Unity: Nothing can go wrong!

[Liam Proven]

On 18 April 2011 15:04, Fred A. Miller <fmiller at lightlink.com> wrote:
> On 04/17/2011 07:27 AM, Liam Proven wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> I appologize.....I said "3" but it isn't....current Gnome. I can't find any
>> option for
>> a Unity startup....no options at all. The image is the 64-bit iso from the
>> Ubuntu site. The
>> file name is: ubuntu-11.04-beta2-desktop-amd64.iso
>
> It doesn't and you didn't get GNOME 3. You got GNOME 2.
>
> Unity requires 3D compositing. They are working on a separate 2D
> version but it's not ready yet.
>
> The way it works is meant to be this:
>
>  - if you have hardware 3D, you get Unity;
>  - if you don't, you get GNOME 2.
>
> No, I don't think that's correct. The disk doesn't have the new nVidia
> drivers so you can't get Unity.

Um. Firstly, I'm fairly sure that it is right, and others have already agreed.

Secondly, well, there are a number of errors in this sentence: "The
disk doesn't have the new nVidia drivers so you can't get Unity."

Firstly, Unity is not directly anything to do with nVidia or its
drivers. It works on anything with hardware-accelerated compositing,
AIUI: ATI, capable Intel chipsets, whatever.

Secondly, the CD does indeed have nVidia drivers - the basic, 2D "nv"
driver and I would expect the newer, partly-accelerated FOSS "nouveau"
driver. What it doesn't have is the proprietary binary drivers from
nVidia Corporation, no, but not all h/w specs will need those to get
enough 3D working for Unity, and some people prefer to go without them
and run all-Free s/w, anway.

Thirdly, you /can/ install the binary drivers off the Internet while
booted to a live CD, if you're careful. I've done it. What you need to
do is be careful *not* to restart the computer, but merely quit &
reload X.org at the critical point. It works.


-- 
Liam Proven • Info & profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/lproven
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