These instructions are for Ubuntu 12.04 running the Unity desktop on which the lxde window manager was installed using either the Ubuntu Software Center or sudo apt-get on the command line.

The instructions may be the same for other versions of Ubuntu, but no guarantee is made.

When the Lxde window manager is installed in Ubuntu 12.04, it installs several packages and libraries it requires as well as some optional packages. Not all these packages and libraries are uninstalled when you uninstall Lxde. Several packages (like leafpad and gcalculator) do not get uninstalled.

Quick Uninstall

1) Open a terminal (instructions can be found here).

2) Enter the following command (it is very long and a single line):

sudo apt-get purge --auto-remove   arj galculator giblib1 gpicview leafpad libfm-data libfm-gtk-data libfm-gtk1 libfm1 libglade2-0 libid3tag0 libimlib2 libjpeg-progs libjpeg-turbo-progs  libmenu-cache1 libobrender27 libobt0 librpm2 librpmbuild2 librpmio2 librpmsign0  libxmmsclient-glib1 libxmmsclient6 lxappearance lxde lxde-common lxde-core  lxde-icon-theme lxinput lxmenu-data lxmusic lxpanel lxrandr lxsession  lxsession-edit lxshortcut lxterminal menu menu-xdg obconf openbox openbox-themes  p7zip-full pcmanfm rpm rpm-common rpm2cpio scrot xarchiver xmms2-core  xmms2-plugin-alsa xmms2-plugin-id3v2 xmms2-plugin-mad xmms2-plugin-vorbis  xscreensaver xscreensaver-data

It is easiest to copy the line and paste it into the terminal (right-click on the terminal and select Paste from the popup menu).

Preferred Uninstall

The better way to uninstall it is to follow the directions on this page.

This will show you on how to uninstall only the packages that were installed when Lxde was installed. The instructions are generic and work for any installed package.

It involves:

1. identifying which packages were installed and
2. creating a command to uninstall only those packages

It leaves intact any packages you may have installed (like leafpad or gcalculator) or that were installed as necessary dependencies for other programs instead of blindly assuming that they were installed along with Lxde.

The post Ubuntu 12.04 – How to Completely Uninstall / Remove Lxde appeared first on Complete, Concrete, Concise.

These instructions are for installing the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment (LXDE) core in Ubuntu 12.04 running the Unity Desktop.

Installation instructions may be the same or similar for other versions of Ubuntu or for other Linux distros, but no guarantee is made.

What it Looks Like

The basic, straight-out-of-the-box, look of the desktop is:

From the Command Line

If you are comfortable with Linux and know how to use the command line and apt-get then the command is:

sudo apt-get install lxde-core

Afterwards, restart your system. It should be enough to just log out and the log back in with the new desktop, but it doesn’t hurt to restart.

From the Ubuntu Software Center

1) Launch the Ubuntu Software Center by clicking the icon on the Launcher:

2) Enter lxde-core into the search field. This will bring up related entries.

3) Click on the entry Meta-package for the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment Core – this will highlight it in orange:

4) Click on Install:

5) Enter your password and click Authenticate:

6) After installation is finished, click on the System icon in the upper right corner of the desktop and select Shut Down… from the drop down menu:

7) Click on Restart:

Selecting the Desktop

After the system has restarted, it is necessary to select the new desktop from the login screen.

8) Click the icon in the top right of the Login box:

9) Select LXDE:

10) Login

The post Ubuntu 12.04 – How to Install the LXDE-Core Desktop appeared first on Complete, Concrete, Concise.

These instructions are for installing the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment (LXDE) in Ubuntu 12.04 running the Unity Desktop.

Installation instructions may be the same or similar for other versions of Ubuntu or for other Linux distros, but no guarantee is made.

What it Looks Like

The basic, straight-out-of-the-box, look of the desktop is:

From the Command Line

If you are comfortable with Linux and know how to use the command line and apt-get then the command is:

sudo apt-get install lxde

Afterwards, restart your system. It should be enough to just log out and the log back in with the new desktop, but it doesn’t hurt to restart.

From the Ubuntu Software Center

1) Launch the Ubuntu Software Center by clicking the icon on the Launcher:

2) Enter lxde into the search field. This will bring up related entries.

3) Click on the entry LXDE (the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) – this will highlight it in orange:

4) Click on Install:

5) Enter your password and click Authenticate:

6) After installation is finished, click on the System icon in the upper right corner of the desktop and select Shut Down… from the drop down menu:

7) Click on Restart:

Selecting the Desktop

After the system has restarted, it is necessary to select the new desktop from the login screen.

