 Visitor Reviews |
Ubuntu Unity
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Reader supplied reviews for Ubuntu Unity
Average rating
8.6 from 17 review(s)
Version: 24.04
Rating: 8
Date: 2024-07-11
Votes: 3
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I've installed it on my refurbeshed macbook pro retina "13 2015. I managed to activate the backlight on the keybord and installed the gnome software center. Way better than Mac os Monterey in term of freedom to install what you want. It warms up because is summer and it is a nine years old machine and the webcam doesnt work. I love Ubuntu Unity it works well for my needs. I'm using flatpak to. I like to use my macbook to watch series on pluto tv or other free platform and theres no problem with Ubuntu Unity.
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Version: 24.04
Rating: 1
Date: 2024-06-15
Votes: 0
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Great idea, but poor in reality.
I'm binning it within 12 hours of installation to metal.
It's far too resource heavy: screen fluttering and tearing.
The file manager creates unwanted folders, and places folders on the desktop, which is a threat to personal data.
The Tweaks tool that is supposed to allow the user to configure the interface to their liking is next to featureless, to the point of being useless.
Most of the problems come from this distro being Ubuntu dependent. The rest come from it being a vanity project.
Including Firefox as a snap that does not interact with the system is stupid. Downloading a PDF or printing a page to file is impossible.
OK, that's Mozilla's bad, but why include it when a properly installable version is available. But you have to install the Firefox repository.
It would be better to use the Lomiri desktop on another install, if it would even work.
And if GTK and X11 are facing obsolescence, then why flog a dying horse in the hope of reviving it?
Why is there not an Arch with Unity?
Why is there not a Puppy with Unity?
Why is there not a Sparky with Unity?
Ubuntu is trying to be a big one on the desktop, and no longer suitable for older computers, as is anything based on Ubuntu.
Why have so many formerly Ubuntu based distros migrated to Debian?
I rest my case.
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Version: 24.04
Rating: 10
Date: 2024-06-14
Votes: 1
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Hardware: Dell 3853 (originally Ubuntu 18.04 OEM)
After testing a Debian based distro (Kanotix) via a Ventoy (1.0.99) USB flashdrive, my system would no longer boot, not even after flashing the BIOS, not even after flashing the BIOS with the latest firmware from Dell (2024-06-05). After disabling secure boot, I was able to launch my proper install via Super Grub2 (so it wasn't Ventoy at fault) & recover my latest data.
But this is no good way to run a system.
So I reinstalled Ubuntu 18.04, which recovered the BIOS. But that's out of date now, so I installed Ubuntu-Unity 24.04 as a rational/logical decision: it's an Ubuntu machine. And it was a good decision.
Ubuntu-Unity 24.04 is excellent, a massive improvement over previous versions.
The stuttering, lag, and screen-tearing have gone. It's now a very smooth and very user-friendly system, with lots of very useful tools, settings and shortcuts. So much can be done from the keypad, it's almost mouseless.
It feels like the original, but even better.
The launcher is so much better than Gnome Shell, which feels gutless in comparison.
Ubuntu-Unity is very conducive for more productivity: it's more like a very pretty server than a desktop environment that gets in ones way.
Good work by the development team: this one's a keeper.
Long may it continue.
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Version: 24.04
Rating: 9
Date: 2024-05-09
Votes: 3
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I previously installed Ubuntu-Unity 22.04 and reviewed so I won't repeat the same talking points.
To summarize I was impressed with Unity (which is much better than Gnome IMHO).
I performed a clean install on an old Lenovo Thinkpad X220 laptop.
The boot and installation process went off without a hitch, all laptop peripherals worked.
The new Calamares installer was easy to follow and efficient. Performance is great with the older laptop (8GB RAM, 128GB SSD). I installed Steam, loaded and flawlessly ran a couple of older games on the Sandy Bridge CPU/IGPU.
Some of the new touches in 24.04 LTS that I liked:
Ubuntu software store isn't installed by default. I prefer this as I found automatic Snap package update popups from the software store annoying. I prefer to apply my own updates manually via the terminal. Synaptic is included as a graphical method for installing software; it gets the job done without a lot splash.
The Stacer optimization utility included is a nice touch. A cross between Windows Task Manager and an OS monitor/optimizer.
Currently no sign of UWidgets in this version. Hopefully the developer(s) can soon deliver on the tease that was sent out a couple of versions ago. Otherwise everything seems to work pretty well. Unity 7.7 is quick and efficient; I hope they can keep it going for years to come (given the uncertain future of X11 and GTK).
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Version: 24.04
Rating: 9
Date: 2024-04-29
Votes: 6
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The iso file is significantly smaller compared to other ubuntu flavors. I installed it on a 2011 Asus K42De Dual Core AMD N660 and 12GB of RAM. It ships with Unity 7.7.0. The new flutter installer feels light and modern. Fresh boot only takes ~880MB and the launcher feels snappy. Booting takes slightly longer than my LMDE 6. Wifi and audio works out of the box and the audio server is PulseAudio. But I cannot run appimage software because libfuse2t64 is not pre-installed so I gotta install it manually. Also, flatpak isn't pre-installed.
