The Ubuntu 11.10 Default Wallpaper

By , Published August 29, 2011

Edit: 9th September: The wallpaper has now landed in Ubuntu 11.10

The new default wallpaper for Ubuntu 11.10 has been revealed in a bug report.

This updated design (and, yes, it is updated, see below) was attached to a bug report by Ubuntu’s Otto Greenslade, the designer of the Ubuntu wallpaper used in the last three releases, titled ‘Incremental tweaks to default wallpaper for Ubuntu 11.10′.

In filing the bug Otto mentions: -

Despite the fact that this file is named ‘new_wallpaper_final_full_size03.jpg’ please rename to ‘warty-final-ubuntu.png’ to be registered as the default wallpaper.

“Umm, It looks the same as Natty’s”

If the wallpaper looks similar to that used in the previous three releases it should: it’s kind of the point.

Over the last few releases only minor changes, such as adjusting fractals, lighting and colours, have been altered, letting Ubuntu retain a familiar and neutral desktop look throughout successive release.

The designer of the wallpaper, Otto Greenslade, explained the changes in the bug report to which the wallpaper was attacthed: -

I have made subtle changes and introduced new light refractions. We can continue to add light streams and re-balance with each release – the landscape becomes gently lighter and brighter and gains in complexity to reflect our drive towards 12.04

IMHO as we move towards becoming more of a ‘household’ platform and with the great changes coming with Unity (launcher/dash) general users will get reassurance from the familiarity of the wallpaper and will also identify with it as part of our personality in new screenshots.

For reference here is the new Oneiric wallpaper compared to that of Lucid, Maverick and Natty: -

I like it – and here’s why

The approach taken by Ubuntu with the default wallpaper is not to everyones tastes, and that’s fine: it’s why the Ubuntu CD also ships with a bunch of other wallpapers that vary in colour, design and tone.

But I am fond of the default wallpaper and urge users not to knock it out of hand. The wallpaper has the tough task of trying being one of the very first things a user sees when booting into a Live CD or after a fresh install; and to that end the “purple wash” wallpaper is fast becoming as ingrained a part of Ubuntu’s visual identity as the cosy tones of Ambiance and the unique look of the Unity desktop.

Do you like it? Or will changing it be high on your to-do after installing Ubuntu 11.10? 

Thanks to Corey

Related posts:

  1. Download every default Ubuntu and Fedora wallpaper in one pack
  2. Download the default ChromeOS wallpaper and view the default screensaver
  3. Dual-screen version of Ubuntu 10.10′s default wallpaper
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  • http://profiles.google.com/borisdsp Boris Da Silva Perez

    It is the same, and it is getting boring.

  • Andreas Mieritz

    I’m sorry but… what’s the point? They added a few extra lines. If anything new wallpapers as good as that one would be preferable.

  • Anonymous

    The wallpaper changes are more noticeable when you show the change over more than one release. 

    I’ve always though Ubuntu would be better off with one of GNOME’s nature wallpapers.

    • http://omgubuntu.co.uk/ Joey-Elijah Sneddon

      I’m going to replace the .gif with 10.04 – 11.10 shortly 

      • Anonymous

        The image you have for 10.04 is wrong, it should be this one.

        • http://omgubuntu.co.uk/ Joey-Elijah Sneddon

          Thanks, amended. 

        • Anonymous

          This only proves the point! Even Joey got it wrong! The wallpapers, love them or hate them, are exactly the same! There’s no point in spending even the x minutes adding the odd lens flare when nobody even notices. Just slap the same one on.

  • http://www.corbindavenport.com/ Corbin Davenport

    I liked when fantastic artwork was the default, like in Interpid Ibex.

    *sigh* Oh well, there’s always deviantART…

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001950987546 Jeb Eldridge

      I would still like to see this as the new default:
      http://www.flickr.com/photos/64718148@N06/6026741593/in/photostream

      • Ogün Çakır

        much betta

      • Akshat Jain

        Ugly and inconsistent with Ubuntu’s brand identity.

        • Freddi

          Exactly!!!
          And not that anyone can’t find out from where the gradient is stolen. An independent proud brand has it’s own identity, not a stolen one.

      • Robin Jacobs

        Blergh *headache*

    • http://www.facebook.com/nicholas.shiell Nicholas Shiell
      • Ogün Çakır

        oh yea, that was something of art.

      • daas88

        Best ubuntu wallpaper evar.

      • Akshat Jain

        I loved that wallpaper!

  • https://launchpad.net/~exeleration-g Exeleration-G

    It’d be better if the Canonical team would choose a new default wallpaper, with the same abstract stuff in it, instead of repolishing the old ones.

  • http://twitter.com/EuruxD Eustace

    There are a thousands of AWESOME and really ORIGINAL wallpapers you can set to be default! But you only add a few changes to the previous one! I though this version will have a new and different wallpaper. I’m so disappointed, Canonical! 

    • http://www.paul.sladen.org/ Paul Sladen

      Eustace: Indeed, there are thousands of other wallpapers;  and we even a good selection of wallpapers from the Wallpaper Competition (judged by the previous winners).

      Ubuntu is about freedom and a lot of users custom their background.

      In fact, tt’s one of the first things that many users change, so finding a good default is often about what’s likely to offend the least number of people (those who leave the default wallpaper as it is).

      Why the disappointment?  The LTS release is due for Ubuntu 12.04?  (Only another six months ago).  Get your ideas in early!

  • Marc Girouard

    Nobody cares about the default wallpaper (hopefully)… I don’t know a single person who keeps it.

    The default could be solid purple for all I care!

  • Marc Girouard

    Nobody cares about the default wallpaper (hopefully)… I don’t know a single person who keeps it.

    The default could be solid purple for all I care!

    • Anonymous

      People definitely do, otherwise the default theme wouldn’t matter a cent. It also is a first impression for new users.

  • Marc Girouard

    Nobody cares about the default wallpaper (hopefully)… I don’t know a single person who keeps it.

    The default could be solid purple for all I care!

  • Marc Girouard

    Nobody cares about the default wallpaper (hopefully)… I don’t know a single person who keeps it.

    The default could be solid purple for all I care!

  • Anonymous

    I love what they’re doing with Ambiance and the Dash visually and I think the wallpaper should reflect that instead we get unnoticeable changes for the last few releases, keep the same colour scheme if you want or the same style but make the changes recognisable 

  • Anonymous

    Well, The default ubuntu wallpaper is looking good, so this is just alright in my opinoin.

  • Anonymous

    Well, The default ubuntu wallpaper is looking good, so this is just alright in my opinoin.

  • Anonymous

    Well, The default ubuntu wallpaper is looking good, so this is just alright in my opinoin.

