Ubuntu gnome memory wastage

While looking into other Ubuntu performance issues and Compiz crash I noticed just how many wasteful processes are running by default. Feels like I'm back on a Windows machine!

gnome-settings
python (system-config-printer/applet.py)
update-notifier
trashapplet
seahorse-agent (can't get rid due to ubuntu-desktop dep)
evolution-alarm (succeeded in removing!)
evolution-exchange
gnome-power-management
evolution-data-
gnome-screensav
gvfsd-smb-browse (can't get rid due to ubuntu-desktop dep)
gvsfd-smb-network
gvsdf-dnssd
gvfsd-computer
gnome-vfs-daemon
bluetooth-applet (succeeded in removing!)
bluetoothd-service-audio
bluetoothd-service-input
compiz-decorator (succeeded in removing!)
gtk-window-decorator
b43 (runs regardless of if the Wireless is enabled, so enable/disable must be a software switch)
bonobo-activation-server (can't get rid due to ubuntu-desktop dep)
samba

I wish I could remove samba, I don't have any Windows machines on my network I need to transfer files to, but ubuntu-desktop has a dep on it.

Even with my internal wireless disabled (Fn+F2) I still see the b43 driver task running and taking up memory.

It's no wonder with all this running it takes 4 secs to load Firefox3 on a 1.6Ghz CPU with 1.5GB ram. It should be up in less than a second. OpenOffice Writer is even worse, around 8 seconds.

Remove Evolution:
# apt-get --purge remove evolution

^ It isn't mentioned, but the tasks are all still running, so another reboot is necessary (another Windows reminder..)

# apt-get --purge remove gnome-screensaver

Why is a screensaver running all the time anyway? The system could run the process from a gnome timer when it needs to start.

Let's see how it goes with this lot removed, I'll be tempted to install Xubuntu (XFCE desktop) if performance is still hogged!

Remove Compiz from Ubuntu

If like me you're running one of the recent Ubuntu releases (8.04 LTS) you'll still be experiencing the unfixed bugs in Compiz Desktop Effects, for me this results in Totem and Xine crashes, taking out the whole machine (power switch restart).

So as no official fixes have been made (even though its LTS!), disable and removing compiz is the workaround:

Right click on the desktop, select "Change Desktop Background".
Click "Visual Effects", click the "none" option.

Then issue these commands to remove the Compiz packages:

# apt-get --purge remove compiz compiz-core

^ It doesn't tell you, but compiz is actually still running, so you will need to reboot to benefit.

Tip: Want to track down that rogue process in the "top" or "ps aux" output? Track it back to the package it came from, so you can unisntall it:

# dpkg -S /usr/bin/compiz-decorator

Laptop is quicker, and no more video playback crashes (yet!) ;).

Remove Bluetooth from Ubuntu

If like me you are running on a laptop or desktop without Bluetooth, you'll notice that Ubuntu is still running around 1.5MB of Bluetooth packages, wasting drive space and memory at run time.

We could could ignore the disk space loss, but the fact that it stays resident after it sees no bluetooth hardware connected is far from ideal. It would have been trivial for them to exit the daemon when it found no hardware connected, so its probably just sloppy QA (or lack of any QA again..) that let this one slip into a release. Should anyone plug in a USB bluetooth adapter, HAL should then swawn the daemon etc.

So simply disable and uninstall/remove bluetooth from Ubuntu.

# apt-get --purge remove bluez-utils bluez-gnome

The --purge removes the installer files from your drive, recovering the space again ;)