Modify Colors
How Ubuntu Lost Its Credibility and the Road to Regaining It
If Ubuntu announced that a radically new theme would be included in Ubuntu 9.04, would you believe them? After promising exactly that in 8.04 and again in 8.10 without ever delivering, I would not. What if they promised to ship a perfectly stable and bug-free release for the next LTS? I might sort of believe it, but I would be skeptical, after what happened with Hardy Heron. What if they told you the next release would be so exciting you would have to upgrade the second it came out? Once again, I would be skeptical. The thing is, I still use Ubuntu on my computer with absolutly no intention of switching. So why am I so skeptical of Ubuntu’s ability to do anything? Four words: over promise, under deliver.
I admit that Ubuntu is in a really difficult situation. Being under the level of scrutiny that Ubuntu is under and not getting some negative press would be almost impossible. Still, Ubuntu has not had the best track record for the past couple of releases.
Back when Ubuntu 8.04 came out, it was widely criticized for including beta and early-release software in a Long Term Support Release. Though Ubuntu 8.10 seems to have been received better, I am not the least bit impressed with the choice to leave one of the most highly anticipated features, the ability to easily have an encrypted “Private” directory, out. If you want to use it, you have to install it yourself. Perhaps the biggest problem, though, is the art. For a long time, people have wanted a new theme for Ubuntu. In 8.04 a radical new theme was promised. Unfortunately, it never came. Instead it was delayed until Ubuntu 8.10. Guess what, it never came. All of these seem to be cases where Ubuntu over promised, bit off more than they could chew, and fell just a little short.
The good news is that I think a single great release could put these problems in the past. The biggest priority has to be new artwork. It has been promised for so long, it needs to happen. Next, a really great release would have to be rock solid. No beta software and minimal bugs are a must. Finally, something new and exciting would have to be included. I realize that you can’t introduce much without also introducing bugs, but a great release would need something to make people really want to upgrade, even if it were something simple. I believe that if this happened, Ubuntu would quickly regain people’s confidence. Let me be clear, Ubuntu is a great distribution, but I feel that it needs to do a better job of delivering on its promises.
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The theme to me is not that important, it’s Linux you can change it to whatever you like. That is the beauty of Linux we can express our personality in a custom theme and are not limited to different to different wallpapers like Mac and MS offer.
Second, I use my ubuntu in a triple boot environment on a Macbook and setting up wireless encryption on 8.10 (and to have it actually work without a hitch first time and not erase itself after a reboot impressed me) it was just as easy to set up as OS X and Vista no terminal commands are used and that is out of the box.
Finally, how can anyone have the nerve to criticize a free OS, if you don’t like it go and actually “PAY” for one that floats your boat. I expect to have some troubles with any Linux distro and when I do I am fine with that because it didn’t cost me anything so I can use my time in configuring it to make up the difference.
Are you serious?? I can’t imagine how an OS would loose credibility just because of its theme.
I am one to fully agree with the article. Of course the actual main focus would lay on import matters such as security and stability (the latter of which they screwed up with 8.04, but did better on 8.10) but that’s not what this article says. Security and stability are not a “priority”, they need to be a GIVEN. If security and stability aren’t established, the operating system has no place on today’s market. So that means we can move on to issues that matter to a lot of people. I know it’s easy to disregard the broken promise (AGAIN!) of a more modern theme (it’s sooooo starting to look way old) as a power user but try to put yourself in the position of someone new to this operating system. Here’s some thoughts:
“that’s all very.. brown.. and orange, Vista does look better actually”
“wow I have all of ONE background? how generous”
I can totally see someone new to Ubuntu think either or both of the above thoughts.
Another problem is the simple fact that promises of something like this keep being broken. I fully expect 9.04 to look the exact same as 8.10. They have done their utmost best to ship with LESS desktop backgrounds than ever (and gloriously succeeded I might add) so maybe they’ll manage to ship with none next april.
Look, it’s not a disaster, but I too am skeptical for now and Canonical should not want their users to be skeptical when it’s their own fault in the first place. Delaying something like new artwork is one thing, but delaying it twice in a row?? A WHOLE YEAR? A modernized THEME?? This isn’t rocket science here, how can you NOT spare some manpower for this? How can you need more than maybe a couple of persons to do this? Hey, I know there ARE more important things, but this is not something that requires many weeks and many people. The community has provided excellent themes that can be used if the author allows it, or is Canonical the kind of company that abides by “if we didn’t make it, we don’t want it?”. They shouldn’t be, seeing as how most parts of the operating system are made by others. Perhaps it is stubbornness.
Whatever it is, they HAVE lost some credibility. They have not lost my support, but I AM skeptical and loving of Ubuntu at the same time and I won’t give it up easily myself. The above may sound like a rant but it’s simply how I feel. I love Ubuntu and I will not just switch. Instead, I want it to be the best, and I think I know a certain company that would like the same thing.
