Dissapointed in Ubuntu 8.04

[kaiwai]

That is a trolling comment. The poster was not asking for this kind of advice..... nor did it address his question. I'd suggest not posting these types of remarks in the future.

1) Do you know what a troll is?

2) That is my advice. Zune never has and never will be compatible with Linux - no matter how many people demand for it to be so.

3) He wanted advice; I would have said the very same thing about iPods. You purchase hardware that is compatible with the operating system - not the other way around.

[Barney T. Administrators]

An example of trolling is as follows:

A member wants help with IE and you state... "IE sucks, use Firefox".

Here is your post:

I've got a better idea, throw away your Zune - its an expensive paper weight. Purchase a Cowon D2 player + 32GB SDCard, voila, end of story.

Many have been warned for that on this board.

[kaiwai]

I'm happy i made the switch to ubuntu. It installed perfectly on my dell e1505. I'm no computer wiz but i cheated in the installation. I use wubi :D but yea once i got ubuntu booted up and loaded. I started playing around with it. It recognized all my hardware, I even manage to take it to another level by installing compiz. Did I mention im running my ubuntu without any antivirus or spyware software. Anyways heres a screenshot of my ubuntu in after using it for a good month and a half

Awesome screenshot; it takes a bit of getting used to. The best book I've found is "UNIX Complete" it is a paper back book which teaches the fundamentals of UNIX. Then from there, I'd suggest getting a couple of distro specific books; then agian, these days its great to see that there is no longer the massive differences in distributions like there used to be.

[jayshaw]

I'm curious to know in what way are the icons lacking? compared to Windows, they're a work of art. Thats not saying much for either Windows or GNOME btw.

To me, everything just seems to be lacking a "professional" polish that would kick the OS up a level on the desktop. The icons, gtk themes, layouts, window boarders, everything you see on the screen. I've seen a few mock-up drawings of Ubuntu from some great designers and was blown away by the designs. These designers have no interest or knowledge of creating themes however and would rather have someone else (ex. the Ubuntu team) to implement the ideas. The look of Linux in general makes me feel like everything was designed by programmers and not artists (graphic designers).

I think we're getting off topic slightly though. :)

[ViperAFK]

I agree, Ubuntu's default Icons are terrible, I would much rather they go back to Tangerine whcih is much more polished and professional, Or the discovery Icons that were proposed. A distro with an example of an amazing polished default gnome look is SuSE.

[tsupersonic]

I'm just dissapointed in linux, in general. It's much better than it was back in the day, but it still needs some improvement before it becomes a consumer OS.

I'm not very impressed with Ubuntu. I've tried many different distros, and feel that Ubuntu is very slow. I prefer PCLinux, but since they really haven't updated it, I'm using Hardy Heron temporarily.

[tom01]

To me, everything just seems to be lacking a "professional" polish that would kick the OS up a level on the desktop. The icons, gtk themes, layouts, window boarders, everything you see on the screen. I've seen a few mock-up drawings of Ubuntu from some great designers and was blown away by the designs. These designers have no interest or knowledge of creating themes however and would rather have someone else (ex. the Ubuntu team) to implement the ideas. The look of Linux in general makes me feel like everything was designed by programmers and not artists (graphic designers).

I think we're getting off topic slightly though. :)

100% Agree...The look of every Linux based OS is far far far from the smoothness of XP/Vista/Tiger/Leopard..Ofcourse it is unfair to compare but you would of thought that at least ONE distro would have a good non cartoonish design!

I don't know where people come from by saying Linux is lighter than windows because for me Xubuntu/Ubuntu/Kubuntu runs far less smoother than XP from 192mb ram to 512mb...The only time I have had it smooth is when I have installed on my laptop but their is no battery management so.... :huh:

[KeeperOfThePizza]

I think he was just trolling, like if I went into a Windows thread and said "Windows is the problem with.. err... Windows" :unsure:

Trolling? no. Actually there has been a lot of problems ATI drivers, I've had a horrible time installing my card and getting Dual Display working.. Linux is great! I love it! but There is SOME driver issues.

Example: I got dual display to work.. but if I drag icons onto another display it reboots.. I have to have my card set at 512mbs in the Bios or otherwise I get a black screen.

[Mikee99]

I am completely unsatisfied with Ubuntu 8.04. IMO, it was a step backwards from 7. Really, my complaints are regarding stability and many bugs/glitches all over the OS.

Here is a perfect example:

Just 2 days ago, I decided to install 8.04 from Wubi. The purpose of this installation was to test VirtualBox in Linux running XP to see if I could virtualize USB devices (I later found out that you can't in the Linux version, unfortunately).

So, I installed Ubuntu from Wubi, and that went smoothly. When it was all done, I wanted to add some Compiz effects. So, I downloaded the restricted drivers for my 8800GT, then I had to restart my system (don't Linux zealots insult Windows about requiring a restart after installing software/drivers?). Once that was complete, I had to look for where the Compiz effects are. Of course, they couldn't make it easy and put a simple "Compiz Effects Settings" or something similar in the System menu. No, I had to look around for it. The first place I looked was in the Windows Settings. Nope, not there. I then looked in Appearance. In Appearance, it was in the tab at the far right. Yup, that's REALLY apparent for the average user. :rolleyes:

After that was done, I enabled full effects for Compiz. Really, I don't know what they were thinking with that implementation. There is no way to edit the settings for the effects using the tools they provide. That is just completely idiotic.

