I have been using Ubuntu 10.10 on an IBM ThinkPad computer. Since I'm relatively new to Linux I'm still feeling my way with this marvelous opeating system and learning all that it can do. My question is: is it worth upgrading to Ubuntu 11.04? Is there a decided advantage to it or would I be better off staying with 10.10 since I haven't mastered it yet? I read some of the reviews and OpenOffice is no longer the editor (I'm just getting more comfortable with that) and there is something about the BIOS on IBM ThinkPad's being "outdated" by the standards of this new upgrade.

What I'm really interested to find out is whether anyone has made the switch and whether they are happy with it. If you do make the switch to 11.04 do your previous downloads remain intact or do you lose them and have download them again? Thank you for your attention and feedback

I'm not a Thinkpad owner, and I haven't gotten around to test-driving Ubuntu 11.04 yet (I downloaded it today but haven't had the time to try it). However I've been using Ubuntu off and on since 2007 (7.10 Gutsy Gibbon) so I have a good feel for the release cycle.

The main difference with any new Ubuntu release is that everything is 6 months newer. You get the latest applications, desktop environment (for 11.04 it is called "Unity"), kernel, hardware drivers, etc. You also get an extra 6 months support (11.04 will be supported through October 2012).

So if you are the kind of user who likes to try new things, and see what the Ubuntu team has been working on the last 6 months, you'll definitely want to give 11.04 a try! But maybe you are the kind of user who thinks "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." If 10.10 is working fine for you then there's no harm sticking with it for a while.

No matter what though, I recommend trying a Live CD of 11.04 before you commit to it. Never just blindly update without thoroughly evaluating the new release. Good luck!

I upgraded my netbook today (my laptop is still chugging away on the download).

It's not going to hurt anything unless you have configured stuff away from Ubuntu stock (see below), which I have.

LibreOffice looks and feels just like Open Office, as it was forked from OOo. You won't have to learning anything new about how to use it; I've been using it on my primary computers for several months.

On my netbook, the upgrade even copied over my templates, which are heavily customized, but I had to manually reset my preferred default template as the default one.

It updated Unity, which was already there because I was using "Ubuntu Netbook Remix" as opposed to standard Ubuntu, but I don't like Unity and don't use it. I use Fluxbox, and it left my Fluxbox configuration untouched and even left Fluxbox as my default window manager in the login Window. It also left my standard Gnome configuration in place.

It removed xscreensaver, which I prefer to Gnome screensaver (the default) and installed Gnome screensaver. I replaced it back. I have to do that every time.

The one thing I haven't fixed yet is that it appears to have broken my wicd, so it cannot maintain a network connection, but it installed the default Gnome Network Manager, which is working okay, but slower to connect than wicd, until I can get around to tackling the wicd problem.

Generally, it is recommended to update to the Ubuntu x.04 releases, as they are normally LTS (long-term support) releases. Many persons prefer to skip the x.10 releases.

So I would say, yes, upgrade, but there's nothing wrong with holding off a few days and seeing what persons here at LQ have to say about the upgrade.

When you get ready to upgrade, be sure to back up any crucial data files. I have never lost any data in a Ubuntu upgrade since I first started using Ubuntu with v. 8.04, but there is no such thing as too many backups.

So then it would be worth burning a new CD rather than making a direct upgrade? I was thinking I could just execute the upgrade direct. When you say you get six months of "support," where does that support come from? Is it at this site or the Ubuntu home site? The problem with test-driving the live CD is that I find it doesn't give you a really accurate sense of what it's like to be "inside" the os. As you know, it runs slow and there are several functions that it doesn't perform. I tried 10.10 on the live cd and I couldn't really tell what the program was like. Once I installed it, however, I came to like it almost immediately!

One question to frankbell: what program do you use to backup data files? The program Deja Dup comes installed on 10.10 (which some claim is very good), but I've heard the preferred backup program is rsync. Where do you find that? Thanks for the above comments...very helpful!

You can just upgrade direct if you like. I would not do this personally; I always test-drive the Live CD first. If there is a major hardware incompatibility or a new feature I just don't like, I want to know about it before I ruin my perfectly-working older install with a failed upgrade.

Ubuntu releases are supported for 18 months (except for "long term support" releases every 2 years that are supported for 36 months; 10.04 is the current LTS and 12.04 will be the next one). "Support" in this context means that you get bug fixes and security patches through the update manager, you can install new applications through the software center, you can get good advice on the Ubuntu Forums (and elsewhere), and third-party sofware is developed for it. When a release reaches "end of support" it is basically use-at-your-own-risk.

