Brilliant Brainstorms is a (usually) weekly summary of some of the best/most interesting brainstorms from the Ubuntu Brainstorm site.

Being able to add third party repositories is really useful, since you can get almost any software and have it automatically update itself along with the operating system. You do, however, have to trust the repository creator a fair amount, since they have a way of installing software on your computer. It would be helpful to be able to specify which packages a certain repository is able to mess with.

Unless you are trying to play a practical joke, the point of taking a screenshot is quite frequently to point something out to someone. For this purpose, it is very helpful to be able to add some text and simple shapes (arrows, rectangles, etc.) so that the screenshot can speak for itself. There is really little reason not to build this in to the default screenshot utility, so that I can press “Prnt Scrn” (or however it is spelled on your keyboard) and then modify that screenshot before even saving it.

If for some reason you choose to or have to modify a file outside of your home folder, root privileges are usually required. Typically, you would do this with a command like “gksudo gedit filename,” but that requires using the terminal and remembering in advance that you need root privileges. It would be much better to be able to open a file in the standard way and then elevate the editor’s privileges easily when you need it.

If for some reason a piece of your hardware is incompatible with a new version of Ubuntu when you are upgrading, or a piece of your hardware is incompatible with the release you are installing, you should be warned about this in advance of the install or upgrade. This would save you the pain of having to deal with incompatibilities after installs or upgrades.

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