Ubuntu 16.04 – Online searches in the dash to be off by default

http://www.whizzy.org/2015/12/online-searches-in-the-dash-to-be-off-by-default/

by reddotX • 11 years ago

114 47 11 years ago

Theodores• 11 years ago

I have been using Ubuntu since before Unity (when this 'dash' thing arrived) and I don't think I have ever used the dash.

If I need to find a file or something on the internets I am more likely to think 'I must use Gopher for this!!!' than I am ever to think of using 'Ubuntu dash'. It is one of those helpful creations like the F1 key that is a great idea in theory but not used in practice.

In some way they have managed 'brand awareness' with the dash debacle, inevitably it was always going to fall by the wayside though. Command line tools like 'find' and 'grep' are always going to be vastly superior to these WysiWyg contraptions.

mhall1192• 11 years ago

'find' and 'grep' don't work on your Google Drive docs though

vezzy-fnord• 11 years ago

They do if you export it through a synthetic file system interface.

marssaxman• 11 years ago

Sounds like yet another reason to use real files instead of giving all your data to Google (and thereby the NSA).

pmontra• 11 years ago

I have a backup laptop which spends almost all of its time in a closet. It's got Ubuntu 15.04 and the default stuff, dash included, because I didn't want to spend time to customize it.

I use the dash it as I use Alt-F2 on my main laptop (a gnome flashback install): I type the first characters of the program to run and that's it. I do it maybe once or twice per day, usually the few desktop applications I need are open all the time, included a fair number of terminals. It didn't seem to be particularly good at finding files but maybe it needs time to scan the disk and I gave it very little of it (time). locate seems to work better and it's more convenient as it can be grepped and parsed.

tombrossman• 11 years ago

Give the recoll package (and Unity scope) a try and your opinion might change. I use this all the time and it's pretty amazing to just type a string of text into the dash and see whichever document contains that text string appear in my search results. If I already have a terminal window open I'll do grep -R "text-string" /dir/ or if not I hit the super key and type the text string for recoll, both are equally fast.

feintruled• 11 years ago

Not before time! I would occasionally use it in the Windows style "start typing the app name" use case and it was annoying enough that it seemed to prioritize the online searches making you wait for a couple of seconds before it showed the local results, but it would also often bring up weird matches for adult content too!

Fuxy• 11 years ago

I switched to linux mint a while back and i have to say I'm very satisfied of how stable and easy to use it is.

It's basically Ubuntu LTS without all the buggy slow crap like unity.

Afforess• 11 years ago

Call me crazy, but I really like Unity. Back on windows, I always kept by taskbar on the left side anyway, and I prefer the dash search to anything else I've seen.

davidw2• 11 years ago

When I read "reinstall to upgrade" I decided Mint wasn't for me.

I use Xubuntu and it's pretty good - Ubuntu without the dumbed-down Unity stuff.

plusquamperfekt• 11 years ago

You just have to install Gnome Desktop and everything is fine.

emsy• 11 years ago

Except the GUI of all the programs. I still can't use some dialogues in Eclipse because panels are cut off and buttons are outside of the not-resizable window. This stuff happens way too often in Gnome.

webkike• 11 years ago

Yes, I hate this too. On my desktop, primarily Fedora, I often open applications by pressing hyper and then typing the partial name of the program and then pressing "enter". This takes way too long on windows, and doesn't always work. Why would I the start menu to search? I have a web browser always open anyway!

creeble• 11 years ago

Yay! I often wondered if anyone used all those janky Canonical features they keep trying to stuff into Ubuntu.

I guess it's hard to not try and become like MSFT, even if most of your customers use your product because it's NOT from MSFT...

kunai• 11 years ago

At this point in time, even MSFT is really trying hard to not be MSFT.

rpgmaker• 11 years ago

They might as well remove it altogether...

Btw, when it's Canonical going to announce that they will stop developing Ubuntu Phone? The writing has been in the wall for months and with Mozilla's recent announcement I believe it's just a matter of time. I think the vast majority of the mobile OS market has just moved on and is pretty ok with the two most popular OS options.

I kind of feel sorry for Ubuntu[1] and Linux[2] in general, they never had a firm foot in the desktop (market share-wise) and then this tectonic shift happens where everything goes mobile, a market where they aren't even a player, and to add insult to injury people stop caring enough about the desktop to even consider changing their OS to Linux in the first place.

1. I say this as a long time Linux user.

2. I know android is a modified version of Linux but here I use it as it has been traditionally understood in the desktop space.

popey2• 11 years ago

I've seen a few comments over the last few days speculating about us halting development on Ubuntu phone. Nothing could be further from the truth. The software development continues apace, and more devices and more ports to existing devices on the way next year.

eip• 11 years ago

Good to hear. Waiting for a useable version on a good phone in the US. Preferably a OnePlus.

mhall1192• 11 years ago

Why would having fewer competitors make someone want to drop out of the race?

quadrangle3• 11 years ago

Android isn't a modified Linux, it just uses the very same Linux kernel as any other OS that uses Linux. Android is otherwise this userspace thing where other Linux-based systems have X11 and such with Qt and gtk and other things.

Although not perfect, this really shows the value in the name "GNU/Linux" for the desktop distros and such vs "Android/Linux"

Anyway, Ubuntu phone may not make it (seems unlikely), but it has more of a shot given the death of Firefox OS, not less. Ubuntu phone now has less competition in the alternative-mobile space.

eropple5• 11 years ago

this really shows the value in the name "GNU/Linux" for the desktop distros and such vs "Android/Linux"

I don't really agree. For desktop users, the DE matters a lot more than who made `cp`. For server users, the distro matters more because of the particular weirdness of each.

xyzzy_plugh• 11 years ago

This is not correct. Android has 150+ patches to Linux last I checked. It is not insignificant. There is not a good collection of patches to simply apply to a kernel of your choice either. Additionally, there are often many modifications made per-device or company (E.g. Samsung) or hardware configuration.

Finally, many of those patches are unlikely to make it upstream anytime soon, as they are usually controversial.

Please don't spread these falsehoods.

DataWorker• 11 years ago

Disagree that people are 'pretty ok' with the two options.

Ubuntu phone was a glimmer of hope for me, a very faint glimmer, but it was something.

I remember people saying the compact disc was dead. History makes fools of many.

ake1• 11 years ago

the compact disk is not dead?

nerdy• 11 years ago

Stallman wins again!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP8CNp-vksc

mverwijs• 11 years ago

Meanwhile, Apple 'innovated' a very similar feature earlier this year in iOS9:

http://iphone.appleinsider.com/articles/15/06/16/apples-siri...

Ubuntu 16.04 – Online searches in the dash to be off by default

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