Author Topic: How to use the standard Unity (3D) environment  (Read 2844 times)

urkomasse

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 83
    • View Profile
How to use the standard Unity (3D) environment
« on: September 03, 2013, 12:49:48 AM »
Hello everyone,

At our school, we have customized Ubermix 1.082 to use the standard Unity environment instead of the Ubermix Netbook Launcher. This was decided after running Ubermix last year and getting student feedback. With our current machines (Core i3, 4Gb of RAM), the general perception was that the Ubermix environment became cumbersome for running multiple applications at the same time. In hindsight, maybe we should have looked at the Xubuntu interface too, but too late now.

We are running into some strange issues related to the start of the Xsession:

- Using LightDM, sometimes the Unity panel doesn't get loaded. You can see the desktop, and shortcut keys like Ctrl-Alt-T or Super-S work, but you don't see the launcher. This happen on first boot after installing Ubermix. On second boot, it works, but the login takes a very long time. On third boot, it logins quickly, and stays like that on further boots.
However, if the user changes the password or turns off autologin, then the Unity panel NEVER loads. This has caused us a lot of pain, because a large group of students want to change the password "password" to prevent pranks by classmates.

- I found out that changing to GDM, the login process is slightly slower, but the Unity panel always loads. However, and just for fun, we now run into bug 934618, and if autologin is turned on, GDM crashes: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gdm/+bug/934618

Right now, I have used remote updates to install GDM for everyone and force autologin off, so we are at a stable point, and I can breathe and write this post :)
It's obvious that LightDM is starting the Ubuntu session in a different way than GDM does. I would love to trace that and find out at which point the Unity panel service gets started compared to the rest of it, but I know very little about X sessions.
Also I expect this issue of autologin and disappearing panel doesn't happen in standard Ubuntu, so I wonder how the aufs mounting may be affecting this.
Any pointers to dig deeper would be most welcome.

I realize I am pushing far from the Ubermix supported stuff, but no harm in asking!
Cheers!
« Last Edit: September 03, 2013, 01:21:08 AM by urkomasse »