commands to use in case it is not detected as an upgrade volume automatically (like here http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/upgrading#Upgrading%20Using%20the%20Alternate%2 0CD/DVD ).

See the 28 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 1 Dec 11 at 00:08) >>

Wallpaper for Lucid Lynx

Written by obZen the 26 Jan 10 at 21:38. Global category: Others. Not an idea

The Wallpapers with the image of an animal was good idea

-26
votes

See the 3 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 19 Sep 11 at 09:49) >>

the Future nautilus

No information about this blueprint
Information is updated every 5 minutes.
Please wait till the next update.

Written by Shady3D the 30 Oct 09 at 18:53. Related project: Nautilus. Not an idea

nautilus sucks and something needs to be done, and now let me point to the key points that make it suck.

1. slow startup, comparing windows with nautilus explorer opens faster than nautilus
2. cluttered, too many buttons that hurts the eye and wasted space
3. library, a library feature can be very important in the near future as i will explain in the solution.
4. no eye-candy, the user should impressed by Ubuntu and the current nautilus don't accomplish that.
5. ease of use, by making mass renaming easy, opening as an administrator, set as background ...etc

926
votes

280
votes

-212
votes

Solution #3: Libraries Feature + Solution #22

Written by Shady3D the 30 Oct 09 at 19:15.

i think libraries exceed the idea that Microsoft done, its more powerful than that, so let me explain uses of library

Case (1): i use Dropbox for file sharing and ubuntuOne and Document are located under ~/Documents so what is the solution to make this? every one will say links links is good but at some point this becomes very bad, if you want to share some docs on UbuntuOne and the other on Dropbox also if you have some documents spread out on other places like external HDD it would be problematic to update links manually.

Case (2): better suited for the cloud, imagine if you could just open your Facebook or Picasa images from nautilus how this would be done, this should work the same way with the availability of the API (and there is a project dedicated for that called "DataPortability Project")

248
votes

214
votes

Solution #5: Eye-Candy by Grabbing Movie Posters and Album Cover

Written by Shady3D the 30 Oct 09 at 19:38.

this solution should be available but NOT enable by default, this can make Ubuntu looks very beautiful, by enabling this feature it will see if the folder is named Movies and then its grabs the poster, and if the folder is named Music it will change every folder with the album cover or if its a band it will be the band picture.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FJH0hYZmVtc/SsX9dlPsYiI/AAAAAAAADdg/lH-qnrRNjZU/s1600 /screenshot_030.png

249
votes

Solution #6: We should impress the users.

Written by azhar the 30 Oct 09 at 22:19.

Truth be told, for the majority of people, Linux distros is equal to CLI.
Now, we all know that's false... But, yet, the majority of people do think so...

You know, in my opinion.... I think when someone has a look at a Linux Distro(in that case Ubuntu), he should feel like he wants to embrace the free community at once. What I mean to say, is, that he should be soooo impressed by the background, the Toolbars' design, and the feel in general, that he wishes to go OpenSource almost instantly, and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, this discriminate view against Linux Distros should disappear immediately in his mind.

Now, how do we achieve this??
Its all about the UI.
We should have glassy, and glossy toolbars. And, it should be in very vibrant and lively, and cool colours. It shouldn't be some dull, dark black, or I don't know what colour. It should appeal to the user. It should feel fresh! :)

Moreover, the icons should be stylishly designed. Very beautifully designed. Very trendy, and cool. Again, something that appeals to the user. And not some 2-D clunky and dull-looking icons.

The time has come to show people that the open-communtiy has great resources and talents! Its time to show people that we have taste, not only for stability, or security, even though these are essential components of an OS, but that we also have exquisite taste when it comes to the UI.

[...]

From the moment the user log into his account, to the moment he logs out, he should feel he is in the best OS. He should be excited to explain to his other friends how cool and beautifully designed his OS is. Even the logon tone should be classy. In my opinion, of the best tones is the BOREALIS set.

Come'on guys! Lets show to teh world that the OpenSource community has some great talents!! And has exquisite taste!

60
votes

Solution #7: Add search button connected to console.

Written by Lachu the 31 Oct 09 at 08:26.

Add search button on top of Nautilus window. It will search in man for commands operates on files. The main problem is that man is not fully readable by computer, but text style in man pages are very semantically.

People needs similar thinks to Ubiquity Mozilla's project on file management. It would be great if I can input backup, select "cp -b " command and check all files in checkbox. In next step I can save some settings of this dialog, set name and put generated button on the panel. When this button is clicked similar dialog will been displayed, but option all files could be checked(if I decided that on dialog creating process).

Second cases: Mathew needs to backup files from current directory onto CD. He only input burn and he got option like brasero or CLI commands to burning files. He only select some cli command and drag files to burn or select all files checkbox.

385
votes

Solution #8: Ease of Use (Undo, Rename, Admin, Background)

Written by Shady3D the 31 Oct 09 at 12:42.

ease of use include having options available like "open as admin", "set as background", and the most important one "UNDO"

another important feature is Mass Renaming without using extra applications, and one of the ways to do that is by
1. selecting the files/folders
2. right-click to rename the first element
3. rename like you are renaming a regular file BUT include special characters like # for numbering, ex: # >> 0, 1, 2 but ## >> 00, 01, 02
4. click enter and nautilus will rename the other files

extra commands like converting to uppercase just type UPPERCASE and it will automatically convert them without renaming them, lowercase, switch between space to underscore, and all this cane be can be done the same way.

289
votes

Solution #9: Uniform icon size

Written by robinparriath the 1 Nov 09 at 14:25.

Uniform icon size would really improve the arrangement of icons on screen.

Say, you have 3 pdfs, 2 movies and 4 folders in a folder. The overall arrangement in Nautilus helps in identifying which is which, but at the cost of neatness.

I propose and upper limit for the icon size, that can be set through the options in shady3d's solution #2

77
votes

Solution #10: Integrating Gnome Do with Ubuntu

Written by foplat the 4 Nov 09 at 07:01.

