6 ms·

The Skype bug looks like a Multiarch problem and there appears to be a workaround in the bug report: LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/mesa/libGL.so.1 sky

The Skype bug looks like a Multiarch problem and there appears to be a workaround in the bug report: LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/mesa/libGL.so.1 skype which is trivial to implement either in a custom .desktop file dropped in ~/.local/share/applications or a custom launch script in /usr/local/bin (or whatever comes before /usr/bin in your path).

Cthulhu_ 14y ago
Trivial maybe if you're a power user that knows Linux and Gnome's desktop shortcuts by heart and isn't afraid of hacking, but definitely not for the regular user Ubuntu was intended for a long time ago.
- claudius 14y ago
  Said user should then have a system administrator to set up the system. Really, you either read the manual to learn such things or you get someone to do them, expecting a system as complex as a computer to work out-of-the-box is nonsense.
  - omegaham 14y ago
    What you seem to be saying is that in order to use a personal computer, you should be an expert. I disagree, and I'm glad that most people disagree as well. User-friendliness is important regardless of what system it is, even Linux. Have you noticed that the most successful distributions of Linux are the ones that are most friendly to beginners? This elitism is destructive and serves only to make the "experts" smug and keep everyone else in the dark. I've found that the real experts are the ones who are writing guides for solving issues so that beginners can solve them too. That way, everyone benefits... and the beginners get to learn too. Almost all of my experience with config files has come from having a problem, Googling it, copy-pasting some commands into the terminal, and then becoming interested and messing around with it.
    - TallGuyShort 14y ago
      While I agree that we should do everything we can to be user-friendly and not allow what I'm about to suggest to take the form of "elitism", I think we underplay the importance of helping the user understand the system. I think your typical user should understand SSL before they do online banking and shared libraries before they let their work rely entirely on their computer, in the same sense that I think you should know how to change a tire and change your oil before you buy a car or go on a long road trip. Yes, they all should just "work out of the box", but in a more and more literal sense we trust a lot of machine with our lives. We ought to understand all of these machines better before we trust them with our lives or vote on the leaders who will regulate their use.
      - takluyver 14y ago
        We have abstraction layers precisely so that you can use things without understanding them. It's not just computers, every day we use all kinds of technology without properly knowing how it works. Of course, sometimes those abstractions are leaky, and we have to change a tire or apply an update. But suggesting that typical users should read up on SSL (and therefore asymmetric cryptography) before they use online banking is as ridiculous as saying that every new driver should study the detailed workings of the internal combustion engine. Someone needs to know how it works, but my mother really doesn't.
        TallGuyShort 14y ago
        I've personally seen people click through the most alarming-looking certificate errors and start entering their bank login credentials. I've driven in cars with people who had put up with that knocking sound in the engine for months because it wasn't getting any worse. If your mother did any of these things, I would be very worried about her financial and physical safety.
        takluyver 14y ago
        You don't have to know how either works to recognise something is wrong with them. My mother, happily, is quite cautious and would go and find someone who understands the machine better. In the computer case, I'd likely be getting a phone call. The certificate errors are kind of a design failure. Users are so used to clicking through messages they don't really understand, and this is just one more. Even the most alarming certificate errors are usually innocuous, in my experience - someone forgets to renew a certificate, or fails to get a new one for a domain change. That doesn't mean it's OK to ignore them, but we really need systems that don't cry wolf unless there's a really good chance that there's a wolf.
  - 6d0debc071 14y ago
    So, why should I use Linux rather than Windows, which will run all my software? Expecting everything to work perfectly may be nonsense but I have to assume that your average user is going to follow the least effort path.
    - claudius 14y ago
      I never said that you should use Linux or Windows or Mac OS or iOS or whatever else you come up with. Use the product you feel is best suited to your task. If that is Windows, use Windows. Edit: That said, you will likely want someone knowledgeable around when setting up Windows or Mac OS X, too, so I don’t really get your point.
      - 6d0debc071 14y ago
        The last version I had any trouble with, by way of Windows, was 98 on a Tiny computer I had as a kid, mostly because of esoteric driver requirements. After that, it pretty much just worked. What do you think your average user is likely to do to it that would need them to go whistle for a sysadmin?
        golden_apples 14y ago
        I don't know about anyone else, but I still go looking for an expert when I need any of my Windows machines fixed: whereas when any of my Ubuntu machines have issues, I'm comfortable and motivated to look up the answers myself. Partly that's an issue with documentation quality - you're a lot less likely to catch a drive-by download or follow maliciously bad advice on Linux forums - but I also find the workings of Linux much easier to understand.
        jebblue 14y ago
        "help with windows", 2.5 Billion, with a "B", hits. Do not pretend 100% or even a large percentage of Windows users never need power user help at a minimum.
        14y ago
anoncow 14y ago
Will this be fixed in an upcoming ubuntu or skype update?

