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CANONICAL SHUTS DOOR ON UNITY, UBUNTU PHONE AND CONVERGENCE


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CANONICAL SHUTS DOOR ON UNITY, UBUNTU PHONE AND CONVERGENCE

Last updated

April 5, 2017

By Abhishek Prakash

 

No, this is not an April fool joke.

Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of Ubuntu and Canonical (parent company of Ubuntu), has just announced the shocking news.Unity 8 development will be stopped. Ubuntu Phone project is going down and so is the convergence dream.

Mark wrote on official Ubuntu blog:…we will end our investment in Unity8, the phone and convergence shell. We will shift our default Ubuntu desktop back to GNOME for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

https://itsfoss.com/ubuntu-unity-shutdown/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ubuntu_unity_is_dead_and_so_is_ubuntu_phone_plus_more_linux_stories&utm_term=2017-04-05

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Wow. Well, I always felt like Unity wasn't all that bad. But I always add GNOME to Ubuntu, anyway -- I like GNOME Shell better than Unity -- so I'm glad they're making this move. I had actually been considering Ubuntu GNOME for when 18.04 rolls around, but I guess there won't be a need for that spin anymore.

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securitybreach

I do not use Ubuntu or Unity but I think will be a good thing as they are going back to linux development instead of trying to do something separate.

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I think Unity would be more popular if you could move the Launcher to the bottom of the screen. The next time Ubuntu needed a reinstall I was planning on trying Gnome and adding the mods that do just that.

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Wow. Well, I always felt like Unity wasn't all that bad. But I always add GNOME to Ubuntu, anyway -- I like GNOME Shell better than Unity -- so I'm glad they're making this move. I had actually been considering Ubuntu GNOME for when 18.04 rolls around, but I guess there won't be a need for that spin anymore.

I used Ubuntu as my main distro, right from it's inception until they came out with Unity, when I switched to Mint.
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One thing that might be positive is that with Unity disappearing, Mir will as well. That way if there is to be a replacement for X it will probably be Wayland (which is moving along.)

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Hedon James

I think Unity would be more popular if you could move the Launcher to the bottom of the screen. The next time Ubuntu needed a reinstall I was planning on trying Gnome and adding the mods that do just that.

 

You can do this in Ubuntu 16.04, but people have been screaming for it since 12.04. Too little, too late I guess...

 

I was one who initially HATED Unity, but grew to like it. However, I am NOT a fan of Gnome, and I hate how Gnome devs keep removing/hiding features. I feel validated, having already shifted to Lubuntu & LXDE, but there's a storm coming there too, with the migration from LXDE to LXQT. I'm not opposed to LXQT, but it just isn't ready yet. When it is, I'll give it a shot. Until then I'm happy to ride LXDE for as long as it takes. And if LXQT never comes to be what I hope for, and if LXDE gets deprecated, Mate has recently completed its transition to gtk3. I feel like I have a plan, no matter what. Just gotta let it unfold to see what the plan is...

Edited by Hedon James
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Looking at this from 30,000 feet - Canonical was in a lose-lose position after spending megabucks on the convergence effort.

The phone guys had no interest in Linux per se; the Linux community viewed Canonical as divisive. The developers who rely on Linux for cloud/server/IoT stuff just need a useful desktop. Right now Unity8/Mir can't even launch Chrome or Firefox properly.

Better to put the money into places where Canonical is profitable.

In the long run there is going to be a replacement for X. Most Linux folks are backing Wayland. Unity 7 won't work with Wayland, and right now Unity 8 and Mir is not ready for prime time.

Rock, meet hard place. A tough decision but probably the right one if Ubuntu is to maintain its position as the face of Linux for so many.

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V.T. Eric Layton

I stopped using Ubuntu for my new converts because they could not fathom the Unity desktop. I can relate. I instead introduce them to the wonderfulness of Linux using Xubuntu. Xfce can be set up to resemble the old MS Windows panel and Start button that they're so familiar with already. Makes conversion easier for them.

 

I think going back to Gnome is a great thing for Ubuntu.

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ubuntu17.04_zpsdukhlgqs.png

 

Haven't done anything with Ubuntu for a while so I downloaded the beta version of 17.04. It's surprisingly nice, even with the Unity Desktop. Installation in VirtualBox was smooth and easy, the Software Center works nicely. Guest Additions work right out of the box. Obviously a different look and feel from Windows 10 but I think I could use it.

