Why I don't recommend Ubuntu anymore
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00:00 Intro
00:29 Sponsor: Get maximum MS Office compatibility with OnlyOffice
01:24 The Golden Age of Ubuntu
03:02 Abandoning the Desktop
04:38 The Desktop Problem
06:45 The Apps Problem
09:27 Ease of Use
10:50 Ubuntu is still good
11:56 Sponsor: Get your Linux laptop or desktop!
12:28 Support the channel
Ubuntu was glorious, back then. It single-handedly turned the Linux desktop from something that was only usable by really knowledgeable people, into something that was really accessible to the masses, even then.
Then in short succession, they dropped Unity, version 7 for the desktop, and version 8 which was meant to be the successor, that brought convergence between device type, they dropped Mir, their display server that was meant to replace X.org and be an alternative to Wayland, and they basically settled for GNOME 3.
Ubuntu has a desktop problem. Since it basically abandoned the leadership of the desktop to the community, it also doesn’t seem to anticipate things very much. Which means that the extensions they apply to GNOME pull them backwards.
Waiting 6 months to get what everyone else has sucks, and you get a Frankenbuntu mishmash of versions of apps and libraries, that can’t really be as stable as having the whole lot on the same version number.
Ubuntu also has fixed repo versions for apps, desktop environments, and libraries. Only security fixes come through, apart from a few apps, like web browsers. This means that this frankenbuntu is locked in place. If you use 22.04 LTS, you’re never getting the full GNOME 42 in your repos.
Ubuntu also has an apps problem. Ubuntu pushes Snaps, their own containerized solution.
On the desktop, Snaps have issues. These issues were shared in the past by other similar formats, like Flatpak, or Appimages. But nowadays, it’s really, really late to the party. It doesn’t support dark mode integration. It doesn’t integrate with themes. it doesn’t offer a way to solve these issues, contrary to Flatpak and the Flatseal app for example.
Because it uses fixed repos, without feature updates, it needs a way to bring application updates to the desktop, and this way, is supposedly Snaps. The issue is, the snap store doesn’t seem to have as many desktop apps as Flathub has, and snap as a solution is getting increasingly outdated, slow to launch, and less well integrated than Flatpak. It’s also being aggressively pushed to Ubuntu users, and this impacts downstream distros, for example, Canonical decided to only ship Chromium as a Snap, which meant that other distros, like Linux Mint, had to take on the burden of packaging and maintaining it themselves if they didn’t want to adopt the snap version.
Ubuntu is still very easy to use. But its crown in terms of “the easiest distro for beginners” is long gone. Nowadays, plenty of options are better than Ubuntu for complete Linux beginners.
Linux Mint has a relentless drive to keep working on what made Ubuntu great in the first place: everything must have a GUI to configure it. Zorin OS does as well, **even though its GNOME implementation is also a frankenbuntu, or frankenzorin or whatever.**
These 2 options alone are, in my opinion, much better for beginners than Ubuntu. They have more quality of life features, like built in accent colors, more configuration tools, and they support more software, plus all the software made for Ubuntu.
ubuntu
Turns out I missed that Ubuntu 22.04 will actually use GNOME 42. Doesn't really defeat my point, as it hasn't been current for a while now, and it still doesn't have updates to most of its apps, but mistakes need to be addressed 🙂
I am SO GLAD to see 'Dependancy Hell' going away.
You helped ne decide to make my primary CAD Station dual drive/dual boot to UBUNTU/Mint . Thanks !
I only wish direct ubuntu alternatives had better gnome support. Popos doesn't promise gnome will consistently work (although it does work), and the Linux mint subreddit was extremely against the idea of gnome on mint.
Rn I'm using solus and possibly opensuse, but it would be nice to have something comparable to ubuntu pre snap
Ubuntu was the first distro I ever used! I got introduced to Ubuntu/Linux through a defensive cybersecurity competition called CyberPatriot; one of the virtual machines we had to secure was an Ubuntu system. I don't currently use it, but it introduced me to Linux and a whole new world in computers.
