Ubuntu Lucid Lynx development suggestions, what we want to see!

So I thought I'd take some time out and post this thread as I believe as a user of Ubuntu for some years the strongest part about Ubuntu is the community!

*Post your suggestions & opinions about what you'd like to see in the next LTS release of Ubuntu - Lucid Lynx (10.04) :p*

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["Dust" theme as default theme]-I personally think the brown theme is awful and the first thing I do is change the theme to mist and set a different background! I know I'm not alone! I think this would make people more likely to pick up the OS if it has a nicer colour scheme.

[An Ubuntu IM Network]-With Ubuntu One file hosting availiable to us I think the next step would be an Ubuntu messaging network to compete with the likes of MSN and AIM. A client for Ubuntu itself along with a client for windows and mac hosts. File sharing faster than the MSN network. (Capped at 5kb/s) A network where it will be able to be connected to via unofficial clients such as pidgin and empathy.

[Mozilla Thunderbird as default mail client!]-I personally think that Thunderbird is much easier to grasp for the new user. [B] [Ubuntu Software Centre - Splash][/B]-A splash screen showing the most useful apps like Wine, Flash Player and such with the option to install them for new users who have switched from Windows.

They did not deliver on most of their own promises and 99,999999% of the ideas on ubuntubrainstorm were ignored... what makes you think any of your or our ideas would get through?

vitium said: [An Ubuntu IM Network]-With Ubuntu One file hosting availiable to us I think the next step would be an Ubuntu messaging network to compete with the likes of MSN and AIM. A client for Ubuntu itself along with a client for windows and mac hosts. File sharing faster than the MSN network. (Capped at 5kb/s) A network where it will be able to be connected to via unofficial clients such as pidgin and empathy.

What for ?

We don't need yet another protocol. Just use Jabber. It's supported by most (if not every) multi-protocol and/or multi-platform IM applications and already in wide use.

I'm just throwing ideas out there and getting other people's ideas of what they think needs improving.

I am meerly starting conversation. :p

Mornedhel said: What for ?

We don't need yet another protocol. Just use Jabber. It's supported by most (if not every) multi-protocol and/or multi-platform IM applications and already in wide use.

Fair point I just thought maybe it'd be easier for new users if their was an official network with public directory listings.

vitium said: ["Dust" theme as default theme]-I personally think the brown theme is awful and the first thing I do is change the theme to mist and set a different background! I know I'm not alone! I think this would make people more likely to pick up the OS if it has a nicer colour scheme.

Brown will never leave Ubuntu, its part of the brand itself. He said it in 2004 (you can read it on the ubuntu wiki)... they will NEVER remove the brown... they might only make it a bit less... (e.g. a bit of fade here and there)... like they're doing now in comparison to ubuntu 4.10

[An Ubuntu IM Network]-With Ubuntu One file hosting availiable to us I think the next step would be an Ubuntu messaging network to compete with the likes of MSN and AIM. A client for Ubuntu itself along with a client for windows and mac hosts. File sharing faster than the MSN network. (Capped at 5kb/s) A network where it will be able to be connected to via unofficial clients such as pidgin and empathy.

I would be a good idea if Ubuntu actually had a very large userbase (e.g. windows)... but with the current 99999999999 IMs, I don't think anyone is waiting for another one.

[Ubuntu Software Centre - Splash][/B]-A splash screen showing the most useful apps like Wine, Flash Player and such with the option to install them for new users who have switched from Windows.

Like what KDE does for firefox right? i guess that would be nice... but there are more important things I think they should focus on... like nuking the brown in Ubuntu, or coming with something amazing looking brown theme...

The next one is for servers. They are going to focus on making it appealing to network admins, not the home-user-base.

@Pasdar Yes, I agree, it's a shame that they won't change the brown theme really because I think it puts so many people who don't use the OS off. If I show them Ubuntu with dust or another theme then they get pulled in.

