too many bugs in Lubuntu, get another distro?

[SonnyE]

SOLVED main problem:

Just type "alsamixer" in LXTerminal, UXTerm, or XTerm. It opens the mixer.

There wasn't a link to the mixer in the default Lubuntu programs menu or sys tray, and I assumed there would be already and that one would appear if I could get the boot to stop logging "AC'97 1 access is not valid [0xffffffff], removing mixer." and "ali mixer 1 creating error."

What's actually going on with those errors might be that since the internal modem uses an AC97 link too, not just the sound chip, those might be errors where PHONEIN and PHONEOUT don't get added as mixer channels. I found those terms in the binary:

/lib/modules/3.2.0-26-generic/kernel/sound/core/oss$ cat snd-mixer-oss.ko

Once I realized that I had a mixer program already in the computer somewhere, I happened to run across a page that used the word alsamixer, and I thought why not try it as a command, and put it into LXTerminal.

The mixer is in ASCII graphics, but it works so far. It took me a few minutes to find out how to adjust the left and right volume separately. (There's a page at Arch Linux that mentions the instructions for that being a bit confusing, https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=137557 so I'm not alone in that.)

[I2k4]

If I read right, you only have 512k RAM? I would not run anything later than Ubuntu 10.10 /Mint 11 on that. At the moment, I'm loving Lubuntu 10.10 dual booting W7 on my little Acer netbook, but that said:

- I'm glad I tested Persistent Live USB on more intuitive Ubuntu Desktop before installing Lubuntu. Lubuntu is very fast and stable but cruder and less newbie friendly than others.

- The preinstalled software on Lubuntu was not what I wanted to stay with and I spent (wasted) a lot of time removing and replacing preinstalled packages with stuff I wanted - compared with Mint LXDE that has preinstalled just about everything I routinely want and runs nearly as fast as Lubuntu.

I suggest installing several competing versions on Persistent Live USB and include some of the older and less demanding ones. You'll see how different they are from each other, and how much differently they run on your equipment.

[SonnyE]

I have 512 MB of physical RAM, I think, because there are two 256 MB cards and the memory test utility says there are no errors in the RAM, but Lubuntu Task Manager is reporting only 431 MB right now. On the positive side, it reports only 200 MB of that are in use, so I seem to be OK for RAM right now.

If I get Rosegarden running and run low on RAM when I try to use more features of it at the same time, I'll gladly buy the set of RAM cards that would give me 1 GB total, because there would be a purpose to it, having more fun.

I would like to have a distro that has more options for settings and system information in the menus though. My idea of a good OS is one where anything a user wants to do is available both by menu and by command. Lubuntu seems to make things available either by menu or by command, and a little bit falling through the cracks that isn't available easily either way. Ubuntu with Unity I'm afraid of because from what I've read about it, it seems to have a menu that requires guessing what programs are installed and their names when it doesn't show them. That seems like a really bad design idea and a game I don't want to play, using a special text input box that's for guessing what's not shown in the menu.

So I'm interested in maybe setting up Ubuntu with LXDE, as others suggested to me.

[sudodus]

If you know what you want and how to add it, you can start with the Ubuntu mini iso.

Another alternative is Knoppix with good hardware detection. After testing live, you can install it to an 'almost debian' system.

[MG&TL]

I would like to have a distro that has more options for settings and system information in the menus though. My idea of a good OS is one where anything a user wants to do is available both by menu and by command. Lubuntu seems to make things available either by menu or by command, and a little bit falling through the cracks that isn't available easily either way. Ubuntu with Unity I'm afraid of because from what I've read about it, it seems to have a menu that requires guessing what programs are installed and their names when it doesn't show them. That seems like a really bad design idea and a game I don't want to play, using a special text input box that's for guessing what's not shown in the menu.

So I'm interested in maybe setting up Ubuntu with LXDE, as others suggested to me.

You seem to be missing the point here slightly.

Pretty much everything is available by command, and most is available by a graphical interface. What do you want to do?

You've been reading negative reviews by the angry people who didn't like the change. Positive reviews are always thin on the ground when free software changes, it seems. The point of unity is that your most-used apps are on a launcher at the side, and anything else you just search for. It uses fuzzy matching and such, so you could probably type "Music" and Rhythmbox (a music player) and the sound control might come up. It's not something I'd recommend with your level of hardware acceleration and RAM, though. There are, however, plenty of people who like it (myself included) so use it or find out the facts before calling it a 'bad design idea'.

Ubuntu with LXDE would be Lubuntu. All you'd have is the Ubuntu applications rather than the Lubuntu ones. Which would be rather pointless, I feel. But whatever you choose.

[VinDSL]

You've been reading negative reviews [...]

Ubuntu with LXDE would be Lubuntu. All you'd have is the Ubuntu applications rather than the Lubuntu ones. Which would be rather pointless, I feel.

Actually, installing LXDE/Openbox on top of Ubuntu 3D gives you all the LXDE/Lubuntu apps, plus all the Unity apps, GTK 2-3 themes, icon sets, and so forth, and so on.

Add GS (Gnome3 gnome-shell) to the mix, and you have the best of all possible worlds available at login.

