Contributor moose
New users tell that Ubuntu is slow (live sessions)
Written by zwyber the 8 Mar 09 at 19:55.
Related project: Live CD .
Won't implement
I tell my friends and family about Ubuntu and most of them come back telling me that Ubuntu makes their PC run very slow. They didn't know that you had to install Ubuntu to get the true speed.
I think that many people may encounter this problem, because when you run a live session it really just looks like it is installed. Because of the speed these users don't want to use Ubuntu and tell everyone they know that it is very slow.
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Solution #2:
Live CD Cloud
Use a Live CD "Cloud" if the computer is connected to the Internet to help increase speed. That way you have two sources of incoming data, the CD, and the Web.
Use a Live CD "Cloud" if the computer is connected to the Internet to help increase speed. That way you have two sources of incoming data, the CD, and the Web.
-431
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22
23
453
Solution #3:
Use multiple CD Drives if possible
Some computers have more than one CD drive. Make it possible to use for example two disk drives each with an ubuntu CD. This could (as far as I know) double the speed, depending on the drive speeds.
Some computers have more than one CD drive. Make it possible to use for example two disk drives each with an ubuntu CD. This could (as far as I know) double the speed, depending on the drive speeds.
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Solution #4:
(Pre)cache executables on CD agressively
Written by
Cé the 13 Mar 09 at 12:24.
Cache the executable files on the CD very agressively.
Cache the data files a lot less.
If there's a lot of RAM, precache executable files, if possible all of them.
This will make the use of the CD (or a slow HD) a lot faster.
Cache the executable files on the CD very agressively.
Cache the data files a lot less.
If there's a lot of RAM, precache executable files, if possible all of them.
This will make the use of the CD (or a slow HD) a lot faster.
446
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467
16
21
Solution #5:
Grub option to load into memory
Some live CDs (like puppy for instance) have the option to load the OS into memory.
Provided there is enough RAM (2GB?) Allow users the option to load the OS into memory and to continue to boot from there.
Some live CDs (like puppy for instance) have the option to load the OS into memory.
Provided there is enough RAM (2GB?) Allow users the option to load the OS into memory and to continue to boot from there.
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Solution #6:
Don't run Compiz in LiveCD
Maybe integrate a checkbox to turn it on with Solution #1 above.
Maybe integrate a checkbox to turn it on with Solution #1 above.
259
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277
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Solution #7:
Notify During OS Boot
Written by
Basem the 22 Mar 09 at 08:54.
While booting the OS, add a line that says "Enjoy ubuntu in full speed by installing it"
While booting the OS, add a line that says "Enjoy ubuntu in full speed by installing it"
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Solution #8:
As #1, keep notification visible
Written by
euxneks the 26 Mar 09 at 19:01.
I like the idea of letting them know that they are using a LiveCD on the desktop - we should also have interaction with it so that a user can get an idea of what a LiveCD is and why it's slower than the real system.
Once they close this, allow them the ability to open it again.
I like the idea of letting them know that they are using a LiveCD on the desktop - we should also have interaction with it so that a user can get an idea of what a LiveCD is and why it's slower than the real system.
Once they close this, allow them the ability to open it again.
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Solution #9:
Most users don't need all programs in live session
Written by
ahsaeed the 29 Mar 09 at 16:11.
When I use Ubuntu in live session i don't wont to play games for example .. and some users do..
So..
i recommend to add another option to the boot menu as an advanced option..
"select programs to load during live sessions " .
When I use Ubuntu in live session i don't wont to play games for example .. and some users do..
So..
i recommend to add another option to the boot menu as an advanced option..
"select programs to load during live sessions <to speedup the session>" .
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27
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74
Solution #10:
Insert USB to improve performance
Everyone might not have 2 GB of RAM but everyone has a USB drive. Live sessions booted from CDs can be cached onto USB storage for improved performance.
Everyone might not have 2 GB of RAM but everyone has a USB drive. Live sessions booted from CDs can be cached onto USB storage for improved performance.
173
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232
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Solution #11:
Promote bootable USB
Bootable USB images should be promoted rather than live CDs. Bootable USB drives can be prepared using software such as the one showed on
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromUSBStick . Alternatively, the software that runs on Windows when an Ubuntu live CD is inserted should include such a functionality.
Bootable USB images should be promoted rather than live CDs. Bootable USB drives can be prepared using software such as the one showed on https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromUSBStick . Alternatively, the software that runs on Windows when an Ubuntu live CD is inserted should include such a functionality.