It might be useful to have an applet to interactively choose the X profile. Laptop users as well as netbook users may/might in fact run 2+ X server layouts: the first for the LCD display only, while the second for the external and often wider LCD or the TV...

vitium said:

[An Ubuntu IM Network]-With Ubuntu One file hosting availiable to us I think the next step would be an Ubuntu messaging network to compete with the likes of MSN and AIM. A client for Ubuntu itself along with a client for windows and mac hosts. File sharing faster than the MSN network. (Capped at 5kb/s) A network where it will be able to be connected to via unofficial clients such as pidgin and empathy.

I'm not sure what you're getting at here. An Ubuntu chat client? We already have Empathy installed by default and Pidgin, probably the most popular open source IM program, in the repositories along with at least a dozen others. Why try to reinvent the wheel? I think this effort could be spend much better elsewhere.

[Mozilla Thunderbird as default mail client!]-I personally think that Thunderbird is much easier to grasp for the new user.

[B]

This will probably never happen. Gnome has an official Email client, Evolution. Ubuntu tries to stick with upstream Gnome as much as possible.

Pasdar said: They did not deliver on most of their own promises and 99,999999% of the ideas on ubuntubrainstorm were ignored... what makes you think any of your or our ideas would get through?

You do realize how many ideas are on brainstorm, or how many are not ideas at all but bug reports in the wrong place, or how many are simply not possible to implement?

A good backup program. Continue with stability and basic bulletproof functionality.

There is a similar thread like this in the lucid development forum. I stated there, as I do here, that we need up-to-date documentation for domain controlling for the next LTS as all current documentation is outdated and there are noticeable differences on how to set it up right now.

Check: http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/22151/ and vote...

whoop said: There is a similar thread like this in the lucid development forum.

I stated there, as I do here, that we need up-to-date documentation for domain controlling for the next LTS as all current documentation is outdated and there are noticeable differences on how to set it up right now.

Check: http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/22151/ and vote...

So true. I needed to setup a Samba domain controller and found that up to date documentation was almost non-existent

FuturePilot said: So true. I needed to setup a Samba domain controller and found that up to date documentation was almost non-existent

This documentation seems to work for 8.04 without much change (although it was written for 7.10): http://www.rrcomputerconsulting.com/view.php?article_id=3

When lucid comes out we will have allot of breakage as allot of LDAP stuff has changed.

whoop said: This documentation seems to work for 8.04 without much change (although it was written for 7.10): http://www.rrcomputerconsulting.com/view.php?article_id=3

When lucid comes out we will have allot of breakage as allot of LDAP stuff has changed.

I noticed a lot of LDAP and Samba stuff has already changed from 8.04 -> 9.04

Use QT instead of GTK :)

An email server I can setup by just a few clicks/entries like domain name certificate for ssl smtp port and the like. if I want a webmail and what port it needs to be on. has to be easy install like the new mac mini server. And sync to all the smartphones, but blackberry ( I could care less about them) And be able to take a snapshot of the email database that can be put to tape every night.

All the text file configuring and mysql configuring to get an email server running as a database with webmail is a pain in the rear for sure. That is why I can still sell microsoft exchange. Zimbra is on the right track but not polished enough. When I setup that and it fails on the install I usually just format and start over. It is easier than going through and troubleshooting.

continue making it look pretty, easy to use and compatible with microsoft.

Linux is good, it just needs a much bigger userbase IMO... Ubuntu should aim at increasing the linux user base.

Although dumbing down ubuntu may one day turn me a way from ubuntu, it will give people an entry point to the linux world and will give more reason for people to develop items for linux.

ie... this is what could happen.

Ubuntu gets dumbed down and generates mass appeal. Software companies start making products for linux hardware companies start making products for linux more support will be given to linux. I get bored of ubuntu cause it's dumbed down I move to a different distro but continue to benefit from all the new support for linux.

but even then, I don't know if I would switch, the non dumbed down options could still be sitting there in the console or advanced tabs.

