David's Computer Stuff Journal

Rant: Ubuntu, Google, J2ME

Posted by David N. Welton Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:44:00 GMT

Long day, lots of broken stuff. Rant time:

  • Ubuntu's Intrepid Ibex has way too many regressions. I've mentioned this before talking about wireless, but also on the sidelines are bluetooth and my laptop's multimedia keys. Other things are probably slipping my mind, but that's what's bugging me today. I've use Linux for a while, and am used to not always having everything working just right, but "it's never worked" is less annoying than "it used to work but this release broke it". Also, I bought this computer from Dell because it shipped with Ubuntu. I would have expected the Ubuntu guys to have a few around themselves to test on prior to release.

  • J2ME marketing: http://blogs.sun.com/hinkmond/entry/getjar_3rd_annual_mobile_awards GetJar is a nice service, and I put my own ShopList app there, but you can't seriously compare it to the Apple or Android stores without insulting my intelligence. What percentage of people with J2ME capable phones actually use GetJar? Is it on their phone when they turn it on? Can developers actually sell stuff there?

  • Google has started dumping lots of my mail in the spam folder since I switched the domain over to a new server. I can't believe they're dumping so much non spam mail, and yet can't figure out that I have never, not once, received an email written in Chinese characters that I actually wanted to read.

Add in some bugs and broken stuff of my own, and it's made for a frustrating day.

4 comments |

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  1. Phil Jordan
    about 2 hours later:

    This doesn't seem to be limited to Ubuntu. OpenSUSE 11.1 (released less than 2 weeks ago) has so many regressions it's really no fun to use. The entire bluetooth integration is dead (segfaults galore) although at least at the lowest level it still works. NetworkManager used to work better, too.

    I think there has been some substantial upheaval in recent kernel releases and the distributors and desktop environments haven't really caught up. Plus if you're a KDE person, the whole shift to version 4 is going a lot less smoothly than it should be.

    This leaves me stuck with 10.3 on my desktop because KDE was basically broken in 11.0. I'll keep an eye on the updates that will hopefully follow in the next few weeks.

  2. foo
    about 5 hours later:

    Hmm you're posting on planet Debian bug using Ubuntu???

  3. nucco
    about 10 hours later:

    Ah, you would be surprised how many people use GetJar :)

    I dunno about selling apps there though, for some reason, I usually expect my phone applications to be free of charge :p

    Good luck in your efforts.

  4. David Welton
    about 11 hours later:

    Phil, yeah, I don't think the responsibility is entirely with the Ubuntu team, in that some of the regressions doubtless come from upstream.

    foo: Yeah, I do. Astounding, but true.

    nucco: I don't doubt GetJar has lots of users. However, it is simply not possible to compare it with how well the Apple and Android marketplaces are integrated. Pretending it is, is useless - I'd rather they acknowledge the "problem" and work on ways of improving the situation, rather than plugging their ears with their fingers and yelling "la la la la".