Was 11.04 a mistake?

[cespinal]

11.04 seems to be a disaster.

Do you think Canonical felt pushed to release 11.04 because of its 6 month lifecycle promise? Why not 11.05 or 11.06?

Hi, welcome to the world of Ubuntu. You must be new here, please, have a sit. I will tell you a story.

6 months release cycles are certainly short and this kinds of situations show up AT EVERY release.

No, this version, just like the previous ones, has not been a disaster. It will get ironed up properly in the following weeks, and by the end of its cycle, it will be super stable and reliable. But no, you will not stay with it no matter how good it is because you will want to be in the leading edge. You will upgrade, and I will see you in six months asking if 11.10 is a disaster.

The only way out from this is just creating yearly release cycles... that way Canonical can keep the community ranting at least once a year and not twice.

[Don1500]

I want to thank everyone for all the work done to produce Ubuntu from A to N. And to all the corporate sponsors for the support they have given. This is truly the option that keeps the big boys in line. It's just fear of the unknown that keeps the other systems in operation.

I, like many others here have some "issues" with Natty. We have all had issues with every release so far and I am sure we will have issues going forward. If we didn't have issues we would still be using CP/M.

I look forward to getting used to Natty and finding out about the new interface. It looks weird now, but so did Windows 3.1 when I first turned it on (That will never catch on! Where do I enter the commands? Just Click? What do you mean "Just click"? Where's my rotary phone?).

[cespinal]

I want to thank everyone for all the work done to produce Ubuntu from A to N. And to all the corporate sponsors for the support they have given. This is truly the option that keeps the big boys in line. It's just fear of the unknown that keeps the other systems in operation.

I, like many others here have some "issues" with Natty. We have all had issues with every release so far and I am sure we will have issues going forward. If we didn't have issues we would still be using CP/M.

I look forward to getting used to Natty and finding out about the new interface. It looks weird now, but so did Windows 3.1 when I first turned it on (That will never catch on! Where do I enter the commands? Just Click? What do you mean "Just click"? Where's my rotary phone?).

12 hours...network traffic my friend... I have a crappy connection and had my system up a running in less than 30 minutes (from wubi)

[Don1500]

12 hours...network traffic my friend... I have a crappy connection and had my system up a running in less than 30 minutes (from wubi)

Doesn't matter. If the .iso can be downloaded in 30 minutes on one machine while the other machine is running and had been running for 12 hours on the same LAN, "network traffic" is not the answer. It may be the reason, but the answer is to just start an .iso download when the upgrade button is pushed, or at least ask if the operator would rather use the .iso. Telling the operator that the on-line install could take 12 hours might get him to use the .iso. This would reduce the traffic and reduce the time. Trying to run the download over the net is slow and unreliable.

[firepages]

Choosing to go with Unity is a bold move by Canonical. Sure it might not be ready yet, and its features need more work, so many new users might be put off.

I don't think new users will be put off, I think current users will be put off , and IME its current users who introduce new users.

Yes, every upgrade brings gripes and groans, I have done many a reinstall because the upgrade killed something but never felt like griping about it..... but unity is a bit of a show stopper.

[Jeff Johnston]

professional geeks don't put their data at risk

Actually what they do is check their work into a common source repository...then they can do whatever they want without worrying about the data.

Personally I love Unity! I cannot wait to bring it into work...just a matter of when, not if. Usually I like to play it safe for my work computer, but lets face it...sometimes you just have to light that match just to see what happens .

[Don1500]

I don't think new users will be put off, I think current users will be put off , and IME its current users who introduce new users.

Yes, every upgrade brings gripes and groans, I have done many a reinstall because the upgrade killed something but never felt like griping about it..... but unity is a bit of a show stopper.

I had written a long boring explanation of why I hated Unity. Then I deleted it. When I started with Ubuntu I was lost for a while. It didn't work like windows, it looked funky. It looked cheap. The icons didn't look professional. Now 5-6 years down the road everything seems normal. Along comes 11.04 and the look is changed, not that it hasn't changed before. 10.04 was a radical change, the action buttons were on the wrong side and I kept clicking in the wrong place. I know 11.04 is different, but you'll get used to it, and might even start to like it.

What is funny, we all can't wait for the next release, wondering what's new. Then it comes out and we gripe because it's not like it was. So the orders to the dedicated people that work so diligently to give us this fantastic system is; "Make the next release new and exciting, but don't change anything."

[Shining Arcanine]

Why? Everything is working fine here.

The installer crashes on me when I try installing it in VMWare Player.

To be honest, Ubuntu has never really worked for me in virtual machines. Then I tried Gentoo Linux and it actually worked, which is why I now run it on physical hardware.

Part of the problem with staying on the bleeding edge is that stuff occasionally breaks - it's the price one pays for staying on the bleeding edge

This is one of the issues with an event-driven release cycle as opposed to releasing stuff when it's 100% ready - there are tens of thousands of packages in a mainstream Linux release and the folks doing the testing generally have a little more technical savvy than the average user - and can work around a lot of the issues. What might be just a minor irritation for one person could be a complete showstopper for another.

This was the reason I moved from Fedora to Debian somewhere around Core 5 - I was tired of the breakage and didn't have the experience to fix stuff. I'm really glad I made the switch because IMO Debian's package management system is far superior to RedHat's although you can install apt on a Fedora box

Debian releases when things are ready - Ubuntu releases are event-driven. All things considered the Ubuntu developers have done a hell of a job, but upgrading an OS just because the new release has a higher number is a lousy reason to upgrade - unless you're a hobbyist, but professional geeks don't put their data at risk

On a six-month release cycle you've gotta expect some breakage. Unity is brand new to Ubuntu and there are bound to be kinks.

I use Gentoo Linux, which operates on a continuous release cycle. I have had far fewer issues with Gentoo Linux than I have seen with Ubuntu Linux firsthand. The level of issues was low enough that it was an improvement from Windows.

Anyway, if you want stability and long release cycles, you want to use FreeBSD. It is written to a higher standard than Linux.

[MooPi]

Everyone is entitled to their opinions I guess, just as I am entitled not to agree with you. I have moved my desktop, notebook and netbook over from Beta 2 and have had no problems at all.

Although nearly 72 years of age, I struggle sometimes as I am not an expert, but soon got to know how it all slotted together.

I don't know your age but if you are a lot older than me, it could be that you may be a little set in your ways? I expect I will become so when I get older as well so I mustn't be too abrasive.

Give it a little time, you will get used to it and may get to like it as I have.

Not likely. I will continue to use Ubuntu but Unity isn't my cup of tea. Actually never has Gnome for that matter. It is the base OS that always brings me to Ubuntu and it has failed me this time. Openbox fan

[spoons]

I can't boot the latest release from the CD I burned without it encountering a "panic" so I'm going to have to assume yes.