Ubuntu Hardy Heron Announced

Jono Bacon, Community Manager for Ubuntu, has announced development on the next version of the popular Linux distribution name "Hardy Heron". "Not only will the Ubuntu community continue to do what it does best, produce an easy-to-use, reliable, free software platform, but this release will proudly wear the badge of Long Term Support (LTS) and be supported with security updates for five years on the server and three years on the desktop. We look forward to releasing the Hardy Heron in April 2008."

Comments

I guess they were scared of copyright issues...

[The Orange Mage]

...because I would have loved to see a Hungry Hippo release.

Re:I guess they were scared of copyright issues...

[Kenshin]

That's reserved for the next version of Windows.

Re:I guess they were scared of copyright issues...

[ArcherB]

Meh. We'll still call it that :). But what's next? Ignoble Iguana?

Bleeding Beaver, Timid TubeSnake, Leaping Lemming...

Re:I guess they were scared of copyright issues...

[paeanblack]

As opposed to a Spoonerism of Hairy Hard-on?

Re:I guess they were scared of copyright issues...

[Khaed]

No way, the L release should be Llama. Lovable Llama.

Picture it: A Llama in a leisure suit.

Re:I guess they were scared of copyright issues...

[Oktober Sunset]

And how did you feel, being denied these hungry, hungry hippos?

Re:I guess they were scared of copyright issues...

[ben0207]

Ignoble Iguana? Wouldn't that be SuSE?

Re:I guess they were scared of copyright issues...

[jefu]

the L release should be Llama. Lovable Llama. ... A llama in a leisure suit.

A post that somehow makes this poem from Ogden Nash inevitable, but perhaps this is a good reason to imagine the lovable llama in pajamas (risking a possible salacious interpretation) :

The one-l lama,
He's a priest.
The two-l llama,
He's a beast.
And I will bet
A silk pajama
There isn't any
Three-l lllama.*

*The author's attention has been called to a type of conflagration known as a three-alarmer. Pooh.

Re:I guess they were scared of copyright issues...

[DiamondGeezer]

Lets hope Ubuntu get bought out before they get to 'X'

Re:I guess they were scared of copyright issues...

[EdBear69]

I'm waiting for Busty Bunny...

Silly

[hhlost]

Apart from being silly, the code names add confusion to Ubuntu's already-confusing version numbering system.

Re:Silly

[HomerJ]

There's an argument to be made for the goofy "code names". However, they are just that, code names. As far as version numbers, they make about as much sense as any. Higher versions get bigger numbers. 8.04 is a later version than 7.04. 7.10 is going to be a later version than 7.04, but behind 8.04.

What exactly is so confusing about it?

Re:Silly

[hhlost]

It's confusing because I'm retarded. Wait, no I'm not. It's confusing because I expect version numbers to go up one at a time. Windows XP is actually Windows NT 5.1, which came after Windows NT 5.0 (Windows 2000).

Re:Silly

[stefanlasiewski]

Because the usage is inconstant. One person may say "I'm using Feisty". Someone else may say, "I'm using 7.10". To the casual user, there is no obvious relationship or distinction between the two names.

And really, some people talk about 7.04 and 7.10 as if they are different major releases. But the numbering scheme suggests that 7.10 is only a minor release. And the two releases have different 'Code names', which makes it seem like there is a major difference between the two. That's confusing.

Re:Silly

[ianare]

The version numbers are actually quite logical - first number = year, second number = month. So 7.10 means october 2007, 8.04 means april 2008. It actually makes more sense than a lot of other software release numbers.
As far as the code names, well they are silly, but silly can be good. All too often we take ourselves a little too seriously. If you're pitching it to the boss (who is very much against silliness - the stupid bastard), then go by: Linux Operating System Long Term Support edition v 8.04 or something like that ...

