Ok, despite the popularity that Ubuntu has got I'm posting a rant on it; that's cause it really deserves it. Earlier when I used to use Ubuntu 8.04... no issues, but things have been degrading since then and at the current state and as a system admin, I can confirm that Ubuntu or it's variants are no longer in production quality.
This happened possibly cause of the Windows migrants (or normal users) who just preferred the GUI and next next finish crap but they are actually a part of the community... they are willing to help, unfortunately their help and their opinion causes more problems and myths than solutions. As a result we had more such people adding up in the community and now the state is that almost everything about Ubuntu is complete trash.
Why I decided to write this today is cause one of my clients said “Linux sucks” thanks to Ubuntu (yeah I know it's Ubuntu's fault not upstream).
Why Ubuntu sucks -
- Community – As said before, majority (70% to 80%) of people in Ubuntu community are still under the impression that Ubuntu is a Windows alternative; just judging from the GUI and doing everything from the GUI; they dont even know the difference between Linux and Ubuntu. They have less knowledge, ok, but real issues starts by the fact that these people have attitude and overestimate their knowledge and comment without understanding the main questions.
Overall, to sum up, this is what the Ubuntu community wanna say -
“It doesn't matter how many packages are preinstalled, it doesn't matter how the packages have been compiled, and it doesn't matter how you've configured the kernel or the system, all that matter is if the OS is Ubuntu or not and if it is, it is the best!”.
Now the community will ask "It works perfectly here", and the obvious answer that any non Ubuntu user will give is that all this has been tried on verity of hardware which is true... not even verity, in the same system problems increase over time and I get too many calls.
The community represents the common public, and the common public IS stupid, they don't need to talk to the devs directly!... they need to talk to them though admins or some expert users to ensure that they don't bombard the handful of Senior devs that are still left in Ubuntu. And those admins shouldn't be Ubuntu admins. - Since such people form the larger majority, we just get answers to simple stupid questions like what's the root directory, how you add a new user, how you install software... all repetitive or simple questions. If you have any real questions which points to a real bug/challenge... the community is doomed. 70% of the community does not have the capability to answer this. The remaining 30% are bombarded by repetitive questions so they don't even see the good questions. Let's take some sample old unanswered questions from the 10-11th page of a randomly chosen forum -
“http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1581605
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1581584
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1563031
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1581574
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1563002&highlight=CUPS” - Package quality – Ok, the above is not that much of a real issue, but this is the main issue with Ubuntu. In my case, with every Ubuntu install comes new bugs.
Take the current issue for examples, DVDstyler does not make the final project... some sorta 'error' occurs, possibly causes of unsatisfied dependency.
Ok, so I tried the same with Sabayon with the free spaced hosted by an NFS server running on Ubuntu... and guess what happened? Ubuntu NFS encountered 'errors'... cannot r/w files.
NFS is always giving issues... verity of issues from mounting the served location, to file transfer which at times stops cause of some sorta error which's different every time. Ofcourse the problem gets solved after an Ubuntu 'reboot'. In the end I preferred system rescue CD to get the job done which is unfortunately based on Gentoo – the distro which most Ubuntu users hate with an excuse – 'its not worth it' where as the reality is it's not their cup of tea... how can stupid windows users start using fabulous distros like Gentoo, further more how can they see the advantage?
CUPS hangs too much, the web config page never opens.
I opened a bug to compile mplayer so as to play HD videos, hell yeah they fixed it, but now the HD audio wont come (wma).
That CD/wine bug is there for around 6 months, and no one has a way to fix it.
Now the scanner stopped working.
Overall we have verity of uncountable bugs, it appears the devs maintaining Ubuntu packages not proper devs or contributers... they are Windows devs trying to do some Linux package management; or college IT freshers. Otherwise who else will be interested in Ubuntu anyway... it's just another shining distro! - Horrible dependency of preinstalled package – apt-get remove ubuntu-desktop;apt-get autoclean; nothing more gets removed.
If you wanna remove a preinstalled package in Ubuntu, probably you have to check the dependencies manually to get the job done. I do it for around 10 packages. - Buggy dependency resolution of apt – This is not a major issue, but at times, apt-get autoclean just wont work as expected, and you gotta remove a bunch of orphan packages manually.
