[HLUG] Ubuntu 12.04LTS - ok so far

[Alan Richmond]

     Ubuntu 12.04 has been getting a lot of good press lately, 
deservedly I think.

     I was disappointed when the last issue of LXF didn't have it on the 
cover disc, not even the alpha. But I later found it on the cd of Linux 
User (as alpha) which I installed on a work machine and a home machine. 
For me, Ubuntu + Gnome3 is ideal. Occasionally I'll log out and back in 
with Unity, and try very hard to see why I should switch. But I like 
seeing all my windows laid out, and which workspaces they're in. I like 
being able to select applications by typing a letter or two (in Unity 
also), but I also like being able to browse them all on my large 
monitor, all together or categorised.

     Another nice feature of Unity is that holding down the Super key 
(with the wavy St George's flag) presents a list of keyboard shortcuts. 
The HUD seems like a cool idea, but I haven't been able to get very 
excited about it; once I know an application I feel that I can just as 
easily control it with the mouse. But this might be some thing that 
takes some getting used to.

     Wide screen monitors lend themselves to the window auto tiling 
(probably not what they call it but it'll do for now) where you grab a 
window and move it to the right or left until the mouse hits the edge - 
then that half of the screen brightens and if you let the mouse go the 
window fills that half of the screen. Very useful for working with 2 
interdependent windows where you need to examine the contents of one to 
edit the other. Pushing the window up to the top opens it to full 
screen, but I think it did previously. Works in G3 too.

     One little glitch I've noticed is that on my dual-monitor system, 
the mouse tends to stick as I cross between them, probably because 
there's a Dash there - i.e. both monitors have one, unlike in G3. 
<namedrop>Talking of which (dual monitors) the first time I saw one it 
was a new toy that Tim Berners-Lee proudly demonstrated in his MIT 
office.</namedrop>

     I've tried many other Linuxes, especially the ones that come with 
LXF, and I think this is the best yet. I gave Linux Mint a good whirl, 
but it kept snatching defeat from the jaws of victory with minor 
annoyances, such as that irritatingly named Duck Duck Go search engine 
in the browser(s)(I know it can be changed). I don't hate Unity, but I 
do prefer Gnome 3.

Alan

On 06/05/12 15:54, Sarah Chard wrote:
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17916879
>
> Ubuntu getting a bit of publicity via the BBC website
>
> I have just uprated all our working office machines to 12.04 with clean
> installs - after very careful backup
> I had stuck with the 10.04LTS through the inbetween versions and avoided
> all upgrading whilst listening to the discussions about Unity v Gnome.
>
> My PC's have old graphics cards so I am running the 2d version
> The main problem I had when installing was that one of the PC's had
> nasty lines on the screen - but this has happened to it in previous
> ubuntu incarnations so I tried out my tested solution of reverting to
> the vesa driver and the problem was solved.
>
> Unity is very different and takes a bit of getting used to - I can
> understand why it is frustrating when you are used to working a certain
> way however once you get to grips with how to switch between and within
> open programs its quick and I like the HUD. I always ran Gnome Do/Docky
> on 10.04 as it was an easy way to get to some of my files - the HUD is
> even better. The extra space on the screen is great and although having
> the menus only for the program you are working in at the top is a bit
> disconcerting at first you get used to it quite quickly.
>
> I do use terminal for some things but don't live on the command line - I
> am happy to use it if needed but am more comfortable with Gui's and can
> see that this version of Ubuntu looks nice and appealing, has been
> rationalised to make it more intuitive for the average user and has made
> installing even easier.
> Some things have moved around but I soon found where synaptic package
> manager had gone to and also where to add any ppa's that I needed
>
> Installing 12.04 has also ment that i have finally (I hope) switched to
> libre office - I mainly use Base for work and had big problems with
> Libre office so stuck with open office on 10.04. I had some initial
> problems within LO on 12.04 connected with exporting forms as .pdfs
> (data not showing) but after fiddling around with some settings all
> seems well and the earlier problems with LObase seem to have been
> solved. (I am keeping my fingers crossed)
>
> I have also just installed openmobilesuite - which works with my android
> phone (i used the series60 remote with my old nokia and this is the
> android version) it's still in development so a bit buggy but I can now
> view all my contacts and send sms from my PC and once again have them
> all saved to a local sqlite database - this is great as i like to save
> work texts and was really missing this program.
>
> I'm still getting used to the changes but it seems ok so far.
>
>
> Sarah
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Alan Richmond
http://ALuRic.net/