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Ubuntu "Karmic Koala" RC Hits the Streets With Windows 7
oranghutan writes "Computerworld is reporting Canonical has made available the Release Candidate of its latest Linux-based operating system, Ubuntu 9.10, on the same day Microsoft launched the long-awaited Windows 7. 'The upcoming Canonical release, which is code-named Karmic Koala, is the latest version of the popular flavor of the Linux OS. The development release on Thursday pushed the OS one step closer to final release, which is due on Oct. 29, according to the company's release schedule Web page. An image of the OS is available for download on Ubuntu's Web site. Test versions of Karmic Koala RC available for download include the server, desktop and netbook versions.'"
I'm looking forward to the official 9.10 release, but I really want some new hardware to run it on! Almost all the netbook offerings are going the XP/W7 route. Providers like system76 have some OK offerings, but they are on the pricey side. I wish I had a wide selection of hardware without having to pay the Microsoft tax!
Pills... find your pills...
Interesting.
Isn't the point of a release candidate to give people enough time time to make sure a product is stable and ready for prime time release, and to fix issues should they arise? Wouldn't an OS, with a whole slew of apps, require a bit mroe than a week for this? I mean, a release of Firefox is usually in RC for several weeks, if not months, before it goes from RC to official release.
No - the RC is usually nearly identical to the actual release. Only if there is something totally disastrous (eats your data, leaves dirty socks in the hall, sleeps with your girlfriend/boyfriend/cat/dog) would the final release be delayed.
You joke, but almost every Ubuntu release I can think of has shipped with major problems that never get fixed. Once it "shipped", despite few reasons to do so (this isn't a commercial software release), major bugs sit ignored. For example, one release had numerous bugs like dimming the screen due to inactivity, and never un-dimming it. It was never fixed. In general, the Ubuntu release model is astoundingly ignorant, assuming that because they release every 6 months, there's no need to fix functionality problems in releases. This is especially problematic given the lack of QA and focus on Shiny(TM). The latest release is all focused on "Cloud Computing" buzzword compliance, not stability or reliability.
Don't get me started about the issues with the Intel GMA drivers. "8.04LTS" worked fine on a number of systems, and 9.x caused never-ending forum postings from users wondering why the hell they couldn't get X going. The KVM stuff has also been incredibly half-baked. I'm pretty sure there's still no way to use virtual-builder to deploy a VM on an logical volume. It'll build the machine, but fuck up the kernel/bootloader install, and the end result is a machine that won't boot. I've got a machine sitting here that crashes Xorg after a few minutes; the mouse goes dead, and we've tried 6 different mice.
Lastly, Canonical has been getting uncomfortably cozy with tying in pay-for services into the OS, either theirs or 3rd parties. I was shocked when I logged into a 9.x machine and got a welcome message that pushed their statistical monitoring "service". Now I see all sorts of Cloud Computing crap. It's becoming increasingly clear that Canonical isn't in this for the good of the world, but lining their pockets via what is essentially bundling agreements. You know how we need wipe Dell and HP systems of all the shit they "bundle"? Well, look who's coming to dinner: third-rate "partners"...
Please help metamoderate.
I would imagine lots of folks with jobs do. I get it, Centos is not big with the unemployed living in Mom's basement demographic, but trust me outside that locked door there is a whole world with many people that do care about it.
AFAICT, Canonical has always released on time (perhaps one exception, late by only a week or two out of 6 months). The RC gives them a chance to delay without being a total surprise, though the don't (hardly) ever exercise the option. And their actual releases don't seem any buggier than any other distro's, in fact a lot less buggy, and never a showstopper, and quickly (and regularly) followed by automated bugfix updates.
So what that says to me is their release process is very rigorous. And that they use the RC protocol anyway. All of which sounds good to me.
--
make install -not war
(Your typical Joe or Jane Q. Public will give-up at this point, and buy a Windoze PC-compatible or Apple Mac instead.)