Re:Silly

[hhlost]

Ok, perhaps "non-standard" would have been a better term. And I really should have left the already-confusing part out, because my real concern is that, as someone posted above, convincing someone that the best platform for their needs is "Hardy Heron" in a professional environment is difficult, and embarrassing. Linux has the reputation of being usable only by teenage computer geeks and this does not help. Yes it's a code name, but it's used in public much more than most code names, and regardless, there's no reason for them to be increasingly ridiculous.

Re:Silly

[wile_e_wonka]

I think the code names are intended to be pre-release--once released the code name is officially dropped for a version number (though the code name is unofficially retained by most users including myself). "Silly" or otherwise unusual code names are common in the technology world--My personal favorite is Apple's internal names for the Power Mac 7100.

Ubuntu's version number system is very simple, straightforward, and understandable--it consists of two numbers taken from the date of the release it is applied to: [year].[month]. Very simple, huh?

In Ubuntu's case, it is wise for them to use a code name prior to release, given their version number system, because a any delays could render the version number less meaningful (the author notes that Ubuntu uses a predictable release pattern with new releases every 6 months, but I think the makers of Ubuntu are being cautious because everyone knows delays can occur).

Re:Silly

[thegnu]

It's the most logical versioning system I've ever seen, because you know how old the release is. And you can't get confused by anything, at all. Higher number? Newer OS. Lower number? Older OS. As a practice, try arranging the following versions in the right order:

6.06
5.11
7.04
8.04
7.10
20.01

I bet you can do it. Plus, tell me when they were released. Now rearrange the following and tell me what date they were released (month/year):

Windows Vista
Windows 3.11
Windows XP
Windows Millenium
Windows NT 4
DOS 6
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 SP1
Windows 2000 SP2
Windows 2000 SP3
Windows 2000 SP4
Windows XP SP2
Windows XP SP1
Windows NT 4 SP1, etc

As far as silly codenames go, someone might want to know how Feisty Fawn compares to Longhorn, or Dolly, or some crap:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_codenames

So people wouldn't build a business on Zamboni, would they? How about Fidalgo? Would you manage your mail with Touchdown? How about let your kids run Whistler? I mean, really. You should berate people for being morons if they can't read a code name without letting it alter their opinion of the viability of the product in their IT infrastructure.

If people don't like things made by people with a sense of humor, maybe they should get the fuck out the tubes and stop blocking my passage.

Runner Up

[Anonymous Coward]

So much for Ubuntu "Horny Homo". Just kidding, I'll still call it that.

Re:Runner Up

[howlingmadhowie]

someone was there before you: http://gaybuntu.com/

Hope they get it right this time

[goldspider]

Yeah, I already know this is going to -1 hell. I don't care. I'll keep it short at least.

I tried to install the AMD 64-bit version of Feisty, and the CD wouldn't even boot. None of my hardware is exotic by any stretch of the imagination, yet the GUI installer wouldn't even load. A few inquiries on the Ubuntu forums got a few suggestions to try the non-GUI install. I don't feel I should have to slog through a text install in the year 2007, so I didn't give Feisty a second thought.

I'll try Hardy, but it better work out of the box. It's hard to promote a distribution to friends when the damn thing couldn't even boot as a live CD.

Re:Hope they get it right this time

[ericrost]

What were you trying to install on? There are several problems on laptops that can be solved with a bootline option or two (I had to do this on an amd64 HP lappy).

When you say AMD64 and not exotic in the same sentence, you're kidding yourself btw. Nothing has shaken out as standard in the chipsets or BIOS's yet. That's why you have a little tweaky tweaky (esp since there are some MANY damned broken BIOS's out there).

Re:Hope they get it right this time

[ericrost]

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Feisty#How_to_i nstall_DVD_playback_capability

sudo apt-get install subversion

Re:Hope they get it right this time

[MobyDisk]

Your information is out-of-date. AMD64 has been around since April 2003, and Windows/Linux has been working on since before it left the factory. Actually, all AMD motherboards since that time are 64-bit, even if nobody runs the 64-bit OS's.

