Ubuntu 11.10 2d any updated guides / explanations?

[keithpeter]

Hello All

I was taken to task in another thread for not being logical about Unity so I have decided to dual boot on my main PC for a month or so to see what its all about. The main PC is an Asus Pundit AH1 AMD dual core with Nvidia Geoforce 6150 integrated graphics.

Installation worked really well: Ubuntu detected the Debian Squeeze installation, and I used the 'install alongside' option, allocating about 20Gb to Ubuntu. Restarted. Installed restricted drivers - Jockey detected nvidia card and suggested 173 version of the drivers. No 3d (Mod-e and Mod-w don't do the scaling thing). Ran a test and it appears that Unity 3d is not available for this hardware. 2d performance is sprightly but it always is on this box.

Anyone got any handouts/tutorials/beginner's guides to using Unity as found on 11.10 in its 2d form?

Cheers


keith@quiet:~$ /usr/lib/nux/unity_support_test -p
OpenGL vendor string: NVIDIA Corporation
OpenGL renderer string: GeForce 6150/PCI/SSE2/3DNOW!
OpenGL version string: 2.1.2 NVIDIA 173.14.30

Not software rendered: yes
Not blacklisted: no
GLX fbconfig: yes
GLX texture from pixmap: yes
GL npot or rect textures: yes
GL vertex program: yes
GL fragment program: yes
GL vertex buffer object: yes
GL framebuffer object: yes
GL version is 1.4+: yes

Unity 3D supported: no

PS: I'm not a 'unity hater (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1872777)' as such, and I wish Canonical every success in becoming a self-sustaining and profitable concern.

I subscribe to the principle embodied in the quote below: from the comments to an article in The Register (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/08/ubuntu_on_trial/), which is a scurrilous rag published on a Web site in the UK.


"Then there are those for whom the shell's main task is to get the fsck out of the way so that they can do some real work."

[cariboo]

Try nvidia-current, I have Natty running on my atom powered media center pc with a pci 6250LE, I usually run XBMC on it, but when I switch to Unity, I get the 3D desktop.

[mips]

Try nvidia-current...

This ^^

It will install version 280.13


sudo apt-get install nvidia-current nvidia-settings

[keithpeter]

Hello chaps and thanks for the suggestion, but no go


keith@quiet:~$ /usr/lib/nux/unity_support_test -p
OpenGL vendor string: NVIDIA Corporation
OpenGL renderer string: GeForce 6150/PCI/SSE2/3DNOW!
OpenGL version string: 2.1.2 NVIDIA 280.13

Not software rendered: yes
Not blacklisted: no
GLX fbconfig: yes
GLX texture from pixmap: yes
GL npot or rect textures: yes
GL vertex program: yes
GL fragment program: yes
GL vertex buffer object: yes
GL framebuffer object: yes
GL version is 1.4+: yes

Unity 3D supported: no

Anyone any idea why fairly harmless integrated graphics chipset like Geforce 6150 is blacklisted?

I've added the line

UNITY_FORCE_START=1

to /etc/environment and am seeing a fairly slow Unity 3d. I'm supposing that was the reason for blacklisting this card in the first place. I actually think Unity 2d is a better experience on this hardware.