I've installed Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, down I'll write a list of problems/hurdles that I came across and how I overcome them, if I was able to overcome, this might be useful for someone or just something to read. A lot of internet browsing and reading were necessary, most of the problem I have already had been solved, but some solutions don't suit me.
Media players wouldn't replay subtitles after rewind. Tried quite a few and eventually found Gnome MPV, but it lack a lot of features like saving playlist automatically. But it as the move stuff in playlist with the mouse that a lot of other doesn't. Using Gnome MPV for now but probably will use VirtualBox running MPC, has all the features that I like.
The VirtualBox solution isn't working so good, after playing a file (of more or less 25 min) it starts to get some noise and losing sound for a few seconds.
The scaling problem. I find letters and icons size on too little so I tried to make bigger the icons I solved with the default System settings tool, the letters/font didn’t. Tried a few of tweak tools but wasn't able to get a satisfactory result, found a way of getting around this but didn't try since it required a lot of terminal stuff, I'm a GUI guy. Terminal is last resort.
Didn't like to have the dash (launcher) on the left side and always showing. Solved with the Unity Tweak Tool, had to install it, found this while was trying to solve scaling. Moved it down and added hide after 3 seconds.
The mouse pointer were moving erratically. Solved this using the default System Settings and, in the mouse option moved the mouse pointer speed all to the slow side.
My mouse has four extra keys that don't work, trying to find a solution for this, run in to Molten Gamepad but it needs a lot of terminal work so I'll pass for now.
Tried to change the mouse cursor, but since that to install a new cursor theme requires some terminal work I'll pass for now.
Tried to Install Drop Down Terminal. Wasn't able so installed Guake Terminal that does the same thing.
Did't know where were my installed programs. Instaled ClassicMenu Indicator. Now I have a list of all programs, and discovered that the programs executable files are in (computer) "usr/bin", they are the diamond shaped files.
I will edit this to add some more stuff, I have something else to do now. I decide that it's better to add new stuff creating a reply to this topic so that i don't make people that read this have to read it all again to find what's new.
A bit about myself I'm a grown man, 30 plus years old, with a computer knowledge a little higher than the common user, not from a English speaking country. Not the first time using Linux, mostly used Ubuntu. I've decided to change to Linux because windows 10 was acting like Linux used to, getting corrupted and making me reinstall every second month, probably because of the block spying program that I used (SpibotAntiBeacon), my conspiracy theory is that since they couldn’t spy me as much as they wanted they made it broken so that with a fresh install I wouldn’t install the block program.
Which mouse is it btw? Also about that I would suggest Roccat mice and keyboards that have actual Linux support that a developer made with the support of Roccat.
You won't be saying that in a year from now if you're still on it. Honestly, I was the exact same when I started with Linux but the terminal is an extremely powerful tool.
Unfortunately this is an ongoing issue that relates to the lack of support from the GPU manufacturers. See if proprietary drivers work.
If you don't like Unity too much, look at Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu MATE or Ubuntu GNOME. While changing Desktop Environments (the GUI) is possible to do, I would generally advise against it if an already rolled distro with the desired DE integrated exists.
See if you can use keyboard shortcuts with those four extra keys.
I hope some of this helps. If you have any questions, feel free to add them and I'll do my best.
I have a Nplay V2 mouse, it like the Rapoo V2 wired mouse, but the drivers, for windows, aren't compatible. I won't buy a new mouse, for now, but thanks for the suggestion.
Tried VLC but it also loses the subtitles after rewind.
I'll probably ending using the terminal a lot, but it bothers me to type thing that I don't know the meaning, when I'm trying to solve a problem, I don't have the time to research about what every word mean.
I probably should have installed Ubuntu Gnome, but now I have this Ubuntu Unity working almost fine. Should I really install Gnome? Will it work better for me? I'll go research a bit about it.
Ubuntu's Unity interface was one of the things I finally got so fed up with, I moved to Linux Mint to solve. I like Cinnamon far better and it solves many of the complaints you listed above without having to install anything else. If you don't want to re-install your entire OS, you could just install a new desktop environment on Ubuntu.
One thing I found, there are many long standing bugs in many programs. One of the unfortunate side effects of dealing with open source software where unpaid developers work on these tools in their spare time. If you complain too loudly in some communities, you'll just be told to fix it yourself...
I wish there was a better way, like a bounty program where the community could put money in a pool for some enterprising developer to fix bugs that people want fixed who lack the skills to do it themselves.
Strangely enough, I had no issues rewinding with VLC. Perhaps try updating the system with sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo raises the level of privileges that you have and allows you to make any decisions (enter a command) that only the administrator of a system would have.
apt-get is the name of the package managing software.
update is a parameter (category of instructions) given to apt-get that will update the list of software packages (apps), that includes their location on the internet and info about the package.
upgrade, well, that's kind of self-explanatory.
Note: I'm not trying to belittle you, I'm appealing to you not knowing what the commands mean.
Perhaps use Linux on the side for now and keep it as a hobby until you feel more comfortable with it or have more time to play around with Linux. Most of those who know Linux to the point of using it for production did exactly what you're reluctant to do. There are a TON of sources that you could use to teach yourself but that's the most important point: you'll have to teach yourself, or pay money to get someone to teach it to you.
If you're comfortable with reinstallation, or can deal with the minor headache of switching interfaces, by all means, go ahead. I've found GNOME to be more configurable than Unity myself, especially since I can't change the goddamn side my close, minimize and maximize buttons are on in Unity.
Yes, I'm quoting it again, but I'd like to point you towards the Linux Foundation Edx Course. It will take you from the very basics all the way to advanced shell scripting.