  • http://twitter.com/varunkvv Varun

    I completely support subtle evolution and maintaining an identity. I just wish that they gave more identity to reach release through their wallpaper. For instance, the Narwhal wallpaper with the purple background was perfect!

    • http://twitter.com/varunkvv Varun

      Forgot to attach image but I am sure everyone knows what I am talking about.

    • Wyatt Kirby

      Thanks! I’m glad you liked it. It always gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to see other people like my work.

      • Sergey Filkin

        Good work! I use your wallpaper and I like it much.

    • https://foolishowl.myopenid.com/ FoolishOwl

      Almost every time I’ve seen a screenshot of Ubuntu 11.04, the wallpaper in use was the variant of this wallpaper with the narwhals in a contrasting shade of yellow. That was the wallpaper I used from the time I upgraded to 11.04, and I immediately thought, “Finally, we’ve got good wallpapesr depicting the animal mascot for this release.”

  • http://twitter.com/LooneyListener Looney Listener

    I absolutely love the idea of sticking to more or less the same default background because it really would become a recognisable part of Ubuntu as a whole. I’m not a big fan of the Ambiance colour scheme (orange? brown? really?!) but I use it anyway, just to make point of it. I want default Ubuntu to be seen & recognised. I actually like this background (calm & soothing.. yet stimulating lol) and will gladly stick to it. Proudly.

  • http://twitter.com/mordalo Mordalo

    Yeah, it looks like the old one, but does anyone keep the default wallpaper?
    After all, as soon as I do a fresh install of any system, first thing I do is change my wallpaper…

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YI6YF5MODP2ZBSHKHC6PJ4GQJM DexterP17

      I keep the default up. The reason I do is because there are so many choices for me and that I can’t chose all of them at once. Another reason is because I’m never on the desktop anyway so I never pay attention to the wallpaper.

    • http://profiles.google.com/laurynas.ragaisis Laurynas Ragaisis

      I keep the default wallpaper on my Kubuntu:) 
      Yes, I’ve moved from Ubuntu to so-called redhead-stepchild, it feels so much better than main distribution from Canonical…

    • Anonymous

      I normally keep the default wallpaper.
      I kept the default in the past 3 or 4 kubuntu and ubuntu releases.

      I normally only change it if it’s really ugly, distracting or has distro logos on it.

  • Anonymous

    You have to look at this not just from the perspective of a seasoned Ubuntu user, but from a novice user or someone who has only seen glimpses of Ubuntu. Brands are important. They create familiarity.Apple knows this better than anyone, and their brand is one of the biggest factor’s to Apple’s success.

    Ubuntu having a distinct brand that new and old users recognize is more important than the 30 seconds of time it takes to download a new wallpaper.

    • https://launchpad.net/~exeleration-g Exeleration-G

      You are right.

    • https://launchpad.net/~exeleration-g Exeleration-G

      You are right.

    • Anonymous

      As a follow up: “I think it’s ugly” isn’t a very good response.

      Everyone is going to have a different opinion. You may like the wallpaper, you may not, but it certainly isn’t terrible. The benefit of having a recognizable brand, especially in the Linux world where the branding is especially awful, is more important than trying to please everyone’s unique design tastes, which is near impossible.

    • Anonymous

      Yes, but you’d have to have a solid brand before you settle down on your products. Ubuntu has a relatively tiny market share, and thus nothing to lose by making radical changes to its behavior and appearance. Unity is a good example of that.

      Ubuntu is not yet in a stage where it should abandon its adventurous approach. It is somewhat misleading to compare Canonical to Apple.

      • Anonymous

        By what standard have you decided they don’t have a solid brand? And even so, I don’t agree that branding should be abandoned if Ubuntu’s doesn’t meet your somewhat arbitrary standard. Some branding is better than none at all.

        • Anonymous

          By solid I meant having solid presence in the OS market. I should have probably used better wording.

          Branding is important, but when your products have comparatively such a small user base, branding becomes much less influential.

          • http://twitter.com/DinoT1985 Dino Tassigiannis

            Branding can create new users too, many seem to forget that. Put it this way, theres a Linux distro with Unity, a few that will use Gnome 3 and hundreds using Gnome 2.x as default. With Gnome 2.x becoming outdated and in the future no longer supported, replaced with Gnome 3. Ubuntu saw another chance to separate from the pack when new users google videos and images of each distro to see what one to try. As a designer, I think Unity looks great and much better than Gnome 3, which along with colours are becoming a Ubuntu branding mechanism.

            The sad thing is so many of you want things done right from the get go. They are in new ground here creating a new UI and all everyone is doing is moaning about this and that. How about helping with filing bugs and trying to solve/think of ways to fix them?

            Apple’s first OS was a complete bug frenzy and since Ubuntu is changing, it’s becoming reborn. I say becoming because Unity is changing for the better every time. Look how much work they’ve done for this release. Of course Unity is gonna contain bugs, Ubuntu releases a new version every 6 months. Not enough time for an open source OS on new grounds to polish things. So why release Unity until it’s finished? Because we as a community of Open Source users are supposed to help. But that’s why there are Betas? Well yes, but a few hundred users can’t find every fault compared to a few thousand.

            During this rebirth phase, Canonical needs us and it’s pathetic that power users are moaning and not helping. As a power user, you should be able to modify things the way you like to speed up productivity.

            Heck look at my post history. I HATED Unity when I tested the alphas/betas. But I  modifying a few things and walla, I actually worked faster than before because of the ingenius use of lenses and custom keyboard shortcuts. As for those who say “well I want it my way right out the box”, don’t sit there and lie by saying you aren’t one to modify your Linux looks. Every power user likes to delve into code, it’s the geek in us that makes us a power user over a casual user.

          • http://profiles.google.com/kurt.bruneau Kurt Bruneau

            I do agree with you on some levels however for those who want to customize it, they don’t give many options.

            I prefer the dash icon in the top bar instead of the dock however, someone thought it would be smart to change it up and not provide a method to place the icon back in the top bar.

            Nautilus also looks worse than it did before and I don’t even think the that the elementary-styled ambiance theme I use will work properly anymore with the new nautilus and all the changes with gtk3.

            I actually looked forward to unity in 11.04 but now I don’t feel so keen on 11.10. Hopefully by the time it’s released a workaround will be introduced otherwise, I’m sticking to 11.04.

    • http://fitch.myopenid.com/ mikeru

      yet apple always changes the default wallpaper every release…

      • Anonymous

        Leopard and Snow Leopard were very similar.  Lion is different, but it is still a space wallpaper.

      • Manuel Muradas

        But they don’t release a new version every six months…………………………..

      • Anonymous

        How about this: as soon as Ubuntu has as strong a brand as Apple, Ubuntu can change their wallpaper every two years.

      • Teri Seika

        yes but not every 6 months

    • Wyatt Kirby

      Yes, but branding yourself as a large pool of reflective vomit is a poor decision.

