Ubuntu 14.10 Released With Ambitious Name, But Small Changes

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Ubuntu 14.10 Released With Ambitious Name, But Small Changes

Posted by timothy on Thursday October 23, 2014 @07:46AM from the I'd-hoped-for-ubiquitous dept.

Ubuntu 14.10, dubbed Utopic Unicorn, has been released today (here are screenshots). PC World says that at first glance "isn't the most exciting update," with not so much as a new default wallpaper — but happily so: it's a stable update in a stable series, and most users will have no pressing need to update to the newest version. In the Ubuntu Next unstable series, though, there are big changes afoot: Along with Mir comes the next version of Ubuntu’s Unity desktop, Unity 8. Mir and the latest version of Unity are already used on Ubuntu Phone, so this is key for Ubuntu's goal of convergent computing — Ubuntu Phone and Ubuntu desktop will use the same display server and desktop shell. Ubuntu Phone is now stable and Ubuntu phones are arriving this year, so a lot of work has gone into this stuff recently. The road ahead looks bumpy however. Ubuntu needs to get graphics drivers supporting Mir properly. The task becomes more complicated when you consider that other Linux distributions — like Fedora — are switching to the Wayland display server instead of Mir. When Ubuntu Desktop Next becomes the standard desktop environment, the changes will be massive indeed. But for today, Utopic Unicorn is all about subtle improvements and slow, steady iteration.

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only 'small changes'? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 07:49 · Score: 0

doesn't that go against the norm of blowing the doors off the status quo the first release after an LTS?
1. Re:only 'small changes'? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 08:37 · Score: 0
  
  Ubuntu Next 14.10 is what you are probably looking for.
2. Re: only 'small changes'? by AvitarX · 2014-10-23 08:47 · Score: 2
  
  Yes, they used to push everything new into LTS, figure ing they wanted it to be not ancient for most of its life . it was a mistake though , because they were always terrible , I think this is learning from said mistakes .
  
  --
  Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
Because wallpaper is what matters most by Overzeetop · 2014-10-23 07:50 · Score: 2

To busy reviewing the Apple/Microsoft bling to realize that computer OSes really shouldn't be about what color the drapes are.

--
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
1. Re:Because wallpaper is what matters most by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 08:10 · Score: 0
  
  The curtains matching the drapes is always important.
2. Re:Because wallpaper is what matters most by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 08:14 · Score: 0
  
  I prefer the drapes removed.
3. Re:Because wallpaper is what matters most by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 08:15 · Score: 0
  
  Ok, pedo.
4. Re:Because wallpaper is what matters most by MMC+Monster · 2014-10-23 08:15 · Score: 2
  
  OSs should be about refinement, not about throwing everything out to get ready for the new release. Things should be fairly familiar, even if the last update was a year or so ago. So why bother changing the wallpaper, if it was 'good enough' last time. Spend the time adjusting the icons to make them look good at different screen sizes or something else that needs to be tweaked in the UI.
  That being said, I'm skipping updating OSs for a bit. I'm on an LTE of a downstream OS and things are good enough that I'll stay where I am for a while. Got real work to do. ;-)
  
  --
  Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
5. Re: Because wallpaper is what matters most by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 09:00 · Score: 0
  
  My early 30s wife has no drapes and tiny irrelevant curtains. Subjectivity.
6. Re:Because wallpaper is what matters most by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 09:07 · Score: 0
  
  Yep. Never make any progress. That's the key.
7. Re:Because wallpaper is what matters most by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 09:11 · Score: 0
  
  Removed implies they were, at one time, installed. Pedo implies never installed at all.
8. Re:Because wallpaper is what matters most by jamiesan · 2014-10-23 09:40 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Aren't Curtains and Drapes the same thing? I thought we wanted to know if the Curtains matched the Carpet... and preferred hard wood floors...?
9. Re:Because wallpaper is what matters most by Ksevio · 2014-10-23 09:43 · Score: 1
  
  It is handy to have a standard wallpaper for each version for quick identification
10. Re:Because wallpaper is what matters most by devphaeton · 2014-10-23 14:33 · Score: 2
  
  I thought this was "carpet matches the drapes".
  All those folks going on about their wife's curtains and drapes has me confused. And possibly disturbed.
  
