Does Ubuntu hate me or is it really getting worse?
I started using Ubuntu in 2009 when I had to develop C and Java software for some courses at college. Back in those days the only think I knew about linux or unix was that it had something to do with penguins and gnus. I had a hard time getting used to the UI even more to the command line.
My laptop had a slow disk (5200rpm) so I decided to use dual boot with Windows instead of a virtual machine. Ubuntu was fast no doubt about it, but I always preferred Windows’ usability and look (probably just because I was more used to it).
Then I updated from Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala to 10.04 Lucid Lynx. Wow. Ubuntu became a polished and cool looking OS for the first time. I really enjoyed the dark theme and its warm tones. It was nice just to look at it. Working at Ubuntu became enjoyable.
Meanwhile Unity came with 11.04 Natty Narwhal, I didn’t like it and switched to Gnome 3. By that time I was trying to use Ubuntu on a daily basis, in an attempt to convert from Windows to Linux. I couldn’t. Games, Adobe Lightroom, and Microsoft Office didn’t let me fully convert to Linux.
Despite my personal requirements, Ubuntu was a stable, enjoyable, fast and powerful operating system. Not yet an alternative for me but a nice complement to Windows. Certainly the OS to develop software.
Ubuntu today
The last version I tried was 13.04 Raring Ringtail. And I finally gave up on Ubuntu as an alternative.
At my bedroom I have a docking station setup for my computer: I have a LCD monitor, a keyboard, a mouse, and a laptop that connects to those devices. I connect my laptop to the monitor using an HDMI cable and it always worked plug’n’play on Windows. Not on Ubuntu. As soon as I connected the HDMI cable to the laptop, while on Ubuntu, it completely froze and I had to restart. I tried multiple combinations of connecting the cable, powering on, closing and opening the lid, switching windows and virtual desktops, to no avail. The result was always a black or a frozen screen, a forced restart, and the loss of my work.
Another thing I’m quite used to do on Windows is to press the shutdown button to suspend the laptop if I’m going to be AFK for a while. I did that once on Ubuntu and learned the lesson – never suspend. Ubuntu suspended correctly turning off the fans, but when I pressed the power button to resume my session I couldn’t get passed a black screen despite the laptop being back on full power. Once again, forced restart and loss of my work. It’s not like I’m asking Ubuntu to natively take advantage of NVIDIA’s Optimus technology – which would be great – since I know “NVIDIA is the worst trouble spot on hardware manufacturing” (Linus Torvalds). No, I’m just asking to suspend my computer! That’s as basic as shutting down!
Final thoughts
I like the Ubuntu project, what it is and what it represents. I like their vision to unify desktop, tablets, mobile (and TV) in a single OS and UI. I admire the effort the put on to create a powerful and beautiful operating system free for everyone. After all this years using Ubuntu I actually made a donation. What I don’t like are these tiny little things that greatly limit my work on Ubuntu.
So if you want my advice, use a virtual machine instead. With Windows’ layer on top of Ubuntu I had all those problems solved (external monitor and suspend), which is quite ironic. If you don’t have the patience to create a VM you can grab one at bitnami.
(let the flame war begin in the comments below)
8 replies on “Is Ubuntu getting worse?”
Linux Mint is Debian/Ubuntu based, it still uses apt-get install. Mate interface is cool and elegant.
Fedora is a good distro with a full fledged software packages
yes ubuntu is going down hill fast. hence why i have gone to a Linux that is a little more German. OpenSUSE!
Well, use the latest stable (14.04 ) instead of giving up on seeing one bad version. Everyone knows 13.04 was VERY BUGGY. And slow. Ok, fine, use 14.04. It’s faster, and it’s LTS.
Drivers ARE an issue on Ubuntu, but getting one is quite easy- I never had to experience what you described up there. Maybe requirements caused the difference.
Windows may be the best one out there now, but i never regretted moving from windows to Ubuntu.
Ya, ubuntu is definitely not perfect. But, FOR MY WORK, it is bettr than windows
I’ve had to use Ubuntu before and the conclusion I reached was that the drivers were it’s worst problem.
My laptop had NVidia Optimus technology and it took me more than a week to research and put to work a solution that let me use the goddamn main graphics card. And I had to say manually which graphics card I would want to use every time I started and application. (I only had to format my computer 5 or 6 times through trial and error during this procedure).
Another pain in the neck was using a Kinect-like device with it. Every time I launched the application that used it, I’m pretty sure the computer would flip a coin to decide if it was going to crash or not.
All in all, drivers for Ubuntu suck :(
I totally agree ;)
Seriously WTF!?
WTF are you people whining about drivers, crashes.
I see you whine but I don’t see you helping, investigate the cause find a solution.
If you want a free product, and it doesn’t meet your requirements then help make it better. If you can’t be bothered either pay canonical for support and they will solve your problem or go pay for Windows.
If your drivers don’t work properly, then complain to the manufacturer.
Now either stop whining and make yourself useful, or go pay for Windows.
Enough of this stupid shit of comparing a free product with a paid one and expecting the same level of support when you don’t even waste a dime.
Freeloaders – http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/freeloader
Sanchaz,
I don’t think you read anything of what I said, specially the last line but I’ll repeat it: “All in all, drivers for Ubuntu suck”.
Driver… for Ubuntu.
I was complaining about the drivers from manufacturers that already received my money.
And I’ll leave you a dictionary reference as well:
Fanboy – http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fanboy
Cheers ;)
Trust me, I tried to solve those problems. I just “whine” about people who say Windows is garbage and Linux is perfect. If you had the same problems on Windows you would complain that it was all Windows’ fault, not the drivers’.
Windows is not as bad and Ubuntu is not as good. That’s my point.