My experiences installing -> Back to Win7

[gmseed]

Hi

Every so often I get a new laptop and try setting it up as a developer m/c and after a few days are forced to give up. Clearly, for guru linux/ubuntu guys my issues are no big deal but for linux newbies they are big deals and very off putting.

For what it's worth here is my latest experience:

1) Installed the latest Ubuntu 12.04/32bit on my Sony VAIO i5 laptop. Installation went ok.

2) The battery charge indicator in the main menu always reads "(0:03)" when charging. Although I can view the options dialog and see stats on charge/discharge it always reads "(0:03)". This is poor as the battery indicator is a key component.

3) There is no built-in screensaver and after the elapsed power down period it makes the screen a weird black/white image. After moving the mouse the screen flickers badly. I followed the low-level setup of a screensaver suggested at http://www.liberiangeek.net/2012/04/...cise-pangolin/ but each time I reboot the laptop it's back to no screensaver.

4) Although I set the screen brightness to my required level every time I reboot the laptop it's reset back to max. brightness. I posted on the Ubuntu forum about resolving this issue and again faced with low-level setup instructions that after reboot don't work.

5) It appears that by default OpenJDK is installed rather than JDK. Although Oracle's JDK runs on billions of devices Ubuntu is opting for the OpenJDL variant. To use JDK1.7_u7 I was then faced with first removing the OpenJDK. I couldn't find a software manager JDK and downloaded the latest and installed, which again could have been a lot easier.

6) Next I wanted to install Eclipse Juno. I see that the software manager supports 3.7, so although I wanted 4.2 I thought ok I'll go for the shipped version. After installing Eclipse 3.7 via Ubuntu package manager it failed to load and refers to a log file, which indicates that can't find libs in .swt/... folder. Others have experienced the same issue; eg the stackoverflow page: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1...es-not-opening which gives the solution of forming a link that points .swt/... to the /usr folder:

ln -s /usr/lib/jni/libswt-* ~/.swt/lib/linux/x86/

OK. I managed to get Eclipse loading.

7) I then installed the Android ADT plugin into Eclipse and everything appeared to go well until the restart after which the user is "supposed" to be presented with the option to specify the Android SDK. I never did get this option and have still been unable to find how to specify the SDK. After a couple of forum posts I gave up.

8) So, I next downloaded Eclipse Juno 4.2 direct from Eclipse's website and installed in a local folder. This runs fine. So, again I attempted to install the ADT Plugin and on restart are faced with the non-human readable dump:

JVM terminated. Exit code=1
/usr/lib/jvm/java-7-oracle/bin/java
-Xms40m
-Xmx512m
-vm /usr/lib/jvm/java-7-oracle/bin/java
-XX:MaxPermSize=256m
-jar /home/mjseed/eclipse_classic_4.2//plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher_1.3.0.v20120522-1813.jar
-os linux
-ws gtk
-arch x86
-showsplash /home/mjseed/eclipse_classic_4.2//plugins/org.eclipse.platform_4.2.1.v201209141800/splash.bmp
-launcher /home/mjseed/eclipse_classic_4.2/eclipse
-name Eclipse
--launcher.library /home/mjseed/eclipse_classic_4.2//plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.gtk.linux.x86_1.1.200 .v20120522-1813/eclipse_1502.so
-startup /home/mjseed/eclipse_classic_4.2//plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher_1.3.0.v20120522-1813.jar
--launcher.overrideVmargs
-exitdata 4a8002
-vm /usr/lib/jvm/java-7-oracle/bin/java
-vmargs
-Xms40m
-Xmx512m
-vm /usr/lib/jvm/java-7-oracle/bin/java
-XX:MaxPermSize=256m
-jar /home/mjseed/eclipse_classic_4.2//plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher_1.3.0.v20120522-1813.jar

So now Eclipse doesn't even load!!

9) At this point, it is starting to try the patience of a saint. I performed the same setup of Eclipse Juno/ADT on my Win7 laptop in about 30mins and it all works fine.

10) Regarding the battery indicator, screensaver, screen brightness, etc I really do believe that Ubuntu should just be installed of certain Dell m/cs. Clearly the key developers don't want to say this but since they can't test it on all desktops/laptops then get real and prescribe certain machines that all features are known to work as required.

11) I'm keen to make the move from Windows to Ubuntu but am always faced with the same set of low-level setup issues, year after year. I see each new version of Ubuntu having UI rubbish such as hiding scrollbar thumbs, hiding main menus, "clever" ways of hiding applications in the dash etc, but what people really want is a robust system.

Well, that's my periodic moan and I just hope that someone senior reads this moan. It's back to Win7 for me where I can work on "my" tasks rather than trying to resolve Ubuntu's problems.

Till ~1 year from now when I try all of the above again.

[MG&TL]

1) Developers don't read the forums, too many people whining, among other things. If you want to make a difference, speak constructively on mailing lists, and preferably offer to help.

2) http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/

[Mark Phelps]

...Well, that's my periodic moan and I just hope that someone senior reads this moan. It's back to Win7 for me where I can work on "my" tasks rather than trying to resolve Ubuntu's problems.