I've read the solutions provided above and I also think that Nautilus's UI should be renewed, or creating a new way to browse through files and folders.

My solution includes solutions #1 and #6 but also this: how about also including Gnome Do (http://do.davebsd.com/) program along with the Ubuntu and #1 and #6? It is a powerful tool that provides easy access not only to files and folders but also to search results, microblogging, e-mail etc. It is inspired by Quicksilver from Macs. Here is a presentation video of the Quicksilver, since Gnome Do is very, very similar program. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8493378861634507068#

198
votes

Solution #11: Easier "paste into directory"

Written by Leopard2A5 the 5 Nov 09 at 07:23.

When i have files on the clipboard and i want to paste them into a folder that's too full (so that there's no unused space between the last file and the window border) i have to move one folder upwards and then right-click and click "paste into folder".

It's way more intuitive to just right-click anywhere in the target folder (as long as you don't right-click a contained folder) and hit "paste". (Windows does it that way).

I love linux, but i always thought this is a disadvantage compared to Windows.

-195
votes

Solution #12: Navigation more similar to the Windows explorer

Written by Leopard2A5 the 5 Nov 09 at 08:17.

I know, nautilus is not the windows explorer, but even this bit of software has some nice features, i'm referring to the feature in the "path-bar" in which you can change the directory of any element in the path with a drop-down list.

-76
votes

Solution #13: Specific "Explorer" features

Written by ElliottCB the 5 Nov 09 at 11:42.

There is a lot of functionality buried in Windows Explorer, in particular in the area of Shell Extensions. I happen to have done some development in this area and would be interested to know if it could be done (or has been done!) in Ubuntu. I might suggest the following specific features:

1) Allow the customisation of a specific directory and/or its sub-directories by the inclusion of a format file. Explorer does this with an HTM file. We might prefer XML. At any rate, it would be a flexible way to specify a background image, fonts, icons, buttons to start actions and so forth. Just put a file with a specified name (e.g. "customise.xml") in the directory with some tags saying what colours, fonts and so on should be applied.

2) An extension type to modify the context menu on a file or directory on-the-fly. For instance, you could modify the behaviour of text files globally or in a directory by adding an option to the context menu which invokes a library function to XML-transform it then open it in Firefox. Or whatever. "Owner-draw" context menus would enable you to actually put pictures or formatted text in the menu itself.

3) Extensions to modify the pop-up tips on a file type - again, globally or by directory. (Perhaps in "customise.xml"...) A picture file could have a picture pop-up, for instance, or a summary of the EXIF data.

4) A namespace extension to allow one to drill down into files the way one can browse ZIP files in Explorer.

[...]

5) A namespace extension to allow one to add a panel to the files view in which file content or properties can be shown

6) Drag-Drop handler extensions to allow modification of the way files behave when dropped one on the other. Photoshop "Droplets" might be a good model - you can drop a batch of pictures on a little file and the operations it defines will be applied to the picture.

And a non-Explorer suggestion:

x) A reg-ex enabled filter to hide/show or select/unselect heterogeneous selections of files.

Excuse me if I'm re-inventing an old Ubuntu wheel. These are my first hours here!

This is a lot of work, but I think the various elements could be cleanly decoupled. The role of the XML file in applying extensions locally or conditionally might need some thought.

1) Allow the customisation of a specific directory and/or its sub-directories by the inclusion of a format file. Explorer does this with an HTM file. We might prefer XML. At any rate, it would be a flexible way to specify a background image, fonts, icons, buttons to start actions and so forth. Just put a file with a specified name (e.g. "customise.xml") in the directory with some tags saying what colours, fonts and so on should be applied.

2) An extension type to modify the context menu on a file or directory on-the-fly. For instance, you could modify the behaviour of text files globally or in a directory by adding an option to the context menu which invokes a library function to XML-transform it then open it in Firefox. Or whatever. "Owner-draw" context menus would enable you to actually put pictures or formatted text in the menu itself.

3) Extensions to modify the pop-up tips on a file type - again, globally or by directory. (Perhaps in "customise.xml"...) A picture file could have a picture pop-up, for instance, or a summary of the EXIF data.

4) A namespace extension to allow one to drill down into files the way one can browse ZIP files in Explorer.

5) A namespace extension to allow one to add a panel to the files view in which file content or properties can be shown

6) Drag-Drop handler extensions to allow modification of the way files behave when dropped one on the other. Photoshop "Droplets" might be a good model - you can drop a batch of pictures on a little file and the operations it defines will be applied to the picture.

And a non-Explorer suggestion:

x) A reg-ex enabled filter to hide/show or select/unselect heterogeneous selections of files.

Excuse me if I'm re-inventing an old Ubuntu wheel. These are my first hours here!

This is a lot of work, but I think the various elements could be cleanly decoupled. The role of the XML file in applying extensions locally or conditionally might need some thought.

186
votes

Solution #14: Just sort out the bugs and issues

Written by nlao the 5 Nov 09 at 14:10.

Here is my tuppence worth of ideas, but I think fixing missing simple user enhancements and soem bugs would go a long way to making it better.

Here are a couple that really annoy me, I expect there are others.

Adding in features like "view as thumbnails" per folder would go a long way to helping make it better.

Icon placement on Desktop, this really really needs sorting. There is not a structured grid for icons, some end up close to others whilst others are miles away and dragging them around come to nothing they still end up looking like a jumble. Further to this is the placement of removable media icons. These really should not be over other icons on the desktop.

-39
votes

Solution #15: Single window

Written by biffen the 5 Nov 09 at 15:46.

Opening a directory from anywhere outside of nautilus should open it in a new tab in an existing nautilus window (if there is one, otherwise open a new one, of course).

Opening multiple windows should of course still be possible. (Think Firefox.)

This behaviour would of course be optional (but default?) by settings.

How this would work when there is already more than one window open, is an other question.

