Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal and the Unity Desktop

Since 1995, with my first install of Debian from 14 (or 16, can't remember) 1.4MB floppy disks, I have used many different Linux distributions.

Knoppix, PCLinuxOS, Dragon Linux where I first used KDE, Phat Linux (which doesn't even have a Wikipedia reference any more), Red Hat, Damned Small, and I can't remember what else. I even took a good look at Linux From Scratch before realizing that I didn't really want to take the time away from my family to deal with that. But who knows what tomorrow brings?

Until now, I've not even tried to use Ubuntu, touted often as The Most Popular Linux Of All Time. It's based upon Debian, a mix of packages from the various Debian builds, and after using Debian itself for nearly 16 years I didn't see a need to "muck things up".

Two things have come together to make me want to try it. First, VirtualBox, which allows me to try these things without having to dedicate an entire system to the effort.

Second, Canonical (Ubuntu's parent company) finally is putting in something that is NOT included in Debian: the Unity Desktop.

So I figured, I just got done with an article all about how Linux is flexible, that the same applications can be presented in ways to suit anyone's preferences with different window managers and desktop environments, so let's check out Unity.

Installing:

I grabbed the Alpha-2 CD from Ubuntu's CD repository. I chose the x86 install simply because this isn't a hardware test. My friend Steven Rosenberg already did one of those, if you're interested.

Ubuntu comes as a LiveCD. That is, you can run a full Ubuntu system directly from the CD. So you can "try before you buy", and even though loading programs will be slower from the CD than from a fixed disk, it's a great way to see if a default Ubuntu install will give you what you are looking for.

I'll just install it, since the usefulness of LiveCDs is beyond the scope of this article.

I like that, "For best results, please ensure that this computer: ...is plugged in to a power source"

So, Ubuntu, I must ask, if it's not plugged in, how is anyone seeing this, the second install screen?

It makes me wonder what kind of service calls Canonical has received over the years. I've done telephone tech support, and I can tell you there are some very interesting characters out there in the world.

Ok, laptops should be plugged in. Thank you, that does make sense. I guess the humor of the situation didn't come through as clearly as I thought it did.

Aesthetically, Ubuntu uses a pretty installer. The mild rainbow, the use of rounded corners, all those borderless graphics. At some point, I'm going to see if I can get a video card that Ubuntu doesn't support, maybe from my friend Steven above, and see how Ubuntu deals with that. The reason I bring this up is because while there are people who call the generally text-based Debian install "ugly", it ALWAYS works, and allows a system to install without a GUI at all, so that video debugging can continue on from there.

Two things jump out at me, technically, during this install.

First, files are loaded from the CD and downloaded off the 'Net (if you say to do so) as the settings for language, time zone, user name and such are being asked. This is an excellent feature, especially if the person is going to be sitting there the whole time, by minimizing the perceived time required for the install to complete.

I guess it's easy when the distribution is already set up to be a "desktop" install with all the decisions of utilities, programs and GUI already made by the distribution's developers. Chalk one up for "One Size Fits All", right along with "Any color, so long as it's black." In Ubuntu's case, that used to be brown, now it's purple.

Second, the "Who are you?" screen both checks the robustness of the user's password, and allows a simple selection for encrypting the /home directory.

Encryption is a wonderful thing, it creates a barrier to common information thieves. Laptops deserve to be routinely encrypted, and GnuPG and the history of PGP should be understood by everyone who wants to use a computer for more than playing games.

Just a click or two further on, I find myself in unknown territory. Canonical is trying to sell me stuff. I know they're in this as both a profit making venture and because getting quality software into the hands of as many people as possible is good for everyone, but Hey, does that really put the best foot forward to Free, Libre and Open Source Software to the "first time Linux user" for which I've heard Ubuntu is so good?

Anyway, the slide-show continues with OpenOffice (even though Natty Alpha is installing LibreOffice, the lead-in screens still say Ubuntu 10. So it's no surprise that they haven't yet been updated to fit the new software list), GIMP and several other iconic packages of the F/OSS universe, as well as a couple of plugs for buying music and support if needed. Ok, that's fair. It is, after all, their system to build and present as they wish.

One reboot and, there it is. Four virtual desktops, and a trash can. I will say I am impressed. I've seen systems try to overwhelm with activity so many times (cough*windows*cough) that simply getting out of the way is down right refreshing.

Sound, email, instant messaging and network configuration all right there where people can find them. It's clear that Canonical's working with focus groups is not going to waste. These are, I agree, the things a new user wants to be able to find right away, especially if they are coming to Linux from a Mac or Windows environment.

This is good.

The list of applications is also impressive, including FireFox 4 and LibreOffice.

Under "Ubuntu Software Center" we find the Ubuntu repositories. The variety is excellent, and I find many familiar packages that I use and enjoy, like Celestia and Kalzium, demonstrating the agnosticism of the Linux Desktop here as well, with KDE, GNOME and other applications working in harmony.

