I will not be upgrading from Ubuntu 10.10 to 11.04

When I first heard about work being done on a new version of Ubuntu, I got very excited.  After all, things seemed to get better and better since I got started in the 9.10 Lucid Lynx days.  Yet, after reading different comments from people using 11.04, in addition to checking it out for myself, I decided that this would be one I am going to let pass. But why? you may wonder?  Well, there is one BIG reason that I will go into now.

The desktop interface has changed from Gnome 2 to Unity and while those coming from a windows background will possible be fond of  this new set up (especially if this is their 1st exposure to Linux) since they  are not used to the “Gnome” way of doing things. I on the other hand since my first exposure to Ubuntu back in early 2010, had already become accustomed to  the way I  interacted with my desktop. So I was quite apprehensive to the change as a result.

It has been said that this new release was as the result of a goal set by Mark  Shuttleworth and the parent company of Ubuntu (Canonical) for the purpose of attracting new users  particularly from the Windows world towards open source operating systems. This makes a lot of sense given that while Linux  is an operating system that has existed since 1991, it has not had nearly the widespread adoption of Windows or Even Mac based systems.

Now of course, I am fine with this concept as I love the idea of getting people to do.  To be able to use something beside Windows, even if it is just for the sake of having more options available to them.

At the same time by making this controversial change there seems to  be quite a few of us dedicated Gnome 2 users that feel left out. And that’s not good since we make up a large number of the existing fanbase. So its been pretty much  been such an issue that some have abandoned Ubuntu totally and ran to other distros  that still use the Gnome 2 standard.

While others like me simply continue using older  versions of Ubuntu such as 10.10 or even earlier. Ryan Paul of Ars Technica had this to say regarding this: “There is a lot to like in Ubuntu  11.04, but also a lot of room for improvement.” Jesse Smith of Distrowatch said “I’m of the opinion there are good  features in this release, but 11.04 definitely suffered from being rushed out  the door while it was still beta quality. Ubuntu aims to be novice-friendly, but  this release is buggy and I think they missed the mark this time around. I’m  limiting my recommendation of 11.04 to people who want to play with an early  release of Unity.”[116][117]

Ivor O’Connor said, quoted in Linux Journal “Ubuntu seems to  be run by kiddies more interested in blinding you with eye-candy than allowing  you to be productive.”

Jim Lynch also quoted in the same magazine had this to say “I find Unity to  be suffocating and unnecessary. For me it adds little value and seems to be in  the way most of the time; so I would definitely not use Ubuntu 11.04 as one of  my regular distros. I tried to like it but I just couldn’t,” said Jim Lynch.

I happen to agree with this, and I am more optimistic of 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot  as by then the unity interface will have had more time to mature to be more  polished than it is right now.  Even if it takes until the next LTS Pummeling Porcupine, or Presumptous Platypus to get there.

Lol! boy was I wrong, for the next release of Ubuntu will be Precise Pangolin.  It will be an LTS version or Long Term Release.  I feel as though the Unity desktop has matured a lot, so I will be checking it out. At the same time I may very well end up installing the Cinnamon desktop on top.

This article was updated from another article I did   http://computersight.com/operating-systems/linux/why-i-wont-be-upgrading-to-ubuntu-11-04-natty-narwhal/#ixzz1W4nnMVya

Related articles

• I get what I want (swift110.wordpress.com)
• Has Ubuntu lost it? (techradar.com)
• Misadventures with the Ubuntu 11.04 Desktop (techblogs.agiledigital.com.au)

Pinguy OS 11.04: What a beautiful child of Ubuntu

Being the curious person I am I get really excited when I come across a new operating system.  Especially when they are part of the Linux community. One that really stands out in my memory is one called Pinguy OS.

I was first introduced to Pinguy OS back in late December of 2010. This happened while I was visiting my cousins in NC.

It was such a surprise for to find out that it was based on Ubuntu, and that made me quite comfortable, since I was already familiar with that OS having been  introduced to it earlier that year. I tell the story of that in this blog post.