-329
votes

131
votes

271
votes

Solution #18: Improved address bar

Written by Mirek2 the 7 Nov 09 at 11:42.

The address bar has an enormous amount of potential, and while browsers are experimenting with ways to get the most use out of them as possible, file managers are lagging behind.
We could use the address bar for (just brainstorming):
1. Search (like Google Chrome's omnibar)
2. Getting to locations quickly (like in Firefox and Chrome: when you type "X11", for instance, a drop-down would suggest "/usr/bin/X11")
3. Terminal commands
4. Custom commands (for example, "Search web ", "E-mail ", or "New ")

58
votes

Solution #19: Solution 8 + a few more things

Written by Mirek2 the 7 Nov 09 at 12:12.

In addition to the mass rename in solution 8, there should be:
1. An unintrusive balloon showing the different special characters (# or %n for number, %m for month, 0d for day in two digits, %r(text to replace, text replaced with) for replace, etc.)
2. A more-clearly-explained dialog window (perhaps similar to Total Commander's, which has done a really good job with mass renaming)

89
votes

60
votes

Solution #21: A clipboard section in the sidebar

Written by Mirek2 the 7 Nov 09 at 13:06.

All the files cut or copied from any application would appear in this section. It could hold multiple files, so if I dragged an image in, then a document, then an image, it would hold all of these.
(Paste would apply to only the last one cut/copied.)
Use cases:
1) Instead of cut/move, the user can drag-and-drop a file into the section.
2) Instead of paste, the user can drag-and-drop a file from the section to paste it to a folder.
3) To create a text file: I can copy text from anywhere, have that appear in this sidebar, and drag it to the place to create a text file.
4) Instead of save: I can copy an image from Firefox, have that appear in this sidebar, and drag it to the place I want to have it.
Kind of a variation on the Clipboard/Shelf, but maybe doesn't have too many advantages to require an implementation. If someone wants to brainstorm more on this, they're welcome.
Perhaps a better thing would be a system-wide revision of the Clipboard.

36
votes

5
votes

75
votes

-46
votes

87
votes

Solution #26: Nautilus opens multiple windows of same directory

Written by sirish.gauni the 10 Nov 09 at 08:00.

When the user tries to open a directory which is already open, mautilus opens a new separate window for that directory. This causes too many windows being open and causes confusion to the user. Instead when the user tries to open a directory which is already open, Nautilus should highlight the already existing window of that directory instead of opening a new window. Add an option to nautilus so that the user can open multiple windows of the same directory if he/she wants to.

128
votes

Solution #27: Customize the Sidebar module-like

Written by Leopard2A5 the 11 Nov 09 at 13:19.

It'd be cool if you could have not only let's say "places" in your sidebar, but also let's say the "tree" view. The user should be able to put any combination of modules into his sidebar. Here's a mockup of how i think this could look:

59
votes

-41
votes

85
votes

Solution #30: Make Nautilus (>K) more object oriented...

Written by r0g the 13 Nov 09 at 12:50.

Nautilus is not object oriented, neither is GTK really and it shows.

The same objects are represented multiple times in the UI but their context menus are inconsistent e.g. your drives are represented in the left pane AND on the desktop (which nautilus maintains) but only one of the has "properties" on its context menu. The default policy seems to be properties must be deliberately made available by developers rather than everything is available by default and developers can make exclusions.

Sadly this problem extends to the rest of GTK. Which columns of metadata are displayed in open/save dialog boxes is down to the developer not the user. What options are available when you right click an item in an open/save dialog are decided by hundreds of app developers, who more often than not just go with the GTK defaults. This just bakes in inflexibility and prevents useful options trickling down like they do in Windows... I know this might sound a little obscure so here's an example...

Say I wanted to save a file "bananas.jpg" but I had already created a file called "bananas.jpg" earlier and rather than overwrite it I wanted to rename it "bananas.old" before saving the new copy as "bananas.jpg"...

In Windows I can rename the file there and then in the save box. In Gnome I'd have to fire up a copy of Nautilus, navigate to the exact same location, Rename the file and then close Nautilus.

[...]

[...]
This is VERY frustrating and I can think of many MANY similar cases. At the end of the day GTK should have far better default open/save dialogs which offer the same functionality as Nautilus, this leads naturally to the idea that GTK should make the standard open/save dialogs plugins so Nautilus or Thunar or whatever can take responsibility for them.

Nautilus should also be made more consistent. If you see an icon representing a disk you should, by default, have access to all it's properties. It ought to remain possible to exclude context items appearing but this should be the exception rather than the rule, the user is best placed to decide which properties are important.

As to the issue of UI clutter, that cannot justify such restrictions. If clutter is liable to become an issue (and I do see it on peoples Windows Explorer context menus) then developers should find a better solution to that... how about you can right click on any context leaf and set it to:
a) Never display ever again
b) Never display for this object
c) Never display for this object in this location

Surely that would be better than preventing people from displaying the "size" column in an open box should they want it.

Nautilus is not object oriented, neither is GTK really and it shows.

The same objects are represented multiple times in the UI but their context menus are inconsistent e.g. your drives are represented in the left pane AND on the desktop (which nautilus maintains) but only one of the has "properties" on its context menu. The default policy seems to be properties must be deliberately made available by developers rather than everything is available by default and developers can make exclusions.

Sadly this problem extends to the rest of GTK. Which columns of metadata are displayed in open/save dialog boxes is down to the developer not the user. What options are available when you right click an item in an open/save dialog are decided by hundreds of app developers, who more often than not just go with the GTK defaults. This just bakes in inflexibility and prevents useful options trickling down like they do in Windows... I know this might sound a little obscure so here's an example...

Say I wanted to save a file "bananas.jpg" but I had already created a file called "bananas.jpg" earlier and rather than overwrite it I wanted to rename it "bananas.old" before saving the new copy as "bananas.jpg"...

