Ubuntu 12.04

[MALsPa]

Wow! Well, viking777, just because YOU don't like what's happening with Unity doesn't mean these decisions are awful or stupid. Other folks are seeing it in a totally different light. You don't have to use Unity, so I kinda wonder why you even bother commenting about it, but of course you have every right to do so.

Anyway, after looking at the screenshots and watching the video, I'm quite excited about the whole thing. Looks great to me. It's a good thing for you that you won't ever have to bother with any of it.

[viking777]

I comment because I would actually like to use it, there are ways in which it is better than gnome-shell. When I installed 11.10 on an old laptop I have, I was so impressed, I actually went and downloaded 12.04, but everything I have seen in that version is worse than 11.10 (and I am not just talking about stability here, 12.04 was dreadfully unstable for me, but I don't condemn it because of that as I used an alpha release). Incidentally if you sift through the Ubuntu forum you will see that my opinions are not in the least unique. If I didn't care about it I wouldn't comment at all, but I hate it when I see things going downhill and for me 12.04 is nowhere near as good as 11.10. Of course others see it differently - the Ubuntu developers to name but a few.

[craig10x]

we are just not seeing what you're seeing, viking777...perhaps your particular laptop just doesn't get along well with ubuntu for some strange reason....
on my toshiba, my 11.10 runs great and my live iso run of beta1 (12.04) was excellent as well...not finding the stability problems you seem to be having...

In fact, up to beta1 they didn't have the new power regression patch activated for intel cores like i have (sandy bridge) because intel needed to do some patches for it to make it work properly...as of beta1 it's been activated and i immediately observed the improvement....my fan was coming on in certain situations on alpha 2 (which it doesn't on my 11.10) but as of beta 1, it isn't coming on and everything is cool and quiet

So, i am seeing nothing but improvements and even better stability as it is coming along, and the experience (overall) for me is a definite improvement over 11.10...
Also, i like unity now very much...i don't think they are "ruining things" a bit...but many (including me) would appreciate an option to put the bar on bottom (with a smaller width of course, more like a cairo dock)...otherwise...seems fine to me...

[MALsPa]

@viking777

Fair enough.

Just about every time I read negative opinions such as yours, I take it with a grain of salt and try the thing out for myself, and I end up glad that I didn't let someone else's opinion deter me. I think this will be one of those cases, but that remains to be seen, I guess. What you see as "things going downhill" might not seem that way at all through my eyes.

[craig10x]

@malspa: in fact, it was letting myself being influenced by negative comments about unity that initially "turned me off" to it...but i came back and gave it a second chance (without prejudice and an open minded view) and now i have come to like it a lot...

[GeneC]

@viking777

Fair enough.

Just about every time I read negative opinions such as yours, I take it with a grain of salt and try the thing out for myself, and I end up glad that I didn't let someone else's opinion deter me. I think this will be one of those cases, but that remains to be seen, I guess. What you see as "things going downhill" might not seem that way at all through my eyes.

Mal

I gotta agree with that, but I side with Viking on this one. The first "Unity" I tired was OZ Unity, and I liked that one.
Category folders on the side dock (whatever they call it)
And with AWN dock on the bottom nicely usable.


The later Unity's I like less and less. I like Gnome 2.3 so much, that I just loaded Ikey's new distro SolusOS. (Debian Stable based with Gnome 2.3) http://solusos.com/

To each his own!

[kijin]

@GeneC That screenshot looks awesome. Is it possible to use the older version of Unity on a more recent version of Ubuntu/Mint?

[GeneC]

Hi kijin

I believe not, or at least not 'easily'
I believe that the version that Oz Unity used on its first version was the Ubuntu Notebook version (from 10.4)? Some should correct me, if I am wrong on this. I don't know if its still available. I run LMDE so not that familiar with Ubuntu stuff. Maybe somebody else could comment. I still have that older Oz Unity on an old desktop computer, and its been dead stable. I don't care for the newer version of Oz Unity, though.

[dagon]

After this thread I just had to try it myself!

This was actually my first time with unity and I think I could live with it if there was no other option. I'm going to stay with Gnome2 though...
It starts with no incidents, it works and it looks good. Basically I'm happy with it and I'm confident Mint 13 is going to be solid.

[exploder]

Imagine trying to re-invent the desktop, that is what Unity and Gnome Shell are trying to do. I think consumers want something different rather than a traditional desktop. People have quickly adapted to Android and I can see the same happening with Unity. Even Microsoft is trying to come up with something fresh with Metro but I am not so sure they are going about things quite the same way Canonical is. I have seen a couple of previews of the things to come in future versions of Unity and these guys are really on to something, it just takes time to develop things. What we will see in 12.04 is just a drop in the bucket compared to what the future holds.