8) Click the icon in the top right of the Login box:

9) Select LXDE:

10) Login:

The post Ubuntu 12.04 – How to Install the LXDE Desktop appeared first on Complete, Concrete, Concise.

These instructions are for Ubuntu 11.10 on which LXDE was installed using either the Ubuntu Software Center or sudo apt-get on the command line.

The instructions may be the same for other versions, but no guarantee is made.

When the LXDE interface is installed in Ubuntu 11.10, it installs several additional packages and libraries. Several packages (like arj and gpicview) do not get uninstalled when LXDE is uninstalled.

Quick Uninstall

1) Open a terminal (instructions can be found here).

2) Enter the following command (it is very long and a single line):

sudo apt-get remove --auto-remove arj galculator giblib1 gpicview leafpad libfm-data libfm-gtk-data libfm-gtk1 libfm1 libglade2-0 libimlib2 libjpeg-progs libmenu-cache1 libobrender27 libobt0 librpm2 librpmbuild2 librpmio2 librpmsign0 libxmmsclient-glib1 libxmmsclient6 lxappearance lxde lxde-common lxde-core lxde-icon-theme lxinput lxmenu-data lxmusic lxpanel lxrandr lxsession lxsession-edit lxshortcut lxterminal menu menu-xdg obconf openbox openbox-themes p7zip-full pcmanfm rpm rpm-common rpm2cpio scrot xarchiver xmms2-core xmms2-plugin-alsa xmms2-plugin-id3v2 xmms2-plugin-mad xmms2-plugin-vorbis xscreensaver xscreensaver-data

It is easiest to copy the line and paste it into the terminal (right-click on the terminal and select Paste from the popup menu).

Preferred Uninstall

The better way to uninstall it is to follow the directions on this page. This will allow you to uninstall only the packages that were installed when LXDE was installed. The instructions are generic and work for any installed package.

This involves (1) identifying which packages were installed and (2) creating a command to uninstall only those packages.

This leaves intact any packages you may have installed (like arj or gpicview) instead of blindly assuming they were installed with LXDE.

The post Ubuntu 11.10 – How to Completely Uninstall / Remove LXDE appeared first on Complete, Concrete, Concise.

After a while, you start to see how similar they all are. In fact, they are just custom tailored versions of Ubuntu (which itself is a custom version of Debian). They come with a customized GUI, have their own look and feel (and pretty background picture), but ultimately rely on the Ubuntu Software Center and Software Updates to keep running. One I tried out, Elementary OS, even prompted me to upgrade to Ubuntu 11.04.

Two days ago, Linux Mint, released version 12 of its OS. I thought that was a bad idea. Not because I think there is anything wrong with Linux Mint – it’s a fine distro, just like many other Linux distros.

I thought it was a bad idea because the average person isn’t interested in installing a particular Linux distribution. They are interested in installing an Operating System (OS), applications and using that combination to do work. If they already have a Linux distro installed, then then they aren’t interested in replacing it, but upgrading it.

This is why Ubuntu was nice. When a new version came along, you could upgrade to it and keep all your data and applications.

When a new Linux distro comes out, you don’t have the option of upgrading, you have to delete your old installation (along with applications and data), install the new Linux distro, reinstall all the applications you were using and, finally, restore all your data. whew! That is way too much work for the average user.

When Ubuntu 11.10 came out, a lot of people were unhappy that Unity was the default interface (sure, you can change it, I even wrote instructions for it here). It was not possible to roll back the upgrade. This has caused Ubuntu to drop in popularity and other distros (like Linux Mint) to rise in popularity. Unfortunately, if Ubuntu is your main work computer, it has YOUR apps installed, it has YOUR data, it is configured to work the way YOU like it, why in the world would you want to destroy all that just so you can install a different Linux distro? It doesn’t make sense.

A better option, and one I haven’t seen exploited, would be to provide “upgrades” from one distro to another. If you are unhappy with Ubuntu 11.10 and Unity, then why not be able to “upgrade” to Linux Mint 12?

The reason is simple, each distro reflects a different approach or philosophy. Some focus on being lean, others focus on being cutting edge, others focus on being “pure” (in the sense of no proprietary software). Being able to install a “lean” distro over one considered “bloated” would kind of negate the reason for the lean distro to exist.

It could be argued that what I’m really going on about is just installing a new Window Manager or desktop (like GNOME or KDE or LXDE or XFCE) – which is pretty much true. Most users don’t care what’s under the hood, they care about how they interact with it – the look and feel.