I think I reflect the views of many people when I say that *at least* the cycles leading up to an LTS release should focus mainly, if not exclusively, on bug fixing. 8.04 turned out to be a beta. 8.04.1 was the real Final Release.
There are two things that Ubuntu should focus on for every LTS: bug fixing and a new theme. Leave the cycles in between for experimentation and innovation. But that’s just my $.02.
The beginning of this article is boring, unrefined. Author wants the world on a platter? How much did s/he contribute to the development of the distro? How much did s/he pay for support? No release is bug-free. I didn’t read the rest. came to bottom to post. Headline was catchy, though!
I used to get all the bleeding-edge stuff, sometimes doing a distribution upgrade on the day of release, sometimes earlier. Loved looking for the new features. But over the last few cycles, I’ve noticed that the improvements are sparse (as incremental upgrades, they are supposed to be, I guess) while the bugs are noticeable, sometimes annoying, and sometimes crippling.
For the first time since I started using Ubuntu with Breezy, I plan on keeping the older release (8.04.1 now). Upgrading once every two years is sufficient, it seems to me. After having my hard drive wiped out way too many times, I enjoy the stability.
it’s a sheet of article!!!!
blah blah
font are ok, theme is ok, speed is ok, stability is ok, and as long as everything works 99% of the time I’m ok too
Stop whinning
quote::These are 6 month release cycles. Artwork has to come last as a priority.
It’s a pity then that they put so much of those 6 months into Marketing hype, when they could be improving the software.
I’m use & am very happy with Ubuntu LTS & am sure that whatever difficulties they have had are outweighed by their acheivements
These are 6 month release cycles. Artwork has to come last as a priority. It’s very easy for the user to configure the look of their own system in Ubuntu. That said- I think Ubuntu will add more polish in the future towards the look. Especially with the new interface designers Shuttleworth is hiring. The future is bright.
You’re whining over a theme? Are you for real? Do you even know why GNU/Linux is important? Thousands of people have collaborated and published their work under freedom granting licenses and you have the nerve to complain. Unbelievable
The truth is, you don’t deserve to use the software. You’d be better off using Windows.
Personally I don’t understand how anyone would place looks over stability … what do you use a computer for ??? It is true that 8.04 has not met my expectations, mainly network manager weirdness and an overall increase in sluggishness, but I really don’t think it would get any better with a new theme (and probably get worse :-/
I didn’t realize that Ubuntu had any credibility among knowledgeable Linux users.
Wow, the artwork isn’t great…the whole thing must be shit.
If the visuals are the biggest gripe (and going by sentences devoted to it), I’d say Ubuntu is looking pretty good (no pun intended).
Perhaps the time not spent on putting a garden variety blue theme on Ubuntu was spent making the distro so good that all you can hear are moans about the human theme.
If the theme really bites your bum, download another one. Themes are easily changed by Joe Q User, real bugs aren’t.
Your link between the failed delivery of visuals and the troubled state of the distro is tenuous at best.
McPop.
PS Have you seen hte Linux Loop visuals…is that a glass house I see?
Canonical have over promised and under delivered from the get go. everytime I’ve tired Ubuntu, it has not compared well with Mandriva’s distribution, but judging from the hype about Ubuntu, one would have thought Mark Shuttleworth’s effort was the diamond standard of Linux distributions.
are you serious? the biggest disappointment is the artwork? you really need to get out of your parents basement and take off your tinfoil hat. ubuntu lost it’s credibility with who? you? please. i can’t believe lxer even had a link to this garbage.
I totally disagree! People that choose their OS for their grace and design will choose to buy a Mac.
Functionality must ALWAYS go before design. As long as there are problems with functionality. The image of Ubuntu will be much more damaged by a non-functional release than by a non-cool look.
The REAL problem is that Canonical are sticking to their release schedules.
Apple and Microsoft just push launch dates, where Canonical actually ship on them. What’s amazing is, more stuff works on zero-day with Ubuntu than with OSX and Winblows.
It’s a rock and a hardplace, either they don’t ship stuff on the date they promised like the big companies that charge for it, or they do ship less than promised.
Two different approaches, but to say Ubuntu lost credability is frankly a joke – compared to the shams of Apple and Microsoft releases!
“The biggest priority has to be new artwork”
Only on Bizzaro. This is an operating system. The biggest priority is always security. There is one OS that is pretty but is vulnerable to virus’, etc and one is enough. If you want better artwork, then do something other than sit on your butt and complain.
I saw this as somebodys forum signature today ‘Intrepid……tepid’ That cant be good, but I kind of agree…………
“The biggest priority has to be new artwork. It has been promised for so long, it needs to happen. Next, a really great release would have to be rock solid.”
__________________________________
Ubuntu takes a lot of heat for its current stance, which is the face of Linux to everyone not using Linux, and home to perhaps as many as 40-50% of all Linux users. Shuttleworth definitely needs to deliver a new look and if he ever had the money, a new font (or LinoType font like FrutigerNext) or two. Fontographers costs tens of millions of dollars, if not more, so that’s out. But when he says he wants Ubuntu to look better than Mac, I’m all for it, but except for the central “theme,” there’s no way to unify all the various UI’s that debian apps possess. Another cool thing might be to build a top-line photo viewer for Linux. There are several good ones, but nothing that really stands out.