  --
  
  do() || do_not(); // try();
11. Re:Because wallpaper is what matters most by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 14:38 · Score: 0
  
  But that is all Republicans are capable of. That is why these hateful racists that run Canonical are shoving new colors down our throats. There are no fixes. Just new colors. The CONservatives that rule Microsoft are doing the same thing. They can't fix anything, but they can make minor changes to the interface. Both groups want us dead, but not before they take all of our money. That is the way of their kind.
12. Re: Because wallpaper is what matters most by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-24 03:01 · Score: 0
  
  Citation?
13. Re:Because wallpaper is what matters most by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-24 09:50 · Score: 0
  
  I get the joke, but to be accurate, the word "drape" or "drapes" is a verb. As in "I draped my jacket over the back of the chair." Draparies are the things you hang in the windows to block light.
14. Re:Because wallpaper is what matters most by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-24 19:32 · Score: 0
  
  I get the joke, but to be accurate, the word "drape" or "drapes" is a verb. As in "I draped my jacket over the back of the chair." Draparies are the things you hang in the windows to block light.
  Nope. Drape as a verb is a back formation of draparies (sic) / drapes.
  Etymology and spelling... Learn them.
Spyware status? by kthreadd · 2014-10-23 07:53 · Score: 2

Does it still ship with the spyware-inspired keylogger which sends everything you search for to Canonical and others?
1. Re:Spyware status? by SJHillman · 2014-10-23 08:01 · Score: 1
  
  It's Linux, if it didn't come with spyware pre-installed, how would Grandma get it installed?
2. Re:Spyware status? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 08:12 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  The Ubuntu Dash still sends searches to Canonical by default. As before, you can disable on-line searches in the System Settings panel.
3. Re:Spyware status? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-25 05:28 · Score: 0
  
  Why are programmers wasting time on that stuff when they could be doing things to make the operating system better?Bad management.
That's An Ambitious name? by __aaclcg7560 · 2014-10-23 08:13 · Score: 1

If "Utopic Unicorn" is an ambitious name, I'm afraid to see what comes next.
1. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by rolfwind · 2014-10-23 08:21 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Vexing Vabbit.
  And for Elmer Fudd, certainly ambitious.
2. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by sexconker · 2014-10-23 08:22 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Vaginal Vulture
3. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by Dartz-IRL · 2014-10-23 08:25 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Vivacious Velociraptor.
  If they dont use V* Velociraptor I will personally wrrite a strongly worded letter deploring them for their utter lack of humour and sense of awesome.
  
  --
  So there I was, scribbling down some notes off the PC screen by hand, when I reached for the keyboard and Ctrl-S'd.
4. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by __aaclcg7560 · 2014-10-23 08:27 · Score: 1
  
  Viagra Velociraptor
5. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 08:31 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Volumetric Vagina
6. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by Kjella · 2014-10-23 08:44 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  If "Utopic Unicorn" is an ambitious name, I'm afraid to see what comes next.
  utopia = ideal, perfect state
  unicorn = magical, legendary creature
  I think you'd roll your eyes too if Apple or Microsoft came out with OS X 10.10 "Magic Perfection" or Windows 10 "Magic Perfection", respectively. It's the kind of name that makes you go "Okaaaaaaaaay, are you overcompensating for something?"
  
  --
  Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
7. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by Merk42 · 2014-10-23 09:20 · Score: 2
  
  Vivid Vervet
8. Re: That's An Ambitious name? by bazorg · 2014-10-23 09:27 · Score: 1
  
  Voluptuous Vampire would be much more successful.
9. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 09:57 · Score: 0
  
  Okaaaaaaaaay, are you overanalyzing or something?
10. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 10:03 · Score: 0
  
  Vaginal Vomit
  FTFY.
11. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 10:25 · Score: 0
  
  If "Utopic Unicorn" is an ambitious name, I'm afraid to see what comes next.
  Vaginal Visitor? Vulva Violator? There's more where that came from. I should be on the naming committee.
12. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 12:03 · Score: 0
  
  gaping goatse
  oh man you trolls are really lame these days.
13. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 12:38 · Score: 0
  
