I get excited this time of year when homebrew developers birth the newest version of Ubuntu Linux. In just two days, Ubuntu 7.10 will be released to the masses. While we're all waiting anxiously for the gold release, Lifehacker has a screenshot tour of Release Candidate 1, which should tide us over until launch day:
Experienced Ubuntu users know what to expect from this Thursday's release of Gutsy Gibbon, the love-it-or-hate-it code name for version 7.10 of the popular Linux distribution. It's not a major "Long Term Support" release, it's not a radical re-thinking of the system, but it is another step toward a Linux system that "just works."
Still, there's a lot that's new (or at least now included by default) and very cool here—native support for dual-monitor setups, integrated Firefox tweaks and extensions, instant printer configuration and, of course, more of the Compiz eye candy that's helping Ubuntu look less like the dowdy younger brother of Windows and Mac. I downloaded, burned and installed the Gutsy release candidate over the weekend and took a few pictures along the way.
...
Finally, here's a short list of the features and additions that have also been announced (or just didn't make for great screenshots):
* Native support for WPA-protected wifi networks. Even my troublesome Ralink wireless PCI card found its router and connected, and hasn't yet asked for the password again.
* Printers are surprisingly, actually one-step setup, almost to the point of hidden. I plugged in my HP DeskJet 825c, hit "Print" on an OpenOffice document, and, lo and behold, my printer was available -- without a single pop-up message or hardware "wizard."
* NTFS-formatted drives are automatically detected and mounted for both reading and writing.
* The Tomboy note-taking feature now allows synchronization across platforms through WebDAV or SSH.
* Printing to PDF is now a default option, with the output landing in a "PDF" folder inside your home directory.
* Power management is supposedly improved as the result of an updated kernel incorporation, although that appears to be up for debate.
* It might not seem like a revolutionary feature, but users can now change their screen resolutions and refresh rates without having to log out or hack around in terminal.
Still, there's a lot that's new (or at least now included by default) and very cool here—native support for dual-monitor setups, integrated Firefox tweaks and extensions, instant printer configuration and, of course, more of the Compiz eye candy that's helping Ubuntu look less like the dowdy younger brother of Windows and Mac. I downloaded, burned and installed the Gutsy release candidate over the weekend and took a few pictures along the way.
...
Finally, here's a short list of the features and additions that have also been announced (or just didn't make for great screenshots):
* Native support for WPA-protected wifi networks. Even my troublesome Ralink wireless PCI card found its router and connected, and hasn't yet asked for the password again.
* Printers are surprisingly, actually one-step setup, almost to the point of hidden. I plugged in my HP DeskJet 825c, hit "Print" on an OpenOffice document, and, lo and behold, my printer was available -- without a single pop-up message or hardware "wizard."
* NTFS-formatted drives are automatically detected and mounted for both reading and writing.
* The Tomboy note-taking feature now allows synchronization across platforms through WebDAV or SSH.
* Printing to PDF is now a default option, with the output landing in a "PDF" folder inside your home directory.
* Power management is supposedly improved as the result of an updated kernel incorporation, although that appears to be up for debate.
* It might not seem like a revolutionary feature, but users can now change their screen resolutions and refresh rates without having to log out or hack around in terminal.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment