Unhappiness with Ubuntu
I am sure it will surprise many, given my strong support and long time advocacy of Open Source projects and especially the Ubuntu distribution of Linux – but I am not completely happy with Lucid Lynx. Lucid Lynx is version 10.04, which was released this spring and is the current long-term support(LTS) version of Ubuntu. And while I will say I am unhappy with it, I am not unhappy enough to switch back over to Windows as a primary operating system anytime soon. I would have to get a lot more unhappy with it before I got to the point I would want to switch back to that kind of slow bloated system – and do not think for a minute I would go to something as closed as Mac O/S whatever for anything other than what I have to support at the office.
I can think of four things that, three of which fall squarely in the grouping of things a typical user will not tolerate and hence return to Windows and/or Mac based operating systems. Above the four things though is the number of updates that have been coming out consistently with this release since its inception. I think that the updates, and especially the frequency, are a huge part of the problem. Two of the issues specially occur right after and very close to the completion of an update. I understand a few updates here and there for security and major bugs that were found. However, there have consistently been upwards of almost thirty updates every week on this release. A major LTS release should have a round a patches and updates for a few days and then not have any until about the time the next release (typically six months) is about due out. After that, really there should not be that much more in updates. If you want a new feature you need to not be on the LTS version, but rather the shorter live cycles.
Moving on to my complaints, the first directly ties to the updates. On roughly 75% of the updates done to my system I lose printers on the restart. I have only recently started to observe specifically if there were updates to the CUPS (the module in most Linux flavors that is used to control printers and install drivers). Indeed that has been the case on the last ones to be sure. The printers are not lost forever, just on the first and sometimes second reboot after an update. I am not sure why that is the case but it is darn aggravating regardless of the reasoning behind why it happens. The first time it occurred and I did not have any printers available I swore and was about to reinstall the two or three printers I had previously. I got busy, finished my day, and later that evening noticed they were back. If I had reinstalled the drivers, after the second time I would have quit and went back to a stable system that keeps my printers. Now that I know they come back, it is the minor irritation of rebooting – but most users would not put up with even that. For the record, my printers are all network printers that are installed by IP address and spooled to directly – though I am not sure if that makes a difference or not.
Next up is still related to updates, specifically with GRUB or anything that has to do with the boot process for that matter. There have been about seven updates to Grub to date. About half the time on the reboot after these updates I get an extra couple of entries in my GRUB menu for booting. The extra items are duplications of the normal and emergency mode boot into Ubuntu, so other than scrolling things down the menu it is really not that big a deal. However, it is just unclean and a bit aggravating to love something so sloppy. Most folks probably do not even see it, but as I have a couple of dual (actually some are with four different O/S) boot systems set up I really rely on GRUB to point into the right system. Given that most folks will not encounter this, not a big deal breaker for adoption by the typical potential user.
This next one is a picky issue and can really go either way for the typical user as being appreciated or not. There has been a big push to integrate basic functions of email, instant messaging and even social media into the main menu. The thought is if it is there and one touch and constantly keeping you informed and updated it is a good thing. Problem is the tool selection that used for the defaults is less than desirable in my opinion. It can be argued I suppose, but in open source I just do not see Evolution and Empheria measuring up against Pidgin and Thunderbird. Neither has the longevity to have worked out bugs and such at this point and the user interfaces just are not up to task. I have gotten Pidgen to interface with the one button for all concept, but Thunderbird has not been as lucky. I personally would just rather have an option to choose what I have installed for those options. I am not really sure why the Canocical chose those to begin, but I would go so far as to say that having the one button for all is really not needed anyway and I rarely have thought of using it.
Lastly is the sound management issues I am experiencing, with two of two computers running Lucid Lynx. Granted, it could be just a bad interface between Ubuntu and the systems, as they are similar models, both Lenovo laptops. On the other hand, I know everything worked just fine on the initial installations, so maybe it is a legit issue. Basically I can not get sound out of the built speakers at all. And in order to get the volume to audible level in the headphones the sound preferences have to be set to almost maximum on everything, which gives very little control to bump it up for softer part of music – which is often present in music I like. Keep in mind, one of these dual-boot systems has Windows and the sound works fine there – as one would expect. This leave little room but to suspect something is amiss with the Ubuntu sound control.
