News about the Ubuntu distribution

 Is Ubuntu Really the Most User-Friendly Distribution?, Aug 26, 2008

What exactly are the characteristics of user-friendliness? And does stressing user-friendliness mean ignoring other values -- perhaps equally important ones?

In light of my chronic Mac problems, I decided that I would take a shot at Ubuntu running on a Thinkpad X300.

The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced that Canonical has become a member of the Foundation.

After my last few articles on how to connect Ubuntu Linux to network shares and a network printer, I want to have a look at some of the more fun aspects of Ubuntu Linux. I thought this was appropriate at the moment, so...let the games begin!

When a distribution claims to be "Linux for Software and Web Developers," both of which I happen to be, my ears prick up. Could this be the distribution I've been waiting for? Or will it simply build up my hopes only to dash them later?

During OSCON last week, I met with Canonical's Pete Goodall to discuss the company's strategy for Ubuntu in the mobile market. Although he could not tell me any specifics regarding plans for upcoming Ubuntu-based subnotebook products, the word is that good stuff is coming soon. He seemed very enthusiastic about emerging opportunities for Ubuntu in the mobile space.

Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu Linux and one-time cosmonaut, delivered a rousing keynote oration to the OSCON conference here, detailing the ingredients needed for success in open source and on the Linux desktop in particular.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix and Mobile Internet Device editions of Linux are gearing up to compete with Windows on mini-PC devices this year.

Last weekend a friend was moaning about endless problems with Windows XP on his desktop PC. We installed Ubuntu 7.04 on it. The problems went away.

After the technical sessions concluded on the first day of OSCON, some attendees headed across town to see Mark Shuttleworth, the charismatic founder of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, give a presentation to local Portland group Legion of Tech.

What does the sale of the Ubuntu Hardy Heron Long Term Support package for $20 at Best Buy mean for the Linux community? While Adam Kane, a blogger on Foogazi, said it "ultimately [is] a great thing for Linux in general," others in the community were less upbeat in their comments.

The Boston Celtics are closing in on another NBA championship after having adopted ubuntu as their rallying cry at the beginning of the season.

Ubuntu is on the verge of enhancing its already good name as the most end-user friendly Linux distribution by coming out with its own mobile-optimised release, Ubuntu Netbook Remix. We're on the tip of a revolution and here's why.

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux, has introduced a version of Ubuntu that is specially designed for netbooks – mini notebooks modelled on the Eee PC – that are being presented by various providers at Computex.

Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth has again called for the developers of major open-source software programs and Linux distributions to synchronize their development and release cycles.

If you were planning to attend Ubuntu Live 2008 in July, we have some bad news for you: the event has been canceled. Speakers were quietly notified earlier this week and the event's Web site was updated late this morning.

Canonical head and Ubuntu founder, Mark Shuttleworth, says that he would be prepared to adjust the release dates of Ubuntu if it meant they would match those of other major Linux distributions.

The Linux blogs were abuzz with accounts of Ubuntu's newly released version, Hardy Heron. The distro has pushed the envelope of capabilities and appeal with nearly every release, and the latest version has Linux fans speculating that it will attract more users away from Windows.

The public perception of open source software is changing fast, said Mark Shuttleworth, who leads distribution of the Ubuntu operating system (OS)

Well, here I am just a few miles from Yahoo!' headquarters and Microsoft's Silicon Valley residence. It's Sunday, and I've yet to hear screams from either camp. So, it seems that Microsoft's call to action deadline around the Yahoo! buy is passing with a lack of fanfare.

Ubuntu's deep software catalog, focus on usability and active community combine with long-term support to put desktop Linux's best face forward.

If you've flirted with the idea of switching your desktop operating system to Linux but never took the leap, the time is now. This week's release of Hardy Heron, an Ubuntu release that will be supported until 2011, offers a freer, more productive space for work and play than ever before.

Ubuntu creator Mark Shuttleworth said version 8.04 features a sexier GUI for consumers but it’s the Long Term Support, Wubi Windows installer, server assets and expanding ecosystem that will make it a rising star in the corporate world.

I had a very interesting conversation with Mr Ubuntu, aka Mark Shuttleworth, at the end of last week and you can read the resulting news story here.

The newest Ubuntu Linux long term support (LTS) release, code named 'Hardy Heron' (officially called Ubuntu 8.04) is set to be available today, including both desktop and server editions with a long list of new features.

