ubun2

I have Ubuntu (64 bit) running on 2 laptops since version 9.10.

One is a Dell D630 (T7100 duo CPU 1.8 GHz) with 4 GB of RAM, Intel 965GM graphics, the other is a Macbook (T7200 duo CPU 2.0 GHz) with 1 GB of RAM and Intel 950 grapics, used by my wife.

There always have been a slight difference in performance between the 2, the Dell being faster in booting, starting apps etc., and I think the difference in RAM size being the case.

We never missed an upgrade and never had a problem, so our trust in Ubuntu is (was??) 100%.

Untill the upgrade to 11.10. Upgrading the Dell caused major problems with installing graphics. It would boot into the login screen, accept login and then give me a dead screen, only the background, no Unity. Thankfully I could start a terminal window and after trying all sorts of solutions I finally solved the issue by adding "http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates/ubuntu oneiric main" to my repositories. I then still had a Unity problem and that turned out to be related to an active Desktop cube in Compiz. That worked fine in 11.04 but gives a major problem in 11.10.

It took me 3 days to get to this point. Everything works again, however: it takes longer to boot and is definitely slower.

With the DELL experience I started on the Macbook. Installed x-swat/x-updates in the repositories beforehand. Modified the Compiz settings and started the upgrade. It was only slightly better. OK, Unity showed immidiately after the upgrade and I had a stable system, however the Intell 950 Graphics are not properly recognized untill today and the system is AWFULLY SLOW. The Dell is perhaps 10% slower, the Macbook is approx 50% slower. Once an app has started you don't see that much difference, however starting an app can take minutes. Hitting the super button to get into the Dash can easily take 90 seconds which is UNACCEPTABLE. Starting an extra tab in Chrome takes 20 sec's.

The weird part is that it is very unpredictable what it will do. One time it starts Chrome in a blink, next time it takes 20 sec's.
Also PowerSave settings act weird (on the Macbook). After longer absence sometimes the screen comes back with the loginscreen on touching mouse or spacebar, next time it is completely dead and needs a restart.

During analysis I found also an issue with systeminfo. The graphs show only 60 % usage of the (1GB) memory, the "free" command gives a 96% memory usage immidiately after startup/login. The latter value explains why the performance is bad so I looked at the swap partition. I enlarged it from 1.5GB to 5 Gb but its usage remains marginal and I don see a real performance improvement. I guess I have to install more physical RAM to get this thing going again.

What happened to the Ubuntu one could install on the oldest hardware where even XP would not run anymore?? I don't dare to advise my friends to install Ubuntu on their old laptop anymore!!
I hope the emphasis for 12.04 is on performance and not on more features. If I have to buy new hardware to support the latest Ubuntu release I guess I turn back to Microsoft. Afterall Win8 is included in the new hardware and saves me a lot of trouble and time.