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I just installed Ubuntu 16.04. Ubuntu Software Center is being weird. It's just waaaaay too slow. Takes ages to "load" something. It doesn't even work sometimes. Maybe it does, but i can't wait 10 minutes, so i just close it. I mean, i click on "Updates", and it just won't load. Sometimes it will, but it takes a long time. What's up with that? I'm a total "noob" and this is the first time i'm trying a Linux based OS, so be gentle :P. I've googled it, but no real solution popped out.

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  • You should use the Updates tool (search for it in dash) in order to apply all the available updates -or- in terminal do sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade before using the "app store". The main reason why it feels "slow" right now is probably because it's checking for updates in the background already.
    – user589808
    Feb 16, 2017 at 11:04

4 Answers 4

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Software Center which comes bundled with ubuntu 16.04 is very buggy, and is better to avoid it as much as possible.

You can use Synaptic Package Manager instead which is miles ahead of the default one.

sudo apt-get install synaptic

Other than that, try sticking with the terminal for your basic software installation (just google ubuntu {desired software} ).

To update system, run

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
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  • Ubuntu Software was buggy for me in 16.04 too, however since I upgraded this OS from 16.04 to 18.04 there haven't been any more bugs in it and Ubuntu Software takes about 1 second to open in 18.04. I miss the way the old Ubuntu Software Center searched for software, so I installed Synaptic alongside Ubuntu Software so that I could use Synaptic's old-fashioned search functionality.
    – karel
    Sep 15, 2018 at 8:34
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Change the server option in the Software and Update window and
click on 'select best server' like in this image:

enter image description here

It worked for me.

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2

I'm experiencing the same behavior. I found that in every case where I'm seeing Ubuntu Software Center spin its wheels, minimizing then restoring the window causes the expected content to be displayed immediately. It works, but I have to perform these acrobatics every time I click something new.

  • Release: 16.04.2 LTS (Xenial Xerus) 64-bit (fully patched)
  • Kernel: Linux 4.4.0-66-generic x86_64
  • MATE: 1.12.1
  • Memory: 15.7 GiB
  • Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 CPU X 990 @ 3.47GHz × 12
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0

I found several related questions, with some pretty drastic suggestions. What worked for me was forcing the snap-store process to restart.

My symptoms were that I would open the Ubuntu Software application and type something to search for, like inksca. The search screen would sit and spin until I got tired of waiting for it and decided to install from the command line instead.

I tried closing and reopening the Ubuntu Software application, but nothing changed. Instead, I found the process id of the application, killed it, and then launched it again by clicking the launcher icon.

$ pgrep -a snap-store
2911351 /snap/snap-store/558/usr/bin/snap-store
$ kill 2911351
$

Now, typing inksca immediately finds inkscape and Boxy SVG.

One other thing I tried before I found this was kiran's answer to select the best server for package search. In case the steps aren't clear in that answer:

  1. Open Software & Updates, not Ubuntu Software or the Software Updater.
  2. On the Ubuntu Software tab, click the Download from dropdown.
  3. Click Other...
  4. In the Choose a Download Server dialog box, click the Select Best Server button.
  5. Wait for the speed tests to run.
  6. If the selection makes sense, click the Choose Server button.
  7. Enter your password when asked.
  8. Close Software & Updates, then agree to let it reload its software cache.

I don't know whether this really helped or not, but the suggested server was local.

If those don't help, there's always the command line to fall back on.

$ apt-cache search inksca
create-resources - shared resources for use by creative applications
dpic - pic-language converter to LaTeX-compatible and other formats
fonts-opendin - Open DIN font
fonts-rufscript - handwriting-based font for Latin characters
ink-generator - Inkscape extension to automatically generate files from a template
inkscape - vector-based drawing program
inkscape-open-symbols - Open source SVG symbol sets that can be used as Inkscape symbols
inkscape-speleo - Inkscape plugin to help draw surveys
inkscape-survex-export - Inkscape plugin to digitise printed surveys
inkscape-textext - Re-editable LaTeX graphics for Inkscape
inkscape-textext-doc - Re-editable LaTeX graphics for Inkscape (documentation)
inkscape-tutorials - vector-based drawing program - tutorials
lib2geom-dev - robust computational geometry framework -- development library
lib2geom1.1.0 - robust computational geometry framework -- shared library
lyx - document processor
python3-scour - SVG scrubber and optimizer (Python 3 module)
python3-sphinxcontrib.svg2pdfconverter - Sphinx SVG to PDF Converter Extension
robocut - Control program for Graphtec cutting plotters
scour - SVG scrubber and optimizer (CLI and debhelper)
svgtune - tool to generate a set of .svg files out of a single .svg file
texlive-lang-english - TeX Live: US and UK English
$ 

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