I parsed it as "Hearty Heroin"...

[nweaver]

I always knew the FSF crowd were on some good drugs...

Before the site is slashdotted...

[Nimey]

Introducing the Hardy Heron
August 29th, 2007

I am delighted to have the pleasure of announcing the Hardy Heron (Ubuntu 8.04), the next version of Ubuntu that will succeed Gutsy Gibbon (Ubuntu 7.10, due for release in October 2007). Not only will the Ubuntu community continue to do what it does best, produce an easy-to-use, reliable, free software platform, but this release will proudly wear the badge of Long Term Support (LTS) and be supported with security updates for five years on the server and three years on the desktop. We look forward to releasing the Hardy Heron in April 2008.

With the opening of each new release cycle of Ubuntu, we have more and more opportunity at our fingertips. Not only are our friends in the upstream world constantly innovating and extending their applications and software, but the Ubuntu community continues to see incredible growth in its diverse range of areas such as packaging, development, documentation, quality assurance, translations, LoCo teams and more. Each new release gives us all an opportunity to shine, irrespective of which bricks in the project we are laying, and this is at the heart of our belief - working together to produce an Operating System that will empower its users and shape the IT industry, putting free software at the corner-stone of our direction.

Most people only ever see the end-user view of Ubuntu, running it on their desktops, servers and mobile devices around the world. For these users, Ubuntu provides a simple, convenient means to do what they want to do easily, effectively and without unnecessary complexity. For many of us though, we want to open up the hood and understand how the system works and how to extend and grow it. Thousands of us get out of bed every day, united behind Ubuntu, ready to make a difference, working together to make our vision happen.

Importantly, our ethos of collaboration and freedom extends to the development process as well as the end product. As such, the Ubuntu development process is a very open, transparent one, and anyone is welcome to get involved. It works like this:

        * Everyone is welcome to think of and develop ideas for features that could be present in the Hardy Heron release. These ideas are written as specifications (detailed documents outlining how the idea would work and be implemented). You are welcome to add your specifications to https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu.
        * In October 2007, we will hold the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and generate a schedule of sessions to discuss these specifications. The sessions provide a means for interested parties to help scope out the proposed feature and determine methods and plans to implement it. The Ubuntu Developer Summit is a semi-virtual event in which those who cannot attend can dial in with VoIP and use IRC and collaborative editing with Gobby to take part in the summit.

Everyone is welcome to participate, everyone is welcome to get involved, and everyone is welcome to help shape the form of the Hardy Heron. Let's work together to shake things up, make things happen and make the most compelling Ubuntu release yet. Start your engines...

And hurts Ubuntu

[ACS Solver]

I've said it before and say it again... these silly names are hurting Ubuntu. When you need to convince a boss that installing Ubuntu on office computers is the way to go, you'd need a more professional sounding name. "Windows XP" or "BeOS 5" sounds fine. But "Ubuntu Hardy Heron" does not. Sure you can use the 7.10 number, but it seems that the Ubuntu community prefers not to use the numbers, and these silly names actually crop up within the OS more.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[nuzak]

> Sure you can use the 7.10 number

They do. On the front page of ubuntu.com. The only place I know of where they show up programmatically is in sources.list.

Anyway, corporate only cares when they're reselling. You saying it's hurting Ubuntu doesn't present any actual evidence that it is, and the bald assertion is hardly new or insightful.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[hhlost]

I develop a medical database that requires a server to be installed locally, for security reasons. I try to convince the hospitals to let me use Ubuntu instead of MS Windows for obvious reasons, but so far have been unsuccessful. My latest attempt was thwarted, at least in part, when the IT staff had a good laugh at the "Feisty Fawn" name.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[nuzak]

I'm inclined to agree with the other respondent: the problem was not the name.