In Windows I can rename the file there and then in the save box. In Gnome I'd have to fire up a copy of Nautilus, navigate to the exact same location, Rename the file and then close Nautilus.

Nautilus should also be made more consistent. If you see an icon representing a disk you should, by default, have access to all it's properties. It ought to remain possible to exclude context items appearing but this should be the exception rather than the rule, the user is best placed to decide which properties are important.

As to the issue of UI clutter, that cannot justify such restrictions. If clutter is liable to become an issue (and I do see it on peoples Windows Explorer context menus) then developers should find a better solution to that... how about you can right click on any context leaf and set it to:
a) Never display ever again
b) Never display for this object
c) Never display for this object in this location

Surely that would be better than preventing people from displaying the "size" column in an open box should they want it.

-200
votes

114
votes

64
votes

-13
votes

-16
votes

52
votes

Solution #36: enable nautilus open terminal extension by default

Written by mahdif62 the 22 Nov 09 at 10:37.

The extension nautilus-open-terminal should be enabled by default and a n F4 keyboard shortcut should open a terminal in current directory (like KDE).
There should also be an option to attach the terminal to the window.
And also enable dual-pane nautilus. http://berndth.blogspot.com/2009/06/nautilus-split-view-update.html

19
votes

-3
votes

34
votes

62
votes

Solution #40: Improve nautilus file saerch!

Written by heru.htl the 24 Nov 09 at 10:04.

Nautilus should be able to find any word or something inside the file contents, but, such feature do not seem added yet!

The ability to find something inside a file is one of most of the administrator system needs. But it is not present yet with Nautilus (but it just present with Konqueror's and Dolphin's - Kfind, the question is "should someone install both GNOME with KDE just for it?" where he/she uses GNOME by default, perhaps this idea can make a simple choice -> just install GNOME (with of course Nautilus as the only file manager) and we have all we needs!).

46
votes

Solution #41: Ease of use: do clever things with"illegal character" / \ ...

Written by v1nce the 24 Nov 09 at 18:32.

If I create a new directory called "foo/fee/faa/fuu" then Nautilus should ask if I want to create a tree of dir.

If the name contains "\" then it should ask if I really want the \ char (does someone really use the \ in a file name ?) or if I want a tree

Plus it could ask to replace character the file system can't handle with their utf-8 equivalent

62
votes

33
votes

Solution #43: Simultaneous vs. consecutive file transfers, editing queue and pause

Written by nickpick the 26 Nov 09 at 12:41.

When copying two or more sets of files through Nautilus, there is no way to prioritise which group you want to have copied first. Currently Nautilus allows only for simultaneous transfers. It would be great to have an ability to speed up one operation by pausing another or setting it further back in the queue (thus letting it copy the files once the first operation is complete).

Currently the only workaround seems to be to first let Nautilus copy the first batch, then manually initiate the second operation and, once that is finished, the third.

This also applies for deletion and, when preformed on separate physical media, move operations.

35
votes

Solution #44: Add a "Open in Terminal" - Button

Written by Bilbo Beutlin the 26 Nov 09 at 15:56.

Adding a button /menu item to simply change to the terminal and open the folder opened in the nautilus there (like in the nautilus of Ubuntu 9.0) would increase the user-friendliness. Why is these button /menu item gone at all?

EDIT: In "Ubuntu Tweak", there's already an option to reactivate this Button. But make it standard!

2
votes

Solution #46: Open multi directories

Written by flipefr the 29 Nov 09 at 22:20.

I like the q-dir system in windows, is a very simple program to open 4 directories in a only window allowing you to move, copy, create directories and etc. maybe a button for activate this type of view and a combo to select the number of splits in a unique window: 2,4,6,8 a number higher could be crazy.

Here is an example of what i am saying

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/XSYU7zUh2NfN0x4M2IPPCQ?feat=directlink

http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/q-dir-interface-scre enshot.jpg

32
votes

Solution #47: IT"S DONE ALREADY ! LETS ADOPT IT !!

Written by futurenow123 the 5 Dec 09 at 12:57.

The simplified nautilus has been achieved by a guy called Marcus Carlson . Here are a Few Links !!:

http://www.webupd8.org/2009/07/install-simplified-nautilus-for-ubuntu.html

http://davidsiegel.org/nautilus-simplified/

just Adopt it into the next Nautilus update . No major release needed!!! Job Done !

AND ALSO FINALLY

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/01/nautilus-simple-install-ppa-streamlined.html

[...]

21
votes

-7
votes

Solution #49: no navigation buttons

Written by gcbzzzz the 21 Jan 10 at 14:05.

it's a list of files, with plenty of context menu on the icons.

no need to have a bunch of buttons.

also, back and forward? back is the same as click on the parent folder on the folder hierarchy button row! forward is the same as click the folde again in the file list...

i upvoted #47, this is similar but also removes the useles buttons.

3
votes

9
votes

3
votes

5
votes

4
votes

Solution #55: New Nautilus design - only one bar, remove some icons, visible searchbar...

Written by TadasN the 13 Mar 10 at 22:31.

There could be something like in this mockup: http://www.design-by-izo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/new-nautilus_mockup.png

The article which describes changes: http://www.design-by-izo.com/2010/02/27/deconstructing-nautilus-and-rebuilding- it-better/

Nautilus is a good application but let's make it better.

3
votes

Solution #56: Hot location bar

Written by hali the 26 Mar 10 at 22:43.

Every word between slashes in location bar (address bar) should be a link.

For example:
If you move mouse over "local" word in "/usr/local/bin" path. Word "local" should be underlined and change color to blue. If one click "local" - Nautilus should change path to "/usr/local".

Right click on word should open context menu, same as in button based location bar, with options like: "Open link in new tab".

No need for button based location bar. Back button and links will makes it obsolete.

44
votes

12
votes

Solution #58: Hide or remove File, Edit, View, atc. bar

Written by la_serpe the 9 Apr 10 at 12:16.