The next thing I did was to install VirtualBox. Once that was done, I had to restart my system (Why?). The major issues come now: When I restarted my system, instead of the friendly login screen, an X server configuration screen came up at 800x600 (on my 1280x1024 display) resolution, informing me that it cannot locate the video card driver! WHAT! How can you lose a driver? It also has no idea what GPU I'm running. When I select the nvidia driver, it doesn't work. Again, WTF? So, I then try to change the awful 800x600 resolution, but of course, it only lets me choose between 800x600 and 640x480. Lovely. Why should I be able to tell my system what resolution to use. I'm ONLY the user.

My system then went to the desktop at 800x600 and without any sound now (for some reason). After doing some Googling, I found out how to bring back that xserver configuration dialogue I had before, and I found a way to make it 1280x1024. I wasn't able to get Compiz working again, since I'm using the generic driver and it won't let me use the nvidia driver. However, at this point, I don't care anymore. I then continued on with VirtualBox, and at least that worked.

I've also had some other issues with 8.04:

1.) To use the live cd, I have to add the boot argument: all_generic_ide, or else it will just go to the busybox screen. Mind you, none of the previous versions of Ubuntu required this.

2.) My IDE DVD ROM drive has issues reading some CD's, but only in Ubuntu. In Vista it works fine. For example, to install XP in VirtualBox, it kept saying that a non-bootable medium was found. When I opened the disc in the file browser, it was missing some key important files/folders. I plugged in my external USB DVD-ROM drive, and that was able to read everything.

So, no, I am not at happy with 8.04. In my experience, it is extremely buggy. I hope 8.10 can fix these issues, or else I am going to be done with Ubuntu.

The only thing keeping me from going to Ubuntu full-time is the Zune software and Steam. Microsoft Office is pretty nice too - say what you want, but Open Office doesn't hold a candle to it.

Anybody know a way to run Zune software or Steam on Ubuntu? I've heard some success with Steam in Wine, but not Zune...

You can run steam in Linux, but really, why would you want to? In order to do it, you need to use WINE, which will only allow you to run games in DX 8 mode. So, unless you like getting worse graphics, I wouldn't recommend it.

Edited June 29, 2008 by Mikee99

[tsupersonic]

Mike99, I'm too lazy to type up a response, but you must be new to Linux. Those are all very easy to fix, and if you've used Linux for a while (or just google it), you'll know how to fix your problems. This is why Linux is not ready for the mainstream...

[mitch00]

*sigh* Linux isn't ready for the mainstream for 3. reasons: 1. the average person does not want to take the time to actually learn how to use their new system properly. 2. there are way too many people online giving terrible advice on how to fix (usually) simple problems, and 3. too many people from #1 who now go troll online telling people just how ****ty Linux is because they couldn't get it working properly. Oh well...

[atlef]

I voted NO. Just because I have found Ubuntu 64bit to be fast and stable for my needs. People have different experiences, and those of us who are satisfied with it, let us not attack the Windows users just because they do not find it understandable, nor take the time to figure out how to fix their problems. They seem to find the time to fix problems with Windows. But do not have the patience to do so with Linux.

And just to make it clear, I dual boot, because I play the occasional game.

And everybody run some form of Gnu/Unix in their home without knowing it. Even Microsoft have Linux servers.

atlef.

[Mikee99]

Mikee99, I'm too lazy to type up a response, but you must be new to Linux. Those are all very easy to fix, and if you've used Linux for a while (or just google it), you'll know how to fix your problems. This is why Linux is not ready for the mainstream...

Um, no. I've been using Linux since 2003. I'm also pretty good at fixing issues, it's just why should I have to waste my time to fix those issues? The system worked perfectly, and then after a reboot they stopped? WTF? And it's not like it was easy to fix. The fixes involve a lot of, IMO, unnecessary workarounds. Honestly, just re-installing the OS would have been the best way to fix the issues. I'm just simply illustrating the (very frustrating) experience I had with it 2 days ago.

Again, these were issues that I have not previously had with previous versions of Ubuntu, and IMO, 8.04 is a very lousy, buggy release.

[dyl4n]

I hated it too. I tried all the latest Linux distros and I have to say Fedora 9 is my favorite out of all of them. Everything just worked right.

[tsupersonic]

How the hell have you been using linux since 2003? I just started getting into it, and yet you describe the most basic problems..

Restart, you really don't have to restart unless you make system changes. For graphics cards, I'm told you can just restart X (CTRL + ALT + BACKSPACE) and it will apply the new settings. It actually makes sense (for me) that the Compiz settings are located in the Window settings. Where the hell do you expect it to be? Also, if you install a package (compizconfig settings manager) to get the settings to control Compiz plugins.