Why Ubuntu on the server anyway? For support? Vanilla debian would do just as well otherwise.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[popejeremy]

If a "professional" IT department is going to choose software based on who has the best name, they're already fucked.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[toleraen]

I dunno, FreeBSD is pretty decent from what I hear.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[kebes]

That's really too bad, because obviously important tech decisions should not be made based on the product name. If the product does the job, then that's what should matters. Besides, many software names sound goofy until you get used to them--I'm sure some people thought "Dreamweaver" was a rather ambiguous and strange-sounding name, but once it attains mindshare, the name gains the appropriate recognition. Same goes for "Powerpoint," "Photoshop," "Apache," and so on.

Besides, as others have pointed out, the discussion should not have gotten to "Feisty Fawn" in any case. That would be like discounting Windows Vista because "Longhorn" sounds silly. "Longhorn" was a pre-release code-name, with the final release called "Windows Vista." Similarly, "Feisty Fawn" is a pre-release code-name, with the final release called "Ubuntu 7.04."

I don't want to insult your coworkers, but as far as I'm concerned, allowing jokes about a product name to cloud one's technical judgment is not at all professional. And I really don't think the solution is to refrain from using pre-release code-names (which are helpful to the programmers)... because people making unprofessional judgments will just focus their baseless ridicule on something else (icons, artwork, color scheme, website, forums, personalities of people involved, etc.).

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[owlstead]

They've got their uses. If I look for a problem specific to a version of Ubuntu, the Google searches are much more precise than when I just use the version number.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[LingNoi]

Redhat, co are Grandpa's old distros. We use Ubuntu at work and it is much easier to manage because I already run it on the desktop.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[Knuckles]

And who prevents him calling in this documents by its official name, Ubuntu 7.04? Or is he selling Windows Longhorn in these docs, too?

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[popejeremy]

Likewise, if a company organizes itself to allow people with no expertize in IT to make critical IT decisions, they're setting themselves up to be fucked, hard.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[nuzak]

Firefox has a component named "libpr0n". It's developed by an organization named Mozilla (which also develops a full suite named Seamonkey), and the fundamental basis of its UI technology uses an XML namespace defined by a uri of, get ready for it, http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there. is.only.xul

If you are in the business of reselling a distribution, you may have a point. If you cannot sufficiently hide the development names of pieces of your system from dour humourless micromanagers, then you cannot do your job, full stop. This may or may not be your fault, but it's hardly a reason to keep dragging out the same tired old "the name is too silly" argument. Serious people take Mark Shuttleworth seriously, and it's not just because he has money.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[smellsofbikes]

>If a "professional" IT department is going to choose software based on who has the best name, they're already fucked.

People vote for the guy with more hair. Taller men are paid more. People vote against stem cell research funding if their voting place is in a church, and vote for school funding taxes if their polling place is in a school.

Here are precisely all of your options: expect other people to be 100% rational and spend your life disappointed, or realize that people are primarily emotional and consistently make choices based on motivations they themselves don't understand and work to capitalize on that.
In other words: study advertising and marketing. They're not about choosing software based on the best name. Go ask half a dozen kids "if you go into graphics advertising, which job do you think will pay more, one where you use a program called 'photoshop' or one where you use one called 'the gimp'" and you'll find out something about perception and how it affects behavior. If a person doesn't have good metrics, the person will use whatever metrics are at hand to make a judgment. It is not unreasonable to expect that even with good metrics, people will still tend to use prima facie evidence to make decisions.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[popejeremy]

OK. Good point. Now the question is: Why should the Ubuntu organization put any effort whatsoever into convincing irrational people to use their operating system? They're not selling anything. Advertising is for a company that wants to convince irrational people to buy their product so that they can make lots of money. Ubuntu doesn't want to make lots of money. Based on Ubuntu's actions, I'm guessing it's enough for them to make a great system and then let the people who are smart enough to appreciate it enjoy it.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[StikyPad]

Yeah, I'm sure Symantec wouldn't have any problems if they renamed their product to CockBlocker Deluxe.