Think about it for a moment. How often do you use Help and About menu for instance? What about the Tabs menu? Isnt it easier to use mouse? Bookmarks and Go have basically the same function. Instead of File you can simply right click on the blank surface. This redundancy isn't only annoying, but it's also confusing. It would be better to add proper buttons to main toolbar and abandon the old style.

9
votes

Solution #59: Allow the user to "pin" tabs

Written by gazilla the 10 Apr 10 at 06:05.

Place a small "pin" icon next to the tab-close icon to allow any Nautilus tab to be pinned. Pinned tabs would stay pinned until they are explicitly unpinned, the tab is closed or Nautilus is closed. The effects would be...

1) The Back, Forward and Up buttons would be greyed while the pinned tab has focus, stopping the user from accidentally navigating away.
2) Nautilus would refuse to change the folder in the pinned tab in the event of the user clicking on any other location in Places or Tree while the pinned tab has focus.
3) Any attempt to do so would create a new tab for the desired folder. If the folder is already opened in another tab then focus is shifted to that tab.
4) If the tab shows a folder on a device that can be unmounted then pinning will cause the mount request to be refused (as if there was an open file).
5) maybe more (I'll keep thinking)

16
votes

Solution #60: Reconstruct Nautilus

Written by Daniel_le_Rouge the 1 May 10 at 22:44.

There is just too much unnecessary stuff in Nautilus and things are much too complicated. Why to I need to click "Search" before typing my request, when Mac's finder can do without any clicking. In exchange I get reload and abort buttons. It is not a browser!

The designer Izo proposed a reconstruction of Nautilus in his blog. There you will find further arguments against the current design.

A proposal:

5
votes

Solution #61: Tab while renaming moves to next file

Written by Bracket the 27 Aug 10 at 16:58.

When renaming a bunch of files, bulk renaming with wildcards and such can be great, but sometimes it's easier to do it by hand anyway. For example, renaming a bunch of images from a camera "DSC0001" through 0030 with thought out names, or using song titles instead of "Track 01.mp3"

Windows explorer lets you use the tab key to save the name of the file you were renaming, and moves to edit the next file in the list. It also uses shift-tab to move backward in the list.

2
votes

Solution #62: Nautilus should only show the relevant directories.

Written by Floris Laagwater the 28 Nov 10 at 14:31.

As a normal user I'm only interested in the contents of
my home-directory including personal configuration files
and the contents of removal devices such as usb sticks, memory sticks, external hard drives, cdroms, dvdees and other places, where I do store my personal files.
In nautilus I should see, what kind of files are supported by a certain application. This means something more than textfiles, for example .doc, .docx, .odt, .abw, .rtf, .txt etcetera.

3
votes

2
votes

Solution #64: nautilus tagging fork

Written by ostralopithicus the 4 Jan 11 at 04:50.

Tags is such an awesomely powerful concept. Having only the single and very limited tag of filetype, totally sucks egg.

I HATE that! I can never choose the single folder that I should save my files to and they always end up on my desktop for sorting . . .later.

What if we could do something like: filename.tag1.tag2.tag2.tag4.etc.filetype

file browser (nautilus fork), could be designed to:
1. hide the tags
2. store all tags in separate DB
3. drop-down autocomplete when entering tags or searching for existing files.
4. if POSIX compliance is a serious issue, the tags entered in can be stripped by filemanager - stored only in new separate DB.
5. filemanager dumps all files into a few categories (say the first listed tag is maybe the category?) so files no longer appear on my desktop!!!

I think OS's are becoming dated compared with internet tech like wordpress that does this sort of tagging already.

See the 33 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 21 Aug 11 at 12:16) >>

Ubuntu store/donate

Written by pererik87 the 15 Jan 10 at 16:16. Related project: ubuntu.com. New

If you want to donate to all the software on Ubuntu and the programs you have to make about 100 transactions each costing grand.

Currently running Ubuntu desktop is not profitable and with more money not only for ubuntu, but all open source, we can have more dedicated 24/7 developers assigned to Ubuntu, specific programs and applications.

Some of my suggestion is based on accessories for ubuntu store with symbolic value etc.

Is it anything else we can do?

12
votes

17
votes

Solution #2: Open source packs

Written by pererik87 the 15 Jan 10 at 16:19.

Open Source donate packs. Has a specified percent that goes to different opensource projects including Ubuntu, openoffice and all the others.

So you can donate to every Open Source in Ubuntu at once. If it gets many donations, it will make a extra motivation for people making (or that want to make) Open Source to ubuntu and it will also be easier to make money on Open source.

And if I want to donate to 20 different companies from my countrie. I don't have to pay the 10$ abroad fee 20 times. Lets say I want to donate 50$ without creating paypal(not popular in my country) account or fuzz that i don't want or need.

17
votes

33
votes

9
votes

1
votes

Solution #6: work with the Code Offsets project

Written by Immanuel the 20 Jan 10 at 00:17.

http://codeoffsets.com/ do exactly what is requested here (just in a little geeky way of giving you official permission to make coding mistakes ;))
So, basically, if Ubuntu could work together with them to maybe get them some more publicity/a broader target group and extend to other open source projects, that would be fantastic (no need to reinvent the wheel, esp. as doing stuff twice is basically just wasted money)

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Solution #12: ADs during Package Install process

Written by Otacon87 the 7 Feb 10 at 13:35.

When a new user installs a new application he will take the install process in background (or just stays there staring the progress bar).
My idea is really simple: add a new widget to the installation progress that shows ADs.

-> User can choose to show or not those ADs.
-> By default showing ADs is enabled.
-> Optionally this option can be shown during Ubuntu System install process.
-> If user clicks on an AD default browser will pop-up.
-> If user clicks on "Show shell output" the AD widget will be replaced by the shell output widget.

Maybe it can be a little ugly, but it will make canonical gain a lot of money (impressions or clicks) and will not annoy the user that much.

