Ubuntu Linux 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx)
Where To Get Help
Please take a moment to register for the DLR forum (registration takes less than a minute and you can login with your Facebook account if you want); everybody is welcome. You are welcome to post a message in the Linux Help section and we’ll do our best to point you in the right direction. The forum contains discussions about Linux, but also many other topics. Please stop by and say hello when you have a chance.
Drop by the forum to get help, talk about Linux or just hang out.
Beginners should definitely take a few moments to check out the Ubuntu Manual. It will be a big help in getting you started with Ubuntu Linux. You might also want to check out the Ubuntu support page for various free and paid support options including professional support services, free community support and Ubuntu’s technical answers system.
Final Thoughts & Who Should Use It
I applaud Canonical for the changes they made in this release of Ubuntu Linux. It’s a terrific update to an already excellent desktop Linux distro.
There are those who will resist some of these changes but I think they will learn to love them eventually. Canonical has pushed the desktop Linux experience forward significantly in Ubuntu Linux 10.04. Other distro developers should pay careful attention to this release and should learn from what Canonical has accomplished.
One last thing, I’d really love to see Valve hook up with Canonical and bundle Steam into Ubuntu Linux. Given all its other strengths, the only thing Ubuntu 10.04 really lacks right now is access to some truly killer games. Steam would be the cherry on top for Ubuntu Linux. I covered this possibility in a column and I still have my fingers crossed about it.
I heartily recommend Ubuntu Linux 10.04 to beginners or experienced Linux users.
There’s quite a lot to love in this release and very little to dislike. Give it a download and enjoy.
What’s your take on Ubuntu Linux 10.04? Tell me in the comments below. For more discussions, visit the DLR forum. For opinion columns visit JimLynch.com.
Summary Table:
| Product: | Ubuntu Linux 10.04 |
| Web Site: | http://www.ubuntu.com/ |
| Price: | Free |
| Pros: | Social media desktop integration, new themes and wallpaper, Mac-like minimize/restore buttons. Ubuntu One enhancements including the Ubuntu One Music Store integrated into Rhythmbox Music Player. Ubuntu now comes with the PiTiVi video editor. |
| Cons: | Can’t automatically cycle through desktop background wallpaper. Screensaver menu is still separate from the Appearance Preferences menu. The Ubuntu One Music Store doesn’t give users the ability to rate and review music. |
| Suitable For: | Beginner, intermediate and advanced Linux users. |
| Summary: | Ubuntu Linux 10.04 is simply marvelous! Canonical has taken an already good desktop distro to a whole new level of polish and sophistication. Bravo! |
| Rating: | 4.5/5 |
(31 votes, average: 3.45 out of 5)
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Hi,
Good review. But you mention that is is not possible to cycle through desktop wallpaper. Is that really true? Cause I am now using Ubuntu 9.10 and there it is possible. In the background menu there is one directory (cosmos) already included and optionally, you can add new ones to /usr/share/backgrounds. You can even add a xml file containing the durations that a certain file should stay on the background. It would surprise me if that option is not there anymore??
Regards, Joost
Another nail in Windows Coffin. I normally hate Ubuntu but this is gooood!!! Now have it on my EeePC suffer Microsoft. Steve and Bill you’d better start crying your days are numbered!
What is Steam? I gonna have to Google it.
I think Ubuntu 10.04 has shaped up nicely. I am on currently Ubuntu 8.04 and this is the first release where I might upgrade before the end-of-life of my current version.
Morning guys,
Glad you enjoyed the review.
Joost, I checked the controls on the Appearance Preferences menu (where you change your background) and there seemed to be no way to automatically cycle through wallpaper.
Perhaps there’s another way to do it though, I’m not sure. It seems like that’s the obvious place to put controls that are similar to the ones in Mac OS X.
Zac, Steam is Valve’s gaming service. It’s not out for Linux yet but rumors are flying that it may be coming soon. It’s scheduled to arrive for Mac OS X very soon. But a Linux version might also be in the works.
I have my fingers crossed!
Mozilla is said to be already working with Google in an open video codec. Flash (and its closed source model) is past now.
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2010/04/google-planning-to-open-the-vp8-video-codec.ars
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/04/13/reports_says_google_will_open_source_on2_codec_in_may/
“Maybe Canonical could cut some kind of deal with Adobe”
Have you not been paying attention to the idiotic decisions Canonical has been making in the past 2 years? They are completely destroying Ubuntu. At the rate they are going they wont even be ON Distrowatch’s Top 100 list, let alone #1 in the next year.
“I was also unhappy to note that the Screensaver menu is separate from the Appearances menu where you change your desktop background. These two things are combined in Mac OS X on one menu (you choose one or the other from the same menu) so it’s easy to make changes. Canonical might want to give some thought to combining these two menus, it just makes a lot of sense to have them both in one place.”
That is a Linux/Gnome thing, and has NOTHING to do with Canonical. Canonical develops Ubuntu, Canonical does not develop Gnome. I would suggest you actually study up on Linux for a bit before you write reviews about it.
I have installed a program called “Desktop Drapes” which will automatically change the wallpaper at times you define, as well as the location of the folder that holds your pics. It’s an okay program, does what it supposed to. My only fault with it, it crashed a couple of times and once didn’t start on reboot. Other than that, it worked okay. It’s in the Software Center!
Actually, it doesn’t have “the latest version of gnome.”
10.04 comes with gnome 2 for stability. Gnome 3 has been released, install gnome-shell to get it.