Attaching a DVD ISO image didn't instantly load, but as I said this is through Virtual Box. But this is also Linux, and I can see if the kernel saw me attach the removable "media"... No, it didn't. So this is not Ubuntu's fault.

But here at the command prompt, I decided to try running xine and then look for the DVD, and what happened? Ubuntu politely informs me that xine is not installed, but can be, "and here's how". That is a NEAT feature.

$ sudo apt-get install xine-ui

...and there it is.

My first disappointment. Knowing that an unencrypted DVD image is not a good test, I put a real DVD in a real drive, just to make sure. Automount and auto-launch worked, but the library to decode encrypted disks was not installed by default.

I didn't find anything named "libdvdcss2" in the Ubuntu Software Center, so I'm going to try VLC, this time installed from the GUI. Easy to find, install looks like it's going to "just work".

Ok, VLC installed through the GUI without trouble. VLC wanted to use /dev/dvd but that was not where it was mounted, I  had to browse for /media/The_Eagle_Has_Landed but it will not load. It seems that VLC isn't going to cooperate either, so much for the advice I saw once that VLC doesn't use the restricted libdvdcss libraries. I've always known to get them right away when building a system, so this is my first foray into how people who don't know what to look for have to deal with.

Back to the command line, and "apt-get install libdvdcss2"

But no, libdvdcss2 is not available.

Let's try Ubuntu Help! Well, after a bit of searching, I did find an answer: The Command Line.

No kidding, playing an encrypted DVD is possible, but only after opening the dreaded Command Line and typing, 

$ sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh

Yes, it worked, but it demonstrates that there is still work to be done. It is a terrible commentary on the state of the law in the US, and elsewhere I am told, that playing a previously cracked (for personal backup purposes, thank you, I have two kids who scratch DVDs like crazy) DVD ISO image can be played easily and quickly, but it takes a reasonable amount of work and a willingness to go that extra mile in terms of using the command line, even in a distribution renowned for its usability for people who aren't Linux savvy, just to play a legally purchased physical disk.

However, this so far has been the GNOME desktop environment, not Unity. I bopped over to Ubuntu Software to do a search for "Unity", and it says it's installed.

You'll have to forgive me for not recognizing GNOME from Unity, the customization done on the desktop interface, or not, is one of the ways different distributions distinguish themselves. It is possible, with enough work, to make GNOME look like almost anything, and the greatly rumored simplicity and usability of Unity seemed, to me, to be right there in front of me already. I recall a line from M*A*S*H that I think fits this, "That's Ok, I am Buddhist person."

The session manager at the login-screen does not use the word "Unity", but "Ubuntu Desktop Edition". Ok, I would have known that already if it had worked any of the times that I tried it, but no matter what I selected yesterday what had come up was the "Classic".

I installed the KDE session manager, KDM, and tried again after the suggestion that the "Desktop Edition" is Unity, and for whatever reason what didn't work yesterday worked today. UNITY! at last.

The file management functions are the only functions in the Unity environment. Note that there is no clock, no network configuration, no email, just file manipulation. Even the option to close the session is unselectable. 

Which is fine, this environment is for file manipulation and, it seems, nothing else.

Everything works, the applications are still installed even if they are not listed anywhere, but I think the population of the Templates directory is going to be a prime focus of Unity deployment, to "prime the pump" with starting points for various applications. Maybe each application installed should put a file template, if it uses files, into Templates directory so that the user of the Unity Desktop will have a starting point for using that application. LibreOffice will get several templates, of course, one for each element of the office suite.

One thing that I find very strange is that I could find no way to get OUT of the Unity Desktop, except to use VirtualBox to send it a "reset" signal. Then the usual, or at least not an unusual, logout screen came up and everything proceeded as normal.

A reminder, maybe, that this is in fact an Alpha release of Ubuntu. I admit to being rather spoiled by the various Linux distributions and software releases over the years, in that they always seem to work pretty well regardless of the version numbers that are attached to them. Of course, the reverse is true as well, that if there is a package that doesn't work out the way I want it to, or maybe that should be that I don't work the way IT wants to, version numbers don't mean anything then either. It may become more evolved and stable, but the application and I just never work out, exactly like it may be possible to get along to some extent with someone without ever liking them.

This seems to me to be a good way to end this preview of the Unity Destkop and review of Ubuntu 11.04, Natty Narwhal. There is no need to go through individual applications, because those applications are standard across all Linux systems. LibreOffice works the same way on all the different operating systems it's built for, as just one example.

With Ubuntu, I see an excellent choice for the new computer user or someone who is new to Linux. Installation of the system is direct and simple without being simplistic, applications are easy to find and quick and efficient to install. I saw only one instance where an experienced Linux user would be a good idea to have around, and that only because of the regulatory environment that effects the world, not just Linux or Ubuntu.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the tour.