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Solution #13: Sell Ubuntu

Written by alms66 the 8 Feb 10 at 03:22.

Heresy I know, but hear me out on this one, it could work.

You box and package an Ubuntu disk. Each country would get it's own localized version of packaging. If necessary, in that country, you could also include a copy of legal codecs for dvd playback and whatnot - assuming Canonical would want to do that to not risk legal action. Hopefully, a lower than normal price can be negotiated for those though.

You would clearly state on the box that Ubuntu is free, can be downloaded for free and what you are paying for is the packaging (and additional goodies where needed) and distributing of the product. You would also clearly explain that the cost of this has been rounded up to the nearest $5 (for example in the US) or so, as a small "donation" to Ubuntu so that open source projects can be funded.

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Solution #16: Sell Ubuntu Stickers (good ones)

Written by readmanr the 10 Feb 10 at 23:02.

Canonical Store should sell good Ubuntu stickers, the packs available at the moment are all right, but not good.
See... http://shop.canonical.com/product_info.php?products_id=125

Ubuntu should sell the metallic bezel kind of stickers, kind of how the Intel inside stickers are. Some places have designed some that say "Designed for Ubuntu" with the ubuntu logo on a metallic sticker, they are good, but not everyone wants to lie about it, the computer was not designed for ubuntu, (but it may have been purchased with Ubuntu in mind).

See this "powered by ubuntu sticker"...
Powered by Ubuntu!

If canonical sold these at a cheap but profitable price they would sell like hot cakes!
All flavours should be available Ubuntu, Kubuntu etc...

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Solution #19: Software catalog Duh!

Written by ki4jgt the 16 Feb 10 at 09:04.

There has been talk around the internet, that Ubuntu is planning to incorperate a paid section into the software install program. I don't think this is such a bad idea. Especially since Ubuntu already hinges it's entire system on Open Source software.
I think Ubuntu should charge a small ($20) insertion fee for programers wanting to have their programs listed in this category.

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Solution #20: Bottom up! - make Ubuntu an NGO and start campaigning

Written by Blinky the 16 Feb 10 at 11:36.

Make Ubuntu a Non governmental organisation and start getting grants for it. Africa will need free systems/cheap systems to get connected so governments and aid organisations will be able to finance it - make it work for aid!!! Counties like Sweden will finance this. So with africa, half of south america, parts of Asia etc thats most of the world. China already runs linux via the government so it would great if the people also did - i.e. get in now and give it to 1/3 of the world's population.

place it in the hands of every third world child, team up with people that want to make cheap computers to the third world and in 20 years it will be the biggest thing!

The vast majority of the world lives in poverty so getting it to them cheap is how to get the majority of the world using it! Ubuntu is based on bottom up tactics - i.e. the users make it so why are we suggesting to distribute it top down (i.e. make it a business) - start with the people at the bottom. give it to an orphan, a war victim, a child that lives on under a dollar a day. Make a program/app that teams up with MIT open course (http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm) like the iBooks app (or think iTunes U) on the iPad and you will educate these poor and repressed people. What do these people need once they get a computer and make sure ubuntu can do this well.

Start looking at integrated solutions with hardware and hook the 3rd world up to the net with ubuntu. Make a tablet device that is cheap and runs ubuntu. We might not even need that everyone has the net. integrate wifi that swarms (one swarm: http://oneswarm.cs.washington.edu/index.html)... i.e. if i am near another ubuntu computer they connect and share data i.e. local torrent sharing. Great for africa!

[...]

... after all ubuntu's an african word!

Then to get the first world going start a website that is all about campaigning to get Ubuntu in every office and every government building. Think the My Barack Obama website and you will be well on the way. Love him or loath him he mobilised allot of people. Have a social networking site that allows people to send emails to friends, letters to politicians, ring people to campaign. Send sms etc, blog about the Ubuntu on all kinds of stuff... like the third world (see above) etc. Get organisations in each country and take membership fees. Membership fees will make a free system and support africa.

We don't need ads we need to start working the same way that ubuntu was created - from the bottom up. The goal of Ubuntu should be to connect the world. Start from the bottom - its the only way!

place it in the hands of every third world child, team up with people that want to make cheap computers to the third world and in 20 years it will be the biggest thing!

The vast majority of the world lives in poverty so getting it to them cheap is how to get the majority of the world using it! Ubuntu is based on bottom up tactics - i.e. the users make it so why are we suggesting to distribute it top down (i.e. make it a business) - start with the people at the bottom. give it to an orphan, a war victim, a child that lives on under a dollar a day. Make a program/app that teams up with MIT open course (http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm) like the iBooks app (or think iTunes U) on the iPad and you will educate these poor and repressed people. What do these people need once they get a computer and make sure ubuntu can do this well.

Start looking at integrated solutions with hardware and hook the 3rd world up to the net with ubuntu. Make a tablet device that is cheap and runs ubuntu. We might not even need that everyone has the net. integrate wifi that swarms (one swarm: http://oneswarm.cs.washington.edu/index.html)... i.e. if i am near another ubuntu computer they connect and share data i.e. local torrent sharing. Great for africa!

... after all ubuntu's an african word!

Then to get the first world going start a website that is all about campaigning to get Ubuntu in every office and every government building. Think the My Barack Obama website and you will be well on the way. Love him or loath him he mobilised allot of people. Have a social networking site that allows people to send emails to friends, letters to politicians, ring people to campaign. Send sms etc, blog about the Ubuntu on all kinds of stuff... like the third world (see above) etc. Get organisations in each country and take membership fees. Membership fees will make a free system and support africa.

We don't need ads we need to start working the same way that ubuntu was created  - from the bottom up. The goal of Ubuntu should be to connect the world. Start from the bottom - its the only way!

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Solution #21: Donations and Partnerships

Written by Chamillo the 17 Feb 10 at 01:19.