What's wrong with using Linux as a Desktop OS? I've been using Linux for years now and I'm perfectly satisfied. Yeah, there are issues here and there but as long as you've got a healthy sense of curiosity, one can manage easily, even if they see Linux with a steep learning curve.
Kubuntu will solve some of the interface troubles you seem to be having, and moving away from *buntus entirely will help alleviate yet more of these problems.
For the cursor theme just move your downloaded theme folder to your /home/.icons folder and select the theme from gnome-tweak-tool, wether you use gnome or not. No need to fiddle with the terminal.
Quite the opposite, since about 2009, Linux has been thoroughly more hardware compatible and far less prone to hardware incompatibility problems than Windows or OSX. The whole hardware compatibility thingy was kinda valid a long time ago when Linux was still on kernel 2.x, but it's not been valid for years. A known problem is though that consumers have a tendency to buy hardware that is just not compatible with anything, because of very poor hardware quality assurance (read: Chinese backalley stuff that marketing went to town on), or because large corporations have decided that such product is only to be used on software consoles (i.e. you bought a "gaming" product), and have limited hardware compatibility to spyware drivers or a paid subscription service of some kind.
I've used Linux as desktop OS exclusively since 1996. I've had a lot less downtime than any commercial closed source software console user I know, and I've never had to buy new hardware because of induced incompatibilities or because of discontinuation of commercial software solutions. I've never suffered any prejudice because of poor security and software quality of commercial closed source software consoles, and I've never missed out on anything important, quite on the contrary, I've gained quite a lot by not being subjected to numbing diversion.
Microsoft has been treating people like cattle since forever, what makes you think that when they treat employees like cattle, they would treat their customers better? Microsoft right now hires a lot of people... that means one thing only: that Microsoft is using the argument of hiring people to get subsidies to buy prime real estate with... that's why they "have to hire in India because they can't find skilled people in the West" (read: because they can get those cheaper)... when the real estate is paid by the corrupt government that gives Microsoft subsidies, they just fire everyone and realize hefty added value on the real estate. That has been one of the pillars of Microsoft's international business strategy for years now... they don't care about software, they only care about how they can shake or squeeze everyone and everything for money. What part of a free/libre software universe that is way more diverse and extensive than any commercial closed source software console crap, and that is not just a way to shake you for money and make you a dumb ignorant conditioned consumer, is not to like in your desktop computing experience? I'd say it's a clear win if you want to actually used that hardware for what it's made, for what it can do for you. To phrase it differently: why would you buy expensive hardware to make Microsoft richer and not take advantage of it yourself?
Everyone i know that used Roccat stuff on Linux was pretty satisfied. I also ordered a Kova mouse for me but has not arrived yet. When i have it i can see for myself if support is good as everyone claims. Also Roccat, for gaming merch, has ok pricing.
Roccat is a serious company, not a large corporation, but a relatively sympathetic smallish outfit that is really passionate about gaming and giving the customers what they want. They are based in Hamburg, Germany. Class compliance on their products is just another standard to fulfil, they have a pretty good track record so far. The additional control software is not available for Linux though, it's just a class compliant device or pretty good build quality for a reasonable but still premium price. Logitech, based in Switzerland, are a big corporation, but still have a very good track record in terms of class compliance. They also have good quality, also do not provide additional control software for Linux (not that one would want or need that lol), and are priced a bit higher, but still acceptable for the quality. There have been some build quality issues with some of their recent offerings though. I like the round shape of the traditional Logitech mice, they are my personal favorite, because mice are primarily a matter of personal preference in ergonomics. Zowie, originally based in Denmark, provided good quality peripherals for fair prices, and also had a good track record in terms of class compliance, with the added feature that all of their gear was configurable on the hardware itself, needing no additional control software to access all of the features. In 2015, Zowie was bought by BenQ, and gradually, the former quality and standards have been changing, so the old linux gamer fan favorite is probably not the best choice going forward any more.
Chinese generic mice: sub 10 USD mice from generic Chinese manufacturers often have the very same features as premium mice, and they simply do not count on additional software features, they are controlled like Zowie mice, through the hardware interface. Build quality might be a little lower, but not by much any more compared to bigger brands, For the moment, I would recommend cheap Chinese class compliant mice branded and marketed by a small company in your country, so that you have full warranty services. I personally have been satisfied with some Ultron GameOne mice I bought, which are generic chinese mice imported and marketed by a small- to midsized German retailer as a sort of house brand. Those are about 8 EUR incl. taxes a piece. Even if they only last half as long as a Logitech mouse, I could still buy 5 for the price of 1... A lot of retailers do a similar thing and also rebrand decent quality chinese mice, and one thing is for sure: even the most expensive hardware can break, it's always better to pay less and get local support for anything, even if it's just a mouse...
Yeah there are other projects like that for Logitech too, Roccat and Logitech are the only two manufacturers that I know of that have actually provided hardware documentation to open source developers in order to make stuff like that, which is very commendable. Logitech is large enough though to actually actively take part in development of open source software themselves, but they don't any more, and they have been slacking quite a bit lately with all kinds of stuff. There are still projects in development for Logitech products from their golden era, like the G11/G15.1G. Roccat is not large enough to really actively invest in open source development of such solutions, the cost of clearing the necessary right for them would actually be too high in comparison to independent community based projects, so providing hardware reversed engineering info is pretty much all they can do. It would however not surprise me if they would become actively involved in development of open source software for some of their more innovative products that have been released lately, although those are still forbiddingly expensive in my opinion for what they are.