Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sun 23rd Apr 2006 17:38 UTC, submitted by Linoman
Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu x64bit.net has a review of the (K)Ubuntu Dapper Drake beta. "Please note Ubuntu/Kubuntu 'Dapper Drake' is not yet a final product and the available previews do not reflect the quality of the final product. This quick review is not meant to divide Ubuntu and Kubuntu into separate distros. They are almost identical to each other, except the default desktop for Ubuntu is Gnome, whereas KDE is Kubuntu's default desktop." Lots of screenshots, boys and girls.
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Desktop search
by h-milch-mann on Sun 23rd Apr 2006 18:33 UTC
h-milch-mann
Member since:
2005-10-27

I don't get this search neither when i use search from places nor when searching from nautilus. Do I need to enable beagle to see this? I rather hope not since I have only 256MB RAM.

Reply Score: 1

RE: Desktop search
by lithium on Sun 23rd Apr 2006 18:58 UTC in reply to "Desktop search"
lithium Member since:
2005-06-29

It's beagl search, so...yes

Reply Score: 2

RE[2]: Desktop search
by h-milch-mann on Sun 23rd Apr 2006 19:00 UTC in reply to "RE: Desktop search"
h-milch-mann Member since:
2005-10-27

Thank you. So I have to live without this ...for the moment. ;)

Reply Score: 1

don't upgrade in GUI
by jaylaa on Sun 23rd Apr 2006 19:04 UTC
jaylaa
Member since:
2006-01-17

As the reviewer noticed, the upgrade didn't go so well in Synaptic. I have two computers running Dapper. Both of them having gone through Hoary->Breezy->Dapper upgrades. The upgrade never worked using Synaptic. Too many graphical libraries are being upgraded and at some point the whole graphical interface will crap out.

What has worked is killing GDM completely and doing it from command line.

Also, there's some new graphical upgrade tool Ubuntu has that may work better than Synaptic, but I haven't tried it so I wouldn't know

Reply Score: 3

RE: don't upgrade in GUI
by Terracotta on Sun 23rd Apr 2006 19:41 UTC
Terracotta
Member since:
2005-08-15

I must agree with this, never had a problem dist-upgrading from command prompt. Although a fresh install 'feels' better. And faster.

Reply Score: 1

Using Flight 6 right now.
by snozzberry on Sun 23rd Apr 2006 19:44 UTC
snozzberry
Member since:
2005-11-14

It's impressive in parts. I think it would have been better if the Ubuntu guys had seriously downplayed XGL. XGL will probably be ready for Edgy Eft 7.

Zeroconf doesn't work because the install doesn't install avahi. Since I haven't had issues with avahi working post-install, this is difficult to understand.

Eventually an Ubuntu install needs to bite the bullet and ask AT INSTALL if we want codec support, and get it. I've got examples in my Example Content folder Ubuntu installed -- and Ubuntu won't play.

The LiveCDs are actually more disappointing than the install CDs when it comes to hardware detection, especially when it comes to wifi and Broadcom chipsets. Unless the official betas are substantially different from Flight 6, don't try to wow a friend with the liveCDs on their laptops. The x86 LiveCDs can be made to recognize the Intel PRO wifi chipsets, but the time spent getting it up and running ruins the demo.

Kubuntu has a somewhat schizophrenic perspective on apt-get. Instead of synaptic, you get adept, adept-update, and "Add/Remove Programs," a simplified category-based program selector notable for crashing as soon as you tell it you want it to search Gnome, KDE, unsupported and proprietary software. I've had moments where adept was incapable of resolving dependencies, but as soon as I manually downloaded and dpkg -i installed those dependencies the app installed. Synaptic's never been this inept on regular Debian distros with me.

Dapper gets high marks for intent and mediocre marks for execution. As they've said repeatedly, don't use this as a primary desktop/OS; I'm in the process of replacing it with Breezy 5.10 on a friend's ancient computer that I was trying to keep current.

Reply Score: 4

v RE: Using Flight 6 right now.
by Babi Asu on Mon 24th Apr 2006 00:05 UTC in reply to "Using Flight 6 right now."
RE[2]: Using Flight 6 right now.
by thebluesgnr on Mon 24th Apr 2006 02:01 UTC in reply to "RE: Using Flight 6 right now."
thebluesgnr Member since:
2005-11-14

You're confusing XGL with Compiz. XGL does all rendering operations with OpenGL, which is something Mac OS X doesn't do by default yet.