I give it a 9 for the snappy performance and the elegance of unity DE.
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Version: 22.10
Rating: 10
Date: 2023-05-29
Votes: 12
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Ubuntu Unity 22.04.1 LTS (Which does not appear as a reviewable option).
So glad to see the Unity shell back again, apparently with Canonical/Ubuntu official recognition.
Having used Ubuntu since 2007, occasionally LinuxMint, I switched to CrunchBang#!; but when Ubuntu with Unity was launched, I adopted it immediately. It was much easier to use that OpenBox, like having a cellphone interface on a laptop/desktop (I think that was the idea, because Ubuntu had the long since abandoned idea of an Ubuntu smartphone, although UBPorts are still working on it).
When Canonical/Ubuntu abandoned Unity, I went back to CrunchBang#!, until Corenominal Phil decided to abandon that project. So I adopted wattOS, until that project was put on hold, and distrohopped Debian LXDE (good if you know how to use OpenBox and write keyboard shortcuts in XML), to Mabox (even better), then BunsenLabs, which I found to get slower and had terrible menus, then SparkyLinux Minimal GUI, which while very good, nearly messed up my printer, and has a very inconsistent repository (there are a lot of 'ghost programmes' in there that do not have an 'installation candidate' (no disrespect to Pavroo: they work hard, maybe too hard, and deserve more support)).
So welcome home new-old friend, on my main machine again.
The sidebar Launcher is so convenient and easy to configure.
The (Super Key) Launcher, HUD (Head Up Display), and Menu Bar do actually 'just work'. Maybe I'm getting lazy, but they're a lot more convenient that having to go into OpenBox .config and manually edit XML files, much as I enjoy doing that.
(The problem with OpenBox is its lack of consistency. Every OpenBox-fronted distro has a different menu. wattOS, Mabox and SparkyLinux's menus are all pretty clean. BunsenLabs' is almost unnavigable, a 'horse created by a committee'. OpenBox needs some kind of consensus to be viable. Obmenu-Generator is apparently 'abandonware'. Why? It worked!)
IMHO, Unity keeps out of the way, and makes operation almost mouseless. Most operations can be performed via the keyboard.
The fact that the person who 'relaunched' Unity 'DE' was probably conceived around the same time as Unity makes it especially poignant.
Unity was a futuristic project, and now it is once again a present project for the future.
Please don't give up on this, unless you can make something even better.
Thank you to the Ubuntu Unity developers.
And thank you to DistroWatch.
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Version:
Rating: 9
Date: 2023-05-05
Votes: 157
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Reviewing 22.04 LTS.
So good, it got me using Ubuntu again, and I am generally a Debian purist. I could install it on Debian, but I would make it look like how it comes by default, so there's really no need. It's quite rare for me to like how a GNU/Linux distro looks out of the box without it impeding actual usability, so that's a definite plus from me.
Aside from that, it's Unity. If you liked it then you'll love this, and if you hated it you'll hate this distro. I tend to have my own preferred programs, so I like that Unity is just a shell, and doesn't come with its own suite of programs. Still, Unity shines on smaller screens like laptops. I haven't tried it on a full monitor. The search is still good. Resource usage is comparable to modern GNOME with slightly better battery life.
Ubuntu itself is fine, it's easy enough to get rid of the things people dislike about it, people complain about snaps so much but getting rid of snaps takes literally 5 minutes. LTS releases of Ubuntu are just Debian that is easier to install proprietary software on after getting rid of snaps anyway. Ubuntu Pro is slightly off-putting but for your average desktop user it's free and changes very little.
Most of all, I am very excited for the future. Rudra Saraswat is extremely talented and I am looking forward to see where he takes Unity X once it's ready.
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Version: 23.04
Rating: 6
Date: 2023-04-23
Votes: 0
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My first thought was, "oh no, Unity again?!" I wasn't a big fan of it back in the day, but I gave this a trial run to see if maybe my attitude had changed. I will say that this version looks quite nice, and I wasn't as put off as I thought I would be. That being said, it didn't win me back to Unity. If you were not a fan of Unity back then, I don't think this will convince you otherwise. Other than that, this is a good, solid distro I would not hesitate to use as a daily driver... The first thing I'd do after installing this is put a different desktop in it - which rather defeats the purpose..
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Version: 22.10
Rating: 10
Date: 2023-01-21
Votes: 65
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What a stunning Ubuntu flavor -- by a KID all of 12 YEARS OLD!
Pros: Lovely color scheme picked for 22.10.
Great sidebar layout.
Excellent menu system where everything can be searched through (apps, files, photos, etc...).
Stable and polished.
Universal menu in top left corner for apps.
Cons: Nothing really so far -- a settings menu did crash once.
