What do you want to question today?

I am trying to figure out the version of my Ubuntu desktop. The first instinct is to look for an ‘About’ section in the main menu. And in ‘System’ menu, I find a menu item ‘About Ubuntu’. Clicking it takes me to a page that can get as generic as humanly possible.

If I have to Google around, uname Linux version name, search in /etc than it is not longer a ‘human’ endaevour. Can someone at Ubuntu please fix this?

Came to know that Fenec Alpha has been released. It is meant to be a User Experience Alpha. So here is my feedback on my experience on OSX desktop version (with the hope that one day it will end up on iPhone):

* Looks like the landscape mode is the natural mode. Is different, but does not feel disconcerting. Will go well with iPhone.

* Loved the ‘drag right for tabs’ and ‘drag left for controls’ on home page.

* Hope I can customize the graphics on the initial page.

* Clicking on any control takes the ’screen’ further left. Good visual feel.

* Looks like Add-on are allowed. WONDERFUL. Would love to install foxmarks, FoxClocks and FireFTP!

* Did not like the icon for controls. I think they are showing sound system tuner but that sort of conveyed that I can tune the browser. Something like ‘Decrease special effects’, ‘Increase Browser Spreed’, etc.

* The buttons for ‘Get Add-ons’, ‘Extensions’, ‘Themes’ and ‘Plugins’ feel small and choked.

* The ‘Plugins’ is not completely visible. Maybe it just a Alpha quirkiness.

* It is nice to see the example plugins they have listed. If such capabilities are included … WONDERFUL!

* If I click on ‘Setting’ icon, the screen shifts left and ‘Settings’ page is visible. I click on it again and screen shifts right and I get to original view. Good. But, such is not case with Bookmark button. If I click on bookmark button, the whole screen is taken up. I expected the cool (and consistently used) screen shift operation. But when I close it, I get home page instead of original screen. BAD.

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* Once you type a URL and he page opens, it does not show the URL but page title. It is nice (human). Hope people have been writing good titles to the pages.

* Mouse scroll up and down causes zoom to change. Drag left, right, up and down caused page to move. If we take it too left, settings show and and if we take to too right, bookmarks show up. WONDERFUL.

* Back button needs to be more accessible. BAD.

Will be paying with it over a period of time. Has many page load issues, sometimes page does not scroll up properly, etc. But for a User Experience Alpha … a good preview.