Compiz is a window manager that does many things OS X does, and more. For example, the cube provides 4 different workspaces, which again is something OS X doesn't support by default.

Reply Score: 3

Working quite well here
by korpenkraxar on Sun 23rd Apr 2006 20:38 UTC
korpenkraxar
Member since:
2005-09-10

I just had my girlfriend install Kubuntu Dapper Beta on her HP NX8220 laptop for some PERL programming and bioinformatics stuff. The installer on the live cd didn't work, but the Debian-style installation disk worked just fine. I'm impressed actually - it automatically detected the screen resolution (1680x1050), wireless network, sound and ACPI/speedstep laptop stuff. I haven't tried hibernate yet, or configured the special laptop keyboard keys though. But overall a pretty good install, Kanotix style ;-) No crashes so far. Kudos to the U/K-team!

Reply Score: 2

GUI upgrading
by gameover on Sun 23rd Apr 2006 21:08 UTC
gameover
Member since:
2006-04-23

I upgraded a desktop machine from Breezy Badger to Dapper through the instructions laid out here - http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/dapperbeta#head-ab14ca6ed574c075d6fca...

This method uses Ubuntu's "Update Manager" and the whole process was automated nicely. I didn't have any problems except that after I rebooted once it was done, the X server would not load because I had been using the accelerated Nvidia graphics drivers in Breezy and it wouldn't work as those weren't updated in the process. I edited xorg.conf to use the non-accelerated drivers ("nv") and then it worked fine.

I updated a laptop running Breezy by using the Dapper Flight 6 CD, and that upgrade worked with no major problems whatsoever.

Reply Score: 3

Be Carefull With Kubuntu Live Install
by !nkubus on Mon 24th Apr 2006 00:03 UTC
!nkubus
Member since:
2006-04-23

There is a bug filled about the live CD installer in Kubuntu (Beta), they are also discussing about removing the download of the iso.

The installer crash before the partition selection part and whipes all the partition table.

Fortunatly with a Knoppix CD you can restore it with :
gpart -W /dev/hda /dev/hda

Here is the Link to the Known Issues:
https://wiki.kubuntu.org/KubuntuDapperBetaFeedback

Here is the link to the bug Report:
https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+source/ubiquity/+bug/40464

Reply Score: 4

awesome so far!
by 2501 on Mon 24th Apr 2006 00:23 UTC
2501
Member since:
2005-07-14

I installed Ubuntu Linux 5.10 on my dell inspiron 600m laptop and works like a charm. I had XP before and the laptop was always dragging. I also had a lot of problems with spyware and to mess everyhting uo, it got a virus that I could not remove.

Now, I love Ubuntu. I runs perfect. Installed other software like Mplayer and Firestater and no problems so far. I was even watching 4 videos at the same time...no glitches or anything like that.

I can not wait to type sudo apt-get install dist-upgrade to have the latest version.

It is great.

-2501

Reply Score: 2

Screenshots?
by aliquis on Mon 24th Apr 2006 01:15 UTC
aliquis
Member since:
2005-07-23

As always, noone cares, we know how Gnome and KDE looks. Ubuntu is nice, it's well documented, based on Debian and have quite up to date packages. It's probably the best Linux dist or share the first place with Fedora Core and SuSE.

Reply Score: 2

aliquis
Member since:
2005-07-23

http://aliquis.homeunix.net:8080/blog/page/aliquis?entry=uppgraderi...

The commands are there even if you don't understand swedish.

Reply Score: 1

Log out screen
by kill on Mon 24th Apr 2006 02:04 UTC
kill
Member since:
2005-11-03

I personally hate it. I used to just press the power button on my laptop and leave it to the shutdown process. Now if I press the power button, I will still have to click one more Shutdown icon. I am hoping there's an option around it on the final release.

