Business Tech

Here's what the official press release won't tell you about Ubuntu 9.04, which formally hit the streets overnight: its designers have polished the hell out of its user interface since the last release in October.

So much so, in fact, that I am starting to prefer using my Ubuntu "Jaunty Jackalope" desktop over the similarly slick Windows 7 beta (which I am currently running full-time on one desktop) and Mac OS X Leopard operating systems, which I also use regularly.

I left Windows Vista, XP, and even Debian lying bruised and battered by the roadside some time ago.

You won't be able to notice the vast improvement in Ubuntu's desktop experience over the past six months by browsing screenshot galleries of 9.04 or looking at new feature lists. What I'm talking about is that elusive slick-and-speedy feel you get from applications launching fast, windows moving around without jerkiness, and everything simply being where it should be in the user interface.

Launching and using Firefox on Ubuntu 8.10 on my 2GHz Core 2 Duo-based machine with 2GB of RAM, a 7200rpm hard disk, and an Nvidia GeForce 8800GTS always seemed to feel like I was going back a few years, to a time when Web browsers were not considered something you always had open to service Web applications like Gmail and Bloglines.

It was the same with Windows Vista.

Now, just like Microsoft has taken the blowtorch to Vista to produce the lightning-quick Windows 7, which so far runs well, even on older hardware, Ubuntu has picked up its own game.

I particularly noticed the Ubuntu difference when I put the operating system to the test by simultaneously launching and using multiple applications, listening to music and more while using my spare CPU cycles in the background to encode high-definition video with Mencoder. Ubuntu still felt very fast--even with traditionally sluggy pieces of software like OpenOffice.org.

It's not just the speed changes, however, that has got me excited about Ubuntu 9.04. It's also the subtle additions to the interface; the logical move of shutdown and reboot options to the far right of the menu; the slick new notifications system; the seamless (finally!) integration of the Nvidia accelerated drivers, and the cleaned-up options and package install systems.

Want Adobe Flash or other proprietary software like multimedia codecs on Ubuntu? Just search for them in the one location, under their own names. No downloading anything from any Web sites. No package management or dependencies. No apt-get. Point and click.

I'm not a Linux novice (in fact, I'm a former Linux and FreeBSD systems administrator), and I've been using Linux on the desktop since the late 1990s. I usually run a combination of Ubuntu and Windows on my PC, and the latest Mac OS X on my laptop.

So I'm in a position to notice step changes in user interface behavior like the one that Ubuntu has brought to the table with 9.04. In short, Ubuntu is now as slick and beautiful as Mac OS X or Windows 7.

As we've noted in earlier articles, Microsoft has also brought its best to the table with Windows 7. However, it's a pity that Apple didn't seem to do so with Leopard. Like some reviewers, I felt that Steve Jobs' latest operating-system opus added a lot of new features, but also some unfortunate erratic behavior that muddied Mac OS X's position as a user interface leader.

As the magazine Macworld has noted, the new Stacks feature in Leopard's Dock is a "mess" and replaced the formerly utilitarian approach to keeping folders in the Dock with a "snazzy but generally less useful pop-up window."

The new "Spaces" feature in Leopard is nothing new; it provides multiple virtual-desktop workspaces, which Unix has had for decades; but I found Apple's implementation erratic.

Then, too, there was the speed price some users paid in Leopard for all the upgrade, though that could just be the older-hardware penalty. On my 1.5GHz G4 laptop with 1280MB of RAM, Leopard runs sluggishly, whereas Tiger runs like a dream. As I don't use any of the new features, the upgrade seemed worthless.

When you consider Microsoft's remarkable rebirth with Windows 7 and the fact that Ubuntu is free, open source, and runs on anything, you would have to wonder what sort of rabbit Steve Jobs will have to pull out of his hat with Snow Leopard to keep growing Mac OS X's share. Sure, there are some apps missing on Linux (say, Photoshop). But the same can be said of Mac OS X in certain areas, and VMware and CrossOver solve a lot of problems.

Looking back to the genesis of Ubuntu 9.04 six months ago, I suspect that its subtle but powerful changes are due to the new user interface team that Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth said at the time he would put in place. If so, that team has already earned its paychecks and even more, and we're looking forward to seeing what another six months of development will produce.

In the meantime, kudos to Ubuntu 9.04: you got game.

Renai LeMay of ZDNet Australia reported from Sydney.

Version 9.04 of the Ubuntu Linux distribution was made available for download on Thursday.

The latest iteration of the operating system, code-named Jaunty Jackalope, comes in three versions: desktop, server, and Netbook. Jaunty Jackalope is the first version of Ubuntu to come in a Netbook-friendly version from its initial release.