  How about Zany Zebra??
14. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by rubycodez · 2014-10-23 13:35 · Score: 1
  
  Vulture do not have vaginas nor penises
15. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-24 00:08 · Score: 0
  
  gushing grannies?
16. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-24 01:30 · Score: 0
  
  I thought this was all hashed out in the comments above about the carpets and the drapes.
17. Re:That's An Ambitious name? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-24 07:48 · Score: 0
  
  Vivacious? Why would we want to use a word like that when Voracious Velociraptor is a zillion times cooler?
"not so much as a default wallpaper" by Arancaytar · 2014-10-23 08:18 · Score: 4, Funny

WHAT?
I'm not installing such a crap update. Why would they leave out the most important thing?
1. Re:"not so much as a default wallpaper" by Anne+Thwacks · 2014-10-23 08:58 · Score: 2
  
  Why would they leave out the most important thing?
  As most users have already defected to other distros, it was not worth the effort!
  
  --
  Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
2. Re:"not so much as a default wallpaper" by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 09:36 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." - Yogi Berra
3. Re:"not so much as a default wallpaper" by steelfood · 2014-10-23 10:44 · Score: 1
  
  You're misunderstanding. There's no default wallpaper because the wallpaper now consists of Unity's equivalent to Metro tiles. It's not so much one wallpaper as it is multiple animated posters.
  
  --
  "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
4. Re:"not so much as a default wallpaper" by qubezz · 2014-10-23 11:11 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  If you want a significantly modernized UI that hasn't been designed for dummies, have a look at KDE Plasma 5. Kubuntu was simultaneously released in 14.10 flavor, and there are tech preview ISOs available now with the new desktop. It has a new wallpaper, also.
5. Re:"not so much as a default wallpaper" by recharged95 · 2014-10-23 11:18 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  On a touchscreen laptop, one may want to try either:
  Fedora 21 (when it's out)
  OpenSuse 13.2 (RC1 or when it's out)
  Why?
  Wayland, though stiil buggy in opensuse (but functional in Fedora alpha), is a gamechanger for Linux desktops. It is very fast/effficient.
  Gnome 3.14 finally looks/is stable, polished and works very well with touchscreens for gestures and such. Gnome maybe has redeemed some trust in this release.
  Latest kernel with laptop power management is much improved in these versions(though the same could be said for ubuntu)
6. Re:"not so much as a default wallpaper" by Richy_T · 2014-10-23 11:28 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Pft, Microsoft, such a crappy UI (quick, lets make our own as much like it as we can).
  It almost makes me weep when I think of some of the great UI features that have fallen by the way-side from *nix desktops in favor of chasing Microsoft's (and to a lesser extent Apple's) missteps.
7. Re:"not so much as a default wallpaper" by darkain · 2014-10-23 12:28 · Score: 1
  
  The Windows 10 preview doesn't come with Minesweeper... Ubuntu had to compete SOMEHOW!
8. Re:"not so much as a default wallpaper" by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-24 04:29 · Score: 0
  
  I've been waiting over 20 years for them to stop talking about something being a game changer, and start showing me that it actually is. Linux has been a game changer on servers, but it's the same ugly half-assed desktop experience it was 10 years ago.
9. Re:"not so much as a default wallpaper" by steveg · 2014-10-24 07:46 · Score: 1
  
  Microsoft, Canonical and Gnome all got together and took the same bad drugs.
  
  --
  Ignorance killed the cat. Curiosity was framed.
10. Re:"not so much as a default wallpaper" by Arancaytar · 2014-11-01 22:10 · Score: 1
  
  Unity's equivalent to Metro tiles
  I don't know if this is a joke, because when I install Ubuntu these days I kill Unity and replace it with Gnome before doing anything else. But I sure hope so.
Thank god for small changes by SurfsUp · 2014-10-23 08:21 · Score: 1

I have had quite enough reimagining thank you. Just make it smoother, more reliable, more options, fix bugs please.

--
Life's a bitch but somebody's gotta do it.
How about... by justthinkit · 2014-10-23 08:22 · Score: 3, Funny

Vivacious Vivisectionist?