The "problem" with most LXDE distros is they're too slim and limiting, e.g. lightweight - Lubuntu is but one example. Add some muscle with Ubuntu 3D/Gnome3/GTK+3 support, and you got the world by the tail...

[MG&TL]

Actually, installing LXDE/Openbox on top of Ubuntu 3D gives you all the LXDE/Lubuntu apps, plus all the Unity apps, GTK 2-3 themes, icon sets, and so forth, and so on..

Correction:

If you install the lubuntu-desktop package, you get Lubuntu apps.
If you install the lxde package, you just get the desktop. And a few supporting apps, such as leafpad, if you really want to be finicky.

apt-cache depends lxde
lxde
  Depends: lxde-core
  Depends: lxappearance
  Depends: lxinput
  Depends: lxsession-edit
  Depends: lxshortcut
  Depends: gpicview
  Depends: lxterminal
  Depends: leafpad
  Depends: xarchiver
  Depends: lxrandr
  Depends: obconf
  Depends: lxde-icon-theme

[VinDSL]

Correction:

If you install the lubuntu-desktop package, you get Lubuntu apps.
If you install the lxde package, you just get the desktop. And a few supporting apps, such as leafpad, if you really want to be finicky.

Fair enough! I just wanted to be perfectly clear about this.

LXDE/Openbox loaded on top of Ubuntu 3D is NOT Lubuntu.

Lubuntu, so called, is just your typical, buggy, lightweight hack.

If you want to go that route, I would suggest installing Peppermint Two OS (a Lubuntu fork, that actually works).

I'm talking about installing Ubuntu 3D, configuring it, then loading LXDE/Openbox on top of it.

Put another way, running LXDE/Openbox as your DE/WM, instead of Unity3D/Compiz or Unity2D/Metacity.

What I'm suggesting (and doing) is apple n' oranges, compared to Lubuntu - that's all I'm saying.

I know it's hard to wrap your mind around the concept. I'm the only one doing it, AFAIK.

Maybe I'll make a HOWTO thread.

* Oops! Just realized this is the "Absolute Beginner Talk" forum...

[MG&TL]

Lubuntu, so called, is just your typical, buggy, lightweight hack.

We do our best.

I'm talking about installing Ubuntu 3D, configuring it, then loading LXDE/Openbox on top of it.

Put another way, running LXDE/Openbox as your DE/WM, instead of Unity3D/Compiz or Unity2D/Metacity.

The first paragraph....that's...bizarre. Removing compiz should kill unity, although Unity 2d should be okay...so you're not really loading on top of it, you're loading...past it? That is interesting, I shall look at your screenshots more closely.

The second paragraph sounds pretty normal, you're just installing LXDE on Ubuntu. Maybe I misunderstand?

I know it's hard to wrap your mind around the concept. I'm the only one doing it, AFAIK.

A better phrasing might have been "I know this is weird, I'm the only one doing it AFAIK".

Maybe I'll make a HOWTO thread.

You do that (although maybe a wiki page would be better). PM me if you do.

[SonnyE]

Here's where I update what I've been doing, because I don't like threads with bug complaints being left hanging as if they were never solved and the posters just quit open-source software or went offline.

- (major problem) Gnome-mplayer included doesn't play ordinary mp3 or FLAC audio files, doesn't give any sign that it doesn't or couldn't play the particular files, letting them seem empty (0:00) and Gnome-mplayer is set as the default mp3 and FLAC player, although Audacious included does play those mp3 and FLAC files. (update: I set Audacious as the default player for mp3 and FLAC)

Solved by work-around: uninstalled Gnome-mplayer. There was an error message that gave me enough information to know the version of Gnome-mplayer that came with Lubuntu 12.04 i386 wasn't compiled to be compatible with my processor, which is a 32-bit i386 compatible (mobile Athlon AMD XP2800+.)

- Setting a compose key (aka Multi_key in xmodmap) requires using the command line and doesn't cause a compose key to be available for input. (Although the key chosen shows up as changed to Multi_key in xev, it becomes a useless key.) The GUI interfaces included have no options for even something as simple and standard to Linux as setting a compose key. Starting from English US the GUI interface doesn't have a way to add languages or input methods, just greyed out buttons for that. (Currently I can use a compose key only in UXTerm or XTerm, but not in desktop applications or LXTerminal, and not in tty unless I set that manually using a complicated command. Trying right now various advice about how to enter characters by Unicode number, and even that fails to produce any results. !falta! Stoerung! un echec)

- Some links to programs in the menu do nothing, such as Input Method Switcher.

Solved by uninstalling ibus and Input Method Switcher. According to some bug reports, in Lubuntu 12.04, ibus causes loss of ability to use a compose key.

Voilà. Now my computer is multilingual with a working compose key, even if I'm not.

----------

As for trying Rosegarden:

I got Vmpk, Rosegarden, Jack Audio, and QSynth working together. Then I added Frescobaldi for editing a glitch in Rosegarden 11.11.42 score output: too many rests in a bar, which Lilypond couldn't handle. Then I tried ZynAddSubFX and got it to output sound using Alsa-OSS.

The main problem I have now is the computer freezes to 1/1000 speed if I try to lock too much memory. I guess I want more RAM and an easy way to install Ubuntu Studio without a DVD.