-58
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10
9
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Solution #12:
fast live session
Written by
Dorje the 2 Apr 09 at 22:10.
like solution #9 add an option to deselect unnecessary programmes and also give the percentage increase each unselection generates .
like for eg.
deselecting games =increase in speed 10%
and so on
PS:i don't know much about programmes so i dont know how much speed gain every (possible)deselection will generate
like solution #9 add an option to deselect unnecessary programmes and also give the percentage increase each unselection generates .
like for eg.
deselecting games =increase in speed 10%
and so on
PS:i don't know much about programmes so i dont know how much speed gain every (possible)deselection will generate
47
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53
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6
Solution #13:
Use UnionFS to our advantage
Written by
deriamis the 4 Apr 09 at 18:40.
Since the majority of load times is in late-linking the libraries, why not have the often-used libraries in a ramdisk and use UnionFS to overlay those files on a path? In combination with pre-caching (#4), this could be a significant speed boost. If we combine it with using a LiveUSB distro (#11), we could be on par with the performance of the computer itself.
Since the majority of load times is in late-linking the libraries, why not have the often-used libraries in a ramdisk and use UnionFS to overlay those files on a path? In combination with pre-caching (#4), this could be a significant speed boost. If we combine it with using a LiveUSB distro (#11), we could be on par with the performance of the computer itself.
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48
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5
Solution #14:
Add an option to create a live-usb from the autorun menu of the cd
Add an option for creating a live-usb to the autorun menu that pops up when mounting or inserting the cd/iso. Many people will use daemon-tool or similar to mount the cd in Windows, and if they see an option to create a live-usb from the popup menu, that would be a way of making it easier for everyone to do so.
Add an option for creating a live-usb to the autorun menu that pops up when mounting or inserting the cd/iso. Many people will use daemon-tool or similar to mount the cd in Windows, and if they see an option to create a live-usb from the popup menu, that would be a way of making it easier for everyone to do so.
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Solution #15:
Offer a tool for creating a live-usb in occasion with the download link
The title is self-descriptive. This would be another way of making it easier for people to find out about the possibility of creating a live-usb.
The title is self-descriptive. This would be another way of making it easier for people to find out about the possibility of creating a live-usb.
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Solution #16:
Instead of notification write it in the background.
Written by
ll the 6 Apr 09 at 03:52.
A modified background that includes a warning can be used instead of a notification. Many computers at universities that are meant for multiple users use the background to communicate a special procedure especially in libraries for catalogue searches. This will decrease confusion and not use as many resources as a notification (I assume).
A modified background that includes a warning can be used instead of a notification. Many computers at universities that are meant for multiple users use the background to communicate a special procedure especially in libraries for catalogue searches. This will decrease confusion and not use as many resources as a notification (I assume).
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Solution #17:
Install Ubuntu natively from within Windows
Make it possible to install a native Ubuntu installation from within Windows to another partition than the one running Windows from or to an USB-memory key, making it easier to install Ubuntu without having to boot into live mode.
Make it possible to install a native Ubuntu installation from within Windows to another partition than the one running Windows from or to an USB-memory key, making it easier to install Ubuntu without having to boot into live mode.
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11
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Solution #18:
Calc & disp speed-up performance on log-out based on sys's characteristics
When running the live session I would guess the memory, processor, hard disk read/write speed (maybe not this one), etc. system hardware & performance are evaluated.
As well, when running a program (game, OpenOffice, etc.) the CD read/write & load time could stored. Thus, when the user ends the live session, in the log-out window list some statistics: "These are the 5 programs you used the most:
From the live CD it took X-amount of real-time to load, but based on your system's hardware, if this were installed, we would expect it would X% faster."
When running the live session I would guess the memory, processor, hard disk read/write speed (maybe not this one), etc. system hardware & performance are evaluated.
As well, when running a program (game, OpenOffice, etc.) the CD read/write & load time could stored. Thus, when the user ends the live session, in the log-out window list some statistics: "These are the 5 programs you used the most:
From the live CD it took X-amount of real-time to load, but based on your system's hardware, if this were installed, we would expect it would X% faster."
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Solution #19:
disabeling unnecessary services for the live-cd
Written by
moose the 14 Apr 09 at 08:08.
So the live-cd shouldn't start services which are not neccessary for testing ubuntu (as some people use the live-cd as a secure system, services like cups are neccessary):
# anachron, atd, cron: I never used a live-cd longer than six hours - why should I create a cronjob?
# acpid, acpi-support, apmd, powernowd, powernowd.early: If I use the live-cd, I want to test if my hardware works and if the software fits my expections, not if the sleep option works.
