Contributor sciurus

I guess everybody has experienced the rather long boot up times in Ubuntu (particularly with laptops). I know they are already working on it, but the change from feisty to gutsy was a pain in the ass in terms of boot up speed.
A default WinXP installation beats Ubuntu's boot up time by far!! That shouldn't be allowed fellas!!

I therefore propose to the development team (both Ubuntu and by extension Gnome)to work on the improvement of boot up times in Ubuntu systems.

When i change some hardware pieces i need to configure them manually, ubuntu should recognize there has been a hardware change and configure it.

One Product which Ubuntu could easy adopt and is not ebox.

Features:
1. Webinterface
2. Configuration by command-line is still absolutely possible and supported.
3. Python based, the web-part is in PHP.
4. Very easy to extend.
5. You only need one server with a webserver for the web-interface, not on every server to manage.
6. You only need one small python daemon on each server to manage.


I have already posted this Idea, but I think it was mistake to mention the Company who pay the developers.
So please vote for both ideas.

Goto: http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/2301/

BTW: I also think FreeIPA is a good choice, but I guess FreeIPA is not yet complete and much more afford to fit it in Ubuntu. The linked solution is ready today. And less complex then freeIPA.

Keywords: LDAP,Kerberos,Samba,Server

It would be great to be able to configure two interfaces with Network Manager or anything else and share the internet from one to another (NAT).

For example if I have cable and wireless, I could be able to share my cable internet and act like an access point.
Or on the other way if I have wireless networking but my friends haven't it would be nice it I could share my network with them thought ethernet.

I'd like to have Ubuntu log me in automatically, but still require my password to begin use.

Rationale: I don't like waiting. Why can't my gnome desktop start up BEFORE I enter my password? In the unlikely event that someone else was to use my computer, they could be given the option to logout (without knowing my password) after the initial start up.

Considerations: If I did happen to have applications like Gaim start up automatically on login (which could require immediate attention), maybe these should be delayed until after I've entered my password.

Offer a version of Ubuntu that comes "bare." Eliminate large, non-essential applications such as Open Office, Ekiga, Rythmbox, Evolution, Pidgin, Gimp, etc. Doing this would allow users to pick and choose the applications they wish to use. It would also be great when HDD space is limited, such as Solid State Drive based laptops.

Alternatively you could allow users to choose which applications are installed by letting them customize it during the live install.

I believe more could be done to the server edition to make it more user friendly and to improve its image/acceptance as a server operating system.

Idea:

I think it would be a good idea to create and implement a web interface control panel for Ubuntu. The control panel would have the same objectives as Plesk, or cPanel, thus making the whole experience more user friendly.

It could contain a number of features, such as:

- Add/edit/delete a hosting account (with user account/domain etc)
- Control panel for users as well
- Reboot server & services
- Edit DNS zones
- Server status (loads)
- Bandwidth usage reports
- Add/edit/delete MySQL databases
- And all of the other essential features found in control panels such as Plesk and cPanel


If Ubuntu server edition could implement something like this "out of the box" it would also give Ubuntu server edition a better image and may create a wider acceptance for its use as a server operating system.

Also, many popular web control panels (Such as cPanel) don't officially support Ubuntu. So I think this makes my suggestion even more important.

I realise that I could have gone into more depth when adding suggestions for features, but I thought I'd keep it as short as possible so that it's easy to read.


[....]

Ubuntu is a free software operating system that consists entirely of free software.

Ubuntu comes with many GNU software by the Free Software Foundation (FSF).

The FSF created the GNU project, the FSF created the GPL license. Richard Stallman started the whole free software movement by founding the FSF.

FSF promotes free software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with minimal restrictions only to ensure that further recipients can also do these things.

I propose we partner with the FSF.

Many people using Windows simply buy a new computer when their old one gets too slow due to virusses for example. They throw away the old computer because they think it is broken or outdated, but in fact it is just their operating system that is broken.

What about a marketing campaign to get people to put Ubuntu on such "landfill computers"?

Important questions for this *draft* brainstorm idea:
* How can we prevent that people start to associate Linux with old computers and Window with new computers?

* Can we get help from organisations like Greenpeace?

* How can we highlight to these people that their computer they wanted to throw away is running fast again because of the power of Linux compared to the garbage of Windows? Maybe this is a good slogan?: "Don't throw away your whole computer when only the installed operating system is garbage! Replace your OS by the more powerful Ubuntu and the environment will love you...and so does your wallet!"

* How can we get these people to also consider Ubuntu for their new computers?

* What is the impact of throwing away a computer on the environment instead of keeping it in use?

* What about the Ubuntu community installing Ubuntu for free when people bring their old computer to the landfil? Maybe these people will return home happily with a "new" Ubuntu computer! I'm sure these happy people will tell their friends about the "lead-into-gold tranformation" experience they had!

This idea was inspired by: http://www.workswithu.com/2008/09/10/ubuntu-saves-compaq-presario-2100-from-dea th-and-windows/

[....]

When an external NTFS hard disk is not cleanly unmounted because you unplugged it wildly on Windows, or because of a Windows crash, there is an error when you try to plug it on ubuntu, explaining what to do on the command line.

There should be an easy way to mount the volume anyway, by giving the choice to the user to mount it anyway, or not to mount it. A clear dialog box should do the trick.

