If you have read my previous post in relation to the new Ubuntu release, you would be forgiven for thinking that I’m scathing and negative about it, but it’s not the case!
After my bad experience last week after upgrading directly from Hardy to Intrepid I burnt an ISO of the release candidate and did a fresh install. The results were much better!
Installation was fine, although I wouldn’t use the migration assistant, it made my install hang the 1st time around.
Here are my thoughts on the latest release of this suberb Linux distro.
- My Wifi status LED now works! Since I have been using Ubuntu on Dell machines, the Wifi LED has never worked, now it does, a small detail, but its nice to see.
- Hibernating works! Anyone who knows a little about Linux will know that one of the biggest problems with it is trying to get the hibernate functionality of laptops working reliably. It is very difficult to know in which order to disable and re-enable all devices, so it is great that they have it working, at least on my machine.
These are a couple of little personal things that I have noticed and am very happy about, but on a more general note, how does the new OS work? Is it a worthwhile upgrade?
The first thing most people will notice is the new look, similar to the old one, but the menu bars are a little more refined, more subtle and look much nicer.
The default look is definitely nicer than in Hardy, it looks quite slick and futuristic.
The network manager has been improved, and in general will detect the type of encryption required by the network, managing settings have also been given an overhaul and work quite well. It picked up the settings for both my university wifi network and home network, prompting me for my key and then disappearing again, connecting automatically. I still prefer to use Wicd though!
You can now manage 3G modems, which is great and increases compatibility with alot of devices.
Another big improvement is Nautilus, the default file manager.
As you can see from my screen shot, you can now have tabbed browsing within your file manager! Just like in Firefox, its a great idea.
Also, beside each mounted drive there is an eject arrow, which can be used to eject the medium. Which is a nice touch.
You can now also switch session and have multiple users logged in at one time. Another good progression
Something that people are raving about with the new release is the inclusion of a BBC iPlayer compatible plugin, which fixes an annoying problem. Not for me though, as I don’t live in the UK!
Recently there has been a lot of talk about security for files on your laptop, especially since the TSA in the US started searching peoples laptops for no reason. The latest Ubuntu release provides for paranoid types by implementing an encrypted directory in your home folder. If you ask me, this is overkill, but it’ll keep some tinfoil hat wearers happy!
As usual for Ubuntu, ntfs file system support is excellent, I have had no problems accessing my Windows hard drive partition, it is happy to appear on a network, and play nice with everybody.
Overall I have found the new Ubuntu release, despite a few early development version hiccups, to be very impressive. When I began using Ubuntu a couple of years ago with 6.06 Dapper Drake, it felt a little shaky, and it seemed as if, if you scratched past the surface, it wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny. This release is stable, modern, and has the feel of a reliable, fast OS.
The new graphical touches give it a polished look, and the restricted drivers module, as well as the easy codec installer, make Ubuntu the perfect distro for beginners, installation is almost insultingly easy too.
To brand this as a beginners distro would be foolish however, it has all the customisability and flexibility that long time Linux users will love, built around a very solid base with second to none hardware compatibility and universal support from most of the Linux community.
A great distro. Go get it now!
http://ubuntu.com/getubuntu