- FS corruption – Since the Ubuntu's 'super speed' bootup/shutdown started, at times the FS does get an unclean unmount; it shows up in the next boot.
- Hardware incompatibility – Various small issues with hardware does occur. For example in a few acer laptops, we have issues with the brightness, touchpad keys, alps touchpad etc...
- Ubuntu seems extra slow – All other distros are faster in comparison. You can see the benchmarks.
There're many more (right now and in the making) that I probably forgot about. The current state is such that I'm forced to leave Ubuntu... and I'm glad I'm going to. If you're a system admin or a dev and using Ubuntu, I advice you quit now and start using better thing... maybe Debian itself; yeah Ubuntu community is big, but you gotta see what sorta people it's made off. To the rest of Ubuntu users – I suggest you remain with it and not pollute other distros.
An update -- after more than a year of posting this, I again booted some very old Ubuntu live CDs (7.x and 8.x) to test if they were able to run an ELF executable.
But guess what happened? Bash: ... cannot run executable.
And everything was ok, there was no reason for it not to run. The same worked fine on 2008 Gentoo live CD.
This reminded me that Ubuntu was, is and will always be crap from the beginning of time, not only after 8.04.
An update -- after more than a year of posting this, I again booted some very old Ubuntu live CDs (7.x and 8.x) to test if they were able to run an ELF executable.
But guess what happened? Bash: ... cannot run executable.
And everything was ok, there was no reason for it not to run. The same worked fine on 2008 Gentoo live CD.
This reminded me that Ubuntu was, is and will always be crap from the beginning of time, not only after 8.04.
Welcome to the club. I've left it in '08 after only having used it for half a year or so mostly due to the stupid community, old packages and the general slowness compared to anything else I've ever used.
ReplyDeleteSo which distro are you going to use now?
ReplyDeleteDebian for me, yo.
ReplyDeleteTesting with pinning up to sid and experimental.
I only explicitly install from those.
I also have debian-multimedia for sid, because I want bleeding-edge on 'multimedia' stuff... and I don't acknowledge software patents.
Interesting as I have ranted about this myself. I am/was a big Ubuntu fan ever since in came out. I don't chase the critters, staying with the LTS variants. Last good one was 8.04.x. I did a full distro refresh to 10.4 64bit on a PC and it was a disaster. Load problems, LVM has issues, FSTAB mounts that seem to work then not. Funny thing is I installed Linux Mint 9 that uses Ubuntu 10.4 base and it loaded and works fine. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteOn production systems that use Ubuntu, I use a Ubuntu mini remix base then use Ubuntu Customization Kit to create the exact platform that I need for the installs. The servers don't carry all the cruft of GUI, et al so many of the issues have not cropped that are mentioned in this post. I keep my fingers crossed. I too am looking at Debian more and more.
Ubuntu seems extra slow – All other distros are faster in comparison. You can see the benchmarks.
ReplyDeleteCare to post the relevant links? The ones that I have seen all seem to indicate that ubuntu is _not_ in any way slower than other distros.
its fine to have those users there in the ubuntu ecosystem. It allows greater visibility to linux in general. Ubuntu has problems i dont think anyone would argue that but, it does serve a purpose. That purpose being, greater adoption rates. Ubuntu's mnatra has always been to be able to get the greatest amount of users possible and it is succeeding. When users are ready to migrate that can.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to do this but the problem with Linux in general is the type of attitude espoused in this rant!
ReplyDeleteI know we don't live in a utopian society and hoping we all could get along is just a fantasy; But why attack open source projects form within? (there is enough opposition from big business that see their profit margins decreasing!!!) Why not promote the good you see in a particular venture an encourage improvements rather than deride and pull down their efforts to bring Linux into the home rather than the exclusive domain of self-righteous 'leet' geeks?
I love the idea of my Mum or even my Granny using a user friendly GUI to check their email's and communicate across the world without having to understand BASH scripting and command line gymnastics.
I applaud Ubuntu's efforts to offer a linux experience that is open to all from the newbie granny's through to the experienced IT professionals.
There is always room for improvements and I acknowledge that there are projects in this domain unfinished and flawed. As long as we acknowledge that we are talking about project created and fueled by people's passion and commitment to ideals rather than dedicated business investment.
