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posted by
CoolHand
on Saturday April 25 2015, @04:25AM
from the no-idea-what-a-vervet-is-and-ruh-roh-systemd dept.
from the no-idea-what-a-vervet-is-and-ruh-roh-systemd dept.
Ubuntu 15.04 has now been released; full details are at: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/VividVervet/ReleaseNotes
Notable new features:
- Unity 7.3
- LibreOffice 4.4
- Firefox 37
- Chromium 41
Low-level and server changes include:
- Linux kernel 3.19
- The move from upstart to systemd
- A new version of OpenStack
- Ubuntu Core (Snappy) - a variant to be used as a core OS for other software projects
OMGubuntu coverage is here: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2015/04/ubuntu-15-04-download-new-features
Slashdot commentary/griping at: http://news.slashdot.org/story/15/04/24/1245209/ubuntu-1504-released-first-version-to-feature-systemd
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If the thunder don't get you, then the lightning will.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by hash14 on Saturday April 25 2015, @03:23PM
This is the first time in a long time that I have no plans to try this Ubuntu release. I expect I'll never install it, nor any future version.
I tolerated the candy-coated Unity GUI because I only had to see it long enough to open a shell and apt-get something usable.
Same here. I jumped off the Ubuntu train years ago - I retired a dual-boot Ubuntu/Debian machine back in 2012 and have been on Mint and now migrating everything to Gentoo. And prior to retiring that machine, I didn't even use Ubuntu as a full-time OS since 2008 (I started using Linux in 2007 mind you) - after that, it was primarily Debian.
What's wrong with Ubuntu? Why is it so unsuccessful compared to Mint? Well, it's just too intrusive in the name of being user-friendly. Somehow, Mint manages to be _more_ user-friendly _and_ more tech savvy too. We could all discuss why, but I think it primarily has to do with Ubuntu simply trying to do too much. As soon as I heard about Unity, I knew to give up hope on that distro. It oversimplifies to the point where you can't do anything useful in an efficient manner - compare to XFCE or descendants of Gnome2 which are both simple to use _and_ productive environments.
There are other examples of ways that Ubuntu both harms user-friendliness and disregards productivity simultaneously, but Unity is the best such example.
Now systemd. More than what was already there. Despite the widespread skepticism above and beyond anything in recent memory.
Another example of Ubuntu focusing on the wrong priorities.
If Ubuntu had actually promoted init freedom, then they could have courted a lot of talented, technical users and developers, rather than watching them all run off to Gentoo and Devuan. But again, Canonical has shown that this mindshare isn't important to them, hence why they can't develop an effective business model or community.
The year of the Linux desktop is the year Linux becomes as stupid as Windows. And I want no part of it thank you very much! From now on I will be installing an OS that doesn't treat me like a TV-watcher with an IQ of 80.
My hope a Sabayon-like distro will emerge from Gentoo which provides a Debian-like package management system (but Sabayon uses systemd). Hell, it could even use .deb/apt but just build the packages from Gentoo repositories - that would seem like the easiest way in my opinion. Gentoo works for now, but still requires me to manage more than I'm interested in, so I would love to see this. As for Devuan, I'm sceptical that they will be able to provide the necessary maintenance to keep the distro alive, but I certainly hope so. The world still needs a user-friendly distro that promotes true freedom now that Debian's gone.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 25 2015, @04:35PM
That's because Mint don't seem to have bought into the notion of users being idiots, and thus offer a DE that so not assume so either.
Having the "fortune" of interacting with a Gnome dev reveals how much disdain they have for users. This apparently because testing on Gnome 2 revealed that users often did things in unexpected ways.
This seems to be an attitude as old as humanity, as one can see in how Romans considered everyone but them barbarians. Or how European explorers trashed whole societies because they didn't do things the European way.
Mint seems to focus on giving a good media experience out of the box, and beyond that leave the user alone.