Is Ubuntu keeping Unity?

[shaka89]

As far as I can tell Unity and Gnome 3.0 look basically the same, are all linux distros going to start to look like that? I finally decided to make the move from windows to linux and I was having a lot of fun customising everything, but now that 11.04 is out i can't even right click on the panels any more :( , can someone refer me to a good linux distro that DOES NOT look like a mac (I hate how macs look), otherwise I might have to move back to windows :(, thanks in advance.

[movieman]

Redhat 6 and derivatives will be using Gnome 2 for the next several years, so they're probably the only alternative to the new S&M interfaces that Gnome and Ubuntu are pushing.

[shaka89]

Redhat 6 and derivatives will be using Gnome 2 for the next several years, so they're probably the only alternative to the new S&M interfaces that Gnome and Ubuntu are pushing.
Don't you need to pay $50 a year to get redhat tho .... :(

[teachop]

As far as I can tell Unity and Gnome 3.0 look basically the same, are all linux distros going to start to look like that? I finally decided to make the move from windows to linux and I was having a lot of fun customising everything, but now that 11.04 is out i can't even right click on the panels any more :( , can someone refer me to a good linux distro that DOES NOT look like a mac (I hate how macs look), otherwise I might have to move back to windows :(, thanks in advance.
You can stay right where you are, and log in as Gnome Classic. Just click your name at the login screen, and then select Classic at the bottom of the screen, then password. That way you get Gnome, but not Unity. The best thing about that is you can try Unity every once in a while to keep up on the developments - it has some good qualities, and will get better.

You can also install xubuntu-desktop and have old school Xfce at the login screen as an option.

[movieman]

Don't you need to pay $50 a year to get redhat tho .... :(

CentOS is free but slow to update in the last couple of years. Scientific Linux is free and seems to update quite fast, but doesn't promise binary compatibility with Redhat like CentOS. I think there are a couple of other free variants too.

[movieman]

The best thing about that is you can try Unity every once in a while to keep up on the developments - it has some good qualities, and will get better.

Isn't 11.10 only going to have Unity and Gnome 3, though? Gnome 3 seems to have most of the same problems that Unity does in terms of lack of configuration and clunky interface for performing productive work.

[shaka89]

You can stay right where you are, and log in as Gnome Classic. Just click your name at the login screen, and then select Classic at the bottom of the screen, then password. That way you get Gnome, but not Unity. The best thing about that is you can try Unity every once in a while to keep up on the developments - it has some good qualities, and will get better.

You can also install xubuntu-desktop and have old school Xfce at the login screen as an option.
The problem is not that it's bad, the problem is that it looks bad, and the fact that I can't right click anything takes the fun out of everything, and again that top bar thing is exactly like a mac and I would rather be able to turn it off and add my own panels, customisation and user freedom was the whole reason I started using Ubuntu in the first place, with that gone, I'm trying to find a reason to stay with it.

[teachop]

Isn't 11.10 only going to have Unity and Gnome 3, though?
It is my understanding that the classic option will be gone in 11.10, yes. Considering how much changed in the last 6 months, it will be interesting to see what Unity is like for 11.10! There is always the Xubuntu option too, that keeps you in the Ubuntu family, and gives access to the awesome Ubuntu repos.

[ve4cib]

In 11.10 and beyond you will probably be able to install Gnome 2 off the repos (or a third-party PPA) after you install if you really want to use it too. It may not be there out-of-the-box, but you will still be able to find it and use it if that's what you want.

[sdc444]

If you really want to move in the opposite direction of Unity, you might want to try Kubuntu, though it feels a little too Windows-esque to me, it offers some decent customization options. You could also go with Xubuntu, as teachop suggested.

[jprobe]

As far as I can tell Unity and Gnome 3.0 look basically the same, are all linux distros going to start to look like that? I finally decided to make the move from windows to linux and I was having a lot of fun customising everything, but now that 11.04 is out i can't even right click on the panels any more :sad: , can someone refer me to a good linux distro that DOES NOT look like a mac (I hate how macs look), otherwise I might have to move back to windows :sad:, thanks in advance.

You can always check out distrowatch.com for alternative distros, but I think that with the eventual move to Gnome3 in 11.10 and beyond you're going to have to find a desktop environment that suites your needs. The recommendations from teachtop and sdc444 are well taken. Personally, I'm planning on making the transition to KDE from Gnome after my 11.04 upgrade; preparing for the Gnome2 Gnome3 transition.