      • Sashin Ranasinghe

        subjective.

        • Wyatt Kirby

          Subjective is I don’t like it. Objective is it looks like vomit. Subtle difference.

          • Sashin Ranasinghe

            But it doesn’t look like vomit to me, it looks like some kind abstract purple patten. <–subjective as well.

          • Wyatt Kirby

            No, you’re entirely right. I’m just being a tool. My apologies. I’ve just found this now two-year streak of purple blobs entirely distasteful, and not representative of the quality of Ubuntu.

          • Freddi

            Show me your vomit. It must be ugly.

      • Sashin Ranasinghe

        subjective.

  • http://www.facebook.com/cekrdoso Carlos Eduardo Cardoso

    Oh boy, Ubuntu is gettin better in every sense besides this ugly wallpaper that never goes away. Come on!! Even Windows XP’s Bliss was better than this… Windows 7 and OS X looks way better then Ubuntu. (I’m a Ubuntu user from the first release and won’t stop using it just because of the wallpaper, but… it sucks!).

    -1

    • Arslan Atajanov

      Wallpaper is not important…Four mouse clicks to change it…

      • http://profiles.google.com/write.tmartin Todd Martin

        First impressions matter and when you load it up for the first time and the screen looks like baby puke. Your impression from then on will be of baby puke.

      • http://2buntu.com Roland Taylor

        I would dislike this comment if I could. Not to offend you, but because really it needs to go :/

        • Ogün Çakır

          oh yea, you rule! dislike yourself.

      • Anonymous

        What??? I hope you never design anything in your life.

    • http://twitter.com/briketaro briketa.ro

      xp > ubuntu

      • Teri Seika

        wallpaper: debian > ubuntu 
        it says all.

    • Akshat Jain

      Relevant http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2011/08/28/ever-wonder-where-the-windows-xp-default-wallpaper-came-from/?awesm=tnw.to_1AYdD

  • http://www.facebook.com/cekrdoso Carlos Eduardo Cardoso

    Oh boy, Ubuntu is gettin better in every sense besides this ugly wallpaper that never goes away. Come on!! Even Windows XP’s Bliss was better than this… Windows 7 and OS X looks way better then Ubuntu. (I’m a Ubuntu user from the first release and won’t stop using it just because of the wallpaper, but… it sucks!).

    -1

  • Anonymous

    The wallpapers are consistent.
    The graphical shell is not.
    This says something about were consistency efforts are going.

    • Anonymous

      Efforts? I didn’t realise that those wallpaper changes required any amount of effort.

    • Anonymous

      Efforts? I didn’t realise that those wallpaper changes required any amount of effort.

      • Dan FitzGerald

        “consistency efforts,” not general effort

        • Anonymous

          Yes, because that’s completely not what I meant, and it wasn’t at all obvious from the context!

          • Dan FitzGerald

            I hate to start a flame war with you over someone else’s semantics, but that usage of the word “efforts” has nothing to do with the magnitude of the task–it’s about how much they’re striving for consistency (in a place where, in the opinion of the OP apparently and myself, it is less important)

          • Anonymous

            I knew exactly what the original post meant, and you clearly missed the bit where I was using sarcasm to highlight the fact that the current wallpaper looks identical to the previous one and that what ‘effort’ is being expended on maintaining consistency is minimal — ‘the magnitude of the task’ and ‘how much they’re striving for consistency’ are pretty much identical in this context.

      • Dan FitzGerald

        In hindsight, if this comment was a jab at canonical being lazy in their wallpaper redesigns, and not at the OP, then *applause*

        • Anonymous

          This is what happens when you try to be pedantic online — you just embarrass yourself.

          • Dan FitzGerald

            Strange, I’m not embarrassed. You might be when you realize I can see your timestamps. Attempt at civility retracted. Hooray for Ubuntu!

          • Anonymous

            Not really seeing what timestamps have got to do with anything…

    • http://twitter.com/briketaro briketa.ro

      canoical needs to hire some good designers, the current ones look like 12 year old with photoshop… pathetic

      • Anonymous

        It’s so unfortunate that I have to agree. The new Software Centre is atrocious. Unity is messy and unbalanced and doesn’t suit Ambience at all. The wallpaper is garish and was never really any good (I don’t even think that’s an opinion?). And correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the original version of this (in 10.10) supposed to be just a quick job as they weren’t able to achieve what they wanted by release? Why stick with something like that??

        Not that I hate absolutely everything they do. There’s the odd indication that at least some on the team know what they’re doing. But I think the majority need to be replaced… If we’re getting serious about consistency, then lets be serious about quality too. That means you’re going to need quality workers.

        • Sashin Ranasinghe

          Fairly sure what you’ve said is highly subjective.

          • Anonymous

            Oh well that’s just your opinion ;).

          • Clayton Walker

            No actually, it’s yours.

          • Clayton Walker

            No actually, it’s yours.

          • Anonymous

            @Clayton: Huh? No it’s not :S. What are you talking about?

          • Anonymous

            @Clayton: Huh? No it’s not :S. What are you talking about?

          • http://twitter.com/the_madman Marcus Harrison

            Gotta say, though, that new Unity menu change-the-colour-of-friggin’-everything mode is kinda weird.

          • http://twitter.com/the_madman Marcus Harrison

            Gotta say, though, that new Unity menu change-the-colour-of-friggin’-everything mode is kinda weird.

          • http://profiles.google.com/mardur.hack Marco Chiappetta

            Of course is subjective! But what does make a design..well..a “good” design? The number of people who like it! And that, you can verify yourself by looking for similar polls on the internet, is really low! So: is Ubuntu doomed to be widespread in the world? Or its fate is to always be a “niche product”? You choose…

          • http://profiles.google.com/joerlend.schinstad Jo-Erlend Schinstad

            Really? The people who shout the loudest are always the majority? Nonsense.

          • Sashin Ranasinghe

            Yeah, we have a”vocal minority” issue. The people that like unity just aren’t very vocal and forums and things. The far fewer people that dislike it, are content and aren’t as loud.

            I know ’cause EVERYONE I’ve shown Unity too (unfamiliar with linux) reacted positively. I suspect other people are simply too used to gnome2 and its workflow.

          • http://mark-y-a.myopenid.com/ Marky

            Linux as a desktop has always been niche. Sadly. Does not even come close to the user-base of Mac, how much more for Windows.

            It is a land of forks and I fear has Sybil’s DID. If you can describe anarchy in a positive way, Linux is it. Everyone does what he/she wants without regard for anything, because it is “FREE”. That is the price we pay for being Linux.

            Still I am quite content on using it for the past several years. :)

          • http://mark-y-a.myopenid.com/ Marky

            Linux as a desktop has always been niche. Sadly. Does not even come close to the user-base of Mac, how much more for Windows.