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I can certainly agree the brown is very important from a marketing stand point. I do hope they continue to make it look pretty though. I reeeallly appreciate what has been done in karmic regarding the aesthetics from it's default look to even including nice wallpaper.

We all know mac is gaining in appeal because it looks pretty. When my sister converted (windows to mac), that was her main reason (18 female). And seeing how most of the time linux doesn't even look as good as windows _out of the box_ it sure wont beat apple, particularly in the eyes of people who aren't computer geeks. I do understand that computer geeks might enjoy out of the box fluxbox, but ask anyone who isn't a geek (the majority of the people in this world) and they wont share that opinion.

in other words. I think it is in the interest of Ubuntu to make it as appealing as possible to the majority (not geeks) because the geeks (and the majority) will benefit from the increased resources.

Ubuntu will be focusing on server stability in the next release. Getting the Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud and updating virtualization tools are goals of the next release on the server side.

I think work needs to be done on the quality and quantity of official documentation for Ubuntu Server's tools (specifically, every task in tasksel during install needs to be documented extensively, IMO).

well kms enabled for all cards that support it so we can reduce binary blobs.

Stabuility for a realease would be good.

please please please stop with the boot time stuff and focus on battery life for laptops.

i'd gladly suffer a 30 second boot if my laptops battery reached par with windows.

I want wvdial to be included in the default install again. I mean come on! it's a tiny program, and it makes setting up a modem for dial-up so much easier. Whereas if you need to get wvdial from the repos, that suggests you don't yet have a working internet connection. And how are you supposed to get your internet connection up and running if you can't use your ppp connection?

xir_ said: well kms enabled for all cards that support it so we can reduce binary blobs.

Stabuility for a realease would be good.

please please please stop with the boot time stuff and focus on battery life for laptops.

i'd gladly suffer a 30 second boot if my laptops battery reached par with windows.

[s]DKMS doesn't reduce binary blobs, it's only a different way of installing them.[/s]

disregard this.

FuturePilot said: DKMS doesn't reduce binary blobs, it's only a different way of installing them.

i don't know if we are thinking of the same thing, what i meant was the new open source video drivers which have KMS.

xir_ said: i don't know if we are thinking of the same thing, what i meant was the new open source video drivers which have KMS.

Oops! I fail. I misread what you wrote. Never mind what I said. #-o

I think the biggest work is on gnome...

The theme, I can live with it because I can change it.

But Empathy? Ok it supports a bunch of protocol but it's theme abilities are lame! How is that important to me? I got girls at home and they chat and they tend to prefer msn for that one simple reason...

Open Office. Is actually pretty nice. My girl friend works mostly on it but it lacks some polishing in the formatting. Look at the choice of colors in there to paint the cells. My GOD! It looks totally disorganized too. MS Office 2008 beats OO.org to the ground on that level.

Connectivity: it's kind of the same as my first point but phones don't plug really well with linux generally. I know there are some but people don't generally look at a list of phone working with linux before buying them. They buy them first and try them second. That is more good will from phone companies and other third parties but I think that if we spend more time bugging them it would yield some results on the long run.

All in all, I'm very happy with Linux from a kernel point of view. I would like to see more work from gnome and it's dependent projects.

ndefontenay said: it lacks some polishing in the formatting. Look at the choice of colors in there to paint the cells. My GOD! It looks totally disorganized too. MS Office 2008 beats OO.org to the ground on that level.

I agree, formatting abilities/ease is a big reason why I think MS Office is pretty hot... I use OO... but.. at the moment.. just because of it running on linux and being free and open source.

Stick in some better templates, make prettier graphs etc. And I would be quite sold.

Suggestions: Visual = More vibrant Orange, less brown tones. System = Working Pulse Audio, or removed Pulse Audio Installation = RAID setup on normal/live CD.