I've been running 9.10 for about three weeks now and find it a big improvement over 9.04. The only persistent problem I encountered was that WINE seems to be a bit unstable, whereas previously it ran without a hitch. It's not a big issue for me though, as I also run VirtualBox, which is superb if you absolutely must have access to Windows occasionally. It's also great for trying out other distros.
Some of the most notable features in 9.10 are the completely redesigned Software Centre, which is a lot slicker than the previous applications library; the rationalisation of the sound system, the faster start-up time, the integration of the Ubuntu One cloud system for file back-up, synchronisation and sharing; and the inclusion of Firefox 3.5 (although having just discovered Google Chrome, I'm very impressed with its page-loading speed and overall design. It may well become my default browser.) And if you have a decent graphics card, then Compiz gives you a whole host of options for controlling how visual effects and screen presentation works. I should also mention that Bluetooth support is excellent in 9.10. In previous versions it's been a bit flaky, but Canonical seem to have got it sorted now and it works right out of the box. All in all, I'd say it's the best Ubuntu yet and definitely edging much closer towards being a mainstream contender against Windows. Dave peterboro-requ...@mailman.lug.org.uk wrote: > Send Peterboro mailing list submissions to > peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/peterboro > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > peterboro-requ...@mailman.lug.org.uk > > You can reach the person managing the list at > peterboro-ow...@mailman.lug.org.uk > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Peterboro digest..." > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Today's Topics: > > 1. (Richard Forth) > 2. Re: Initial thoughts on Ubuntu 9.10 (Richard Forth) > 3. Re: Initial thoughts on Ubuntu 9.10 (Alan Pope) > 4. Re: Initial thoughts on Ubuntu 9.10 (Tony Vroon) > 5. Re: Initial thoughts on Ubuntu 9.10 (Richard Forth) > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: > [Peterboro] Initial thoughts on Ubuntu 9.10 > From: > Richard Forth <richard.fo...@gmail.com> > Date: > Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:38:22 +0000 > To: > Peterborough LUG - No commercial posts <Peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk> > > To: > Peterborough LUG - No commercial posts <Peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk> > > > This months LXF mag had Ubuntu 9.10 on the coverdisc so i thought i's > try it out on my laptop. > > I havent used it extensively as I had to resort back to the version of > Ubuntu 9.04 from the coverdisc a few months back that runs xfce, that, > in part may not be directly caused by the new version rather my old > laptop only seems to run at any decent speed with xfce rather than gnome. > > Anyway intitial thoughts: > > I like the new boot sequence graphics, looked kind of cool > The login screen sucks compared to 9.04, mainyl because theres no > option to get rid of the username selection. > > > -- > ***** > Richard Forth > > For great natural health, nutrition, animal care and beauty products, > visit my online store: > http://www.aloevera-crowland.co.uk > > To change your life and circumstances: > http://www.soaringteam.com/users/invite/MyVideoPage.php?Passcode=2118&src=38&v=3 > > <http://www.soaringteam.com/users/invite/MyVideoPage.php?Passcode=2118&src=38&v=3> > > Text OPPORTUNITY and your name to: > > 07870 89 77 55 > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: > Re: [Peterboro] Initial thoughts on Ubuntu 9.10 > From: > Richard Forth <richard.fo...@gmail.com> > Date: > Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:46:05 +0000 > To: > Peterborough LUG - No commercial posts <Peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk> > > To: > Peterborough LUG - No commercial posts <Peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk> > > > > Sorry I forgot you cannot use tabs in web mail, it accidentally sent > before i finished, here goes..again > > > > 2009/12/17 Richard Forth <richard.fo...@gmail.com > <mailto:richard.fo...@gmail.com>> > > This months LXF mag had Ubuntu 9.10 on the coverdisc so i thought > i's try it out on my laptop. > > I havent used it extensively as I had to resort back to the > version of Ubuntu 9.04 from the coverdisc a few months back that > runs xfce, that, in part may not be directly caused by the new > version rather my old laptop only seems to run at any decent speed > with xfce rather than gnome. > > Anyway intitial thoughts: > > I like the new boot sequence graphics, looked kind of cool > The login screen sucks compared to 9.04, mainyl because theres no > option to get rid of the username selection. > > > I liked the fact that in 9.04 you could choose to type in a username > and a password so if it fell into the wrong hands no one would know > any of the two bits of information needed to get in. > > If you follow the cracker's 50% rule, then if my username is up on > screen to select then that's 50% closer to breaking in than not > knowing what username to try (except maybe root but that is not > allowed to log in) > > All the desktop icons and task bar icons certainly seem more polished, > unfortunately the system ran like a dog so that's all I had time to > look at, but apparently there's some other cool feature including a > different package manager but I cannot comment on that. > > Has anyone else upgraded to 9.10 and what are your thoughts? > > Regards > > Richard > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: > Re: [Peterboro] Initial thoughts on Ubuntu 9.10 > From: > Alan Pope <a...@popey.com> > Date: > Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:56:50 +0000 > To: > Peterborough LUG - No commercial posts <peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk> > > To: > Peterborough LUG - No commercial posts <peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk> > > > Hi Richard, > > On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 12:46:05PM +0000, Richard Forth wrote: > >> 2009/12/17 Richard Forth <[1]richard.fo...