            It is a land of forks and I fear has Sybil’s DID. If you can describe anarchy in a positive way, Linux is it. Everyone does what he/she wants without regard for anything, because it is “FREE”. That is the price we pay for being Linux.

            Still I am quite content on using it for the past several years. :)

          • B ers

            @openid-44631:disqus Really? No, that’s incorrect. General Linux usage and Mac OS usage world wide is quite close, and one month this year it’s total usage surpassed Mac OSes. No, it’s not close to Windows, but its on Mac’s tail.

        • Anonymous

          I somewhat disagree. The new software centre on it’s own looks superb, but it just does not fit in and doesn’t respects the system theme in anyway.
          The Wallpaper is not bad.
          It is not that the designers are do anything wrong at all.
          They are doing a good implementation of a stupid concept.

          • Anonymous

            Yes, I agree that the consistency is really the biggest problem whether you like the individual designs or not.

          • Anonymous

            I don’t think they are even doing a good implementation at the moment.

          • akula77 akula77

            No it doesn’t look superb at all.

          • http://twitter.com/MotionShot Heimen Stoffels

            The new Software Center looks a lot like the Apple App Store and Android Market (tablet-version), but then with it’s own things and theme. So it just goes on in the crowd.

        • Anonymous

          “Unity is messy and unbalanced and doesn’t suit Ambience at all”

          To be exact, when the Dash is in view. Because when it is not, it’s still Unity :-) But I agree with your statement. When you launch dash, you feel like you’re in a completely different dimension. And  there’s no hint of symmetry at all.

          • Anonymous

            Haha, good point ;).

      • http://twitter.com/LonghornGT LonghornGT

        Post link to YOUR variant of wallpaper, please.

      • George Raven

        No, I am 12, and I can do better than this! I attached a logo of mine for my video ‘studio’

    • Teri Seika

      Well, to produce such absolutly breakthrouish wallpaper that falls into the bug report section, you need to be a champion.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000867729352 Nasair Khorasani

    I honestly thought they were all the same between each version…I guess I never went back and actually paid attention :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000867729352 Nasair Khorasani

    I honestly thought they were all the same between each version…I guess I never went back and actually paid attention :)

  • http://www.redtube.com ActionParsnip

    Poll needs an option for “It’s not that important”

  • http://www.redtube.com ActionParsnip

    Poll needs an option for “It’s not that important”

  • http://twitter.com/d2kx Dennis MH

    I can understand why they would keep it because I agree it’s part of the brand now. Maybe they will do a new concept for 12.04 or 12.10.

  • Anonymous

    “IMHO as we move towards becoming more of a ‘household’ platform and with the great changes coming with Unity (launcher/dash) general users will get reassurance from the familiarity of the wallpaper and will also identify with it as part of our personality in new screenshots.”  

    I’m sure that new users (i.e. ex-Windoze/Mac users) will be frightened off by Unity. It’s too much of a change and therefore a massive reduction in productivity.  If you’re frightening off old users (been a loyal Ubuntuist for 3 years till the Unity/Gnome 3 catastophy) then I think new users will be hard to come by. Except maybe that they’ll just put up with it cos it’s free. Which isn’t the point really, is it?

    • Adam Gignac

      I can understand your opinion, but it hasn’t worked that way in practice.
      I switched my computer-illiterate grandmother from XP to Ubuntu 11.04. The first thing she said was “It’s nice and simple.” That was soon followed by something to the effect of “It’s not scary anymore”.

    • Anonymous

      REALLY!!!!! New users will be frightened by unity!!!! You have to be joking me or are you one of those people that “Just don’t get Unity”. Is unity that much different that what you have been use to that you can’t figure it out? UNITY IS DIFFERENT AND THAT’S WHAT NEW USERS ARE LOOKING AT!!!!!! Not some grump old way of “It’s different so it must be bad”. Unity is faster than the old way of doing things. That’s one of the reasons that Unity is so great. Windows user are board and most don’t know that their is a better way of doing what they need to be doing. Ubuntu and Unity is the way and new users love it. Shame on you bashing Linux!!!!!

      • Anonymous

        Yeah, I can totally see how having to type your way around the over-sized interface is faster!

  • Anonymous

    boring.boring.boring.boring.boring.boring.boring.boring.boring.boring.i get sick of this wallpaper 

    • Anonymous

      +1 … boring , boring boring ,boring ,boring ,boring ,boring ,

      • Freddi

        Every release of printing paper is white. Boring, boring, boring. 
        There exists colored papers, but I’d like the default paper to be colored. For all billions of people.

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jeremy-Newton/512458865 Jeremy Newton

          Well there’s a difference between standards and defaults. The colour of paper is clearly a standard not default.
          Last time I checked printers don’t always come with paper and you don’t have to change any settings in your printer to use coloured stuff ;)

          • Anonymous

            Changing a wallpaper is way, way, easier than going out, finding, purchasing, bringing back, and then loading a new color of paper.

      • Anonymous

        Boring, boring is boring

      • Anonymous

        Boring, boring is boring

    • http://twitter.com/MotionShot Heimen Stoffels

      Then change it. Why nag about the default wallpaper, when you have the option to change it to whatever wallpaper you want? It’s not like you must stick to the default one.

    • http://profiles.google.com/madebyjordan Jordan Moore

      Change it?

  • José Manuel González

    The idea of ​​slightly changing the wallpaper, instead of resorting to a new oneeach time is a good idea. But this is just despicable. I think the Fedora16 wallpaper should be the role model, but with the release animal. It’s simply awesome.

    • http://profiles.google.com/joerlend.schinstad Jo-Erlend Schinstad

      I guess you meant “despicable”? That makes you seem fairly extreme.

      • José Manuel González

        Oh, sorry, maybe my English isn’t very polished. I meant disposable, yes, perhaps it’s the right word. I would like to see a wallpaper with more personality to go slowly changing according to the animal used. With most striking change in the overall appearence each LTS. 

        I don’t understand why they seem to be allergic to the idea of ​​introducing some kind of image in the background, not only patterns and ligths and abstract stuff. I think that the thing that fills the 93% of the screen that a new user sees of the capital product of a company that invest so much effort in design and distribute a first class product need a little more than more lights. If you luck at the fedora verne’s new wallpaper you instantly wish to use it. 

  • http://facebook.com/domcan2 1roxtar

    I would have like the background they used for the LightDM Greeter.

  • Anonymous

    No…..plz no!!
    If they had to stick to one wallpaper..they could have had chosen something better..more intellectual…rather than this dumb wallpaper

  • http://www.retro-gamers.net Jamie Greenland

    ADD MORE LENS FLARES, MUST ADD MORE LENS FLARES!!!! – What I imagine is going through the mind of the wallpaper designer.