So the live-cd shouldn't start services which are not neccessary for testing ubuntu (as some people use the live-cd as a secure system, services like cups are neccessary):
# anachron, atd, cron: I never used a live-cd longer than six hours - why should I create a cronjob?
# acpid, acpi-support, apmd, powernowd, powernowd.early: If I use the live-cd, I want to test if my hardware works and if the software fits my expections, not if the sleep option works.
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Solution #20:
Solution #1 but sooner
Written by
Ssdg the 29 Apr 09 at 11:25.
My idea would be to tell it on the first screen (the one that offers you to test, install, etc...).
Like:
Try ubuntu without
Install on your hard drive for better performances
...
not by demoting the live CD mode, but by promoting the installation.
I'm not in advertisement, but ubuntu will look much better.
My idea would be to tell it on the first screen (the one that offers you to test, install, etc...).
Like:
Try ubuntu without
Install on your hard drive for better performances
...
not by demoting the live CD mode, but by promoting the installation.
I'm not in advertisement, but ubuntu will look much better.
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Solution #21:
Make user choose when downloading Ubuntu
Written by
chareos the 6 May 09 at 14:08.
Make the Ubuntu download to be an EXE file which lets user choose to create a LiveCD (with performance warning here) OR a LiveUSB.
Also, a performance warning on LiveCD boot itself would be great !
Make the Ubuntu download to be an EXE file which lets user choose to create a LiveCD (with performance warning here) OR a LiveUSB.
Also, a performance warning on LiveCD boot itself would be great !
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Solution #22:
Load LiveCD into temporary file
For systems with 1 GiB RAM or less, where solution #5 can't be applied, load the content of the CD in a virtual file system which could be located in a file on the computer's harddisk, i.e. create file on a existing ntfs-partition, an unpartitioned space or even use the m$-windows-swapspace.
For systems with 1 GiB RAM or less, where solution #5 can't be applied, load the content of the CD in a virtual file system which could be located in a file on the computer's harddisk, i.e. create file on a existing ntfs-partition, an unpartitioned space or even use the m$-windows-swapspace.
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Solution #23:
Put a note into the loading screen
Written by
Kver the 16 May 09 at 20:51.
When a live cd shows the loading bar, there's plenty of time for a message such as "Loading and running content from this DVD will result in slow performance, and changes or customizations will not be saved."
When a live cd shows the loading bar, there's plenty of time for a message such as "Loading and running content from this DVD will result in slow performance, and changes or customizations will not be saved."
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Solution #24:
Use the new notification system
Firstly, I think that many of the solutions above are solving the wrong problem. People that try out Ubuntu may think that it is installed by just inserting the CD. The user may have no idea that they are using a LiveCD. After they discover that Ubuntu is "slow", they give up and reboot back into Windows. Notifying the user that they haven't installed Ubuntu yet would be the best way to solve this problem.
Utilize the new notification system. Have it simply display a message when the desktop has finished loading similar to:
Ubuntu is not installed yet! Feel free to use Ubuntu before installing it, but beware that it may be a little slow. If you like what you see click the install icon on your desktop!
Firstly, I think that many of the solutions above are solving the wrong problem. People that try out Ubuntu may think that it is installed by just inserting the CD. The user may have no idea that they are using a LiveCD. After they discover that Ubuntu is "slow", they give up and reboot back into Windows. Notifying the user that they haven't installed Ubuntu yet would be the best way to solve this problem.
Utilize the new notification system. Have it simply display a message when the desktop has finished loading similar to:
Ubuntu is not installed yet! Feel free to use Ubuntu before installing it, but beware that it may be a little slow. If you like what you see click the install icon on your desktop!
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Solution #25:
Show notification when system is waiting for CD drive
Live session from USB/flash memory should be pretty okay even today but the real problem is accessing files from optical drive. Even there, the problem is latency, usually not the bandwidth.
The live session should run a small background service that displays a notification message when system is waiting for CD drive to access required data. The message could be along the line "Reading data from CD (installing on the hard drive would improve performance)" [however, the label should not claim to be reading CD if one is booting from e.g. usb memory stick]. The notification should be displayed if read command has waited in disk scheduler queue for more than a second.
This could be extended to deal with installed system, too. It would make sense to point out bottlenecks in the system to the user. If the system feels slow and a notification pops up that says "Waiting for disks (installing a fast SSD drive would improve performance)" would give a reasonable hint to the user which hardware upgrade would help the most. This could be even further extended and a similar notification should pop up if all CPU cores have been taken for more than 5 seconds ("Waiting for processor (upgrading the processor would improve performance)").