You're comparing apples and oranges. Your typical Joe and Jane Q Public couldn't figure out which version of Windows or OS X to install on their machines either, nor will they know whether to install Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate. The problem is the "having to install part", not the names.
Buy Linux preinstalled and it won't overtax your brain. People will have made reasonable choices for you.
Besides, none of those installations lock you in; it's one command to upgrade to any other one.
[...] If not, you could try to contact MS support and talk about the problem, whether that is free or not depends.
I'm guessing that you've never tried to navigate their spaghetti-like phone-tree with its loops, spirals, double-backs and yes dead ends where they will hang up on you for following the wrong rabbit trail with no way to go back. That is the most frustrating, useless, upsetting, making me feel like hurting somebody a lot, afternoon that I ever spent. Oh, and the pound key that all phone systems use to go back one level? That works under some menus.
Even if they weren't light years ahead in other areas of usability, Microsoft *are* ahead of Ubuntu in at least one, basic, critical area. Stable hardware support that actually works.
Now that really causes "derisive laughter to the point of choking".
Prove me wrong, Linux users.
Why don't you prove your statements on usability and compatibility? Oh, that's right, you just repeat Microsoft marketing claims.
Ah, the OSS Mantra ... "it is mostly fixed".
With a modest amount of money, you can put together a new system that provides a slick, fully-supported experience using Ubuntu Linux as the OS.
The problem is that, like Windows, Linux distros that try to serve the mass market have the almost impossible task of supporting everything. It simply doesn't work in all cases.
Apple solved this problem by packaging a very limited, controlled set of hardware with their OS. If a computer vendor does that with a Linux distro, they can provide a similar "it just works" kind of experience.
For example, if you buy a Dell system with Ubuntu preinstalled, I think you will find it will "just work".
On the other hand, if you install Ubuntu on your system made from parts that you might think "ought to just work", you're gambling.
If your going to do that why not just run a real OS?
d) This post will be down-modded to -1, Flamebait, Troll, or Overrated, because I'm making statements which cause cognitive dissonance in Linux Youth.
Prove me wrong, Linux users.
Wow, that was a really convoluted way to get your post modded up. It was an OK post (that I don't wholly agree with) until you pulled out this old chestnut.
... and then they built the supercollider.
Ah, the OSS Mantra ... "it is mostly fixed".
I get tired of this pointless wasteful bashing, Three years people have suffered Vista with that little cry on every forum "I'm using Vista 64-bit Ultimate and Never had any problems". I would call it an outrageous lie, but back again with smoke and Mirrors and the Zealots are proclaiming Vista daring anyone to attack Microsoft. Washing away the sins of Corruption; Anti-Capitalism; Anti-Americanism.
The short answer is Intel Drivers Have been abysmal for...forever. Nvidia Binary Blobs in their Unsecure; Distro Reputation damaging form have been the favourite of anti-pragmatists everywhere as they heavily defend Nvidia's IP.
Intel chipsets with barely a supported GL extension and utilities to correct bugs in the Drivers, and a myrid of possible xorg configurations that needed to be supported.
The trouble is Intel Got rid of all that Garbage...now has good 3D for an integrated chipset support...and things like my Scart on my ADD2 card work.
The trouble is while doing this, they broke a lot of working Linux Systems, KMS and GMA500 still have problems that are being looked into, but intel have been movers and shakers in the Linux kernel supporting hardware before its even been released :)
The state of the intel drivers in looking fantastic in Karmic. Its certainly not on the scale of OpenGL performace losses going from XP to Vista or the Myrid of hardware that doesn't work and still doesn't work under Vista/Win7. I have 5 machines in my house and Karmic will work on all of them, but Windows7 will only work on one!
