Ubuntu 12.04, Precise Pangolian

I’ve been using the newest long-term support (LTS) release of Ubuntu for awhile now, and I have some thoughts on it.

First, let me say that this release installed very easily to my new desktop.  I had no problems initially with the setup and Ubuntu detected everything.  Considering that I don’t have anything really proprietary on my desktop, everything should be detected without a problem.

I’ve been using it on this machine for a little less than a month.  The sound is solid, the HDMI off the motherboard works (including the integrated graphics).

Unity is amazing.  I’ve been trying out different programs; it’s interesting to see which programs have taken advantage of the Unity quicklists and which haven’t.

Now, onto my problems!

I really only have one problem and that’s a doozy of one:  A complete system crash caused by the shared RAM for graphics on my Ivy Bridge CPU.  It brings the computer to a complete standstill.  I have no keyboard, mouse, or anything, and the only way to fix it is to press the reset button or do a hard shutdown.  It happens randomly as well, so I don’t know what causes it, really.

BUT, it is fixed!

I enabled the “proposed” repository, and I’m running the newest kernel.  That seems to have fixed the problem, and I’m pleased that I can have the machine up and running for hours and not worry about it quitting on me.

Interested parties can find the computers “stats” here as well as some pictures and a desktop screenshot.

I’ve got all my programs I like installed, and even fixed a problem with Banshee.  There was some issue with my databases, and it was causing errors that made the program segfault when I was importing a CD or pulling in new music.  So, I deleted the corresponding dot files and folders, and restarted Banshee and I was in business!  Importing a CD caused no problems, and reimporting my music caused no problems.  We’ll see if it continues to work. I hope so.

I’d rate this release at a 4/5 penguins.  If they’d caught the Ivy Bridge error, I’d give it 5 penguins.

A better Ubuntu Unity Launcher – Part I by ~rylexr on deviantART

A better Ubuntu Unity Launcher – Part I by ~rylexr on deviantART.

Wow.  I really like this mock-up and could see it working really well for Ubuntu.  I hope they take some of these ideas and implement them to make Ubuntu better.

New Desktop!

Ahhh…

The joys of new hardware.

I’d been thinking of a new set-up every since I got my new job.

And… I have.

First some pictures, I think:

 The desk with the monitor on it and such.

The computer and printer..

This computer is a dual boot with Ubuntu Precise Pangolin and Windows 7.  Windows is for the games and Ubuntu is for everything else.

I’ve had no issues with either OS on this system, except for Windows just taking forever to update and reboot a bunch of times, but that’s normal.

Now for some specs:

• Case: Antec 900. 4 fans of cooling.
• Display: Asus… something.  It’s LCD, 1920×1080.
• 1 TB Hard drive.
• 8 GB of RAM.
• Motherboard: MSI Z77MA-G45
• CPU: Intel i5 3570K 3.40 GHz, 6MB cache.
• Logitech speakers.
• Logitech M510 mouse.
• Microsoft 4000 keyboard.
• Random DVD drive (it was like $20).

I don’t have a GPU as of yet.  We’ll see what I need as far as graphics go.

I probably have about $1000 into it, including the keyboard I bought and the monitor.  I’m liking it so far.  The motherboard has several USB 2.0 ports on the back and 2 hookups for the USB 3.0 on the front.  The case has 3, but if I decide to update the motherboard, then I’ll probably look for one that supports 3 USB 3.0 ports on the front.

Screenshot?  Screenshot:

So.  Here we go.  I’ll have a report about my mobile computing solution in another post!  I also might have a writeup about Precise in the near future too.  I’ve been using it for awhile and it’s really solid.