KDE Doubles The Klicks and X86 StarLite Tablet

KDE switches to double-click by default! Cleaning up junky apps with MenuLibre, Starlite X86 Linux tablet, and a retro deck for people on the go.

Listen:

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:00 Rebuilding your Linux PC
02:39 What do you use for Linux backups?
05:44 256TB SSD
09:42 KDE defaults to doubleclick
11:34 Doubleclick exists for a reason
12:39 Phantom clicks
13:09 You already single and doubleclick.
15:54 Desktops with single click by default?
17:05 KDE click proposal
18:01 Silly XFCE defaults
19:29 Editing XFCE menus with MenuLibre
26:17 Starlabs X86 keyboardless laptop
28:59 Touchscreen Linux distros?
32:20 X86 micro-pc with a handle

KDE Double Click (Pedro)

https://www.omglinux.com/kde-plasma-makes-double-click-default/

https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-desktop/-/issues/72

The mouse click debate continues . . .
The upcoming KDE Plasma 6 will require users to double-click on files and folders to open them, instead of single-clicking, which has been the default for KDE since its inception in 1996.
KDE Plasma 6 is built on top of Qt 6 and is tentatively planned to be released in late 2023 or early 2024.
One of the obvious reasons for the change is that universally on most Linux desktops, like GNOME and xfce, double-click is default, and on other operating systems like Windows, macOS, ChromeOS double-click is the standard.
Click behavior, of course, can be configured in KDE settings and you can change back to single click if you like.
Many people I know already turn on double-click in KDE as default.
But I might be a bit unique, that I actually prefer single-click, especially in KDE where I have been using it all these years.
I like the speed of one click and using the mouse less.
I sometimes turn it on in other DEs and X window managers as well.
Thank you to our lovely Pedro here at LGC for letting us know!
This was discussed during Akademy 2022 and everyone was cool with it.
Doubleclick when using a pointing device has made sense since the invention of pointing devices.
The human meat machine makes mistakes and that extra click buys you a buffer.
Accidentally opening something that requires a doubleclick takes a bit of effort.
That said, most of us live in a mixed environment.
My desktop icons are doubleclick but the taskbar and quick launcher are single.
Opening a folder in the Thunar file manager is doubleclick yet navigating Places is single.
For the single click purist this will be one of those things on your checklist to disable.

MenuLibre 2.3.2

https://github.com/bluesabre/menulibre/releases

https://github.com/bluesabre/menulibre

If you use XFCE; MenuLibre is something you need to know about.
Some applications never create an entry while others uninstall without removing theirs.
And while XFCE does a lot of things very goodly, editing menus is and shall ever be, not one of them.
Say goodbye to junky menus with MenuLibre.
The latest prerelease swaps out glade and gtk builder with python and GTK.
Gonna help out with updates.
Tooltips have been replaced with an ondemand button showing you information and links.
Couple of bug fixes and several UX improvements.
MenuLibre also provides an editor for the launcher actions used by Unity and Plank.
Editing menus on xfce can be a pain, and time consuming, especially in the dock.

StarLite Tablet

https://us.starlabs.systems/pages/starlite

This may be the Linux tablet we have all been waiting for . . .
Star Labs, the UK’s maker of Linux based laptops and miniPCs, has announced the compact and thin StarLite 5 tablet.
Features:
- Matte black anodised aluminum chassis
- 12.5” touchscreen IPS display with 2880×1920 resolution and 16:10 aspect ratio
- 1GHz quad-core Intel Alder Lake N200, Turbo Boost up to 3.70GHz, with 6MB Smart Cache
- 512GB Gen3 PCIe SSD base, up to 2TB
- 16GB of 4800MHz LPDDR5 onboard memory
- Intel UHD Graphics
- Connectivity:
  - Micro HDMI, 2 USB Type Cs 3.2 with Power Delivery 3.0
  - Micro SD Memory Card Reader
  - 3.5mm Headphone Jack
- Intel Wi-Fi 5 9560
- Bluetooth 5.1
- 2k cameras, front and rear
- Stereo Speakers
- Dual Digital Microphone
- Up to 12 hours battery life
- Open-source firmware powered by coreboot
- And an optional magnetic backlit keyboard with media keys
Starting at $498.00, and with the keyboard included $599.00.
And your choice of many Linux distros out of the box, including Ubuntu, Zorin OS, elementary OS, Manjaro, Linux Mint and MX Linux.
$498 for a touchscreen laptop with a detachable keyboard isn’t horrid.
Coreoboot and 5-years of LVFS updates are a big selling point.
That, and the open warranty lets you upgrade worry free.
6 options for pre installed distros.
Do we have any touch-oriented desktops?

Slice of Pi

X86 with a handle

https://hackaday.io/project/192378-micro-pc

It’s not often we see a Pi sized device that’s X86 but here we are.
This elongated tube of computing goodness sports a 12th gen Alder Lake N100.
Power comes from a 20,000mAh USB-C powerbank and it’s all displayed with a 7” display.
The only thing not so cyber about this desk is the lack of keyboard.
It even comes with a convenient carrying handle so it’s easy to toss in the bin at airport security.
A very simple design, yet practical.
I like that the creator Matt decided to keep all input devices separate to keep the device from becoming too bulky, and at the same time, not limit the computer to a certain style of keyboard or controller.
And so you can hook up any external full-sized or mini keyboard, mouse or game controller you want.