Ubuntu 13.04 - Worth the Upgrade?

Right on schedule the next release of Ubuntu is here. Looking over the listed changes, there doesn't appear to be too much to get overly excited about, so is it worth the upgrade. In short, yes. The new version adds some very handy features that make is much more enjoyable for everyday use.

So, first lets cover the major visual changes you'll notice. The first is the shutdown process which now brings up a nice looking window that fits more to the Unity style of things. They have also updated several of the system application icons which help improve the appearance. There are also some new wallpapers to choose from.

They have also added some new usability features. Most notably, more options for viewing multiple application windows. The previous way remains the same, but now you can right click on a icon and view the open windows names in that list. You can also scroll on the icon and it will cycle through the open windows. This is proving to be a nice addition to offer more convenience for navigating through open windows.

They have also beefed up the notification area. There is now a indicator for Ubuntu One which is very handy for accessing your Ubuntu One files and settings. They have also modified the Bluetooth menu. On top of that, they brought back the Messages indicator which went missing in Ubuntu 12.10. I am very happy to have it back for use with Pidgin. They have also added better integration in Unity with the social media networks to tie in with Unity. Many people will find updating status from Unity to be a new fun way to find out what there friends are up too.

The biggest change, in my opinion is the improvement to performance in Unity. The interface feels much more smooth and responsive on my laptop and desktop. This is most likely due to the Unity interface being adapted for use in phones and tablets as well. 

Ubuntu has come a long ways with Unity is now shaping to be a very usable and responsive interface. Now that is Steam is available on Linux with a slew of games and many more coming every day, Ubuntu has really become my daily driver and I rarely go into Windows. Even Netflix is available on Linux now with the help of Wine.

I am very pleased with Ubuntu 13.04 and would say it is worth the upgrade for the more responsive interface alone. This surely is shaping out to be the Year of Linux.

My Linux Applications

I’ve been using Linux for years and have come across many applications over this time. Over these years, my day to day applications have changed a bit as new more promising applications come along. I’ve decided to compile a list applications I couldn’t live without in Linux.

KeepassX

I don’t know how I survived before I was introduced to this application. It efficiently manages all my passwords and provides a simple method to automatically type the passwords for me. It saves me time and energy. Plus, it can auto generate very complex passwords that makes my online presence much more secure.


Pidgin

I’ve been using this applications since back when it was Gaim. It has always been my #1 choice for multi-protocol messenger. I have tried numerous others but always come back to Pidgin because it is stable and just simply works. It allows me to rename my contacts (who keeps track of people by screen name anyway?) and organize them into groups.


Fluendo DVD Player

You need a break from time to time to watch DVD’s. That is where Fluendo comes in. It is not free but it works and works well providing a great sound and picture on Linux. The feature set is simple allowing you to focus on enjoying the movie.


Firefox

I used it originally as Mozilla, then it shed it’s bloat and became Firefox, the browser that changed everything. Now we have Chrome on the scene but I’m still holding true to Firefox because of its great longstanding support for Linux.


Banshee

I previously used Rhythmbox and Amarok prior to that. Amorok was nice but I moved away from running KDE and Amorok felt to heavy and out of place. I enjoyed Rhythmbox which shipped with Ubuntu and enjoyed its simplicity while still offering cover art, CD rip and internet radio.Ubuntu recently made the decision to switch to Banshee and I see why. It is similar to Rhythmbox, but with a much better interface and control over your music.


KeepNote

I need to keep track of things from time to time. That is where keepnote comes in. It is a simple note taking tool that stores notes in a folder structure layout. This is what is most natural to me. I’ve tried Tomboy and other note taking tools and none worked for my style of thinking like keepnote.


Eclipse

I am a programmer and require a IDE to do heavy projects. Eclipse is a great tool that can debug code by stepping through it one line at a time as well as connect to databases or any repository for tracking the code. Eclipse supports almost every language and has plugins that enable it to do just about anything.


VI

When needing to do simple edits from the console, nothing handles it like VI. No other editors works so well to always keep your hands from bounding all over the keyboard or forcing you to move off to the mouse. This is still the best editor in my opinion and will be for all time.