--
I come here for the love
1. Re:How about... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 11:34 · Score: 0
  
  Ubuntu release names have been entertaining and quite ridiculous at the same time. Time isripe to speculate / suggest names for the remaining releases.
  Viscous Viper
  Wallowing Walrus
  Xerebix Xessebe (heck, I don't know, just made that up)
  Ytterian Ybex (also made up, what the heck)
  Zombied Zebra
  I predict ZZ will live up to its name being a hybrid lovechild project with Microsoft - fits 'zombied' (borked privacy and function) and 'zebra' (two incomaptible worlds in one product).
  After this, we will have the dental service release serie: AAah (open wide, bend over and hand me your wallet)?
The bigger the lie by Drunkulus · 2014-10-23 08:28 · Score: 1, Interesting

Haha! A stable update in a stable series? Ubuntu starts off from Debian Unstable and then Canonical adds their own bug-ridden spyware, init process, Unity desktop, etc. Ubuntu is by far the buggiest distribution in history, at last count there are are 115,000 open bugs in the distro. Well, to be fair, that number does seem to be pretty stable.
1. Re:The bigger the lie by BronsCon · 2014-10-23 09:25 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  115,000 open bugs in how many different packages/projects that comprise the entirety of the OS? A hair over 70k, so averaging less than 2 bugs per package. And of those 70k packages, how many are installed on a default Ubuntu desktop system? On my server, there are only 660; that's including server packages that a desktop wouldn't have and excluding desktop packages that my server doesn't need, so I don't know if the desktop install has more or less.
  
  Statistically, assuming even distribution of bugs across all packages in the system, I should expect to be affected by about 1100 bugs. There are some real questions that need to be asked, though. For instance: How many of those bug reports are actually valid? How many were fixed upstream and simply never closed? How many are stupid shit like "this text should be in that font" versus the number that actually impact performance or productivity? And, most importantly, how does Ubuntu compare with other distros, offering fewer packages overall, in bugs-per-package?
  
  --
  APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
2. Re:The bigger the lie by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 09:38 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  As someone who recently had to do hand-to-hand combat with Xubuntu 14.04 to get certain features working at all (like detecting a second monitor on the HDMI port), I can state that certain packages are going to be way more jam-packed with bugs than others.
  HDMI support seems to pretty much suck, with Pulseaudio being a close second.
  A few words for the developers of things like Pulseaudio and the maintainers of various distributions, most (but not all) of which end with "buntu":
  I'm really not sure why a common sound subsystem is so hard that there have to be 10 of them and they all have to be incompatible with each other. The same goes for window managers. X11 has had the network terminal considerations of client audio, video, and input nailed down for the better part of 40 years. Why are these local-machine-only systems that are cropping up sucking so hard? It's got to be easier than X11, just by virtue of leaving out the intricacies of that whole "you might be processing this on a different continent from where the user is sitting" part.
  Even Microsoft has their shit working better than this. Microsoft! You hate those guys! Fix your shit!
3. Re:The bigger the lie by armanox · 2014-10-23 10:00 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Pulseaudio bugs should be reported to a certain Lennart Poettering (you may have heard about him before) and became standard thanks to Red Hat. ALSA was fine, and OSS wasn't bad either (it was the licensing they didn't like IIRC).
  
  --
  I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
4. Re:The bigger the lie by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 10:16 · Score: 0
  