I think Ubuntu needs to focus on two areas:

Donations: I know that Ubuntu already takes donations, but it can do a better job of creating a greater awareness and urgency among users to make donations and how every dollar can make a significant difference in the future of Linux and open source.

Partnerships: Ubuntu should strongly pursue partnerships with computer manufacturers that would create a market of Ubuntu-optimized computers. Those manufacturers could benefit from creating a pool of loyal Linux users that would buy their computers and they in turn could share some of the revenue created by this new and emerging market.

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Solution #22: Sell it to the Government

Written by jcollierdavis the 17 Feb 10 at 20:46.

(forgive the US perspective here)
There's more than a few computers in the GOV inventory, at $150 to license Vista and Office for each, this really adds up to some significant money.

The USG spends lots of cash plugging holes and security issues for all these MS products. It also has to buy anti-virus for each.

Many large organizations also run SharePoint sites and have a building full of servers.

This adds up to a significant expense of taxpayer dollars.

It would be more effective to spend these dollars to hire Cannonical to build a GOV Spec Ubuntu. It would be significantly more secure than Windows, and even better, be under the control of the GOV which wouldn't be held hostage by MS.

This would also spur the market to take Open Source much more seriously. We'd effectively be starting another space-race. The rest of the market would explode with Open Source offerings, quality would increase, and the US (or what ever country pulls it off) would become a world leader in the field.

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Solution #23: Sell Manuals

Written by lecorian the 17 Feb 10 at 23:54.

Canonical could sell official documentation (computer manuals) for profit. This idea could be used in conjunction with idea number 2 (i.e. selling boxed versions of Ubuntu) and/or could be done separately. The Free Software Foundation and FLOSS Manuals currently have print versions of their manuals for purchase online. While Ubuntu has great online documentation, it is nice to have an official manual with all of the most frequent issues so that users can simply search in an index as opposed to searching through countless forums. Also, it would provided a way for users to troubleshoot problems if they cannot connect to the internet. It also provides a way for people to learn a lot about their system and have the ability to read from a page and not a screen.

If manuals were to be distributed in conjunction with Ubuntu boxed sets, it would make users feel much more secure about their purchase and the installation process.

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Solution #24: Sell DVD packs of software repos

Written by Afroman10496 the 19 Feb 10 at 03:31.

Make a section on the homepage saying:
_____________________________________

On the go?
Slow Internet? No Internet?
Low bandwidth?

Buy a 5-set DVD collection of all of the great programs in the universal Ubuntu software collection! This pack of free software lets you install software by just popping in the DVD, going to the package manager, and selecting the program you want without worrying about losing your Wi-Fi range or having a slow connection!
_____________________________________

Include two options for the DVD on the product page; one that includes ubuntu-restricted-extras and other naughty packages, and one that doesn't.

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Solution #25: Donations through Brainstorm

Written by cos the 19 Feb 10 at 10:39.

Allow users to pledge micropayments towards specific ideas on Brainstorm that they feel should be implemented.

For example, if I feel very strongly about idea A, I should be able to promise Canonical I'll pay them a token donation of something like £2 (fixed for all, perhaps) if they implement it. This will give Canonical an incentive to listen to what people tell them, and it will also be an additional revenue stream for the company.

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Solution #28: Improve partner program and tools

Written by brunogirin the 20 Feb 10 at 21:56.

Ubuntu already has a partner program [1]. This could be a great way to increase Ubuntu's reach, especially in enterprise environments where some support and consultancy revenue could be generated. The partner program could be improved to create a real partner community, where partner companies can interact with each other, help each other win business, exchange ideas, etc. At the moment, the bulk of partners are large companies that do work with a lot of people beside Ubuntu. The partner program could also be used to create a network of smaller companies that work with Ubuntu in their specific location and specialisation.

For more details on the subject, Alan Bell has an interesting article on his blog[2].

[1] http://www.ubuntu.com/partners
[2] http://www.theopensourcerer.com/2010/02/20/dear-matt-asay/

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Solution #32: Add optional ads to Ubuntu One

Written by Mirek2 the 14 Mar 10 at 13:07.

Don't worry: Ubuntu One would still be ad-free for all users by default.

Only there would be a customization option to show ads, as a way to support the Ubuntu project without having to spend any money and without having to enter credit card information.

Additionally, if possible, the ads could have certain features to make them more appealing to click, like user ratings and reviews. This would be a big win for both the user and the advertised company (if it sells good products): the user would know that the advertised product is a good buy and not a hoax and therefore would be much more likely to buy it than otherwise, which in turn would benefit the advertised company. The only loser in this situation would be a company that is a hoax, sells low quality products, or uses cruel methods of production (child labor, factory farms, ...). But Ubuntu shouldn't, by moral principles, want to point its customers in their direction anyway, right?

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Solution #33: Make ubuntu applications that allow me to make money for ubuntu (value added)

Written by Blinky the 25 Apr 10 at 11:26.

Most ideas for making money from ubuntu revolve around making money from the actual operating system, even with some form of advertising. In my opinion this is not what open source is about, in my opinion open source is about empowering people. Why not empower people to support and develop ubuntu.

What ubuntu should do is to help people make money for ubuntu from value added services. I have an example below:

Pretend that I am an artist and make stock pictures and films in my spare time. If Ubuntu makes a web application for the server edition where people can have a web site with films and videos that are downloadable once people donate a small fee to ubuntu - then ubuntu can make money from my hobbies even though I can't program.

An other idea can be to make an application that turns my internet connection into a wireless hotspot where people can donate a small fee and then use my internet connection.

There are lots of things from hosting websites on my ubuntu server edition to selling services such as design, website templates etc. This idea has the benefit of allowing people that have little or no knowledge of programming to still help make money and support/advance ubuntu.

Make the tools that empower people to help! What tools do we need???

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Solution #34: Software center

Written by pererik87 the 5 May 10 at 16:35.