Reply Score: 1

RE: Log out screen
by h-milch-mann on Mon 24th Apr 2006 03:36 UTC in reply to "Log out screen "
h-milch-mann Member since:
2005-10-27

I do too. Set /apps/panel/global/upstream_session to true and get rid of the ubuntu logout dialog. ;)

Reply Score: 1

RE: Log out screen
by Buffalo Soldier on Mon 24th Apr 2006 04:04 UTC in reply to "Log out screen "
Buffalo Soldier Member since:
2005-07-06

I personally hate it. I used to just press the power button on my laptop and leave it to the shutdown process. Now if I press the power button, I will still have to click one more Shutdown icon. I am hoping there's an option around it on the final release.

I have been Ubuntu since version 4.10 and I didn't know about this function... hahahaha... thanks dude.

Reply Score: 1

Gnome Screensaver
by berzerko on Mon 24th Apr 2006 02:44 UTC
berzerko
Member since:
2005-11-11

the reviewer mentions the new Gnome screensaver, but the screenshots he provides are of the old Xscreenasaver. the new Gnome one is very basic though, and definately doesnt include any power management options

Edited 2006-04-24 02:47

Reply Score: 1

RE: Gnome Screensaver
by thebluesgnr on Mon 24th Apr 2006 03:40 UTC in reply to "Gnome Screensaver"
thebluesgnr Member since:
2005-11-14

You're right about the reviewer's screenshots.

But regarding gnome-screensaver, it leaves power mgt features to gnome-power-manager which is part of the default install.

Reply Score: 1

v The GUI is so plain
by proforma on Mon 24th Apr 2006 04:27 UTC
v RE: The GUI is so plain
by MediaSex on Mon 24th Apr 2006 05:50 UTC in reply to "The GUI is so plain"
RE[2]: The GUI is so plain
by chemical_scum on Mon 24th Apr 2006 16:55 UTC in reply to "RE: The GUI is so plain"
chemical_scum Member since:
2005-11-02

Of course you will be missing the million UI capabilities and details that the real OS X desktop UI has, but it does help with the hideous and amateur looking stuff with the default install.

http://users.utu.fi/ljtaim/pics/maclook.png


Ughhh! the look is so cold inhuman and ugly give me the default Ubuntu human look anyday.

Reply Score: 1

what i don't see
by spikeb on Mon 24th Apr 2006 06:45 UTC
spikeb
Member since:
2006-01-18

this seems like as good a thread as any to make this observation, but it's technically offtopic, so you might wanna mod down. anyway. it seems like for those of us who want a pretty stable, very up to date release, *ubuntu has us covered. what i DON'T see, however, is somebody making a long term stable desktop ala RHEL, but for home users. granted, dapper is LTS, so perhaps that is the answer, but still. wouldn't it be nice to have something like RHEL desktop, only for the home?

Reply Score: 1

RE: what i don't see
by Babi Asu on Mon 24th Apr 2006 10:52 UTC in reply to "what i don't see"
Babi Asu Member since:
2006-02-11

Quality comes with price. You must be grateful to Ubuntu team for providing free and good DE . If you are not satisfied, you can try Linspire or Xandros.

Reply Score: 1

RE[2]: what i don't see
by spikeb on Mon 24th Apr 2006 11:21 UTC in reply to "RE: what i don't see"
spikeb Member since:
2006-01-18

bah, quality doesn't come with a (monetary) price at all, and i think a good number of OSS projects are proof of that. i AM thankful for what ubuntu does, just surprised that nobody has tried the stable and long lifetime approach for the home desktop yet.

Reply Score: 1

RE[3]: what i don't see
by leech on Mon 24th Apr 2006 14:17 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: what i don't see"
leech Member since:
2006-01-10

I believe that is the plan with Dapper. It has a 5 year life. The thing is, a lot of home users don't need or want stable long lifetime for their Operating System. I know that sounds kind of crazy, but I'll explain why.

Features vs. Stability. Unless the stability is a major problem with an application crashing everytime you try to save the file, or something as equally drastic and/or annoying, features will win out here. Of course with every new release there are new bugs, but new features.

Also, home users tend to upgrade their computers a lot more frequently than business users do. Though with Linux, maybe they won't need to as much as with Windows What I mean by this is that some people will literally buy a new PC when their Computer is too slow, due to malware infecting it.

Do you really mean something that is stable, longterm and has support? Dapper is that very thing, though for home users, why not just use the forums for support? They are great. I help people there all the time.

I think the real problem here is that people think cost when they think upgrade. With Ubuntu the upgrades are free and will always remain free. A person could use the same version forever if they so chose to. So literally Warty could be considered the stable and long lifetime version.

