No, this is not a joke :)
Even typing that I think my own first answer would jokingly be, "if you need to ask, you can't do it".
*Sort of a new take on "how much does that cost" .............. "if you need to ask, you can't afford it"* :P
But I am serious. During Lucid Beta1 iso-testing I posted this bug report:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubiquity/+bug/539172
[B]Lucid Live CD fails to display boot options w/o user action CancelOk [/B]
Which resulted in a mention in the Release Notes:
Anyway, I'm still subscribed to that bug and I'd noticed another recent comment there that caused me to post this:
Well, if Colin is still reading this and I'd bet so ;^) All we've really done is move the "interactive" part further down the line. You still end up having to select whether to just run Ubuntu or install Ubuntu. Sadly you're too far into the boot cycle by then to edit the boot parameters.
I've otherwise found Lucid to be totally worthy of a Live USB, that is quite stable, but I'm considering a remaster beginning with an Lubuntu image to avoid this "new feature".
Even once you know about the new behavior the option to press any key passes so quickly that an incoming phone call or some other untimely distraction can result in an otherwise unnecessary reboot.
Steve Langasek's response was (I highlighted the part that matters):
Erick, it's true that the first prompt happens when it's too late to edit the boot parameters. However, it's important to recognize that editing boot options is *not* the common case: for the vast majority of users, install vs. try is the first selection they should need to make, and they normally won't even *know* if other boot options are needed until they've first tried to boot with the default options. So while I'm personally rather dissatisfied with the solution that's been implemented to hide the language selector by default, I think the comments here significantly exaggerate the severity of the problems that result, and I don't think it's necessary or appropriate to revisit this in 10.04. [COLOR="Red"]Please work with the design team instead to improve our live CD's boot behavior for maverick.[/COLOR]
Oh, and prior to that I'd posted a question at Ayatana:
https://answers.launchpad.net/ayatana-ubuntu/+question/110648
As I found out iso-testing prior to Lucid Beta 1 the Live CD now requires user interaction to display menu options:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubiquity/+bug/539172
At first this seemed fine but having used this more and more I find it to be only annoying. Consider the following:
1) It creates confusion for those who are new to Ubuntu. I've seen this a lot at the forums.
2) We've only moved the interactive part to a later point in the boot cycle because you still must choose whether to just "run" Ubuntu or install Ubuntu, so this really did not result in a faster boot.
3) With that "move" all we've done is "remove" the options to check CD for defects, adjust boot parameters, etc. without an otherwise unnecessary reboot which only results in frustration.
4) Even after learning of the new "boot behavior" the option to press any key passes so quickly that even an unplanned phone call or some other interruption can cause me miss the opportunity, and increasing that "time out" would only increase the boot time.
I'm curious what others think about this. We can certainly plan changes for the first "point release" of Lucid and also for Maverick, and no time like the present ;^)
Thus my silly question :)
Now, I've tried to use IRC and being visually impaired it simply doesn't work for me. I need something slow and consistent, something I can spend my time focusing on!
That in itself is a huge problem with some web pages that have "stuff" stuck all over the place. I can easily overlook the obvious sometimes.
Anyhoo there it is, Don't laugh too hard.
I just figure we can either be complainers or we can at least try to shape things in a manner we deem sensible.
Edit: I forgot to add that I'm fully aware of UDS so maybe I'm being impatient, but in the past I've put things off too long so I want to get this "out there" ASAP.