I know Ubuntu is all about gnu gpl or lgpl, but not everyone only believes in gnu. There should be the "Gnu" section we have now

and a "non-free" section with skype and chrome and all the other "evil" free options and as well

a "commerical/patented" section where you can buy products from anywhere, not only Canonical. Like the games from here http://www.linuxlinks.com/article/20080530054213402/CommercialGames.html and so on.

Bigger companies will make more money on Linux and make programs/games for Linux as well as MAC and Winblows.

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Solution #36: Kinda like Superman 3...but legal

Written by caws p0b1 the 12 Jul 10 at 11:44.

Perhaps create a highly specialized distribution specifically for point of sale environments (pubs, restaurants, convenience stores, etc.) that features a suite of applications to make it enticing to owners (open office, employee scheduling software, accounting programs, etc. etc.) and offer it for free. Of course, a default screen saver could be used to promote Ubuntu as well (gawd knows how many hours I've spent staring at a point of sale terminal from across the bar ;)). Where the money would be made is through credit/debit card transactions. The Ubuntu brand, I think, has built a reputation for integrity and enough clout within the business community where they could approach banks, merchant account companies, etc. and offer to partner with them. Instead of paying a flat monthly fee, business owners who use the distro could pay per transaction, a fraction of which would go back to help fund Ubuntu and other projects. By partnering with different banks/companies in different countries, I imagine that a little bit here and there would quickly add up. I'm not a business person, and I have no idea if this is feasible, but I like it a lot more than charging micro transactions to users from within applications :)

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See the 1 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 12 Aug 11 at 10:39) >>

Use BURG instead of a GRUB

Written by tommis the 7 Jan 10 at 02:02. Global category: Look and Feel. New

BURG is a brand new project wich is basicully GRUB but much cooler. BURG stand for "Brand-new Universal loader from GRUB". OMG! UBUNTU! has good article about BURG: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/01/make-grub-themes-beautiful-look-nicer.html

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See the 19 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 2 Aug 11 at 09:11) >>

Gimp is slower than other photo editing software

Written by ubby the 3 Jun 09 at 10:34. Related project: GIMP Image Editor. Not an idea

In the Dutch C'T magazine from January they test a couple of applications including Gimp.
In the test Gimp is slow and not the right program for fast Photo editing.

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Solution #4: Port Paint.NET to mono

Written by benpicco the 17 Jun 09 at 01:28.

Paint.NET (http://www.getpaint.net ) is a open source (MIT license) image manipulating program written in C#. It's more easy to use than gimp as it only provides commonly used features in an intuitive way. It's something you would use if you quickly want to improve/modify an image without getting into how to use gimp.
There is already an attempt to port it to mono (http://code.google.com/p/paint-mono/), but it's still pretty slow and broken. I also don't think the idea of having it forked is that good, as it misses new versions that bring bugfixes and new features.

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Solution #10: Gimp should have more features and be intuitive

Written by SpaZZ the 6 Dec 09 at 21:37.

I've used different graphics softwares (including Photoshop) since the advent of computers and by far, I've found Paintshop Pro to be the best and easiest to use. I can even absorb plugins from other graphics softwars with it and save in 40 more file formats like Targa (which is used in television)

If GIMP was more like PSP and just as intuitive, it would be amazing. I'm finding GIMP to be frustrating in that features, such as a simple feature like rendering colour photographs to black and white, are missing or cannot be found easily (if they are there at all). They aren't where one would expect it to be. I was definitely expecting something better than what they have. Can this be improved?

See the 37 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 7 Jul 11 at 18:09) >>

Need a CD/DVD burner that has no bugs and just works

Written by miwaypet the 3 May 09 at 03:22. Related project: K3b. Not an idea

Brasero is too buggy. Has a track record of not working well with different CD/DVD burners. Throws too many errors. Rejects good disks.

K3b is too heavy. Would mean porting all the big KDE libs. Not feasible.

I am submitting my idea as a remedy for the above situation.

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Solution #7: K3b and Brasero together as one.

Written by cracken226 the 14 May 09 at 16:40.

Install both versions of these burning programs into main distro for user compatibility with Gnome and Kde base file, while Gnome stays as default environment. So Kde base files would be an advantage, as these files are in advanced repositories, or Kubuntu distro installation media in case you do not have a Ubuntu Gnome based dvd installation media.

Please, vote. Thank You for making Ubuntu better.

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Solution #8: Perform some competitor analysis

Written by srippon the 18 May 09 at 09:15.

Competitor analysis ( http://deyalexander.com.au/resources/uxd/competitive-analysis.html ) could be performed to help improve the user experience (UX) of Brasero.

Competitor analysis would show what the other popular CD/DVD burning applications available are, what features they offer, how these features are offered, etc.

Another form of competitor analysis is to incorporate usability testing ( http://www.usability.gov/refine/learnusa.html | http://deyalexander.com.au/resources/uxd/usability-testing.html ). In doing this you get real users to perform real CD/DVD burning tasks using competitors software. This shows what works well and what doesn't work so well in their software. These findings can be incorporated into new designs for Brasero.

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Solution #9: Perform some usability testing on Brasero

Written by srippon the 18 May 09 at 09:22.

Usability testing ( http://www.usability.gov/refine/learnusa.html | http://deyalexander.com.au/resources/uxd/usability-testing.html ) could be performed to help improve the user experience (UX) of Brasero.

Through usability testing you observe real users performing real CD/DVD burning tasks using Brasero. Usability testing helps highlight what users are finding easy and what parts of the design they are struggling with.

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Solution #11: Write in vala an awesome brasero replacement

Written by francois the 5 Oct 09 at 13:03.

Brasero is a good program only when it does not crash and has indeed a good interface, but there are too many bugs and we're losing hope for those to be fixed one day.
Vala is an awesome language that allows to write programs quickly (such as mono) but without the inconvenients of mono (lack of performance and .NET)
An awesome brasero-killer application could be written in vala, a CD/DVD burner that fits the description of the idea.

See the 5 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 7 Jul 11 at 04:57) >>

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