linuxgeek: Re: [LINUX_Newbies] Re: VLC in Mint 17

Friday, February 20, 2015

Re: [LINUX_Newbies] Re: VLC in Mint 17

GNOME has its own video player as does KDE. It is made specifically to work with that desktop and with Pulse Audio and the video codecs. VLC in contrast does its own thing and ignores the desktop on which it is installed. You will find VLC users in pockets rather than clumped into Ubuntu or Mint etc. So finding users with precisely your problem is harder. That will take time which is why I suggested using something else until you track things down. I sense some frustration on your part. I am not denying the problem exists, just that I cannot duplicate it.

The second part of this is that Mint or Ubuntu cannot resolve the issue because VLC or VideoLan is an independent project from France that is made to work independent of the host desktop. Ubuntu or Mint make it available but it is not bundled with the OS for that reason. In making it available it is tested so see that it installs. Bugs and exceptions still happen but it is up to the user and VideoLan to fix them.

I am not trying to apologise for the way open source works. I am rather proud of it. Users have choice. One of those is to install alternatives. You have chosen to do that with installing VLC. Another choice is to go with the default or to install something different. There are no guarantees that everything will work for everybody in any OS. As a long time computer user I know only too well that different hardware renders different results with different OSes and I have been in your situation of trying to explain a problem to someone who cannot duplicate it on their equipment. It is frustrating and like you I stay with it till I can fix it. Sometimes I can't, but it is satisfying when I can. It is also good to know that I can opt for a different application at no cost should things not work out.

Roy

On Tuesday, February 17, 2015 9:40 AM, "Gene Henley mhenley2@verizon.net [LINUX_Newbies]" <LINUX_Newbies@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Your"Frankly,I`ve not seen this issue before"is duly noted,

and one I`ve encountered many times in my 84 years of life.

However,it does not, IMVHO,address whether this issue is or is

not one that occurs. Basically, is it likely that issues with VLC have

occurred? If so,what are the solutions? Many sources I have checked

say that there ARE issues with VLC.You suggest I consider an

alternative to VLC. Why? IF there are issues in some computers,THEN

why not find solutions rather than denying they exist,or looking for another

media player.

However,that`s only the way I see it. Respectfully,

Cheers

Clan of Henley

On Feb 17, 2015, at 8:06 AM, Linux Canuck linuxcanuck@yahoo.ca [LINUX_Newbies] wrote:

Just because one person is having a problem and not able to resolve it does not mean that Linux is hard to use. Frankly, I've never seen this issue before and I am very active on forums and follow Linux news closely. That is not meant to minimize the concern for you personally or for me to doubt you. I just means that it is not a pervasive issue. If the hardware is not common then it may be new to developers as well, VLC or Mint.

All operating systems are different and you can find people with problems on everything from Windows 8 to OS/X. Tomorrow I am driving to my mother's, an hour each way, to pick up her laptop running W7. She is having problems with it and wants me to sort it out.

In the meantime, I would consider finding an alternative to VLC to do what you want. Linux offers many applications for viewing DVDs, watching video and converting files. VLC is slick, but by no means is it the only application out there. And let's not jump to conclusions that VLC is a problem in Linux or that Linux is harder to use than anything else. It is all relative.

Roy

On Monday, February 16, 2015 11:34 AM, "Scott scottro@nyc.rr.com [LINUX_Newbies]" <LINUX_Newbies@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

On Sun, Feb 15, 2015 at 11:15:39AM -0500, Gene Henley mhenley2@verizon.net [LINUX_Newbies] wrote:

> familiarize myself with synaptic,PPA,and terminal. Reality check! Linux is NOT for those that want something
> working right out of box. It is a persistent learning curve. Small wonder that many give up,thinking it is no better
> than DOS 3.O. Linux is taking over the world EXCEPT for desktop. That`s a shame, IMHO.
> I do not look at WHO is wrong,but WHAT is wrong. Cut and try methods for the user,in not IMHO,
> is not the best learning curve for those that really want to have a working desktop.
> That`s just the way I see it,with sincere thanks to all contributors on this forum. Respectfully,
> Cheers
> Gene Henley

No offense taken. :) Seriously, I don't know that many people who aren't
into tech who just use Linux because they find it convenient--if they do,
they usually had a technically oriented friend help them.

I do remember, for what it's worth, on a Fedora forum someone made an
actual test--he took a few of his friends and let them try various Linux
distributions to see which ones were the easiest for him. In his
admittedly unscientific test, PCLinuxOS was the one that came closest to
working out of the box.

Mint is frequently recommended as the easiest distribution to
use. Obviously, your experience was different.

I'm not a good one to ask because my needs are somewhat different.
(For one thing, I prefer mplayer to vlc.) :)

There's a long standing joke, "This is the year of the Linux desktop," with
the joke being that it's probably never going to happen.

Anyway, as you're finding, it can take work to get something going that you
find usable, and each individual has to judge whether it's worth it or not
for them. I set up a Linux laptop for my wife's girlfriend, that she
actually finds quite useful--but, I set it up for her, and when she broke
it, I had to fix it for her.

--
Scott Robbins
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