A good name won't necessarily win, but a bad name will always lose.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[popejeremy]

I would buy Cockblocker Deluxe, based on the name alone.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[EvilRyry]

Few reasons I'm considering moving my business servers to Ubuntu...

-I've had much fewer bugs in Ubuntu server installs than with Debian Etch. Bugs seem to get patched faster as well.
-Software is more up to date
-3rd party Ubuntu debs are becoming increasingly popular

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[smellsofbikes]

Not only that, but also humans are fantastic at post-decision rationalization. We'll tell ourselves we decided something for good, logical reasons, and even make some up and convince ourselves that's why we chose things, but psychologists that spend a lot of time watching people, claim that most of the time even when people give reasons for their choices, it's likely those reasons don't have much to do with their choices.
Another way of putting the Carnegie claim, which I base on having read books like "The Paradox Of Choice" by Barry Schwartz and the research on which Malcolm Gladwell based "Blink" is that we've probably made our decision within a tenth of a second of being offered a choice, and the rest of the time we spend choosing, is spent second-guessing and rationalizing that decision -- we're trying to decide whether an instinctive, pattern-matching, non-rational reaction was correct or not, and generally speaking, we decide it's correct.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[Scarblac]

Why should the Ubuntu organization put any effort whatsoever into convincing irrational people to use their operating system? They're not selling anything. Advertising is for a company that wants to convince irrational people to buy their product so that they can make lots of money. Ubuntu doesn't want to make lots of money. Based on Ubuntu's actions, I'm guessing it's enough for them to make a great system and then let the people who are smart enough to appreciate it enjoy it.

From their About us: Ubuntu aims to be the most widely used Linux system.

If that's their aim, then convincing irrational people to use it seems a pretty important activity.

Re:And hurts Ubuntu

[Braino420]

They're not selling anything.

Ubuntu doesn't want to make lots of money

This is the first I've heard of this, can you tell me how you came to these conclusions? I always thought they sold support and that Mark Shuttleworth is a venture capitalist. Looks like they're selling stuff and want to make money to me. Is it possible that maybe you were talking out of your ass? Oh, and this "Ubuntu organization" you're talking about is called Canonical (the ones that handle the money, you should look it up!).

Spoonerish

[minginqunt]

Ubuntu Hairy Hardo... I mean, er, Hardy Heron, was announced today to much polite coughing.

Re:Kinda dirty?

[bazorg]

well I was hoping that the "H" release would be Horny ______

Re:Kinda dirty?

[kidcharles]

Well, "hardy" does not literally mean "hard," but it sounds like perhaps a nickname about a heron with a constant erec...wait, why am I explaining myself to a cranky, humorless AC?

More bad news!

[Anonymous Coward]

No sooner does Yahoo report that worldwide illegal drug use isn't growing for the first time since drug prohibition started producing illegal drug use in the mid 19th century, then slashdot reports that Ubuntu Hardy Heroin is Announced!

Damned drug smuggling penguins...

Re:Kinda dirty?

[Anonymous Coward]

Now I'll start calling myself Cranky Coward!

Re:Nifty Names

[SpeedyDX]

If copyright was not an issue, I'd like to see Xenophic Xenu.

Re:Stop with the names already!

[Random832]

This is one thing that drives me crazy about Ubuntu... these names are elitist and completely unintuitive. There is no obvious relationship between the version numbers and the names. Well, at least recently they collate in the same order

Ubuntu 5.10 (Breezy Badger)
Ubuntu 6.04 (Dapper Drake)
Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft)
Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn)
Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon)

O'Reilly Books?

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

It seems that these releases are targeted for distinctive Victorian-period engravings.

Re:Good Test Case

[JeremyGNJ]

One major difference. Redhad has money and corporate customers behind it. They can pay for employees to continue support it 5-7 years out. Even Microsoft says after 5 years its not worth spending the money...and if they wanted to plenty of businesses would PAY to have the support extended.

