Follow Slashdot stories on Twitter

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Operating Systems Linux

Ubuntu "Karmic Koala" RC Hits the Streets With Windows 7 483

oranghutan writes "Computerworld is reporting Canonical has made available the Release Candidate of its latest Linux-based operating system, Ubuntu 9.10, on the same day Microsoft launched the long-awaited Windows 7. 'The upcoming Canonical release, which is code-named Karmic Koala, is the latest version of the popular flavor of the Linux OS. The development release on Thursday pushed the OS one step closer to final release, which is due on Oct. 29, according to the company's release schedule Web page. An image of the OS is available for download on Ubuntu's Web site. Test versions of Karmic Koala RC available for download include the server, desktop and netbook versions.'"
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Ubuntu "Karmic Koala" RC Hits the Streets With Windows 7

Comments Filter:
  • by Daffy Duck ( 17350 ) on Friday October 23, 2009 @02:17PM (#29849945) Homepage

    I live for high upload:download ratios

  • Need hardware! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I'm looking forward to the official 9.10 release, but I really want some new hardware to run it on! Almost all the netbook offerings are going the XP/W7 route. Providers like system76 [system76.com] have some OK offerings, but they are on the pricey side. I wish I had a wide selection of hardware without having to pay the Microsoft tax!

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      So pay the tax then file for a refund. There's a bajillion articles on the entartubes that describe the process of getting a refund for the bundled 'doze license. (No, I'm not going to search for you.)

    • There's a way to get a Thinkpad without Vista on it from the Lenovo site, haven't tried it recently but it worked a month ago. Change the CPU in any system to a Celeron, then select the enabled Vista Starter option (you know, for developing countries that would be confused by having a first world operating system). Then change the CPU to something real, and the OS changes to no charge DOS. You can then place the order. I ordered a T400S using this technique. Good luck!
  • by sexconker ( 1179573 ) on Friday October 23, 2009 @02:19PM (#29849973)

    News would entail what's new in this version.

    Non news is a "hey guys Ubuntu has something new too" cry for attention amidst the Win 7 release.

    Ubuntu is great and all, but this article is crap.

    It barely gets around to mentioning:
    "Built on the latest Linux 2.6.31.1 kernel, Ubuntu 9.10 offers faster boot times, an improved user interface and programming tools for easier software development, according to Canonical."

  • gggreat!!! (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    This should please all three linux desktop users.

  • Win7 wtf?! (Score:2, Interesting)

    by da_matta ( 854422 )
    Why, oh why is this annexed with Windows 7. The release of either affects the other in no way what-so-ever. If Ubuntu beta/rc is not news worthy by itself, releasing on the same day with Win7 doesn't change that in any way. And yes, even one sentence about what's new in this would not hurt...
  • Such as bug 452518 [launchpad.net] (saving MS Word format documents using Open Office KDE shipped with Kubuntu 9.10 can result in corrupted files).
    However, the list of great features planned for this release is amazing! Ubuntu is no longer "Debian with a graphical installer and brown theme", it has become a pretty interesting distro on its own merit.
    • by Dunbal ( 464142 ) on Friday October 23, 2009 @02:32PM (#29850177)

      This bug was reported on Oct 15th, and fixed on Oct 22nd. What more do you want?

      Of course if you're a Microsoft slave, you can wait for a bug to be fixed "when we get around to it", which will probably be in SP1 in 4-6 months or so - depending on how buggy THIS Windows version is... (sometimes they have to release the SP faster, like with Vista).

    • However, the list of great features planned for this release is amazing!

      I'm looking forward to officially-supported VDPAU [wikipedia.org]. Even with a moderately beefy Athlon X2, playback's a little jerky for 720p AVCHD movies from my camcorder. With some hacking and PPAs, I can get VDPAU working with 9.04, and it's much better - CPU usage massively reduced, yet smooth playback.

    • That bug 452518 is already committed for the actual release.
  • had they released it several days ahead of 7.
    • by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 23, 2009 @02:26PM (#29850111)

      The 2009-10-29 release date was chosen over 8 months ago [ubuntu.com], several months before Microsoft announced their release date [microsoft.com] for Windows 7.

    • by Tarlus ( 1000874 ) on Friday October 23, 2009 @02:31PM (#29850169)

      No, I don't think it would have made a difference when they released it. Canonical sticks to a strict release cycle every April and October and they won't alter their release date just to try and compete with other operating systems. They're appealing to a fairly different user base, anyway.

      People who are weighing the option of Windows 7 vs Ubuntu 9.10 as their primary OS are going to make their choice regardless of which one came out a week earlier.

      • But the problem is that all sorts of ppl are out working diligently to get 7 installed on systems, fighting configuration, checking how much is exposed to the net, finding out what apps are broken, etc. Basically, it will be a year before these ppl pull their head out of their system and are actually able to play with another OS.
  • Seems solid so far (Score:4, Informative)

    by Max Romantschuk ( 132276 ) <max@romantschuk.fi> on Friday October 23, 2009 @02:24PM (#29850061) Homepage

    I upgraded a week or so back, seems solid so far. PulseAudio seems to be properly configured now, haven't had weird audio routing issues yet at least...