Nah, bro. Having old packages doesn't matter, I guarantee that 90% of users can't even tell what's different after an update. And yeah, snaps suck, but just ignore them and use flatpak. These are all non-issues. Wanna know what actually is an issue? Googling "how to X in linux" in a distro that isn't Ubuntu and getting results only for Ubuntu. Hell, this happens even if you specifically Google the distro you're using. I'll keep recommending Ubuntu until that stops happening. At which point I'll recommend whatever takes its spot on the search results.
Lot of incorrect info here. The issue of different package version came from 12.04, when Ubuntu moved to unity, in order for the dash to work and nautilus. This has been so since 12.04 when Ubuntu jumped from gnome 2 to unity.
While flatpak has a lot more support and a lot more software, most of them are packages maintained by contributors and most of those contributions aren't checked and analyzed for backdoors or even malware. It's just some dude with a GitHub repo pushing stuff to flat hub. While on snaps, the info is better pointed out regarding who is maintaining the package. Also by default, flapaks have a lot of dangerous paths and permissions allowed by default and sandboxing is still lackluster compared to snaps.
It's also noteworthy pointing that while Ubuntu has issues with package versions (that don't impact usage), zorin and mint have a lot more issues. From being behind on kernel and security updates, incoherent themes (flatpak apps don't follow mint x,y and l themes for icons or grk3 themes for the most part). While on Ubuntu, snap follows yaru theme out of the box while also showing yaru theme on flatpak packages, as long as you install yaru themes from flat hub repo. So it's way more consistent with themes than mint and zorin are.
Out of the box, Ubuntu is just as user friendly as mint and zorin are, and you avoid having to use a sub distro of a sub distro (debian > Ubuntu > mint or zorin), specially when you have less updates and development on the cinnamon desktop compared to behemoths like gnome and KDE from red hat to canonical.
So yeah, take that with a grain of salt.
Edit: let's not forget that the point of LTS releases is to be solid as a brick wall, and just like debian, having something stable means having older and more polished software.
I got bitten hard buying a computer that just didnt want to run Linux… a nightmare … so your sponsors that concentrate on Linux hardware compatability will be my next pruchace.
Mate is English your second language? Your command of English is better than most native speakers. You find simple and acurate vocabulary that is smooth and articulae …a pleasure to listen to.
Another point that was not mentioned is that Ubuntu uses a lot more memory by default then other distros like Mint. On an older system that uses Intel sandy bridge at only 8GB of memory there is a major difference in performance from Ubuntu 18.04 compared to Ubuntu 20.04. Matter in fact Ubuntu 20.04 was so much slower that I declined to upgrade to 22.04 when I had the chance. At that point I updated my entire computer system to handle the later version and there have been no problem since.
I hope @ubuntu team notice this issues. It's very important for Ubuntu future
Long time Ubuntu user here. Switched my laptop to fedora last month and haven't looked back. I'll move back the moment they find their mojo again.
I am running Ubuntu but I use the nix package manager for many things. There are a few steps to set it up correctly, including editing config files, but for users of the command line it gives the best results. The features of nix are amazing next to all the other package managers.
To be honest Ubuntu was the first distro that i install and the community help me with literally everything i just never updated it and still use 18.04
You mentioned that their were better alternatives to Ubuntu for beginners.
Can anyone tell me the distros that make Ubuntu not recommended anymore?
I still use Ubuntu, btw… 🤫🤭
I have 0-Zero problem with them looking to make money on this… but the use of force into an inferior/start up type elements such as snaps… Is no different than forced Windows updates. In my control panel I can see them pushing a premium whatever… And snaps updates are looking pretty forceful while at the same time taking away functionaliy that was previously there…
Some of my friends guess Ubuntu because there is no need to force anything on the user.
ubuntu is a crap and literally nothing works there
– slack – only via firefox
– opera – forget
– chrome – forget about it
– any different UI based software – forget about it
I disagree STRONGLY. Ubuntu + Unity traumatized me to such an extent, that I would not touch anything Debian-related for 10+ years to come. If Ubuntu is the definitive Debian experience, then I should steer clear of it… or so I thought. Now I use Debian (and Fedora) daily, and it is wonderful. I’m not ready to touch Ubuntu yet. Dropping Unity is a huge step forward, but it’s not enough to entice me.