How come 90% of the comments are bitching and bickering when it comes to things like this. Everyone tries to find the "best" OS - not gonna happen. I use Ubuntu, I'm a web developer, it's very stable, easy to maintain, and supports all the software I need. My design counterparts use Macs (go figure). Our IT guy uses Gentoo because he has all the tools he needs, and the know-how to run the fucker. The office administrative staff uses Windows XP because it's stable and supports what they do. And my boss uses Windows 98 because he's stubborn and old. You know what? They all suck in some manner - I can't run my apps on the designer's systems, and visa versa, the admin staff would have an anurism trying to use *nix, and the IT guy wouldn't be nearly as productive on Windows. That being said they're also very useful in their respective places. Stop bitching, use whatever you like and helps you in your work (if you have a job and don't live in your mom's basement), and maybe try to find the positive in something? Like diversity, competition? Maybe? Yeah?
I ran KDE for about 15 minutes before being so annoyed with not being able to do things the way I was used to in gnome that I switched back to gnome.
There. Fixed it for you.
Mada mada dane.
Microsoft would have to be certifiably insane to consider Ubuntu even a marginal form of competition.
Prove it.
Even if they weren't light years ahead in other areas of usability,
Prove it.
Microsoft *are* ahead of Ubuntu in at least one, basic, critical area. Stable hardware support that actually works.
Prove it.
You know, as in sound support that doesn't die every few hours, or graphics drivers that don't intermittently cause kernel panics.
Prove it.
Seriously, Linux users who try and claim that any Linux distribution has any remotely conceivable chance of legitimately competing with either Microsoft or Apple at this point, literally leave me gasping. The amount denial and delusion engaged in is mind boggling.
Prove there's any "delusion" or "denial" involved. Also, if I were you I'd go see a doctor for that gasping.
Ubuntu reached a point, once, where I thought that could eventually become true; but since Hardy, Canonical have blown it completely.
Prove it.
Prove me wrong, Linux users.
Prove yourself right first.
No problem is insoluble in all conceivable circumstances.
I think you're totally wrong. The basics of the WIMP - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WIMP_(computing) - experience date way before Windows, and Microsoft only got file structure sensible - not storing data with programs - post Windows 95. Firefox across all operating systems can be configured to ask where to save documents so it's not an Ubuntu thing. And what's especially wrong with My Documents? The main thing Ubuntu tries to do is make it easy for people to understand how to use the OS. On that level, they succeed admirably. The same strategy is used for OpenOffice - make it like Office so people can adjust to it easily. That's the main goal - make it functional and easy to use, free and easy to install for as many people as possible. Those who need to can "escape" to the more advanced options. Being different for the sake of being different would be a terrible mistake.
But we've heard for well over a decade now that "any time now", Linux is going to have its day and "threaten Windows for dominance" .... and it never really happens.
It has happened on servers. People replace windows servers with linux servers all the time and find they are faster, more stable, and easier to manage. A lot of places will blindly stick to windows because that's what they know but that has always happened. A lot of old companies blindly stick to os/390, VMS, and other legacy stuff too.
i was surprised to wake my computer up one morning, find that it had downloaded updates in the middle of the night and put itself back to sleep while saving the wordpad doc i had left open with some notes in it.
See... that's just creepy to me.
RUGBYRUGBYRUGBY
Having spent the majority of the evening trying to get sound on and intel hda board to work properly in Ubuntu 9.04, I will say that the burden of proof is no entirely on the GP troll.
May the Maths Be with you!
Koala was to put focus on an endangered species. Karmic is your fairly uncommon adjective that Ubuntu can "coup" so you can google for "karmic *whatever your problem is*" and get relevant results that don't belong to a version from two years ago or every other page that happened to use the numbers 09.10. It works much, much better than Debian that I came from where they typically used stable, testing and unstable which left a ton of junk that doesn't apply to my stable all over the net. Yeah it's corny but it works extremely well.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
Not just for fun. They deliberately choose rather unusual names so they can be used as search terms in search engines; searching for "8.10" is rather difficult due to the numerical nature of the version number, and clashes with lots of other programs; searching for "Karmic" works a lot better (especially if the other search terms limit the results to be Ubuntu-related).
(1)DOCOMEFROM!2~.2'~#1WHILE:1<-"'?.1$.2'~'"':1/.1$.2'~#0"$#65535'"$"'"'&.1$.2'~'#0$#65535'"$#0'~#32767$#1"