Monday, May 02, 2011

Ubuntu 11.4 Natty Narwhal Not Ready

Friday I upgraded my system from the previous version of Ubuntu to 11.4.  So far upgrades have generally gone well, this time not so much.  The new interface is awful--appears to be optimized for Netbooks and other tiny screen computers--I've got dual 23" monitors, and the controls are all the way to the left, combining both the controls for launching apps, and the controls for accessing the already running apps in one bar.  This isn't a dealbreaker, since the old interface is available by choosing 'classic mode' when logging in.

More important is that on the same system that was perfectly stable I've had several crashes and other glitches in just a few hours.  Had to uninstall a plugin to Rhythmbox, othewise launching it would crash the system.  Trying to access a CD logged me out.  In my first attempt to write this post the backspace key got stuck, and unplugging the keyboard did not help.

I'm backing up my home folder now, and I'm likely to do a reinstall of the previous version.  I'm getting more irritated with Ubuntu with each release--Instead of being the distribution that just works, they keep making fairly drastic interface changes with little apparent justification.

If you see distribution update in update manager, it's probably best to skip it for now.

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:32 AM

    Hi---I agree I am fairly new to ubuntu and I do like 10.10
    But I was persuaded to upgrade to 11.4 narwhall the installation went well but after that nothing worked properly so I have gone back to 10.10

    I think the development team are trying too hard too
    quickly why does every thing have to look like an i phone

    Ubuntu is great in its innovation and its own style
    Lets keep it that way and develop unique stuff more
    slowly,achievements over the years show that the skills are there

    ReplyDelete
  2. I did a clean install of 11.4, so far it is running OK, even with Rhythmbox. Fingers crossed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ...The fresh install was better, but still not good. Downgraded back to 10.10, and all is well

    ReplyDelete
  4. I was very excited when Ubuntu 10.10 came out. it was the first time I installed a new version and everything worked ! I've been anticipating the 11.4 release ever since and what a let-down! Unity is ridiculous, for all the work put into making these programs couldn't someone stop and think about who they're making them for? it'd be great for a net book or a touchscreen. but down right cheezy on a desktop. Guess I'm Stuck with 10.10

    ReplyDelete
  5. Callum3:36 PM

    I agree that Natty is not ready yet. I missed features that have been around for a long time such as rotating cube etc. I know GNOME can be enabled by going to classic mode but there are so many glitches and crashes that it's not worth it. I've finally got my system stable, except there's a bug that stops all edge-clicks from working (e.g. I used to use bottom-edge and middle button click to show all windows) so several of my favourite custimisations still don't work, even in classic mode.

    ReplyDelete