I'm not crazy about Firefox's Snap color scheme (orange).
Overall, just a wonderful debut from an obviously talented young man and his small team of devs. I'm looking forward to seeing how this flavor develops.
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Version: 22.10
Rating: 10
Date: 2022-12-18
Votes: 21
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On October 8, I did a review of my experience with 22.10, and complained about grub issues. Thanks to the folks at Linux mint, I found out the grub issues are pertinent to my Dell 3793 laptop. I did some copy-paste commands after the initial install, and the grub issues are gone!
I am thrilled to have Unity back, and I should also add I've removed the snap-crap from being re-updated into my system. I installed Firefox as a .deb, and it's just what I want and need.
Thanks to RS, a kid who loved Unity so much, he brought it back to life.
Wake up, Canonical! THIS is Ubuntu in it's most elegant and usable form. Again, nothing against Gnome. But, unless there's a game changing bug that lingers, which is sadly common with Linux, Ubuntu Unity will be my daily driver from now on.
I should add here, that I was a fanboy of Manjaro KDE, and I still think it rocks. However, between the nostalgia, the performance, and the work flow, what I've said here makes the choice obvious.
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Version: 22.10
Rating: 8
Date: 2022-11-18
Votes: 5
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This is my monthly (actually six-weekly) review - and Ubuntu Unity is still my daily driver.
I work with a lot of documents, and the Dash is such a good solution to handling them. Hit META, switch to the Document tab and the most recent documents are listed with legible thumbnails showing their covers. (Very often "file history" has tiny and/or generic icons or is a muddle, as in Office 365).
This excellent handling of files is enough, here, for Unity to remain.
Not that there is much wrong with it anyway, as everything in my first review holds. I have found a few more minor issues:
- Whenever a snapped application updates, its icon in the Dock vanishes and has to be put back by hand. (An improvement would be to allow pinning of applications from the Dash without opening them, rather than having to open the application then pin from the Dock).
- Application icon sizes in the Dash vary; for example, Firefox is larger than others.
- The HUD isn't universal although, from reading up about it, it would require application changes to support it (unlikely given that Unity is an unusual desktop environment now, alas).
- Screen scaling very occasionally reverts to 1 for no obvious reason; fortunately, moving it back to 2 sticks until the next, rare, reversion.
- The bug with the launcher turning black (second reviewer) is confirmed here.
- There is an option to show the user name at the top right, which doesn't do anything. In fact, it never worked and there were complaints about it not working when Canonical managed Unity. The option should probably be removed.
But these are minor. Ubuntu Unity is a great distribution and has slipped seamlessly into Canonical's infrastructure so there is a steady stream of updates.
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Version: 22.10
Rating: 10
Date: 2022-11-05
Votes: 4
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Unity is finally back, and this time once again fully supported by Canonical
As a kid I always liked the look of Unity and now as an adult I love it because it made Ubuntu unique and had an unique workflow that once you get used to it's amazing and also the best part is that by today's standards it is a light DE so most PCs would run it without any troubles
What made Unity great is the intuitive interface along with useful tools like the launcher and the global menu (however this last one is a hit or miss with some apps) and this time is no exception, also newer kernel so modern systems should not have any compatibility issues, my only complain is that flatpak does not come pre-installed and there is no gnome software too, however after those two installs everything is ready to go
So far, no disappointments, I really hope more development for the future for this Ubuntu flavour (in fact I would not mind for it to became the mainline Ubuntu again, well someone can dream) because with a little more polish it is still a modern and competent distro and DE
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Version: 22.10
Rating: 10
Date: 2022-10-29
Votes: 4
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The Unity desktop is back, thankfully! I've been using this for a week so far now and have had no pressing issues. It works great, is stable, and easy to use. I have a HP Pavilion with an AMD graphics card and I had no issues installing the distro and it is smooth, fast, and responsive. I had no problem adapting to the flow of Unity after never having used it before. I imagine Unity would be a great desktop for a touchscreen device to. It comes with the Synaptic package manager GUI but I just use the terminal so I don't really care about that. In its default configuration, it still looks great but I really appreciate that they kept that Ambiance and Radiance themes around and you can easily customize it using the built in tweak tool. As someone who dislikes GNOME very much, I'm glad we have Unity back.
Only notable issues I've encountered:
Can't manually change accent color
Telegram notifications don't show correctly
The global menu is a nice touch but doesn't integrate with all apps correctly
Comes with snap
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Version: 22.10
Rating: 10
Date: 2022-10-25
Votes: 4
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I was a heavy user of the Unity Desktop back when it was in main production so finding a system that would offer a similar experience proved difficult. Well that was until Ubuntu Unity became an official flavour and confirmed its future of development within the open sources world.
What I like so far:
Newer Kernel supporting a wider range of hardware and of course bringing better security to linux.
An amazing amount of detail has gone into making Unity look beautiful whilst not losing its functionality.