Is Linux Mint interested in releasing a Linux Mint Desktop package for Ubuntu? Or Elementary OS in releasing an Elementary OS Desktop for Ubuntu? Or any other Ubuntu derivative interested in releasing their desktop to run on Ubuntu? Probably not – why would they want to position themselves as nothing more than an add-on to Ubuntu? The only Ubuntu derivative desktops you can install on Ubuntu are Edubuntu, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, and Xubuntu (which are all official Ubuntu derivatives).

The post Why aren't there Linux Upgrades? appeared first on Complete, Concrete, Concise.

This article was updated for Ubuntu 12.04. It can be found here.

A basic Unity tutorial can be found here. NOTE: Unity in Ubuntu 12.04 is more complete and useful than Unity in Ubuntu 11.10 – the main advantage being the HUD interface.

Ubuntu 11.10 comes with the Unity interface. Either the full blown Unity or Unity 2D for systems that don’t support 3D acceleration. If the install / upgrade went well, this is the only interface available to you.

Unfortunately, many people hate the interface. The interface itself is not that bad – it is a new way of doing things and anything new is usually met with a lot of resistance because users are comfortable with the old way of doing things. Unity changes the way we interact with the computer from icons and menus to a browser like interface (called Dash) where the user types in what application they want to run.

A more serious problem with Unity is that it is sluggish. Very sluggish. It takes two seconds from pressing the Window key to getting the Dash interface. It is no faster pressing the Dash icon.

There are alternatives to Unity, but it is not obvious what they might be.

I spent 3 days installing and testing 22 different window managers and desktop environments available via the Ubuntu Software Center.

Setup

Ubuntu 11.10 was installed in a VirtualBox (version 4.1.2r73507) virtual machine. The virtual machine was configured to have 1 cpu, 512Mb memory, 12Mb video memory, 8Gb hard disk.

Ubuntu 11.10 was installed as an upgrade to a fresh Ubuntu 11.04 install.

Guest Additions were not installed.

Each replacement environment was tested on a fresh Ubuntu 11.10. This was to avoid any possible interactions / conflicts / dependencies between installed environments.

Testing

Basically, I tested it for usability:

1. Did it work?
2. Was it easy to navigate?
3. Could I find what I was looking for?

I also (crudely) tested performance:

1. How long it took from login to the desktop? This was tested from a freshly booted machine.
2. How long did it take to launch FireFox? Only the first launch time is recorded since subsequent launches were faster.
3. How long did it take to launch LibreOffice Writer? Only the first launch time is recorded since subsequent launches are faster.

A number of factors can affect launch and startup times, so take them with a generous pinch of salt – especially since I was not terribly rigorous about it. I found that the few seconds difference in time to launch is not that important compared to the responsiveness of the environment.

Notable Absence

KDE, the rival to GNOME, is absent from this list because Ubuntu Software Center fails to run correctly under it – it will launch, but you cannot install or remove any packages using it.

KDE provides its own software center called Muon Software Center, but it doesn’t work either. You can click the Install or Remove button and it will start doing something, but after a few seconds it will pop up the error message: This operation cannot continue since proper authorization was not provided. (this bug was reported on 16-Oct-2011). This happens because Ubuntu requires administrator priviledges (that’s why you’re asked for a password) when installing or removing software. If you are running as root thn this would not be a problem.

You could always use the Synaptic Package Manager or apt-get from the command line, but I think most Ubuntu user’s want to use the easy and familiar way.

Caveat

My comments aren’t full fledged reviews. They reflect my impressions and observations to help guide you in picking a replacement for Unity.

Any one of these environments is a good replacement for the Unity Desktop.

If I said something negative about an environment, well, it was something I noticed and considered negative. It may be something you don’t notice or care about.

GNOME Shell

The Good

If you like the classic Ubuntu interface and want to go back to it, then installing GNOME will give you most of that. But there are differences (listed in The Bad)

The Bad

• You only get two menu entries on the desktop instead of three.
• There is no quick launch icon for FireFox
• The menus are slightly different from the classic interface
• The interface is sluggish, but not as sluggish as Unity.
• There are no options available for configuring the look of the interface (you need to download additional packages Advanced Settings, extra themes for the GNOME desktop, and GNOME Color Chooser. Even then, you don’t have as many configuration options as LXDE or XFCE.

The Timings

• From Login to Desktop: 35-45 seconds
• Launch FireFox: 11-19 seconds
• Launch LibreOffice Writer: 25 seconds

Installing GNOME Shell

1) Launch the Ubuntu Software Center by clicking on the icon:

2) Enter gnome shell into the search field. This will bring up a number of related entries. Click on the entry GNOME Shell – this will highlight it in orange:

4) Click on Install:

5) Enter your password and click on Authenticate:

6) After the install is finished, Logout of Ubuntu.