Pleeeeeease make an Ubuntu Media Center. I'd love to move my server over to Ubuntu but there are no good Media Center for it, so I'm stuck on Windows. :(

Audio/Video/Pictures support would be the bare minimum needed, but TV Tuner support/Web Browser/RSS Reader/whatever else you guys want would be excellent as well.

I know theres already an Ubuntu MC project (which is dead I think?), but it was going off in more of a FrontRow direction, where as I was kinda hoping Ubuntu could implement a proper MC like MCE or MediaPortal.

I think it would be neat to have a screen saver display the latest headlines from RSS feeds. I think there is a screen saver like this for Macs.

The profilation of affordable NAS devices for the home network has made the need for an easy way to mount shares on these devices on boot.
At the moment if you wan't to have samba shares to be mounted on boot you have to manualy modify the fstab.
This can be a frustrating and dangerous job.
What is needed is a simple tool with a GUI that allows a user to select the share or shares they want mounted click OK and fstab will be updated correctly and the share mounted.

As you can see on Brainstorm, there is need for some kind of introduction of a new user to Ubuntu. On the one hand, this should include everything from setting up one's system to using each single app. On the other hand, this should in no way annoy experienced users, while probably helping them out if they need it.
Other requirements are internationalisation (translation into the user's language), friendliness and ease to use. This could be enhanced by reacting to the user's system (i.e. which apps are installed and how are they configured) and the user's actions (f.e. which programs are running, which one is active), but this is not needed for basic functionality.


Gnome already has a help system that can be found in "System -> Help". But in no way is it complete or even truly helpful.
Instead, I propose a "Ubuntu Assistant" which, when clicked, shows helpful messages. These range from common problems and their solution (like installing ndiswrapper, extra codecs) to general introductions (f.e. the Linux directory structure, the sudo concept), links to articles and howtos on the internet, and even the manpages and the app's own help.
On first start, the assistant pops up an introduction and explanation of this help system, also mentioning how it can be uninstalled. An experienced user can now disable the assistant (f.e. by uninstalling it) while a new user has a place where he/she can find help if needed.
After this message, the assistant does not pop up by its own, but only when clicked and then it shows helpful tips, if possible based on what programs are running. Example: A new user has just opened Evolution. He doesn't know how to use it, so he opens the assistant. He can read now follow links to articles about Email, Evolution, Cryptography etc.
If the assistant can detect which packages are installed, the included articles could also inform the user if he has to install new packages (if they aren't installed) or direct him to the correct app. Example: The user reads about Emailing, and because Thunderbird is installed and Evolution is not, the assistant directs him to the Thunderbird help.
Also, the assistant should feature a search for all the questions the user has that are independent of the running apps.



[....]

Right now when an application is installed in Synaptic, all the dependencies of the application are automatically installed. However, when the same application is uninstalled, only the application itself is uninstalled by Synaptic; all the dependencies of the application that were automatically installed by Synaptic are left intact.

The only way to remove the automatically installed dependencies is to run sudo apt-get autoremove from the command line.

Synaptic should provide an option to remove the automatically installed dependencies that were installed with an application when that application is being uninstalled using Synaptic.

Having a user drop to the command line to achieve this is not acceptable especially for new users.

..set up a distributed cross-compilation system if you need to. If you don't trust that, build in redundancy and checksumming.

The fact of the matter is that, as illustrated here,
http://mssaleh.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/ubuntu-804-lts-vs-windows-xp-sp3-applic ation-performance-benchmark/
constantly catering to the lowest common denominator in processor instruction sets is getting our butts kicked on performance even by /windows/ in many cases.
I don't want to waste my hardware's capability on i386 code, and I don't want to gentoo users laughing at me.

I want to go to the ubuntu site, pick my general type of machine (preferably using pretty pictures) , and have two choices:

-- Just give me something that works
or
-- I want to make the best use of my hardware

The latter option should let me download a utility that would examine my CPU and create a file (or something to that effect) that could be returned to the ubuntu site and used to choose the right disk image (with the right repository set of course) for my machine.

product: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 2.80GHz
vendor: Intel Corp.
physical id: 1
bus info: cpu@0
version: 15.2.9
size: 18EHz
width: 32 bits

[....]

The new Ubuntu Netbook Remix looks really good. I think it would be great if there was a similar Media Centre Remix (or Entertainment Centre, Home Theatre, Multimedia or HTPC Remix, call it what you will).

The Netbook Remix interface looks much better suited to TVs than either the Ubuntu and Ubuntu Mobile interfaces, so could be a great starting point for a Media Centre Remix.

Ideally the Ubuntu Media Centre Remix would integrate remote control functionality, and include a range of multimedia software tweaked to be controlled via remote and displayed on a TV.
PVR, DVB-T, DVB-S support should also be included.

The Media Centre Remix would be easy for users to install (unlike a lot of existing HTPC and PVR software) and would give an ideal platform for multimedia developers to focus on.

Make Ubuntu automatically find printers shared from a mac on a local network.

Ebox Platform is a very capable SME server web administration interface. Some work has been done already but limited resources have mostly hamstrung this effort. This tool set is currently optimized for Debian Sarge, but alpha packages do exist for Gutsy. This is a unique and effective administration tool that would give Ubuntu a leg up on other Distributions competing in the SME server market.

http://www.ebox-platform.com

Link to Packages:

http://www.ebox-platform.com/ubuntu

I propose there be an easy, graphical way to create your own distribution from Ubuntu.