Ubuntu 6.06 is only ~1.5 years old. Only halfway there. Kind of remains to be seen if they can pull it off....especially with MULTIPLE LTS products in cycle. Under their plan to release a new LTS every 2 years, they will have three products in support cycle at a time.

ObMrGarrison

[sharkey]

Bleeding Beaver

I just don't trust anything that bleeds for 5 days and doesn't die.

Re:ObMrGarrison

[ArcherB]

Bleeding Beaver I just don't trust anything that bleeds for 5 days and doesn't die. It does have a 28 day release cycle.

Re:ObMrGarrison

[nschubach]

It's coming just as soon as they finish putting in -1:Misandry and my newly coined -2:Misnerdiny

Re:ObMrGarrison

[zurtle]

Grandparent deserves either:
-1 Whoosh
or
-1 Stupid

It was a citation goddammit.

Re:ObMrGarrison

[aichpvee]

Oh no! 28 - 5 = 23. And as anyone can tell you, 5 is nothing but 2 + 3. The combined ASCII values for "hardyheron" equal 1076. int(1076/23) = 46. 46 / 2 = 23!

what's really in Gibbon and Hippo?

[bcrowell]

It would be interesting to know more about what's planned for Gibbon and Hippo. I'm currently running Feisty on all my home and work machines, and in general it works great. TFA does have a link to a wikified wishlist for Hippo, but that's not the same as knowing what the focus of the release is really going to be: usability, innovation, stability? I'd guess the focus won't be innovation, since they're going to make it a long-term support release.

Here's my person impression of what's already okay in Feisty, and what needs to be improved.

Already okay in Feisty:

1. 64-bit support is perfect, as far as I can tell. I hear a lot of people complaining about it, but all I can say is that I'm running the default packages for firefox, flash, and java, and everything Just Works. The flash and java applet plugins work fine for me. AFAICT, some 64-bit enthusiasts are upset that they can't run these plugins as native 64-bit apps in a 64-bit native browser. What I can't figure out is why that matters...? If it works, it works.
2. Wifi just worked for me, and is now sufficiently integrated with the Gnome gui to make it easy for my 11-year-old daughter to deal with it on her machine.
3. The kernel has built-in support for AMD's Cool'n'Quiet energy-saving technology.

Problems with Feisty:

1. ACPI power management doesn't work. This is a particularly bad problem for laptops. My laptop would shut down as soon as Gnome started, because it believed the battery was dead, when it really wasn't. Hibernation has never worked on any machine I've tried it on. Sleep typically doesn't work. To be fair, this may not be the fault of the linux/ubuntu developers; apparently a lot of hardware manufacturers refuse to supply enough information to allow kernel developers to know what hardware registers need to be restored when waking from sleep or hibernation.
2. Getting a working java runtime is still more work than it needs to be. At the very least, you have to enable a non-free repository, and then add an obscurely named package. I assume this is basically a licensing issue, and will go away as the open-source runtime matures and has the rest of its proprietary components replaced with free ones.
3. CUPS and printing suck to high heaven. This is the single biggest problem I'm facing now. It's not as much of a disaster as it was in earlier versions like Breezy, but it's still a disaster. I have pages and pages of notes on how to get my printer working with Feisty, and it still doesn't work very well -- the printer freezes unpredictably and needs to be power cycled. No, this is not a case where the problem is just that the manufacturer won't release specs; it's a Brother laser printer, and Brother actually hired the CUPS developers to write GPL'd drivers.

Re:what's really in Gibbon and Hippo?

[jimicus]

CUPS and printing suck to high heaven. This is the single biggest problem I'm facing now. It's not as much of a disaster as it was in earlier versions like Breezy, but it's still a disaster. I have pages and pages of notes on how to get my printer working with Feisty, and it still doesn't work very well -- the printer freezes unpredictably and needs to be power cycled. No, this is not a case where the problem is just that the manufacturer won't release specs; it's a Brother laser printer, and Brother actually hired the CUPS developers to write GPL'd drivers.

