My First Day Of Ubuntu 9.10

[The Simpleton 2]

I was going to wait until December to install Ubuntu 9.10 (because then I would be getting a free DVD along with a magazine) but my impatience got the better of me and I installed through a CD today itself (a complete reinstall, not just upgrading like I had done with 3 previous releases). I was doing good in 9.04 till yesterday, and now suddenly I don't know what to say after seeing the new release!

 

The looks and all are very beautiful, but maybe it's because of the fact that this was the first re-install in a year that I'm feeling a bit lost in here. I thought I'd do a little review of my own and put it up here for anyone who's about to try installing Karmic Koala...

 

I'll start with the cons (at least from my point of view they are!)

 

--> My favourite utility in Ubuntu was the "Network Manager" utility which could be added to the panel. One click on it and it would tell me how much bandwidth I had used. It also told me when the net was connected/disconnected. I got so used to this little tool, and now I find that it's missing. At least it's not in the list of utilities that can be added to the panel

 

--> The preferences for the login screen window have disappeared! Now all I can do is choose whether or not to login automatically. There's no option to change the login screen, etc. They've been hidden somewhere!

 

--> Empathy has replaced Pidgin as the default IM client, but for some reason it's not accepting my google account, and is displaying a "network error". My yahoo account is working fine, though.

 

--> Remember the shortcut for "Show Desktop" on Windows? It's "Win Key+D", right? Until 9.04 I set "Win Key" (or super key as it is called in Ubuntu) as the shortcut for showing the desktop. But for some weird reason that key is disabled in 9.10. And now I'm without a single-key shortcut for showing the desktop.

 

I observed all this in just an hour of using 9.10 - which means there are some weird bugs or something still present in it. That's not very promising for a new user of Ubuntu or rather of Linux! I don't know if these bugs are present for everyone or just me. If someone could point out a solution it would be much appreciated.

 

Now for some pros of 9.10:

 

--> GRUB2 bootloader - looking good!

--> New Improved Splash Screen - beautiful!

 

Well that's it for the visuals! But there's more:

 

-->Software Center - replaces the old "Add/Remove" option - now you can install a whole set of new programs that weren't available through this option in the earlier versions. For example, I had to use Synaptic Package Manager to install VLC media player in the old versions. But now it's easily available in the Software Center itself

 

-->Ubuntu One - not a very strong feature, but useful nevertheless. You get 2GB of free storage space on the internet. Since such features are available at many other places, this isn't much of an advantage.

 

Well that's all i can think of for now. I think I'm finding 9.10 to be much more faster, but maybe that's again due to the fresh install. On the whole, I'd say definitely go for it but make sure to keep updating the system to get rid of those tiny bugs hiding here and there. Okay, that was a pretty rough review but that's the best I can do after using 9.10 for two hours!

[bluedragon 0]

Did you notice that its slightly slower than previous version 9.04.I had configured my Ubuntu for almost everything and then I thought why not upgrade it. Couldn't get my hands on an upgrade CD so I did a fresh install. The new GRUB loader is nice but i think its slower than the previous one.Also, I didn't like Empathy. Pidgin was good, a lot faster.Its a lot cleaner in terms of installation but I keep getting a feel that something is missing. Administrative tools look a little less in number.

[jlhaslip 4]

The Ubuntu One feature is nice. You can add Tomboy notes and then synchronize them to the cloud.Also, your Evolution Mail contacts can be uploaded and synchronized, too. And they are adding some new stuff to it as we speak.Wouldn't it be nice to Sync your Calendar as well???Anyway, simply drag a file into your Ubuntu One folder and it will be uploaded and any changes you make to it will also get uploaded in due course. I haven't figured out the sequence or timing on the synch for files yet. In Tomboy Notes, look under the Tools tab.

[rob86 2]

I'll start with the cons (at least from my point of view they are!)
--> My favourite utility in Ubuntu was the "Network Manager" utility which could be added to the panel.

Woohooo! The absence of that clunky program could have saved me some trouble when I first installed Ubuntu, though it does seem like it could be cool, if it worked right for me.

--> The preferences for the login screen window have disappeared! Now all I can do is choose whether or not to login automatically.

Really? That sounds like quite a con to me. I hope that's not truly gone for good.

--> Remember the shortcut for "Show Desktop" on Windows? It's "Win Key+D", right? Until 9.04 I set "Win Key" (or super key as it is called in Ubuntu) as the shortcut for showing the desktop. But for some weird reason that key is disabled in 9.10. And now I'm without a single-key shortcut for showing the desktop.

Try CTRL+ALT+D, if that doesn't work, download "wmctrl" and "xbindkeys" .. one lets you control windows (show desktop) other lets you bind keys. Should work, though haven't tested it for this specific thing. The super key never worked for me?

I observed all this in just an hour of using 9.10 - which means there are some weird bugs or something still present in it. That's not very promising for a new user of Ubuntu or rather of Linux! I don't know if these bugs are present for everyone or just me. If someone could point out a solution it would be much appreciated.

I hope it's not too bad, I convinced my friend to try out Ubuntu and they're going to receive 9.10. They aren't the type of person that would settle for a buggy OS. My other friend also left Ubuntu 9.04 because of software incompatibility. I love Ubuntu, but seems it still has work to do to please the average person.

Now for some pros of 9.10:
--> GRUB2 bootloader - looking good!
--> New Improved Splash Screen - beautiful!

Can't wait to see them!

