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Open Source


The Good and Bad of Ubuntu Tweak

  • Written by Christopher Tozzi
  • February 2, 2010

I’ve long heard good things about Ubuntu Tweak, but never used it myself.  With the recent appearance of its 0.5 release, however, I decided to give it a go.  Here’s what I thought.

As its name implies, Ubuntu Tweak is a third-party application that tweaks Ubuntu’s default configuration.  Its goal is to provide “many useful desktop and system options that the default desktop environment doesn’t provide,” and to make those options easily accessible.

Ubuntu Tweak isn’t available from the official Ubuntu repositories, nor does Canonical explicitly endorse the application.  But it’s a quick and easy download from the developers’ site.

Tweak away

After installing Ubuntu Tweak and launching it from the Applications>System Tools menu, I was presented with a relatively straightforward interface.  It’s divided into five sections for managing different aspects of the system: Applications, Startup, Desktop, Personal, System.  Here’s a look:

Ubuntu Tweak Screenshot

Most of the Applications section is a repeat of Synaptic Package Manager, although it does offer the useful feature of updating certain applications to more recent versions than those available from the standard Ubuntu repositories.  This seems like it could pose the risk of breaking the package manager, but I didn’t have problems. In any case, I guess it isn’t any riskier than installing software from PPAs, which I do all the time and live to tell about.

For the most part, the Startup and Desktop areas of Ubuntu Tweak don’t offer any functionality that isn’t also accessible from the System toolbar in Ubuntu’s main menu.  A few of the settings in this section, however, are only configurable by manually editing text files or sorting through gconf.

Most of the stuff under the Personal section is also redundant, although a couple of very useful features there include a tool for adding scripts to the Nautilus right-click menu and configuring Nautilus document templates.

The only really worthwhile feature I found under the System heading in Ubuntu Tweak was the Security subsection, which allows users to disable various features, such as fast user switching.  Otherwise, most of the rest of this section is a nearly verbatim copy of utilities under the System>Administration menu or the Nautilus preferences dialog.

Is it worth it?

I’d read older reviews of Ubuntu Tweak, tested on previous versions of Ubuntu, that said it didn’t always work as promised. That wasn’t the case for me; everything I told it to do proceeded correctly in Ubuntu 9.10. This is a stable and safe application, as far as I can tell.

That said, I wasn’t as impressed with Ubuntu Tweak as some of its advocates promised I’d be.  It does offer a handful of innovative features, but at least 90% of its functionality is already accessible in GUI form on a default Ubuntu system. For the most part, then, Ubuntu Tweak’s only real value is that it aggregates a number of far-flung tools under a single interface.

Gnome Control Center already does that, though.  For reasons that have always seemed inexplicable to me, Gnome Control Center isn’t available by default from Ubuntu’s menus, but if you’ve never tried it, press alt-F2 and type “gnome-control-center”.  I bet you’ll agree that it provides a single user-friendly interface for doing most of what Ubuntu Tweak does.

Another criticism of Ubuntu Tweak is that while it seeks to cater to newbies, some of its features are advanced, and run the risk of breaking the system if not used properly.

For example, the application allows users to edit their apt sources.list file, without providing any warning that screwing it up could mean they can no longer install applications.  This seems like functionality that the Ubuntu neophyte doesn’t require, and which puts her system at risk if she doesn’t know what she’s doing.

Final word on Ubuntu Tweak

In summary, I’m not ungrateful to the Ubuntu Tweak developers.  They have produced a useful application that has undoubtedly helped many a non-geek make the switch to Ubuntu.  They’ve clearly identified areas where Ubuntu’s default user interface is weak, and have developed a solution.

But I can’t help but wonder if the effort put into Ubuntu Tweak would have been better expended contributing code to upstream projects so that the added functionality Ubuntu Tweak provides would be more easily accessible by default, without the assistance of a third-party add-on to Ubuntu.  That’s the whole point of open-source, after all.

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13 comments

  1. Avatar Lo bueno y lo malo de Ubuntu Tweak February 2, 2010 @ 1:13 pm
    Reply

    […] Lo bueno y lo malo de Ubuntu Tweak http://www.workswithu.com/2010/02/02/the-good-and-bad-of-ubuntu-tweak/nbsp; por Sudo hace 3 segundos […]

  2. Avatar Landor February 2, 2010 @ 3:24 pm
    Reply

    I think this was a great article and very honest about Ubuntu Tweak.

    The only flaw I found in the article was about it helping a lot of new users make the switch to Ubuntu. This is the same argument people use for Linux Mint as an example. When it comes down to it, if the person was really new would they even been aware of Ubuntu Tweak? By the time they were able to make the switch or making a partial switch, as a lot do with Linux excluding myself), they probably already did so without the help of Ubuntu Tweak.

    I’d guess that most who use it have already been using Linux or Ubuntu for a fair amount of time. The average Joe/Jane wouldn’t even be aware of its existence.

    Keep your stick on the ice…

    Landor

  3. Avatar jaklumen February 2, 2010 @ 4:22 pm
    Reply

    On the objective side, I think this article was very informative as to most of what Ubuntu Tweak offers (but not all). On the subjective side, however, I thought it was a bit harsh compared to how I saw my experience with it. Yes, it redundantly duplicates the work some existing Gnome packages do, but I think Tweak is much stronger as a GUI.

