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Ubuntu 7.10 "Gutsy Gibbon" Is Out

Posted by kdawson on from the while-it's-hot dept.

Many readers are sending the news that Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon has been released. Download options include mirrors and torrents. Wired has a review based on the release candidate: "Gamers and hardcore media hounds may still feel left out... but we found playing music and watching movies in the new Ubuntu to be every bit as pleasant as it is under OS X or Windows... Wi-Fi, printing, my digital camera and even my iPod all worked immediately after installation — no drivers or other software required... I did have to install additional codecs to get MP3 and Windows Media Audio support."

7 of 755 comments (clear)

  1. What? by 3p1ph4ny · · Score: 5, Insightful

    TFS: hardcore media hounds may still feel left out...

    Amarok. There's nothing like it on any other platform.

    1. Re:What? by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You mean it would be nice if people would buy hardware media players that worked on the computer they used?

      Last I checked Apple doesn't support Linux. If you bought an iPod, you knew it didn't support Linux, so why did you buy it?

      This is akin to the people that buy houses next to airports then complain to the city about the noise.

  2. The summary contradicts itself by GPS+Pilot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you have to install additional software to get MP3 support, the music-playing experience is, almost by definition, not as pleasant as it is under OS X.

    --
    That that is is that that that that is not is not.
    1. Re:The summary contradicts itself by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Well, that is the price you pay for living in a country where software patents are allowed. MP3 is a patented format, so you can never truly listen to an MP3 for free. Part of the cost of Mac OS X is MP3 support, same for Windows Vista. A Linux distro can never distribute software that requires royalties, and so, technically, no Linux distro can legally distribute MP3 software in the US.

      Lucky for you, there is Ogg Vorbis, which is technically superior to MP3 anyway, in terms of quality per byte.

      --
      Palm trees and 8
    2. Re:The summary contradicts itself by Tim+C · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A Linux distro can never distribute software that requires royalties
      Not true, there are a number of options:
      1) Charge for the version of the distro that includes the software, pay the licence fee to the licensor, disallow redistribution of the licensed code
      2) Give the distro away for free, pay the licence fee to the licensor, disallow redistribution of the licensed code
      3) Reimplement the required code, distribute only in countries with a more enlightened attitude towards software patents (eg the EU)

      Lucky for you, there is Ogg Vorbis, which is technically superior to MP3 anyway, in terms of quality per byte.
      Superior or not, that doesn't help me with all the music I have in mp3 (and no, I'm not about to re-rip it).
      The OP's point is valid - the experience is not as good out of the box as that of OS X or Windows, with regards to music playing.
      --
      It's official. Most of you are morons.
  3. Re:will it wipe my /home? by speaker+of+the+truth · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'd recommend backing it up regardless of what people say. I've never heard someone complain about having a backup they didn't need, yet I've often heard people complain about not having a backup they needed.

    --
    Using openSUSE instead of Windows since 9th of October, 2007 and liking it.
  4. Gaming Falls to the Winner by mecenday · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I see many weakish answers to this post, but the simplest answer is that Linux simply isn't a gamer's OS right now. And that's fine.

    It isn't something anyone developing Linux or working on Ubuntu can just fix. Gaming is always going to fall to the OS with the biggest installbase because of the money involved. All the Linux folks can do is keep polishing and pushing to make desktop Linux a better experience... so that one day they'll have a profitable userbase for the gaming companies to address.

    Maybe it seems like Linux geeks are underestimating the importance of gaming, but I don't think that's the case. Projects like Wine and Cedega strive to hit a moving target in the dark, just in efforts to bring you folks over... But we'll only ever see mixed results from that.

    From my point of view though, gamers may overestimate their own importance to the adoption of Linux at this time. Because gaming will fall to the biggest (desktop) installbase, how is it going to help an OS that is currently running third? All it can really do is solidify the lead of whoever is in first. Right?

    And, contrary to the opinion of many gamers, there are throngs of people who never-ever game... or never-ever game on a computer. Judging from the folks I know, it'd be the vast majority. Most folks just use their computers to communicate, to budget, to work, and to just dink around on the web. Those are the folks Ubuntu is going after right now.

    Gamers are important, sure. It's a userbase that is a bit more knowledgeable and a bit more experimental, which would make them a good fit for Desktop Linux early-adoption. We'd love to have them. But, unfortunately, they are going to be forever tied to whatever's most popular... and, further, they are not the end-all of computing.

    We'll be happy to see all you gamers again once we hit... sayyy 25%-50% installed. See ya then. =)

    --
    Tautologies, they are what they are.