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Suggestions for Ultimate Edition 3.6

PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 11:43 am
by Brahim
Hi guys I'm new here but I have been active on Ultimate Edition OZ forum :downthere and I have new ideas for you :D

After giving the matter enough thought, I suggest the following as as roadmap for Ultimate Edition 3.6 which I think would establish it as a mainstream OS:

1- Ultimate Edition should profit from Mint's well-established reputation. It should drop Ubuntu for Mint, which is a rock-solid OS but still needs some esthetic touches and this should be the scope of Ultimate Edition. Based on my experience with Mint, I think the following touches should be put to it, esp. Cinnamon desktop:

- Cinnamon panel is plain dull and simplistic. Ultimate Edition should give it a sophisticated look with a unique panel theme and style. For instance we can give the Menu and calender areas a solid colour and make the area in between slightly transparent to allow for the integration of wallpapers in the overall DE. We can learn from Zorin OS Core 6 docklike panel. The picture below better illustrates the issue.

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- Event sounds should come preinstalled and preconfigured on Cinnamon.

- Ultimate Edition installer should feature an audio-video slide welcoming users in many languages and some nice event sounds signalling transition while installing the OS, just like in Zorin OS core 6. This would give the OS a professional look and feel while assuring the inexperienced users of the installation process. Pushing the boundaries yet further, I think the installation process can even be music-flavored; with relaxing tunes in the background. This would take the rough edges off the installer's patent blandness.


2- Cinnamon and Mate are the most successful DE's so far and they are very compatible, unlike Unity which has been a push factor for many Ubuntu users and it's very intrusive with other DE's. LXDE with openbox is a very lightweight DE, compatible with Cinnamon and Mate and suitable for old computers. Putting all this together, Ultimate Edition 3.6 should cater for the needs of those using old technologies and those who use cutting edge ones. Putting Cinnamon, Mate and LXDE in one OS would be the best choice to achieve that. Check this 2013 Linux distro survey results http://constantmayhem.com/ty-stuff/linu ... Statements


3- Mate is compiz-compatible but still neeeds some workarounds. Mint community has forked Mate and developed their own Mate-compatible Compiz. Find it at http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... 7&t=114613

4- MDM should replace Ubuntu gdm. It is more customizable and themeable than gdm and it's undergoing lots of development which would add to it's functionality and elegance. This customizability will allows theme designers to give Ultimate Edition an identity and set it apart from Ubuntu . MDM 1.2, Linux Mint 15 display manager, will feature HTML5 Login Screens, which means we can even play a minigame before login. Check these 2 links: http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2327 and this http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=126979.

MDM version 1.0.8 (current)

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MDM version 1.2 (under development)

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Being a Linux user with enough experience with mainstream OS's, I gurantee you that if we follow this 3-point roadmap we would improve Ultimate Edition ranking on Distrowatch from 27th to 1st or 2nd.

Thanks for considering my suggestion.

Re: Suggestions for Ultimate Edition 3.6

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:43 am
by Brahim
Blackwolf wrote::vil-bandit Be interested to see Theemahn's take on this.


I have edited the post :D :D

Re: Suggestions for Ultimate Edition 3.6

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:27 am
by JOHNNYG
Very interesting spin ! <BREW> We are always up for new Ideas !! although the mint thing has been done, and was not well received, Keep the great suggestions coming ! They are what makes an already Great OS a Greater-er one. . . . OS. . . . ;) :P :lol: <BREW>

Re: Suggestions for Ultimate Edition 3.6

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 12:02 pm
by Xanayoshi
In all honesty I wish Cinnamon would just go away from Ultimate Edition. Same as Unity. If there is ever another KDE Ultimate Edition, to drop all the extra environments except LXDE, forget about metacity completely and just use kwin. I know why people hate KDE but as far as it working, the 4.4 debian stable is worthless and 4.8.5 is a little less worthless. It has to be 4.9.5 or above or go home. 3.5 is broken to me, it is more or less a DIY project. I LOVE that. I don't think most people do.