@tricqster
ReplyDeleteI personally perffer Gentoo, since I know it pretty well, I administer Sabayon... actually I've yet to decide what to use for administration, Debian (which is very good) or Sabayon (which I'm very good at). The good thing with Sabayon is that in case there are bugs in the precompiled package, you can compile you own using portage!
@Tucanae Services
ReplyDeleteNice advice... I'll try it.
@aethralis
ReplyDeletehttp://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=linux_distro_fourway&num=1
Question is how do you define 'fast'... fast as a server or a Desktop. As a desktop Ubuntu is not responsive... the problem lies with the kernel config, and possibly how the binaries of the packages are compiled.
Overall, I'm not a dev, but it just appears as if the Ubuntu team is just inexperienced.
@Philbo
ReplyDeleteThe problem with Opensource OSs is that there ain't enough users but too many devs.
Overall dude, you sound like another Ubuntu user, and let me tell you, I'm desktop Linux admin and you grandmom, mom etc... are my target clients and I can make it as easy for them as Ubuntu using distributions like Gentoo... what I'm trying to say here is that when you talk about an OS, you don't talk about the UI... the UI doesn't matter (you can always morph it to your needs), package quality does.
dE_logics I will agree with statement that there appears to be too many devs and not enough users.
ReplyDeleteBut what I disagree with is the statement that a UI doesn't matter - I'm sorry but to there general public UI is all they care about! The OS is irrelevant.
I agree that the OS needs to 'just work' hence I would promote a solid release like a LTS version of Ubuntu or a later point release of PCLOS & OpenSUSE.
My point is that the Ubuntu guys seem to get it that the general public do focus of the user experience and the direction they are taking is encouraging. My simple point is to encourage this rather than deride these efforts; leave that to Redmond!
By the way I'm not 'Just another Ubuntu user', I am a long term professional Windows tech and have been a Linux hobbyist for some time now, I am currently devoting a significant time to Ubuntu, but I also use PCLOS & OpenSUSE.
I never actually meant UI doesn't matter, the UI doesn't matter in a sense that it can be reproduced in all OSs... so what actually matters is the OS... how is it's reliability specially during upgrades.
ReplyDeleteBTW I was too a 'Windows tech' to realize the difficulty and powers are a fraction to that of Linux, there is no comparison. And I heard Linux admins get paid upto 5x more than Windows admin. Overall I think Windows users/admins live a world through a hypothetical UI and Linux users/admins see and feel the real thing.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
I am a CS professor and I am writing this on an Dell Latitude E 4310. So I have a RHEL 5 machine for my real work, but let's face it: When I buy a $1000+ laptop, I'd like things to work: Skype, MP3, DVDs, Wireless, suspend... Ok, would be nice if this was possible under pure Debian, but in practice it does not. Even though Ubuntu might not be pure, I am very happy I do not have to run Windows to get a fully functional system. And about speed: I have a dual core, 4G RAM, 64 bit machine. Ubuntu is mighty fast here...
ReplyDeleteExcept you posted this in April 2011, and no way does a dual core, 4 GB RAM, 64 bit machine cost $1000+. That's at the super low end of laptops like $300-$400. Even less for desktops.
DeleteI run pure Debian. Skype, mp3, DVD's, wireless, all works for me.
DeleteSince Skype is non-free, I do run it under a virtual machine. But this is not necessary.
Wireless took me maybe 20 minutes to figure out which wireless adapter I had and which drivers I needed, and to install them.
I haven't tested suspending/hibernating. To be honest, I really don't use it. Since I've disabled the services and stuff I don't need at boot time, boot up for me takes about 10-15 seconds.
I will concede that I did have a lot of hardware issues using Dell+Ubuntu at some point.
Ubuntu is a good place to start. Once familiar with the concept (package manager, desktop manager etc), users might want to try another Linux distros.
ReplyDeleteI consider Ubuntu as a gateway to Linux world. Without it I probably end up with Windows for the rest of my life.
I agree with Philbo. Ubuntu is great for letting newly-converted, ex-Windows users get a grip on an entirely new OS. When I switched back in '08, I had no clue what was going on, and I found the command line intimidating. Thankfully the GUI was good enough that I kept at it, and soon I wanted to know more, including the command line and coding. Now I consider myself quite adept and can easily navigate my computer with just the shell. And yes, I owe it to Ubuntu.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I do think Ubuntu is getting worse, and I am currently experimenting with Debian... now that I have the ability.
