Ubuntu Linux 9.10 (Karmic Koala)
Desktop & Apps
Ubuntu Linux 9.10 uses Gnome as its desktop environment (if you prefer a different desktop you can download another version such as Kubuntu, Mythbuntu, Ubuntu Studio or Edubuntu). The desktop is clutter-free when you boot into it. The usual Ubuntu color scheme is there and, as always, it’s easy to find your way around by clicking the Applications, Places or System menus at the top of the screen.
Applications are broken down into easily navigable categories. The Places menu is where you’ll find your home folder, desktop folder, pictures, etc. The System menu lets you customize and manage all of your Ubuntu system settings.
Here’s a sample of some of the software that comes with Ubuntu Linux 9.10:
Games
Blackjack
Chess
Nibbles
Gnometris
Mahjongg
Graphics
F-Spot Photo Manager
GIMP
OpenOffice.org Drawing
XSane
Internet
Empathy IM
Evolution Mail
Firefox
Transmission
Ubuntu One
Multimedia
Brasero Disc Burner
Rhythmbox Music Player
Movie Player
Office
OpenOffice.org Spreadsheet
OpenOffice.org Presentation
OpenOffice.or Writer
Adding & Removing Software
While the default selection of software is adequate for most computing purposes, there is more to be had via the Ubuntu Software Center. To access the Software Center click the Applications menu then click Ubuntu Software Center. You can browse via the following categories:
Accessories
Education
Graphics
Internet
Science
Sound & Video
Universal Access
Programming
Games
Office
System Tools
Other
You can also search to find new apps for your Ubuntu system.
The Ubuntu Software Center has an excellent selection of software. Even if you feel that your computing needs are fine with the default software included with Ubuntu 9.10, it’s still worth browsing around the Software Center to check out some additional stuff.
Frankly, after browsing around, I experienced a serious blast of software greed. Although I didn’t need to I felt like adding tons of apps to my Ubuntu 9.10 system. Hey, why not right? It’s all free and it’s there for the taking so help yourself and enjoy!
The Software Center lets you easily see the applications you have currently installed on your system.
The Software Center makes it easy to add more software to your Ubuntu system.
(31 votes, average: 4.10 out of 5)
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(4.75 out of 5)
It’s about damned time you reviewed a “real” distro! :)
But seriously, the one thing I would add regarding alternate desktops is that there is no need to download another entire distro. Many, if not all, of the alternate desktops can be downloaded via the Synaptic package manager. Just type in the name, LXDE, XFCE, KDE, etc., and just select the metapackage. Synaptic will take care of the rest. You can then select the alternate desktop at the login screen. This way, you have the original Ubuntu intact, and can try out other desktops to your hearts content. This may also be doable in the new Software Center, but I have not tried it.
Another alternative is the Ubuntu Mini ISO. This is a ~12mb ISO file that installs a minimal, base command line system. You can then use the “apt-get install” command to totally customize the packages. I am currently using this in Virtual Box to build a base Ubuntu system with only LXDE as my desktop of choice. I did notice in another instance, that installing desktops this way gets you the standard product as opposed to the Ubuntu customized version. All seem to run just as well. The end result is that you get a much smaller distro with only the packages you want.
My next step will be figuring out how to remaster this into an ISO to make my own custom distro! I was thinking of naming it tlmbuntu, although that may be some sort of curse word in the Bantu language. I will have to check it out. :)
Forgot to mention that for Windows users, I highly recommend the Wubi install method. Just pop in the Ubuntu LiveCD while running Windows and choose the Wubi installer. This will install Ubuntu as just another Windows application. You then reboot the machine and select Ubuntu from the boot menu. This is a good way to test it out to see if it will run on your actual hardware. If you decide you do not like it, you can reboot into Windows and just uninstall. Works equally well in XP, Vista, and Windows 7.
For those who run legacy DOS programs, be aware that dosemu crashes with a segfault from time to time on 9.10. This can be disastrous for those who require stability for their DOS-based business programs.
I’ve been using Ubuntu 9.10 from its alpha stages and the final Release candidate has made good progress from the Alpha software.
Traditionally Ubuntu has been a very “mellowed down” distro compared to the others out there(mind you, there are 100′s of them). So you are not going to find anything very jazzy from Ubuntu. Instead, what you get is a rock-solid, reliable OS.
I always keep a copy of Ubuntu as my main OS. I try out every new distro that is released, but I still haven’t found something that can reliably replace my Ubuntu.
Everything about Ubuntu speaks of “simplicity and ease of use”, right from the software installation, software availability, look and feel. This helps Ubuntu to cater to a larger audience, and it does that very well.
I dont think Ubuntu is going to take the Market by storm with Ubuntu 9.10, especially now with Winows 7 release. But if at all Linux has the potential to challenge Microsoft, then it has to be Ubuntu. No other distro/OS caters to everyone’s needs.
Because at the end of the day, the user needs an OS that “just works”. He doesn’t care if it is Open source or not, even if he has to shell out money for it. So Ubuntu should start benchmarking itself to Windows rather than the other distros.
I’m sure Ubuntu will slowly, but gradually take a bigger share in the OS market. And 9.10 delivers another solid release with good number of awesome enhancements.
Most of the new features are “under the hood”, but it enhances on the overall end-user experience from Jaunty.
Keep up the good work Canonical!!!
Thanks for the look, Jim! I passed on 9.04 because 8.10 has worked so well that I did not care to fool with it. 9.10 sounds as though it might be worth a place on my drive.
Making “restricted extras” easier to install will be much appreciated by new users. What is needed now for people is a similar “one button” install for those DVD codecs. Click here, have your credit card ready, pay the fee and install. That complies with American intellectual property/copy-right law and it would be easy. I doubt most people are going to complain about a reasonable fee.
Like Roshan Pius I enjoy looking at and using other distributions, but Ubuntu remains as the “go to” system when I simply need to get some work done.
And let me add that tlmck is right; wubi works like a charm.
I downloaded and tried out the release candidate about a week ago and it is looking pretty good. I had also tried a number of base levels during the Alpha testing phase. The release has come along steadily.
For me, being one who prefers environments other than GNOME, I usually try out Xubuntu and Kubuntu. For my most recent test, I simply took Kubuntu and ran an update from the command line with the -d option, which allows you to upgrade to the next release. The repos were slow, but it worked quite well and it was usable right away.
While I prefer the more stock Debian based systems, the only difficulties I ever run into with the Ubuntu variations are intermittent issues with Network Manager, so I generally replace it with wicd, and I also have problems with the time server, NTP. I frequently end up removing and reinstalling it, which usually gets things back on track.
The request a review link seems to be broken. sidux 2009-03 Preview is now available, so in about two weeks, sidux 2009-03 should be coming out. I’d like to see a review again and see how you think it stacks up against 2009-02 and other distros.
It should have KDE 4.3.2 and XFCE 4.6.1 available, the option to use either ext3 or ext4 file systems, and the ability to use the new GRUB 2 boot menu, plus it has the latest Linux 2.6.31 kernel for additional new device support.
The release is being called “momos” in the English form (it has some “special characters” in the European name form). If you review it, maybe you can tell us something about the names of the four quarterly releases this year! :-)
I believe that this is the best release of Ubuntu so far. I’ve been using Ubuntu since 5.10. The Network Manager has been fixed now so there is no reason to replace it with wicd. As far as server speed goes I find the main server speed to be fair while the US servers are somewhat slow. I’m not sure why. Grub 2 may give some new users a few problems but it’s not really hard to learn. All in all a fine distro and good review.
Tried the RC but it threw the infamous Error 5 at me but I’ll try again with the final release.
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