SQuirreL

Working on projects will almost always involve a database. Squirrel is my program of choice for connecting to a database to run SQL. It puts all new query results into new tabs so you can run new queries and keep your previous results. It’s interface is very java like, it can be slow at times and can be overwhelming at first but its list of features quickly makes up for this. It can edit data inline, have several connections to different databases and save all your connections in an easy to use list.
TrueCrypt
Security is an important thing. I use TrueCrypt to create encrypted volumes to secure my data. That way my important stuff stays safe even if my computer is lost.


CrashPlan

So much data is stored on computers now. You need to keep your data safe. That is why I use CrashPlan to backup that data safely so that if my computer crashes, I have a safe and secure backup that can be restored so that I haven’t lost any memory photos.



LibreOffice

These days I don't do much word processing or spreadsheets but if I need something powerful, LibreOffice is my choice. Formerly I used OpenOffice.org but once Oracle took over LibreOffice forked and is now the primary option shipped with most Linux distributions.

Well, that’s it. These are the main Linux applications I use on a regular basis. Over the years I’ve mostly stuck with the same applications and have only changed a couple and added as I’ve gone. Please feel free to leave in the comments your Linux applications you couldn’t live without.

Ubuntu 7.10 - Gutsy Gibbon

The latest version of Ubuntu was released but I didn't jump on the wagon right away to upgrade. I felt that nothing in the newer version had anything new I needed and that it wouldn't make a difference for me. Well, much to my surprise I was wrong. The new version doesn't have any major changes, just a lot of little ones.

So, the new version adds in all the latest programs like Firefox 2.0, Pidgin 2.2.1, OpenOffice 2.3 and Gnome 2.2 containing all of its goodness. In the new Gnome many enhancements were made to improve performance, features and usability.

One of the changes in Gnome is its interface. They have updated the themes a little bit and the way you select the theme. Now, you have all the theme related stuff (theme, background, font, interface, visual effects) in one place separated by tabs. The standard themes are nice (I like the new Clearlooks in dark blue) but you can always download or customize your own. There has been a change to the visual effects part. In Ubuntu 7.04 they added the ability to turn on and off special effects (compiz) by opening the "special effects" application. Now this has been moved into this new tabbed interface. For the special effects, there are three options. You can have no special effects, some effects (transparency and such) or full blown effects (wobbly windows).

One new application is the "Screens & Graphics" program in Ubuntu. This program allows you to easily setup your video card driver and monitors through a simple GUI interface. Now, I tried and tried, but I couldn't get this interface to get things setup for me. I have a unique monitor though that doesn't get properly detected so I'm not surprised to see an issue here so I manually went and setup my monitor the old fashioned way.

They have also upgraded Gaim where it is now the new Pidgin (the replacement for Gaim). The new interface was adapted nicely to the Ubuntu theme. I didn't like the new Pidgin at first when I used it in Windows but they have made several changes to its Linux counterpart and I must say, it fits in very nicely. Its default settings are very light and don't consume unneeded space.

For networking there has also been a big improvement. Ubuntu now has a nice GUI interface that easily lets you allow which network you want to connect to. It now integrates with wpa_supplicant so you just plug into the GUI interface the information (passcode, type and such) and it will then connect. It worked very nicely, though its nowhere near perfect yet but it is a step in the right direction.

Those are the major enhancements. Most of the other changes are small but nice. One major thing I noticed in the upgrade was the performance. My installation of Ubuntu on my computer was actually Ubuntu 5.10. I have upgraded the distribution 5 times now. I'm not sure at what point Firefox started performing slowly for me, but I had noticed recently that Google Docs and flash videos sometimes slowed down the system and if I tried to multi-task with one of these open and running the whole system would come to a halt. I found though, once I upgraded to the new Ubuntu 7.10 I was flying along in Firefox. It performs now like I upgraded my computer or something. I'm interested now to boot up the previous version and see if was just a bad upgrade or if it is the version of Firefox. Ultimately, it doesn't matter, all that matters is the new version with Firefox is fast and reliable.

All in all, the new version of Ubuntu is very usable, and they have added a few new utilities that will make it easier for the average user, but there is still some work to be done.