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Hedon James

The vertical launcher on the left of the screen makes SO MUCH sense with widescreen 16:9 monitors, IMO. With old 4:3 monitors, it made sense for a launcher/dock to be on the bottom, or top. When Ubuntu moved it to the vertical position, I thought WTH(?) and HATED it. But the real problem, with 20/20 hindsight, was that there was no way to change/customize the layout/appearance. It was a "take it or leave it" proposition and many folks left it. I learned to like Unity, even to see the wisdom of the design, and modified my workflow to accomodate the new paradigm, and it ended up being a step forward for me. But it was the ongoing "spiral of bloat" that caused me to look elsewhere...if I wanted a "bloated" and locked down desktop environment that I couldn't change to suit me, I would've just stuck with Windows all those years ago. Once I saw MX-14 (version at the time) and realized I could recreate the Unity paradigm, but WITHOUT the overhead requirements, the race was on, and I started checking out desktop environments I had previously dismissed...eventually landing on LXDE. So that was a silver lining for ME...

 

However, the silver lining for LINUX, perhaps, was that necessity birthed the Cinnamon, Mate, and Budgie desktops; and probably helped mature XFCE and LXDE somewhat, as former Gnome users/devs who didn't like the "new Gnome" or Unity started flocking to other desktops. So maybe it was bad for Ubuntu, but good for Linux...depending on your perspectives regarding forking vs. fragmentation. I thought it was a good thing...still do....as it lead me to the point I'm at today.

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V.T. Eric Layton

Waaaay back when, back when my Linux adventure first started, the very first distro that I installed (at Urmas' behest) was Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper Drake. It came out of the box with Gnome. I loved Gnome. Then, after much distro-farming, I decided to make Slackware my lifetime OS. Slack did not come with Gnome. It used KDE as the default back then. I tried once to install a version of Gnome for Slackware, but didn't like it. I got used to KDE, then they boogered it all up when they went to v4.x. That was the last time I used KDE. I've been an Xfce user ever since.

 

That's my story... and I'm stickin' to it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

Edited by V.T. Eric Layton
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You can install a little package called Unity Tweak Tool and easily move the Launcher Panel anywhere you want. I tried putting it at the bottom but it didn't seem right. You are already losing some vertical space by running in VBox after all.

Xfce is my go-to desktop for lighter weight distros such as I use on my netbook. Also I very much like Xfce in Manjaro. If Cinnamon ever gets as messed up as GNOME Shell I always have Xfce to fall back on.

I used to have strong opinions about desktop environments, but ones I disliked like KDE have really improved and ones I really liked like GNOME have regressed so... :shrug3:

And as I have said before, with a 3.6 GHz quad core, an SSD, 16 GB of RAM, a discrete video card - I don't worry much about bloat. Anything will fly. But I want my wife or other Windows 10 people who come into the house like grandkids to be comfortable. They are with Cinnamon, but I would have to put in some time with them to get them using Unity. Just sayin... :whistling:

Edited by raymac46
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V.T. Eric Layton

Things change. That's life. If you're lucky, you get to see a lot of change over a long lifetime. ;)

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securitybreach

Looking at this from 30,000 feet - Canonical was in a lose-lose position after spending megabucks on the convergence effort.

The phone guys had no interest in Linux per se; the Linux community viewed Canonical as divisive. The developers who rely on Linux for cloud/server/IoT stuff just need a useful desktop. Right now Unity8/Mir can't even launch Chrome or Firefox properly.

Better to put the money into places where Canonical is profitable.

In the long run there is going to be a replacement for X. Most Linux folks are backing Wayland. Unity 7 won't work with Wayland, and right now Unity 8 and Mir is not ready for prime time.

Rock, meet hard place. A tough decision but probably the right one if Ubuntu is to maintain its position as the face of Linux for so many.

 

I completely agree :thumbsup:

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As previously mentioned there are lots of ways to get a vertical panel look in a Linux desktop. I'm sure the Ubuntu guys will be able to tweak GNOME Shell to get what they want. Come to think of it they already did that back in the day.

Edited by raymac46
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Hedon James

As previously mentioned there are lots of ways to get a vertical panel look in a Linux desktop. I'm sure the Ubuntu guys will be able to tweak GNOME .Shell to get what they want. Come to think of it they already did that back in the day.

 

Yeah, well it was a revelation to me. But if I can figure it out, I'm sure devs can provide something. I no longer have any 4:3 monitors in my household, they're all 16:9 or similar; so left-hand launchers make the most sense, IMO. As you pointed out earlier, a bottom launcher may be what one is used to, but with widescreen monitors, all it does is provide a narrower view of what was already a narrowed view. With that said, Ubuntu SHOULD have provided the option. They created Unity because (at the time) they didn't like Gnome3 direction, removing options for user-customizations. So they created their own desktop, but re-created Gnome3 mistake of lack-of-user-customization. Stupid mistake, IMO...

 

And if you accept the premise that left-hand launchers make the most sense for widescreen users (not all would agree), there are very few desktop environments that provide this paradigm by default. Unity is one, MX is another, LXLE has a Unity paradigm, and Sunrat shows Siduction/KDE is an option, although maybe not default(?). (thanks for that tip Sunrat...Siduction is on my radar again, but didn't know KDE could look like that....pffft, I shoulda known...it's KDE, and KDE has options for its options!). With Unity off the table, that leaves MX and LXLE as the only viable offerings for a DEFAULT paradigm with left-hand launcher.

