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Previewing Dapper And Edgy

Posted by Zonk on Fri Apr 21, 2006 05:31 PM
from the feel-the-excitement dept.
Software Linux
Frank Clarkson writes to mention a ZDNet article about the upcoming release of 'Dapper Drake', Ubuntu Linux. They also give a mini-preview of Eft. From the article: "'I'm promising to impose (almost ;-) ) zero from-the-top requirements for Edgy, this release is entirely up the to development team to envision and implement,' he wrote. 'Almost everything that lands in Edgy will be driven from the development team, who get to play with whatever new technologies they fancy along the way. So that should give us a nice big bump in infrastructure and bling.'"
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Related Stories

[+] Mark Shuttleworth Proposes Delaying next Ubuntu 382 comments
Beuno writes "Mark Shuttleworth has proposed on the ubuntu-art mailing list to postpone the 'Dapper Drake' release by 6 weeks. He lays out the reasons pretty clearly: the delay should make the release a more user-friendly distro. He has also called up a community meeting in April 14th on IRC for community input. Is it really worth delaying the release for more then a month just to polish it out a little bit?" Commentary on this also available from the Tectonic site.
[+] Planning Dapper +1, The Edgy Eft 320 comments
Christian Jensen writes "On the ubuntu-announce mailing list, Mark Shuttleworth announced the plans for the next Ubuntu release - 'The Edgy Eft', the successor to Dapper Drake." This release is being touted as both cutting edge (edgy) and containing several comparatively "young" software additions ('Eft' being a 'youthful newt, going through its first exploration of the rocky territory just outside the stream.') like Xen, XGL/AIGLX, and others.
[+] Ubuntu 6.06 'Dapper Drake' Beta Available 90 comments
Beuno writes "Ubuntu 6.06, aka 'Dapper Drake' has just gone into a stable Beta phase after 5 very successful Alpha versions. There have been a ton of improvements ranging from a new spiffy graphical installation, Gnome 2.14.1, Kernel 2.6.15.6, X.org 7 and a new and improved caramel colored theme. The server version has had kernel tweaks and an easy LAMP installation. A full list of new features and screenshots and be found at the official site. Downloads at the usual place, just try to use torrents please."
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Previewing Dapper And Edgy 50 Comments More /

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  • New most popular distro (Score:5, Funny)

    by nizo (81281) * on Friday April 21 2006, @05:41PM (#15177889) Homepage Journal
    ...for Edgy, this release is entirely up the to development team to envision and implement...

    So then can we assume this will be the long desired porn-centric distro we have all been waiting for?

    • "...for Edgy, this release is entirely up the to development team to envision and implement..."

      So then can we assume this will be the long desired porn-centric distro we have all been waiting for?

      So apart from a few commercial offspring over the years, who has been building the other 32432 distros? You'd think that more than enough would have done that already...
    • So then can we assume this will be the long desired porn-centric distro we have all been waiting for?

      Yes, but it's going to be well-dressed animal porn...
    • So then can we assume this will be the long desired porn-centric distro we have all been waiting for?
      That'll be the follow-up to 'Edgy Eft': 'Paula Pounds'.
    • So then can we assume this will be the long desired porn-centric distro we have all been waiting for?

      You missed it - that was the first Ubuntu release and it got a lot of coverage for having an orgy of naked people on the root window.
    • You're thinking of 'Erect Elephant'...

  • multiarch future? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by scragz (654271) on Friday April 21 2006, @05:41PM (#15177893) Homepage
    From TFA, on possible Eft features:
    ". . .a first flirt with multiarch (multiple architecture) support for true mixed 32-bit and 64-bit computing on AMD64. . ."

    I sure hope this happens; then I can finally switch back to 64-bit mode. I know about the chroot and all that fanciness but it's too much of a hassle.
    • I sure hope this happens; then I can finally switch back to 64-bit mode

      I sure hope this happens, so that I can finally have Macromedia Flash player and WMV decoding working on my AMD64 system. Two things I thought I'd never miss, but am finding it a pain to live without.

