The dangers of pre-release software…

As previously mentioned, I’m running the Lucid Lynx preview of Ubuntu. It’s due for release 29 April, and I can hardly wait. My experience with it so far has been extremely positive.

One issue with pre-release software is that it’s in a state of flux until it actually ships. I receive update notifications pretty much every day, and some of the updates are pretty major (274 packages this morning). The most recent update broke things in a bizarre way that took me about an hour to fix:

During the update, compiz was removed and my nVidia driver broke (kernel changes). I quickly figured out the nVidia problem and fixed it, but it took me a while to figure out why I couldn’t activate compiz. It didn’t occur to me that it would be gone. Only compiz was removed–the setting managers (simple and complex) were both left untouched. Reinstalling compiz fixed the problem.

The symptom, in case someone else runs into this, is that setting Desktop Appearance would hang the Desktop Appearance manager. Even after reinstalling compiz, the next run of Desktop Appearance hung. The run after, though, worked, re-enabling all of my desktop tweaks.

I did have to go back and make my standard compiz tweaks, though–those weren’t preserved when compiz was removed and reinstalled.

Running pre-release code can get you access to cool, cutting edge features. But it’s not without it’s potential pitfalls. And with open source, you don’t get to cry when it breaks. You get to figure it out on your own (with help from Google) and fix it yourself. “If it breaks, you get to keep both pieces.”

Ubuntu + Chrome: Rock Solid Web Browsing

I’m using the soon-to-be-released Lucid Lynx (Ubuntu 10.4) and I have to say it really rocks. Coupled with Google Chrome, it’s the best web browsing experience I’ve had on my laptop. Rock solid. If a page load disrupts things, Chrome identifies the faulty page and kills it. In the rare case that the browser itself gets torn apart, the next stop automatically rebuilds all the open browser windows and tabs. No worries about losing your place. And it’s fast, too.

One thing that did bother me was the way Chrome uses its own UI elements to paint the window borders and control buttons. The buttons wind up on the opposite side from every other apps buttons. There is a way to fix that, though. In Chrome Options, on the Personal Stuff tab, select ‘Use system title bar and borders’. Chrome will take up a little more space, but it’ll look the same as other windows and the window controls will be where you expect them.

I’ll be writing up a little more on Ubuntu shortly, as the release date approaches, so watch this space. For now, the pre-releases are rock solid and if you like to live on the edge, feel free to install now. No need to wait for the April 29 release date.