I’ve been on Linux since 2004 (starting with the Brazilian Kurumin on 512MB RAM). After decades of distro-hopping, I’m still stuck on Ubuntu Unity. For video editing and heavy workflows, the native Global Menu is still the gold standard for screen real estate optimization. It maximizes vertical space in a way that modern GNOME or KDE shells just don't replicate natively without breakage.

I run this on an "ancient" 4th Gen i5 Dell Optiplex, and the UX is flawless. The top-right hot corner (Scale/Spread) is still the fastest way to manage windows without touching a sidebar.

The Update Paradox: People say Unity is basically "abandonment-ware" due to the lack of core developers. Yet, I receive system updates every single week—not just app updates, but core OS patches. This raises a few questions:

• How safe are these updates? Is the underlying Ubuntu security enough to keep the Unity desktop secure even if the UI code is static?

• Is the lack of "new features" actually a blessing for stability?

I use a custom post-install script for performance and night light tweaks, and honestly, I haven't found a successor that matches this level of lightness and professional usability.

"I love Unity/Lomiri. My tablet and Linux phone run Ubuntu Touch using Lomiri, which is based on Unity 8. My openSUSE Tumbleweed install has problems with my RTX 4090. I like the Lomiri/Unity style, so I might switch distributions. Is the version of Unity in Ubuntu unity secure? I want to use ubuntu Unity with Lomiri or unity, is Lomiri functional on the desktop? I'm asking because I've read that the maintainer of Ubuntu Unity is in college and doesn't have much time for maintenance. Is it better to install Debian with Lomiri?"

Hey ! 👋

Been using Ubuntu Unity for a while now and I've assembled a post-install bash script that I run right after every fresh install. Wanted to share what it does and why each part matters to me personally — maybe it helps someone else too.

🌙 The one that matters most: Permanent Night Light (4000K via Redshift)

This is non-negotiable for me. I work long hours and eye strain was genuinely affecting my sleep and productivity.

The thing is — most night light setups break after updates, sleep cycles, or random GNOME quirks. So I went nuclear: I run Redshift as a systemd user service with Restart=always.

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/bin/redshift -l -25.26:-57.57 -t 4000:4000 -m randr
Restart=always
RestartSec=3

If anything kills it, it comes back in 3 seconds. Always. I call it "immortal mode" 😄

Config is fixed at 4000K day AND night — no transitions, no surprises. Just warm light, all the time.

To verify it's running after reboot:

pgrep redshift        # should return a PID
systemctl --user status redshift.service

⚡ CPU Performance Mode (power-profiles-daemon)

My machine is plugged in 95% of the time, so there's zero reason for the CPU to throttle itself. One line fix:

sudo apt install -y power-profiles-daemon
powerprofilesctl set performance

Check it anytime with:

powerprofilesctl get   # should return: performance

The difference is noticeable on compile times and general snappiness, especially on older hardware.

🖥️ Monitor at 75Hz (auto on login)

My monitor supports 75Hz but Ubuntu always defaults to 60Hz after a fresh install. Fixed with a simple autostart .desktop entry:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Exec=sh -c "xrandr --output HDMI-1 --mode 1600x900 --rate 75"
X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true

The script auto-detects the connected monitor with xrandr | grep " connected" so I don't have to hardcode it every time.

📦 Flatpak + GNOME Software

I prefer Flatpak for most GUI apps these days — sandboxing, easy updates, and apps that aren't in the Ubuntu repos.

sudo apt install -y gnome-software gnome-software-plugin-flatpak flatpak
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Nothing fancy, just making sure it's ready to go from day one.

🔧 Performance tweaks (sysctl + preload)

A few things that make a tangible difference:

Swappiness — default is 60, which is too aggressive for systems with decent RAM:

echo "vm.swappiness=10" | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf

VFS cache pressure — keeps frequently used files in memory longer:

echo "vm.vfs_cache_pressure=50" | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf

Preload — learns your usage patterns and pre-loads your most-used apps into RAM:

sudo apt install -y preload
sudo systemctl enable preload

Also disabling services I never use: cups-browsed, ModemManager, bluetooth.

🐧 Optional: lowlatency kernel

The script offers to install linux-lowlatency and configure GRUB to remember your last boot choice (GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT=true).

I don't always install it, but on lighter machines or when I'm doing audio work, it makes a real difference in responsiveness.

🗑️ Bloatware removal (optional)

The script asks before removing anything — it's not aggressive. It offers to nuke:

• Thunderbird (I use gmail)

• Rhythmbox (I use Spotify)

• Cheese, Transmission, GNOME games

• LibreOffice (I install it fresh from Flatpak if needed)

📋 Quick verification after reboot

xrandr | grep '*'           # confirm 75Hz
powerprofilesctl get        # confirm performance
pgrep redshift              # confirm night light is alive
systemctl --user status redshift.service

Final thoughts

The biggest win for me is the immortal Redshift setup — I cannot stress enough how much consistent warm lighting has helped with late-night sessions. The performance mode and swappiness tweaks are subtle but add up.

If anyone has suggestions to improve the script or other post-install steps they swear by, I'd love to hear them. Especially curious if anyone has better approaches for persistent 75Hz across multiple monitors without hardcoding xrandr commands.

Happy to share the full script if there's interest — it's a single bash file, around 250 lines, fully commented.

Running Ubuntu Unity 24.04.3 on a mid-range desktop. YMMV on laptops, especially the performance mode part.