      • Re:multiarch future? (Score:4, Informative)

        by Fallingcow (213461) on Friday April 21 2006, @07:18PM (#15178392) Homepage
        IIRC, this means that Firefox (or your browser of choice) and, more significantly, any multimedia programs that need to do WMV decoding will have to be compiled for 32-bit mode.

        This removes much of the incentive for using 64 bit on the desktop, as the biggest speedup will be seen in multimedia apps.

        It's still better than nothing, of course.

      • Re:multiarch future? (Score:4, Insightful)

        by moro_666 (414422) <{kulminaator} {at} {gmail.com}> on Saturday April 22 2006, @04:07AM (#15179659) Homepage

        I want a desktop and games, not hours of compiling stuff, damnit :(


        so why exactly did you touch gentoo ? :p

        you need 64 bits so badly that you can't live without it ? i run my turion laptop happily in 32bit mode for now (currently with ubuntu), since the `rest` of the world hasnt really gained up on the bitcout yet.

        runnning in 64-bit mode doesn't make your machine really stellar or ultrafast, one of the biggest differences that you can make for now, is to get a 32-bit linux and get packages compiled for your machine. (gentoo 32-bit would do aswell)

        i ran some purely experimental tests here, comparing the speed of math in code compiled for i386 (ubuntu style) versus code compiled for k8 (a 'la gentoo) , now the difference in speed was enormous. if you multiply the math speed differences with the delay/lag/latency that is created while you are using the desktop interface (x-server with it's pipes and sockets, font servers, etc.), you'll get a pretty big bang.

        ps. for the furious supporters of i386 compilings, ofcourse compiling every app for k8 isn't necessary, but it's time we get some other stuff than libc to i686 at least. why use ~60-70% of the cpu power that we have ? (holding back at least 80% of users from utilizing their cpu in favour of the remaining ... just give the i386 dudes the source and let them compile it themselves and let's get done with this).

  • dapper and edgy (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rayde (738949) on Friday April 21 2006, @05:47PM (#15177928) Homepage
    i'm certainly looking forward to Dapper Drake in June, but I bet I'm not alone in being more excited for Edgy. I think a lot of us are looking forward to a stable implementation of XGL to "just work," because we understand this simple and unnecessary eye-candy could be just what we needed to convince some regular people to give Linux a try.
    • Personally, I'm very glad they got network-manager in there. Right after feature freeze was when NM was updated to the point where it supported WPA to the point where it was acceptable for Dapper. We had to beg and plead to get NM in after FF, but they finally caved in due to some hard work by some people.

      For the past ~2 months, with NM, I've had the most enjoyable (Computer related:)) docking/undocking ever. It's so nice to be able to undock and walk out to the balcony and soak up some sun & computer w

    • Re:dapper and edgy (Score:5, Insightful)

      by zaguar (881743) on Friday April 21 2006, @06:34PM (#15178216)
      I have to disagree - XGL is not "simple and unnecessary eye-candy". There are some _very_ useful things in there. The expose clone, for one. This is a _great_ feature of of OS X, and now it is "simple and unnecessary"? And the virtual desktops being exposed to the viewer. The cube metaphor works great, exposing functionality to the users. Friends, for the first time, are grouping apps - Work on Desktop 1, Web browsing on desktop 2 etc. Transparency can help or hinder (Vista), so I'm still on the fence on this one.

      Sure, some things are just eye-candy, for example the way movies can play on the corners of the cube. But by and large, XGL is _useful_ and _not_ eyecandy.

    • Re:dapper and edgy (Score:4, Informative)

      by Reducer2001 (197985) on Friday April 21 2006, @10:56PM (#15179092) Homepage
      I just tried Dapper this week after using Breezy since it came out. The 'killer app' for me in Linux-land is the addition of the Deskbar Applet in Gnome 2.14. I don't think there is anything in Windows or Mac world that compares to this. I don't know how I got by without it.

      For those who don't know what I'm talking about check this [slinckx.net] out.