The previous version of Ubuntu, Intrepid Ibex or version 8.10, was released by sponsor company Canonical in October last year. The new version improves upon its predecessor by updating the Gnome interface, the Linux kernel, and the X.Org server, as well as starting faster and supporting ext4, an improved file system.

Jackalope also includes other enhancements, such as intelligent switching between Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, and an integrated notification system that can be used by various applications. A large selection of productivity software, such as Skype, OpenOffice 3.0, and Adobe Flash, is also included.

Jackalope's server version also includes a technology preview of the Elastic Utility Computing Architecture for Linking Your Programs To Useful Systems (Eucalyptus), which is an infrastructure for deploying applications into the cloud.

The next version of Ubuntu, Karmic Koala, or version 9.10, will include more comprehensive cloud-computing functionality, enabling users to deploy applications into clouds built on companies' internal infrastructure. Jackalope's more limited cloud functionality is intended as a way to test such deployments, ahead of Koala's release in October.

David Meyer of ZDNet UK reported from London.

The next version of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, code-named Jaunty Jackalope, went into beta phase late Thursday.

Ubuntu 9.04, as it is more properly known, includes a range of enhancements over its predecessor, Intrepid Ibex, or Ubuntu 8.10. These include a new notifications system, changes to the start-up process, and the distribution's first foray into cloud computing.

The new version of the operating system also includes updates to the Gnome interface (now version 2.26, which comes with the Brasero all-in-one CD-burning application and offers improved handling of multiple monitors), the Linux kernel (now version 2.6.28) and the X.Org server (now version 1.6). The ext4 file system is now also supported.

Ubuntu is set to make a major move into cloud computing with Karmic Koala, the version that will follow Jackalope. But the server version of Jackalope takes a step toward this with its technology preview of the Elastic Utility Computing Architecture for Linking Your Programs To Useful Systems (Eucalyptus).

Eucalyptus is an open-source software infrastructure for the deployment of applications into the cloud. Its interface is compatible with the application programming interface (API) for Amazon's EC2 cloud-computing service, and its inclusion in Jackalope means users of the distribution can deploy and test their own private clouds that match the EC2 API.

According to the feature Web page for Jackalope's beta, users will be able to "dynamically create virtual machines, configure multiple clusters into a single cloud and even provide an EBS (elastic block storage) equivalent and an (Amazon) S3 compatible storage manager."

There are several known issues with the beta--these are listed on the Jackalope page--and Canonical, the company behind the distribution, is inviting users to test the release ahead of April 23, when the final incarnation of Jaunty Jackalope is due.

David Meyer of ZDNet UK reported from London.

The Ubuntu project has detailed plans for the April 2009 version of its Linux distribution, continuing its habit of naming its software after animals by dubbing Ubuntu 9.04 as "Jaunty Jackalope."

The news comes after Ubuntu last week made available an advance testing version of release 8.10 of its Linux distribution, "Intrepid Ibex." The full 8.10 release is scheduled to be launched in late October.

"As we approach the launch of Ubuntu 8.10, it's time to create space for future plans...(Jaunty) will be the focus of our efforts from November through to April next year," the project's founder and patron, Mark Shuttleworth, wrote in an e-mail to developers this morning.

Shuttleworth said Ubuntu 9.04 would focus on improving boot time and blurring the line between desktop applications and the incoming wave of Web-based software.

"The Jackalope is known for being so fast that it's extremely hard to catch, and breeds only when lightning flashes," wrote Shuttleworth. "Let's see if we can make booting or resuming Ubuntu blindingly quick."

Operating system rival Microsoft has also recently stated it wanted to make boot times one of its priorities for its upcoming Windows 7 operating system, which has not yet been formally named.

On Web application integration, Shuttleworth wrote: "Is it a deer? Is it a bunny? Or is it a weblication: a desktop application that seamlessly integrates the Web? This hare has legs, and horns, and we'll be exploring it in much more detail for Jaunty."

The 9.04 release will also see Ubuntu's entire code repository moved into the project's Bazaar version control system, to make it easier for developers to work with the software. "For the first time, any developer will be able to branch any Ubuntu package with a single bzr command, publish their changes, and perhaps even publish builds of that package in their own package archive," wrote Shuttleworth.

Shuttleworth said the project would be planning the 9.04 release in much more detail at its Ubuntu Developer Summit, to be held at Google's Mountain View, Calif., campus from December 8 to 12.

In general Shuttleworth said 2009 would see Ubuntu compete strongly with its commercial rivals. "The warrior rabbit is our talisman as we move into a year where we can reasonably expect Ubuntu to ship on several million devices, to consumers who can reasonably expect the software experience to be comparable to those of the traditional big (software vendors): Microsoft and Apple," he wrote.

Renai LeMay of ZDNet Australia reported from Sydney.