The system feels slick, fast and smooth even on 3gb of ram and older dual core Intel chipsets.
Work flow feels great with that wonderful bar to the left keeping you from putting icons all over the desktop. Now I can use the desktop for the important things like work or development projects.
Synaptic seems to be the only GUI for installing software so I simply installed Gnome Software to give me the same as I would have in main Ubuntu and it works fine.
The more I use it the more I love it. Give it a try and I look forward to all upcoming releases and seeing Ubuntu Unity Rise to the tops of Distro Watch.
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Version: 22.10-beta
Rating: 9
Date: 2022-10-12
Votes: 5
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Versions:
20.04
22.04
I installed 20.04 only Core2Quad Xeon class computer and 22.04 on a Thinkpad X220.
Both installs went relatively smoothly and stability and performance were on par with the best distro's I've ever used. I've since updated the 20.04 on the Xeon-based rig and it was a smooth transition.
Full disclosure... I was one of the Ubuntu users that disliked Unity initially. I was used to Gnome 2 and wasn't happy Canonical "moved my cheese". Eventually I came to really appreciate what Unity brought to the table and as it became more stable and useful it became my DE of choice.
Once again I was miffed when Ubuntu pivoted again and replaced Unity with Gnome. Try as I might, I can't bring myself to like Gnome 3. I can't think of a single thing it does better than Unity; despite Canonical's attempts to make it behave similarly. So I was pleasantly surprised when Ubuntu Unity came along.
It's quite impressive for a first attempt at a distro, and especially considering the small size of the development team. The style choices are a nice touch. It's customizable if you prefer the previous look of Unity.
I don't think Unity needs to go chasing new features (which seems to be what DEs are obsessed with these days), I would like it if they focus on stability and making the Unity features that we're used to work across the board. For instance, the global menu doesn't work for all apps (i.e. Firefox). Not the fault of the Ubuntu Unity team, but it would be nice if they could have the resources to offer an up-to-date version with a working global menu.
All and all a decent distro. If you miss the performance, efficiency and features of the Unity desktop, I'd urge you to give it a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
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Version: 22.10-beta
Rating: 10
Date: 2022-10-08
Votes: 1
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I'd be using right now if it wasn't for the usual and persistent grub issues I get if and when I boot another OS from an external drive. Long as I keep using Unity, and don't boot anything else, it's fine, no issues. I have Manjaro i3 on an external drive which is one of my backup systems in the event of you know, stuff going south because I can't resist playing. After using Manjaro, it takes at least three hard stops to finally get the laptop to boot. After that, no problems at all. So, I'm speaking of a removable external drive, not a dual boot setup.
Unity does have some quirks, which still aren't fixed from way back.
If I select to base the launcher color based on MY choice, no big deal. But, if I go back to and set it to be based on the current wallpaper, it turns black as charcoal, and stays that way even after reboot. Compiz DNA I'd venture.
I'm giving it a ten, because there was almost nothing to configure upon first boot. Also, because I have a soft spot for Unity, and think it was a really bad choice on Canonical's part to go back to Gnome. Nothing against Gnome, understand.
Hope development continues.
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Version: 22.10-beta
Rating: 8
Date: 2022-10-04
Votes: 11
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Years ago, Unity was the default Ubuntu desktop and GNOME was a flavour. Now things have turned around completely, and show how unfortunate it was that Unity was dropped.
The authors of Unity have done a great job picking it up from a moribund state and modernising it - but not too much - and producing a desktop which is, above all, fast. "Not too much" because Unity was so clearly ahead of its time. 4K support is perfect, and the HUD (in an application, hit ALT and start typing; menu items in that application will be matched) has never been beaten. The Dash or application/file find (hit META and start typing) has been copied over and over again but the integration with the window manager is unbeatable.
Once I stopped clicking the Recycle Bin (which is where the application chooser is in GNOME) the sheer efficiency of Unity really comes across. It is a very rare user interface where the keyboard and mouse work together effectively.
The supporting applications are a mix of those for MATE, Cinnamon and GNOME (e.g. atril/pluma, nemo and GNOME Terminal/System Monitor) but gel together harmoniously.
The only doubtful default installation is stacer. It is a combination of various tweak and system information tools, but doesn't cope well with a 4K screen and has some options which are not relevant to Unity. It should really be removed particularly as unity-tweak-tool, which is a highly impressive Unity customiser, is installed by default.
There are a few rough edges which can be worked around:
- No nightlight: install redshift and set it up as a startup item with command line parameters.
- Desktop font doesn't match the rest of the user interface: install dconf-editor and change org.nemo.desktop.font.
- PDFs and similar don't show previews on the Desktop; in nemo, set maximum file size for preview to a large value (say 1GB) rather than 1MB.
The one which can't be worked around is that there is an option to set the accent colour, available from the system tray. Unfortunately this only changes some items, such as folders in nemo; others stubbornly remain "Ubuntu orange".
