Canonical Alienates Their Major Asset

[MaddawgTL]

When I got this bloated,abused netbook I went and downloaded the latest ubuntu release 11.04 and from the very beginning when I tried to run firefox and it just looked at me like I was funny was the instant I knew ubuntu would never be on my harddrive. To me that is Canonical major mistake because ubuntu is linux but linux is not ubuntu. Why install something that is SUPPOSE to work from the start? Add to that the problem with the latest linux kernal(battery life issues),ubuntu half baked unity interface,changing to there own package manager and the unstable releases to me spells some very hard times for ubuntu.

Ok the battery issue is not Canonicals fault but how many possible bug reports were sent to ubuntu devs and were ignored? I mean ubuntu is linux but we sometimes forget that linux is not ubuntu or that is what Canonical wants the world to think.

We want things to work right the first time and not have to trouble shoot the hardware or the software. We leave that to the people you like to do that sort of thing. How many people that use linux use either a gui or a terminal exclusively and how many use both? What Canonical has done is made more people aware of linux than any other group has done so far. (Wonder how many of them have left cause they could not understand linux or left because of a unstable install of ubuntu will never be known.)

So it really is a mute point who has done more for linux,either in software,easy of use or any other measure you would want to use. But what is a major point is that most people that were using ubuntu as a platform to build there own distro has shrunk and that should of been a sign to Canonical that they had problems but did they heed it? Maybe what they have been doing is a response to what has happened and they are simply making things worse instead of better,only time will tell the tale.

[z06gal]

MALsPa , the last Ubuntu release than ran right for me was 8.04, the last 5 have not worked acceptably with any of my nvidea graphics cards. Before that there were issues with Intel and of course that is what I had for a graphics card at the time. I really don't know why I should care, it's not like the Ubuntu developers read any of the bug reports I have submitted.

I had one issue after the next with ubuntu. Had I wanted all that, I would have kept Vista. Lol I don't even attempt ubuntu any more. Mint has made me quit distro hopping


Robin

[MALsPa]

But what is a major point is that most people that were using ubuntu as a platform to build there own distro has shrunk and that should of been a sign to Canonical that they had problems but did they heed it? Maybe what they have been doing is a response to what has happened and they are simply making things worse instead of better,only time will tell the tale.

How much has the list of Ubuntu-based distros shrunk? "Most people that were using Ubuntu as a platform?"

Here's a list of Ubuntu-based distros from DistroWatch's Page Hit Ranking, 30-day span:

Linux Mint
Peppermint (based on Lubuntu)
Lubuntu
Ultimate Edition
Kubuntu
Netrunner
Deepin
Bodhi
Xubuntu
Pinguy
BackTrack
Super OS
Joli OS
Ubuntu Studio
Greenie Linux
moonOS
Caixa Mágica
wattOS
EasyPeasy
Zentyal
PC/OS (based on Xubuntu)
Vinux
Mythbuntu

A much longer listing of Ubuntu-based distros from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Li ... untu-based

It'll be interesting to see how many of those that are not "official" Ubuntu variants end up moving away from Ubuntu. Maybe someone else here can provide a list of distros that have already done so.

[kernowmint]

I have to say that it was Ubuntu that brought me to Linux. I started with Jaunty and until this latest round of releases it was the only Linux distro that worked perfectly with all my hardware. If it hadn't been for that, Linux would just have been a system I dual-booted with Windows and only went into occasionally for a change, it could never have been my principal OS. So I owe a lot to Ubuntu and I'm sad at having to change because I don't like the direction they're taking.

Having said that, maybe Shuttleworth is right and Ubuntu's future does now lie in a different direction. Ubuntu brought many non-geeks like me into Linux, but these days there are a number of other newbie-friendly distros like Mint around which are doing the same thing just as well and Ubuntu wouldn't have hung on to its top spot anyway. Maybe Ubuntu has served its purpose for the average desktop PC user and it's time for them to move on to another mass market, with a company to support them financially and a huge marketing setup to push their product which smaller distros haven't got. With so many Linux distros around, they can all play to their own strengths, and size and publicity are two of Ubuntu's strengths. Mint and the other distros have their own strengths which will each attract particular types of user. It would just be better if Canonical let its current users know if that is its reasoning, rather than leaving so many people feeling betrayed.

[exploder]

MALsPa , I respect your points of view and I understand that you have had a decent experience with Ubuntu in general. I think so many distributions use Ubuntu as a base because it is so simple to remaster. I remember a 12 year old boy making his own Ubuntu bases distribution on the Ubuntu forum as a school project. I have no disrespect for anyone that bases off Ubuntu or uses it and enjoys it. I admit that Ubuntu had done some good things and I can even appreciate that. The only thing that gets me fired up is Ubuntu getting so much media attention when they are releasing with so many outstanding bugs. I do not hate Ubuntu or Canonical, I just want them to be more responsible developers since they seem to be in the limelight and new users seem to think they are Linux. I gave Unity a fair try and even though it is not perfect, I did think it was kind of fun to use because it was so different. With the changes going on with Gnome and Ubuntu developing Unity I am not sure witch one is the better choice or witch one will advance quicker. I do have to click my mouse more with Unity to do some things but it does look nice, it's certainly different and I can see where it would be nice using it on a small screen. All I want is for Ubuntu to give me device drivers that work and if they are going to use plymouth at least fix it so it works.