  • http://profiles.google.com/write.tmartin Todd Martin

    grr

  • http://twitter.com/LostCrescendo Kyle Shouldice

    How about an actual new wallpaper for LTS releases and they can do the weird evolving wallpaper for releases in the interim.

    • https://profiles.google.com/ISantop Ian

      I like this! 

      Windows has a new release every two or so years (Or it’s supposed to). Mac OS X is on a similar-ish cycle. These OS’s keep their wallpapers long enough to maintain a visual identity.

      Ubuntu, on the other hand has a release every six months. If we keep knocking default wallpapers away and replacing them every time, I could see a new user becoming confused as to what Ubuntu really looks like.

      One of my Apple friends says that the reason he uses OS X over Ubuntu is that there is a lot of consistency over a long period of time, where as with Ubuntu, its, “something radically new every six months.”

      Keeping a similar wallpaper is good because it helps promote the appearance of long-term stability without sacrificing new features from release to release.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YI6YF5MODP2ZBSHKHC6PJ4GQJM DexterP17

        That does make a lot of sense now.

      • http://profiles.google.com/matt.d.monty Matthew Montgomery

        Your logic makes complete sense.  However, I think they can still expand upon this design to vary it enough such that it still fits that ideology, but distinguishes itself from  its previous iteration.  

      • http://profiles.google.com/matt.d.monty Matthew Montgomery

        Your logic makes complete sense.  However, I think they can still expand upon this design to vary it enough such that it still fits that ideology, but distinguishes itself from  its previous iteration.  

      • http://www.facebook.com/MrMACHOMAN84 Brian Machado

        Windows wallpaper does indeed change.

      • Freddi

        Ubuntu LTS release are maybe better comparable with Windows/OS X releases.

        It makes sense to keep very much visual consistency during an LTS cycle, as customers (companies etc.) are recommended and advertised to use the current LTS instead of the work-in-progress releases. What they see in advertisment and on the internet should appear as one product.
        Maybe there will be some more significant changes for 12.04, keeping still the brand colors.

  • http://twitter.com/LostCrescendo Kyle Shouldice

    How about an actual new wallpaper for LTS releases and they can do the weird evolving wallpaper for releases in the interim.

  • http://2buntu.com Roland Taylor

    Seriously they need to change the wallpaper. Unity was a welcome change, along with the updates to the old themes (okay well, Unity did cause me some gripe at first and there are those who still don’t like it). One thing I can say for GNOME is that they don’t skimp on looking good. I don’t like the Shell for functionality reasons, but it sure looks good, especially with a nice wallpaper.

    Unity looks awesome, but this wallpaper kills it. Changing it is probably the first move for me after installing on other people’s computers :/.

    • https://profiles.google.com/ISantop Ian

      How about letting other people decide what wallpaper they want themselves!

      Do what you will to your own desktop, and that’s fine. But please don’t force your ideals on other people.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YI6YF5MODP2ZBSHKHC6PJ4GQJM DexterP17

        He is just stating his opinion and there is nothing wrong with that.

        • http://2buntu.com Roland Taylor

          Thanks!

          @Ian I don’t force anything on people. I do installs for other people as a service (sometimes as a job), and customization of the desktop is part of the process. Obviously, no one falls in love with this not-so-pretty wallpaper…

  • Anonymous

    A lot of people here are talking about how brand identity and consistency and the likes are important, but did nobody feel that these things were already present in the original wallpaper designs? They all had the same look and feel to them, and yet carried with them a uniqueness that resonated with the codename of the release. I think that they were much more powerful trend-setters, and would leave a much more positive impression on the user than this generic image.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/João-Vitor/100002336045060 João Vitor

    Bah… Didn’t change almost nothing.

  • Anonymous

    I kind of liked 10.04′s wallpaper the best.. Wish they had gone in that direction.. But anyways, I think they need more consistency in the interface, rather than putting efforts in wallpapers, which I guess is what they do, since those wallpapers hardly take many seconds to make. I use Spaceflare in Gnome 3 :) Loves it

    • Anonymous

      The people who handle interface are different then the people who handle backgrounds (and even the people who design the interface are different then the people actually coding it) I’m sure they spend plenty of time on both.

      • Teri Seika

        yeah to produce a wallpaper that falls into the bug report section, you need at least that.

  • http://www.facebook.com/revabholt Arthur Berkley Holt

    Why does anyone care what the default wallpaper looks like anyway? Does anyone really keep the default. It’s all about personalization. Change it to what ever you like… make your own original design for that matter. Who cares about the default?

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002167018726 Maximilian Reisch

      If the default wallpaper looks ugly, people will think “Wow, Ubuntu sux” and take out the CD. If the default wallpaper looks awesome, they will want to use it and install it on their computer. Me and my mom think it looks awesome. My mom even uses it as her Windows login screen on her netbook. It’s all about first impression!

  • Anonymous

    i don’t care about wallpapers. there are millions of good wallpapers on the web…but i suggest Canonical to make renderized ones with his brand…cause Ubuntu is a brand…even if it is free…so far….

  • Anonymous

    i don’t care about wallpapers. there are millions of good wallpapers on the web…but i suggest Canonical to make renderized ones with his brand…cause Ubuntu is a brand…even if it is free…so far….

  • Anonymous

    I really don’t care about the default wallpaper. There are many beautiful wallpapers on the internet.

  • http://twitter.com/wolterh Wolter Hellmund

    I like the idea of the subtle evolution of wallpapers, but this is just putting to little effort into it. It looks mediocre.

  • Guilherme Aiolfi

    Those are the times that I think Ubuntu doesn’t have a chance in the desktop front. I know it’s a minor thing compared to all other things they are doing. But come on, it’s just plain ugly and doesn’t have any sign of modernness. It represents how they think about the visual aspect of the desktop and I couldn’t disagree more in that matter. 

    Minor detail with a deeper meaning, that’s what it is.

    • Anonymous

      After using Android Honeycomb which by many is deemed “unstable” I think Ubuntu doesn’t stand a chance. Ubuntu is much less polished and is much more unstable even that this betaish Android version.

      I think we will wait for Ubuntu to be popular on the desktop until there is no desktop anymore.

      • http://profiles.google.com/joerlend.schinstad Jo-Erlend Schinstad

        That’s very strange. I think Ubuntu has been very stable and polished since 8.04, although it had a little bumpy start due to PulseAudio being new at the time. But the transition to Gnome 3 would be very difficult in a 6 month cycle. That was to be expected. As long as the LTS-es are stable and polished, I don’t think we have anything to worry about. And we seem to be making good progress towards 12.04. Canonical should’ve communicated better that 11.04 and 11.10 wasn’t going to be as stable and polished as the previous versions though.