Cthulhu_ 14y ago

Trivial maybe if you're a power user that knows Linux and Gnome's desktop shortcuts by heart and isn't afraid of hacking, but definitely not for the regular user Ubuntu was intended for a long time ago.

claudius 14y ago
Said user should then have a system administrator to set up the system. Really, you either read the manual to learn such things or you get someone to do them, expecting a system as complex as a computer to work out-of-the-box is nonsense.
- omegaham 14y ago
  What you seem to be saying is that in order to use a personal computer, you should be an expert. I disagree, and I'm glad that most people disagree as well. User-friendliness is important regardless of what system it is, even Linux. Have you noticed that the most successful distributions of Linux are the ones that are most friendly to beginners? This elitism is destructive and serves only to make the "experts" smug and keep everyone else in the dark. I've found that the real experts are the ones who are writing guides for solving issues so that beginners can solve them too. That way, everyone benefits... and the beginners get to learn too. Almost all of my experience with config files has come from having a problem, Googling it, copy-pasting some commands into the terminal, and then becoming interested and messing around with it.
  - TallGuyShort 14y ago
    While I agree that we should do everything we can to be user-friendly and not allow what I'm about to suggest to take the form of "elitism", I think we underplay the importance of helping the user understand the system. I think your typical user should understand SSL before they do online banking and shared libraries before they let their work rely entirely on their computer, in the same sense that I think you should know how to change a tire and change your oil before you buy a car or go on a long road trip. Yes, they all should just "work out of the box", but in a more and more literal sense we trust a lot of machine with our lives. We ought to understand all of these machines better before we trust them with our lives or vote on the leaders who will regulate their use.
    - takluyver 14y ago
      We have abstraction layers precisely so that you can use things without understanding them. It's not just computers, every day we use all kinds of technology without properly knowing how it works. Of course, sometimes those abstractions are leaky, and we have to change a tire or apply an update. But suggesting that typical users should read up on SSL (and therefore asymmetric cryptography) before they use online banking is as ridiculous as saying that every new driver should study the detailed workings of the internal combustion engine. Someone needs to know how it works, but my mother really doesn't.
      - TallGuyShort 14y ago
        I've personally seen people click through the most alarming-looking certificate errors and start entering their bank login credentials. I've driven in cars with people who had put up with that knocking sound in the engine for months because it wasn't getting any worse. If your mother did any of these things, I would be very worried about her financial and physical safety.
        takluyver 14y ago
        You don't have to know how either works to recognise something is wrong with them. My mother, happily, is quite cautious and would go and find someone who understands the machine better. In the computer case, I'd likely be getting a phone call. The certificate errors are kind of a design failure. Users are so used to clicking through messages they don't really understand, and this is just one more. Even the most alarming certificate errors are usually innocuous, in my experience - someone forgets to renew a certificate, or fails to get a new one for a domain change. That doesn't mean it's OK to ignore them, but we really need systems that don't cry wolf unless there's a really good chance that there's a wolf.
- 6d0debc071 14y ago
  So, why should I use Linux rather than Windows, which will run all my software? Expecting everything to work perfectly may be nonsense but I have to assume that your average user is going to follow the least effort path.
  - claudius 14y ago
    I never said that you should use Linux or Windows or Mac OS or iOS or whatever else you come up with. Use the product you feel is best suited to your task. If that is Windows, use Windows. Edit: That said, you will likely want someone knowledgeable around when setting up Windows or Mac OS X, too, so I don’t really get your point.
    - 6d0debc071 14y ago
      The last version I had any trouble with, by way of Windows, was 98 on a Tiny computer I had as a kid, mostly because of esoteric driver requirements. After that, it pretty much just worked. What do you think your average user is likely to do to it that would need them to go whistle for a sysadmin?
      - golden_apples 14y ago
        I don't know about anyone else, but I still go looking for an expert when I need any of my Windows machines fixed: whereas when any of my Ubuntu machines have issues, I'm comfortable and motivated to look up the answers myself. Partly that's an issue with documentation quality - you're a lot less likely to catch a drive-by download or follow maliciously bad advice on Linux forums - but I also find the workings of Linux much easier to understand.
      - jebblue 14y ago
        "help with windows", 2.5 Billion, with a "B", hits. Do not pretend 100% or even a large percentage of Windows users never need power user help at a minimum.
        14y ago

anoncow 14y ago

Will this be fixed in an upcoming ubuntu or skype update?