This new offspring of Ubuntu and therefore grandchild of the Debian project proved to be above and beyond my wildest expectations, when it comes to a version of Linux.

One of the reasons for that is the inclusion by default of video codecs, this makes it easier for me to enjoy media such as MP3’s or DVD’s.  While its big brother Linux Mint also does that, it does not have nearly the same number of programs included with it by default.  Which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on who you are.

I must say that  this appears to be the ultimate “getting started right” version of Linux as  it has practically everything you could ever need or indeed want already preinstalled by default so it is great for those that are noobs to Linux. (By the way, when I say “noobs” I simply mean people who are new to the world of Linux: )

I recall when  I first got started with Ubuntu how it was such a learning curve for me to get things since I had been using Windows based systems my whole life.  Fortunately, thanks to searching various topics on Google and watching videos on Youtube gradually I was able to  learn more and more to the point where I can install programs from the command line.  However, I found that not everyone has that type of patience.

Some of the prorams that are available include:  Conky, ( a program that you can set up to show the weather or hardware specs on the screen) Libreoffice, (an open-source suite office suite) Docky, which is similar to what appears on Mac based Operating systems,  as well as Wine which allows compatibility between Windows programs and Linux and the list goes on and on. This is the reason for the large size of the .iso file.  The only thing lacking in fact is games, but thats not really much of an issue as they are easily obtained via the Ubuntu Software Center which it is also completely compatible with.

I tested this OS in a  program called  Virtual Box which is absolutely awesome for testing various OS’s without doing a full installation on your hard-drive.  Pinguy OS 11.04 is quite a large .iso file at 1.6 GB which is about the same size as Windows XP, but is a lot more versatile in its use not to mention free.  The comparison to most other Linux operating system downloads is that they are generally about 700 MB so they can be easily burned onto CD’s.  Despite the large size of Pinguy OS I was up and running very quickly.

That was a surprise!

Something else I love about Pinguy OS 11.04 is that it resembles its older sibling Linux Mint in the way its global menu is set up as well as the repositories or libraries of programs that are available. I really like that while this is based on Ubuntu 11.04 the Unity interface that I and apparently quite a few others do not like has been replaced with Gnome 2 the one I have come to know and love.

I have to admit that when I started this up I was like: OK, where are the programs that are supposed to be pre-installed? Thankfully I figured out, duh!! that if you hover you mouse pointer over the upper left of the screen that the menu for all the programs come up.

All in all I  highly recommend Pinguy OS 11.04, whether you are new to the Linux world, or are just not cool with the Unity interface currently being used in Ubuntu. Once you get started you will be ready to engage on a fantastic voyage of sorts.

A video reviews of this distro can be found here, and here and a Facebook page about it is also present

Like I said before: What a beautiful child!!!

Welcome to Anthony’s blog

Hello!  Thanks so much for coming to check me out.  I first got started on here in August of 2011 – thanks to the suggestion of one of my good friends. 🙂

While I started with posts mostly about Linux, I decided to expand the topics I would discuss.  I pretty much talk about a variety of things from nature to music, etc.

Since then my traffic here has increased nicely.   Having people come back to check me out again makes me very happy as well.  If you want to link to any of my posts, please feel free to do so.  I love to reblog and link to posts I like as well.

https://swift110.wordpress.com.

The following were suggestions that I used when I got started.  It took me a while to understand things the way I do now and I am still learning.

I highly recommend reading other blogs, as people will generally check you out if you check them out.  Also, commenting and re-blogging as you see fit is good as well. It helps you and it helps others.

Here are some suggestions for your first post.

1. You can find new ideas for what to blog about by reading the Daily Post.
2. Add PressThis to your browser.  It creates a new blog post for you about any interesting page you read on the web.
3. Make some changes to this page, and then hit “preview” on the right. You can always preview any post or edit it before you share it with the world.

I wish you the best in your endeavours when it comes to blogging. I have no doubt you will enjoy it as I have.