  As someone who recently had to do hand-to-hand combat with Xubuntu 14.04 to get certain features working at all (like detecting a second monitor on the HDMI port), I can state that certain packages are going to be way more jam-packed with bugs than others.
  HDMI support seems to pretty much suck, with Pulseaudio being a close second.
  HDMI support belongs to the combination of graphic driver + desktop environment. I'm currently using a laptop with AMD Catalyst (propietary) driver + Unity 7 desktop and HDMI/Multimonitor Support works fine. Maybe is XFCE's fault.
  About Pulseaudio, I agree. But in my laptop works just fine.
5. Re:The bigger the lie by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 10:19 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  It's ridiculous to think that after 2 decades that something as fundamental as "sound" is still a clusterfuck on Linux. The fragmentation and infighting in the community is what holds Linux back so much, you need a dictatorship on the distribution just so it isn't an incoherent mess, just look that the sound subsystems ALSA, OSS, PulseAudio, ESD, aRts and JACK (I'm probably missing more), then you have all the various packages that allow those systems to feed into eachother in various ways that is so messed up you can't even have a reliable software master volume on Linux. None of this shit works together properly! The biggest problem with the Linux community is not technical competence, there is loads of that, it is built of incredibly smart people but these people lack the social skills to work together in a unified way so the result is peppered with brilliance but is an outright mess of incompatibility.
  That is why you need dictatorships sometimes, with Android Google takes the position that while there is no one perfect solution that is best for all they do have to make a decision on one system and go that route for their platform so that you dont have everybody going off doing whatever they want which results in a terrible user experience.
6. Re:The bigger the lie by Rob_Bryerton · 2014-10-23 10:26 · Score: 1
  
  Woohoo! Anybody need me to light their torch? Pitchforks are over there, to your right...
7. Re:The bigger the lie by Drunkulus · 2014-10-23 11:57 · Score: 1
  
  Perhaps we could make a comparison with the upstream source of Ubuntu? Let me see...
  Oh NOES right on the Debian wiki it says that Unstable might have horrible bugs! And if you run it on a server you are insane!
  And... it says Debian's security team only covers Stable. Maybe this is why the Ubuntu forums got hacked and every user account, password and email address was stolen?
  https://wiki.debian.org/Debian...
8. Re:The bigger the lie by BronsCon · 2014-10-23 12:17 · Score: 1
  
  Well, yes, Ubuntu forks its development releases from Debian's development release, which would be Debian Unstable. That would seem to make sense, and they're not just taking Debian's Unstable branch, throwing their branding onto it, and calling it an Ubuntu release. Way to throw half-facts out there and spread FUD, though.
  
  --
  APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
9. Re:The bigger the lie by Drunkulus · 2014-10-23 13:36 · Score: 1
  
  Funny enough, that's exactly what happens! As I outlined earlier, they take Debian Unstable, add their own stuff like Unity and Mir which no other distro will ever use, and that's Ubuntu Feisty Fanboi. Not a drop of fear, uncertainty, or doubt here. It's on the Ubuntu wiki:
  "Most source packages in all Ubuntu components are copied unmodified from Debian."
  https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Ubuntu...
10. Re: The bigger the lie by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 14:52 · Score: 0
  
  Eh. This mob blows.
11. Re:The bigger the lie by BronsCon · 2014-10-24 02:34 · Score: 1
  
  "Most". You make it sound like they never fix *any* bugs. Funny, in the past month I've updated a few dozen packages and about 1/3 of those were security updates, so it sure looks like they're covering their bases regardless of their upstream provider's security team. For example, I didn't see any remarkable delay in the release for Shellshock patches; Ubuntu had them all out before CentOS, for example, and they were available for my Ubuntu systems by the time Debian had them out. I oversee systems running on all three distros and CentOS has been, by far, the worst in this regard.
  
  --
  APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
12. Re:The bigger the lie by Drunkulus · 2014-10-24 06:33 · Score: 1
  
  Oh God. That's a pretty remarkable claim considering that no one at Canonical had anything to do with the discovery or the patching of the bug. Let's have a quick look at the actual sequence of events:
  1. Shellshock was discovered by Stéphane Chazelas, who reported it to bash maintainer Chet Ramey and a few others, and assigned CVE identifier CVE-2014-6271.
  2. "CVE-2014-6271: remote code execution through bash" by Florian Weimer of Red Hat (2014-09-24) was one of the first public disclosures of the problem.
  3. Florian Weimer (Debian contributor and Red Hat employee) posts a patch for bash that counters the attack.
  4. Red Hat, CentOS, Fedora, Oracle Linux, Debian, and Ubuntu adopt Weimer’s patch. Apple’s later OS X bash update 1.0 includes it as well.
  5. Chet Ramey posts bash43-027 at 2014-09-27 22:50:07, accepting Weimer's patch into the upstream mainline.
  Remember, it's always good to cite your sources (if you have any).
  http://www.dwheeler.com/essays...
  And now, it's been fun but good night!
13. Re:The bigger the lie by BronsCon · 2014-10-24 08:18 · Score: 1
  