        • http://www.paul.sladen.org/ Paul Sladen

          Jo-Erland: The versioning system used for Ubuntu (Year . Month) is postfixed with the letters “LTS” (so, Ubuntu 12.04 LTS) for releases that gain the extra focus.

          I suppose one could look at it that versions without “LTS” are more about fast-paced development and so not quite as polished.  It depends whether one prefers the glass half-empty or half-full!

          Ubuntu is made by a cast of thousands, not just Canonical—perhaps you could help communicate the cycle-within-cycle sequence of development?

  • http://twitter.com/randomgc Giulio

    No, no, no, no. Not again! Please make a new wallpaper!

  • http://twitter.com/randomgc Giulio

    No, no, no, no. Not again! Please make a new wallpaper!

  • http://twitter.com/randomgc Giulio

    No, no, no, no. Not again! Please make a new wallpaper!

  • Wyatt Kirby

    Being 100% honest, when I saw this post on Facebook I thought the thumbnail was a mistaken post of 11.04′s wallpaper.

  • http://twitter.com/zc456 Squeaks

    I prefer Lucid’s.

    • Teri Seika

      For me the Natty walpaper was much much better, it was the most breakthroughish wallpaper ever. The new one is so different and buggy (yeah yeah see the intro) that I feel so bad with this new change. It kills my day. 

      That’s it I’m moving back to windows 95.

  • veldar

    too lazy to make new wallpaper huh

  • http://twitter.com/stewieX One Geek To Another

    I hate to say I wasn’t fond of this wallpaper in its original release. Its not the fault of the designer, they are without a doubt very talented. I just dislike the colour purple, and the extensive use of it.

  • http://twitter.com/stewieX One Geek To Another

    I hate to say I wasn’t fond of this wallpaper in its original release. Its not the fault of the designer, they are without a doubt very talented. I just dislike the colour purple, and the extensive use of it.

  • Ogün Çakır

    whateva. they put sth as default on our desktops, then we change it. keep it if you like, change if you don’t. even if it were of a poll, we’d be complaining though. as long as we can customize, it is ours ;)

  • Ogün Çakır

    whateva. they put sth as default on our desktops, then we change it. keep it if you like, change if you don’t. even if it were of a poll, we’d be complaining though. as long as we can customize, it is ours ;)

  • Anonymous

    to be honest. I didn’t notice that it was changing. I don’t spend enough time on the desktop to care what the picture is.  and isn’t the unofficial motto of linux “If you don’t like it, change it” It takes less time to complain about it then it does to change it

    • Anonymous

      I think you put it the wrong way :)

      “It takes less time to change it than it does complaining about it”

  • Anonymous

    I agree with the idea of evolving wallpaper, but the modifications are so much poor. I doesn’t feel like a new version.

    • http://profiles.google.com/joerlend.schinstad Jo-Erlend Schinstad

      It probably isn’t supposed to. My advise would be to change the main theme with every LTS. That means we stick with a purple wallpaper for 11.10 and then find something new for 12.04, which will then be changed slightly in the releases until the next LTS.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=882690104 Callum Saunders

        i think thats the plan actually.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=882690104 Callum Saunders

        i think thats the plan actually.

  • Sashin Ranasinghe

    I think it looks better with dots like with the login screenshots.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GE4EYP3QOQ246PLG2Y2DOD2NIQ Dr. Fly

      I heavily agree!

  • http://www.facebook.com/kien.t.han Kien T. Han

    I think 10.04 is the best, and the best of the other trio is 11.10. I think as they modifies that wallpaper, it is less beautiful

  • James Denholm

    Meanwhile, in other distributions…

  • http://twitter.com/cyrildz cyrildz

    heart attack : heart just brocks

  • Polly

    Purple overload. Is it too late to go back to the warm coffee/chocolate browns and artistic artwork? The purples are so harsh – good thing wallpapers are so easy to change. Oh well, there are worse things to worry about.

  • http://twitter.com/icyeh Shelby

    It looks the same as 11.04′s to me.

  • Wayne

    I like the ones with the animals. That gave the distro version some identity.

  • Peter J. Garlinski

    Meh…

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Adel-Ramadan/1378708162 Adel Ramadan

    I love ubuntu..and what to say..unity is great..needs a bit more polishing on performence..and theming options….besides that everything is great…ubuntu center is AWESOME1….and the wallpapers…needs to change..just..go back with the white and oreange…or maybe with purple thats already there..but change something on it..not just more fractal effects!! plz!!! common..is easy…do something about it…thanks.

  • Adam Martin

    Ubuntu is sort of silly looking in general. The purple is okay, but the icon theme is cartoon and unappealing (it’s most the ugly orange that doesn’t work well with the purple).

  • http://profiles.google.com/lilianftp Moraru Lilian

    It’s not bad to be consistent with a good wallpaper but this one doesn’t look good, why keep it…  MacOS X Leopard and Snow Leopard wallpapers are great, yes, there they can keep it but here…

    In Ubuntu 11.04 there is a wallpaper with a Narwhal, such a beautiful and great fitting the theme wallpaper and u use this pretty ugly wallpaper?

  • Anonymous

    I happen to really like it, but if you don’t, you can of course very easily change it, and Ubuntu always comes supplied with a very good selection of community wallpapers to choose from.

  • InternetAss

    There is no shortage of designers willing to help out, just a shortage of people willing to accept the help. Shuttleworth is becoming Steve Jobs, but with a bad eye for design.

  • Frank Schäfer

    the most ugly wallpaper i have seen in my entire live.

  • Anonymous

    lol. is it a joke? 

  • http://www.facebook.com/stephan.henningsen Stephan Henningsen

    I like the default Ubuntu wallpapers as they give a very nice first impression.  And after a new installation, I actually keep the default wallpaper for some time.  But after a while, I go back to my personal #444…

  • http://www.facebook.com/stephan.henningsen Stephan Henningsen

    I like the default Ubuntu wallpapers as they give a very nice first impression.  And after a new installation, I actually keep the default wallpaper for some time.  But after a while, I go back to my personal #444…

  • David Robert Lewis

    I hate maroon. Am still totally bummed by the new corporate identity and feel ubuntu has lost its way. At least Xubuntu is exciting. Ubuntu Unity sux in the same way Windows XP sucks, so the only question is which OS sux less? Canonical is dishing out complexity when what users want is Zen Simplicity.

    • http://twitter.com/TheSofox Sofox

      David Robert Lewis: A word of advice that holds true here and many other places: If you want your opinions to be taken seriously, don’t use the word “sux”.

      • Anonymous

        So you judge his opinion by the sux word? Why? It’s only a word. What matters is the content. It’s not like he written it in all caps or l33z…

        • http://twitter.com/TheSofox Sofox

          The content isn’t actually much better, but that’s not the point.