Printing in Linux has sucked for years, and will probably continue to do so. It's not actually the fault of CUPS which basically provides a framework for drivers to sit in and communicate with the printer - more the manufacturers.

If you're buying a laser printer with a view to Linux compatability in the future, look for one which supports Postscript. All this talk of "Drivers this... drivers that...." - it's cobblers. Postscript has been a perfectly good language for printers for something like 20 years, and postscript printers don't command anything like the same premium that they did 10 years ago.

I don't care if the manufacturer provides a Linux driver. If it's binary only - then installation is distribution-dependent and may not be possible in a typical Linux distribution a few years from now. This could also happen in Windows, so those who have winprinters and aren't planning to use Linux can wipe that smug grin off their face.

If a driver in source code and specs for the language the printer speaks do exist - it won't do a great deal of good if you're the only person wanting to use it in Linux and you don't have the expertise to write your own driver.

This about....

[RockoTDF]

....sums it up

http://xkcd.com/178/

Just use the adjective.

[SanityInAnarchy]

When I say we're installing "Ubuntu Feisty", sure, it sounds... different. But it doesn't actually sound stupid, like it would if I said "Feisty Fawn".

Same with Gusty. In fact, Hardy works even better.

I also tend to like names that don't actually offend programmers. Windows XP seems to me a deliberate attempt to steal the XP acronym -- and they have. XP used to stand for "Xtreme Programming", which is actually a very useful concept, and one which might have avoided some of the dumber problems Windows has had.

And they do this all the time. .NET, Word, Office, Internet Explorer, etc. They choose names that are so generic that you get most people confusing them with something else almost instantly. It's difficult to talk about a "Word processor", because most people hear that and think MS Word. It took Firefox long enough, and we still have to deal with people who think the Internet is Internet Explorer.

So now we have names like "Ubuntu" and "Hardy", and I think they work well -- they're distinctive, and they don't actually sound like anything else in the same field.

Re:Just use the adjective.

[ACS Solver]

Generic names. Leads to me to another thought.

I'm not a native English speaker - it's my third language. I'm fluent, I read books and watch movies in English, and generally know the language well enough. I knew words like "fire", "fox", "access", "office", "word", "vista" or "binder" before encountering the applications named so. However, I only found out what "heron" means today, and what "eft" means back when that version was announced. I'll readily admit that animal names (plant names, too) are the weakest part of my vocabulary in all languages I speak, but I still think it's better to have names that consists of words familiar to most people. As far as I understand, lots of native speakers didn't know what an eft is either.

How great...

[Pecisk]

Article is about that finally another Ubuntu LTS is comming and everyone and his/her dog bitching how silly Ubuntu code names are. Not about bugs, not about how to help to solve them, but about FUCKIN FREAKIN code names!

If you choose software just by code names, you are completely lost. And if you thinking that word "Hard" is embarrassing, you definitely have too less sex, and never have thought what "Longhorn" actually can mean.

(ooh, there goes my karma)

In a mean time, click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heron to see man with...ohhh, it is just bird. Nevermind.

LTS

[Tribbin]

Hardy Heron: Me support you long time.

Re:Relevant news?

[ketilwaa]

Yeah, because Ubuntu (the number one Linux-distro) is just like just another OSS project...

BTW: To all those people proposing new and funny names: The last word is supposed to be an animal, the first one being an adjective. I'm assuming you still find your alternatives hilarious, but trust the long time users on ubuntuforums.org: It gets really old, really fast.

I fear Ubuntu might have trouble developing names

[jollyreaper]

Allow me to submit a few they could choose from in the future.

Irritable Iguana
Jocular Jellyfish
Konstipated Kangaroo
Llustful Llama
Moody Moonbat
Naughty Nautilus
Onomatopoeic Ocelot
Pervy Penguin
Quizzical Quetzalcoatl (we can use mythological beasties if BSD can use daemons)
Randy Rhino
Secret Squirrel
Truculent Tapir
Unctuous Ungulate
Vituperative Vole
Woeful Walrus
Xenophobic Xenu (posted here previously, I like)
Yearnful Yak
Zoophilic Zebra

Re:Xorg rewrite?