I told that on omgubuntu and got banned ! and i didnt tell them that ubuntu sucks i was polite i said them that ubuntu is slow and its not for older machines and because of that i got banned.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a troll of course i was interesting about linux but now those times are over, i will not spend even a minute of my time on linux it is not rewarding. No apps , some hardware of mine dont work and its slow , thank you its not my cup of tea, you know i have a life too.
Things had indeed probably started to degrade before but Naughty Narwhal was an eye opener for me.
ReplyDeleteOnly Mark Shuttelworth's hubris can explain how this unfinished release could make it to the repository.
- making Unity the default for desktop is simply nonsense when you know perfectly well that it's a pale copy of the OSX UI.
- antagonising the whole gnome team is just one more aspect. Just as trying to rip off the banshee boys.
- the next thing that's going to happen is that
ubuntu users will be herded into using Ubuntu one and corralled towards Ubuntu cloud as future money spinners.
I'm so glad I've left that boat a few months ago.
But don't spread the word indeed. This is not the kind of things ubuntu zealots like to read.
Ubuntu has jumped the shark. The vast majority of Linux users overwhelmingly hate Unity, but Spaceman Mark is openly hostile towards its critics. That's why users are leaving in droves. Many of them are going to straight Debian (I did, and I'm using Xfce as my desktop) but another new favorite seems to be Linux Mint.
ReplyDeleteThe original reasons for Ubuntu's popularity have vanished. In pace requiescat!
The problem for a non-specialist who overall likes at least the intent of Ubuntu is the glib dismissal of people who point out basic problems. For example: one form of Ubuntu could not read CDs unless they were in the tray when Ubuntu was loaded. Any question regarding this on the forums (fora?) was greeted with disfain and the usual: "if you don't like linux go back to Windows." Even more worrying was the advice to do this and that in terminal, in language which no mortal could understand. One of the most annoying things is that Flash does not really work in Ubuntu - now, that's Youtube, BBc TV iplayer all messed up - Flash is a central part of browsing and the modern age. "Oh it's not our fault, we can't fiddle with Flash." Whether it's Linux's fault or not, it's the truth - full screen Flash does not work for most people on Ubuntu. Then there is the installing new programs (or applications as we must call them now). Yes some kind developers make it as easy as Windows, but many adopt the old "use Terminal or you are a child molester" type of approach - there are too many ways of installing (they don't even use that word) a program (sorry app) on Ubuntu. It is as if using Terminal will give you a bigger penis or at least the impression. Don't use Terminal? Then you are doomed in terms of virility. Ubuntu has done so much (it recognised my ancient sound card and printer - and makes them work!) but fails with other big things which people expect - easy installation of programs, flash, adobe reader can present problems too.
ReplyDeletePS: Have you ever tried to use Terminal (as we are forced to do) and cannot find the place where something is stored? Even finding the name/path or a directory or drive in Ubuntu is virtually impossible for a normal user. "Oh just CD to..." or "enter the drive name.." mean nothing to me or any other user as we cannot find the drive name. This I believe is the third problem of Ubuntu - where the hell is your stuff!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge fan of Unity but I applaud the Ubuntu community for trying to do something different and radical rather than just re-packaging the same tired desktop we've seen for the past 15 years with the other distros. If you want Linux to compete with Mac OS and Windows 8 you are going to have to adopt radical change that deviates from the familiar UI. The idea is to have one UI to run desktops, servers, laptops, tablets, phones and little learning curve between devices. As for moving data to the cloud with Ubuntu One again iCloud and Windows 8 will all push this heavily, it's simply where the world is going with the majority of the user base.
ReplyDeleteFor a bunch of Linux geeks everyone seems to be really really hung up on the UI of Ubuntu 11.04. Considering how easy it is to revert the desktop I don't understand it. Ubuntu 11.04 didn't work with my wireless I actually had to gasp figure the issue out. So much whining from people about this not working or that not working, jeesh welcome to Linux, I've yet to see a distro where everything worked perfectly, I've yet to see any OS where everything worked perfectly.
Don't worry you guys still have your distros that haven't evolved since 1999 where you can sit around sniffing your own farts and thinking about how important you all are.
