Ubuntu 12.04 Review: This is the Distro you’re looking for.
lunduke.com
lunduke.com
We are going to get a rash of articles like this one, which make some valid points, but do not really compare Unity in its 12.04 guise with any kind of model of interaction or external standard.
It would be nice to try to produce something better. Canonical design have done a lot of testing and have documented some of their work. I think they deserve a critical essay rather than the kool-aid type response, or the instant dismissal that seems quite common.
I would suggest you check out John Siracussa's reviews for OS X releases on Ars Technica.
I'll risk the slings and arrows and have a go at the surface/UI bit. That'll be next weekend. I'm no Siracussa but everyone has to start somewhere.
PS: 12.04.1 is when you install on a production machine, that's around June
Yes, this is just one small part of the picture. But that's a primary way in which things get done: Someone focuses on one part and "fixes" it really well. Other people eventually add up these fixes and integrate them.
There are also "grand visions" and "productive discovery", but that level of ability seems to be somewhat less common and not always observed/adopted, no matter how deserving.
From my experience, being able to use the clipboard as an indexed data store, or "memory", is very convenient. Control-C, and I know the item will be a 1 - 3 second search away, for the next few weeks.
> The short version: Ubuntu 12.04 is the best release they’ve ever had and
> absolutely blows the upcoming releases of Windows and MacOS X out of the
> water in just about every way that matters.
These things are simple: If Ubuntu were so much better, or just plain better, than other operating systems, more people would use it.
Firefox is, and has been for a long time, much better than IE, and so people use it.
OpenOffice/LibreOffice is not better than Microsoft Office, and so people don’t prefer it over Microsoft Office.
Ubuntu is not better than Windows or OS X, and so very few people prefer it.
Desktop Linux is not for everyone. It all depends on what you use your computer for - if you write software for Mac or Windows or if you rely on perfect Office compatibility, it's most definitely not for you. If you run heavy software that has no Linux counterpart, it's obviously not for you. If you develop software that'll run on Linux, it's a really good choice. If you browse the web for everything, it's a great choice.
Changing from Windows to Ubuntu requires you to find equivalents for all of the software you need.
Changing from your browser -> Firefox = most websites will still work, no additional effort on anyone.
Changing from Microsoft Office to OpenOffice forces you to ensure all the documents open correctly and others can open yours correctly.
It's not always so black and white.
Yes, but that goes both ways. If Ubuntu lacks equivalents for all of the software you need, you cannot say that it's "better than the other OSs", i.e. software availability is a very important metric of "better" in an OS, even more important than the network stack being 5% faster, or the filesystem supporting more esoteric features etc.
So, it would be like saying "Ubuntu is better than OS X/Win if we exclude things that also matter a lot".
Why don't you want to use it? Using Wine is as simple as double-clicking a Windows EXE and letting it install or run. It's no more difficult than using software on Windows (usually)
And sorry to nitpick, but WINE stands for "WINE Is Not an Emulator", because it isn't :)
First off: don't expect this to work well. Wine does not yet support Photoshop CS3. Only read these instructions if you feel like fiddling around, not if you expect to get a working Photoshop.
The other versions look in better shape, but still.
I am eternally grateful to the Humble Bundle folks for insisting on Linux support.
Those same people may also believe Windows is what a computer is.
Now.
When Firefox v1.0 was released in 2004, 8 years ago, that was not so, and early adopters who were thinking about recommending Firefox had to consider two important issues:
First, compatibility.
Second, the fact that the idea that you would install a third-party program to browse the web seemed strange, even pointless, to people.
Yet, Firefox was so good already by that time, and it held so much promise, that those who already knew about it did recommend it. As a result, within one year it had 15% market share—an impressive achievement—, and webmasters had to start doing something about browsers that were not Internet Explorer. Today the compatibility problems are largely confined within intranets, and the idea that you would need one particular browser to browse the web seems strange.
Let’s compare that with where desktop Linux is today. What is the promise it helds? Which are its redeeming virtues that would make me and you recommend it to other people?
I have Linux installed on my auxiliary desktop system since 2004 — either Ubuntu or Debian Sid. The main issue that prevented me from switching when I was more enthusiastic was this:
I like to have two sound cards on my desktop systems: The on-board one, which I don’t care about, and a good one with a good DAC. The music I listen to is fed to the good card, which then feeds the amplifier. All other sound generated by the system goes to the on-board card. In 2004, and also in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, there was only one—I repeat, one—audio player that allowed you to select a non-default sound card for its output and at the same time met some basic requirements like proper gapless playback and good UTF-8 support. That was Quod Libet. The option was not exposed in Quod Libet’s GUI; you had to search for it, and then pass it to the program as a command-line argument. But at least there was one program that supported this simple thing. However there was another issue: Because of a bug in ALSA or the kernel (don’t remember which any more) the sound devices of the system were enumerated at random upon booting, with the result that 50% of the times the audo player had the wrong card selected upon starting! :-) So, after some time I got tired of struggling with the system in order to listen to music and abandoned the idea that I would use Linux as my main desktop system. I don’t know how much better things are today, but I would not be surprised if such problems remain.
