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Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala released

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121–130 of 170 posts

Re: Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala released

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely wrong. I wish ppl would stop spreading this nonsense. 64 bit is actually slower in practice, since addresses double in size. It also causes nearly double the memory consumption, since all libraries become twice as big, so when you upgrade to 64 bit, you should actually double the memory you wanted on 32 bit. There are only 2 reasons why you need 64 bit: * You need to compute extremely large numbers. You'll…

Your argument would be more valid when comparing for example the PPC32 to PPC64, but for IA32 vs AMD64 you are missing: - IA32 is register starved ISA, AMD64 is not. It has doubled the amount of general registers. - AMD64 doesn't have to support the x87 FPU baggage. As a result, it is simpler to deal with fp math.

IIRC AMD64 does support x87, but Window/Linux have chosen to 'standardize' on SSE. In this respect x86-64 is a 'version' of x86 where all processors are guaranteed to have SSE and not need x87.

Re: Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala released

#122
post #49

What are people's favorite guides for setting up Ubuntu? http://www.funnestra.org/ubuntu is really good but they don't have a 9.10 update yet.

`sudo do-release-upgrade` :) In all seriousness, "guides" for setting up Ubuntu are most likely unnecessary or superfluous; they'll just go into some random area of "customization" that 95% of users probably don't need or care about. If you already have an older version of Ubuntu, just run the command I mentioned, or go to System->Update Manager to handle the upgrade, and get on with your day. If you don't have Ubunt…

> In all seriousness, "guides" for setting up Ubuntu are most likely unnecessary or superfluous; they'll just go into some random area of "customization" that 95% of users probably don't need or care about.

Guides that target a particular system are still useful (i.e. "How to install Ubuntu 9.10 on a Thinkpad x200") because they are guiding you through the stuff that doesn't work out of the box, even if they are minor issues. (Or hidden options to make something that 'works ok' or 'sorta works' into something that works well)

Re: Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala released

#123
post #30

Some googling shows that the VMWare Tools are not yet compatible with 9.10. Does anyone know how quickly VMWare usually gets around to updating tools after an Ubuntu update?

You can usually update the tools by using parts of openvmtools.

http://patrickmylund.com/blog/how-to-install-vmware-tools-on...

Re: Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala released

#124
post #93
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How long has it been since you looked at Ubuntu's fonts? I use both OS X and Ubuntu, and Ubuntu is at least equal to OS X these days IMO.

I dunno... http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu139/jsz0/fonttest.png

They look like different fonts and different weights (heavier fonts, emboldened, are more readable at smaller sizes). Both look ugly OSX ones are too ragged, Ubuntu are too sharp. Is it the exact same font being rendered by the different engines??

Re: Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala released

#126
post #82

Its all well and good for Ubuntu to push further ahead but they would do a real big favor to the push of Linux on the Desktop if they could solve 1 major issue , remove the ugliness in the default rendering of the Fonts. Yes, i know it can be done via a bazillion font config options and yes its very powerful and flexible, but lets get it right by default.

Well.. Ubuntu Font rendering was way better than XP (for me). I never used any windows version after that.

But now I'm pretty sure that no operating system can beat my Ubuntu system in font rendering. maybe after this little hack. http://rewind.themasterplan.in/2007/07/15/sexy-smooth-fonts-...

Re: Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala released

#127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Basically, here's what's going on: 1) There aren't many free typefaces for daily use that are beautiful, so you have to buy (or commission) several and "open source" them. 2) Techniques for AA font rendering that maximize aesthetics and readability are protected by numerous software patents. Years ago there was a short-lived patch in Xorg that had a modern font-AA algorithm that held its own against the competition,…

All true. Ubuntu's avowed mission is to bring Linux to the Masses. For the masses, a computer still "looks" like Windows. Ubuntu being a Funded initiative unlike Arch(my choice), Gentoo, Crunchbang et all needs to fund the development of typography on Linux. Yes, its possible to download msttcorefonts (with some creativity you could also get the Consolas set of fonts) and get Cleartype or Os X type smoothing - but as…

I think you overestimate how closely "the masses" pay attention to fonts. (Unless you're talking about "the masses" of programmers and designers, which actually is still a healthy chunk of Ubuntu's potential market at this point.) Yeah ok the hinting isn't so great and Bitstream Vera Sans is a little too wide but it's not THAT bad.

Re: Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala released

#128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amen. I just can't get excited about fixing broken stuff on linux by tweaking text files any longer.

Is editing the registry or hunting down drivers for a new version of Windows better? Or how about waking up to Snow Leopard having deleted your $HOME folder? Operating systems have their issues - it's inevitable...

> Is editing the registry or hunting down drivers for a new version of Windows better?

I can't remember the last time I edited the registry or had to install a driver manually.

Don't get me wrong, I run Ubuntu and I like it. The upgrade process on the whole is much better than a even a few years ago. I just loathe upgrading since it can take weeks to iron out problems with the upgrade. Invariably there are issues with suspend/resume, video drivers, randr, gnome preferences borked, etc. Perhaps these problems will go away in the not too distant future now that more and more manufacturers are shipping Ubuntu pre-installed.

Re: Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala released

#129
post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity ... why do you use the 64bit version? Do you have more than 4GB of ram?

IIRC 64-bit isn't just about memory size. x86_64 is a chance to use things like SSE for floating point rather than x87. The older floating point units are still on the processors, but in a depreciated fashion (Windows/Linux ABI don't use them). You can use SSE for floating point on a 32-bit system if you compile all of your apps yourself (ala Gentoo), but then the resulting binaries are not 'x86-compatible' because e…

You also get a ton more registers, 64-bit registers, and other nice processor features.

Re: Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala released

#130
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Basically, here's what's going on: 1) There aren't many free typefaces for daily use that are beautiful, so you have to buy (or commission) several and "open source" them. 2) Techniques for AA font rendering that maximize aesthetics and readability are protected by numerous software patents. Years ago there was a short-lived patch in Xorg that had a modern font-AA algorithm that held its own against the competition,…

Is there source code out there for a patent infringing Ubuntu font fix?

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