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Ubuntu out of the box is not a great experience. I eventually switched to KUbuntu and finally to Arch as I got more comfortable. It seems to be common to go th

Ubuntu out of the box is not a great experience. I eventually switched to KUbuntu and finally to Arch as I got more comfortable. It seems to be common to go through the experience when you "switch" to pick something less jarring and then migrate further towards the Linux spectrum. This project seems to be tailored to people who are just making the switch

jeswin 2y ago
> Ubuntu out of the box is not a great experience. Just as with every linux flavor, it depends. I've been on Ubuntu for close to 20 years, and I went from a very customized setup to mostly just the defaults. I have a simple setup script to install my favorite apps. Yeah, and mapping the CapsLock key. I always stick to LTS versions.
- winstonp 2y ago
  It is incredible how poor the caps lock experience is on Linux in 2024. What setup do you use for that?
  - jeswin 2y ago
    Oh nothing major - i just map it to a Control Key.
    - blooalien 2y ago
      I map mine to a compose key: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compose_key https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compose_key
  - jauntywundrkind 2y ago
    Interception tools! https://gitlab.com/interception/linux/tools https://gitlab.com/interception/linux/tools With the official caps2esc plugin! https://gitlab.com/interception/linux/plugins/caps2esc https://gitlab.com/interception/linux/plugins/caps2esc I use the stock caps2esc config; capsock by itself is Escape, but press with another key and it's control. Many other options are possible and writing your own plugin is not hard if nothing else suits. Interception-tools is amazing. Interception-tools is also one of the most interestingly unix like tools out there, using pipes to break apart & pipeline it's tasks. Incredible power, but also kind of dauntint to really understand! Thankfully you can just copy paste the configs in & it works fine. But archwiki is a good write-up if you want to go deeper on this epic tool. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/interception-tools https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/interception-tools Setting up interception-tools as a systemd user service with a Nice=-10 is a good early lesson on improving your world with modern Linux tools. Highly highly highly recommend. I cannot work without.
freddie_mercury 2y ago
I don't find that to be the case. I use stock Ubuntu with no changes, even the default terminal and window manager, and I've been using Linux since before 1.0 I don't care about tiling window managers or a different terminal or ssh sessions.
- runjake 2y ago
  Same! And I’ve been using Linux since 1992! But I value variety.
- abdullahkhalids 2y ago
  I have used Debian for over 15 years, and I just use xfce. TBH it looks like Windows 98 (I put a bar at the bottom with a "start" menu, some quick launch icons, window buttons, clock and tray icons). But it was pretty good, and lets me work efficiently.
- colordrops 2y ago
  We are all different. Been using Linux for over 30 years and on a tricked out Hyprland setup on NixOS.
  - rasengan 2y ago
    > We are all different. As a Linux user since Slackware 1.1, this is why I love linux. Apple says Think Different, but it's all the same. Linux is what you want it to be.
    - frutiger 2y ago
      > Apple says Think Different Complete aside: I was wondering when Apple said this and apparently it has been over two decades (!) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_different https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_different
phito 2y ago
I first used Ubuntu about 10 years ago. Then I went on other distros and landed on arch. Then I was sick of it breaking and having to customise everything and went back to Ubuntu. I don't bother anymore with the rest and it's great!
xalava 2y ago
There is a question of priorities here. Ubuntu is the distro that most likely works out of the box and is the most compatible with any software. The rest are just preferences. Maybe this project can help people explore new configurations. However, I've found that each tweak costs time with each installation, needs regular updates, and some elements are not compatible. It is possible to enjoy the flexibility of Linux without trying to be a Picasso of the desktop experience. Also, I tried it in a box, it crashed.
BSDobelix 2y ago
>I eventually switched to KUbuntu and finally to Arch as I got more comfortable. True, Arch with the CachyOS-repos is a great combo, or FreeBSD ;) https://wiki.cachyos.org/cachyos_repositories/what_are_the_cachyos_repo/ https://wiki.cachyos.org/cachyos_repositories/what_are_the_c...
KronisLV 2y ago
> Ubuntu out of the box is not a great experience. I personally went with Linux Mint, because it doesn't try to push snaps and honestly the Cinnamon desktop is lovely and gets out of the way, a bit like XFCE but in some ways more polished: https://www.linuxmint.com/ https://www.linuxmint.com/ It's nice that I don't even need custom scripts, it's pretty good out of the box. Of course, it's not like default Ubuntu would be unusable or anything like that, either, just personal preference. That said, contrary to popular opinion, I actually liked Ubuntu a lot, back when it had the Unity desktop, it felt better to me than GNOME, but maybe that's just me. I guess there are projects like https://ubuntuunity.org/ https://ubuntuunity.org/ out there still, but using something that's not popular nowadays seems like it might lead to issues down the road. For servers, Ubuntu LTS is fine as is.
- tgma 2y ago
  On servers, why would one run Ubuntu LTS instead of just Debian?
  - rasengan 2y ago
    LTS ;)
  - Joel_Mckay 2y ago
    Many programs that fall outside GPL licenses are not in Debian for good reasons. Ubuntu is good for people that don't have time to custom build and debug out-of-repo packages. And in many cases the signed boot-loader/kernel gets around some UFEI bios that block end user configuration. Debian is usually the cleaner option, but Ubuntu after heavy modding is more user friendly (i.e. official support for drivers/hardware is more practical.) Cheers =)

jeswin 2y ago

> Ubuntu out of the box is not a great experience. Just as with every linux flavor, it depends. I've been on Ubuntu for close to 20 years, and I went from a very customized setup to mostly just the defaults. I have a simple setup script to install my favorite apps. Yeah, and mapping the CapsLock key. I always stick to LTS versions.

