Re: [tlug] Ubuntu Breezy and Knoppix 4

[Neil Bortnak <nbortnak@example.com>]

On Tue, 2005-10-18 at 11:16 +0900, Joseph Essertier wrote:
> Has anyone tried Ubuntu Breezy or Knoppix 4?   I have been experimenting
> with both of them during the last week and i'm really impressed with
> them.  (This is a beginner speaking, keep in mind).  The main problem i
> have had with SuSE--possibly because i did not install it
> right--Japanese input, seems to have been solved in both distributions. 
> The Japanese version of Breezy (the "unofficial" Japanese version) uses
> Anthy, like SuSE, but it works better than the Anthy i have in SuSE
> 9.3.  I mean, the one in SuSE is decent; gets the job done.  But it's
> like using the Mac version of Atok that came out like 7 years ago.  This
> Anthy on Breezy, on the other hand, remembers what you have typed
> before, and it seems to guess the right kanji more often the first time,
> so you don't have to keep clicking the space bar over and over. 
> (Another problem--at least on my computer--with SuSE's Anthy is that
> when the correct kanji does not come up the first time, and a list of
> possibilities appear with numbers next to them, selecting the number
> doesn't work.  For example, you want selection number 3, so you push
> "3."  But instead it gives you selection number 5.  I was like, "What's
> going on here?"  the first time this happened to me, but i just gave up,
> and resorted to hitting the space bar over and over, or just hitting it
> more frequently, so that Anthy only had to guess one word instead of a
> whole phrase).
> 
> Anthy on Breezy can usually guess the whole phrase correctly the first
> time, selecting numbers works, and if it doesn't get it right the first
> time, it will the second time.  On the Sony Vaio laptop, on which i used
> the live CD, it did freeze a few times in OpenOffice.  Well, it either
> freezed or just took an incredibly long time to switch from kana to
> kanji, more than a minute.  I'm hoping that's because it's running off a
> CD instead of a hard drive.  Within Firefox, on the other hand, no
> problems at all--much much faster. 
> 
> But Knoppix is even better.  You get 3 or 4 different Japanese input
> options, including Wnn (i think version 8) and another i saw for the
> first time, not Anthy or Canna, which was wonderful.  It guesses words
> and pretty long, set phrases from the get-go.  Often it guesses right
> after only 2 or 3 letters and you just hit the return button.  Much
> easier on your fingers and probably a little faster.
> 
> The selection of software on Knoppix is really awesome, all ready to be
> experimented with any time, and in general programs seem to start up
> much faster than in Ubuntu.  I mean, it's wonderful what the Ubuntu
> programmers are doing i think, and i appreciate the fact that it runs
> well on Mac machines too, but as a live CD, the Knoppix DVD is really
> valuable. 
> 
> Sound worked with Ubuntu on my Mac G4 laptop, but not on the Vaio.  But
> sound did not work with Knoppix on the Vaio either, so...
> 
> Screen does not come out right with Knoppix on my Vaio, but does on
> Ubuntu.  Mouse works great with both of them.
> 
> The Japanese version of Knoppix i got from the Nov. issue of Japanese
> Linux World.  Well worth the 1,500 yen.  The explanation of how to use
> it in the magazine was quite readable and useful too.
> 
> Joe
> 

Hi Joseph,

One thing regarding SuSE: The new version seems to have done things
correctly as far as the multi-lingual desktop is concerned.

All languages have the input method enabled, so you can type in CJK from
any locale. During setup it allows you to select the main system
language and all the supplemental languages you want on the system (a la
Fedora Core). I still had to select gdm overt kdm manually, but other
than that it worked just exactly as I thought it should (I live/work in
a highly multi-cultural environment with some 12 languages, so I'm happy
it was so easy).

As for the specifics of scim/anthy in SuSE 10, it does remember the last
kanji you typed in and the number input also works so they seem to have
corrected the issues you alluded to in your message.

In general, I'd have to say I'm very happy with Ubuntu and Knoppix as
well. In fact I just installed Ubuntu 5.10 for a friend and it works
wonderfully. It's a noticeable step up from 5.04. I just wish the
Kubuntu desktop didn't have such horribly gimpy default settings. Still,
the newbie question of "How do I install flash player" and such are
still problematic. It's be nice if it were "just there", but I
understand why it's not.

FWIW, they all need to make some use out of Con Kolivas' patchset. It
works incredibly well for desktop interactivity. When I'm busy I tend to
have insane amounts of disk work going on which tends to bring systems
(windows or linux) to their knees. With Con's patch, no matter what
insane load I give my system to do, the desktop always reacts as though
the machine is idle.

It was disheartening to see Ubuntu start to stutter and freeze a bit
during the kubuntu-desktop package install. Hopefully the distros will
start including some of that technology soon (other than Gentoo) so I
don't have to do it myself.

Neil

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