Ubuntu MATE 18.04 - Yet more progress

HI @desconocido,

when the update window opens, it will show a list of available updates, there is also a button which states "Remind Me Later", just click on that to defer updates!. :smiley:

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Not for snaps, AFAIK. They are updated in the background automatically by snapd.

I personally like this, but understand the other side. There is some discussion about options for deferring snap updates: https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/disabling-automatic-refresh-for-snap-from-store/707 [Edit: changed link to the thread, rather than a specific post.]

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I’m not sure about snaps either so I can really only recommend looking at the following and starting there!:

https://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/snappy :smiley:

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Planning to upgrade once stable is out. I am evaluating 18.04 Beta on an old junker.

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Is anyone else seeing an issue with resizing the top panel? As far as I can tell the top panel does not resize between 17 and 28 pixels as seen here:

The bottom panel can be visibly seen to contract from 28 to 17 pixels, something that can be checked for yourself or I can try to make another screen capture of the bottom panel. Does anyone have a fix for this behavior? Will also be making a thread for assistance on this but wanted to showcase it here in the thread as well.

In addition to that I’m noticing two other things:

  • No volume control applet in the system tray, sound works and can be found in the System ->Preferences ->Hardware ->Sound option but no applet for easy administration.

EDIT: Sound applet came back when I reset the panel, this dropped me into the Familiar Layout for some reason instead of Traditional. After several attempts to induce that behavior again I’m acting on the assumption it was a result of the new Layout being added and a one time event unlikely to be experienced by anyone using a final release. I did want to mention it so you have a data point in case it happens to anyone else. Sound applet is there again and that’s great.

  • No shutdown button. (If this is intentional please disregard.)

EDIT: I see that the shutdown, logoff, and lock options are in the new applet that looks like a KDE icon. Is there any way to shove it on the far right side of the clock\calendar applet so it’s in the correct place? It just seems strange having it there instead of at the far right. I had thought maybe you were getting rid of it altogether and users were to shutdown from the system menu. Anyway to remove the new icon if it cannot be moved? I’d almost rather shutdown from the system menu if it can’t be moved.

  • Touchpad having extreme sensitivity (or seizures) from being touched. It’s almost like it’s dancing if I rest my finger on it even if I’m about to hit a button or highlight some text. Any idea what changed between Bionic and Xenial that would make this happen? Am I the only one experiencing this?

Finally for the hardware issues, is there a log that can be submitted? Something to help the developers troubleshoot?

Thanks.

A new driver, libinput. It is usually better for newer devices and actively developed – the last Ubuntu Desktop weekly update included a list of fixes and a new version being uploaded – but you can still install the synaptics driver (xserver-xorg-input-synaptics) and it will be used by default.

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That definitely made a huge difference for me!

As you say the new libinput is being actively developed how often should I check to see if the issue has been fixed? I assume I can check simply by removing the package I just added, right? Or should I simply consider the new input baked in as is and continue using the older driver for this hardware?

Thanks for your help!

It’s probably not a problem for the two items planned for 18.04, but if Ubuntu starts using snaps for stuff that requires a reboot, I would be horrified.

Libinput is updated frequently, but you will only get new versions in Ubuntu if you’re using a pre-release (e.g. daily, alpha or beta). Once a Ubuntu version is released, you’ll only get bug fix updates for it, if anything.

Synaptics isn’t going anywhere for 18.04, so you can keep using it.

If you want to try to get it working better, the libinput main developer, Peter Hutterer, is pretty responsive to bug reports if you can provide the information needed to try to improve it. You’ll need to compile and install the latest version of libinput and provide measurement data from your touchpad. There is more info here: https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/libinput/.

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AIUI, the new version would be installed and then used on reboot, but you could keep using the previous version until you do reboot. Part of the advantage of snaps is that the two versions wouldn’t interfere with each other.

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First of all, thanks again for your help and your advice.

I’m currently running Ubuntu MATE 18.04 LTS (Bionic) Beta 1 + all updates up to a minute ago.

If I’m understanding what I’m seeing in Synaptic Package Manager, the version of libinput installed right now is 1.10.1-1, is that right?

Because the most recent release, libinput 1.10.3 on the site you linked me seems to specifically mention my issue: “fixes the new pointer jitter detection, a bitmask got lost and we compared 32 bits instead of only the 3 we cared about.”

The question is will libinput be updated while Bionic is still in beta or not? Because for me switching to the old driver takes care of the issue I was having and it appears that the developer is already on top of things to fix the issue in the new driver as well. If Ubuntu-Mate updates the driver that will allow me to test it for us, to see if the problem goes away or not. Otherwise everything looks in hand there.

Now if I can just find out what’s going on with the top panel…

Even the migration from one Windows to an another always were shocking
And here as I can understand about all of this changes only the name is kept?
Ok, I will wait for STABLE version…

I think it’s pretty stable! With the exception of the touchpad jitter bug everything I’ve harped on has been a papercut. It irritates over time but it doesn’t prohibit function. Even then the touchpad driver has already been fixed in the latest version and the easy fix is to simply reinstall the old driver. What could be simpler than that?

Otherwise this has been the nicest beta I’ve ever seen.

I’ve contacted the libinput package maintainer, they uploaded 1.10.3-2 to Debian on Sunday March 18th. I’ve requested they sync that to Ubuntu. It’s doesn’t happen automatically now because when we hit feature freeze the automatic Debian sync is disabled.

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OK, cool thanks!

If you let me know if it goes in, I can remove the old driver and let you know if the newer version of libinput fixes the issue so you will know from at least one user that it improved things or not.

(Has anyone else reported anything of this nature or am I just one of the lucky ones with the jitter and no one else is speaking up or testing?)

I’ve been OK enough not to have reported anything, but I did dig through the bug reports at one point. It seems that touchpads vary dramatically, so different models can have all sorts of different behaviors.

For me the best change recently is the reduction/removal of hysterisis, which made precise movement feel really sloppy.

I do have some problems with it jumping only when I’m two finger scrolling or have locked the screen and unlocked it again, but it’s not terrible

Gnome3 and Wayland both have their problems with the synaptics driver, Mate as far as I can tell does not have any conflicts. Is there any reason for not using it? I have been bouncing back and forth between the two and thinking synaptics just makes it easier for me to tweak my Dell.

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Why do people change things that work?
Is there a petition?
:cow:

ok, ok, still waiting for that all brand new and shiny and… so and so :smiley:

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i do tend to like newer stuff and that is why I never stay with an LTS, but I may try the synaptics driver