          My point is that many people out there find it hard to take opinions seriously if the the choice of language is inappropriate for the situation. You don’t write a job application with the words “Giz us a job, mate” and likewise, using the word “sux” (or for that matter caps or l33t), a priest doesn’t say “let’s get this guy and gal hitched”, and if you want to make a online post that uses the word “sux” feel free; but if you want your opinion to be taken seriously by as wide a group of people as possible, it pays to pay attention to your choice of language.

        • http://twitter.com/TheSofox Sofox

          The content isn’t actually much better, but that’s not the point.

          My point is that many people out there find it hard to take opinions seriously if the the choice of language is inappropriate for the situation. You don’t write a job application with the words “Giz us a job, mate” and likewise, using the word “sux” (or for that matter caps or l33t), a priest doesn’t say “let’s get this guy and gal hitched”, and if you want to make a online post that uses the word “sux” feel free; but if you want your opinion to be taken seriously by as wide a group of people as possible, it pays to pay attention to your choice of language.

    • Anonymous

      Ever heard of Godwin’s Law? I hereby declare that whoever says, “I’d rather use Windows” or words to that effect, loses any argument he or she is in.

    • http://twitter.com/zc456 Squeaks

      sudo apt-get install gnome

    • http://twitter.com/zc456 Squeaks

      sudo apt-get install gnome

  • Anonymous

    I do like the wallpaper in Natty/Oneiric but I have to laugh.
    Incremental changes to keep a consistent appearance through releases?
    Yet the make great huge gaping changes to unity itself and make it ugly as fugg?

  • Anonymous

    Still looks like a bruise to me.

  • Daniele Zoboli

    I liked when the wallpaper reflect the version name …
    New users do not care if the wallpaper is the same as the version before (they are new users!)
    They care if it’s good and attractive.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=882690104 Callum Saunders

      i think its more to do with brand recognition.

      plus as far as im aware the situation is that wallpapers receive subtle changes between regular releases and we get a new wallpaper for the LTS.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=882690104 Callum Saunders

      i think its more to do with brand recognition.

      plus as far as im aware the situation is that wallpapers receive subtle changes between regular releases and we get a new wallpaper for the LTS.

  • http://profiles.google.com/houdas.rodolphe Rodolphe Houdas

    Still ugly. So it’s perfect for Unity…

  • https://launchpad.net/~caswiddershoven Cas Widdershoven

    I liked the wallpapers of Ubuntu Hardy Heron (8.04) and Intrepid Ibex (8.10), I’d like to see that idea of putting the animal on the wallpaper coming back!

    • Anonymous

      Nice but VERY amateurish like almost every wallpapaper ever in Ubuntu (even those not default ones are mostly very amateurish photos).

      • http://www.paul.sladen.org/ Paul Sladen

        The development and planning cycle for Ubuntu 12.04 LTS starts in just a couple of months (after Ubuntu 11.10 release).  Have you considered getting involved early on in the cycle, so that your ideas can go into the melting pot?

    • http://twitter.com/zc456 Squeaks

      Hardy Heron had the best wallpaper out of all them, imo.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002167018726 Maximilian Reisch

        While I like Hardy’s wallpaper, it makes me think Ubuntu is just a freaking software package and nothing else.

  • Robin Jacobs

    The currect one is looking good, but frankly, it’s becoming very boring to see the same wallpaper again (no matter what you say, its the same wallpaper with just some other lighting and shading effects dumped on top of it). I liked the one of 10.04 much better also, because it’s much easier on the eyes.

  • http://twitter.com/CaptCache Namaste

    I could have squinted and saved them the trouble. Seriously why bother changing it at all 

  • http://twitter.com/CaptCache Namaste

    I could have squinted and saved them the trouble. Seriously why bother changing it at all 

  • http://twitter.com/jacktrades118 Jakub Ječmínek

    I really don’t care about default wallpaper, because I allways change it anyway. I don’t think it’s very important. Super wallpaper does not make great OS  :) I’d rather see some progress in default theme, which definitly need some upgrade..

  • http://twitter.com/jacktrades118 Jakub Ječmínek

    I really don’t care about default wallpaper, because I allways change it anyway. I don’t think it’s very important. Super wallpaper does not make great OS  :) I’d rather see some progress in default theme, which definitly need some upgrade..

  • Andrei B.

    Is anyone thinking ‘Wallpaper Trolling’?
    They would be the first doing it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000080282379 Fabulator Frik

    soooo ugly

  • http://eriksteinmann.wordpress.com/ Erik

    At first I did not like them much but I applaud the consistency Ubuntu is trying to establish. From that viewpoint Ubuntu didn’t do a good job prior to Lucid. Always a very different wallpaper, yellow this time brown the other time.  You can say what you will, you can hate the Ambiance theme (I love it btw :P) but Ubuntu does get it’s own identity this way.

  • Anonymous

    Purple wallpaper I invariably remove, and use the slideshow with all the other wallpapers given by default on Ubuntu.

    I also add to thios pool of wallpapers my favourites from the other releases.

    This means that I have quite a few good wallpapers changing all the time.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001897882281 Guillaume Racicot

    this is even better

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3BEMYXZR3QTBZF676TUAEKATHM syncdram

    This is a pathetic excuse for wall paper considering the level  canonical is aiming to take our new desk top hand helds. 

  • http://bipolarbearblog.baywords.com gwatts88

    To those saying the wallpaper is boring… surely that is the whole point of it? Just like the humourous comment that plain paper should be a default of another colour, not white; it isn’t meant to be something groundbreaking or modern, as that doesn’t suit every single persons taste. No one complains that Apple churns out the same space-style wallpaper for every release, and people pay through the nose for their OS. If you don’t like it, install a different one; simples!

  • Anonymous

    default doesn’t matter so much

  • Андрей Кузьмичёв

    Most of people change the wallpapers to their own ones, right? This point might be subjective, but anyway, all the rest who don’t use own wallpapers usually do not care about them at all. This is not subjective, just logical conclusion. Then why discuss it SO MUCH?

    Personally I wouldn’t see any change in the wallpaper, and wouldn’t compare to the previous ones. I would just think that this wallpaper remained from an older version as legacy.

    But this wide discussion only gladdens me. I mean, Ubuntu users used to carefully respect one another, and cherish the community (as well as most of Linux users). But now we do discuss almost meaningful (subjective?) things here, and now we are not afraid to make harm to the community defending our points of view. I guess, this fact shows that the community has grown enough, and we do not see ourselves as a minority.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GE4EYP3QOQ246PLG2Y2DOD2NIQ Dr. Fly

    Don’t get me wrong, since 10.04 these have been nice wallpapers. But really, updates to the default wallpaper are not news to me anymore when they all look almost exactly the same.

    I just hope we will continue to get new mascot-themed wallpapers included as well…I really liked the narwhal stuff in 11.04!