I still use Linux today but only on my auxiliary desktop system (Debian Sid). I also use Debian on my laptop for a simple reason: I use the laptop for about 5 to 10 hours a week for a narrower set of tasks, and the high maintenance requirements of Windows seem to me too much for that. Debian, even Debian Sid with its occasional hiccups, is MUCH easier to maintain.
Now, one could say that the one issue I say prevented me from switching to desktop Linux is an edge case. It may be. But I am afraid it is only one of the many edge cases that are frought with problems on desktop Linux. Desktop Linux in my eyes is a heap of edge case problems. Not everyone is affected by every problem, by everyone is bound to hit upon a serious one at some time or other. The two exceptions I know are folks who use their machines mainly for developing for the vibrant Linux web ecosystem, and folks who need their desktop/laptop systems for a narrow set of basic tasks.
And then, there's the Software & Games issues... but that's a story for another day.
I believe on OS X it does the same thing as Windows.
When FF was in beta versions it was already a better browser than IE, but nearly no one knew of it, therefore FF had a small number of users. As awareness of FF grew, so did its popularity.
It is silly to judge the quality of a product or service by the number of people that use it.
"Working with Ubuntu 12.04 is quite simple and elegant… until you want to sit down and see what applications are available on your system."
Which sounds like it really doesn't blow anything out of the water. Then I also read:
"click the “Ubuntu” button in the top left, then click the little white icon on the bottom center that is, I assume, representative of “a comb, a pencil and a building with pacman on it”. Then you expand the “Installed” section by clicking on the left/center of the screen. Then you click on “Filter Results” in the top right."
WAT? That's the complete opposite of a well-thought-out experience for the user.
So why is it that this GUI environment is superior again?
Key phrases:
> In short: It’s fast. Stable. And generally a pleasure to use.
> In fact, this is my only big gripe with the Unity interface. And it’s not a big one. I’m nit-picking here.
On the other hand things that don't work as you expect have some story to it - why don't you like them, what else did you expect, who does it properly, how is it affecting your workflow, how much you dislike that problem. I expect things like that to affect most reviews...
Make it good for the mouse, good for touch and good for keyboard! And let me mix it up a bit. And good for small and large screens alike.
The last time I tried Ubuntu, probably 11.10 - I could not use it without a mouse, just because of some wretched dialogues that I couldn't get keyboard focus on!
Big surprise for me: I've upgraded 4 years old laptop with new SSD disk and 12.04beta and its really lightning fast compared to windows 7 (altough I have to switch to Unity 2D because of too hot gpu). It really feels like new machine.
Unity has dynamic search &c and I find it takes a little time to build the Dash home lens.
Because the Gnome Shell 'Activities' overlay is not building a dynamic list, it seems to appear almost instantly.
Anyway I am really suprised by overall performance, apps start very fast and laptop has 4 sec suspend/3 sec wake up. (altough it often takes additional timea for wifi to reconnect again).
The Dash home lens is actually providing a lot of context by listing the recently used apps/modified files/and even the played music. I sometimes wonder how many people use that context!
The times for the app loading and suspend/resume is down to your hardware which is obviously fast with the ssd.
- Installing the proprietary drivers (fglrx). https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/ATI - Properly configuring power management for the libre ones. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1569512
Disclaimer: I'm not an ubuntu user (debian here)
However, for Linux to be a 100% replacement for Windows or OS X, we have to use to non-free software for some things. You could always choose not to do those things, as Stallman does, and sometimes I'm tempted given how little real utility movies and whatnot have in my life, but for Linux and all the free software it brings to make headway with the general public, non-free software is a necessary evil.
It's a tradeoff, both sides have pros and cons, gotta know them, and make an informed choice.
If one doesn't want the other using their technologies, make the source public under a non-open license and sue the other if they use it. BTW, offer an easy and automated way to build, test and install the kernel modules.
I did this poster aimed at end users going from Ubuntu 10.04 to 12.04, just in case it helps anyone who is supporting end users.
The best way to explore Unity is to click around of course.
Now, my system keeps track of my preferences per-configuration, so plugging in the monitor that I mirror display on automatically does mirroring, and plugging in the monitor I use as a secondary monitor automatically does that. Also, just plug and go for multi-monitor.
It's fantastically better than ever before. Anyone else noticed this?
Multiple monitors need a good window manager. I sacked off my second monitor out of frustration in the past, I wanted shortcuts to move apps to the other screen, the ability to turn off one screen when not needed - I inevitably had to turn it back on, when I'd loose a window or dialogue somewhere. Full screen apps chose the wrong monitor, some windows sat between monitors etc. It was just a bind, and a distraction in the end. Virtual desktops were a better fit for me because of the inadequacies.
"takes several clicks on parts of the screen that are nowhere near each other and are not immediately obvious the first time you see them".
... and that this process requires the user to:
"click the “Ubuntu” button in the top left, then click the little white icon on the bottom center that is, I assume, representative of “a comb, a pencil and a building with pacman on it”. Then you expand the “Installed” section by clicking on the left/center of the screen. Then you click on “Filter Results” in the top right."