One way to accomplish this might be to spinoff a division like that http://www.DonationCoder.com and let everything be GPL’d.
9.04 might be a good time for that rock solid version, too. Both Firefox and OpenOffice will be well into their third versions by then. More than anything, 9.04 needs solid driver support.
Well first they just recently hired an art team, that will begin work in I think January. And since 8.04.1 Hardy is really stable. I think it’s a common mistake to always use a non LTS to be actual to the day. I can do anything work, surf, and play a little in Hardy and will be able to till the next LTS.
I too am getting worried about Ubuntu. I believe their strategy may be to purposely introduce regressions and leave bugs unfixed, in order to gather support money. It is in interesting financial strategy. Get em hooked, break it, make em pay to fix it.
Intrepid did come with an upgraded set of icons though. Canonical also came out with Netbook Remix. I don’t think a new theme/interface is really very important though. They need to focus on stability at this point. Throwing in more and more features is starting to strain Ubuntu. I am having to reboot it more and more and dozens of little glitches are annoying me… so now all of a sudden I want to pay for support … but its too expensive… what to do?
I think Ubuntu should focus their next release (9.04) on stability and speed. Make things work right again. Then once that is done start putting out a new theme, throw in Avant or Cairo and clean up the Gnome Panel so it actually remembers your icons. There are a billion things they need to do and I applaud them for tackling such a large workload. I just hope Canonical gets its priorities straight and goes easy on the new features for a while.
I don’t see this as an over-promise-under-deliver issue.
All Ubuntu releases are incremental. Now each release has a different theme (e.g. with Jaunty it was improving Wireless access), and Shuttleworth uses colourful language when announcing the vision, but none of that really counts until the Ubuntu developers actually meet and figure out what’s actually possible. Once that meeting takes place, the blueprints are available on Launchpad and they’ve been pretty good at implementing all high priority items and some of the other items by release time.
If there is a problem, then it’s a communication issue. Currently, you need to keep watch on Planet Ubuntu on when the developer’s meeting happens and a watch on launchpad when plans are actually made. The average user wouldn’t go through that extra effort. Then again, the average user doesn’t much care for new releases — they just want to get work done, which is possible even if you stay 4 releases behind. Occasionally, a “must have” like Compiz and “configurationless X.org” and better device driver support pop up to make a release more anticipated, but generally, people don’t worry about new releases (on Linux, Windows, Mac) any more.
> The biggest priority has to be new artwork.
No it hasn’t. I mean, listen to yourself. Noone chooses an OS (or a version of an OS, for that matter) because of the artwork. Three clicks and I’ve already changed the artwork in gnome. Artwork, for an OS, is trademark, is brand. So no, it should never be a priority, but the cherry on the cake.
> Next, a really great release would have to be rock solid.
> No beta software and minimal bugs are a must.
Every release should be solid. Every LTS-release should be rock solid.
> Finally, something new and exciting would have to be
> included. I realize that you can’t introduce much without
> also introducing bugs, but a great release would need
> something to make people really want to upgrade,
> even if it were something simple.
Like in… every other release until now? Ubuntu, FMPOV, has always been about evolutionary upgrades. Two or three new things, one main area of attention (on Intrepid the improved mobile connectivity) and an always a little easier to use, user friendlier OS – that’s what it’s about and that’s what’s always been.
> I believe that if this happened, Ubuntu would quickly
> regain people’s confidence.
For my part, I never lost confidence.
Cheers
Artwork? Seriously? That’s your beef and #1 wish for the next release? Wow…Linux must really have hit the mainstream when the biggest complaint is the theme.
And here I thought wireless connectivity, security, stability, and other real issues should be shored up and polished. Silly me….
But if they change the theme linuxloop.com will stick out like a sore thumb on Ubuntu…… (!)
They will forever have no credibility with me as long as they continue to provide special treatment for packages relating to their software partners/clients.
‘Preferred listing in Ubuntu Software Repository ‘
http://www.ubuntu.com/partners/softwareprogramme
No thanks.. I don’t want my package manager fooled with based on who pays Canonical.
I posted this on digg today. Some mock ups made front page that wood one was there again.
The solid wood theme is a mock up it doesn’t exist. It may require some mods to gnome itself. That being said you can get very close to that themed mock up.
Gdm aka the login screen:
http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Intrepi …
or
http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Intrepi …
Theme:
http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/willibe …
or
http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Woodenl …
awn for the dock
http://awn-project.org/
You could use gdesklets for the clock, weather, ect…
http://www.gdesklets.de/
Gnome do could be the launcher in the middle
http://do.davebsd.com/
The Icon theme is a mix of different themes I don’t know where to find it premixed like that.
Suggestions and questions welcome