What it really comes down to is the Linux purists ranted for years about why Linux should be used over Windows, now that Ubuntu is actually making headway and Linux is becoming mainstream people resent it. It's like when someone follows an underground band and they explode, the original fanbase is left upset and resentful towards all the new fans.
Basically you're a bunch of haters, lead, follow, or get out of the way.
Ubuntu now SUX! Iv'e used and loved linux for 15yrs. 8.04 was the last good Ubuntu release. I don't understand how they took such a great OS and trashed it. It used to install just fine out of the box and ever since they switched to Unity every release does not even install properly. Touchpad issues, no video, and blank screen with just the mouse pointer showing. I thought that maybe they would have it fixed up by 12.04 LTS but NOPE! Now I'm convinced that Apple has paid them to suck! Thus more customers for Apple.
DeleteMike is correct but my point was that Ubuntu was/is so nearly there. No OS is perfect and Linux for me is/was the best of the bunch in so many ways. Where it fails (and why I still dual boot) is in pretty obvious failures - as I pointed out above. Such a pity: no nearly there, but messing up on crucial aspects. By the way Ubuntu recognised MY wireless connection without any fiddling on my part - much easier than my new Windows did. But why in God's name (for example) can they (Ubuntu people) not get right a simple thing as identifying the place where something is stored. It's a mystery to me. I would like very much someone simply to explain a location to me - when they have tried, it involves a "do this, do that in terminal, or do that. This may seem petty, simple stuff; but setting down where something is is crucial in doing things the Linux way (via the Terminal). I still think Linux people regard using the Terminal as some kind of masculinity thing.
ReplyDeleteThe author is correct that Ubuntu has decreased in quality. As a sys admin, I run linux for stability. Ubuntu is doing some neat things - I enjoy unity as a concept. However, if the features only work sometimes, then that's a problem. Windows Vista introduced some eye candy in the MS world, but it was hated because it was buggy. Ubuntu has become a mess of packages and bugs. I have switched to Fedora - it's fast, stable.. that's what I look for, and home users like stable too - trust me. Grandma doesnt care about clear glass and hot corners. Grandma doesn't want some error pertaining to some package or library she has never heard of.
ReplyDeletechris
Indychris is correct and he recognises the "home users." There is nothing wrong in simplicity and everything wrong is changing for changes sake (as in Vista)... and doing it wrong. Save I suppose for games, Ubuntu has the potential do everything the home user would want to do and quicker and better, and less prone to virus/crashing etc. - such a pity then that they have started to mess up. One thing does not help: a new version every few months: is it just me but everytime I update, things get messed up. So now I stick to what I've got for fear of messing up my set-up.I'm still using 10.04 for that reason!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to bump this after 2 weeks but I would like to say a couple of things. A foreword: I switched to Ubuntu from Gentoo because things were "just working" at that time (Ubuntu 8.04) while Gentoo was kind of tough to maintain CLEANLY (apparently things have changed? revdep-rebuild was not that mature in the old days). NOW I believe Ubuntu degraded SO MUCH in the quality of the packages and this is a fact, not in general terms BUT rather in packages I DO USE. If you were to give a shot to kubuntu back in 2008 you would think that quality of packages degraded since then (when they pushed up KDE4 while in a alpha stage). Apparently they did the very same mistake with libraries which are more used than KDE4 dependecies. In a perfect world there should exist an OS showing up to be stable, fast, customizable, easy to use, long lasting and yet modern at the same time. Unfortunately all these request DO require so much effort that nobody is now realistically capable of satisfy, not even software giants like Microsoft, Apple, Google, Debian. They all choose a couple of these features and push them as much as they can. Ubuntu was a HUGE push on usability and modernity over Debian while deviating only a little from stability and customizability. These days are simply gone and nowadays Ubuntu is not anymore as stable as it should. What a pity. I'm yet to find another piece of software that is a closer substitute of what I need. But searching STARTED.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing: all the Unity hating is just crap, because there are so many alternatives that the question is 'why bother?'