@gmail.com> >> I liked the fact that in 9.04 you could choose to type in a username and a >> password so if it fell into the wrong hands no one would know any of the >> two bits of information needed to get in. >> > > If your computer fell into the wrong hands it's trivial to find out what > your username is, and whilst there change your password. Once someone has > your laptop in their hands all bets are off. You can use encryption to > reduce the chance that they will have access to your data, but relying on > security via obscurity isn't really worthwhile. > > Personally I encrypt the files in my home directory using 'ecryptfs' which > is encrypted with a key which initially matches my password. However if > someone steals my laptop and changes my password the key will no longer > match and they will not have access to my files. > > >> If you follow the cracker's 50% rule, then if my username is up on screen >> to select then that's 50% closer to breaking in than not knowing what >> username to try (except maybe root but that is not allowed to log in) >> > > You can logon as root in Ubuntu if you reboot and choose recovery mode. This > is also how you can change another users password. > > >> All the desktop icons and task bar icons certainly seem more polished, >> unfortunately the system ran like�a dog so that's all I had time to look >> at, but apparently there's some other cool feature including a different >> package manager but I cannot comment on that. >> > > I'd be interested in helping you get 9.10 working well. Have you now > reverted back to 9.04? If you're on 9.10 we could look at why it's running > slow and maybe resolve it. > > >> Has anyone else upgraded to 9.10 and what are your thoughts? >> > > I have upgraded multiple machines and had a few issues here and there which > I have filed as bugs or found existing bugs on. Most have been fixed or are > in progress. > > Looking forward to 10.04 :) > > Cheers, > Al. > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: > Re: [Peterboro] Initial thoughts on Ubuntu 9.10 > From: > Tony Vroon <t...@vroon.org> > Date: > Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:07:40 +0000 > To: > Peterborough LUG - No commercial posts <peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk> > > To: > Peterborough LUG - No commercial posts <peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk> > > > Ubuntu 9.10 is absolutely unusable to us because of: > https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/476621 > > Unfortunately the report isn't even assigned yet. > > Regards, > Tony V. > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: > Re: [Peterboro] Initial thoughts on Ubuntu 9.10 > From: > Richard Forth <richard.fo...@gmail.com> > Date: > Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:38:43 +0000 > To: > Peterborough LUG - No commercial posts <peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk> > > To: > Peterborough LUG - No commercial posts <peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk> > > > Hi Al, > > Yes I did revert back but its quite trivial to re-install 9.10 again > as I have pretty much everything standard and my /home is in a > separate partion anyway (only really use the laptop for facebook and > gmail - as I call it "telly surfing" - surfing while the adverts are on). > > The thing is its an old ibm-t20 with no battery pack (it gave up the > ghost) but its such a sturdy laptop I can't bring myself to throw it > away, especially since ubuntu linux (with XFCE) has given it a new > lease of life. It has always struggled with "full-fat" gnome. > > I havent implemented encryption yet on it but you made some good > points about security that I hadnt considered.. > > Despite that I still think the login screen from 9.04 is way cooler. > But then to be fair I havent really given 9.10 the full test drive as > its an old laptop so it might be a graphics rendering issue. > > My desktop is still on 9.04 also but thats a bit trickier to upgrade > because its customised just right, and my home is not on a separate > partition. So before I upgrade I need to sort out a few things first > and create a system image using partimage (I have a special live disc > called SystemRescueCD which is really cool (www.sysresccd.org > <http://www.sysresccd.org/>). > > Regards > > Richard > > > > > > 2009/12/17 Alan Pope <a...@popey.com <mailto:a...@popey.com>> > > Hi Richard, > > On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 12:46:05PM +0000, Richard Forth wrote: > > 2009/12/17 Richard Forth <[1]richard.fo...@gmail.com > <mailto:richard.fo...@gmail.com>> > > I liked the fact that in 9.04 you could choose to type in a > username and a > > password so if it fell into the wrong hands no one would know > any of the > > two bits of information needed to get in. > > If your computer fell into the wrong hands it's trivial to find > out what > your username is, and whilst there change your password. Once > someone has > your laptop in their hands all bets are off. You can use encryption to > reduce the chance that they will have access to your data, but > relying on > security via obscurity isn't really worthwhile. > > Personally I encrypt the files in my home directory using > 'ecryptfs' which > is encrypted with a key which initially matches my password. > However if > someone steals my laptop and changes my password the key will no > longer > match and they will not have access to my files. > > > If you follow the cracker's 50% rule, then if my username is > up on screen > > to select then that's 50% closer to breaking in than not > knowing what > > username to try (except maybe root but that is not allowed to > log in) > > You can logon as root in Ubuntu if you reboot and choose recovery > mode. This > is also how you can change another users password. > > > All the desktop icons and task bar icons certainly seem more > polished, > > unfortunately the system ran like a dog so that's all I had > time to look > > at, but apparently there's some other cool feature including > a different > > package manager but I cannot comment on that. > > I'd be interested in helping you get 9.10 working well. Have you now > reverted back to 9.04? If you're on 9.10 we could look at why it's > running > slow and maybe resolve it. > > > Has anyone else upgraded to 9.10 and what are your thoughts? > > I have upgraded multiple machines and had a few issues here and > there which > I have filed as bugs or found existing bugs on. Most have been > fixed or are > in progress. > > Looking forward to 10.04 :) > > Cheers, > Al. > > > _______________________________________________ > Peterboro mailing list > Peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk <mailto:Peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk> > https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/peterboro > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Peterboro mailing list > Peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk > https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/peterboro _______________________________________________ Peterboro mailing list Peterboro@mailman.lug.org.uk https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/peterboro
