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A Brief Look At Ubuntu 14.04 LTS

Screenshot at 09-16-16

The plan was to update my laptop at work, preferably before noon, so that I could use my lunch hour to edit my novel. But Ubuntu didn’t update their repositories until after I got home. Leading to me calling the release “Tardy Tahr”. So I didn’t actually get to upgrade until an hour before bed. I still only have about an hour’s time on the new OS, so my comments here are not going to be complete.

First Impressions

It looks familiar on the surface. But closer inspection reveals a refinement that just makes me smile. Since I’m using a Dell XPS 13″ laptop with 13.10 on it, I’ve had no end of fits getting the touch pad to work correctly. Apparently the drivers for it were only available in the 12.04 LTS version of the operating system. Now that I’m on a new LTS (Long Term Service), I have a perfectly working touch pad. By working I mean that it no longer reacts negatively to my slight wrist brushes while I type. This is a BIG deal for a writer.

The other new feature that I welcomed enthusiastically was the ability to shrink the launcher bar to something the size of the menu bar at the top. This nets me a bunch of horizontal screen space. I love that feature. You can see this in the screenshot above.

As for all the other included awesomeness, I really don’t care. The two things that bothered me the most about the OS are now “fixed”. I’m ready to get working on the next novel. Congratulations to Canonical and all the volunteers who worked on Trusty Tahr. Another excellent release!

 

1 thought on “A Brief Look At Ubuntu 14.04 LTS”

  1. I too have upgraded and am impressed, Ken. I will shrink the bar on the left as you have done. That will make a difference, as you say. My upgrade was also available a day later. Perhaps it’s living Down Under that was to blame.

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