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Maybe it's time I give Ubuntu another shot. Unity was too bloated for my tastes and Gnome has always seemed kinda subpar. Lets see if the gnome changes can chan

Maybe it's time I give Ubuntu another shot. Unity was too bloated for my tastes and Gnome has always seemed kinda subpar. Lets see if the gnome changes can change my mind. Does Ubuntu still have advertisements for Amazon search and whatever other crap they were pushing?

hatch_q 7y ago
I don't see much difference between GNOME 3.4 and Unity tbh... I'll stay on MATE or Cinnamon.
- proverbialbunny 7y ago
  Yah imho Mint is just a more pleasant experience. You still need to set the gpu to handle vsync or you'll get page tearing though.
thibran 7y ago
Unity2D was super fast. So sad that they didn't continue to develop it, and instead went for GNOME. If Ubuntu GNOME is now quick, good – it took a long while to get there. It's important for Linux and FOSS to have well known and widely used software. Without Ubuntu, we would probably have no Steam Linux client.
- zozbot234 7y ago
  > So sad that they didn't continue to develop it You can run MATE with the Mutiny desktop preset, if performance is an issue. It's essentially the same workflow as on the old Unity 2D, and it isn't even Ubuntu specific. > Without Ubuntu, we would probably have no Steam Linux client. SteamOS is actually based on Debian, and Steam is even in the Debian non-free repos.
  - branon 7y ago
    The distribution of the proprietary Steam client you can install on GNU/Linux systems ships a 32-bit Ubuntu runtime, I believe based on 12.04.
  - Shorel 7y ago
    > You can run MATE with the Mutiny desktop preset, if performance is an issue. No. In comparison it is unstable in ways that make Gnome look like NASA software. It often forgets it is Mutiny and no other of the presets. Quality wise it is still way below Unity.
softwarelimits 7y ago
Ubuntu, like many Linux distros, is a system you can make your own, that is the reason why people who called themselves "Hackers" preferred to use Linux distributions. It is very nice to have a good set of software offered in a central repository - that is how software is distributed in many Linux systems - but many Linux users tend to customize their systems to their own needs. This is very easy to accomplish with Linux, that is actually the point in using it. You should try it and maybe you can experience that it is also a very self-enabling experience to get out of that consumer mindset and finally start to "own" you operating system. It will also make you a better developer. From what I know there is no pre-installed Amazon advertisements, at least I did not see such a thing for many years with Xubuntu - this is a very slick variant of Ubuntu that comes with the XFCE Desktop. You see, you can even change the desktop environment quickly. Even if there was something installed by default that you do not like, I am sure as a proud HN contributor you will be able to learn quickly how to "apt remove package-i-do-not-like". Overall it is very recommended to dive a little bit into the fantastic package management system - this is also a very good learning experience for aspiring developers! Only one warning: if you once understood what "software freedom" really means, there is no way back, also you will look with a mixed feeling of compassion and incomprehension on people that are still using commercial operating systems, which simply can not compete with that level of freedom - which is really worth jumping some obstacles in the beginning, but these are very minimal nowadays. Have fun!

hatch_q 7y ago

I don't see much difference between GNOME 3.4 and Unity tbh... I'll stay on MATE or Cinnamon.

proverbialbunny 7y ago
Yah imho Mint is just a more pleasant experience. You still need to set the gpu to handle vsync or you'll get page tearing though.

thibran 7y ago

Unity2D was super fast. So sad that they didn't continue to develop it, and instead went for GNOME. If Ubuntu GNOME is now quick, good – it took a long while to get there. It's important for Linux and FOSS to have well known and widely used software. Without Ubuntu, we would probably have no Steam Linux client.

zozbot234 7y ago
> So sad that they didn't continue to develop it You can run MATE with the Mutiny desktop preset, if performance is an issue. It's essentially the same workflow as on the old Unity 2D, and it isn't even Ubuntu specific. > Without Ubuntu, we would probably have no Steam Linux client. SteamOS is actually based on Debian, and Steam is even in the Debian non-free repos.
- branon 7y ago
  The distribution of the proprietary Steam client you can install on GNU/Linux systems ships a 32-bit Ubuntu runtime, I believe based on 12.04.
- Shorel 7y ago
  > You can run MATE with the Mutiny desktop preset, if performance is an issue. No. In comparison it is unstable in ways that make Gnome look like NASA software. It often forgets it is Mutiny and no other of the presets. Quality wise it is still way below Unity.

softwarelimits 7y ago

Ubuntu, like many Linux distros, is a system you can make your own, that is the reason why people who called themselves "Hackers" preferred to use Linux distributions. It is very nice to have a good set of software offered in a central repository - that is how software is distributed in many Linux systems - but many Linux users tend to customize their systems to their own needs. This is very easy to accomplish with Linux, that is actually the point in using it. You should try it and maybe you can experience that it is also a very self-enabling experience to get out of that consumer mindset and finally start to "own" you operating system. It will also make you a better developer. From what I know there is no pre-installed Amazon advertisements, at least I did not see such a thing for many years with Xubuntu - this is a very slick variant of Ubuntu that comes with the XFCE Desktop. You see, you can even change the desktop environment quickly. Even if there was something installed by default that you do not like, I am sure as a proud HN contributor you will be able to learn quickly how to "apt remove package-i-do-not-like". Overall it is very recommended to dive a little bit into the fantastic package management system - this is also a very good learning experience for aspiring developers! Only one warning: if you once understood what "software freedom" really means, there is no way back, also you will look with a mixed feeling of compassion and incomprehension on people that are still using commercial operating systems, which simply can not compete with that level of freedom - which is really worth jumping some obstacles in the beginning, but these are very minimal nowadays. Have fun!