Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon
//Post scris în engleză pentru că se adresează unui public mai larg
Today was the release date of the latest version of my favorite GNU/Linux Distribution, Ubuntu 7.10 codename Gutsy Gibbon. I was pretty excited about the release and things look good even though they aren’t all new to me.
A step forward for the regular user
Ubuntu 7.10 might not seem very impressive to a power user, especially considering that many of the features now available were available before as well, just that you had to go and install them separately. I personally had most of the features already there, but adding them to the “default” Ubuntu is surely a huge step forward as the regular user won’t be bothered with adding some untrusted repository to his /etc/apt/sources.list file and then installing the program.
But what do we have here?
You’re probably wondering about the new features of Ubuntu 7.10 so here they are(my computer isn’t the best testbed for testing 7.10 since I did an upgrade but I don’t have time to test it on a VM) :
Compiz Fusion
One of the coolest parts of 7.10 is the bundled Compiz Fusion. Together with the restricted drivers support(official video drivers are usually restricted) activating the visual effects should be easier than ever. It’s just a matter of selecting System/Preferences/Appearance and setting the desired level of activated effects.
In case you didn’t know, Compiz Fusion adds a level of eyecandy that surpasses other operation systems. I won’t go deep into it, if you want more info check the official site or one of the YouTube videos.
One of the most important aspects is stability and Compiz Fusion is very stable(at least on my GeForce card). Still, should anything happen, the default window manager will be started instead.
Gnome 2.20
Ubuntu 7.10 comes with the latest stable Gnome release, which comes with so many improvements that you should read them all on the Gnome Release Notes page.
Desktop Search
Gutsy Gibbon introduces Desktop search, a feature much like Google Desktop’s desktop search and Apple’s finde. You type in a string and it will search your web history, your email contacts allowing you to easily email them, launch an application if Ubuntu finds one with that name, you bookmars, your files and even launch system commands like Shutdown and Log Off.
It works very well and it is definitely a big productivity enhancer.
Graphical configuration for X
One of the big things the graphic system was lacking was the ability to easily configure the graphic mode. Usually configuring it meant editing the xorg.conf file and you had to know what exactly to write there. Now you have a nice program which allows you to select the wanted resolution, refresh rate and even supports multiple monitors.
I tried this feature and tried to add the TV through the TV-Out. while working(sort of), it managed to mess up my primary monitor as well. Thankfully it back-uped the xorg.conf file so I did an overwrite and it was all fixed (fixing it with the configuration tool did produce some wierd results).
NTFS write support
NTFS read support was there in 7.04 but now NTFS-3g is integrated and you can both read and write from NTFS partitions. No complaints here, works like a charm.
Better printer support and restricted drivers support
Printers should now automatically install and installing proprietary drivers should be a lot easier now. My printer is an older HP that has worked since day one so I don’t have any feedback on these features. Restricted graphics card drivers work very well.
Better power consumption
This one’s for the laptop people but since I’m not one of them I can’t really say if it’s better now or the same.
Other stuff
- Fast user switching – similar to Windows.
- Firefox add-ons – especially designed for Ubuntu and with a new interface from where to install them.
- Improvements to the Server part of Ubuntu like new profiles(to easily install a Mail or Database server for example) and security improvements.
- and even more …
Conclusion
The Gutsy Gibbon is surely a step forward for GNU/Linux and Ubuntu and the upgrade from a previous version is surely recommended, especially since it’s a one-click operation(be sure to back up first).
So, if you’d like to try Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon just check the download page and select a mirror near you.
//Update:
On the other hand someone (krillz.com) found 10 problems with Ubuntu 7.10 and was also nice enough to find solutions to resolve some of those problems. If you’re having problems with the Gutsy Gibbon.