[kubuntu-devel] Criticism of the Kubuntu installer

[Jonathan Riddell]

On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 12:59:49PM +0100, Claus Appel wrote:
>    1. There is no progress bar when checking the install medium for
>    errors.

You mean at boot?  Or in Ubiquity?

>    2. When choosing where to install, there are only two options: "Use
>    entire disk" and "manual". Basically, there is a "complete n00b" and
>    "expert" level, but no intermediate levels. I suggest adding one or
>    more of the following:
>    (a) A "replace existing Linux" option, like the Fedora installer has
>    (in Fedoras 9-11, at least).
>    (b) A "use unpartitioned space" option.
>    (c) A "replace the following partitions with a default Linux
>    layout".

You will be given an option to install alongside existing partitions
if d-i thinks is can shrink the existing partitions, for whatever
reason it must have decided this wasn't possible in your case.

>    3. When I get to the end of the wizard, the "forward" button turns
>    into an "install" button. When I press "back", the "install" button
>    should change back to "forward", but no. It keeps saying "install"
>    even though it actually acts as a "forward" button. This is a
>    bug.

Sounds like a bug, please report to launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubiquity

>    4. If I go "back" to the part where I select where to install, it does
>    not let me review the settings I chose last time. Instead, it forces
>    me to start over.

Likewise

>    5. When I am done selecting options and the installer is installing, I
>    see a horde of progress bars that come and go. This is not very
>    useful. It would be more useful to have an "overall installation"
>    progress bar. (Even if it is very imprecise, it would be better than
>    nothing.)

It does try to only show one progress bar but maybe something
changed.  You could report a bug, the Ubiquity team are pleasingly
good at their bug triage.

>    6. When installation is in progress, the background (behind the little
>    message box and progress bar) turns white. White is a bad colour IMO,
>    since it uses more energy and puts more strain on the eyes. I would
>    prefer a black background.

This is also a bug, it should be set to the default wallpaper but that
changes each release and something wasn't updated, please report a bug
on casper.

(And as noted, white screens are most efficient on LCDs.)

Jonathan