Flavor of the Year: Ubuntu / Kubuntu
Ubuntu-Kubuntu desktops
It's been a full year since Full Circle Issue #1, and Ubuntu has come a long way. In the time it has taken us to reach issue #12, Ubuntu has advanced three versions, and has improved in so many ways. This article will take a look at how the Ubuntu family has morphed from the Feisty Fawn to a Hardy Heron.
To get a feel for how far Ubuntu has come, we need to look at Feisty's main features. Feisty (7.04) introduced the migration assistant, allowing users to migrate their settings from a Windows install to Ubuntu effortlessly. It also added the first steps to easy multimedia codec installation, allowing users to effortlessly install codecs from the repositories, or even have them installed when they try to play a media file for which they don't already have the necessary codecs. It also showed the first glimpses of the 'Network Manager' allowing easy access to wireless networks using a tray icon, rather than manual editing of configuration files and, in some cases, compiling drivers.
Gutsy (7.10) further improved the user experience, but caused some controversy by adding Compiz Fusion 'out of the box' but only for Ubuntu. Kubuntu users had to make do with their first glimpse of Dolphin, the KDE4 file manager, only the brave would install the KDE4 Beta3. Both had one click desktop searching, fast user switching and simple adding of common Firefox plugins via the 'plugin finder' service or 'Add/Remove Applications'. Gutsy Gibbon also brought the first taste of the graphical configuration tool for X, this meant almost no manual editing of /etc/X11/xorg.conf to get your display(s) configured properly. Some other features were improved printer setup, three click restricted driver installation, write support for NTFS file systems and better power management facilities.
With the most recent version, Hardy Heron (8.04), Ubuntu gets its second long term support (LTS) release. There is no LTS for Kubuntu 8.04 but it will come in two flavors: one with KDE 3.5.9 (now with easy enabling of Compiz Fusion) and a 'remix' which will install the new KDE 4.0.2. Hardy boasts a wealth of features one of which being the new 'Bullet-Proof X' for GUI display configuration. It even includes the latest version of the popular web browser, Firefox. Firefox 3 introduces many exciting features including easy add-on installation as well as incredible speed, and compliance with web standards. Perhaps a feature aimed at new users, but equally as useful to power users is the incredible Windows based installer, Wubi. If you insert the Ubuntu (or Kubuntu) disk while running Windows, instead of the usual feature list, you'll get a list of installation options, allowing you to install without repartitioning and will let you add or remove it like any other Windows application. It also gives the option to reboot your computer and try/install Ubuntu in the way we have grown used to.
As if that isn't enough, this release brings improvements and changes to the pre-installed applications. Ubuntu now uses Transmission as its new BitTorrent client, Vinagre for VNC, Brasero for CD/DVD burning and Inkscape 0.46 for SVG images. Kubuntu has updates to Ktorrent, digiKam, Amarok and even allows you to encrypt your entire file system. If you're a network administrator, you will love the new 'Policy Kit' which enables fine tuned control over the permissions for every part of the system. This Ubuntu release also integrates ActiveDirectory, so will enable simple integration into ActiveDirectory based networks.
So in the year that has passed since issue one, a lot of improvements and changes have been implemented improving the speed and capabilities of the Ubuntu family. The next release will be the 'Intrepid Ibex' (8.10), and I'm sure it will bring even more improvements. The drafting of blueprints and ideas for the Ibex has just begun as by the time you read this article 8.04 will be available for download. Let's hope that with the passing of another year, another bounty of features will blow us away.
Robert Clipsham is a self-confessed geek, whose hobbies include programming/scripting, chatting on IRC and not writing his articles on time.