Un fortunately, developers don't read these forums, and as far as I know, neither does Canonical; thus, although some of sympathize with your situation, it's not really going to change any.

As to using Win7, I always tell folks to use what works best for them -- and if Win7 does it for you, then unless you like the challenge of trying to get stuff to work in Ubuntu, you're really better off just using it.

[Elfy]

Thread moved to Ubuntu Testimonials & Experiences.

Use what works for you

[Myrddin Emrys]

5) It appears that by default OpenJDK is installed rather than JDK. Although Oracle's JDK runs on billions of devices Ubuntu is opting for the OpenJDL variant. To use JDK1.7_u7 I was then faced with first removing the OpenJDK. I couldn't find a software manager JDK and downloaded the latest and installed, which again could have been a lot easier.

They had no choice - Oracle has withdrawn the licence that used to allow Linux distributors to package Oracle Java:

http://robilad.livejournal.com/90792.html

[Tamlynmac]

gmseed
It's back to Win7 for me where I can work on "my" tasks rather than trying to resolve Ubuntu's problems.
Till ~1 year from now when I try all of the above again.

If you truly wish to become part of the community, then stay around and be a part of the solution. If all you want is for others to resolve issues (for you), then I doubt you'll ever be satisfied with Ubuntu/Linux or any other Linux distro for that matter.


My opinion:
I think these types of threads expose the agenda of some users. The implication is: Even though Ubuntu/Linux is free, they expect it to work perfectly without any contribution or involvement on their part. This suggests that some users really don't wish to contribute to the community, only get something for nothing and then complain when it doesn't meet their expectations. IMHO they should remain in the environment that best meets said expectations, rather than corrupt the Linux community with this entitlement mentality.

Most Linux users I know, understand the need to contribute (basic constructive feedback, financially supporting individual apps, etc.) and believe that their contributions are essential to the growth of quality Linux products. Ask yourself, am I here just because it's free and if so - why am I complaining - if I'm "not" contributing?

Just my $0.02

[thiebaude]

+1 What can i say

[Deer Hunter]

Tamlynmac, I've seen you post things similar to this in a number of these T&E posts. You do have a valid point, but with all respect, I think there's another side to this that you may be missing.

For one thing, Windows has dominated the personal computer market for so long, so most manufacturers/software developers make their products first and foremost to be supported by Windows. This means that the for the average John Doe who buys computers with Windows pre-installed, he has come to expect (and rightfully so) that he can have support for whatever happens with his machine.

Let's say "John" does some stupid things with his computer, gets viruses, corrupts his Windows install to smithereens, and along comes some buddy who happens to be a slightly over-zealous Linux user/supporter, who tells him Windows is junk, Linux is perfect, Windows is inferior in every conceivable way, Linux never has problems, etc., and you get the point. So, John installs Linux, loves it for the first while, and then runs into a snag, but lo and behold, there's google, and there's also a forum; maybe all is not lost. However, the fixes don't always work for him, his questions don't always get answered, the total underpinnings of the OS are completely foreign from Windows, and at last he sadly reverts back to Windows thinking, "Linux sure is cool, but at I'm used to Windows and it just works."

I think this is at least part of what leads to what you are calling the agenda of certain users. I think Linux users need to be very honest with themselves, and admit that no matter how good Linux gets, it will never be perfect for everybody. Granted, some people do not spend as much time as they might to learn about it, but not everybody HAS that time; some people just want a machine that simply works to do what they want to do. And in any part of life, few things are more irritating than trying to honestly point out deficiencies/make constructive criticism, and then be told you're just complaining/whining and basically should shut up.

Personally, I make my living sitting in front of Windows 7 and it works fine. I'm careful using the internet, and I don't have problems. That being said, I have two spare laptops that I'm planning to install Ubuntu on, to see if I can make them be useful.

So what am I saying? Be honest about Linux, don't crack it up to be what it isn't, and be prepared to support and listen to those to whom you promote it.

Thanks for reading. (Gets of soapbox)

Deer Hunter

[Bahawolf]

While I run most things I need just fine in Ubuntu, I often use VMWare (before I used VirtualBox which is also fine) to use Windows in another workspace. In my particular case, it works well because with VMWare, you can use unity, and it's basically like running Windows in a window. I drag and drop files into Windows as needed. It's nice!

What I was getting at, was you could try a virtual machine if you have the resources available for it.

[peethagoras]

Win what? I just come back from a friend of a friend's where they run Windows XY whatever. Complained of system being slow I was not surprised. All kinds of orrible viri.

Never had virus trouble on Linux, so don't need to pay some virus-checking company every year. I would have ripped out windows and installed Lucid Lynx (which I think is quite stable and reasonably fast) if I were sure they could handle things.

Windows is designed for lazy dim wits. Although Ubunu has been going towards greater user-friendliness, Linux takes some effort and thought. (Try playing around with parallel or serial ports under Ubuntu). I got rid of all things microsofty many moons ago. Never felt the urge to return-even when my system has the odd problem - and it usually is odd.

Yes some users do expect the world to be perfect and also free, but there one has it.