New Buguntu, new GUI, new problems

Post by Nico Brailovsky @ 2011-11-01 | Permalink | 1 comments | Leave a comment

I updated Ubuntu to 11.10 in one of three computers I regularely use. Lot's of problems and very little improvements. Granted, sound now works by default (finally) but dual screen suport is still less than what I would expect from Windows 98. On top of that, the biggest change is the GUi.

WTF! My computer is not a tablet, give me back my menu. While using my phone it's nice to have only a couple of icons to click. With two big monitors, I miss my launch bar, a propper clock, my custom applets and the applications menu... everything that makes the GUI usable.

Luckly Ubuntu provides a way to revert to the "classic" desktop, you just need to apt-get install gnome-session-fallback (WTF? I need to INSTALL it? If you plan to roll out a new experimental GUI, at least let me opt-out without downloading more stuff). Of course, since now Ubuntu comes with Gnome 3 even more fun ensues.

Did you plan to customize your toolbars? Well, good luck with that. Apparently now the applets that work for the old Gnome won't work for Gnome 3. Yes, they implemented a new cool applet system, whatever, I just want a port of the old ones I had.

Oh, if you plan to move things around you'll have to do some research first. See that hideous clock up there, in the top bar? How would you get it to the lower-right corner? Why, hold alt and then right click to see the move menu. Super intuitive. I wonder if they inspired themselves on ribbon.

I don't understand the tablet-interface-ftw fad, I was happy with my console multiplexer and I want to keep it unobtrusive, as gnome 2 was. Time to switch to XFCE?


In reply to this post, Leonardo Comerci commented @ 2011-12-21T11:39:30.000+01:00:

Seh, yo uso Kubuntu 11.10 en el laburo y de un día para el otro, entre tanto update automático, me dejó de andar el AUDIO. Por defecto ésta distro viene con Pulseaudio e intenté rajarlo a la mierda y poner ALSA pero no funcaba, así que tuve que volver a poner Pulseaudio y hacer indecibles malabares para que termine solamente funcando el Banshee y el sonido del Pidgin. Chau otras app (ni VLC ni nada) ni tampoco el sonido en el browser (chau Youtubem chau etc) que es lo que más me da por las bolas...

Pero bueno... obvio que al Unity lo mandé al demonio y puse XFCE, aunque bien podría haber puesto Fluxbox (pero no quería TANTO minimalismo).

Ahora anda todo (algo) más rápido.

Original published here.