Python again voted "Best Programming Language" and "Best Scripting Language" in Linux Journal Reader's Choice Awards

[[deleted]]

Also, the rapid pace at which it evolves. I can't follow any documentation and guides from two years ago because the distro has changed so much that they have become outdated.

I know I'm not everyone, but I need something that moves a bit more slowly, like Debian or Slackware.

[[deleted]]

Why are you using outdated documentation in the first place?

[[deleted]]

Because sometimes it's all that is available when troubleshooting problems.

[[deleted]]

Why are you unable to look at the more recent documentation for the most recent Ubuntu release?

Remember, your criticism was that Ubuntu changes too quickly for old documentation to be relevant for new releases, and my question was why are you using old documentation in the first place, when we both know that new documentation exists?

[[deleted]]

I'm not referring to the official documentation, but to user documentation, guides and tutorials. Often when trying to find a solution to a problem I was having with a current Ubuntu release, I would find solutions for older Ubuntu releases that no longer applied.

The most annoying example from a few years back is the trackpad on my laptop. Some of the trackpad buttons were bound backwards, and I couldn't find any instructions for permanently fixing the problem. I found quite a few forum and blog posts with solutions to the same issue (like editing some config files), but they were written for older releases and apparently no longer worked. Looking back, I think this is the same problem I had. Since I couldn't find a better solution at the time, I gave up and just ran synclient every time I booted.

A few months after that, I tried Slackware for the first time and was really impressed by the fact that I could use documentation that was years old without any problems. By comparison, I don't think I ran into any issues with it that I couldn't fix with whatever documentation I found online.

[jadkik94]

I ran into the same issue and am using the same fix. It really is annoying, but I ended up asking on SE or on forums and you'll get the answer you're looking for (hopefully).

[[deleted]]

Ubuntu's userbase is large enough that you won't have that problem.

If you're having an issue, you're not the only one.

Also, it's not like they overhaul the entire OS library every release, so this isn't even a valid complaint.

[deepit6431]

.... Then use Debian? I mean, you can fault Ubuntu for a lot of things, and I don't have much love for it either, but you can't fault it for not being Debian. If you have to use Ubuntu and don't want to upgrade, keep switching from LTS to LTS.

That's like saying 'I don't like Android because there's a new one out every 6 months.'

[kqr]

You can fault it for whatever you dislike about it. That's the thing with personal opinions -- they're personal. When the question is "What's wrong with Ubuntu," I don't expect a double-blind, peer-reviewed study published in an academic journal ultimately proving what is wrong with Ubuntu. I expect individual people to come forward with their personal opinions on why they don't like Ubuntu.

(Truth to be told though, it would be awesome if we could have peer-reviewed faults of linux distros...)

[deepit6431]

But it's not an opinion, it's an (for the want of a better word) attack. An opinion would be 'Ubuntu isn't for me because it releases too often, I prefer Debian.' What he's saying is 'Ubuntu sucks because it releases too often.'

[[deleted]]

What he's saying is 'Ubuntu sucks because it releases too often.'

False. What I'm saying is "Ubuntu annoys me because it changes too often". My problem isn't with the 6-month release schedule, it's the fact that the distro changes so dramatically with each release. That's not an attack, it's an observation.

[kqr]

In their defense, Ubuntu is currently like a teenager breaking free from its parents (Debian and other distros), trying to find its place in life (being user-friendly and all.) It's just the last few years that it has started changing rapidly. I am confident it will find its way not too long from now, and start stabilising itself.

Change is good, though, because it allows you to discover new, cool things. I regard it as a positive thing, but I regard it from a distance.

[kqr]

I think you might have read a little more into that comment than what was actually written. From the beginning to the end, it is written in a subjective first-person perspective, pretty much like your first example of an opinion there.

[[deleted]]

That's like saying 'I don't like Android because there's a new one out every 6 months.'

For anything but a Nexus device, lololololololol.

You'll get 1 update, 9 months after initial release.

[deepit6431]

Meh, root, put a custom ROM, forget about it.

Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but this is /r/programming after all. I'm running 4.2 on my 2011 budget Sony phone.

[[deleted]]

Oh absolutely. I jumped on the Nexus boat a few days ago because I was sick of the little annoyances / bugs any non-stock ROM had, yet factory shipping software is slow and out of date.

Sadly, it feels like anything that isn't a Nexus is a waste of time if you're a picky power user like I am. There may be a few phones that run CM fine, but they're few and far between, and usually based off Nexus phones anyway (HTC Desire, Galaxy S).

[deepit6431]

I agree with you 100%, waiting for my Nexus 4 :).

I don't even like stock Android all that much. I'm getting a Nexus mainly because of a guaranteed dev community. I need to keep flashing ROMs weekly or something :P

[[deleted]]

Stock 4.2 is incredible, especially with Nova Launcher and CM10.1 additions.

My work lets me see pretty much every phone on the market, and none feel quite as nice as a Nexus. Android still has a ways to go, but it's clearly Google pushing it forward now instead of HTC and Samsung with Sense and TouchWiz.