[yvsong]

I've never seen a better overall desktop design than SGI IRIX, although certain details are out of date (e.g., font reandering). I use the theme from the dead project http://www.maxxdesktop.com/site/

IMHO SGI was designed by pros for power users, Apple was by pros for amateurs, and others mostly by amateurs.

The other day I skimmed a republished old book The Joy of X, which mentioned that X Window developers at MIT did not design GUIs (they only provided mechanisms) since they believed GUI design should be left to psychologists and human factor experts.

However, products by pros are expensive. I'm still grateful for all free software.

[shaka89]

I mean, i understand they were trying to do something new, but all they did was basically an exact copy of OS X(as far as looks) , except that the dock is in the side instead of the bottom

[akand074]

Unity and Gnome 3 are both awesome. They are still brand new and in development. When the extension system is better placed it'll get a lot better, as well as fine tuning and adding other features. By 11.10 Unity (and gnome 3) will probably be much much better. And probably perfect by 12.04. I'm confident I'll see most people who decided to leave/not use those will jump back in the future.

[interzoneuk]

I would check out a KDE distro if your not happy with unity.

Although when the first KDE4 verison came out that took away lots of options from the user now (at 4.6.x) KDE is very much configurable/tweakable,. - perhaps the same will occur with Unity over time? Perhaps by 12.04 it will rock...

The issue is that the Kubuntu implementation (in my opinion) of KDE has never been brilliant (looks strange and not stable compared to other distros) - I have not tried Kubuntu 11.04 though (I shall be checking it out shortly also as there is no way I can use unity for my work desktop(s).. For home pc though it is o.k.

If you looking at a very lightweight there is LXDE (not as configurable as KDE) - for that Lubuntu exists.

In fact the best KDE distro (in terms of stability) seems to be Arch linux (which takes a bit/lot of time to get used to...) - you also get the latest version minutes/hours after KDE have released it in Arch linux also.

[teachop]

Personally, I'm planning on making the transition to KDE
I am not a "KDE person" but I have seen postings more than once that Kubuntu 11.04 is one of the best Kubuntu releases yet.

[hictio]

You might want to take a look at XFCE, also, for the time being, you might rollback to Lucid Lynx, it'll be updated till 2013, and is a mighty goog release (I have it on all my boxes and I'm planning to keep until its EOL).
My two cents.

[dniMretsaM]

I personally like Unity 3D. But since my graphics card doesn't support it, I had to use 2D which is not nearly as nice as 3D. I didn't want to keep using GNOME 2 either, so I switched to KDE (Kubuntu) which is, like, amazing. If you don't like Unity, use Classic, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, or Lubuntu. On a semi-related note, I think there should be a Gnubuntu with GNOME 3 when 11.10 comes out this October.


perhaps the same will occur with Unity over time? Perhaps by 12.04 it will rock...

I'm gonna say I agree with this. In a year or so (when 12.04 comes out), Unity will be much more configurable and things like that. I kinda think GNOME 3 will be better, but time will tell. For now, I'm gonna do the smart thing and use Kubuntu.

[chrislsp]

Once I asked someone who has a leading role to all this "Why Linux doesn't have some basic features and simple options like other OS?" He told me "We try to create something unique, something from the start and not just take things from others, we have a difficult road ahead but it's ok because we create something new". Well after that day i really loved Ubuntu. Since 11.04. Is there something wrong with canonical? Is Apple gonna buy Canonical or someone in there is Apple junkie?What is wrong with you people?I'm sure that if i start looking I'll probably find an Apple logo somewhere in the "/" folder!Wake up!

[TheEpicN00b]

I switched to KDE, and it works well.

[Derek Karpinski]

I like it actually. Sure there are some bugs to work out, and I'm not particulaly fond of the 'global menu' when not working in maximized windows, but it's really growing on me. :popcorn:

[jprobe]

You might want to take a look at XFCE, also, for the time being, you might rollback to Lucid Lynx, it'll be updated till 2013, and is a mighty goog release (I have it on all my boxes and I'm planning to keep until its EOL).
My two cents.

Won't rolling back to Lynx just be delaying the inevitable transition to a new desktop environment (or at least a new DE release)? My move away from Gnome Ubuntu in this upgrade is inspired by the concern that what I came to learn and love in Gnome2 will soon be a fading dream. I share the sentiment expressed by teachop:


I am not a "KDE person" but I have seen postings more than once that Kubuntu 11.04 is one of the best Kubuntu releases yet.

[gato2707]

Try Enlightenment. I changed my laptop from Lucid Lynx to Bodhi (an Ubuntu based distro) works fine and it's totally compatible with Ubuntu repos (10.04).