
Ubuntu's Mark Shuttleworth on shaking up system software - btian
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17916879
======
demetris
What I find interesting is that I don’t see other distros or projects picking
up Ubuntu’s and Canonical’s novelties.

Upstart was adopted by a few distros, but then those distros left it for
systemd.

Bazaar — Who uses Bazaar?

Ubuntu One — Last time I checked it supported Windows but, if you believe it,
not Debian.

Ubuntu Software Centre — Debian Squeeze installs it as part of the default
desktop setup. I opened it a couple of times when I first installed Squeeze
and did not see anything that would make me use it, but I don’t know if it is
properly integrated into Debian.

Unity — Has any distro shown interest in shipping Unity as a Gnome shell?

So, what I am wondering is: If all these extras add value to Ubuntu, why
aren’t the other distros picking them up? They could add value to other
distros too. And if they don’t add value to Ubuntu, why do Ubuntu and
Canonical spend resources on them?

~~~
hnhg
This week I tried Ubuntu 11.10 on VMWare and absolutely hated it. Nothing
makes sense in Unity! If you're going to make something different at least
make it more efficient or more intuitive - it's neither. I ended up going with
XFCE not from performance issues but because I was sick of having to use
Google to figure out basic things.

I couldn't believe how I angry and frustrated I became. I'm usually not that
invested in things like this, and tbh I really wanted to like it. If I'm
representative of at least a fraction of the userbase then they should have a
look at why people like me are reacting this way.

EDIT - I'm getting hammered with the downvotes so I'd genuinely like to hear
why. I'm not trying to troll and I bring these things up because I want Ubuntu
to succeed but I think they're missing something incredibly important right
now in their approach.

~~~
revorad
I had the same reaction as you when I first tried Unity a while ago. But now
I've come around to like it. It's actually really forward thinking.

Our perception of user interfaces is very much tied to habit - what we're used
to. New interfaces take some time to adjust to.

I know some people who hated Hipmunk and the iPad because they couldn't figure
out how to use them.

You should give Unity another try. You may still not like it, but if you're a
programmer who likes to use the keyboard more than the mouse, you will at
least like the HUD.

~~~
hnhg
I totally agree with what you say about subjectivity. I actually liked the HUD
but my overall feeling is that it all needs to be refined and I certainly
wouldn't give it to my parents like I would an iPad.

~~~
tumblen
Fwiw I set my mom up on 11.10 a few months ago. She was coming from OSX and
immediately took to and came to love Ubuntu.

I think part of it is that with Unity, there are never overwhelming amounts of
options on the screen. Once you understand that Super Key = Search for
Application, that's pretty much all you need to know.

In the past, I think the "Start Menu" style application-chooser would have
been overwhelming for her - I know it was sometimes for me. I'd click then
start reading through the menus "Uhh, wait, what did I want? Where is that
again?"

Even with the occasional Unity glitch (which doesn't seem to be an issue at
all in 12.04) her system is still much more reliable than ever.

I was really impressed and excited to see that Linux was at the point where
she could use it with very little coaching - so, worth considering that much
at least.

~~~
slurgfest
Yes - super key is like the predecessor of saying "computer:" in Star Trek.
That is nice. It is part of why tools like Gnome-Do, Launchy, Kupfer, Synapse
(not to mention Vim plugins like Fuzzyfinder, Command-T and CtrlP) have taken
off. It's like shell auto-completion except you kicked off the search before
typing anything, and it is easy to set different contexts to guide the search.

And even if Unity is doing some things wrong, it is well worth refining this
launcher concept. Flying up to a 'File' menu to (say) exit an application, or
Edit to search a file, is about as stupid as dragging a floppy disk onto a
garbage can. Harder to decide exactly what to do instead.

I'm also quite happy that FINALLY some GUI designers are putting elements like
quick keys and fuzzy searching at the foundation rather than kludging them on
to an interface which is fundamentally hostile to people who have specific
actions in mind and/or know what they are doing.

For now, though, the devil is in the details...

------
beagle3
I really like Shuttleworth's / Ubuntu's courage - it's much like Apple's
courage, except it is done in the open.

(Personally, I can't switch to 12.04; it borks on my touchscreen device, see
<https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/801988> \- but I will as soon as the bug is
resolved. The lenses/hud is excellent)

~~~
TheSmoke
i also suggest not upgrading to 12.04 if you are a vim and konversation user.
ain't working.

~~~
bostonvaulter2
I don't understand how Vim can be broken on 12.04, some type of packaging
error?

