Let me preface this article by saying that I use Ubuntu 9.04 24/7. It's my primary computer. I keep Firefox (when it's not crashing), Thunderbird, and X-Chat open all of the time, and I use OpenOffice.org for all of my office application needs. I use KDevelop as my IDE, and gFTP for my FTP needs.

With that being said, Ubuntu has some serious usability flaws. Before you Linux nerds get your panties in a twist, let me state that I'm picking on Ubuntu for two reasons: it's the most popular desktop Linux distribution, and "Ubuntu" gets more hits in Google and more recognized on Digg than "desktop Linux." Yes, I'm blogging for money - suck on that you twisted socialist nutjobs.

OK apparently I have some mental issues. Let's get back on track: Ubuntu has issues that really need to be corrected. These are, for the most part, behavioral issues that can be solved by the developers or by installing additional applications. Others are more systemic and cannot be fixed by a piece of code.

Oh, and for the sake of easing my simpleton mind: I refer to the windows manager in Ubuntu as X Windows. I know that's not the system it uses, but I really don't care what the window manager is called, as long as the damn thing works.

Copy & Paste is Broken

Problem: When you copy something in an application, and you close that application, you lose the data that you copied. You must keep that application open in order to copy the data.

Cause: The X windows system (XOrg? FreeXSuckityshit? I don't care) doesn't maintain a clipboard. Instead, it maintains a reference to the last window that said it had data that was copied. Once that window closes, that reference is lost.

Solution 1: Get the developers of these window systems to build a simple clipboard daemon. Of course, this isn't going to happen, as most of the bug reports that have been filed about this problem are either listed as a "wishlist" item, or the developers have responded saying that this is a feature, not a bug, or stating things like "complaining about this bug isn't going to get it fixed."

Which is total bullshit. When you have a large userbase willing to figure out how your cryptic bug submission system works, just to yell at you about a 6 year old "intended feature" you really need to put away your elitist asshole developer attitude, and write the damn code.

Solution 2: Until you can find out the home address of every developer that has ever touched the X windows code, and personally cockpunch them, the next best thing is to download a third party clipboard daemon like Parcellite or Klipper.

In fact, now that I think about it, downloading one of those clipboard daemons is probably the best route, because if I know window management developers, they'll make a clipboard tool, but then hide the configuration in /etc/god/knows/the/fuck/where, and never make a GUI to configure the damn thing for multiple-windows.

You make a window manager and you don't make GUIs. That concept just blows my goddamn mind.

Configuring the OS

Problem: Ubuntu does a great job of exposing all of the important little bits that developers like to hide in config files ... it just doesn't go far enough. There are still many features hidden behind cryptic config files. The mian one being system services.

Yes, yes I understand that there are certain things that will never get a GUI, but for the love of god, why can't I just untick a checkbox in a GUI to disable tor from auto-loading at startup?

Cause: Developers hate you.

Solution: Nah. I've never found one that is easy enough to use.

Out of Date Repository

Problem: The Ubuntu repositories are a godsend. I cannot live without apt-get, and going back to Windows and manually downloading all of the applications I want makes it seem like the stone age. Of course, the problem is that most of the applications I want are usually very out of date, and the only way to get an updated version is to download, compile, and install.

Cause: Updating repositories is a pain in the ass. I was going to give a shot and update Wine to the latest version, but my god there were so many steps involved that I simply gave up.

Solution: While there is an automated tool - automated in the developer sense, not the easier user sense - there needs to be something else for easy updates of the repo system. Heck, even an automated RSS lookup for new applications, with MD5 hash value verification would be better than the manual process we have now, even if it means developers need to compile on multiple machines.

Networking Bugs

Problem: For whatever reason, the default install of Ubuntu goes insane on some wireless connections - it constantly disconnects from the network, switches to NULL, then reconnects to the same network. I've searched far and wide for a solution to this, but have only run into more problems. Apparently there is an if-else check that you can compile into the default wireless handler, but why that fix (which is a couple of years old now) was never incorporated into the system is beyond me.

Cause: I honestly don't know why it does what it does. Disconnecting from a network only to reconnect to nothing should never be a tolerated behavior.

Solution: The bad part is that this bug sucks. The good part is that the fix is easy: download WICD from the Synaptic Package Manager, setup your network in WICD, and enjoy your wireless network.

Dual Monitor Support

Problem: While Ubuntu supports dual-monitors, configuring them can be a bit of a challenge. The first time I attempted to get "Windows-like" dual monitor support, I ended up with a mirror image of my current desktop. The second time I ended up with a view of a second workspace that wasn't an actual extension of my desktop (mind = blown).

Cause: There's just no good default behavior for multiple monitors. While I understand that the concept of multiple screens is a difficult one to program for, the very basic idea (that is, the non-developer idea) is that you are installing an extension to your current monitor.

Solution: Depending on your video card (ick) you can play around with the display settings; but, if you're like me, you may have to configure X windows manually via a config file. It sucks, but that's what I had to resort to.

I'll admit: this list is VERY nit-picky, but until I learned how to fix these minor problems I had all but given up hope on ever using Ubuntu full-time. These problems aren't "deal breakers" in the mind of a developer, but for the average computer illiterate user, they're essential to having a good experience.

Oh yes, a few of the X Windows and WINE devs can kiss my fat white ass. >:[