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...

[Oktober Sunset]

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

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

[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

[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/

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

[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

[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

[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.

Spoonerish

[minginqunt]

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

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?

Re:Kinda dirty?

[Anonymous Coward]

Now I'll start calling myself Cranky Coward!

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.

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.

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.

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.

LTS

[Tribbin]

Hardy Heron: Me support you long time.

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:Kinda dirty?

[Cranky Coward]

Too late...