This is what's wrong with linux. Mike99 is out of the ordinary because he installed linux. Most people don't know what linux is or don't care. He tried to troubleshoot and he kinda failed. If an intermediate user can't figure this out, you expect the average joe to go through the troubleshooting process? Linux needs to be more simple and more intuitive.

Um, no. I've been using Linux since 2003. I'm also pretty good at fixing issues, it's just why should I have to waste my time to fix those issues? The system worked perfectly, and then after a reboot they stopped? WTF? And it's not like it was easy to fix. The fixes involve a lot of, IMO, unnecessary workarounds. Honestly, just re-installing the OS would have been the best way to fix the issues. I'm just simply illustrating the (very frustrating) experience I had with it 2 days ago.

[4CxbqFxVnstmA Veteran]

I am satisfied with it. I thought they would not put Firefox 3 Beta 5 in it though, as it was a beta and Hardy Heron is a Long Term Support release. I found that Firefox beta somewhat buggy.

I was glad I upgraded though. I'll probably upgrade to Intrepid Ibex the second it is released in final form. :D

[ViperAFK]

I am satisfied with it. I thought they would not put Firefox 3 Beta 5 in it though, as it was a beta and Hardy Heron is a Long Term Support release. I found that Firefox beta somewhat buggy.

I was glad I upgraded though. I'll probably upgrade to Intrepid Ibex the second it is released in final form. :D

There is already an upgrade to the final in the repos.

[zivan56]

This is the first Linux distro that I have used on my main desktop full time. I no longer have any other OS installed on it.

[dysmatik]

I think it's great. Nicely packaged distro.

[Mikee99]

How the hell have you been using linux since 2003? I just started getting into it, and yet you describe the most basic problems..

Ok, first off, stop with the condescending attitude and stop making assumptions about me. Secondly, my ID is: Mikee99. Thirdly, the problem I was encountering was not basic, it was very annoying.

Restart, you really don't have to restart unless you make system changes. For graphics cards, I'm told you can just restart X (CTRL + ALT + BACKSPACE) and it will apply the new settings. It actually makes sense (for me) that the Compiz settings are located in the Window settings.

After installing VirtualBox, I was prompted by the system to restart. Also, after adding the necessary user permissions to it, you need to restart for them to take effect. And apparently, you don't seem to understand what the problem I was experiencing was. My problem was that X was unable to locate the driver, and it was unable to detect the proper type of video hardware installed. A simple restart of X will not solve that. Trust me, I've tried several times to no avail. Somewhere, a config file has been modified. The only other solution I could think about was to go to Nvidia's website, download the driver, and to re-install it. Oh, and let's not forget about my sound card that magically stopped working. (I have in the past installed VirtualBox without this issue occurring, so I don't know what could have happened this time around.)

Where the hell do you expect it to be? Also, if you install a package (compizconfig settings manager) to get the settings to control Compiz plugins.

How about "Compiz Settings", or "Desktop Effects Manager"? That would be more easily accessible and user friendly. And I know you can download the plugins, but what's the point in doing that? That should be installed by default - the user shouldn't have to do that.

If an intermediate user can't figure this out, you expect the average joe to go through the troubleshooting process? Linux needs to be more simple and more intuitive.

Intermediate user? I'd like to see an intermediate user successfully write a program that performs file/io through the serial port in Linux. Please, just stop.

[tsupersonic]

[Kreuger]

That should be installed by default - the user shouldn't have to do that.

I'm gonna argue that one. I don't want a bunch of crap installed that I won't use. Yeah I can remove it but I like the idea of downloading things if I want them, rather than removing them if I don't.

[-Vivicidal-]

There was nothing wrong with Ubuntu 8.04 for me, per se, but it lacked any interesting new features/support for my new PC. Ubuntu is great but it still needs work.

[markwolfe Veteran]

<PEBKAC image snipped>

I think it is unfair to attribute all issues to a user/admin issue.

Some things, like an app saying "reboot is required" are silly, when many experienced users know just an X restart is needed. Mikee's complaint ("don't Linux zealots insult Windows about requiring a restart after installing software/drivers?") about that seemed to be a cheap and petty shot. But other observations he makes are no more or less valid because a few of them can be looked at and dismissed - like when the app programmer just assumes that people will understand "reboot" over "restart X". Heck, give a non-Linux user the instruction to "restart X", and they will give you that same look you get when you describe physics to a dog. :blink:. Say "reboot" and everyone knows that. It is not necessary to fully reboot, true, but it is expedient and well-known.

[Mikee99]

<PEBKAC image snipped>

You > /dev/null. I'm done wasting my time on you.

Mikee's complaint ("don't Linux zealots insult Windows about requiring a restart after installing software/drivers?") about that seemed to be a cheap and petty shot.

I wasn't taking a cheap shot at anyone here. I was poking fun at zealots who constantly preach that Linux does not require a restart upon installation of drivers and software. As for the restart, I used the pop-up window that Ubuntu showed informing me to restart my system after the installation of the software (in this case, it was VirtualBox, NOT the video drivers).