Live session from USB/flash memory should be pretty okay even today but the real problem is accessing files from optical drive. Even there, the problem is latency, usually not the bandwidth.
The live session should run a small background service that displays a notification message when system is waiting for CD drive to access required data. The message could be along the line "Reading data from CD (installing on the hard drive would improve performance)" [however, the label should not claim to be reading CD if one is booting from e.g. usb memory stick]. The notification should be displayed if read command has waited in disk scheduler queue for more than a second.
This could be extended to deal with installed system, too. It would make sense to point out bottlenecks in the system to the user. If the system feels slow and a notification pops up that says "Waiting for disks (installing a fast SSD drive would improve performance)" would give a reasonable hint to the user which hardware upgrade would help the most. This could be even further extended and a similar notification should pop up if all CPU cores have been taken for more than 5 seconds ("Waiting for processor (upgrading the processor would improve performance)").
Searching with Nautilus
Written by moose the 30 Jun 09 at 17:25.
Related project: Nautilus .
Not an idea
Today I searched some files on my external hdd with ~ 300 GB of data. This took quite some time. After the results came, I wanted to view one folder. So I opened this folder and wanted to go back to the searchresults after I looked in this folder. The problem was that nautilus began again to search for the files again.
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Solution #1:
save searchresults
Written by
moose the 30 Jun 09 at 17:25.
If Nautilus would save the searchresults some time (e.g. one hour or until the pc is shutting down; but how long it saves the results isn't important for this idea), Nautilus would not have to search again. So it would be faster.
If Nautilus would save the searchresults some time (e.g. one hour or until the pc is shutting down; but how long it saves the results isn't important for this idea), Nautilus would not have to search again. So it would be faster.
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Solution #2:
"search for files" in nautilus
You know that app in the places menu, that is a really fast searching tool, and for some reason nautilus is much less effective than it, so the functionality of that app (the speed) could simply be added to nautilus.
You know that app in the places menu, that is a really fast searching tool, and for some reason nautilus is much less effective than it, so the functionality of that app (the speed) could simply be added to nautilus.
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Solution #3:
Provide a great desktop search engine per default
Written by
xfuser4 the 2 Jul 09 at 09:28.
We need a good integration of a desktop search engine into GNOME. The current situation is, that we have different search engines, that are all not very well-integrated. E.g. it would be nice, when searching a term with tracker inside a PDF file, that the search term got automatically higlighted in evince.
Also the performance and memory usage of the desktop search enignes are quite bad.
- Beagle provides fast access and gives good search results, but uses lots of memory
- Tracker doesn't provide good search results (e.g. it is not possible to search for partial terms), is not very fast. The only good thing is, that it uses less memory
Both search engines are working too much on the disk. The problem is, that the inotify framework of the kernel is not the right thing for search engines. It needs to discover all files before observing them - instead of providing a listener to all file accesses...
We need a good integration of a desktop search engine into GNOME. The current situation is, that we have different search engines, that are all not very well-integrated. E.g. it would be nice, when searching a term with tracker inside a PDF file, that the search term got automatically higlighted in evince.
Also the performance and memory usage of the desktop search enignes are quite bad.
- Beagle provides fast access and gives good search results, but uses lots of memory
- Tracker doesn't provide good search results (e.g. it is not possible to search for partial terms), is not very fast. The only good thing is, that it uses less memory
Both search engines are working too much on the disk. The problem is, that the inotify framework of the kernel is not the right thing for search engines. It needs to discover all files before observing them - instead of providing a listener to all file accesses...
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Solution #4:
don't search all over again after changing view
also after switching view (for example list view) after searching some file, it starts to search for the exact same file and the exact same results all over again: this is a really annoying and a true waste of time
also after switching view (for example list view) after searching some file, it starts to search for the exact same file and the exact same results all over again: this is a really annoying and a true waste of time
Improve gedit find function
Written by kevgillan the 4 Apr 08 at 10:12.
Global category: Others.
Not an idea
The search and incremental search functions in gedit are a bit clumsy to use because a) doesn't always scroll to view appropriate place, b) doesn't positively tell you if a term is not found, c) requires another window which gets in the way of the document.
Can all these be improved? A quick find inspired by firefox would do the trick.
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Solution #1:
Auto-generated solution of idea #6380
Ubuntu Brainstorm was updated in January 2009. Since the
idea #6380 was submitted before this update, its rationale and solution are not separated. Please vote accordingly, and if you have the necessary rights, please separate the rationale from the solution. Thanks!
