14 DAY TRIAL // The sixth and final alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 8.10 (codename Intrepid Ibex), which is scheduled for release in late October this year, was made available a few hours ago and, as usual, we intend to keep you up-to-date with the latest changes in the Ubuntu 8.10 development. Compared with the fifth alpha, which brought, for the first time in the history of Ubuntu, a Linux kernel that is still in development and a useful restore function, this version comes with Firefox 3.0.2, Samba 3.2 and GNOME 2.24 Beta 2 (which includes some very nice features – see the first screenshot tour below). But first, let's take a quick look at the included applications:
· Kernel 2.6.27-3 (based on Linux kernel 2.6.27 RC) · X.Org Server 1.5 · Mozilla Firefox 3.0.2 · OpenOffice.org 2.4.1 · The GIMP 2.4.7 · F-Spot 0.4.4 · Pidgin 2.5.1 · Brasero 0.8.2 · Transmission 1.33 · Rhythmbox 0.11.6 · Ekiga 2.0.12 · Evolution 2.23.91 · Nautilus 2.23.92 · Vinagre 2.23.92
For the Intrepid Ibex, the development team will prepare an unbelievable desktop, with amazing performance, that will work on mostly any computer (be it a high-end workstation or an old and dusty Pentium III machine). Another major feature planned for Ubuntu 8.10 is the ability to be connected to the Internet (wireless connections) wherever you go: "We want you to be able to move from the office, to the train, and home, staying connected all the way," said Mark Shuttleworth.
Ubuntu 8.10 is getting better and better with every release, and I have to admit that I could not wait for the beta release to upgrade my system, as I usually do, so I've upgraded a brand new 8.04.1 LTS installation somewhere between Alpha 5 and Alpha 6 of Ubuntu 8.10. Therefore, I have been using the development version for a week now and I am very satisfied with it. The new features, most of them brought by the new GNOME desktop environment, are simply amazing. There are some things that have been changed, but there are also new additions, such as:
· You can now mount archives! What is that? Let's say for example that you don't want to extract an archive, you just wanna take a peek inside it or copy just 2 files from there... with a simple right click on the archive, you can select the 'Open with "Archive Mounter"' option and voila (see the last picture in the first row); · The system will automatically shut down in 60 seconds if you just hit the shutdown button (take a look at the third picture in the first row to understand how this works). I've tested it and the system shuts down in 60 seconds... However, I don't see any reason for this function, except that it's somehow, cool; · The GNOME desktop is at version 2.23.92 (that means 2.24 Beta 2) and NOT 2.23.91 as the Ubuntu developers noted in the release announcement for Alpha 6 (see the first picture in the first row); · Private Directory really works, but you have to work some "magic" in the terminal to set it up! (see the third picture in the second row); · The 'Create Archive' window has some new features, such as "Password protection", "Encryption" and "File Splitting" (see the first picture in the second row); · The 'Extracting files from archive' window has changed, and it will show you in real time what it does (see the second picture in the second row); · New, nice and beautiful effects for you to play with (see the last picture from the second row)! · My system is an Intel Core 2 Duo with 2 GB of RAM and I have an AMD64 encrypted Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 6 installation (see the second picture in the first row). The 2.6.27-3 kernel works like a charm and I had no problems with it or the previous version (2.6.27-2).
I must admit that it has been working very well so far. I have a little problem with setting the system time from the Clock applet and it's also not displaying the weather, but except that, everything is good. The upgrade process worked very well also! However, I do NOT encourage users to upgrade to the Alpha 6 version of Ubuntu 8.10, or any future development releases. Wait for the final release on October 30th!
With Alpha 6, the development team also introduces Samba 3.2, a version that's packed with support for encrypted networks, IPv6, clustered file server, and it also integrates better into the latest version of Microsoft Windows servers and clients. Moreover, even if it wasn't released yet, Firefox 3.0.2 is present in Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 6! And... here is the usual screenshot tour of this sixth alpha release of Ubuntu 8.10:
As you can see from the above screenshots, the theme is fixed now and it's Human-Murrine. There's still no "Encrypt system" option in the Live Installer, but let's hope that it will be available on future releases. However, something did change to the installer... check the screenshots below to see...
Here's the release schedule for Intrepid Ibex:
June 27th, 2008 - Alpha 1 release
July 11th, 2008 - Alpha 2 release
July 24th, 2008 - Alpha 3 release
August 14th, 2008 - Alpha 4 release
September 5th, 2008 - Alpha 5 release
September 18th, 2008 - Alpha 6 release
October 2nd, 2008 - Beta release
October 23rd, 2008 - Release Candidate
October 30th, 2008 - Final release of Ubuntu 8.10.
About Ubuntu:
Ubuntu is a Linux distribution for your desktop or server, with a fast and easy install, regular releases, a tight selection of excellent applications installed by default, every other package you can imagine available, network and professional technical support from Canonical Ltd and hundreds of other companies in the world.
Remember that this is an alpha release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only. Please report bugs to the Ubuntu Bug Tracker.
Download Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) Alpha 6 right now from Softpedia.
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