Taking a break from Ubuntu

http://nicam.ch/uncategorized/taking-a-break-from-ubuntu/

by Seldaek • 16 years ago

19 36 16 years ago

riledhel• 16 years ago

Although I respect the author's opinion, I use ubuntu everyday for my web development work and I find it very useful for that. Maybe it didn't fulfill his expectations, but it's not entirely "unfinished" or "too buggy"; there are very mature tools for everyday work.

Seth_Kriticos• 16 years ago

I use it at home, work and on my laptop every day too and have no notable problems.

On the other hand, I spend most of the time in the terminal/vim and browser, so I may not be that representative here.

pierrefar2• 16 years ago

Every 6-9 months I do this same exact experiment: install the latest version of Ubuntu or the current super hyped distro and give it a go for a few days. The longest I've lasted is 10 days.

Why? I feel the current distros are always in my way of getting things done on my laptop. There are too many UI inconsistencies, too many hardware drivers that randomly fail, regularly switching between single and dual screens is error prone, and finally no clear central UI to customise the OS (dropping into the command line to edit a config file written in draconian script just to get a mouse setting to work is just not good).

I last did this in November when I tried Ubuntu 10.10 Desktop (64 and 32 bit) and the netbook remix. They lasted a total of 6 days.

All this assuming that the OS actually installs: Fedora just hangs on my laptop. Once I gave it a chance to work through whatever it was hung on by leaving it on overnight. No luck.

On the other hand, you'd have to pry my Ubuntu servers from my cold dead hands. I refuse to host on anything else.

petekalo• 16 years ago

What are you using after the 10 days?

pierrefar2• 16 years ago

I always go back to some flavour of Windows on my home computer.

At my day jobs I've used OSX extensively too. It works well but I don't like it as it does some things in a way I don't like - i.e. it's personal preference for Windows rather than technical.

cmeiklejohn3• 16 years ago

I find it too distracting to use OS X. I can't even pinpoint why, but my eyes seem to wander and I can't focus as well. I don't have this problem with Linux.

I think this might partly be related to Gnome being more simplistic.

steverb2• 16 years ago

I ran Ubuntu for four months while doing some full-time Ruby work and other than the fact that things are different from what I was used to and I had to experiment to find the applications that suited my work I never had any problems with it. It ran well and was generally solid.

I always suspect that the majority of issues when switching OSes really fall into the "not what I'm used to category".

At least that's the case with me and Apple products. I think that if I had a real need to use OS-X I would eventually get over it.

bradleyland• 16 years ago

Some of the author's points fall under the "not what I'm used to" category or aren't Ubuntu's responsibility, but some are just lack of polish.

Lack of polish

* Screen hot-plugging (probably driver related) * Scrolling * Panel juggling for screen switching * Sleep (varies depending on hardware) * Workspace overlap/windows over-size * Backup - depends on whether you think backup is an OS' responsibility

"Not what I'm used to"/Not Ubuntu's responsibility

* No Aperture * Skype is old - Skype's fault * Backup * JDownloader

steverb2• 16 years ago

Agreed. In my case I used Ubuntu on a desktop machine (with dual monitors), totally eliminating all of the author's screen related issues.

Scrolling, IMO, is both a "not what I'm used to" thing and a polish issue. I just got used to it.

xiaomai• 16 years ago

I mostly agree with your post. I did think he pointed out two legitimate issues with Ubuntu right now though:

1. panel stuff jumping around when the screen size changes (I think progress has been made here in GNOME recently).

2. flakey suspend. I run Ubuntu on all my computers. It works perfect on my HP 550 laptop, and my desktop. On my netbook and other laptops, it has issues.

mbubb• 16 years ago

Just started a new job (sysadmin) and was asked "Mac or PC?" - which in my case meant Mac vs Linux... I played with the idea of getting a MacBook Pro but went with the HP EliteBook and Ubuntu current simply because this is what I have been using for the past 5 years. I like Ubuntu - on HP laptop hardware I have very few problems.

Most of the OP's 'faults' are indeed 'not what I am used to...'

"Sleep is funky" is a valid point. I have to make sure nothing too 'interruptive' is going on or the laptop never actually sleeps...

But "Network transfer speed is slow."? he has an earlier blog post which contradicts this.

