7 ms·

Xfce bug: “default desktop screen causes damage to monitor”

188 points by felipebueno 10y ago

kawsper 10y ago
The bugtracker seems to be taking a nap, omgubuntu have a summary of the "bug" here: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/03/xfce-wallpaper-cat-bug http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/03/xfce-wallpaper-cat-bug
- alexwebb2 10y ago
  Found an auto-archive screenshot here: https://archive.li/s5HMf https://archive.li/s5HMf
- Kristine1975 10y ago
  >The bugtracker seems to be taking a nap Sounds like it's a cat. No wonder the bug won't be fixed then.
  - idownvotecrap 10y ago
    downvoted
PleaseHelpMe 10y ago
I suggest the patch here: http://imgur.com/5s2hM0p http://imgur.com/5s2hM0p
- dnel 10y ago
  In my house, that would likely result in graphical distortion due to slobber
noir_lord 10y ago
Can't reproduce on modern hardware (4 Year Old Black Female Cat, 4 Year Old Black Male Cat). status:Wont Fix
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- Kristine1975 10y ago
  >Black Female Cat >Black Male Cat >Black Username checks out.
  - idownvotecrap 10y ago
    downvoted
  - jameskegel 10y ago
    This is not Reddit. We don't zoom text, and we don't "check out" usernames.
    - throwaway382822 10y ago
      Careful, women are a protected species on HN. Quickest way to get your acct banned is offending one. amirite dang ?
    - 5ourpu55 10y ago
      Wow, you are so enlightened, and your comment contributed so much. Thank you for protecting us from the barbarian reddit hordes
Maskawanian 10y ago
Just change the background? I don't think XFCE should change because cats are attacking monitors.
- synrst 10y ago
  Really? Don't you think they have a responsibility to all thier cat owning users? It must be close to 100%!
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
pleasecalllater 10y ago
I think those cats need some upgrade. If they are not compatible with XFCE that's rather not XFCE's fault.
- Kristine1975 10y ago
  What's easier to change? Even a single cat or XFCE?
dexen 10y ago
Archived, as the bugzilla seems to be overloaded right now: http://archive.is/s5HMf http://archive.is/s5HMf
ishitatsuyuki 10y ago
Heh, it's not April yet ;)
terrywang 10y ago
Long story short: the so-called bug -> monitor damage is not caused by code but cat - obviously NOT `/usr/bin/cat` ;-)
- dnel 10y ago
  even if it was, all is forgiven /usr/bin/cat is too cute to be angry with
  - idownvotecrap 10y ago
    downvote get out of here reddit
Qantourisc 10y ago
Soon it will get a new licence: we are not responsible for cat damage.
- Kristine1975 10y ago
  And then ship a malicious /usr/bin/cat.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
secult 10y ago
Hacker News clearly knows how to DDoS websites.
- NuDinNou 10y ago
  And reddit. It was a top post recently https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/60rzjn/my_cat_was_fooled_by_xfce/ https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/60rzjn/my_cat_was_fo...
- WhiteSource1 10y ago
  Haha. Site's back up. Maybe all tech sites need a DDoS protection service not to protect against malicious attacks but rather hitting the 1st page of Hacker News and Reddit.
gargravarr 10y ago
Slashdot effect on the Xfce bugtracker...
- jasonkostempski 10y ago
  No one is viewing it due to irrelevance?
gargravarr 10y ago
Slashdot effect on the Xfce bugtracker...
kwhitefoot 10y ago
April 1st early this year?
davidddavidson 10y ago
Try Ratpoison (http://www.nongnu.org/ratpoison/ http://www.nongnu.org/ratpoison/) to get rid of the mice.
woliveirajr 10y ago
I remember my early days of computers (not as old as some folks here, I know) when there was an intense debate on whether a software could cause damage to some hardware. I remember programing a small .asm that would move the head of a floppy to a farther point and it stoped working. Probably not all models would fail, but one particular brand did. Then a intense debate followed that I was wrong. Never talked about it again. Fast-forward, now we have news that nuclear programs had malfunctions caused by cyber-attacks. Ok, not exactly the same "software doesn't damage hardware" we talked back then, but... I'm willing to consider that using software to make some catware cause damages to the hardware should be acceptable too :D
- Kristine1975 10y ago
  >when there was an intense debate on whether a software could cause damage to some hardware. A more recent debate (TL;DR: yes, software can cause damage to hardware): https://superuser.com/questions/313850/ https://superuser.com/questions/313850/
  - Breakthrough 10y ago
    As the person who wrote the accepted answer to that question, I'm flattered to see it linked here. (I'm also a bit embarrassed at reading some of my older rambling-style writing, but nothing beats experience :) While my forray into malicious floppy disks didn't end with physical damage, I did manage to make one similar to DBAN. If you booted the computer with the floppy inserted, all drives would be formatted instantly, without any user input. Fortunately, even in highschool I realized they probably imaged the school machines anyways. Probably...
    - woliveirajr 10y ago
      Mine answer is there too but with much less points, the kill FDD thing :)
  - speps 10y ago
    Previous related discussion (about the new MacBooks having their speakers blown out when running Bootcamp) : https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13063325 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13063325
mathw 10y ago
Very strange. Neither of my cats have ever paid the slightest bit of attention to the contents of any screen on any device I own. Yet I know people whose cats like to watch television, so there's some thing going on where some cats see screen images as significant and others don't. I should go looking for info on that! In any case, I don't see how this is XFCE's problem. Just change the wallpaper.
- Mithaldu 10y ago
  > I don't see how this is XFCE's problem. Just change the wallpaper. While any user who notices they're affected by the issue can fix it on their own, this is only likely to happen after damage has already been inflicted. XFCE can help people preemptively by changing the default to something less likely to attract cats.
- sillysaurus3 10y ago
  Cat eyes have a different refresh rate than human eyes. Some cats can see monitors just clearly enough to make out what's on the screen. Others see flicker. The color gamut is different too.
  - lomnakkus 10y ago
    I can see this being a thing with CRTs (which basically 'flicker' constantly), but LCDs?
    - inlineint 10y ago
      Some LCD displays use flicker to set backlight LED brightness.
      - lomnakkus 10y ago
        Dang, TIL, I guess... but I don't see how that relates to the OPs hypothetis about cat vision. A phrase I never thought I'd be uttering here, or... anywhere, really.
- 10y ago
peter_retief 10y ago
Gosh I use Xfce when on desktop mode, reminds me it's time to get a kitten again