Locally Integrated Menus will be introduced.

http://www.webupd8.org/2012/03/locally- ... d-for.html

I also saw plans of making the applications lens scroll from side to side, it looked pretty cool! Given some time Unity could really be nice and it will have new ideas and ways of doing things. The traditional desktop has been around since Windows 95 and we can't just keep putting a new coat of paint on it and expect to go anywhere with it. Canonical is finally making headway with manufacturers and that helps gain more support for Linux. If the trend continues we just might see more games and other sought after software developed for Linux. Things are finally coming together for Ubuntu and they are pushing forward into the mainstream.

[kijin]

I think consumers want something different rather than a traditional desktop.

I'm not sure about that. It probably depends on what you mean by "consumers". Most "consumers" don't care whether their desktop is traditional or not, they just want to use their favorite apps and they want the rest of their screen to look pretty. Even traditional desktops aren't particularly bad at letting you use Firefox all day long. On the other hand, a lot of power users who actually care about their desktops seem to have a preference for the traditional desktop. So I don't think there ever was significant consumer demand for any particular style of desktop. Canonical et al. just decided that consumers might like it if they built one anyway, because they saw that consumers liked Apple products.

People have quickly adapted to Android and I can see the same happening with Unity.

There is such a thing as adaptive preferences. When getting other people to respect your wishes is more hassle than just putting up with whatever they throw at you, people will often resign themselves to whatever is available. Just because people are adapting to Unity doesn't mean Unity was the right choice from the beginning. If somebody persistently shoved the Win 3.1 (shudder) interface in your face, eventually you'll adapt to it, too. I'm still not sure whether I like Unity or not, but the fact that other people are managing to adapt to it bears no relevance to my assessment of Unity as a desktop environment.

iOS and Android were relatively easy to adapt to, because they were designed for a new breed of touch-oriented devices, and people had to adapt to using those devices anyway. But I'm not sure that Canonical really understands the point of trying to get people to adapt to a new paradigm for using the same devices that they've been using for the last 20 years, namely desktops and laptops. It's like trying to get experienced chefs to use a wok as if it were a rice cooker. Just because chefs can eventually learn to steam rice in a wok doesn't mean that woks are the future of rice cookers.

[badmotor]

Anyone else find that after the last series of updates, you can't right-click on the desktop to change Appearance preferences anymore?

[exploder]

Anyone else find that after the last series of updates, you can't right-click on the desktop to change Appearance preferences anymore?

It is still working for me. There were quite a few updates this evening, hopefully the problem is resolved for you now.

[badmotor]

Still not happening. Also when I minimise a window, the only way to get it back is to use ALT-TAB to select it. I better go check out the Ubuntu forums and see if that is happening to others I guess.

Apart from the odd bug, I'm quite enjoying using Unity and 12.04 for the first time. Will see if it keeps my attention.

[exploder]

I am having problems with the menus highlighting since an update last night. Menu entries will highlight once and then nothing. Hopefully an update or two will fix things.

[badmotor]

I am having problems with the menus highlighting since an update last night. Menu entries will highlight once and then nothing. Hopefully an update or two will fix things.

Same issue here.

[badmotor]

Maybe someone in here will know the answer to this - in 12.04 I find Minitube only plays sound, and no video? Anyone else use this cool little application?

[exploder]

Same problem with minitube here. There is a bug report on this and it effects other media players as well. Luckily, from here on out untill the final release they will be consentrating on bug fixes. I expect we will see quite a few bugs fixed by beta 2.

[badmotor]

Same problem with minitube here. There is a bug report on this and it effects other media players as well. Luckily, from here on out untill the final release they will be consentrating on bug fixes. I expect we will see quite a few bugs fixed by beta 2.

Cool. I'm actually a bit excited by this release I have to say.

[exploder]

I am excited about this release too! I believe manufacturers are looking for something fresh and Unity seems to be attracting them. The LTS has better hardware support than I have seen in a long time. The remaining bugs are not really as bad as they seem and I am pretty confident they can be resolved before the final release arrives. 5 years of support is nice and I do not want to have to do a lot of updates on my laptop, this looks like an ideal solution. I like some of the ideas that are going into Unity. I really believe that it will take new ideas to make Linux appeal to consumers and there are more new things that will appear in future versions of Unity.

Unity is different and some of it's features make the learning curve pretty easy. Pressing the super key to display all the keyboard shortcuts is a brilliant idea. The idea of lenses and scopes is not only cool and original, it is a great marketing idea. Unity has an elegant look much like the Mac OS and the Ubuntu color scheme is different in a good way. Ubuntu One is a great feature and the Software Center is much better for new users so they can understand package management. Unity keeps things in easy reach too, the Me Menu makes communications very handy and it adds to the ease of use.

Fresh ideas will put Linux in more peoples hands because it can attract manufacturers the same way Android has done.