[lbbros]

X.Org 7.3 should be released around today. Although I don't know if it will eliminate the config file (probably not), I know it makes a step in the right direction by implementing input device hotplugging.

Re:Kinda dirty?

[haeger]

I'm sure most people will end up calling it "Horny Heron" at some point. I'm sure...

Hey, that's my nickname.

 

.haeger

Why were you suggesting Feisty instead of the LTS?

[Chuck Chunder]

For that sort of installation it sounds like the LTS edition would be much more preferable. Ie it is supported for longer (much longer if you only need the server installation) and will have a one hop upgrade to the next LTS (rather than a two stop upgrade from Feisty).

If you aren't telling them you want to install "Ubuntu 6.06 Long Term Support" then frankly you are shooting yourself in the foot.

No, linux is not ready for the desktop.

[AbRASiON]

I've been experimenting with Ubuntu for about 2 years now on and off, I try it each new release.

I've tried every release from 5.04 onwards, each time I've had difficulty getting things working.
Initially intel 2200 wireless cards, then after purchasing a new card, getting WPA to work.
Now, finally WPA is out of the box on atheros cards however my rt2500, not so much.

Sure in Windows sometimes stuff doesn't work too but in order to get things like this fixed under linux is very very difficult.
(I've been using PC's for 16 years this year mind you)
I read forums I post on forums, I try my best to figure it out but it just doesn't seem that simple at ALL.

Sure it's free and yes the guys over at the ubuntuforums certainly defy the stereotypical 'rtfm noob!' responses of yesteryear in # ultimately though it's still just crazy hard and I really don't want much (promise)

The latest edition of Ubuntu (7.04 iirc) doesn't work properly on Dell 8600 displays, the driver is dead and glitchy weird scanlines appear on the display (mind you this has never been a problem before)
Sure you'll tell me it's a proprietary driver issue or ATI's fault and you'd be right but I'm typing this post from the perspective of a Windows user, I don't care, sorry but I don't - I just want it to work, I'd love to replace Windows.

I want to emphasize I'd be happy to persevere if say my graphics, sound and networking were fine, as long as I can sit on the couch and browse that's a great start, further issues like downloading things, burning dvd's, re-encoding media, manipulating images that is less important than the core functionality (although damned important too)

I do not want to use Windows Vista (don't get me started, terrible stuff)
I'm an end user and I'm a gamer but I'm happy to dual boot XP and Ubuntu or if I get sick of my Desktop PC and PC gaming, go entirely 360 / PS3 and Ubuntu on the laptop but... at this rate Ubuntu isn't happening for me, been trying so long with so little luck :/

I've no doubt some will mod this overrated others troll but this is how it is from 'our' perspective over in the Windows / end user camp, we just need it to work, I'll keep on trying eventually it will work, I hope.
(note: I am not saying it's all bad, synaptic is a fantastic concept, works well, free is awesome, overall UI doesn't seem too bad either)

Re:No, linux is not ready for the desktop.

[Ash-Fox]

Perhaps your next computer purchase should be a system (such as a computer from System76) that comes with Ubuntu rather than Windows. It will be fully supported.

Re:Kinda dirty?

[Cranky Coward]

Too late...

Re:Nifty Names

[naChoZ]

As for me, I'm looking forward to what they come up with for the letter X, and I'd like to be the first to suggest Xanthic Xerbus.

Sounds appropriate to me. It certainly seems as if Piers Anthony is in charge of Ubuntu's naming scheme.

Re:Wireless Support + Beryl

[Almahtar]

I can't tell you how many PC users have watched over my shoulder as I used Beryl and said "Wow... looks like Vista is worth the switch afterall, that's amazing."