<i>Ubuntu Brainstorm was updated in January 2009. Since the idea #6380 was submitted before this update, its rationale and solution are not separated. Please vote accordingly, and if you have the necessary rights, please separate the rationale from the solution.</i><br /> Thanks!
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2
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0
Solution #2:
Adopt ideas from Chrome (the Browser)
Written by
moose the 29 Aug 11 at 14:42.
I have added a screen shot which explains it much better than words:
http://www.martin-thoma.de/ubuntu/chrome-search.png
* Use the scroll bar: Add a little colored bar for each place where the searched word was found
* Highlight all occurences of the searched word, but the current one in a slightly different color
* Indicate how often the word occured
* choose the position of the search window in a way, that it's not over the search result
I have added a screen shot which explains it much better than words:
http://www.martin-thoma.de/ubuntu/chrome-search.png
* Use the scroll bar: Add a little colored bar for each place where the searched word was found
* Highlight all occurences of the searched word, but the current one in a slightly different color
* Indicate how often the word occured
* choose the position of the search window in a way, that it's not over the search result
improve firefox context menu
Written by moose the 2 Oct 09 at 17:35.
Related project: Firefox .
Not an idea
I don't need most of the items on the context menu and I guess most users don't need them. They bother me, because sometimes I click by accident on them:
* Save as bookmark (with FF 3.0 you have this nice star in the url bar and under "bookmarks" you can also save them)
* Send Link
* Copy Image URL
* Send Image
* Use as background image (you can easily do this in gnome)
* back / forward (you have icons)
* reload (F5 + icon)
* stopp (ESC + icon)
To check weather most other users behave the same way I made a proposal for a mozilla test pilot test:
http://labs.mozilla.com/testpilot/
Volume on start is too high
Written by moose the 10 Oct 09 at 05:10.
Global category: Look and Feel.
New
If I watch a movie I set the volume very high. Sometimes I forget to set the volume back to a normal value before shutting down. When I start the computer again, the starting sound is much too loud.
Solution #1:
Set volume to default value on shutdown
Written by
moose the 10 Oct 09 at 05:10.
If the volume would be set to a default value on shutdown, I hadn't this problem. This default value should be editable, of course
If the volume would be set to a default value on shutdown, I hadn't this problem. This default value should be editable, of course
Solution #2:
Make the starting sound independent of the sound volume
Written by
mabynke the 10 Jun 11 at 21:12.
It should be possible to set the volume of the starting sound independently of the normal sound volume. Then, it would not be too loud or low, no matter what you set the volume to the day before. There would of course have to be an option to make it use the normal sound volume, should anyone want that.
It should be possible to set the volume of the starting sound independently of the normal sound volume. Then, it would not be too loud or low, no matter what you set the volume to the day before. There would of course have to be an option to make it use the normal sound volume, should anyone want that.
OpenOffice - Import HTML with CSS
Written by moose the 15 Nov 08 at 23:10.
Related project: OpenOffice.org Word Processor .
New
The last few days I wanted to create PDF-Files of my website. So I copied the Website (ctrl + c) and pasted it (ctrl + v) in OpenOffice. Well, the text and the picture were imported but not something like borders, background-colors, colors in general ... it would be nice if OpenOffice would copy also the information which is stored in the CSS-File.
localized search engine plugins for firefox
Written by moose the 5 May 09 at 17:47.
Related project: Firefox .
New
I am german, so if I install Ubuntu I install the german version. Almost everything is translated, but not the search engine plugin in firefox (upper right corner). For most of those search engines (Ebay, Wikipedia, Amazon) exists a german version that I have to add with
http://mycroft.mozdev.org/ or by going on this website.
Alignment of Formulas
Written by moose the 18 May 09 at 13:00.
Related project: OpenOffice.org Formula .
Not an idea
If you use OpenOffices Formula-Feature, you can choose three alignments: left, centered, right. But if you chose left, not only the text ist aligned left but also the numerator of fractions ist aligned left.
This is a little example. If you use longer equations it looks even worse:
aligned to left
centered
To many websites in Firefox history
Written by moose the 5 May 09 at 17:59.
Related project: Firefox .
New
I vist / search a lots of websites in the internet. As Firfox developed the new "Awesomebar" I've been very happy because it was easier to find sites I've already visited. But the more sites I visit (and search in google) the less useful is the awesomebar and deleting something from the history is quite time consuming
Ask for Root permission
Written by moose the 20 Apr 09 at 12:10.
Related project: Nautilus .
Already implemented
There are some programs / files that need root access to use them. Sometimes there is only an alert that you don't have the rights to execute / delete / save this program / file.