188 points by felipebueno 10y ago

The bugtracker seems to be taking a nap, omgubuntu have a summary of the "bug" here: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/03/xfce-wallpaper-cat-bug http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/03/xfce-wallpaper-cat-bug

alexwebb2 10y ago
Found an auto-archive screenshot here: https://archive.li/s5HMf https://archive.li/s5HMf
Kristine1975 10y ago
>The bugtracker seems to be taking a nap Sounds like it's a cat. No wonder the bug won't be fixed then.
- idownvotecrap 10y ago
  downvoted

PleaseHelpMe 10y ago

I suggest the patch here: http://imgur.com/5s2hM0p http://imgur.com/5s2hM0p

dnel 10y ago
In my house, that would likely result in graphical distortion due to slobber

noir_lord 10y ago

Can't reproduce on modern hardware (4 Year Old Black Female Cat, 4 Year Old Black Male Cat). status:Wont Fix

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
Kristine1975 10y ago
>Black Female Cat >Black Male Cat >Black Username checks out.
- idownvotecrap 10y ago
  downvoted
- jameskegel 10y ago
  This is not Reddit. We don't zoom text, and we don't "check out" usernames.
  - throwaway382822 10y ago
    Careful, women are a protected species on HN. Quickest way to get your acct banned is offending one. amirite dang ?
  - 5ourpu55 10y ago
    Wow, you are so enlightened, and your comment contributed so much. Thank you for protecting us from the barbarian reddit hordes

Maskawanian 10y ago

Just change the background? I don't think XFCE should change because cats are attacking monitors.

synrst 10y ago
Really? Don't you think they have a responsibility to all thier cat owning users? It must be close to 100%!
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

pleasecalllater 10y ago

I think those cats need some upgrade. If they are not compatible with XFCE that's rather not XFCE's fault.

