Some random wishes
And my 2 pennies of wishes are...
1. FRAMEBUFFER SUPPORT
In 2003 I downloaded MEPIS-2003-10 and it had a very nice 1024x768 framebuffer support (vga=791). I really liked the clean crisp colored fonts and the penguin logo on top.
However, SimplyMEPIS-2004.6 does not support framebuffers any more, to the extent that placing "vga=791" in the GRUB menu caused the installation to hang with blinking LEDs on the keyboard.
Sure, it is possible to boot with ugly monochrome fonts and without Tux, but maybe it is possible to have them back?
2. Launch "KMIX" FROM "K" menu
Default volume settings for sound utilities are enormously high - during first boot the sound is just deafening! However, the volume control applet "kmix" is not started by default, neither in root nor in user accounts. Even more, it is absent in "K" menu among the programs that can be launched by user.
What is even more disheartening, the "File" menu of the applet does not have the item "Save volume settings as new default", which it used to have in previous versions of "Kmix".
Attempt to launch "kmix" from user account just fails. The message is "Device /dev/dsp is unaccessible - permission denied. Kmix will use /dev/dev0 as output" - which means total silence! (See next wish).
3. Permissions on SOUND device /dev/dsp
Sound device cannot be opened by users! Actually there is provision for 8 sound devices, from /dev/dsp0 to /dev/dsp7. They are all created by root and have "rw" permissions for root and for his group.
However, when a user account is created, it is absolutely uncertain that this user will ever be a member of root group. As it happens by default, users are all members of "100" group, so as such they are DENIED access to the sound device.
One of 2 things need to be done in the distro. Either /dev/dsp* must be accessible to all users, or users must be offered a chance to become members of the root group.
4. How to TEST SOUND?
Sound configuration applet in "KControl" does not have the "TestSound" button any more (it used to have this button in the 2003-10 distro). I could not find any substitute.
I could write about this "Sound configuration" for a couple of pages, but here suffice it to say that such an ugly piece of software could be designed only by sadists, who have fun when innocent users feel themselves like dumb stupid idiots. BTW, there are no means for volume control in the applet and you CANNOT start the "kmix"volume controller from there.
5. Keyboard layout files must be present in /etc/X11/xkb/symbols/pc/
I had a hell of a time trying to teach MEPIS to write Russian. My favorite layout file "ru_yawerty" was present in /etc/X11/xkb/symbols/, but was absent in .../pc/ subdirectory. It is beyond me, why this exact subdirectory is used as default for the layout files, but until I copied there the "ru_yawerty" file, my system was defying all my efforts to start editing a Russian text document.
Same problem can happen with other layouts, if they are present in /etc/X11/xkb/symbols/, but are absent in .../pc/ subdirectory.
But please, don't hold me for a grumpy old pessimist, this post is only an attempt to make this fine distro still better - really incomparable!
Best wishes, Warren and team!
BNK
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If you see "LION" written on a cage, and there is a donkey inside, don't believe your eyes!
