[GRLUG] My review of Ubuntu 7.10: Gooey Gumdrop

[Michael Mol]

On 10/24/07, John Harig <radiodurans at yahoo.com> wrote:
> i went to debian testing after playing around with
> tribe5 a few weeks ago. . . compiz is still pretty
> unstable and i dont think it should be packaged in any
> stable distribution.  ubuntu seems to be getting more
> bloated the further it develops away from its debian
> origins.  the reason i ran it in the beginning was
> because it was basically debian with better hardware
> support and documentation.

My reasons were similar.  I'd grown tired of not being able to get the
CardBus slot on my laptop to work under Debian (Non-standard
addressing on that model Presario, or something like that.), and I was
stunned to see it work perfectly on an Ubuntu LiveCD.  So I installed
Dapper on my laptop.

My desktop machine (the one I'm now having trouble with, incidentally)
had a problem where init would hang for 15 minutes on shutdown.
Seeing as how Ubuntu had solved my problems on my laptop, I dropped
the live CD in my desktop, and saw everything work perfectly, right
down to the rare embedded chipsets my desktop uses.  So I installed
Ubuntu on my desktop.

Overnight, Ubuntu solved several of my problems.  Now the hardware
that made it advantageous to run Ubuntu has been outgrown by that same
operating system.

I've considered switching distributions.  I tried (and liked) Fedora
back in January, but I don't really have the time to learn its ins and
outs right now.

I've also considered switching back to Windows.  My boss would like me
to expand my MFC, C++ and Visual Studio skills, and I can't say that
that's a bad idea.  Unfortunately, the only other OS for which all my
motherboard (Well, really it's a CPU daughter card on a semi-active
backplane) drivers are available is Win2K.  Fortunately, when I got
this system, I pulled out and set aside the hard drive, with the
installation intact.

Though I'm not sure Visual Studio Express 2005 will run on Win2K.

>
> im somewhat on the fence over compiz even if it were
> more stable ... it is nice to show others how wasting
> system resources looks much more cool when compared to
> microsoft alternatives . . .  but any minutely
> practical person can see that using more cpu cycles
> just so your windows shake like jello wont do increase
> your productivity . . .  and it tends to drains
> battery life at a faster rate.  a basic windows
> manager works best for me.

There is one advantage to running Compiz at "Normal" mode. (The gooey
behavior only comes into play in "Extras" mode.)  Instead of resizing
your windows directly, you resize a translucent monotone box, which
draws and updates much faster than, say, a resized Firefox window.

Me, I only have one screen, running at 1280x1024.  I leave most of my
windows maximized, and alt-tab between them as needed.  So I hardly
even notice whether or not Compiz is enabled. (Not sure if it's
enabled right now, actually.)

On the other hand, not being able to play StepMania over the weekend
really. pissed. me. off. (My pad cost me $200.  My computer, including
upgrades, probably cost me around $300.  Guess which one was the
greater single investment.)

>
> --- Michael Mol <mikemol at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Well, after spending a day arguing with it and
> > researching, I've
> > determined a couple things.
> >
> > First, Compiz does *not* appear to be enabled by
> > default on *upgraded*
> > systems.  In fact, I've noticed aggressive appears
> > to be due to the
> > i810 X11 driver being upgraded.  Setting special
> > effects to "normal"
> > (enabling Compiz)  instead of the upgrade-default of
> > "none" improved
> > performance somewhat, mainly by not forcing re-draws
> > of windows while
> > I was resizing them.
> >
> > Setting special effects to "Extra" reveals some
> > broken behavior,
> > though.  Most folks who use GUIs should be familiar
> > with snap effects,
> > where a window will snuggle cozily against screen
> > edges or other
> > surfaces.  With special effects set to "Extra", the
> > snap range is way
> > too high; Windows within fifty pixels or so of the
> > screen size snap to
> > an edge, and can't be pulled away.  Combined with
> > the gooey gumdrop
> > appearance one gets when one drags the title bar
> > around, one gets the
> > distinct feeling one's in a tug-of-war.
> >
> > In addition, the upgraded i810 driver causes lag
> > issues with
> > Stepmania, making the game absolutely unplayable on
> > my system.  Which
> > royally sucks, because that's exactly what I'd
> > intended to do all
> > weekend.  It's likely that the i810 driver has been
> > optimized for
> > newer graphics chipsets, which means my best course
> > of action would be
> > to upgrade my video card, which is unfortunate, as I
> > don't have
> > anything better than a PCI slot. Plus, I can't spare
> > $60 right now for
> > even a PCI video card.
> >
> > Finally, there weren't any "wow" features or fixes
> > for me in 7.10.  In
> > Edgy, they fixed some wireless weirdness that was
> > giving me a hassle.
> > The biggest problem I had had with Ubuntu up to this
> > point was a high
> > latency between volume-key presses and changes in
> > system volume. (I
> > think it's starting an app to handle the key
> > presses.)  So 7.10 is,
> > for me, an overall regression.
> >
> > I hereby christen Ubuntu 7.10 as "Gooey Gumdrop",
> > after the weird
> > special effects behavior, and give it a rating of
> > two (out of five)
> > stars.
> >
> > Mike
> > --
> > :wq
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-- 
:wq