  What claim that I supposedly made are you arguing? My claim was based on my own personal experience; I went to patch my CentOS boxes first and there was no patch available, so I patched my Debian and Ubuntu boxes, then came back and the patch was available for CentOS. I never claimed that Canonical had any involvement in creating the patch, which appears to be the point you're arguing. RedHat likely had the patch in their repos before anyone, as the developer of the patch, as you correctly point out, works for them; however, that does not change the fact that it was available *to me* in Ubuntu and Debian's repos before I was able to get it from CentOS's repos.
  
  Real life personal experience: the most reliable source of all.
  
  --
  APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
14. Re:The bigger the lie by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-24 10:02 · Score: 0
  
  Actually you don't need a dictatorship, you need companies to take responsibility for their entire OS. I get the feeling that companies like Canonical used to think that all they had to do was be the one to put all the pieces together with a little UI polish and call it a day. What Linux really needs is a company to step up and say if there is a bug in a package that we use its our responsibility to fix that bug and then do it because its a bug in our product.
A good reason to use Ubuntu by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 08:30 · Score: 1, Interesting

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2014-October/038520.html
Refusing to fix critical/security updates? Throwing the work on their packages to upstream? Thank God we have OSX and don't need wannabe's.
1. Re:A good reason to use Ubuntu by BronsCon · 2014-10-23 09:32 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Actually reading the thread (I know, this is /. and that doesn't happen), the issue is that OwnCloud wanted the package removed from an *already released* repository, which Ubuntu refused, so as not to affect users actually using it, while providing three possible interim solutions. The end result was removal of the package from the repo of the next release. Problem solved.
  
  --
  APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
Just what I want by jandrese · 2014-10-23 08:57 · Score: 3, Funny

Oh boy, I can't wait for all of the compromises you have to make to get a system usable on a small touchscreen to be ported over to my mouse and keyboard equipped desktop. I hope they go all the way and remove keyboard support so I can hunt and peck with the mouse on an onscreen keyboard with crappy predictive text. Also, make sure every app defaults to fullscreen, because that's what I want on a 3840x2160 display. I also hope they do away with onscreen menus and make everything gigantic buttons because I hate efficient use of screen space.

--

I read the internet for the articles.
1. Re:Just what I want by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 16:08 · Score: 0
  
  using the same components in between the UI and the kernel is not a bad proposition. Using the same UI is, however, terrible. But Windows 8 is still far more of a coherent and usable interface than anything open source has come up with so far. And is likely to in the near future, judging by current KDE/GNOME implementations.
  And I am not a Windows fan. I've been using Linux for almost 2 decades now.
Re:Do Not Want by iggymanz · 2014-10-23 09:09 · Score: 1

So it meets a Slashdot anonymous coward's self-alleged needs, who is lying about using Ubuntu 14.10. 'nuff said about Ubuntu
So for a business environment is this any good ? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 09:26 · Score: 0

How does this compare to say just installing debian and the apps we need, scripting it for rolling out onto different machines ?
I tried out some recent distros and they all seem to cater for the consumer crowd, photo veiwer, social media etc. I just need a solid os that updates and doesn't break. Is the answer still plain debian ?
Re:Do Not Want by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 09:53 · Score: 0

Rubbish UI on an OS that is trying to fly off in some random direction, ignoring end user needs.
Unless you're living in a bubble the operating systems ignoring end-user needs are every other Linux distribution, that is why Windows, OSX and Ubuntu are the most popular desktop operating systems. Sure there are various other Linux distros and BSDs available but those ignore and constantly fail to meet end user needs on anything but a tiny niche scale.
Anyone else not bother with the interm releases? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 09:59 · Score: 3, Insightful

I only ever install the LTS releases any more. I don't have time to waste upgrading the OS.
Consider how long Windows goes before a major version upgrade. The 6-month cycle of Ubuntu is too short.
As I have been saying for years, Ubuntu should do an LTS "core" released every 2 years or whatever long cycle. That core would not contain things such as Firefox, LibreOffice, etc. It would literally just be the core Linux services. Everything else can be upgraded on the fly with rolling updates.
Re:Do Not Want by LifesABeach · 2014-10-23 10:19 · Score: 1

What are your needs?
Unity is Crap by BrendaEM · 2014-10-23 10:31 · Score: 0

Oh, great. They can inflict Unity on miserable people on two platforms.