If you are willing to play around for a while - find the window manager that works best, choose/ configure programs and futz with hardware - then Linux is for you. When you get 'there' you have a solid, stable work environment.

These type of posts inevitably disappoint - I hope to learn something and that seldom happens. I feel no urge to go out and plug Ubuntu for the masses and don't get it when someone 'tries' something for 14 days and finds it lacking vis-a-vis what is comfortable and familiar.

kungfooey2• 16 years ago

I am a web dev that has been using Ubuntu as my desktop host OS since version 6.06, and I'll be the first to admit that, while 10.10 is a significant improvement, there are still some problems that probably keep it from being mainstream.

One example: I currently use an ASUS laptop. Every time I get a kernel upgrade from Ubuntu, it breaks my Nvidia driver so X server will no longer start up properly. So I have to go into the shell, stop GDM, start the Nvidia driver install (I keep a local copy just for this), and then restart GDM.

It's just a minor inconvenience for me, but the average user is going to lose his mind when the computer appears to fail at bootup.

I still use it because I find it to be the most productive environment for my work - it gets in my way far less than any other OS I've tried. But, yes, there are a lot of hardware-related problems that still haven't been dealt with. I suspect there will always be.

vetinari• 16 years ago

Average user would not get into this situation, because average user does not download driver from nvidia and then does not run scripts from command line.

Average user installs nvidia driver through 'restricted drivers' icon in the panel. Later, after the kernel upgrades, the driver recompiles itself during first boot (the user does not see this, the first boot just takes a little longer).

So yes, these hardware-related problems were dealt with years ago, you just chose to side-step the solution. (I'm sure unknowingly, but most people who choose to ignore package manager run into problems later and then blame it on the distro).

kungfooey2• 16 years ago

I never could get the "restricted driver" to work for me (I have on past laptops, but not this one). It's possible that this has changed with more recent restricted driver releases.

wccrawford• 16 years ago

It really does depend on what you use it for. I use OSX at work because I'm required to, and I tried to use 'OSX' tools like Textmate for a while. They really didn't fit me well at all and now I use quite a lot of linux-y things like Vim, and a lot of things that work on every platform (browsers) and a few things that only work on OSX (Time Machine).

I tried doing the same on Windows and wasn't impressed at all.

I'm still most at home developing on a Linux box, and I use the current Kubuntu. Yes, every time there's a new one I upgrade, and yes, I get burnt by something every time. (Usually Japanese input support or audio. Last time it was video, though.) I still prefer it.

jimmyjazz14• 16 years ago

I've tried using OS X as my primary desktop machine several times over the years but always end up back with my old friend desktop Linux (Arch). Its not as pretty but, for me its home and I like a place that lets me be myself.

beej71• 16 years ago

For me, most of the reason behind that is my super-customized fvwm that perfectly fits my workflow. Because I've made it for me, no other desktop environment comes close to what I need.

And fvwm gives me the freedom to do it.

cmeiklejohn3• 16 years ago

I wonder how many people would switch to Linux if Textmate suddenly became Linux only.

auxbuss• 16 years ago

And for those missing Textmate on Linux there's always redcar http://redcareditor.com/

docgnome2• 16 years ago

Or, ya know, emacs, which is nearly a zillion times more customizable and Free both as in beer and freedom.

cmeiklejohn3• 16 years ago

Or rather, vim.

macco• 16 years ago

Even better, use Scribes for a totally unique editor experience only available on Linux.

mak120• 16 years ago

This post does raise some real issues about ubuntu (namely support for multiple screens). But its a shame it quickly regresses into the same old "I'm not used to it and so it is bad" sort of rant. I found it annoying that the author assumes he somehow spends more time on his PC and uses it in more ways than any Linux user. Really dents his credibility there.

junkbit2• 16 years ago

Linux is a way of life, like healthy eating or meditation, and it is not for everyone.

When a new version of something open-source unfolds it is not because Christmas is around the corner or some other marketing bullshit; someone has poured their love into their work to make it a little bit faster, safer and shinier, and they want to share it with the world in the name of progress

We are playing the long game, like physics and maths before us, open-source will still be here in 1,000 years long after the name of Microsoft has faded.