These rough edges will be eventually be worked out and are not showstoppers. All in all, Ubuntu Unity is highly impressive.
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Latest Reviews
Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 24.04
Rating: 8
Date: 2024-07-11
Votes: 3
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I've installed it on my refurbeshed macbook pro retina "13 2015. I managed to activate the backlight on the keybord and installed the gnome software center. Way better than Mac os Monterey in term of freedom to install what you want. It warms up because is summer and it is a nine years old machine and the webcam doesnt work. I love Ubuntu Unity it works well for my needs. I'm using flatpak to. I like to use my macbook to watch series on pluto tv or other free platform and theres no problem with Ubuntu Unity.
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 24.04
Rating: 1
Date: 2024-06-15
Votes: 0
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Great idea, but poor in reality.
I'm binning it within 12 hours of installation to metal.
It's far too resource heavy: screen fluttering and tearing.
The file manager creates unwanted folders, and places folders on the desktop, which is a threat to personal data.
The Tweaks tool that is supposed to allow the user to configure the interface to their liking is next to featureless, to the point of being useless.
Most of the problems come from this distro being Ubuntu dependent. The rest come from it being a vanity project.
Including Firefox as a snap that does not interact with the system is stupid. Downloading a PDF or printing a page to file is impossible.
OK, that's Mozilla's bad, but why include it when a properly installable version is available. But you have to install the Firefox repository.
It would be better to use the Lomiri desktop on another install, if it would even work.
And if GTK and X11 are facing obsolescence, then why flog a dying horse in the hope of reviving it?
Why is there not an Arch with Unity?
Why is there not a Puppy with Unity?
Why is there not a Sparky with Unity?
Ubuntu is trying to be a big one on the desktop, and no longer suitable for older computers, as is anything based on Ubuntu.
Why have so many formerly Ubuntu based distros migrated to Debian?
I rest my case.
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 24.04
Rating: 10
Date: 2024-06-14
Votes: 1
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Hardware: Dell 3853 (originally Ubuntu 18.04 OEM)
After testing a Debian based distro (Kanotix) via a Ventoy (1.0.99) USB flashdrive, my system would no longer boot, not even after flashing the BIOS, not even after flashing the BIOS with the latest firmware from Dell (2024-06-05). After disabling secure boot, I was able to launch my proper install via Super Grub2 (so it wasn't Ventoy at fault) & recover my latest data.
But this is no good way to run a system.
So I reinstalled Ubuntu 18.04, which recovered the BIOS. But that's out of date now, so I installed Ubuntu-Unity 24.04 as a rational/logical decision: it's an Ubuntu machine. And it was a good decision.
Ubuntu-Unity 24.04 is excellent, a massive improvement over previous versions.
The stuttering, lag, and screen-tearing have gone. It's now a very smooth and very user-friendly system, with lots of very useful tools, settings and shortcuts. So much can be done from the keypad, it's almost mouseless.
It feels like the original, but even better.
The launcher is so much better than Gnome Shell, which feels gutless in comparison.
Ubuntu-Unity is very conducive for more productivity: it's more like a very pretty server than a desktop environment that gets in ones way.
Good work by the development team: this one's a keeper.
Long may it continue.
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 24.04
Rating: 9
Date: 2024-05-09
Votes: 3
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I previously installed Ubuntu-Unity 22.04 and reviewed so I won't repeat the same talking points.
To summarize I was impressed with Unity (which is much better than Gnome IMHO).
I performed a clean install on an old Lenovo Thinkpad X220 laptop.
The boot and installation process went off without a hitch, all laptop peripherals worked.
The new Calamares installer was easy to follow and efficient. Performance is great with the older laptop (8GB RAM, 128GB SSD). I installed Steam, loaded and flawlessly ran a couple of older games on the Sandy Bridge CPU/IGPU.
Some of the new touches in 24.04 LTS that I liked:
Ubuntu software store isn't installed by default. I prefer this as I found automatic Snap package update popups from the software store annoying. I prefer to apply my own updates manually via the terminal. Synaptic is included as a graphical method for installing software; it gets the job done without a lot splash.
The Stacer optimization utility included is a nice touch. A cross between Windows Task Manager and an OS monitor/optimizer.
Currently no sign of UWidgets in this version. Hopefully the developer(s) can soon deliver on the tease that was sent out a couple of versions ago. Otherwise everything seems to work pretty well. Unity 7.7 is quick and efficient; I hope they can keep it going for years to come (given the uncertain future of X11 and GTK).
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 24.04
Rating: 9
Date: 2024-04-29
Votes: 6
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The iso file is significantly smaller compared to other ubuntu flavors. I installed it on a 2011 Asus K42De Dual Core AMD N660 and 12GB of RAM. It ships with Unity 7.7.0. The new flutter installer feels light and modern. Fresh boot only takes ~880MB and the launcher feels snappy. Booting takes slightly longer than my LMDE 6. Wifi and audio works out of the box and the audio server is PulseAudio. But I cannot run appimage software because libfuse2t64 is not pre-installed so I gotta install it manually. Also, flatpak isn't pre-installed.