Well that's it for the visuals! But there's more:
-->Software Center - replaces the old "Add/Remove" option - now you can install a whole set of new programs that weren't available through this option in the earlier versions. For example, I had to use Synaptic Package Manager to install VLC media player in the old versions. But now it's easily available in the Software Center itself smile.gif

Interesting, but I hate the slowness of the GUI package manager front ends on my aging computer and prefer using apt-get in the terminal OR... wajig, which combines most of the important commands like "search" "info" into one easy to remember command.

-->Ubuntu One - not a very strong feature, but useful nevertheless. You get 2GB of free storage space on the internet. Since such features are available at many other places, this isn't much of an advantage.

Neat feature, I guess.

I really wish they'd send me a new CD.. I tried different things to trick shipit into letting me deprive some unfortunate person of an ubuntu cd for my own selfish needs..using proxies..clearing cookies. I couldn't trick it into thinking I was a different user for some reason. Unfortunately, Begging didn't seem to be option on their list of ways to acquire more cds either.

[The Simpleton 2]

I'm now in Day 3 of using Karmic and am still having a mixed opinion for it. However, I wouldn't definitely suggest it to a new user - they are better off starting with 9.04 or even 8.10. I think this release was a liiiiiitle hurried into. The six-month target might have made the developers a bit nervous and they might have overlooked a few bugs in it.The latest bug I found is that the Calculator utility is faulty!!! I use it mostly to calculate how much bandwidth I have left, and it's giving me results like this: 2.5-1.081 = 2!!! I tried re-installing it but there wasn't any use. So I had to install a third-party app for calculating :)I managed to solve that Network Manager thing - I installed the appled from Synaptic and then restarted the system and it was added! Well at least now I can monitor my net usage - that's a relief!

[mahesh2k 0]

One more person joining ubuntu brigade. I'm not sure about your experience with linux but i suggest you to check the ubuntu help regularly for some of the answers to ubuntu question. For instant answers to your ubuntu linux question you should check out the ubuntu forums. There is also one good place to suggest new things to ubuntu people, it is brainstorm. You'll like digg type interface of it to post new ideas for ubuntu development.

[The Simpleton 2]

I do use the Ubuntu forums, but only as a last resort. Most of the times I simply google out my problem and I do find the solution within 2-3 sites. This is a sticky situation - it means that although finding problems to bugs is easy, it also means that a lot of people are running into bugs, which isn't a healthy thing!

[iGuest 3]

IT IS A GOOD THINGMy First Day Of Ubuntu 9.10I'm not un unconditionnal of Ubuntu (I use at 6 flavours of Linux -not counting embedded units- , 2 other Unix and 1 Home-made OS from scratch  -LOL, I fear no breaking in hehehe- all for different purposes). The thing is if there are a bunch of bugs out there, that means A LOT of active development exists, PLUS this massive numbers of forums are quite old which means people stick with ubuntu, ...Why would they? wouldn't they be better with Windows or some branded unix? ... Let me guess...Oops THEY HAVE BUGS TOO, it's just that they don't react as quickly! Ubuntu has aims to be more plug and'play in the future than any other OS and let the power of e-people govern the world, which is an honourable goal by the way, but to achieve that ...Sometimes... Soldiers fall down in the battlefield I mean :being stubborn when seing people loosing their laptop because of the principle "not my duty" which is a crappy principle by the way, you DO sometimes clean someone else's **** because he did it IN YOUR HOME, this is exactly what the amazing people in the forums did with "UGLY FIXES" that WORK; I would have lost my laptop's disk if there weren't so many forums while I was unware of the problem; believe it or not some dudes still don't know about Load_Cycle_Count problem or bug [not ubuntu's, yes I got it]...).Now that said, Ubuntu is the choice of any one who wants to learn a different OS for free and, from there, re-learn the power of freedom. I am still mad at some people (not you) saying : "well you see, I like some programs and wouldn't like to switch back to XP or Vista again".  Who told you to leave Windows int he first place?It's not a condition and Ubuntu isn't selling any stuff, if it suits you, take it, if it doesn't, you're free TO LEARN (not go,hehehe got u) how to make it suit you and enjoy it like you'd enjoy a suit from a taylor . One question : you're from a clever country who decided windows licences cost too much and you wanna bring computers to anyone with minimum cost or even better : using old computers to teach cutting-edge technology to poor farmers kids, what would you do? call 1-800-Please-BILL? the answer is simple : grab an ubuntu and you're in business. We've come far from the darkest days of "take it or leave it" of some OS did in the past and the folks in ubuntu deserve our respect AND SUPPORT for sure.thanks for reading me.-reply by Vincent

[wayne 0]

I too have installed Ubuntu 9.10... Having installed various distributions over the past decade, it is obvious that as Microsoft begins to suffer losses (a sign perhaps that they are on the downslide), Ubuntu shows us the potential of linux to present as a viable alternative operating system.A lot of the concern of linux newbies is the removal from their comfort zone familiarity built up over many years of using Microsoft Windows (despite its obvious failings to deliver value for money in every release).I won't repeat all that has been said, but Ubuntu can achieve as good a result as anything Windows offers, and more - and it is well worth perservering with.

[FruitRocks 0]

I like Ubuntu, but I mainly use Windows 7 and Mac OS X (my PC can support it; google it)because of the graphics and sound editing applications I run. I don't see why people complain about Windows 7/XP. If people were to just upgrade their computers and stop using old Intel Celeron 1.6 GHZ processors, then I think that Windows would actually have a chance. One day, somebody is going to create a virus that turns all computers running Linux into computer zombies, that transmits their data to that person, and then he/she can exploit those people. It's so naive to think that Linux is immune to everything. Hell, there was a .000000000001% chance that the Rebels could have actually blown up the Death Star, but they did. Goes to show that nothing is immune from exploitation.