Join us, or not, as you will

code_duck4• 16 years ago

My mother is pretty happy with Ubuntu. Give her a browser with Flash and some speakers, and she's all set. I'm pretty sure she doesn't know what 'linux' is, though. She lives the mozilla fox way of life.

junkbit2• 16 years ago

Yeah my old man actually asked me to install it after getting slowed down by viruses. All he needs is Chrome and VLC. The little thing pops up when he plugs in a camera too. Bosh.

spiffworks2• 16 years ago

I have a nice experimental result to contribute to this. I installed Ubuntu alongside my mother's Windows installation on the desktop, and a month later, found that she hadn't booted into Windows once. All she really needs is a browser, a pdf and .doc viewer and a media player. Chrome OS would be so perfect.

code_duck4• 16 years ago

I bought a Mac earlier this year and I don't find it suitable for use as my everyday OS for a variety of reasons. So, as usual, opinions vary.

I've been using one or the other Linux distro every day as my main OS for over 10 years. There's no question that the Linux desktop is polished enough for use by many people as their every day desktop.

spiffworks2• 16 years ago

I got a new laptop recently, and realized that I didn't have a Maverick cd lying around. So while I was waiting for the iso to download, I popped in a Jaunty live cd, then a Lucid live cd. I was pleasantly surprised to discover the incredible progress that the distro has made over the past few releases. I feel like Lucid was the release where it really came of age, and everything started working beautifully. More than anything else, just looking at the speed at which device support is added(often with no cooperation from the OEMs) gives you a real feel for the pace of the community's work.

This post is a great example of the great state of Ubuntu- the author has little more than nits to pick against it. I am incredibly happy with my choice of OS, and the state of desktop linux.

bobbywilson0• 16 years ago

I always keep a virtual machine with some flavor of linux installed on my Macbook Pro. I like to see the progress that's been made and just to try something different for a while.

I am used to linux and have used it pretty extensively, and I enjoy it. What I find to be my main blockers are related to working with other people who are using OS X / Windows. I agree that this is mostly the fault of vendors. Skype and Team Viewer come to mind as applications that support linux but always keep you a few versions back, thus not having support for some features that the rest of your team is using on OS X / Windows.

Ultimately I just get tired of messing the little things that bug me with linux, that I know just work on OS X. It was well said by someone else in the thread that linux is a lifestyle and I can't agree more with that.

jamesbritt• 16 years ago

I was using WinXP as my main OS until one too many BSOD heartbreaks. I switched to Ubuntu with KDE3, which I had been using periodically via VMWare.

I had many of the same general annoyances related to "not used to ...". But I also found new things that were an improvement, such as moving windows with alt+left-click.

Later on I needed a Mac for development, and got a Mini. (I'd never seriously considered getting a Mac before because none of their 15" laptops have a proper screen resolution. I'd become hooked on 1920x1200 w/trackpoint for getting stuff done.)

Again, some things were slick and new, some things annoying because they were different, and some things were annoying because they were (as best I can tell) impossible.

Overall I prefer KDE3 to WinXP (or Vista or Win7) and to OSX. The lack of proper multiple desktops on Windows and OSX is a real problem. (Spaces just doesn't cut it; it's more of a kinda sorta sliced-up single desktop than true multiple work areas.)

And I still prefer Win7 to OSX, except for the poor shell. (Maybe if OSX's Finder had a proper tree view and let me just type/edit folder paths in an address bar I'd be happier.)

But obviously there are OSX enthusiasts, so to each their own.

I have to believe that if you can't find anything wrong with your desktop of choice you're just turning a blind eye.

And 14 days is barely enough time to figure out the pros and cons of an OS and desktop. (No mention of apt? That alone might make Ubuntu worth it.)

nicam• 16 years ago

Hi there

Thank you for your comments, I really like feedback to improve the way I'm writing.

After I read the article again today I noticed that it kinda sounds like I'm blaming Ubuntu. This is not the case. I'm thankfull for all the dev's spending their free time to develop open source software.

I regrouped the article a bit to split the Ubuntu and the application part better. Also I edited the conclusion a bit. The goal was not to rant about Ubuntu but to show switchers which problems I ran into and to share my experience.

Thanks for reading

nicam

Taking a break from Ubuntu

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