'Jaunty Jackalope' Ubuntu springs into beta

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.

[shootthecops]

deliver us from the software fascists microsoft plz

[Seaspray0]

It's good to see the OS move into the API support. This should help application developers build more stable apps that work well with other applications... and they should be easier to create. "Well done" to the community.

[another_cissp]

My favorite part about Ubuntu and Debian news releases is to see what names they are using. Any reason why ext4 is not the default file system?

[tm_anon]

It will be in 9.10, not sure why they didn't set it that way in 9.04 though. I haven't seen anything about it yet.

[sythara]

The current release of 9.04 still has ext3 as default. You can choose to set up as ext4 but I personally haven't tried it yet. Supposedly its better, but I can see problems when upgrading from 8.10 (.04) with ext3 to 9.04 (.10)

[Clarious]

Ext4 currently has a problem that could cause data loss in a system crash/power outage. So it is not the default now.

[sythara]

Yet 9.04 still cannot get some Atheros chipsets to work properly without dropping connection even after recompiling the kernel in attempt to fix it.

I've been using 9.04 for few months now (in its various states) and everything else works amazingly, and much fater than 8.10, even on an atom processor.

[Kainchild]

I wouldn't be surprised if there were people working inside this team sabotaging everything and/or collecting information and those people, if a thorough investigation was done, would be traced back in some way to MS. It's a shame, this thing has as much potential as Firefox. I guess we'll just have to rely on Apple's OS as the only viable source of competition. It's sad cause no matter what OS comes out, none of them will have enough programs to encourage people to go to it as windows does.

[JoeFox2]

Now the only real question is if this release will finally fix the serious nexwork flaws introduced in Gusty. Only time and a few test sessions will tell.

[etsailor]

Kainchild,
There is a remarkable array of programs available to you in Ubuntu. I would venture to say, that there is a Linux counterpart to almost any windows app. you can think of, and they are all free ( as in free beer), and most are available to download with a few clicks on your desktop ( no CD's are keys etc...). Some of them are not as polished as their windows counterparts, but some are far better. I'm not one of those folks that feels that everyone MUST switch to Linux. MS is a perfectly fine OS (although it is pretty bloated) but Linux is definitely an alternative to both Microsoft and Apple OS's.

[Imalittleteapot]

Linux may be free, but I keep hearing this free as in beer mantra. I sure would like to know where you people get your beer at? I always gotta pay for mine.

[Dalkorian]

I often wonder about that too Imalittleteapot. I just figured they were crashing college parties, as that's the only place I was ever able to find free beer.

[BSinton]

Dear Imalittleteapot,

You are free to brew your own free beer.
It will be stronger than the stuff you pay for, well it is down here in New Zealand

[Dalkorian]

You still buy the ingredients and the equipment, right? The equipment is a one time expense, the the ingredients need to be bought each time you want to brew another batch. Cheaper yes, but how is that free?

[AndersHansson]

For those not in the know (about free-as-in-beer), please read further on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratis_versus_Libre