Preview: Gutsy Gibbon
Gusty Gibbon is the codename for the next version of Ubuntu, 7.10, which follows the half yearly release cycle and promises plenty of new features and bug fixes. As well as a Gutsy Ubuntu there will of course be Gutsy Kubuntu, Xubuntu and others. With it's release imminent we present a quick run down of just some of the new features you can expect in October 2007.
Written by Ronnie Tucker
GNOME has been updated to 2.20. Numerous bugs have been fixed and work on interesting new features has gone into various GNOME products as well. By popular demand, the various themes, backgrounds and other appearance related tools have now been merged into a single dialog (below), allowing faster access to more settings.
With an Ubuntu-specific change, you can also now choose whether or not to use Compiz Fusion in the Desktop Effects tab. The Tracker indexer (below) has also been added to the desktop, making it easy and lightning fast to search for your documents, photos, music, videos, chat logs, and all other files. You can use Tracker in the search dialog, the file selector, Nautilus, or the Deskbar applet.
KDE will be updated to 3.5.7. This release has a renewed focus on KDE PIM applications such as Kontact, KAlarm, and others. The PIM applications have received a great deal of attention with bug fixes, interface work, IMAP and more. KMail is now automatically installed with all programs needed for GPG (and S/MIME) encryption/decryption and signing/verification. Additionally, for new installations, all GPG components will be correctly configured. Several other applications have received a few feature updates as well. Applications such as KPDF, Umbrello and KDevelop (neither are installed by default in Kubuntu), Games, and Kopete. KHTML and Konqueror received some work as well. Dolphin is the new file manager for KDE that focuses on usability as well as simplicity. It is now the default file manager in 7.10. Dolphin will not be replacing Konqueror. Konqueror does it all, while Dolphin (below) focuses on being only a file manager allowing the optimization of the user interface for the task of file management. So give Dolphin a go, especially if you are new to the K Desktop Environment.
7.10 will release with the 2.6.22-rc3-based kernel. The kernel will therefore feature significant enhancements and fixes that have been merged in the last few months into the mainline (Linus) kernel. For massive power, heat and headache reduction the kernel now features dynticks, which in laptops should mean more battery life and burnfree laps. And in desktops, media center PCs, etc. it results in a quieter, cooler environment. For laptops especially, a new wireless stack is used that will allow for a much better wifi performance and driver management. The new flash handling module (UBI) will allow your flash devices (e.g. USB flash drives etc.) to last longer and work around any bad blocks that come up. UBI also makes it possible to dynamically create, delete and re-size flash partitions (UBI volumes). Many device drivers have been added to the kernel allowing it to support a veritable plethora of devices and accessories.
The new GNOME-power-manager (above) will now profile your battery to get a more accurate picture of your battery lifespan and will not activate any power saving features until this is done, leading to better experience for laptop users.
With the new X.org maintainer, X in Ubuntu is going to be on the leading edge again, with the new input and output hot plug and much more. The long existing problem of not having a graphical tool to configure X will be gone in Gutsy with the new displayconfig-gtk spec. Work for this spec has been rolling along, with a new UI being designed. Lastly, work to make the X server "unbreakable" has been discussed with the bullet-proof-x spec. This will allow all those users who insist on hand editing their xorg.conf to recover in a nicer manner.
You can now configure what driver you want to use for your graphic card, set up dual monitors, change the default resolution for all users or change your monitor's refresh rate without having to turn to the terminal. A new GUI has been added making it easily to adjust your video and monitor settings.
FACT: Codenames for Ubuntu go from A-Z, have an animal type as surname and include a descriptive first name. Dapper Drake was 'dapper' because of it's polish, the gibbon is 'gutsy' due to its brave new features and next will come the Hardy Heron. Hardy because it will be the next long term support (LTS) release taking over from the soon to be retired Dapper Drake.
Compiz Fusion is enabled by default in Ubuntu 7.10 and will bring 3D desktop visual effects that improve the usability and visual appeal of the system. Gutsy Gibbon automatically detects whether the hardware is capable of running Compiz Fusion. If not, it falls back to the "metacity" window manager.
Kubuntu now has its very own application (above) that allows you to simply install a downloaded (local) package without using the command line. So, if you go to a website that is offering a .deb package for an application you are interested, you will now be offered the option of not only saving it to disc, but also opening it with the Gdebi Package Installer. If you have a downloaded .deb file in one of your directories, simply right clicking it and selecting Open With -> GDebi Package Installer will get your installation on its way.
Gnash, the long awaited free flash implementation currently being developed by GNU, just got easier to install. Gnash features better security, ability to play YouTube and other flash videos, and is mostly SWF 7 compliant with v8 and v9 soon to come.
DigiKam's 0.9.2 series is stressing usability and stability, however, they haven't forgotten about bugfixes, features, and functionality. The latest feature, that most artists and photographers will be familiar with, is a Light Table. Yes, you heard that correctly, a light table. A light table assists artists and photographers with reviewing their work ensuring only the highest quality. A light table will show the artist their imperfections in which they can go and touch up. In digiKam, the light table function provides the user a similar experience. You can import a photo, drag it onto the light table, and touch up only the areas that need it. Easy to use, brand new, yet so functional.
K3b, now version 1.0.1, is the latest release in Kubuntu 7.10. Bug fixes were the number one priority with this release from the previous 1.0 version.
Kaffeine 0.8.4 (above) is the 4th release in the stable 0.8 series. This latest release fixes previous issues while adding new functionality in a few places. Kaffeine is the default video player in Kubuntu 7.10.
The new Rhythmbox 0.11.1 (above) contains seamless playback and better support for visualization. For those who use online stores, Rhythmbox now supports the use of Magnatune gift card's and a greatly reduced memory usage of the Jamendo download area. Of course, what would a music player be without the ability to put that music on portable players, and this version of Rhythmbox includes better support for a whole raft, as well as the ability to write art to iPods.
In Kubuntu Amarok (above) is the default music player. Amarok makes playing the music you love easier than ever before - and looks good doing it. With release 1.4.6 comes added features, bug fixes, and more.
Ubuntu 7.10 - Gutsy Gibbon will be released in October this year.
Introducing the Gutsy Gibbon
Mark Shuttleworth
Folks, allow me to introduce the Gutsy Gibbon, who will be succeeding the Feisty Fawn as the focus of our development love in a few short weeks, for release in October 2007.
The Gibbon won the G-race to be our engineering mascot for this next release, but it was a close run. We very much wanted to honour the tremendous contributions of the GNU project to Free Software by awarding the role to the Glossy Gnu. This prompted an intense internal debate about trademarks, at which both the Fiery Fox and the Icy Weasel were heard. In the end, however, the judge, jury and elocutionary (that would be me) took a liking to the Gibbon's extraordinary reach, and the Gibbon won outright.
Excerpt from the official press release.
You can read the full announcement at: http://url.fullcirclemagazine.org/306a35