~~~
TheSmoke
i don't either. on a clean ubuntu 12.04, this is what i get:
<http://pastebin.com/W1X9pcew>

------
plessthanpt05
Have been with Debian for quite a while, but installed this new Ubuntu LTS the
other day on a development box and have to say, I'm pretty impressed.
Seemingly quite stable w/ plenty of nice UI eye-candy. Only criticism is that
it hides a bit of the default customisation settings stuff from the last time
I used Ubuntu (last LTS), however, it's definitely a nice push forward for the
linux community (in so far as perhaps drumming up new open source users).
Would have been nice to see a shout to Debian in the article, but hey, just
glad open source is gaining broader appeal and hopefully, at the very least,
it's a foot in door for greater linux adoption.

~~~
jstalin
I think Debian/Ubuntu with Gnome 3 is a winner. I love the interface.

------
shrikant
I might be in the minority (or a really silent majority..) of people who
absolutely love Unity. [1]

Just install ClassicMenu Indicator[2] to have a regular app menu around, and
Ubuntu Tweak for a little more customisability, and you're good to go.

[1] (link to my blog) [http://shrik.theswamp.in/2012/05/switching-over-to-
ubuntu-12...](http://shrik.theswamp.in/2012/05/switching-over-to-
ubuntu-1204.html)

[2] <http://www.florian-diesch.de/software/classicmenu-indicator/>

------
kijin
The HUD is one the most significant UI changes to hit the Linux Desktop in
recent years, and I see how a lot of people will find it useful. But it's
probably also going to be one of the most controversial changes, perhaps even
more than the introduction of Unity (which has many more precedents).

In particular, it will be difficult to get even the most adventurous users to
use complicated apps like GIMP (which the screenshot shows) exclusively with
the HUD. When there are hundreds of functionalities you could choose from and
you don't remember the exact name, the traditional menu is much more
discoverable. At the moment, HUD only complements the menu without replacing
it altogether. But if the HUD is some day going to replace the menu, it will
probably need to incorporate some of the features of the traditional menu on
the way. I hope Canonical remains responsive to feedback during the transition
period. Shuttleworth has an unfortunate tendency to go all Steve Jobs and
insist that it's either his way or highway when it comes to UI decisions.

It's also going to be interesting to see how HUD works in touchscreen devices
where using the keyboard can be a significant amount of hassle. You could rely
on gestures to some extent, but not all actions you perform on a computer can
be easily represented with intuitive gestures. So Ubuntu's UI may need to
split up again into desktop and tablet editions, after all.

As for myself, I feel rather frustrated with these changes because I love my
little plastic rodent. I really don't like taking my hand off the mouse to
type something.

~~~
azernik
In his initial announcement of the HUD
(<http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/939>) Shuttleworth clearly had the
discoverability issue in mind; the vision he put forward was that, with the
HUD in place, the menu's main function is now to discover functionality;
therefore, design effort should now go into a good replacement for that
particular aspect.

------
jstalin
The money quote from that article:

"The patents system is being used to slow down a lot of healthy competition
and that's a real problem. I think that the countries that have essentially
figured that out and put hard limits on what you can patent will in fact do
better."

------
shapeshed
Whatever you think of HUD, Unity, Ubuntu TV, Ubuntu on Android you have to
admire someone pursuing a vision.

------
diminish
Ubuntu for Android handsets is what I am waiting for my next handsets. Still
have no clue, which quad core android will support it.

------
orbitingpluto
The only reason I'm giving Ubuntu a last chance is the version number.
Pangolin may become usable... eventually.

I've tried running Eclipse in Unity, Gnome 2 & Gnome 3 on my heavier laptop.
Things crash hard and often. I've given up for the next month and installed
KDE.

Since 11.10, I've been switching my computers to Debian Squeeze. I do not
regret it.

------
slurgfest
I like Unity's design just fine but it's VERY VERY power hungry. On my laptop
it maxes out heat, takes a really excessively time to boot and takes a couple
seconds for the UI to come up when I hit super. Tweaks like changing the
graphics driver aren't helping. LXDE and XFCE desktops don't have the same
problem at all.