I give it a 9 for the snappy performance and the elegance of unity DE.
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 22.10
Rating: 10
Date: 2023-05-29
Votes: 12
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Ubuntu Unity 22.04.1 LTS (Which does not appear as a reviewable option).
So glad to see the Unity shell back again, apparently with Canonical/Ubuntu official recognition.
Having used Ubuntu since 2007, occasionally LinuxMint, I switched to CrunchBang#!; but when Ubuntu with Unity was launched, I adopted it immediately. It was much easier to use that OpenBox, like having a cellphone interface on a laptop/desktop (I think that was the idea, because Ubuntu had the long since abandoned idea of an Ubuntu smartphone, although UBPorts are still working on it).
When Canonical/Ubuntu abandoned Unity, I went back to CrunchBang#!, until Corenominal Phil decided to abandon that project. So I adopted wattOS, until that project was put on hold, and distrohopped Debian LXDE (good if you know how to use OpenBox and write keyboard shortcuts in XML), to Mabox (even better), then BunsenLabs, which I found to get slower and had terrible menus, then SparkyLinux Minimal GUI, which while very good, nearly messed up my printer, and has a very inconsistent repository (there are a lot of 'ghost programmes' in there that do not have an 'installation candidate' (no disrespect to Pavroo: they work hard, maybe too hard, and deserve more support)).
So welcome home new-old friend, on my main machine again.
The sidebar Launcher is so convenient and easy to configure.
The (Super Key) Launcher, HUD (Head Up Display), and Menu Bar do actually 'just work'. Maybe I'm getting lazy, but they're a lot more convenient that having to go into OpenBox .config and manually edit XML files, much as I enjoy doing that.
(The problem with OpenBox is its lack of consistency. Every OpenBox-fronted distro has a different menu. wattOS, Mabox and SparkyLinux's menus are all pretty clean. BunsenLabs' is almost unnavigable, a 'horse created by a committee'. OpenBox needs some kind of consensus to be viable. Obmenu-Generator is apparently 'abandonware'. Why? It worked!)
IMHO, Unity keeps out of the way, and makes operation almost mouseless. Most operations can be performed via the keyboard.
The fact that the person who 'relaunched' Unity 'DE' was probably conceived around the same time as Unity makes it especially poignant.
Unity was a futuristic project, and now it is once again a present project for the future.
Please don't give up on this, unless you can make something even better.
Thank you to the Ubuntu Unity developers.
And thank you to DistroWatch.
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version:
Rating: 9
Date: 2023-05-05
Votes: 157
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Reviewing 22.04 LTS.
So good, it got me using Ubuntu again, and I am generally a Debian purist. I could install it on Debian, but I would make it look like how it comes by default, so there's really no need. It's quite rare for me to like how a GNU/Linux distro looks out of the box without it impeding actual usability, so that's a definite plus from me.
Aside from that, it's Unity. If you liked it then you'll love this, and if you hated it you'll hate this distro. I tend to have my own preferred programs, so I like that Unity is just a shell, and doesn't come with its own suite of programs. Still, Unity shines on smaller screens like laptops. I haven't tried it on a full monitor. The search is still good. Resource usage is comparable to modern GNOME with slightly better battery life.
Ubuntu itself is fine, it's easy enough to get rid of the things people dislike about it, people complain about snaps so much but getting rid of snaps takes literally 5 minutes. LTS releases of Ubuntu are just Debian that is easier to install proprietary software on after getting rid of snaps anyway. Ubuntu Pro is slightly off-putting but for your average desktop user it's free and changes very little.
Most of all, I am very excited for the future. Rudra Saraswat is extremely talented and I am looking forward to see where he takes Unity X once it's ready.
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 23.04
Rating: 6
Date: 2023-04-23
Votes: 0
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My first thought was, "oh no, Unity again?!" I wasn't a big fan of it back in the day, but I gave this a trial run to see if maybe my attitude had changed. I will say that this version looks quite nice, and I wasn't as put off as I thought I would be. That being said, it didn't win me back to Unity. If you were not a fan of Unity back then, I don't think this will convince you otherwise. Other than that, this is a good, solid distro I would not hesitate to use as a daily driver... The first thing I'd do after installing this is put a different desktop in it - which rather defeats the purpose..
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 22.10
Rating: 10
Date: 2023-01-21
Votes: 65
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What a stunning Ubuntu flavor -- by a KID all of 12 YEARS OLD!
Pros: Lovely color scheme picked for 22.10.
Great sidebar layout.
Excellent menu system where everything can be searched through (apps, files, photos, etc...).
Stable and polished.
Universal menu in top left corner for apps.
Cons: Nothing really so far -- a settings menu did crash once.
I'm not crazy about Firefox's Snap color scheme (orange).