    One thing that was not mentioned is its Package Cleaner. I find it much more useful than the Gnome Cruft cleaner. I just compared them side by side and the former seems to be more comprehensive– the former had cache entries I can get rid of safely, while the latter came up with .deb packages I would like to keep.

    Landor mentioned Linux Mint. I switched to this distro after using Ubuntu for a while and I found it presented much fewer hassles to install and maintain. This is a good thing, IMHO, as similar comparisons are made with Ubuntu and Debian. Generally, most of Mint’s polish is to its GUI. Some are more aesthetic than anything, but I think most do enhance a sense of user friendliness.

    One notable example is Mint’s specialized Update Manager, which replaces the Gnome default. I find mintUpdate to be more eye-catching and more informative at a glance.

    I’d be tickled if the Mint developers incorporated Tweak somehow. Yes, they would need to put a warning on the Source Editor section, and otherwise clarify it’s a power user feature, but as they have already replaced a few Gnome default apps, I think it’s quite doable.

  4. Avatar Jim cady February 2, 2010 @ 4:43 pm
    Reply

    A fairly balance review, thank you.
    I use Ubutweak on most of my installs because I find the third party package management/installation and cruft removal to be top-notch. The rest of the program, I agree, mostly duplicates functionality found elsewhere. Ubuntu should bring this program into the mainline and dump that abortion they call ‘computer janitor’.

  5. Avatar k. February 2, 2010 @ 9:00 pm
    Reply

    “duplicate functionnality”

    Well please list all functionnality and make a statistic …

    Please do It : and i say wait and see !

    I think you are really wrong here : there is no effort from gnome develloper, and as you maybe don’t know it : this is their (stupid and critized)philosophy ; don’t do thing to easy : don’t give basic user interface for basic user ( that don’t want to gconf just to tweak their UI : fuck yeah ).

  6. Avatar beebe February 2, 2010 @ 10:52 pm
    Reply

    I love Ubuntu Tweak. I consider myself a fairly seasoned Ubuntu user, but if I can find a GUI tool that’ll do better than the command line I’m all over it. Ubuntu Tweak is that for me…it allows me to do many things with ease that I’d have to copy-paste into the terminal otherwise. Thank you Ubuntu Tweak Devs!

  7. Avatar Luis Armando Medina February 3, 2010 @ 1:18 am
    Reply

    i think this kind of app just stop learning ubuntu administration, personaly avoid this kind o apps

  8. Avatar nobodie February 3, 2010 @ 1:29 am
    Reply

    While I think that much of this article is, as others have said, correct, I have one reason that I find compelling to use tweak. When I am setting up a new computer or upgrading an existing computer to the next version (I usually reinstall in that case on new versions) I find that U_T helps me do the setup of programs launchpad PPAs and other “tweaks” in a very quick and efficient fashion.
    Yes, of course, I could do it all as i have in the past, step by step by step, but with this one tool I can simply work down through the gui and complete the task in just a very few minutes and walk away finished.
    Especially useful I find is the addition of the extra repos and PPA sources in one simple step. But all in all I use this tool and am very happy to have it, it is a good thing.

  9. Avatar Roger February 3, 2010 @ 1:56 am
    Reply

    You can use Ubuntu pull down menu to place Control Center on the pull down menu.

    Ubuntu pull down menu: System, Preference, Main Menu.
    This brings up box for selecting what is included in pull down menus.

    In left column Menu: , scroll down and click on System.
    This brings up available items:
    Click on selection box for Control Center.

    Close Main Menu box.

    Control Center is now included in Ubuntu’s pull down menu under System header

    I find Control Center is often easier to use than the pull down menu system.

  10. Avatar Links 2/2/2010: Oracle/Sun Analysis | Boycott Novell February 3, 2010 @ 2:28 am
    Reply

    […] The Good and Bad of Ubuntu Tweak In summary, I’m not ungrateful to the Ubuntu Tweak developers. They have produced a useful application that has undoubtedly helped many a non-geek make the switch to Ubuntu. They’ve clearly identified areas where Ubuntu’s default user interface is weak, and have developed a solution. […]

  11. Avatar John Hoyne February 3, 2010 @ 10:43 am
    Reply

    Even though many Ubuntu Tweak functions can be accessed via command line or System Menu, it is still one of the first things I add to a new installation – as it is so handy to quickly tune repos, various apps, settings etc Definitely a time saver and improving all the time. Another program of similar ilk, I came across recently, is Ailurus (google for it). Both of these with guake and gnome-do are the first time savers I install.

  12. Avatar Leo February 3, 2010 @ 12:25 pm
    Reply

    That’s one of the things I really like in Kubuntu: the System Settings application; it puts together all the system and desktop settings in one single place 🙂 Of course Ubuntu Tweak goes a little beyond that according to Christopher’s review.

  13. Avatar Stosskraft February 4, 2010 @ 8:08 am
    Reply

    A good article but a bit negative I think. Tweak is great for a fresh clean install to help install the 3rd party stuff (google repo) and even the restricted packages. I do agree that most of it can be done in the desktop it is nice to have all in once place.

    Another benefit it the cleaning options and big improvement over the standard crap program. In all I always load tweak first and recommend it to first time users, though I am getting better at the terminal and can do most of the tweak functions from it I do prefer it.

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