I have no objections to Ubuntu becoming profitable and in fact, I hope they can be. I would love to walk into a computer store and see Linux pre-installed on computers so people have more choices available to them. I just want people to have a good experience with Linux and to not just think of it as something for hobbyists and computer geeks. As long as Ubuntu keeps releasing with so many bugs and regressions it is hard for people to see Linux as anything more. If Ubuntu would show some real effort on fixing the bugs and regressions I would give them my support and even try submitting bug reports again. I liked the netbook remix that was used in Ubuntu 10.04 and I especially liked what Oz Unity did with it, I even ran it for a while until updates started to break things. I do not mind clicking my mouse a little more if the user interface looks good and is interesting. Linux has not gained any market share with the gnome 2x gui and maybe it is time for change.

If Ubuntu were to lengthen their release cycle like so many have asked for, they could devote more time to fixing the bugs and regressions and they might just be able to make a difference. Many complain about the color pallet Ubuntu is using now but I don't think it looks half bad and I will give them credit for being original. Ubuntu does have it's own fonts now and they look pretty good on the title bars and the me menu probably does have some appeal to younger users that do a lot of social networking. I am not against attracting a wider user base with changes and in some ways it is a good thing. Honestly, if Ubuntu would do a better job with drivers and the boot experience they might just have something that could interest more people and promote the use of open source. The big thing is how do you get Ubuntu to listen and fix the bugs?

[AlbertP]

If Ubuntu would show some real effort on fixing the bugs and regressions I would give them my support and even try submitting bug reports again.

Good point. Since I got no answers on my 3 bugs but from a user that misread my report, I don't see why I should submit any more.

[lmintnewb]

Ah one more, then am done with endless round and round.

Like MALsPa, dislike buntu/canonical. But it's any persons right to like a nix distro or not as they choose.

Though M ya seem to think I/we wish bad things on ubuntu. I'd be happy and using ubuntu proudly if it were anything like the undeserved hype surrounding it makes it out to be. After having tried around a dozen. I know ubuntu is nothing special and comes up wayyyy short imo to much other nix. That's just out of the ones I've tried so far. Don't doubt out of the 200+ distro's actively being developed. Many could boast being better than anything buntu.

(edit) There are actually 323 actively dev distros listed on distrowatch.

Would like it if buntu were living up to it's rep. Would be good for linux, opensource and bad for M$. Sadly don't think they are even coming close, shrugs. Out of that list of buntu based ya posted. One I know is better overall ( well imo ) ... LM and see probably half a dozen I believe could honestly say the same. As for being derivatives of buntu. That brings us back to how much of buntu is actually buntu and how much is actually stuff Debian put together ? My understanding is the majority of ubuntu is rebranded Debian code. Also interesting to note, that when you search on distrowatch for Debian based distro's all the ones you list also come up for it including ubuntu itself. As being derivatives/based on Debian.

So which is it ? They are either based on ubuntu or on Debian. If buntu is 3/4's Debian and who knows where they got the rest of what makes up buntu. Then doesn't make sense to me to say they are derivatives of ubuntu. Not to mention w/o being devs and wading through the source code involved. We can't for sure say how much of what makes up those other nix flavors, is ubuntu's code anyway. What they used, what they changed ... What they added themselves ... etc.

Personally think a lot of distro's opt to base on ubuntu cause of it's popularity. They know they'll also get some of the promotion and second hand exposure by the association. That's how I found LM originally ... Researching ubuntu. Plus knowing all the stupid things canonical apparently insists on doing. Sure many of them are scooping up ubuntu users who get fed up with buntu and leave. ( edit: Or people find a list of those distro's and like the look of one them instead of going with ubuntu. ) Look at Mint ... they were smart enough to manipulate the hype surrounding ubuntu to their advantage. Think they are rightly credited with being ubuntu done right. Cause they take pains to make ubuntu more user friendly, better organized and sure they also make efforts to avoid some of the bugginess they inherit from canonical too.

They've gotten many a ship jumper from ubuntu and in that case think it's a win/win. The ex=buntu user gets a better OS and LM gets another user to add to the community.

These are just pointless ramblings. Obviously don't care for ubuntu. Would rather see a distro more deserving of the credit get some of it. Instead of everyone thinking buntu is anything but a so, so ... Probably will work well enough or likely won't fry your computer kinda distro. That's one of the things I find intriguing about gnu/linux. Who get's credit for what is completely up in the air.




Similar to this quote from ubuntu itself.

Packages

Most source packages in all Ubuntu components (about 4 in 5 at the time of this writing) are copied unmodified from Debian, but other sources include apt-get.org, REVU, directly from organisations such as Blackdown and WineHQ, software which has been packaged by Ubuntu developers, and packages created specifically for Ubuntu.

From https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Ubuntu/ForDebia ... Developers

[nunol]

Ubuntu is not worried about the bugs for the 11.04 release, they have already moved on the the next 11.10 release and will focus all their man power on that release.

[AlbertP]

For the people that haven't yet downgraded: Ubuntu have made an update for Compiz 0.9 and it works slightly better (but not yet OK). People using the Compiz from the downgrade PPA won't get the update.
But still I recommend to downgrade, though I like the remake of the desktop wall in Compiz 0.9.