 

Other than "standard" XFCE & Mate, it seems every other DE mimics the Windows paradigm with a bottom taskbar/menu/launcher/system tray: KDE, Cinnamon, MintMate, Budgie, LXDE, RazorQT, etc... I'm hoping to see more default paradigms with left-hand launchers, if only for the sake of variety. Personally, I think Ubuntu Unity was onto something, design-wise; just poorly executed and with the wrong end-goals. JMO.... But I'm happy with my LXDE desktop, so I won't be changing back (although it remains to be seen what the LXDE/LXQT dilemma will do to THAT desktop).

 

Back when I was using Gnome2, I kinda chuckled a little to myself (even though I was also sympathetic) when the KDE desktop went through it's design controversies (KDE3 morphing into KDE4?) and thought "poor folks, should've chosen Gnome". And just when the KDE storm was resolving itself, Gnome pulled its crap with Gnome3, but as an affected Gnome user, it wasn't near as humorous as the KDE debacle. (Lesson learned on being more sympathetic). And I see the same storm clouds coming down the LXDE/LXQT corridor. Moral of the story? As a user, change is inevitable, and that's okay. As a developer? Go ahead and innovate, but quit FORCING the DISRUPTION on users. Great ideas will take hold and the uptake will develop a critical mass of adoption all on its own...forcing the downtake only serves to encourage your existing user base to look else where and consider other options. Provide the OPTION, just don't force it...this lesson has not been learned by anyone in the development arena, as I see the same mistakes being repeated ad nauseum, with no regard to the fact that the same outcome is likely to be repeated also. JMO...

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With Unity off the table, that leaves MX and LXLE as the only viable offerings for a DEFAULT paradigm with left-hand launcher.

 

Other than "standard" XFCE & Mate, it seems every other DE mimics the Windows paradigm with a bottom taskbar/menu/launcher/system tray: KDE, Cinnamon, MintMate, Budgie, LXDE, RazorQT, etc...

 

Cor blimey all this talk about task bars and where to put them and how difficult or impossible it is to place them.

Sheesh this "problem" never even occurs in Window Maker. Which at least one sensible person here has explored (See post 24) apart from me that is.

 

http://forums.scotsn...pic=56171&st=0

 

:harhar:

 

I re-read your post,

 

"Provide the OPTION, just don't force it...this lesson has not been learned by anyone in the development arena, as I see the same mistakes being repeated ad nauseum, with no regard to the fact that the same outcome is likely to be repeated also. JMO..."

 

Seems to me that Arch and Window Maker do provide "the option" and leave the user to make the choice. :hmm: :yes:

Edited by abarbarian
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Just for giggles here is GNOME desktop in Ubuntu with a Dash to Dock Extension on the left. Not as nifty as Unity I suppose but you can do something. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think the original Unity idea was a Gnome Shell Extension.

 

<Edit> Maybe it was the original Cinnamon that used GNOME Shell Extension to accomplish its end. Senior moment.

 

UbuntuGnome_zpskebcvlnl.png

Edited by raymac46
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@HJ excellent rant and I agree in principle with most of it. However we have to face the fact that most if not all new Linux users will be familiar with Windows and that it is therefore not unusual for some desktop environments to mimic that paradigm.

Cinnamon immediately comes to mind, and in fact the old KDE 3.5.6 was probably a better choice for new users back when you and I got started with Ubuntu. I found the task bar at the top and the Applications..Places..System text to be a little jarring at first but I just assumed that was the way it was and soon got used to it. To be honest I never thought of tweaking things or making GNOME 2 look more like Windows Me (ecch.) That came later when I found out what was possible.

Both KDE and GNOME went through their times of trouble but by now they are both pretty good. KDE is still more customizable I suppose but once you launch Firefox full screen does it matter? Besides it sounds like there are plenty of other options. I played around with LXQT and quite liked it on a tiny netbook where real estate was at a premium for sure.

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Hedon James

I agree with you that the Windows paradigm makes the most sense for many users, especially those coming from MS. I've got no issues with that. I remember my first experiences with Linux, trying out different distros in LiveCDs and being mesmerized with Gnome2. I IMMEDIATELY took to it, thinking "THIS makes sense, THIS is how a desktop should function, THIS is what a desktop should look like". When you find perfection, you stop looking, so I KNEW that Gnome2 was for me; I just needed to sort out all that distro stuff before settling on Ubuntu 9.04(?) as the one. I still like Ubuntu Mate, for that reason, but I find myself modding it with a left-hand launcher to resemble Unity. And then did the same with XFCE and LXDE. Liked 'em all, but gave the nod to LXDE as the lightest of the light. But I'd be happy on any of them, FWIW.