Last but not least: how many GUI do you know? I know a LOT and yet I'm not comfortable with any of them because every few months or so they keep changing. Terminal commands DO NOT change that rapidly and I believe this to be a VERY good reason to give advices in 'terminal terms', even to newbies: at least YOU will know what are THEY doing :-D
Herpus Derpis. Too many updates.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why people who like command line environments don't get punch card machines for the best experience. Come on, its like using an abacus when the calculator is available. GUIs are what a modern day computer should use, period. No one (with any sense) cares what the OS does anymore, it is what the user, professional or amateur, has to interact with, and that should be a GUI. And to agree with your original post, I got here looking for a Ubuntu replacement. I spend over 90% of the time trying to fix Ubuntu problems, when I want to be doing something else. It is getting old.
ReplyDelete@Mike Partain: Your not understanding why the console is the proper way, it's not just for 'kicks' or the 'old skool' experience. In the GNU/Linux community we all use different GUIs, but the same console underneath. So the console is the interface for instruction, use what ever you want for your daily experience.
ReplyDeleteOn my servers I use the console, as few want X11 on a server. On my workstation I use both, depending on what will be quicker. Usually the console is the most efficient, but It's not the most intuitive. If I told someone to go to a specific folder, and could not tell them in console terms, it would be very difficult. What WM or DE do they use? KDE? Gnome? Unity? XFCE? ... (I use Openbox), What File Manager do they use? What If I don't know that specific software? The console is ubiquitous, and ultimately the omega in power. Our choice makes GNU/Linux what is, the console is needed in such a diverse environment. I would never choose to use punch cards, they are not the most efficient way of doing things. The console usually is, but do what you want to do.
in todays world of windows and windows backed virii like stuxnet, i choose ubuntu because i dont want my system to be part of the politics of todays mandatory virus infection enabled winows pc.
ReplyDeleteI just want to open a file with an application not on the open with list. In 10.04 that would have taken me 2 or thee clicks. I love my desktop. I prefer it for old files and larger folders that I use commonly. I try not fight the system too much because I really like the idea behind it and work arounds usually teach me something I didn't know before. Guess what 12.04 took away from me? All of that. Customization and functionality. I cant even just go back to gnome classic because all those changes apply across the board. 10.04 was wonderful but now its dated and a few of my favorite programs have new versions that wont work with it-I can only hope Mint will be as good to me as Ubuntu used to be.
ReplyDeleteThe real problem with Ubuntu is that it's made with Linux.
ReplyDeleteCase closed.
But to put more wood in the fire, Ubuntu's GUI is pretty shitty.
Even Macs are nicer, but the most boring GUI I've ever used is Windows-based OSes.
What does Linux has to do with UI?
ReplyDeleteAnd probably your TV also runs Linux.
You are not a sys admin then...
ReplyDeleteHu?
DeleteGreat article! Everything was true then, and is still true today. I had different problems with Ubuntu using it as a server. I remember there was a huge bug with using local authentication with vsftpd. When I checked the bug tracker it had been prevalent for over a year with no fix. I find it funny that Ubuntu was the only one with this issue. Of course the community fix for this problem was to install and use ProFTP instead. When that breaks what will they move to next? A more recent problem, few weeks ago in fact, was with the Tomcat6 package in Ubuntu. After updating, Tomcat6 wouldn't start. After looking around, the error was caused by some of the symlinks using relative paths. An avoidable mistake that should have been caught before making it to the production repos.
ReplyDeleteThere is no such thing as an Ubuntu dev. They are all just script kiddies pretending to be Linux hackers. When a real problem arises they either ignore it or find an alternative.
Ubuntu is about as Linux as Mac is Unix. It's there but are you actually using it?
I agree! I have ubuntu 12 on my desktop and it crashed every twenty minutes!
ReplyDeleteIt's probably a hardware problem.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThat's probably a drive problem, it's the wifi manufacturer's fault.
Deleteactually most ubuntu users hav the problem with wifi in the same system that works well in windows....
DeleteI started using Ubuntu after a friend of mine used it to resurrect an old laptop he had. That was 8.04. I loved the Ubuntu "just worked" like they said! However, I agree it's been going downhill, big time. I don't even have too much of a problem with Unity (on 12.04 now), but it seems like every few days SOMETHING goes wrong with my wifi, music, word processor, update manager, windows manager, etcetcetc. I'm a busy grad student and don't have the time to be constantly wrestling with my computer for make it work.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I have a few days free (or when I have to buy another laptop) I'm switching over to Mint. I've heard really good things about it.
