Code Name, Theming Update Announced For Ubuntu 12.10

benfrog writes "In a blog post, Mark Shuttleworth announced some changes for Ubuntu 12.10 (due in October), including the code name (Quantal Quetzal — no, really) and a theme update. He said, 'That will kick off with a project on typography to make sure we are expressing ourselves with crystal clarity – making the most of Ubuntu’s Light and Medium font weights for a start. And a project on iconography, with the University of Reading, to refine the look of apps and interfaces throughout the platform. It’s amazing how quaint the early releases of Ubuntu look compared to the current style. And we’re only just getting started! In our artistic explorations we want to embrace tessellation as an expression of the part-digital, part-organic nature of Ubuntu.' Some other more meaningful announcements include a focus on the cloud in the server version and the lack of a transition from Upstart to systemd."

Meh, Software Center

[Artifex]

I dumped that for Synaptic Package Manager as soon as I could.
Don't need to be loading lots of graphics and junk on my lightweight netbook when I'm just trying to manage packages through a menu.

Re:Finally

[Roadmaster]

Yes, set LIBOVERLAY_SCROLLBAR=0.

http://www.webupd8.org/2011/04/how-to-disable-overlay-scrollbars-in.html [webupd8.org]

Hope it helps!

Re:Finally

[LurkerXXX]

It's not as automated, but it's still possible.

http://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/344 [linuxmint.com]

Re:Finally

[steveha]

I'm actually scared of upgrading my friend's desktop to a newer version of Ubuntu. He's computer illiterate and has been using Ubuntu more-or-less fine for several years now, but I know him and while I can tolerate even the most bone-headed of interface (I used old versions of Mentor Graphics for example) this shit is going to drive him insane and he'll stop using it.

I have been using an Ubuntu 11.10 computer with MATE installed, and I am happy with it. I have removed all the overlay-scrollbar packages and the result is a nice usable GNOME 2.x desktop.

http://mate-desktop.org/ [mate-desktop.org]

Long-term, the future is probably Cinnamon, which is built on top of the new GNOME 3.x libraries but aims to duplicate the desktop features of GNOME 2.x.

http://cinnamon.linuxmint.com/ [linuxmint.com]

steveha

Re:Meh, Software Center

[thelamecamel]

The software centre took forever to load in 11.10, but is waaaaay faster in 12.04. It's actually usable now and I prefer it to Synaptic for my simple needs because the installations are handled by a daemon: you can start something installing, queue up a bunch more installations, close the GUI, and it will keep downloading/installing everything in the background.

Re:Finally

[steveha]

I don't really understand this line of thought. People use Ubuntu, dislike it, then move to (K|X)buntu or Mint... What's wrong with plain old Debian?

The Debian installer doesn't work as a live CD. I don't know where you can go to get a live CD with a standard Debian system on it and a GUI desktop that Just Works.

The Debian installer doesn't sort out all your hardware as well as the Ubuntu installer does. I have several laptops and I can boot an Ubuntu disc on any of them, and a GUI comes up with WiFi working. I am able to install Debian, but it would need to be with the laptop plugged in to a wired network, so I could manually install packages for the WiFi stuff until it works.

While I know a lot of people seem to hate PulseAudio, I want it running. With Ubuntu you just get it; with Debian you need to sort it out yourself.

Before "Unity" I could basically install Ubuntu and be productive right away. Now there is a step where I have to disable Unity and set up some other desktop, but that's still easier than installing Debian and fixing everything.

On the other hand, for servers, I run Debian Stable and I have for many years now. Rock solid reliable, and none of the above issues matter. (If I need to boot a server from a live CD, I can just use the Ubuntu one. But my servers are reliable and I basically never need to do that.)

steveha

Re:Meh, Software Center

[Waldeinburg]

That is not true. If you search for apache, you have to click "Show 493 technical items" afterwards, which is reasonable for a desktop system. What is not reasonable is the sorting; the apache2 package is obviously what the user is searching for, but it is way down in the list.

Re:oops

[horza]

So you don't get hundreds of megs of useless libraries installed that you don't need. Kubuntu won't install the Gnome shared libs, and Ubuntu won't install the KDE or xfce4 libs.

Of course many of us tend to just install software based on both GTK and QT4 so end up sucking a lot of them in anyway whether under Unity or KDE4.

Phillip.