Xubuntu 19.10.1 on PI 4 4GB experience feedback

[JumpZero]

Hello,

This post is to give my Ubuntu experience feedback.
I'm a Raspbian user since the first Raspberry Pi, I just wanted to give a try to Ubuntu on the Pi.
I downloaded 64bit Ubuntu 19.10 for the Pi4 from the official site
Checking, uncompressing and burning the image from linux with dd was as easy as usual.
Put the SD in the Pi and yes it boots.
I was expecting everything running out of the box, but actually it's almost out of the box.
There is no desktop it's console only. Well it's logical it's a server version.
So as suggested here I installed a desktop. I choosed xubuntu

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 sudo apt update
 sudo apt install xubuntu-desktop

Some 1200+ packages and half an hour later (slow internet here) I was prompted to choose a session manager, 2 choices: gdm or lightdm. I choosed lightdm.
After reboot the screen was black nothing on it, however the system was running and I was able lo login in a virtual console (Alt-F1).
From here I found a process using 1 cpu 100% and running forever it was named something like "lightdm-greeter-...."
So the problem was the graphical login screen, may be gdm would have been a better choice when I was asked to choose.. I don't know.
No problem after a quick search on the web I found and install slick-greeter and the problem was gone, I was able to login to a nice xfce desktop.It's very complete, Firefox is installed, easy to get wifi running, etc..
But no sound! (alsa reported no sound card installed)
Again search on the web, found and added

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dtparam=audio=on

in /boot/firmware/usercfg.txt
reboot and ok audio is working.
I don't know why this is not the default as it is in Raspbian config.txt
Anyway the system is nice and pleasant to use.
I installed cromium thru snap and it worked like a charm.
I didn't run any performance test, it was just a test of the look and feel.
That's it, I just wanted to share my experience I don't have any question.
--
Jmp0

[Gopherit]

Jump0 -
Very helpful and very simple, thank you. I initially tried 20.04 Server with Xubuntu - everything worked well except being able to access the RPI on my network. Could ssh in but noway browse, couldn't even get to see the shared folders. Something funny about 20.04 and networks?

Then went to 18.04 but just couldn't get anything working, very strange. With 19.10 it all worked and I was able to install Samba and setup accessible Folders. Haven't tried audio yet but that is not so important to me.

In between I loaded Raspbian but that was strangely slow although I did get shared folders working.

[JonG]

Another RPi4 experience.

After seeing the RPi4 spec last summer, I decided to take on the challenge of replacing my aging (10+ years) windows main computer with linux on the RPi4.

I set up the systems I describe below on an SSD, using separate partitions for the root file system and /home.

I started with standard Raspbian, which was OK, but then curiosity got the better of me and I transferred to Manjaro 64-bit with XFCE desktop. This is a very polished system, but I had a specific performance issue with LibreOffice Writer. In my work, I prepare reports where I have to enter data to cells within tables. For some reason, there was significant keyboard lag, which made it difficult to use.

I was unable to resolve this issue and so moved to Raspbian with the MATE desktop. This resolved my LibreOffice problem, but left me with another performance issue. My email client, Thunderbird, performed really badly. It took over a minute just to start up.

So, a couple of months ago, I moved to Ubuntu 19.10.1 64-bit with the MATE desktop, and upgraded to 20.04 about 10 days ago. I am pleased with this system. The main applications I use (Chromium, Thunderbird, LibreOffce Writer and Calc) all work acceptably and the desktop I set up looks good. Nevertheless, I should mention a couple of minor problems I had, for which I found workarounds:

1. I setup up the screen to blank after 1 hour of non-use. However the backlight LED's did not switch off. I resolved this by using the 'xset' command at the terminal.
2. For various reasons, I need the system to have a static IP address with a wired connection. This was easy to set up using the "Advanced Network Configuration" application. However, I found that on every reboot the system connected to the internet with a DHCP allocated IP address, ignoring my static IP definition. I was unable to fix this using the config files, but eventually found a solution. At startup, I run a two line script using the 'nmcli' command to delete the DHCP connection and use my static IP connection. Inelegant, but it works.