      Finally, some innovation on the Linux desktop, instead of "Me too!" apps.

        • The current Dapper beta has beautiful support for Scim-chinese/pinyin. Of course, Firefox is stuck in the stone ages with libc5 and so won't work with it, but if you type in OOo or (I'd imagine) any other competent editor, it works perfectly.

          Are you quite sure? I run Breezy with Scim for Japanese, and I can use it in the default Firefox with no trouble; never had to do anything, it just worked. If anything OOo is the most troublesome, since you need to set a bunch of options regarding preferred fonts and su

  • A Great Year for the Linux Desktop (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SlashdotOgre (739181) on Friday April 21 2006, @05:51PM (#15177950) Journal
    It's great to see more distros playing around with Xgl and AIGLX; the more exposure they get, the faster they mature. I've been playing around with Xgl (Compiz) in Gentoo for the last month or so and am quite impressed. A number of features are just for show, but some are quite useful. I like the implementation of a function similar to exposé on the Mac, and true transparent windows can actually be useful. Stability wise, Xgl can definitely use some work, but overall it runs quite well (I typically use it with Gnome 2.14). I would suggest running any essential processes that need to be kept running in screen, but typically I only see crashes if I try to show off too much (eg. run multiple transparent movies on top of each other while spinning the desktop).

  • The good the bad and the ugly (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 21 2006, @05:54PM (#15177967)
    There was a story the other day that Larry Ellison wanted to buy a Linux distro. Suse and Red Hat were mentioned. Putting aside my feelings about Ellison, any evil intentions he may have are doomed by people like Mark Shuttleworth. My goodness, what a contrast.

  • I'm going to hold out for... (Score:4, Funny)

    by xs650 (741277) on Friday April 21 2006, @06:03PM (#15178026)
    Farty Ferret

  • Dapper this! (Score:3, Funny)

    by radiotyler (819474) <.moc.keegreppad. .ta. .relyt.> on Friday April 21 2006, @06:08PM (#15178061) Homepage
    You know, my domain name [dappergeek.com] doesn't seem nearly as cool anymore now that Linux nerds are using "dapper" in distro names... wait a minute, I am a Linux nerd. Crap, I guess I was never cool in the first place.

  • Maybe gnucash-2.0 will make Edgy. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Grendel Drago (41496) on Friday April 21 2006, @06:12PM (#15178081) Homepage
    Despite the delay, my favorite new app, gnucash-2.0, won't be in Dapper. Here's hoping I can get it in Edgy, so I don't have to do this compiling nonsense...
  • It really appears buggy.. I installed it on a Dell Inspiron 1100 laptop, and the screen resolution was set to 640x480 and could not be changed... It had to do with a DRI video driver for x11 (xorg) that was not included with the cd.. It had to be manually downloaded, compiled and installed. They really should work on this stuff, because its stuff like this that realy not only frustrates people, but also makes them not want to work with linux. Its just not ready for prime time.
    • Apart from the networking bug with the overenthusiastic islsm and islsm_pci drivers (put them in /etc/modules/blacklist and reboot) the Dapper beta is ready for prime-time.

      Graphics (neomagic), suspend and restart, sound, networking and a good set of applications including open office and firefox are all present and correct.

      Providing they fix the few remaining issues, this is ready for prime-time, even the Gnome icons are starting to be improved. It's not OS X, but it works!!!!!

      Posted from IBM ThinkPad 600X
      • These are pretty common video chipsets put out many years ago by intel. Drivers have been available for many years. The forums specify that its a known issue, with a stated fix, but its not put in the mainline tree for some reason...
        According to http://www.ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-1 3 594.html [ubuntuforums.org] , its been known for over a year.

        The bottom line is this stuff should just work, and it doesn't. Dell laptops are pretty standard and common. Its just not a good answer to say "oh its broken, go here to
  • OK, maybe not first, but it would be funny if my prediction about Linux Desktop market share [digitalelite.com] this year came true. Man, I would so have to lord it over my friends! ;-)

    I could happen. My second prediction has already come true (but that kinda sucks, really).