I rsync them to my server. It's easy now, but it took me a couple of days of poking about to find references which I could understand; many webpages about rsync are written over the head of someone who's never used it before.

This is the rsync command that works for me; it does a global backup of my home directory, including hidden directories:

The rsync daemon must be running on the target computer. Not all distros set it up by default.

There's a graphical frontend to rsync called back in time that Sourcetrunk gave a good review.

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Someone I talked to said there are problems with Unity Desktop and it would be a good idea to wait a bit until the problems have been resolved. Does anyone have any experience with these problems or have an idea how long it will take to work them out?

As mentioned above, the replacement of OpenOffice.org by Libre Office should be a non-issue. As for the desktop, the Unity desktop used by Ubuntu 11.04 is quite different from the GNOME2 desktop used by Ubuntu 10.10. I'd definitely grab a LiveCD image, stick it on a CD or USB flash drive, and give it a shot. If you don't mind Unity, go ahead and upgrade. If you don't like Unity, stick with what you've got but check out Xubuntu. Going forward, Xubuntu is going to provide the desktop environment closest to what you've got now.

The upgrade should preserve your existing desktop configuration, but relabel from Gnome to something like "Ubuntu Desktop Classic. It did on both my laptop and netbook, both now successfully updated via an on-line updates. The update of the laptop did not present any issues, not even with wicd, so the problem I encountered with wicd on the netbook was local to that computer.

The main problem I have seen with Unity is that I don't like anything about it.

I like a clean desktop with no icons and with a highly customized menu; this appears to be directly contrary to the Unity philosophy.

So I just ignore Unity and keep on using Fluxbox with all my distros.

Edit: I must say the the new version of Gnome Network Manager seems to have a much faster startup-and-connect time than the previous iteration I had on my netbook.

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Alot said here thanks ya'll... I recently ran 11.04 Live for a couple days and I personally like 10.04 and the Debian version of LinuxMint 10... I couldn't test out LibreOffice ,it basically needs the updates I guess , wasn't impressed..I haven't ran it on any of my laptops yet except for my Dell 9100 and the same thing with LibreOffice ,it wouldn't run at all..So Like the person stated earlier that a install would be needed to get the full experiance of 11.04..So I'm sticking with 10.04 and the Mint Debian 10.04 which actually runs better than Ubuntu...I've been using Ubuntu since 6.06 Dapper , I cut my teeth on Dapper and have tested many other distros and have seemed to stay with Ubuntu and Mint ..I like the Mint better because of less repository problems and Mint grabs the internet faster and no problems with flash crashing all the time.. Mint just runs and stays that way..I don't know what Mint did ,but Mint is built on Ubuntu and depends on Ubuntu's repositories..I have never had the repositories in Mint Fail to fetch..But with Ubuntu every install after 3-6 months the repository problems start..But I like recording with Audacity on Ubuntu so I plan on getting a bigger HD and having a dual boot Ubuntu 10 and Mint Debian 10..I think that would be the machine for me...

In answer to the title question I would personally say No it isn't worth the upgrade. I am not a fan of Ubuntu as I don't quite agree with the direction Ubuntu (and Canonical) is heading. I don't dislike Ubuntu but I think there are better/easier options available. If you like Ubuntu and are happy with it then by all means go for it, if not take some time and read reviews and ask questions about other options.

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When I (briefly) tested it, on occasion the interface would be messed up upon return from hibernate. There would be lines in strange places and the icons for the programs would not display right. Then again, I even had some issues in the classic interface where for some reason the logout button was replaced by another partial display of the username and you couldn't log out from the panel. Honestly, I'm another in the boat of 'don't care for the direction Ubuntu is heading' and have gone looking other places for my perfect OS. It was time for me to move on anyway as I didn't feel Ubuntu was making me learn anything useful.

I agree on the direction Ubuntu is going..I am gearing towards the new PCLinuxOS 10 Mandriva and LinuxMint Debian..PCLinuxOS was very fast running CD on boot up and so far flys as if its installed to the HD..I do like the command line in Ubuntu though..I like using the $~sudo lshw to see what hardware is on machines when I am working on them and that gives me detailed info and makes troubleshooting a little bit faster..I have also went into a crashed HD and retreved folders and put them on a external HD with Ubuntu live CD..And running clamAV from live CD to actually clean up a Windows Box works great too ,but as far as using Ubuntu as a primary distro ?? I don't think so..The first chance I get I'm changing all machines to Mint PCLinuxOS and Mint Debian ,they just run great on my Panasonic toughbooks and the desktop..

Something I found today that might be useful for those looking to upgrade Ubuntu 10.10 to 11.04, might save you if you hate it: http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/...vepoint.7.html