Overall, just a wonderful debut from an obviously talented young man and his small team of devs. I'm looking forward to seeing how this flavor develops.
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 22.10
Rating: 10
Date: 2022-12-18
Votes: 21
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On October 8, I did a review of my experience with 22.10, and complained about grub issues. Thanks to the folks at Linux mint, I found out the grub issues are pertinent to my Dell 3793 laptop. I did some copy-paste commands after the initial install, and the grub issues are gone!
I am thrilled to have Unity back, and I should also add I've removed the snap-crap from being re-updated into my system. I installed Firefox as a .deb, and it's just what I want and need.
Thanks to RS, a kid who loved Unity so much, he brought it back to life.
Wake up, Canonical! THIS is Ubuntu in it's most elegant and usable form. Again, nothing against Gnome. But, unless there's a game changing bug that lingers, which is sadly common with Linux, Ubuntu Unity will be my daily driver from now on.
I should add here, that I was a fanboy of Manjaro KDE, and I still think it rocks. However, between the nostalgia, the performance, and the work flow, what I've said here makes the choice obvious.
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 22.10
Rating: 8
Date: 2022-11-18
Votes: 5
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This is my monthly (actually six-weekly) review - and Ubuntu Unity is still my daily driver.
I work with a lot of documents, and the Dash is such a good solution to handling them. Hit META, switch to the Document tab and the most recent documents are listed with legible thumbnails showing their covers. (Very often "file history" has tiny and/or generic icons or is a muddle, as in Office 365).
This excellent handling of files is enough, here, for Unity to remain.
Not that there is much wrong with it anyway, as everything in my first review holds. I have found a few more minor issues:
- Whenever a snapped application updates, its icon in the Dock vanishes and has to be put back by hand. (An improvement would be to allow pinning of applications from the Dash without opening them, rather than having to open the application then pin from the Dock).
- Application icon sizes in the Dash vary; for example, Firefox is larger than others.
- The HUD isn't universal although, from reading up about it, it would require application changes to support it (unlikely given that Unity is an unusual desktop environment now, alas).
- Screen scaling very occasionally reverts to 1 for no obvious reason; fortunately, moving it back to 2 sticks until the next, rare, reversion.
- The bug with the launcher turning black (second reviewer) is confirmed here.
- There is an option to show the user name at the top right, which doesn't do anything. In fact, it never worked and there were complaints about it not working when Canonical managed Unity. The option should probably be removed.
But these are minor. Ubuntu Unity is a great distribution and has slipped seamlessly into Canonical's infrastructure so there is a steady stream of updates.
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 22.10
Rating: 10
Date: 2022-11-05
Votes: 4
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Unity is finally back, and this time once again fully supported by Canonical
As a kid I always liked the look of Unity and now as an adult I love it because it made Ubuntu unique and had an unique workflow that once you get used to it's amazing and also the best part is that by today's standards it is a light DE so most PCs would run it without any troubles
What made Unity great is the intuitive interface along with useful tools like the launcher and the global menu (however this last one is a hit or miss with some apps) and this time is no exception, also newer kernel so modern systems should not have any compatibility issues, my only complain is that flatpak does not come pre-installed and there is no gnome software too, however after those two installs everything is ready to go
So far, no disappointments, I really hope more development for the future for this Ubuntu flavour (in fact I would not mind for it to became the mainline Ubuntu again, well someone can dream) because with a little more polish it is still a modern and competent distro and DE
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 22.10
Rating: 10
Date: 2022-10-29
Votes: 4
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The Unity desktop is back, thankfully! I've been using this for a week so far now and have had no pressing issues. It works great, is stable, and easy to use. I have a HP Pavilion with an AMD graphics card and I had no issues installing the distro and it is smooth, fast, and responsive. I had no problem adapting to the flow of Unity after never having used it before. I imagine Unity would be a great desktop for a touchscreen device to. It comes with the Synaptic package manager GUI but I just use the terminal so I don't really care about that. In its default configuration, it still looks great but I really appreciate that they kept that Ambiance and Radiance themes around and you can easily customize it using the built in tweak tool. As someone who dislikes GNOME very much, I'm glad we have Unity back.
Only notable issues I've encountered:
Can't manually change accent color
Telegram notifications don't show correctly
The global menu is a nice touch but doesn't integrate with all apps correctly
Comes with snap
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 22.10
Rating: 10
Date: 2022-10-25
Votes: 4
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I was a heavy user of the Unity Desktop back when it was in main production so finding a system that would offer a similar experience proved difficult. Well that was until Ubuntu Unity became an official flavour and confirmed its future of development within the open sources world.
What I like so far:
Newer Kernel supporting a wider range of hardware and of course bringing better security to linux.
An amazing amount of detail has gone into making Unity look beautiful whilst not losing its functionality.
The system feels slick, fast and smooth even on 3gb of ram and older dual core Intel chipsets.