The Best Distro is the One that Works for You 🐧
Thanks for this. Will probably go with Fedora. Surprised to hear you found the installer more difficult. I’m a Linux Noob and didn’t have any trouble getting it set up as a VM in windows.
i think Ubuntu being forced out of Mir and they Eye Candy DE, was to avoid being a new apple company!!
I used 20.10 once and it was my worst experiwbce with linux
I now use zorin and it’s just MUCH better.
Errr…… Mr.LinuxExperiment; the main issue has always been that people aren't technogeeky/nerdy enough.
I first installed Fedora (Core2) and it was difficult (Even for me).
Your videos need to be understandable by WinIdiots……..
Personnally i use the MATE desktop for Linux Mint 21.1 Vera now. (bcz i'm a developer, i modified the base kernel to a kernel fully compatible with Threadrippers and AMD radeon PRO latest gpus with the maximum performance)
I would totally switch to Ubuntu if only the hardware support were better.
It seems no matter what system I install it on, there's always some problem with audio, or display, or bluetooth/wifi drivers.
I don't think Ubuntu is ignorant they are just slow to the ball, they may go away from Snaps and use flatpaks especially if devs move away from snap with the steam deck now on the field
I am a Brazilian old guy who used Red Hat in the begining (I bought a Red Hat CD on the nternet around 2000 and surprised my entire college community with the ease of install), Mandrake, and an old local distro called Kurumin (based on Knoppix). Ease of use, stability, disponibility, allways got the heart of the users. The Free Software model is not based on making a lot of money. It is based on colaboration, quality and liberty. Ubuntu company sent me a dozen cds for my students 20 years ago (remember when they used to do that?). Services, not software. Liberty, not dependency. Quality, not "innovations". I trust my old blender (not only the software, the noisy machine). I wanna trust Linux again.
Linux newbie here. Tried to install Debian without success. But Ubuntu easy to install and use without reading manual. It just works. I don't believe Linux experts any more.
Snaps will make ubuntu obsolete for plenty of Linux users.
debian unix has a faster boot time than ubunutu server that's why i switched to debian faster boot times only reason
What say you about the Deepin OS or do you have a video on that already?
I loved 16.04 and 16.10 LTS. I tried 20.04 and hated it. It was likely because I was using Gnome instead of ANY other DE but it wasn't what I remembered. I switched from Windows 10 to Linux recently, but I wanted to avoid Ubuntu. I tried mint and had issues with Proton compatibility. Swapped out to Debian 12 and have had a great time so far. I'm trying to figure out Wayland so I have a smooth desktop experience. Wish me luck!
fedora
Only Office is not Open Source.
While it may not be for beginners it has a place in the ecosystem. I have an HP DL60 G9 that's been deprecated by HP. HP servers are semi-proprietary and very finicky to deal with. The only two OS's that are officially supported are RHEL and Ubuntu. So that limits my choice as to what I can run. I chose RHEL since I could get a developer edition to setup my home lab for free. (Given RHEL's new pal n on going closed source I am now reevaluating UBUNTU)
POP!_OS
Ubuntu completely dropped support for 32-bit executables. No 32-bit windows games through Wine anymore and no 32-bit games through Flatpak either. Dropping 32-bit CPUs i get, nobody uses Pentium4s anymore with current OSs, they're just too old and not even relevant due to low cost as more powerful old 64-bit capable computers are basically free, Most older games are still 32-bit tho and dropping support for that on the formerly most user friendly Linux distro is insane.
"ok click*, and- uh- yeah.. *click and… oh– click aaaand here's an IOU on my first born–
Hi. What distribution do you recommend for a multimedia creator? Video editing plus music composition, multi-track recording, mastering and similar audio processing. Maybe Ubuntu Studio or maybe another distro. What experiences do you have and are you having fun with it. Thanks.
Too much Microsoft integration happening..
0:25 really pulled a linus there didn’t you
I started with Slackware/SuSE in 1994, using it on Desktop until Windows XP. Then I only used Debian for Servers. Ubuntu brought Linux back to my desktop with 6.06 but nowadays it feels more like a tech demo than a usable operating system. Too much stuff I hate, too much trying to push solutions into my throat, too little focus on the user.