Just because Ubuntu or whatever linux distribution is continually evolving, doesn't mean that anyone has to install it. If someone is completely satisfied with their current setup, then keep it. Most distributions will still support security updates for their releases for a long time (I think even Debian Woody still gets security releases, though I could be wrong about that.)

Leech

Reply Score: 1

Wifi - WPA-PSK
by bluecode77 on Mon 24th Apr 2006 09:18 UTC
bluecode77
Member since:
2005-07-20

Hopefully they would include WPA-PSK support from default and provide us a decent interface to do the necessary setting via Network Manager etc..

Its a scandal still not having a decent tool to do that on an OS which claims to be innovative and better than others..

I wonder since when, MS Windows and OSX has that feature by default...

Reply Score: 1

Slack vs. Ubuntu
by mkools on Mon 24th Apr 2006 11:34 UTC
mkools
Member since:
2005-10-11

I'm the die-hard Slackware user that was always bitching on Ubuntu, which has cost me several negative moderation points ;)

Since things are a little bit quiet around Slackware 11 and the new Dropline Gnome, I thought what the hell let's give it a shot.

And what can I say, I'm impressed in every way.
I have AIGLX running with all the new compiz plugins, it looks great, it feels great, it feels great to work in it which feeling I never had with Warty or Hoary.

I can't wait for all the new features that will come in and I can't wait for the final release to show up ;)

Maybe this is my switch from Slack to Ubuntu, I don't know, let's wait what te slack -and dropline gnomecamp has to offer in a few more months ;)

Both are great distro's so I have a hard time choosing which one to pick, but for now I'll stay with Dapper!

Great work!

Reply Score: 2

RE: Slack vs. Ubuntu
by muskoka on Mon 24th Apr 2006 15:34 UTC in reply to "Slack vs. Ubuntu"
muskoka Member since:
2006-01-02

I took that path (less travelled) when Hoary Hedgehog was released, and haven't looked back.

Slackware was "nice" and "vanilla", Dapper is "outstanding" and "right-up-my-alley"!

Reply Score: 1

RE[2]: Slack vs. Ubuntu
by muskoka on Mon 24th Apr 2006 15:37 UTC in reply to "RE: Slack vs. Ubuntu"
muskoka Member since:
2006-01-02

Opps............. make that Warty Warthog (damn, it has been awhile)

Reply Score: 1

Dapper Upgrade
by tminton on Mon 24th Apr 2006 12:04 UTC
tminton
Member since:
2005-07-29

I upgraded my primary desktop running 5.10 to Dapper Beta by using "gksudo "update-manager -d"" as descibed here
http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/dapperbeta

While it took a while, it went off with out a hitch.

Reply Score: 1

Looks nice
by sappyvcv on Mon 24th Apr 2006 12:42 UTC
sappyvcv
Member since:
2005-07-06

It looks good. I think the Ubuntu crew always chooses a good default theme and makes the desktop clean and simple for users, which I really like. I haven't gotten a chance to use it, but I'll try to soon, and I'm looking forward to it.

A few minor things I'd like to comment on. Just small things I noticed that aren't really a big deal:
- It looks like Beagle still shows only X number of results per page? Like 1-10, 11-20, and so on? I think that's terrible, considering it's a local search, and very unintuitive. I'm sure you can change it, but it's still really bad, especially considering they already have a scrollbar there.
- The screensaver prefs window says "Screensaver Preferences (XScreensaver 4.23, 21-Oct-2005)". Why? That's completely pointless to put the actual app name, version and compile date. I know Ubuntu probably doesn't have much control over this, but eh.

If those are the only gripes I have visually, it seems like it's in decent shape ;) I hope it works as well as it looks.

Reply Score: 2

Ubuntu on PPC
by dindin on Mon 24th Apr 2006 13:52 UTC
dindin
Member since:
2006-03-29

I am not sure if anyone has tried the latest Ubuntu release on PPC/PowerBook G4, but the last time I tried I had some issue:

1) Have they fixed the power issue. Ubuntu did not seems to manage the battery power as well as OS X did.

2) Airport Extreme WiFi - is it working now? ;)

3) The last time I installed Dapper Flight 3, the sound did not work.

-D

Reply Score: 1