  • Anonymous

    I just wish they would use a high-quality image. So far they are all grainy.

    I think they might (should?) be building up to something that will make us all go “aha!” when 12.04 is out. At least I hope so.

    • http://twitter.com/onderbakirtas Önder Emre BAKIRTAŞ

      We hope so.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002167018726 Maximilian Reisch

      Still Natty’s looked WAY better in terms of quality than Maverick’s…

  • http://twitter.com/howythegeek Howard Birch

    To me, the default wallpaper looks okay. It’s a wallpaper you’re not ashamed of. But I doubt that many keep it for more than 2 weeks after installing.
     Personally I use my own photos, because I often take macros or landscape photos that are good as wallpapers.
    But I do like Ambiance. I’ve grown to love it, because it’s a cheerful mix of colors, especially when adding transparency to the top bar.

    However… I am starting to see some lines between Unity and Mac OSUX… 
    I don’t think Ubuntu wants to be “the OS that looks like that one”.

  • Tim vd Westhuizen

    I think all these newish weird colourful Ubuntu wallpapers look like poop.

  • Anonymous

    It’s okay for what it is, an inoffensive wallpaper. But I personally have never been a fan of abstract wallpaper. I’ll probably just use my own art for a wallpaper.

  • http://profiles.google.com/animaletdesequia Dàrent Animaulet

    A good question for a pool would be: How many of you realle uses the default wallpaper? I know I’m a freak of customization but… come on… nobody will use it except maybe to make screencasts and tutorials…

  • http://twitter.com/Azur_BlackHole Azur

    I see the formation of a pink galaxy

  • Anonymous

    Really? That’s what they came up with? they must be trolling for sure xD

    And wasn’t there some competition for a wallpaper and art?

  • http://www.facebook.com/gurmeet1109 Gurmeet Singh

    Open question to Mark and the design support team ..

    How difficult or time consuming it is to go images.google.com and do a search on images .. landscape, sea, mountains etc .. and do spend atleast an hour picking up some nice pictures … 

    Royalty might be a issue with some, but not with all. I would willingly share some of my own creations with Canonical as a token of appreciation for what they have given to the community .. 

    Please .. don’t let dead wieght drag you .. the one that shows here is a ugly one and you know that … please don’t feed us the same again and again ..

  • Wilson Soeurs

    Otto Greenslade , You’re fired

  • nael alabassy

    look what i say is that the ubuntu current wallpaper is good why ?
    because it the first thing a new user will see and the first look is all that really matter

  • nael alabassy

    look what i say is that the ubuntu current wallpaper is good why ?
    because it the first thing a new user will see and the first look is all that really matter

  • Anonymous

    It’s kind of shocking, but why hasn’t anyone ever thought of creating wallpapers that depict the respective release’s titular animal? I’m thinking O’Reilly style, not so much Mac OS X style. (And: the 8.x wallpapers don’t count. Looked like crap.) God forbid, they have a design team. Supposedly. (I honestly doubt it.)

  • http://profiles.google.com/travissparks1307 Travis Sparks

    I suppose this wallpaper isn’t bad, if you like purple. I don’t really care for it myself, but then again, we all have the option of changing it. It’s not like anyone is saying you MUST use it, or suffer the consequences. I myself, (and I’m sure MANY agree with me) feel the best default wallpaper of any Ubuntu release was Hardy Heron. Just beautiful.

  • http://profiles.google.com/travissparks1307 Travis Sparks

    I suppose this wallpaper isn’t bad, if you like purple. I don’t really care for it myself, but then again, we all have the option of changing it. It’s not like anyone is saying you MUST use it, or suffer the consequences. I myself, (and I’m sure MANY agree with me) feel the best default wallpaper of any Ubuntu release was Hardy Heron. Just beautiful.

  • http://afeder.myopenid.com/ Anders

    I never got the point of this background. Just a plump blend of red and blueish colors – why? Has it been made for a specific kind of monitor or something?

    IMO, they would be better off using one of the photographic wallpapers, perhaps with an Ubuntu logo overlay.

  • Ken Harkey

    they need to stop

  • Ken Harkey

    they need to stop

  • http://twitter.com/hansioux Rex Su

    You ask us not to knock it, and then ask what we think about it?  It’s kind of like telling someone to freeze then put your gun down on the floor.

    since it’s impossible, i’ll just hold on to my gun and here it goes.

    it is exactly because this is the first thing users see that the wallpaper should be changed.  like i’ve said before, it looks like someone threw up after eating too much Skittles.  Seriously, try it.  Eat a bucket of skittles and that’s what your vomit looks like.

    Even if when we eat skittles we all have a bit of Jackson Pollock in us, this is one Jackson Pollock that should not be a wallpaper.  I am sure other purple themes paper would be much better suited from the Plymouth dark purple.  The purple of those Natty whale wall papers for example. 

    Why don’t we do this.  Do a poll with default Fedora, Mint, Suse, Ubuntu wallpapers, and see which one is more popular.  No, do it the otherway around, ask which one is ugly.  And see what we get.  If most people think it’s ugly, then why keep it as a wallpaper.  It’s the job of the default wallpaper to make an impression, but to force artistic style down everyone’s throat.

  • http://twitter.com/icyeh Shelby

    Repetitive, repetitive.

    I understand they want consistency, but, in this case, it’s just boring. We really need a totally new default wallpaper.

  • http://twitter.com/jancauchi Jan Cauchi

    I don’t like this wallpaper at all… It’s almost the same as the previous. They should have changed at least the colour and leave the same texture. Other than that… good article! +1

  • Thomas Bray

    Pretty sure this happened from dapper to edgy to feisty back in day I dont mind.

    user since breezy.

  • http://twitter.com/Shuninzo Sébastien Michel

    Not a fan…

  • https://foolishowl.myopenid.com/ FoolishOwl

    I can see the appeal of subtly changing the default wallpaper from version to version. And in general, I like the direction that Ubuntu has been moving in, in terms of UI practical and aesthetic design. But I find this series of wallpapers ugly, and actually uncomfortable to look at.

    I think most Ubuntu users who remember them really liked the Heron and Ibex wallpapers, and I saw the same wallpaper I selected, featuring the silhouettes of narwhals, used in almost every screenshot of Natty Narwhal I’ve seen.

    If they want branding, they should follow that model: stylized images of the theme animal that blend with the overall design of the interface. Most Ubuntu users are inclined to proselytize for Ubuntu anyway; most of us are happy to have wallpaper that advertises that we are using the latest version of Ubuntu.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_UFCNPNEKQKJJL5VU7TGFUSQIUA mmhmm

    I love the idea, and the wallpaper! :) <3

  • anthonie wilson

    Lawl. I just set this as the default wallpaper on all the Macs in my College. It actually looks nice on a iMac and so far no one has changed it.

 
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