Kristine1975 10y ago
What's easier to change? Even a single cat or XFCE?

dexen 10y ago

Archived, as the bugzilla seems to be overloaded right now: http://archive.is/s5HMf http://archive.is/s5HMf

ishitatsuyuki 10y ago

Heh, it's not April yet ;)

terrywang 10y ago

Long story short: the so-called bug -> monitor damage is not caused by code but cat - obviously NOT `/usr/bin/cat` ;-)

dnel 10y ago
even if it was, all is forgiven /usr/bin/cat is too cute to be angry with
- idownvotecrap 10y ago
  downvote get out of here reddit

Qantourisc 10y ago

Soon it will get a new licence: we are not responsible for cat damage.

Kristine1975 10y ago
And then ship a malicious /usr/bin/cat.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]

secult 10y ago

Hacker News clearly knows how to DDoS websites.

NuDinNou 10y ago
And reddit. It was a top post recently https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/60rzjn/my_cat_was_fooled_by_xfce/ https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/60rzjn/my_cat_was_fo...
WhiteSource1 10y ago
Haha. Site's back up. Maybe all tech sites need a DDoS protection service not to protect against malicious attacks but rather hitting the 1st page of Hacker News and Reddit.

gargravarr 10y ago

Slashdot effect on the Xfce bugtracker...

jasonkostempski 10y ago
No one is viewing it due to irrelevance?

gargravarr 10y ago

Slashdot effect on the Xfce bugtracker...

kwhitefoot 10y ago

April 1st early this year?

davidddavidson 10y ago

Try Ratpoison (http://www.nongnu.org/ratpoison/ http://www.nongnu.org/ratpoison/) to get rid of the mice.

woliveirajr 10y ago

I remember my early days of computers (not as old as some folks here, I know) when there was an intense debate on whether a software could cause damage to some hardware. I remember programing a small .asm that would move the head of a floppy to a farther point and it stoped working. Probably not all models would fail, but one particular brand did. Then a intense debate followed that I was wrong. Never talked about it again. Fast-forward, now we have news that nuclear programs had malfunctions caused by cyber-attacks. Ok, not exactly the same "software doesn't damage hardware" we talked back then, but... I'm willing to consider that using software to make some catware cause damages to the hardware should be acceptable too :D

Kristine1975 10y ago
>when there was an intense debate on whether a software could cause damage to some hardware. A more recent debate (TL;DR: yes, software can cause damage to hardware): https://superuser.com/questions/313850/ https://superuser.com/questions/313850/
- Breakthrough 10y ago
  As the person who wrote the accepted answer to that question, I'm flattered to see it linked here. (I'm also a bit embarrassed at reading some of my older rambling-style writing, but nothing beats experience :) While my forray into malicious floppy disks didn't end with physical damage, I did manage to make one similar to DBAN. If you booted the computer with the floppy inserted, all drives would be formatted instantly, without any user input. Fortunately, even in highschool I realized they probably imaged the school machines anyways. Probably...
  - woliveirajr 10y ago
    Mine answer is there too but with much less points, the kill FDD thing :)
- speps 10y ago
  Previous related discussion (about the new MacBooks having their speakers blown out when running Bootcamp) : https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13063325 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13063325

mathw 10y ago

Very strange. Neither of my cats have ever paid the slightest bit of attention to the contents of any screen on any device I own. Yet I know people whose cats like to watch television, so there's some thing going on where some cats see screen images as significant and others don't. I should go looking for info on that! In any case, I don't see how this is XFCE's problem. Just change the wallpaper.

Mithaldu 10y ago
> I don't see how this is XFCE's problem. Just change the wallpaper. While any user who notices they're affected by the issue can fix it on their own, this is only likely to happen after damage has already been inflicted. XFCE can help people preemptively by changing the default to something less likely to attract cats.
sillysaurus3 10y ago
Cat eyes have a different refresh rate than human eyes. Some cats can see monitors just clearly enough to make out what's on the screen. Others see flicker. The color gamut is different too.
- lomnakkus 10y ago
  I can see this being a thing with CRTs (which basically 'flicker' constantly), but LCDs?
  - inlineint 10y ago
    Some LCD displays use flicker to set backlight LED brightness.
    - lomnakkus 10y ago
      Dang, TIL, I guess... but I don't see how that relates to the OPs hypothetis about cat vision. A phrase I never thought I'd be uttering here, or... anywhere, really.
10y ago

peter_retief 10y ago

Gosh I use Xfce when on desktop mode, reminds me it's time to get a kitten again