--
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
1. Re:Unity is Crap by unixisc · 2014-10-23 16:10 · Score: 1
  
  So this version w/ small changes doesn't have Mir as yet?
2. Re:Unity is Crap by bswarm · 2014-10-24 12:52 · Score: 1
  
  I just install Ubuntu Gnome, then Gnome Fallback (called Flashback now) that way I don't have Unity leftovers. Unity sucks donkey wang if you ask me.
I finally switched to Mint by HalAtWork · 2014-10-23 10:57 · Score: 3, Interesting

I finally switched to Mint with Cinnamon and love it. I appreciate what Ubuntu has done to make Linux usable on the desktop, but in that spirit I am now supporting Mint, which seems to have taken over that position with a great interface that promises consistency.

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Twinstiq, game news
1. Re:I finally switched to Mint by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 14:01 · Score: 0
  
  sudo apt-get update
  sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop xfdesktop* xfce*
  sudo apt-get purge libunity* unity*
  sudo reboot
  For great justice.
2. Re:I finally switched to Mint by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 14:58 · Score: 0
  
  vtwm, baby. It's fast, it's stable, and it doesn't *argue* with me about "conceptual paradigms of user interaction".
3. Re:I finally switched to Mint by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 15:12 · Score: 0
  
  Not a fan of xfce...
Re:Anyone else not bother with the interm releases by Chandon+Seldon · 2014-10-23 11:33 · Score: 3, Informative

The main reason for a six month release cycle is to provide drivers for new hardware.
Since hardware drivers are integrated with the kernel and window system, supporting new drivers requires upgrading the core system.
If aren't upgrading your hardware constantly, there's no reason to update beyond the latest LTS. If you're buying this week's Nvidia card or a laptop with a new wireless card, then you'll want to use the latest Ubuntu release to get support for it.

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-- The act of censorship is always worse than whatever is being censored. Always.
Re:So for a business environment is this any good by Richy_T · 2014-10-23 11:36 · Score: 2

Slackware. Just about.
Re:Do Not Want by rubycodez · 2014-10-23 13:29 · Score: 1

Oh really, last I checked Linux Mint was kicking Ubuntu's butt, Mint being Ubuntu minus the suck.
Re:Anyone else not bother with the interm releases by rubycodez · 2014-10-23 13:38 · Score: 1

Windows major version upgrades are fast as a tachyon, we have Windows 10 before 9 even came out.
Re:Do Not Want by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 15:03 · Score: 0

Oh really, last I checked Linux Mint was kicking Ubuntu's butt, Mint being Ubuntu minus the suck.
Citation? Even if Mint is ahead I doubt it would be by much.
Has the audio theme changed? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 15:49 · Score: 1

Has the audio theme changed yet or is it still the jungle/bongo sounds?
Re:Anyone else not bother with the interm releases by TranquilVoid · 2014-10-23 17:24 · Score: 1

However LTS releases periodically update the kernel, I assume for the same driver (as well as security) reasons, or is this different? The main drawback I see with LTS is that many application packages remain old, so you miss out on new features to LibreOffice etc.
Let's allkeep in mind the penultimate release name by forged · 2014-10-23 18:38 · Score: 2

This is the perfect time to remind everyone of this comment made by Linus back in 2008: "...Digg users - you're all a bunch of Wanking Walruses".
To which Ubuntu forum users massively agreed that this would make a great release name !
Utopic Unicorn... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 18:40 · Score: 0

Let me guess, only usable by virgins then?
We should all be sweet then right?
What is this 1998? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-23 23:02 · Score: 0