 

I don't like Gnome3. (although, in all fairness, I imagine Gnome3 would be my preferred OS for a tablet?!) I give them props for innovation and presenting something completely different that no one had seen before. We need more of that, IMO. All I'm saying is that these developers need to quit alienating their existing (and often diehard) user bases. This goes for all software, not just desktop environments. By all means, innovate, but present the new features/ideas as OPTIONS to be tried out and considered; not as forced disruptions to those users. When you force the disruption, you alienate your user base; who then switches to something else (best case), or just verbally bashes the project. If enough folks do the latter, you've got a flame war (worst case). If devs just present their innovations/ideas as OPTIONS, and folks like it, I GUARANTEE that folks will sing the praises of that option, raising awareness to others to give it a try, and mass adoption becomes a painless (and desirable!) outcome. If folks don't like it, at least you didn't lose your user base, or engender bad will or a bad reputation from disgruntled users. There's no bad outcome from the OPTION scenario, IMO. JMO...

Edited by Hedon James
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My Linux intro wasn't as comprehensive. I had an old Dell Dimension 4100 system that needed an upgrade from Windows Me but I didn't want to invest the money in it. A friend suggested Linux. I went to a local computer store to ask f I could buy a copy of Linux. The proprietor looked at me strangely and handed me a CD of Ubuntu 5.10. "Here. This is free."

I didn't know any other distro. Upgraded to Dapper Drake after I learned about ISOs and CD burning. Made a few coasters before I got the slow burn technique down pat. It was only after I came here that I found out about KDE and RPM and Slackware and Mandriva. As far as I was concerned GNOME 2 on Ubuntu was Linux and vice versa. What a naif I was.

Edited by raymac46
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Back when I was using Gnome2, I kinda chuckled a little to myself (even though I was also sympathetic) when the KDE desktop went through it's design controversies (KDE3 morphing into KDE4?) and thought "poor folks, should've chosen Gnome". And just when the KDE storm was resolving itself, Gnome pulled its crap with Gnome3, but as an affected Gnome user, it wasn't near as humorous as the KDE debacle.

And as a KDE user, I was amused by Gnome 3's teething problems. :D

KDE 3 and KDE 4 were not excellent until about their point 10 versions. KDE Plasma 5 is currently 4.8.4 in Sid and 4.9 is available if you use KDE Neon OS. It's pretty d*** good now with only rare glitches.

 

PS. I still don't get why d*** is censored in this forum. It's not a bloody swear word! Maybe I can trick it with l33t - d4mn. ;)

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Things I look for in a desktop environment:

  • Solid and stable. I don't want crashes thank you.
  • Familiar enough that I don't have to relearn everything about using a PC.
  • Customizable but it doesn't have to go overboard if the default is nice.
  • No arcane manual configuration with text files to put an icon on a panel.
  • Good set of support apps for terminal, file management, music etc.
  • Available for more than one distro. This always is a good sign.
  • Good community support.

Right now for me that means Cinnamon, Xfce, LXDE, and Plasma. I will consider a lighter weight Window Manager like IceWM if it comes in a distro like AntiX for really old or underpowered systems.

Edited by raymac46
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Hedon James

Things I look for in a desktop environment:

  • Solid and stable. I don't want crashes thank you.
  • Familiar enough that I don't have to relearn everything about using a PC.
  • Customizable but it doesn't have to go overboard if the default is nice.
  • No arcane manual configuration with text files to put an icon on a panel.
  • Good set of support apps for terminal, file management, music etc.
  • Available for more than one distro. This always is a good sign.
  • Good community support.

Right now for me that means Cinnamon, Xfce, LXDE, and Plasma. I will consider a lighter weight Window Manager like IceWM if it comes in a distro like AntiX for really old or underpowered systems.

 

Looks like you have custody of our brain this week. I agree with everything you (we?) just said!

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i3wm FTW B)

I thought you were an xmonad guy,

 

Things I look for in a desktop environment:

  • Solid and stable. I don't want crashes thank you.
  • Familiar enough that I don't have to relearn everything about using a PC.
  • Customizable but it doesn't have to go overboard if the default is nice.
  • No arcane manual configuration with text files to put an icon on a panel.
  • Good set of support apps for terminal, file management, music etc.
  • Available for more than one distro. This always is a good sign.
  • Good community support.

Right now for me that means Cinnamon, Xfce, LXDE, and Plasma. I will consider a lighter weight Window Manager like IceWM if it comes in a distro like AntiX for really old or underpowered systems.

 

Looks like you have custody of our brain this week. I agree with everything you (we?) just said!

You can have our brain back today. I am listening to mindless 60s rock (Bread and Butter - The Newbeats.) So i don't need it.

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