I am pretty sure Ultimate is using LDM lately. MDM for me is fine only because I can put GDM themes on it.

Speaking of the DM, also...in future Ultimates, for the love of all that is Linux, get rid of the Ubuntu theming in LDM..for realz. It totally kills the vibe.

Re: Suggestions for Ultimate Edition 3.6

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 3:17 pm
by Brahim
JOHNNYG wrote:Very interesting spin ! <BREW> We are always up for new Ideas !! although the mint thing has been done, and was not well received, Keep the great suggestions coming ! They are what makes an already Great OS a Greater-er one. . . . OS. . . . ;) :P :lol: <BREW>


Soryy but I don't think it wasn't well received. In fact, I has discovered Ultimate Edition through "Ultamint" and I still can remenmber that it was ranked 9th and 10th on Distrowatch but the following releases weren't that successful. Ultimate Edition has to adopt a more practical approach on DE's. Unity won't be the best choice if we want to achieve that. Cinnamon and Mate are the most practical DE's I know and they are the most elegant as well. Ubuntu has enough ultimate editions and most of them didn't click. On the opposite, Mint doesn't have any and someone has to take that to his own advantage. :D :D

Re: Suggestions for Ultimate Edition 3.6

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 3:26 pm
by Micro
And then it can be on the cover of Lucky Charms... :lol:

Re: Suggestions for Ultimate Edition 3.6

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 3:30 pm
by Xanayoshi
It just doesn't make any sense. So far as I can tell, Mint is just as "Ubuntu" as Ultimate Edition. I'm more on board with Micro's idea of a rolling Debian and our OS views are opposite. There's a good chance I would ditch Ubuntu completely if this happened.

Re: Suggestions for Ultimate Edition 3.6

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 4:03 pm
by Brahim
I would go with LMDE if I want a rolling debian release :D and Mint is not a Ubuntu it's a different OS with its own merits. LMDE ( Linux Mint Debian Edition), for instance has nothing to do with Ubuntu. Check this link http://www.linuxmint.com/release.php?id=14. Those are all difeerent versions of LMDE :D

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Re: Suggestions for Ultimate Edition 3.6

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 4:51 pm
by Micro
It's close to rolling but on a cyclic rolling model. You get a set of patches usually quarterly. I def agree with X and to build off something thats already built off another, seems redundant. I do feel your pain Brahim, but if u go with LMDE you can make it resemble Ultimate Edition. Or better yet just go Ultimate. Your beyond such a mainstream OS. And when it comes down to it all, its still Ubuntu, with the Irish bar of soap look. lol

Re: Suggestions for Ultimate Edition 3.6

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 5:18 pm
by Brahim
Micro wrote:It's close to rolling but on a cyclic rolling model. You get a set of patches usually quarterly. I def agree with X and to build off something thats already built off another, seems redundant. I do feel your pain Brahim, but if u go with LMDE you can make it resemble Ultimate Edition. Or better yet just go Ultimate. Your beyond such a mainstream OS. And when it comes down to it all, its still Ubuntu, with the Irish bar of soap look. lol


:D :D :D Ubuntu itself is built off another distro (Debian). Ultimate Edition, Zorin OS and Mint are my favourite os'S. I like Mint because it a rock-solid OS ( the most stable so far) and its DE's are the very practical and lightweight but it lacks theming. I like Zorin for its customizability, speed and originality but still it needs some theming. I like Ultimate Edition for its completeness and its out-of-the-box theming but, except Ultamint, it is not stable enough to make it my main OS. The botton line is that if Ultimate Edition can make the compromise between the giants by including practical and lightweight DE's and giving them enough theming, it will be the most original OS. To put it bluntly, Unity is an unholy mess and if I want it I would go with Ubuntu or OZ Unity. I believe Ultimate Edition and BlackOpal (an OZ Unity project) can make the difference in Linux if they can come down to earth and think seriously of a complete, practical and customizable OS. "We don't need an OS to share its screenshots on forums, We need an OS to get things done comfortably". And confortably comprises customizability,responsiveness and functinality :D