    Tom Caudron
    http://tom.digitalelite.com/linux.html [digitalelite.com]

  • Ubuntu's Stallman Hinderance (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    As much as I like ubuntu and can't wait until they provide
    a release with Xgl, I have to wonder just how they plan
    on doing this and still keep to Stallman's principal of
    no non-gpl software installed by default.

    How many computers will be able to run Xgl right out of the
    box without the need to manually install the nVidia or
    ATI drivers to get the necessary hardware acceleration?
  • Is it me or there seems to be two Ubuntu-related news everyday?

    Yes, Ubuntu is great, Mark and Canonical are providing a ton of cash to Debian development and all that.

    But I'm starting to get a little tired of a new Slashdot entry everytime there is a new commit to Ubuntu's CVS.

    This is getting as old as "Such and Such Company, inc" is using Linux in an enterprise environment!

    In the begining, it was exciting to hear of another company using Linux; it was new and got me all happy and feeling good.

    Same thing wi

  • Cutting (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Doc Ruby (173196) on Friday April 21 2006, @10:20PM (#15178999) Homepage Journal
    So we'll determine the next version of Ubuntu that practically everyone uses by what the developers want.

    How about an experiment where the users determine the features of the leading desktop Linux distro?
    • Oh come on, everyone knows that being ultra bleeding edge and uber 733t makes a dev a dev. Edgy is meant to make even the most lowly script kiddie feel like a pro. Everyone else with any combination of the terms business, leader, production, casual, student or user will never go near something that by its very description steps off the well beaten path.
    • Espcially children..

    • Can you imagine... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Inoshiro (71693) on Friday April 21 2006, @07:23PM (#15178414) Homepage
      a world where high quality software, in a simple package with smiling people on the cover and no marketting speak, could be delivered in bulk, for free, to your home -- with both a live disc to try at no danger, and a full disc for when you want to run it.

      And this software would work well, have free online updates and upgrades, and make it so that you could even show your friends who aren't technically inclined how to use it and gain its benefits? How it enables people like me who work on software to easily contribute to improving the lives of thousands of computer users around the world?

      Yea, it's a damn shame that developers are doing marketters' jobs here. Let's all live in a world where the marketters do the developers' jobs by setting out the game-plan on features and design [microsoft.com].
      • of course, the thing i miss most since moving pretty much exclusively to linux is all the wonderful marketing crap telling me how wonderful the buggy software i was using was. it's a shame that with all of the linux distros i use i have to just see for myself how well it works.
        • I can't really see why you're missing out; all of the commercial distros have marketing departments, and the last time I installed Linux (a few months ago) the installer took great pains to tell me how wonderful it was, how much it would improve my productivity, how good the community is, etc. That's all marketing...
      • Circumference of Earth: 40,000 km.

        Speed of Sound: 340 m/s

        Amount of time for a Magnitude V bitch slap to be heard around the world: 1.36 days.

        *salute*

    • Have you ever heard of "thank you"? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 21 2006, @07:55PM (#15178532)
      Right. That's exactly what the FOSS community needs. A marketing director. Because, gee, these developer fuckwits have had decades to get their shit together, and all they can come up with is better more stable software than anything out there. But nobody cares because the names are so weird. Like, what's this "less is more" thing? I don't get it. What really matters is image. Branding. Market penetration. Shareholder value.

      Listen, johnny-come-lately, the market is already saturated with market driven drivel. Go eat it up. The world doesn't need any more of it. There's plenty already. FOSS is different, and that's a good thing. If you don't like it, go away. Believe it or not, some people really don't care about world domination, huge piles of cash, popularity contests, or cute ponies.

      I'm using Dapper Drake right now on a machine that is also running the very latest Windows, w/ .NET, monad, etc. I like the contrast. I like the competition. Pluralism is good. Monotheism is bad. Stop trying to impose a single paradigm on operating systems. If your grandma can't use linux, then either (a) do something about it, or (b) buy her a Mac. Stop whining that the largely volunteer FOSS community should start doing things your way. And then you folks have the nerve to complain that it's the developers who have big egos. Listen to yourself.

