Ubuntu - I'll be back, but meanwhile hello Linux Mint !

Nov 28, 2013, 8:45:40 AM

Ubuntu Mint Cinnamon

I am not Unity hater at all and really like the main idea and general look&feel of latest Ubuntu interface, I don't even care about these "privacy" flame around their "smart scopes".
Hey, I even use Ubuntu font in this blog :)

But the problems are in tiny aspects of usability (speaking about Ubuntu 13.10).

Language switching applet

What the heck ! It was not working !
I am not an English native speaker, I always have 2-3 languages activated. But there was no way to change layout switching hotkey combination. And it was not alway showing correct language.

That's a tiny thing, but whole OS became not usable from that point.

Skype

Come on! I need to setup additional "magic" package to make Skype indicator to appear in tray ? Pfff...

Tray

It is really a painfull story for long time already (since Ubuntu introduced it's tray applets). Old soft just do not appear in Tray.
Is it my problem that I use some program that I really need, but somebody take it's indicator away from me ?

32-bit packages

I can't blame just Ubuntu 13.10 for that. But for example Elance Tracker client via Adobe Air. I was not able to install in on 13.10 in any way.
The fact is that on 12.10 it was such ability.

Why using Ubuntu + Unity became a Challenge ?

That's a question. For some reason installing each new version of Ubuntu became a question - Hey, what do I need to fight this time ?
That really disappoints me a lot, as I like Ubuntu... even don't know why :)

Alternatives ?

Answer for me is Linux Mint + Cinnamon for now.

Why ?

It just works, it is different and maybe has not so perfect appearance, but it just works. All indicators, lang switcher etc.
I can customize it, I can create a Unity like layout with it and Plank dock (any dock).

Choice

For work - Linux Mint + Cinnamon

For home/personal usage - Elementary OS Luna

I use these both and happy with it, as at work I want it to be a "working horse" and at home a "shiny nice thing".

I'll be back ?

In any case I will give a try each new version of Ubuntu.
As it really push Linux Desktop and Mobile world forward. I am glad that 14.04 LTS is planned without unstable Mir + Unity 8, it brings me a hope that we can get quite reliable release this time.

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Ievgen
Kuzminov "iJackUA"
Web Team Lead
at MobiDev (Kharkiv, Ukraine)
Code in Ruby and Elixir, but still love PHP. Explore ES6 and Vue.js. Explore databases, use Ubuntu and MacOS, think about IT people and management

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