7) Click on the icon in the top right of the Login box and select one of the first 3 GNOME entries. I saw difference in the behaviour or performance of the different versions of GNOME. If you are worried about performance, select GNOME classic (No effects). I selected GNOME:

8) Enter your password and login.

This is the default desktop:

As you see, the environment looks very similar to the original Ubuntu classic desktop: there is a status and navigation bar at the top (green); menus look familiar (red); and applications look the same (blue):

LXDE

The Good

• The lightest weight desktop
• Many configuration options.
• Snappy and responsive.

The Bad

• While the LXDE logo is pretty cool, I don’t like it as my Start Menu launcher (ok, so that is a small gripe and is probably customizable somewhere).
• I found too many applications were put into the Other menu option (XFCE did a slightly better job at grouping menu items, but XFCE placed some applications in multiple menus, LDXE did not duplicate applications across menus).
• The are two (apparently conflicting) look and feel configuration managers: LXAppearance and Openbox Configuration Manager.

The Timings

• From Login to Desktop: 11 seconds
• Launch FireFox: 3 seconds
• Launch LibreOffice Writer: 19 seconds

Installing LXDE

1) Launch the Ubuntu Software Center by clicking on the icon:

2) Enter lxde into the search field. This will bring up a number of related entries. Click on the entry LXDE (The Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) – this will highlight it in orange:

4) Click on Install:

5) Enter your password and click on Authenticate:

6) After the install is finished, Logout of Ubuntu.

7) Click on the icon in the top right of the Login box and select Lxde. Note: there will also be entries for GNOME / Openbox and Openbox. Selecting GNOME/ Openbox will get you the Unity desktop; selecting Openbox will get you a very barebones environment (just a grey screen) you can right click on the desktop to get a menu):

8) Enter your password and login.

This is the default desktop:

As you see, it is a fairly standard windowing type desktop. You can configure the look and feel through either the LXAppearance application or the Openbox Configuration Manager. Unfortunately, they both overlap and Openbox Configuration Manager seems to override LXAppearance in many cases. I found it a little confusing to have two configuration utilities that do pretty much the same thing (and conflict with one another):

Where Things Are

Ubuntu Software Center, Update Manager, and Ubuntu One can be found in the Preferences menu entry.

XFCE

The Good

• Coolest looking desktop (ok, your preference might be different)
• Many configuration look and feel configurations options available (the most of the three packages).
• Snappy and responsive.
• It is my favourite (again, that is purely subjective)

The Bad

• It’s the largest of the packages (but not a behemoth).
• Multiple applications are used for configuring the look and feel (but unlike LXDE, their functionality does not overlap)
• A lot of applications end up in the Settings menu. There is also some duplication of entries between the Accessories, Settings and System menu (depending on your point of view, this may not be a problem if you feel an application fits in multiple categories).

The Timings

• From Login to Desktop: 20 seconds
• Launch FireFox: 6 seconds
• Launch LibreOffice Writer: 27 seconds

Installing XFCE

1) Launch the Ubuntu Software Center by clicking on the icon:

2) Enter xfce4 into the search field. This will bring up a number of related entries. Click on the entry Meta-package for the Xfce Lightweight Desktop Environment – this will highlight it in orange:

4) Click on Install:

5) Enter your password and click on Authenticate:

6) After the install is finished, Logout of Ubuntu.

7) Click on the icon in the top right of the Login box and select Xfce Session.

8) Enter your password and login.

9) The first time you start XFCE, it will prompt you use the default configuration or to create an empty panel. Select Use default config:

This is the default desktop:

As you see, a fairly standard windowing environment. The Desktop application allows you to change the background The Window Manager application allows you to change the look of the windows. The Windows Manager Tweaks application allows you to configure the behaviour of your windows and desktop:

Conclusion

Aside from being a lot of work to test, this experience has shown me is that Ubuntu has done a fantastic job in packaging and laying out a Linux distribution for the masses.

Unfortunately, in trying to differentiate itself and trying to set a direction, Ubuntu is alienating a lot of users who would normally be drawn to this (formerly) user friendly distro.

Unity is a tablet style interface for Linux. It might be good, but it should be an option for users – not enforced on them.

As well, Unity and, it seems, GNOME 3 (and KDE Plasma) demand a lot of graphics horsepower. Their performance on my system is pretty much unacceptable.

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