      Why don't you try saying "thank you" sometime.

      • Re:Have you ever heard of "thank you"? (Score:2, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Imagine this: Microsoft takes a page the HP of old and lets the developers drive for a while.

        You know, I rail against Microsoft as hard as anyone. But my beef is not with the developers, it's with the marketing staff and corporate officers who run the company like a pissing contest - and they're pissing on all of us.

        Imagine if Outlook played nice with IMAP, and didn't capriciously embed attachments in winmail.dat files which only work in Outlook. Imagine if Outlook/Exchange used the standard RFC headers
        • I don't know, I'm getting accustomed to the names myself. So the Ubuntu designers like to name their releases after animals, in keeping with their overall Earth/Humanity theme. That's not "pointlessly wacky", just unfamiliar.

          Shouldn't people be focusing on whether their software works rather than what it's called? Function over marketing-speak?

          • Shouldn't people be focusing on whether their software works rather than what it's called?

            Of course, but it's not either/or. The same ten minutes alloted to naming could come up with "Golden Retriever" rather than "Spastic Spaniel". I suppose I was just hoping for something recognizable that I wouldn't mind repeating to non-linux people. They want to be mainstream, right?
        • It doesn't take market research to avoid ridiculous names that even a geek would be embarrassed to say.

          Then refer to it as "Ubuntu 6.06", and skip the codename.
    • The older C3s are Pentium Pro mostly-compatible, but are missing the cmov instruction. Most stuff compiled for the Pentium Pro or better processors assumes that the CPU supports that instruction.

      AFAIK, the Ubuntu guys follow the same philosophy as the Debian project in that they don't optimize binaries for specific processors, except for the kernel. If you were to try a kernel built for i386, i486 or Pentium on that C3 box, it might well work.

      (If you roll your own kernels, there's an option to build a ker

    • Comment Deja Vu (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Erik Noren (926115) on Friday April 21 2006, @07:16PM (#15178383) Journal
      I thought this looked familiar. A quick search reveals this EXACT same posting from a different UID on the /. article: "Dapper Drake Hits Ubuntu Servers" [slashdot.org].

      VIA C3 Bug
      (Score:2, Informative)
      by Ed Almos (584864) on Saturday November 12, @12:01PM (#14015448)

      I sure hope that they've fixed the VIA C3 bug that was present on the last distribution, 'Breezy Badger'. I tried installing it on an 800MHz C3 system and it was unstable to the point of being unusable. I can't remember the exact details, something about the C3 missing one of the Pentium instructions.
      Ed Almos


      In which case, I'd like to use the +5 response as my own:
      Re:VIA C3 Bug
      (Score:5, Insightful)
      by orkysoft (93727) on Saturday November 12, @12:03PM (#14015461)

      Sounds to me like it's VIA's C3 bug, not Ubuntu's bug. Maybe you should get a distro compiled for i586 or even i386 instead of for i686, as a workaround?


      Thanks!
    • I sure hope that they've fixed the VIA C3 bug

      This is part of a standard FUD tactic you'll get with any discussion of Linux. Somebody'll always post an anecdote about an esoteric piece of hardware they're unable to get to work, normally with the one specific distro of Linux that doesn't support it. It is a deliberate tactic to make it look like Linux has poor hardware support.

      The best approach would be to let the mods do their work and it'd be -1 Troll in no time. Sadly, there are enough winshills with m

      • The best approach would be to let the mods do their work and it'd be -1 Troll in no time. Sadly, there are enough winshills with mod points to abuse that it'll be more likely to hit +5 Informative.

        I'm pretty sure Microsoft explicitly allows their devs to read slashdot at work and to gain mod points for precisely this purpose... whole battalions of window fanatics poised to mod truly insightfull anti-microsoft posts into oblivion or mod up anti-linux posts

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