Ubuntu 9.10, the Windows killer..No

[MidnightCowboy]

Hi Ritho

I've outlined a few of my own issues in the other thread since updating from 9.04 but the worst one for me won't affect many because it's related to my broadband modem. There are similar queries appearing alread,y but the post I made on the Ubuntu forum myself remains unanswered.

This apart though, from your experience (or anyone's) are the other issues I have line Gnometris not working properly, dis-functional Firefox extensions, VLC crashes etc likely to be fixed by system updates or will I still be looking to do a clean install after the bugs have been ironed out in a few weeks time? I say this because Jojo is not seeing these problems so I'm guessing mine must be in some way system specific.

[Jojoyee]

Originally Posted by MidnightCowboy

Hi Ritho

I've outlined a few of my own issues in the other thread since updating from 9.04 but the worst one for me won't affect many because it's related to my broadband modem... I say this because Jojo is not seeing these problems so I'm guessing mine must be in some way system specific.

I suppose if the driver fits into 9.04, it should fix into 9.10 as well, just suppose.

On another review, this guy says Ubuntu 9.10 -- almost perfect, but some better games, video editing and a better music player should have been included or chosen.

Is Ubuntu 9.10 perfect? "No. But so, so close."

[bk_7312]

A friend of mine recently downloaded Ubuntu 9.10 .ISO file, I asked for a copy and I have just booted into Ubuntu 9.10 a while ago in VirtualBox under MEPIS Linux. My PC has 512MB of RAM and 1.2GB swap. I didn't install Ubuntu in VirtualBox (or even want to), I just wanted to try Ubuntu as a LiveCD but didn't feel like wasting time (or CD) burning another CD.

I gave Ubuntu 226MB of RAM and loaded the .ISO file and started trying it. I was amazed that it booted to a fully usable desktop in less that 2 minutes! Note that I was booting it in VirtualBox with 226MB RAM. Unfortunately, after it booted to the desktop, everything slowed down, even the cursor movements weren't smooth.

MEPIS Linux took about 3 minutes or more to boot from the LiveCD, not in VirtualBox but from the CD, and because it was booted from the CD, it has access to all 512MB of RAM. To make the test fair, I booted into MEPIS Linux in VirtualBox with 226MB of RAM but the boot time was still almost the same.

This is truly shocking... I hope MEPIS 8.5 will drastically reduce its boot time like Ubuntu, in both the LiveCD experience and after installing.

[Jojoyee]

Windows 7 vs. Ubuntu 9.10 Boot Time shown side by side on YouTube:

Booting up Ubuntu 9.10 (33 seconds), Win7 (44 seconds)
Loading firefox in Ubuntu 9.10 (2 seconds), Win7 (12 seconds)

Shutting down Ubuntu is much faster than Win7.

(My experience in time taken to shut down Ubuntu is that: it completes shutdown before you have a chance to walk away. MC's experience: I first shut down 9.10 I actually thought the power had gone off )

... and Ubuntu aims for 10 second boot time in the next release 10.04 (year 2010, April)

I agree Ubuntu is more responsive in these areas, but features wise... ehmmm, Ubuntu needs to pick up.

[bk_7312]

Ubuntu's boot time convinced me to install it in VirtualBox, installation was fairly simple, I skipped disk partitioning and finished the installation within 30 minutes. Afterwards, I booted into Ubuntu, the boot time was approximately 45 seconds, the shut down time was an incredibly 2 to 3 seconds!

I didn't encounter any problem at all, maybe it was because I didn't bother trying anything (from playing mp3 files to trying out apps and etc). Will try them soon when I have the time. I was just checking out the pre-installed list of softwares and browsing through the menus when I realized that there was no control panel. Maybe I missed it or something but it's weird not being able to find the control panel.

Well, that's pretty much everything, not much to say except that I might switch to Ubuntu if it performs well in VirtualBox. So far, everything seems quite promising. Right now, I just wish that I could get more disk space and RAM for my laptop so that it could populate more OS for me to try.

[MidnightCowboy]

Originally Posted by bk_7312

I didn't encounter any problem at all, maybe it was because I didn't bother trying anything (from playing mp3 files to trying out apps and etc). Will try them soon when I have the time. I was just checking out the pre-installed list of softwares and browsing through the menus when I realized that there was no control panel. Maybe I missed it or something but it's weird not being able to find the control panel.

I'm convinced now that 95% of the problems I've encountered are because I elected to upgrade my existing installation rather than make a clean install of 9.10.

Ubuntu is different to Windows in a lot of areas Desktop settings are the same as my Vista in that you can right click on the screen to gain access to this but other stuff you need to access from System-Preferences-Administration or Maintenance.

The various links in this 'how to' explain it all

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SystemAdministration

[Jojoyee]

Originally Posted by bk_7312

I was just checking out the pre-installed list of softwares and browsing through the menus when I realized that there was no control panel. Maybe I missed it or something but it's weird not being able to find the control panel.

Ubuntu 9.10 separates the control items into "Preference" and "Administration" by default, accessible from:

System > Preferences
System > Administration

Some users prefer to have a Control Center, which can be enabled following the steps:

1. Right-click System (or Main Menu)
2. Select "Edit Menus"
3. Select System in the Menus column
4. Tick "Control Center" and click "Close".

Then you can access the Control Center from:

System > Control Center

[Jojoyee]

Originally Posted by MidnightCowboy

I'm convinced now that 95% of the problems I've encountered are because I elected to upgrade my existing installation rather than make a clean install of 9.10.

On upgrading to Ubuntu 9.10, Ubuntu says "be sure that you have all updates applied to Ubuntu 9.04 before you upgrade" and also recommends to read the release notes which document caveats and workarounds for known issues.

Personally I'd prefer to do a fresh installation rather than upgrading with all these extra steps which would end up taking even more time and trouble for me.

[MidnightCowboy]

Originally Posted by Jojoyee

On upgrading to Ubuntu 9.10, Ubuntu says "be sure that you have all updates applied to Ubuntu 9.04 before you upgrade" and also recommends to read the release notes which document caveats and workarounds for known issues.

Personally I'd prefer to do a fresh installation rather than upgrading with all these extra steps which would end up taking even more time and trouble for me.

I was real careful about applying all the updates first but somewhere along the line other issues must have come into play. I guess their upgrade setup could never foresee every possible customized config that the new version would have to install around so I've ended up with what I've got!

Never fear, all is not lost. I know Vista hates me but we'll get along until I can get things sorted

[wdhpr]

I have to admit to being slightly amused by the problems encountered by those trying to upgrade to Ubuntu 9.10. I have to confess to not being a fan of Ubuntu for I myself have tried to become a member of the Ubuntu fan club. To no avail and I am back chugging along with my Simply Mepis. There maybe something said for thoroughly ironing out the bugs before unleashing an upgrade to the ravenous Ubuntu fans. I thought this write up tries to explain the issue:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11...a_frustration/

The silver lining in all these storm clouds maybe the strong learning curve required to fix all the problems

Cheers
Wdhpr