Doesn't like like a great thing to use at all to me.
For a triplehead setup this concept is just not bearable. I think this really bad design-decision goes back to the days when there was this "Linux the great netbook / eee-PC OS hype".
The good thing is: Nobody is forced to use this . There is Mate (http://mate-desktop.org/), or KDE, or XFCE, or ...
The only thing that I find a bit pity, is that so many resources are spent on Gnome3 and Unity :-/
Most have split their desktops into 9 spaces and run all apps full-screen, usually with a terminal on the notebook screen and something else (Eclipse, Emacs) on the larger LCD.
It is my biggest gripe with OSX that the "Spaces" functionality requires multiple clicks with lengthy animations in between to navigate the spaces. I could setup keyboard shortcuts but, damn it, a one click panel or dock widget is what I am used to and what I like. This has been included in unix type IDEs since the early 1990s (except Apple who managed to break it) the lack of it is a deal breaker for me.
Do we get one in unity.
On the Mac, I like the Lion way to deal with it, despite it being unidimensional. The only thing is that you'll need to get rid of the mouse and buy a trackpad (assuming you are on a desktop or with the notebook docked).
I find it confusing when both heads move independently between their own spaces.
In all seriousness, if this is happening to you send me a private message and we can look over your specs and dig into what could be causing it.
[1] HP Envy 15 3033, Acer S3, Asus TimelineX, Macbook Pro
Two problems 12.04 solved:
1. On 11.10 I was getting frequent kernel panics when watching flash in a browser (Youtube in Chrome, Chromium, Firefox), and when watching video in Movie Player. That's all gone.
2. In 11.10, Ubuntu Software Center was sluggish as hell, so much so that I never used it. It's much faster now, just a smidge away from being downright snappy, and hence useable finally.
I like how the upgrade (via sudo do-release-upgrade -d) resulted in what seems to be a really clean installation, and that I didn't have to do a fresh install to get that (still scarred from my Windows days).
I hear battery life is improved as well but haven't tested that yet. Hope that's true.
This is on an hp dm1-4050us, Intel i3-2367, HD3000, 8GB RAM, 5400rpm hdd.
Certainly not the distro i'm looking for.
Not only could i not see what was going on, i couldn't even access the machine from the network. All for no good reason.
I think that's where the pain lies, when you run into a wall it hurts.
I guess these are teething issues. I'd like to know what GTK3 does bring to the table?
I get video flicker in games under Gnome Shell, and I've had flickering issues with video under Unity (11.10) on an Intel GM45 and Nvidia 6200 respectively. I crashed Unity in about an hour and made my desktop inaccessible the last time I used it. Unity 2D wasn't that bad, but some elements of the UI didn't gel well together at all - dialog boxes that are out of place etc.
The sad thing for me, is that I remember seeing Compiz for the first time. And there were elements and plugins that I really liked about it, and it felt like the desktop was moving forward. I was hoping that Gnome Shell would take the best bits of Compiz - but really get to the point where it would manage my desktop for me . But I can't say it brings me anything.
The negativity is just a case of sour grapes. We'd prefer to see the free desktops outdoing their commercial cousins. OSX10.4 Tiger is a pretty good benchmark to beat. And that's a 2007 OS.
It would be nice to see a Desktop OS competing with Android, W8 and the iPhone though.
Alt-F11 removes the title bar from the current window, and ensures that the window uses the whole screen area. The menu is still on top of the window unlike the usual 'full screen' settings. Very handy on a 1024 by 600 screen. I have Firefox in one workspace, LibreOffice Impress in a second, e-mail client in a third and I switch between them using Ctrl-Alt arrows.
Any more magic?
There is CentOS 6.x with security updates and 'point releases' with refreshed apps until 2017 at least. Gnome 2 based.
There are other window managers as well if you need more recent base libraries for your work.
Also, since I deploy Ubuntu I would like to work on Ubuntu (apt-get).
The 10.04 server packages, therefore the base, have 5 years of support, so I guess you could simply risk carrying on with 10.04 after the EOL for the desktop?
Maybe not for the work machine.
What is the value of "win" in the above sentence? Because for me it's much more useful than either Windows or OSX for development. It won me for package management and for being very similar to the actual deployment environment. Even changing the desktop environment is easy - an "apt-get install" does the trick.
I don't care about achieving desktop dominance - the desktop is going the way of the dodo for most people and for everything that's doesn't sit on a desk or has an Apple logo, Linux is the dominant OS. I'm at home now and there are 9 machines running Linux (phones, e-readers, tablet, router, modem, notebooks) and 5 that don't (Macs, iPod and iPhone).
win = "Microsoft and OSX should really step up their OSes otherwise Ubuntu is gonna leave them behind" like that guy said.
Two steps forward, one step back.
* is then the last two digits of the year of release
So the version lets you know the year and month of release.
Edit: Ubuntu is on a 6 month regular release cycle, which is why they are all .04 and .10.
I really don't know what the third number stands for. At least they're not using it anymore.
Unity is horrible and complicates every single operation. I think it will be the end of Ubuntu.