(from a desktop point of view) The whole thing is a big mess. Why would anyone want to run this higley pigley operating system that won't run any proper software and has limited hardware support? oh wait it's free?! - ah but, it might be 'money$ free'.. but it comes with many other costs such as wasting time and using substandard alternative software..it feels worse than 1998 all over again.
If something doesn't work you then have to waste hours seeking help from randoms on how to get say your sound or network to run.
Seriously windows 95 had a more uniformed, consistent general GUI plus support from pretty much every hardware/software vendor.
It's sad because there are more disadvantages with linux than say windows8. It's the truth. It needs to be accepted. Most people try and justify that some old PC from the mid 2000's can run linux 'fast' well, this is mostly lies. There is no such thing as 'just for webbrowsing'. Seriously, this user (granny) is better of with an ipad connected to an external monitor, atleast then they would have thousands of little apps, games, music etc.
I suggest the people use Windows8, it installs in no time, boots in a few seconds, everything is pretty much ready out of the box. Things run, even silverlight, flash, games, stuff... you know. Why waste time trying to pretend that linux is some how a good desktop system? It's horrible. Ibuntu is just crap. People make me laugh trying to justify how it's of any use.
Unless they actually do what mac did and have the entire system configurable with a GUI and have it polished off, it's got nothing. You may aswell run RiskOS or Amiga OS.
Unity by phinnvr6 · 2014-10-24 00:03 · Score: 1

I don't mind Unity so much and Ubuntu is still my distro of choice. Having a persistent taskbar is a hellofalot better than Gnome. But I have to nagging complaints about the utter lack of customization with Unity: 1. Cannot click a taskbar app icon to minimize. It's buried in Compiz settings somewhere but I didn't see it in 14.10, I'll look again. 2. Cannot move the taskbar to bottom. Just... wow.
Re:Anyone else not bother with the interm releases by mrmaster · 2014-10-24 01:05 · Score: 1

Like Google has been doing with Android. Strip it down to it's core and then they release little things as apps. I think there is a lot of stuff that gets installed automatically in Ubuntu that I would never use. Most of my issues with ubuntu or it's variants have been with video and sound. Video seems to be greatly improved in 14.04 but now sound issues keep popping up. I'm sticking to the LTS releases as well. I'm sick of having new bugs or even old bugs reappear with each update. I also gave up on Unity. Unity runs way too slow for me.
Re:Do Not Want by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-24 02:17 · Score: 0

I hope so. I use Mint. It actually looks like a desktop environment. Ubuntu is ugly, hard to use, and even Microsoft knows that no one wants their cell phone and their PC to operate the same. Canonical needs to go away.
Re:Anyone else not bother with the interm releases by dotancohen · 2014-10-24 03:28 · Score: 1

The LTS releases do update the Firefox, Chrome and Thunderbird major versions. So far as I know, those are the only three packages which update major version numbers in an LTS, as the major version numbers of those software are as point releases of other software.

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It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
Re:Do Not Want by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-24 06:28 · Score: 0

The AC didn't say it met their needs, just stated two facts. 1. The on-line search is still enabled by default. 2. The on-line search can be disabled. Why would you assume their are lying about running 14.10? Both those facts are verifiable.
Re:Anyone else not bother with the interm releases by Anonymous Coward · 2014-10-24 09:29 · Score: 0

I had to get an old Ubuntu 10.10 system running on mid-2014 Lenovo laptop - and all it took was a kernel upgrade (which I was able to do from the live system, even though I did need an ethernet-usb device for that because neither the new WiFi nor the new ethernet adapter were recognized), nothing else. After that kernel upgrade, all hardware except the display is working as well as with the latest release (not surprising, since it's using the latest kernels).
Indeed, the accelerated 3D and Compiz is not working - for that I would indeed have to upgrade the whole system, which I have no intention of doing for this legacy system - but if you don't need 3D graphics drivers, you can just upgrade kernels.
Whetever 2D driver it does use, BTW, is sufficient for general use; I occasionally use this machine to browse CSS heavy web pages and it doesn't break a sweat.
Re:Do Not Want by Moleverine · 2014-10-24 14:41 · Score: 1

To add further anecdotal evidence (surely they must eventually = facts, right?), it meets my needs quite well and I'm writing this from my laptop running 14.10.