Oh, great… another Ubuntu upgrade…
I have been running Ubuntu for years now. I think the first version I installed was 5.10 (the Breezy Badger, to use the whimsical code name), and I have been using it as my main operating system since then. I usually do in-place upgrades when new releases come out (every six months). Generally, these upgrades are painful (I have never had an upgrade go smoothly), but are overall worth it for the speed or features that they bring to the table.
Earlier this week, I upgraded from 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) to 9.10 (Karmic Koala). I have not done a clean install on this computer since I first built it back in May of 2008, so that would make this my third Ubuntu upgrade since then. This is by far the worst upgrade experience that I have had to date. The actual install process was relatively smooth (a rarity for Ubuntu), but when it finished, I found that it had created all sorts of issues. Here are the problems that I have found so far since upgrading:
- Significantly longer boot times (both to the login screen and from login to desktop)
- Mythfrontend not working
- ATI remote not working
- Sound and video not working on every boot (it comes and goes)
- Sound (when 'working') full of loud pops and crackles
- Programs crashing and freezing
- Changed a number of default fonts to less attractive alternatives
- Changed default desktop to XFCE from Gnome
Now, these problems aren't altogether major (the system still works, and I can do most of the things I need to - most of the time), and certainly aren't insurmountable (I've already fixed a few of them). I also admit that many of them are due to me tweaking and bolting non-standard bits on to the install in the 18ish months since I first set it up (not the best situation for an upgrade at the best of times). Still, I think it may be the last straw. I'm just tired of fixing and refixing problems with the OS (the sound, mythfrontend, and remote are all things that I have had to fix at least once before - if not more). It can be fun when I am in the right mood and when the problem is new so I can learn from it, but the third or fourth time I need to spend hours messing with and testing sound libraries just to watch a TV show it loses a bit of its charm.
Just for comparison's sake, what about the OS has improved over the previous version?
- Firefox 3.5 (which I could have installed under 9.04 if I really wanted to)
- Other things that I neither notice or use
So the question then is, why did I upgrade? I knew that there wasn't a lot that this release would add or change, and I certainly didn't want to mess around fixing the OS after the upgrade (which I assumed would be necessary - though not to this extent). Honestly, I don't know why I upgraded. Perhaps the need to run the latest and greatest overruled my common sense. It wouldn't be the first time.
Where do I go from here? the way I see it, I have three options.
- Fix my current install (Pros: keep most of my settings and tweaks. Cons: time and frustration, plus need to do it all again in 6 months)
- Do a clean install of Ubuntu 9.10 (Pros: Keep the OS and programs I know and like, hopefully more stable and upgradeable than the current house of cards. Cons:Need to start from scratch on customization, including things I don't even remember doing)
- Switch to Windows 7 (Pros: No need to dual-boot for games, no more living in the Linux ghetto for HW and SW, I really like the OS. Cons: Less customizability, have to find suitable Windows alternatives for Linux programs I use, I want to keep running Linux)
I'm not sure what way I'm going to go. Right now option #3 is looking mighty nice, especially considering I already have a copy of Ultimate on the way (originally intended for the laptop, but I think that can keep on the RC for the time being). I doubt I'll do #2, I don't have the patience for a complete reinstall right now. For the moment, though, I'll probably just let it sit and fix the problems that are really annoying me as they come up.
Perhaps the real question should be this: if this release is the Karmic Koala, then what have I done to deserve this?
The Legend of Cross Stitch
The Mario cross-stitch worked out fairly well, so when I went looking for an idea for the pattern for my next project, I didn't stray too far from that concept. I didn't want to just move on to the next Mario game (Mario 2 is the black sheep of the family, after all), so I went to the other major Nintendo classic that was born in that era. I think it turned out quite well:
So much blue...
Pumpkin party time
I am not a great fan of Halloween. There is something about the practice of dressing up and going door to door asking for candy that is just a little weird. The whole 'people should be frightened' mentality is also a little strange (I dislike horror movies for the same reason). I don't avoid every part of Halloween, though. There is something about pumpkin carving (and the big orange squash in general) that is very appealing. It's an interesting medium, and it's more than a little fun to work with. I don't bother with the usual scary faces, spiders, or bats, though. I try to be a little less 'Halloween' and a little more 'look at this wacky pumpkin'.
Last year, we had a bunch of pumpkins growing in our back yard. The vines ended up pretty much taking over the rest of the garden, but we did get some impressive specimens as a result.
How we got that cat-shaped one, I'll never know...
There was one more that was even larger than the big one there, but it was chopped up and frozen by the time this picture was taken (we are still going through it - muffins, pies, and so on). There were also a few more that weren't worth picking (tiny little guys). It was an impressive haul, considering that the previous year's harvest was just a single sad-looking guy. As you can see, we carved two of them (the green ones, orange is so cliche...). A closer look at them are in the full post, as well as this year's attempt.
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- Ranadok: When it does it for every third song like today, I end up suspicious of any song that doesn't have lyrics within the first four seconds. May 9, 2012
- Ranadok: Sometimes my phone puts one of the jazzier stock ringtones into the music shuffle on an infinite loop. Sometimes I don't notice. May 9, 2012
- Ranadok: To whichever sibling I stole this music from: you have good taste. To whichever sibling I stole that other music from: *slow head shake* April 29, 2012
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