I hope my experience may be of use to others on a similar journey.

[Giga_Pi]

Another RPi4 experience.

After seeing the RPi4 spec last summer, I decided to take on the challenge of replacing my aging (10+ years) windows main computer with linux on the RPi4.

I set up the systems I describe below on an SSD, using separate partitions for the root file system and /home.

I started with standard Raspbian, which was OK, but then curiosity got the better of me and I transferred to Manjaro 64-bit with XFCE desktop. This is a very polished system, but I had a specific performance issue with LibreOffice Writer. In my work, I prepare reports where I have to enter data to cells within tables. For some reason, there was significant keyboard lag, which made it difficult to use.

I was unable to resolve this issue and so moved to Raspbian with the MATE desktop. This resolved my LibreOffice problem, but left me with another performance issue. My email client, Thunderbird, performed really badly. It took over a minute just to start up.

So, a couple of months ago, I moved to Ubuntu 19.10.1 64-bit with the MATE desktop, and upgraded to 20.04 about 10 days ago. I am pleased with this system. The main applications I use (Chromium, Thunderbird, LibreOffce Writer and Calc) all work acceptably and the desktop I set up looks good. Nevertheless, I should mention a couple of minor problems I had, for which I found workarounds:

1. I setup up the screen to blank after 1 hour of non-use. However the backlight LED's did not switch off. I resolved this by using the 'xset' command at the terminal.
2. For various reasons, I need the system to have a static IP address with a wired connection. This was easy to set up using the "Advanced Network Configuration" application. However, I found that on every reboot the system connected to the internet with a DHCP allocated IP address, ignoring my static IP definition. I was unable to fix this using the config files, but eventually found a solution. At startup, I run a two line script using the 'nmcli' command to delete the DHCP connection and use my static IP connection. Inelegant, but it works.

I hope my experience may be of use to others on a similar journey.

Maybe look at at desktopify: https://github.com/wimpysworld/desktopify

[kerry_s]

i might try a ubuntu 20 + budgie desktop build later.
i got some Ethernet over powerline adapters, so i'm no longer confined to trying to get wifi to work at install.
i'm currently using raspbian lite + budgie desktop, it kinda annoys me using a old budgie version.

[Giga_Pi]

i might try a ubuntu 20 + budgie desktop build later.
i got some Ethernet over powerline adapters, so i'm no longer confined to trying to get wifi to work at install.
i'm currently using raspbian lite + budgie desktop, it kinda annoys me using a old budgie version.

It annoys me using out of date software too.

[mcocorochio]

Just a reminder for those who might just casually install Ubuntu on sd for a quick check-out.
When I installed 20.04 last week I looked in my desk drawer and picked an old generic micro sd and proceeded to install. End result was an very slow system; close to useless.
I just got a Samsung EVO card in a care package yesterday and re-installed. Amazing difference. I am currently using it as a normal desktop. As noted Video may need some work.
I am also using Ubuntu 20.04 on a new Odroid C4. The performance on the Odroid is a bit better, but it has the advantage of a eMMC card. It is a little behind on software availability, but this is improving daily. It has a large heat-sink, so no special treatment in that regard. It has 4 USB3 ports, but no built-in wifi; just about any wifi dongle seems to work.
My Pi4 uses one of those plexiglass skeleton cases on standoffs with a small fan, which cured my earlier heat issues.
Mike C

[sierratango]

I was able to successfully install Ubuntu 20.04 Server and Xubuntu Desktop on my RPi 4 2GB. Everything seems to work after booting it up but after a while of inactivity it has an issue where the desktop will not respond to the keyboard or mouse. However, I am still able to access the console using Alt+Ctrl+F1 on the keyboard. SSH also works.

I have tried disabling screensaver, Xfce display power management, light locker, and even switching from LightDM to GDM.

Restarting LightDM or GDM3 temporarily fixes the issue.

Anyone else having the same problem?