    Boot is supposed to be faster, haven't clocked it so I'm not sure it actually is. But then again my desktop has been through several dist upgrades already.

    But if you have an ICE1712 / Envy24 (M-Audio Delta) based pro sound card stay away, it's currently broken. Fortunately I boot to windows for my music making needs... ;)

  • The KarmicReleaseSchedule [ubuntu.com] shows that 10/22/2009 was the scheduled date for releasing a Release Candidate, so the project is on schedule. But what do the colors in the Status column mean? Just escalating "hotness" (excitement) as the final release date approaches?

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by jeffmeden ( 135043 )

      What I want to know is, what the heck does a RC build mean to these guys? The (only) RC is dropped one week ahead of the final release? That's not really enough time to even get feedback from the test userbase, much less actually do anything about the bugs that might show up. So, are we to assume that the RC is basically just a marketing stunt?

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Doc Ruby ( 173196 )

        AFAICT, Canonical has always released on time (perhaps one exception, late by only a week or two out of 6 months). The RC gives them a chance to delay without being a total surprise, though the don't (hardly) ever exercise the option. And their actual releases don't seem any buggier than any other distro's, in fact a lot less buggy, and never a showstopper, and quickly (and regularly) followed by automated bugfix updates.

        So what that says to me is their release process is very rigorous. And that they use th

      • by dissy ( 172727 ) on Friday October 23, 2009 @03:03PM (#29850677)

        The (only) RC is dropped one week ahead of the final release? That's not really enough time to even get feedback from the test userbase, much less actually do anything about the bugs that might show up. So, are we to assume that the RC is basically just a marketing stunt?

        Considering that is not the purpose of a release candidate, of course not.

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_release_life_cycle [wikipedia.org]

        The term release candidate (RC) refers to a version with potential to be a final product, ready to release unless fatal bugs emerge. In this stage of product stabilization (read QA cycle), all product features have been designed, coded and tested through one or more Beta cycles with no known showstopper-class bug.

        RC just means no new code will be added at that point, so no new testing is needed, as all the code/features in it by that point were tested in development/alpha/beta stages.
        There of course could be bugs in the RC, but that is true of the final release just the same.

        These days an RC is used more to get users outside of your normal beta testers to use it, and make sure it works with the basics and didn't majorly break anything else that used to work in previous versions.

        Assuming that happens, the RC is basically renamed to release.
        Commercial software calls it RTM (release to manufacturer) which burns and presses the final CD/DVDs, and for open source that is the day the ISO is copied to the main download mirrors.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        What I want to know is, what the heck does a RC build mean to these guys? The (only) RC is dropped one week ahead of the final release? That's not really enough time to even get feedback from the test userbase, much less actually do anything about the bugs that might show up. So, are we to assume that the RC is basically just a marketing stunt?

        No, it means that it is an actual RC ("release candidate"). Now, true, some notable large software companies use "release candidate" as just a later beta, but that's

  • "Karmic Koala" is great, but I would like to believe that "All-knowing Frog" was a close second.
  • Zoonotic Zebra

  • by FlyingBishop ( 1293238 ) on Friday October 23, 2009 @02:34PM (#29850217)

    Ubuntu's fall release date has been set in stone for years, the RC release date has been up since before Windows 7's release date was announced.

    Microsoft is the company that chose to release Windows 7 on the same day as Ubuntu's release candidate, not the other way around. Seems like Microsoft wanted to overshadow and minimize the latest release of Ubuntu, and do so without actually permitting Ubuntu to compete.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by caladine ( 1290184 )

      Or, just maybe, the fall is a great time to release a new OS to cash in on all the holiday period new PC sales?
      Do you seriously think that Microsoft even considers Ubuntu a competitor for the desktop at this point?
      To act like there actually is something to minimize at this point in time is facetious.

      I dearly wish there was something to minimize, but let's not kid ourselves.

  • Anyone know if the netbook version will allow my HP Mini 5101 to use the on-board mobile broadband feature (qualcomm u2400 I think)?
  • by jeffstar ( 134407 ) on Friday October 23, 2009 @02:37PM (#29850269) Journal

    I've got hardy on my thinkpad at the moment. I'm considering upgrading just because the new gtk in karmic enables a transparent system tray so AWN will finally look right [blogspot.com].

    I never liked having two horizontal bars or panels on my screen, especially on a 14" widescreen. too much wasted real estate. especially when applications have a title bar. then add fire fox book mark bar, menus and address bar and that doesn't leave a lot of real estate!

    AWN with google chrome makes the most of it.

    • I never liked having two horizontal bars or panels on my screen, especially on a 14" widescreen.

      Here's how I solved that in Ubuntu Jaunty on my 9" laptop:

      1. Turn down system font size
      2. Remove trash and e-mail icons
      3. Remove date from clock
      4. Collapse user switching widget to an icon
      5. Unlock the panel widgets and drag all widgets from the top panel to the bottom panel (yes, it's more cramped than Windows because there are three start menus in GNOME)
      6. Remove top panel
      7. Lock the panel widgets
  • the next Crunchbang release, then?