Canonical plans to release Hardy Heron, its newest version of Ubuntu Linux on Thursday, and Chief Executive Mark Shuttleworth isn't being shy and retiring about it.

Linux Ubuntu installation on PCs sold by Excimer and NT Computer is to be launched within the nearest month. Consequently, Ubuntu sales in Russia might reach 300 thousand units. Ubuntu 8.04 released on April 24, 2008 is more likely to be preinstalled.

If there is a single complaint that is laid at the feet of Linux time and time again, it's that the operating system is too complicated and arcane for casual computer users to tolerate. You can't ask newbies to install device drivers or recompile the kernel, naysayers argue.

Curl Inc. today announced support for Ubuntu Linux, which will allow desktop Ubuntu users to easily see Curl-enhanced Web content on their computers without having to manually configure a player.

The Ubuntu team has announced the arrival of the release candidate for Ubuntu 8.04, code-named "Hardy Heron." The release candidate is considered complete, stable, and suitable for testing by any user.

Sun is about to become the first major hardware vendor to certify Ubuntu Linux as compatible with its products—a move that could spark increased competition for Red Hat and Novell.

Linux has not made significant strides in the mobile space because the industry is still too tightly controlled by proprietary manufacturers and and too contested by Linux rivals, Canonical’s Mark Shuttleworth maintains.

What is it about Ubuntu that has generated such excitement about Linux? To steal a word from Obama's playbook, "Change."

The next release of Ubuntu is slated to arrive in April, but already the developers are making plans for the future of the popular Linux distribution.

In a message posted on the Ubuntu mailing list this morning, Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth announced that Ubuntu 8.10, which is tentatively scheduled for release in October, will be called Intrepid Ibex.

Heading in a different direction from its main rivals, Ubuntu Linux will use KVM as its primary virtualisation software

I moved my mother from Windows to Ubuntu Linux, and the experience was a surprisingly smooth one.

Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? Or, more importantly, would as many people stop to smell a rose by a different name? In an open letter to Ubuntu Linux founder Mark Shuttleworth, published yesterday, the suggestion was made to rebrand all the forms of Ubuntu as different editions of the distribution.

In the latest Ubuntu weekly newsletter the Ubuntu folks announced the release of the Ubuntu 7.10 Desktop Course. The modular course should take two days to complete all 10 of the lessons offered, but it is possible to cover topics and lessons independently of each other, learning whatever is of interest.

Sometimes open-source development projects plod along at a slow walk. Sometimes they develop at a gallop. Bazaar, the version control system from Canonical, is entering the Kentucky Derby.

It didn't take long after installing Canonical Ltd.'s Ubuntu 7.10 version of Linux for me to decide I liked what I saw.

The Economist makes three technology predictions for 2008, two of which concern web surfing and the third of which concerns everyone, whether they surf the web or not. The Economist's third prediction is that the technology world will open up:

The Ubuntu development community has officially announced the release of Ubuntu 8.04 alpha 2. Ubuntu 8.04—scheduled for release in April 2008—is a long-term support (LTS) release, which means that it will be supported on the desktop for three years and on the server for five years.

The news that Dell has now released Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) on its boxes (and about time too!) has been tempered somewhat by a potential storm of controversy caused by a couple of software packages that come bundled with the Dell Linux PCs.

Open-source projects often face the problem of keeping track of a project's code, while avoiding stifling developers' creativity. Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux, claims it has a solution to that problem: Bazaar 1.0, its new version control system.

He's a technologist, venture capitalist, social experimenter, philanthropist, and Russian-trained space traveler. Oh, and Mark Shuttleworth originated the world's fastest-growing Linux distribution, Ubuntu.

A new software development collaborative service for Ubuntu Linux is being launched today to give developers a consolidated arena to build code for Ubuntu on the desktop, server and for mobile applications.

Early this week, Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux, will be releasing its Launchpad Personal Package Archive service, a new way for developers to build and publish packages of their code, documentation, artwork, themes and other contributions to the Ubuntu environment on desktop, server and now mobile environments.

Besides ease of use for end users, Ubuntu is cost-effective and even eliminates per-seat license costs entirely, on both the desktop and the server.

Just as as I was getting comfortable using Ubuntu on my desktop, enthusiastic readers have assailed me with stories about how I should give other Linux distros a try - particularly the KDE pair PCLinuxOS and SimplyMEPIS.

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