I know some really basic command line stuff, but just don't have the time in my life to learn much, so I greatly prefer GUIs.
wow. It really sounds like ubuntu fostered a nightmare onto the linux community with all the stupid questions. I'm new to ubuntu myself but I'm trying to actually learn linux because i've bene a fan of it's philosophy for a very long time. do you have any advice if I want NOT to make an ass of myself?
ReplyDeleteYou may try other distros, like LMDE, i.e. the Debian version of Mint, then there's OpenSuse, PCLinuxOS, Fedora.
DeletePrefer a distro which has 'Xfce' desktop environment, cause it's bug free. Then you may migrate to KDE and experience reporting and fixing of bugs as it happens in the community.
Then advance towards more advanced distros in the following sequence --
1) Debian
2) Arch
3) Gentoo
4) Linux from scratch.
If you keep using Gentoo, it's very good for educational purposes and is also usable unlike LFS which requires too much maintenance.
Also keep away from howtos, instead learn the working of the software and try to find your way out yourself.
HERE IS MY STUPID QUESTION: Is there an alternative operating system to this crap? Someone is not "stupid" because they don't know what a root is or any other thing. These folks you are insulting are often attracted to Ubuntu hoping to have a true community supported Internet and get something that takes serious specialized knowledge to do the simplest tasks and takes constant repairs as it is plain buggy. That does not mean they are interested in making programming/computer maintenance their new hobby. I imagine you are not stupid because you don't know the Latin names for all the disputed phylum, however I also assume there is a low chance you are a botanist, but perhaps a high chance you are an elitist prick. Fact is we need an open source Internet for many reasons. But that means people of all different skills and learning types are going to be on here. Example: your surgeon is spending this same time upgrading her skills so you don't become a corpse on the operating table, and I hope her free time is spent relaxing with a martini not screaming at her shoddy OS. Point is your didactic thinking is helpful and appreciated. Your self righteous narrow minded inability to connectively reason, empathize and creative think is making you look the fool when you call other folks stupid.
ReplyDeleteThere is. it's called Mac OSX. The GUI is easier to use than windows but just open xterm and you can type a command as complex as you would do on your debian system.
DeleteHowever, I hate the way apple fucks up the unix system for sysadmins and power users. Who the hell puts /root in /var and which idiot came up with the idea to rename /home to /Users??? (note the capital u)
Ah well I guess nothing's perfect...
I'm writing this in 2014, and you won't believe how awful the Ubuntu community/blog is now... The simplest of questions are answered in complex ways; about every solution requires you to gain root access, or type a bunch of "sudo" commands and stuff... such things are very difficult for people that are not experts at programming and languages. Most of the time the answers to questions are totally irrelevant and don't even address the issue. Overall, I have never seen such a terrible user community in my life, I mean you won't see cr@p like that anywhere else on the web.
ReplyDelete"sudo" just means "run as administrator", something you have to do just as much in Windows where they call it "UAC elevation". Ever seen that shield with four colors on it? That's a sudo button.
DeleteI think this rant is too old to even be still on-line. It's now August 2019 and Ubuntu just isn't the same as it was back then. I've been with the LTS releases since 12.04 and I've had very few problems with it. I'm still running 16.04 until I move up to 20.04 LTS in six months.
ReplyDeleteI understand that the majority of responses to user's questions, from the community, being mostly men, are straiaght from the ego/balls, and reflect their limited understanding of computing, but men, being what they are, have to prove themselves amongst the other alphas and tell us all where we're going wrong! And they actually believe they are right! It's the way of the world! I see this in all matters and it's why I always regret reading comments on any web page.
I could only manage to read a short part of this article before my head started aching, due to the unintelligible English, so I scrolled down to the comments, which increased my discomfort to migraine level. I'm not sure how anyone can make such subjective judgements and criticism of others when they can't even get their own head around the use of the comma!
My suggestions are that the obviously male author of this immature tantrum should remove it from the WWW and follow the links below before attempting to publish anything online in the future.
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/writing
https://www.really-learn-english.com/learn-to-write-in-english.html
https://englishlive.ef.com/blog/language-lab/5-simple-ways-improve-written-english/
https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/english-writing-tips/
http://www.lousywriter.com/
https://classroom.synonym.com/learn-read-write-english-4473432.html
That should keep you busy for a while and also make your hate-blogs easier to read.