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Another Ubuntu Release in the works!

To give you the rundown on the notable changes. The desktop version will be shipping with a new default windows manager that looks kinda like Mac OSX:


	

		
	

	

		We are aiming for Ubuntu to be one of the first distributions to ship

		the newly merged Compiz and Beryl projects (compcomm/OpenCompositing);

		and enable it as the default window manager on systems with a supported

		combination of hardware and drivers.

		
	
	







http://compiz.org



   




And the addition of AppArmour to the Server version of Ubuntu:




	

		
	

	

		For increased security, the AppArmor security framework will be

		available as an option for those that want it.

		
	
	



The following is the original statement by the Ubuntu Development Manager.



	

		
	

	

		Now that the set of feature goals planned for Ubuntu 7.10 ("Gutsy

		Gibbon") has been largely finalised, it seems like an appropriate point

		to announce the plan to the world.

		While this is based on the approved blueprints for gutsy[0], which are

		expected to be implemented in time, we do release according to a

		time-based schedule[1] rather than a feature-based one.  It is not

		unusual for some planned features to be delayed to later releases;

		happily it is also not unusual for our developers to introduce neat

		features we weren't expecting either.

		[0] https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/gutsy/

		[1] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/GutsyReleaseSchedule

		Desktop

		-------

		Ubuntu 7.10 will ship with the latest edition of the GNOME desktop,

		2.20, released a few weeks before our own release.  Kubuntu 7.10 will

		ship with KDE 3.5.7, and should also include packages of KDE 4.0 rc 2

		available for optional side-by-side installation.

		We are aiming for Ubuntu to be one of the first distributions to ship

		the newly merged Compiz and Beryl projects (compcomm/OpenCompositing);

		and enable it as the default window manager on systems with a supported

		combination of hardware and drivers.

		Systems which do not support compositing, or those with it disabled by

		user option, will use the existing metacity window manager.

		Hardware Support

		----------------

		Ubuntu 7.10 will use the 2.6.22 Linux kernel, along with our usual

		selection of updated and additional drivers.

		We will also use Xorg 7.3, giving better graphics hardware support and

		the option of hotplugging monitors (RandR 1.2) and input devices

		(xserver 1.4).

		As well as the easier configuration for hotplugging-supported drivers

		("no xorg.conf"), we also aim to have better configuration for other

		drivers and fallback settings for when there is a problem.

		Some "winmodem" chips will be supported out of the box, where drivers

		are available; though this may rely on the use of restricted drivers.

		Improvements to the Restricted Driver Manager are expected, allowing

		drivers to be disabled by default and proposed by the manager.  As

		previously announced, an edition of Ubuntu without restricted enabled by

		default is in the works.

		Mobile

		------

		As announced, Ubuntu 7.10 will be first release to include a new Mobile

		and Embedded edition targeted at hand-held devices and other

		mobile/embedded form factors.

		This integrates the Hildon UI components developed by Nokia into Ubuntu,

		on top of the existing Ubuntu platform.

		Server

		------

		Development of the Ubuntu 7.10 Server Edition has received a new boost

		with a dedicated development team at Canonical working on it.  Features

		aiming to improve the experience for new and hobbyist administrators are

		expected, as well as features desirable for small businesses and

		organisations.

		For increased security, the AppArmor security framework will be

		available as an option for those that want it.

		Stability and Performance

		-------------------------

		Ubuntu 7.10 should function significantly better when the filesystem is

		full or otherwise not writable, allowing the user to make room and then

		continue working without undue interruption.

		Improvements to our "apport" bug and crash reporting infrastructure are

		planned, in particular integration with our software installation and

		upgrade tools so that problems installing or upgrading packages can be

		easily reported with relevant information attached.  Kernel crashes will

		also be intercepted on reboot, and may be reported using the tool.

		Our efforts to improve boot reliability and performance continue;

		unlimited and reliable stackability of software raid (MD) devices, LVM

		volumes and software-managed (devmapper) devices will be supported with

		no runtime ordering issues.

		Ubuntu 7.10 will ship with Upstart 0.5, which will provide flexible and

		reliable service supervision.  We expect to harness this for suitable

		core services, and some boot process tasks, as appropriate.

		Scott

		-- 

		Scott James Remnant

		Ubuntu Development Manager

		scott at ubuntu.com

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Dell Refuses to Sell Ubuntu to Business – An anonymous reader writes “I had a surreal experience with Dell today. My boss asked me to order a new computer for our small, non-profit business. Wanting to support Dell in their decision to sell computers with Ubuntu installed, I decided to order one. First, I talked to a small business representative, who informed me that I could not order one of the Ubuntu-based computers through the small business department. I had to go through the “home and home office” department. I called the Home office department. I asked the representative if I could buy one of the ubuntu computers for my company. She said (and I quote), “these Dell computers are designed for personal use only, as long as you use it for personal use, you can purchase one.” So I lied and said I would…. Next, I tried to buy it on our business credit card. They would have none of that. She told me that I had to buy it through a personal card. Now, as a non-profit, our business does not pay sales tax (10% in Tennessee). Had I bought it with my own card, I would have had to pay tax (~$90), which my company would not have reimbursed me for. So…..no Dell today.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

[Slasdot]

Microsoft Pleads With Consumers to Adopt Vista Now – SlinkySausage writes “Microsoft has admitted, in an email to the press, that ‘some customers may be waiting to adopt Windows Vista because they’ve heard rumors about device or application compatibility issues, or because they think they should wait for a service pack release.’ The company is now pleading with customers not to wait until the release of SP1 at the end of the year, launching a ‘fact rich’ program to try to convince them to ‘proceed with confidence’. The announcement coincides with an embarrassing double-backflip: Microsoft had pre-briefed journalists that it was going to allow home users to run Vista basic and premium under virtual machines like VMWare, but it changed its mind at the last minute and pulled the announcement.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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ZFS On Linux – It's Alive! – lymeca writes “LinuxWorld reports that Sun Microsystem’s ZFS filesystem has been converted from its incarnation in OpenSolaris to a module capable of running in the Linux user-space filsystem project, FUSE. Because of the license incompatibilities with the Linux kernel, it has not yet been integrated for distribution within the kernel itself. This project, called ZFS on FUSE, aims to enable GNU/Linux users to use ZFS as a process in userspace, bypassing the legal barrier inherent in having the filesystem coded into the Linux kernel itself. Booting from a ZFS partition has been confirmed to work. The performance currently clocks in at about half as fast as XFS, but with all the success the NTFS-3g project has had creating a high performance FUSE implementation of the NTFS filesystem, there’s hope that performance tweaking could yield a practical elimination of barriers for GNU/Linux users to make use of all that ZFS has to offer.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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New LinuxCOE helps admins customize distros - Hewlett-Packard released version 4 of its Linux Common Operating Environment (LinuxCOE) software this month. LinuxCOE is a front end to a set of Perl scripts that helps administrators by building customized install images for various Linux... [Linux.com]