Work flow feels great with that wonderful bar to the left keeping you from putting icons all over the desktop. Now I can use the desktop for the important things like work or development projects.
Synaptic seems to be the only GUI for installing software so I simply installed Gnome Software to give me the same as I would have in main Ubuntu and it works fine.
The more I use it the more I love it. Give it a try and I look forward to all upcoming releases and seeing Ubuntu Unity Rise to the tops of Distro Watch.
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 22.10-beta
Rating: 9
Date: 2022-10-12
Votes: 5
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Versions:
20.04
22.04
I installed 20.04 only Core2Quad Xeon class computer and 22.04 on a Thinkpad X220.
Both installs went relatively smoothly and stability and performance were on par with the best distro's I've ever used. I've since updated the 20.04 on the Xeon-based rig and it was a smooth transition.
Full disclosure... I was one of the Ubuntu users that disliked Unity initially. I was used to Gnome 2 and wasn't happy Canonical "moved my cheese". Eventually I came to really appreciate what Unity brought to the table and as it became more stable and useful it became my DE of choice.
Once again I was miffed when Ubuntu pivoted again and replaced Unity with Gnome. Try as I might, I can't bring myself to like Gnome 3. I can't think of a single thing it does better than Unity; despite Canonical's attempts to make it behave similarly. So I was pleasantly surprised when Ubuntu Unity came along.
It's quite impressive for a first attempt at a distro, and especially considering the small size of the development team. The style choices are a nice touch. It's customizable if you prefer the previous look of Unity.
I don't think Unity needs to go chasing new features (which seems to be what DEs are obsessed with these days), I would like it if they focus on stability and making the Unity features that we're used to work across the board. For instance, the global menu doesn't work for all apps (i.e. Firefox). Not the fault of the Ubuntu Unity team, but it would be nice if they could have the resources to offer an up-to-date version with a working global menu.
All and all a decent distro. If you miss the performance, efficiency and features of the Unity desktop, I'd urge you to give it a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 22.10-beta
Rating: 10
Date: 2022-10-08
Votes: 1
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I'd be using right now if it wasn't for the usual and persistent grub issues I get if and when I boot another OS from an external drive. Long as I keep using Unity, and don't boot anything else, it's fine, no issues. I have Manjaro i3 on an external drive which is one of my backup systems in the event of you know, stuff going south because I can't resist playing. After using Manjaro, it takes at least three hard stops to finally get the laptop to boot. After that, no problems at all. So, I'm speaking of a removable external drive, not a dual boot setup.
Unity does have some quirks, which still aren't fixed from way back.
If I select to base the launcher color based on MY choice, no big deal. But, if I go back to and set it to be based on the current wallpaper, it turns black as charcoal, and stays that way even after reboot. Compiz DNA I'd venture.
I'm giving it a ten, because there was almost nothing to configure upon first boot. Also, because I have a soft spot for Unity, and think it was a really bad choice on Canonical's part to go back to Gnome. Nothing against Gnome, understand.
Hope development continues.
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Project: Ubuntu Unity
Version: 22.10-beta
Rating: 8
Date: 2022-10-04
Votes: 11
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Years ago, Unity was the default Ubuntu desktop and GNOME was a flavour. Now things have turned around completely, and show how unfortunate it was that Unity was dropped.
The authors of Unity have done a great job picking it up from a moribund state and modernising it - but not too much - and producing a desktop which is, above all, fast. "Not too much" because Unity was so clearly ahead of its time. 4K support is perfect, and the HUD (in an application, hit ALT and start typing; menu items in that application will be matched) has never been beaten. The Dash or application/file find (hit META and start typing) has been copied over and over again but the integration with the window manager is unbeatable.
Once I stopped clicking the Recycle Bin (which is where the application chooser is in GNOME) the sheer efficiency of Unity really comes across. It is a very rare user interface where the keyboard and mouse work together effectively.
The supporting applications are a mix of those for MATE, Cinnamon and GNOME (e.g. atril/pluma, nemo and GNOME Terminal/System Monitor) but gel together harmoniously.
The only doubtful default installation is stacer. It is a combination of various tweak and system information tools, but doesn't cope well with a 4K screen and has some options which are not relevant to Unity. It should really be removed particularly as unity-tweak-tool, which is a highly impressive Unity customiser, is installed by default.
There are a few rough edges which can be worked around:
- No nightlight: install redshift and set it up as a startup item with command line parameters.
- Desktop font doesn't match the rest of the user interface: install dconf-editor and change org.nemo.desktop.font.
- PDFs and similar don't show previews on the Desktop; in nemo, set maximum file size for preview to a large value (say 1GB) rather than 1MB.
The one which can't be worked around is that there is an option to set the accent colour, available from the system tray. Unfortunately this only changes some items, such as folders in nemo; others stubbornly remain "Ubuntu orange".
These rough edges will be eventually be worked out and are not showstoppers. All in all, Ubuntu Unity is highly impressive.
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