  • by leathered ( 780018 ) on Friday October 23, 2009 @02:39PM (#29850281)
  • by gravis777 ( 123605 ) on Friday October 23, 2009 @02:39PM (#29850283)

    Isn't the point of a release candidate to give people enough time time to make sure a product is stable and ready for prime time release, and to fix issues should they arise? Wouldn't an OS, with a whole slew of apps, require a bit mroe than a week for this? I mean, a release of Firefox is usually in RC for several weeks, if not months, before it goes from RC to official release.

    • by h4rr4r ( 612664 )

      They have had Alphas since May, I figure 5-6 months is plenty of time to iron out the bugs.

  • The interface on my eee pc using ubuntu 9.04 was very slow, probably some issue with the graphic card driver. 9.10 works much better for me.

  • Thinking they could steal Ubuntu's thunder! And Steve Ballmer, when asked about this, pretended not to know what Ubuntu was! As if Ubuntu isn't as well known around the world as Microsoft Windows!

    Silly Steve!

    Oh and silly Slashdot, the only place anyone would even consider tying these two release stories together!

  • SeaLab 2021 (Score:3, Funny)

    by Archfeld ( 6757 ) * <treboreel@live.com> on Friday October 23, 2009 @02:43PM (#29850359) Journal

    "It's like a koala crapped a rainbow in my brain"
    I'm all for Linux but who comes up with these names ??

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by AioKits ( 1235070 )
      Nomenclature Ned, of course.
    • Re:SeaLab 2021 (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Kjella ( 173770 ) on Friday October 23, 2009 @06:52PM (#29852989) Homepage

      Koala was to put focus on an endangered species. Karmic is your fairly uncommon adjective that Ubuntu can "coup" so you can google for "karmic *whatever your problem is*" and get relevant results that don't belong to a version from two years ago or every other page that happened to use the numbers 09.10. It works much, much better than Debian that I came from where they typically used stable, testing and unstable which left a ton of junk that doesn't apply to my stable all over the net. Yeah it's corny but it works extremely well.

  • It's ok (Score:5, Funny)

    by Locke2005 ( 849178 ) on Friday October 23, 2009 @03:12PM (#29850821)
    Karmic Koala is fine, but I just can't wait for Masterbating Monkey to be released!
  • by BlindSpot ( 512363 ) on Friday October 23, 2009 @03:50PM (#29851427)

    Okay I've been wanting to vent about this for a few weeks now and this seems to be as good a topic to write this in as any.

    My first encounter with Ubuntu came when I recently installed Ubuntu Jaunty on a laptop for a club I belong to. The laptop's got an XP licence but we couldn't find a CD and the programs we need are available for Linux, so Ubuntu seemed like a good choice to get us up quickly. And it worked out fine: Install was simple and quick and the system looked good. The only tricky bit was figuring out the wireless setup but it wasn't too hard.

    However I was utterly horrified to see that Ubuntu has also faithfully and I must say blindly replicated the most hideous features of Windows! The despicable "My Documents" folder structure was the first and most obvious. Say what you well about Vista, at least it fixed this into something less cumbersome and more sensible. Next was the constant prompting I got after doing almost every little thing. If I wanted that I'd have left UAC enabled on my Vista desktop. Then I find out Firefox was happily setup to save everything to the desktop by default. FOLDERS EXIST FOR A REASON!!!

    Why why WHY are so many Linux folks trying to clone Windows when they dislike it so? It may be Linux and it may be free, but if it looks and acts like Windows then it's still an ugly mess. Here I thought Ubuntu would take the best features of Window and combine them with Linux, but instead all they did was turn Linux into a horrible disgusting Windows clone.

    If a company knocks off another company's product we accuse them of stealing ideas. If someone releases some new program (open source or not) that replicates existing functionality we say "well why use yours when I can just use the original?" So why should we get all happy excited about Ubuntu when all it does is rip off Windows? To me that'd be the height of hypocrisy.

    Mod me down, I don't care. I had to get this off my chest...

    • by nostriluu ( 138310 ) on Friday October 23, 2009 @04:30PM (#29851931) Homepage
      I think you're totally wrong. The basics of the WIMP - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WIMP_(computing) [wikipedia.org] - experience date way before Windows, and Microsoft only got file structure sensible - not storing data with programs - post Windows 95. Firefox across all operating systems can be configured to ask where to save documents so it's not an Ubuntu thing. And what's especially wrong with My Documents? The main thing Ubuntu tries to do is make it easy for people to understand how to use the OS. On that level, they succeed admirably. The same strategy is used for OpenOffice - make it like Office so people can adjust to it easily. That's the main goal - make it functional and easy to use, free and easy to install for as many people as possible. Those who need to can "escape" to the more advanced options. Being different for the sake of being different would be a terrible mistake.

Every nonzero finite dimensional inner product space has an orthonormal basis. It makes sense, when you don't think about it.

Working...