winstonp 2y ago
It is incredible how poor the caps lock experience is on Linux in 2024. What setup do you use for that?
- jeswin 2y ago
  Oh nothing major - i just map it to a Control Key.
  - blooalien 2y ago
    I map mine to a compose key: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compose_key https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compose_key
- jauntywundrkind 2y ago
  Interception tools! https://gitlab.com/interception/linux/tools https://gitlab.com/interception/linux/tools With the official caps2esc plugin! https://gitlab.com/interception/linux/plugins/caps2esc https://gitlab.com/interception/linux/plugins/caps2esc I use the stock caps2esc config; capsock by itself is Escape, but press with another key and it's control. Many other options are possible and writing your own plugin is not hard if nothing else suits. Interception-tools is amazing. Interception-tools is also one of the most interestingly unix like tools out there, using pipes to break apart & pipeline it's tasks. Incredible power, but also kind of dauntint to really understand! Thankfully you can just copy paste the configs in & it works fine. But archwiki is a good write-up if you want to go deeper on this epic tool. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/interception-tools https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/interception-tools Setting up interception-tools as a systemd user service with a Nice=-10 is a good early lesson on improving your world with modern Linux tools. Highly highly highly recommend. I cannot work without.

freddie_mercury 2y ago

I don't find that to be the case. I use stock Ubuntu with no changes, even the default terminal and window manager, and I've been using Linux since before 1.0 I don't care about tiling window managers or a different terminal or ssh sessions.

runjake 2y ago
Same! And I’ve been using Linux since 1992! But I value variety.
abdullahkhalids 2y ago
I have used Debian for over 15 years, and I just use xfce. TBH it looks like Windows 98 (I put a bar at the bottom with a "start" menu, some quick launch icons, window buttons, clock and tray icons). But it was pretty good, and lets me work efficiently.
colordrops 2y ago
We are all different. Been using Linux for over 30 years and on a tricked out Hyprland setup on NixOS.
- rasengan 2y ago
  > We are all different. As a Linux user since Slackware 1.1, this is why I love linux. Apple says Think Different, but it's all the same. Linux is what you want it to be.
  - frutiger 2y ago
    > Apple says Think Different Complete aside: I was wondering when Apple said this and apparently it has been over two decades (!) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_different https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_different

phito 2y ago

I first used Ubuntu about 10 years ago. Then I went on other distros and landed on arch. Then I was sick of it breaking and having to customise everything and went back to Ubuntu. I don't bother anymore with the rest and it's great!

xalava 2y ago

There is a question of priorities here. Ubuntu is the distro that most likely works out of the box and is the most compatible with any software. The rest are just preferences. Maybe this project can help people explore new configurations. However, I've found that each tweak costs time with each installation, needs regular updates, and some elements are not compatible. It is possible to enjoy the flexibility of Linux without trying to be a Picasso of the desktop experience. Also, I tried it in a box, it crashed.

BSDobelix 2y ago

>I eventually switched to KUbuntu and finally to Arch as I got more comfortable. True, Arch with the CachyOS-repos is a great combo, or FreeBSD ;) https://wiki.cachyos.org/cachyos_repositories/what_are_the_cachyos_repo/ https://wiki.cachyos.org/cachyos_repositories/what_are_the_c...

KronisLV 2y ago

> Ubuntu out of the box is not a great experience. I personally went with Linux Mint, because it doesn't try to push snaps and honestly the Cinnamon desktop is lovely and gets out of the way, a bit like XFCE but in some ways more polished: https://www.linuxmint.com/ https://www.linuxmint.com/ It's nice that I don't even need custom scripts, it's pretty good out of the box. Of course, it's not like default Ubuntu would be unusable or anything like that, either, just personal preference. That said, contrary to popular opinion, I actually liked Ubuntu a lot, back when it had the Unity desktop, it felt better to me than GNOME, but maybe that's just me. I guess there are projects like https://ubuntuunity.org/ https://ubuntuunity.org/ out there still, but using something that's not popular nowadays seems like it might lead to issues down the road. For servers, Ubuntu LTS is fine as is.

tgma 2y ago
On servers, why would one run Ubuntu LTS instead of just Debian?
- rasengan 2y ago
  LTS ;)
- Joel_Mckay 2y ago
  Many programs that fall outside GPL licenses are not in Debian for good reasons. Ubuntu is good for people that don't have time to custom build and debug out-of-repo packages. And in many cases the signed boot-loader/kernel gets around some UFEI bios that block end user configuration. Debian is usually the cleaner option, but Ubuntu after heavy modding is more user friendly (i.e. official support for drivers/hardware is more practical.) Cheers =)