Ubuntu Latest version is here ! - version 10.04 LTS

I dont know about you , But I am really excited about the latest version , Ofcourse Linux being linux , it is Ubuntu and opensource , So power to the people . It may not be as commercially publicized as its nemesis the Windows 7 , neither will it be as good and easy to use as Windows 7 . but Linux is more much more than just a simple OS , it is a statement of freedom , From commercial exploitation from Big Companies ! So here it goes !

Introduction

The Ubuntu developers are moving quickly to bring you the latest and greatest software the Open Source community has to offer. This is the first Ubuntu 10.04 beta release, which brings a host of exciting new features.

Note: This is a beta release. Do not install it on production machines. The final stable version will be released on April 29, 2010.

Upgrading from Ubuntu 9.10 or Ubuntu 8.04 LTS

To upgrade from Ubuntu 9.10 on a desktop system, press Alt+F2 and type in "update-manager -d" (without the quotes) into the command box. Update Manager should open up and tell you: New distribution release '10.04' is available. Click Upgrade and follow the on-screen instructions.

To upgrade from Ubuntu 9.10 on a server system: install the update-manager-core package if it is not already installed; edit /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades and set Prompt=normal; launch the upgrade tool with the command sudo do-release-upgrade -d; and follow the on-screen instructions.

To upgrade from Ubuntu 8.04 LTS on a server system: follow the same instructions as for Ubuntu 9.10, but set Prompt=lts instead of Prompt=normal.

Download

Get it while it's hot. ISOs and torrents are available at:

• http://releases.ubuntu.com/releases/10.04/ (Ubuntu Desktop and Server)
  http://uec-images.ubuntu.com/releases/10.04/beta-1/ (Ubuntu Server for UEC and EC2)
  http://releases.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/10.04 (Kubuntu Desktop and Netbook Remix)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/lucid/beta-1/ (Xubuntu)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/releases/lucid/beta-1/ (Edubuntu)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/mythbuntu/releases/lucid/beta-1/ (Mythbuntu)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/lucid/beta-1/ (Ubuntu Studio)

Local mirrors are also available:

Africa

• http://ubuntu.saix.net/ubuntu-releases/ (South Africa)
• http://bw.releases.ubuntu.com/ (Botswana)
• ftp://ftp.wa.co.za/pub/ubuntu/ (South Africa)
• http://ls.releases.ubuntu.com/ (Lesotho)
• http://mz.releases.ubuntu.com/ (Mozambique)
• http://na.releases.ubuntu.com/ (Namibia)

Asia

• http://ftp.riken.jp/Linux/ubuntu-iso/CDs/ (Japan)
• http://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/Linux/ubuntu-releases/ (Japan)
• ftp://ftp.chu.edu.tw/Linux/Ubuntu/releases/ (Taiwan)
• ftp://ftp.corbina.net/pub/Linux/ubuntu-cd/ (Russian Federation)
• http://ftp.cs.pu.edu.tw/Linux/Ubuntu/ubuntu-cd/ (Taiwan)
• http://ftp.daum.net/ubuntu-releases/ (Korea, Republic of)

Europe

• http://ftp.heanet.ie/pub/ubuntu-releases/ (Ireland)
• http://mirror.switch.ch/ftp/mirror/ubuntu-cdimage/ (Switzerland)
• http://ubuntu.mirror.tudos.de/ubuntu-releases/ (Germany)
• http://se.releases.ubuntu.com/ (Sweden)
• http://ubuntu.ipacct.com/releases/ (Bulgaria)
• http://nl.releases.ubuntu.com/releases/ (Netherlands)

North America

• http://mirror.anl.gov/pub/ubuntu-iso/CDs/ (United States)
• http://mirror.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/ubuntu-releases/ (Canada)
• http://mirror.yellowfiber.net/ubuntu/ (United States)
• http://mirrors.ccs.neu.edu/releases.ubuntu.com/ (United States)
• http://mirrors.easynews.com/linux/ubuntu-releases/ (United States)
• http://mirrors.gigenet.com/ubuntu/ (United States)

Oceania/Australia

• http://ftp.citylink.co.nz/ubuntu-releases/ (New Zealand)
• http://ftp.iinet.net.au/pub/ubuntu-releases/ (Australia)
• http://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/pub/ubuntu/releases/ (Australia)
• http://mirror.netspace.net.au/pub/ubuntu/releases/ (Australia)
• http://mirror.ihug.co.nz/ubuntu-releases/ (New Zealand)
• http://ubuntu-releases.optus.net/ (Australia)

South America

• http://mirror.globo.com/ubuntu/releases/ (Brazil)
• http://mirror.pop-sc.rnp.br/mirror/ubuntu/ (Brazil)
• http://mirror.pop-sc.rnp.br/mirror/ubuntu-releases/ (Brazil)
• http://ubuntu.c3sl.ufpr.br/releases/ (Brazil)
• http://cl.releases.ubuntu.com/ (Chile)
• http://espelhos.edugraf.ufsc.br/ubuntu-releases/ (Brazil)

New features since Ubuntu 9.10

These features are showcased for your attention. Please test them and report any bugs you find:

• http://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs

GNOME

Ubuntu 10.04 Beta 1 includes the latest GNOME desktop environment with a number of great new features.

Mozilla Firefox

Default search engine has been changed to Yahoo! The default Home Page will use either Google or Yahoo! depending on user setting.

Linux kernel 2.6.32

Ubuntu 10.04 Beta 1 includes the 2.6.32-16.25 kernel based on 2.6.32.9.

KDE SC 4.4

Kubuntu 10.04 Beta 1 features the new KDE SC 4.4. For more information about new features in Kubuntu, see the Kubuntu technical overview.

HAL removal

This beta sports full removal of HAL from the boot process, making Ubuntu faster to boot and faster to resume from suspend.

Major new version of likewise-open

The likewise-open package, which provides Active Directory authentication and server support for Linux, has been updated to version 5.4. The package supports upgrades from both the officially supported versions 4.0 (Ubuntu 8.04 LTS) and 4.1 (Ubuntu 9.10), as well as the likewise-open5 packages from universe.

Since this upgrade involves a lot of configuration file changes and in-place database upgrades, testing and feedback is appreciated.

New default open source driver for nVidia hardware

The Nouveau video driver is now the default for nVidia hardware. This driver provides kernel mode setting, which will give improved resolution detection. This driver provides hardware accelerated 2D functionality, like the -nv driver it replaces. The nouveau driver is being actively developed upstream and we anticipate this will enable faster bug fixes for problems encountered.

Improved support for nVidia proprietary graphics drivers

Three different NVIDIA proprietary drivers are currently available: nvidia-current (190.53), nvidia-173, and nvidia-96. Thanks to a new alternatives system, it is now possible to install all three of these packages at the same time (although it is only possible to have one configured for use at a time).

Social from the Start

We now feature built-in integration with Twitter, identi.ca, Facebook, and other social networks with the MeMenu in the panel, which is built upon the Gwibber project, which has a completely new, more reliable backend built on top of desktopcouch. Gwibber now also supports a multi-column view for monitoring multiple feeds simultaneously.

New boot experience

Multiple changes to look, feel and speed of the boot experience have been included in the Ubuntu 10.04 LTS beta.

New Indicators

The notification area now features more consistent user experience and design for communication, session management, and many other tasks.

New Themes

The desktop has been beautified with the addition of two brand new themes, Ambiance and Radiance. New wallpaper and icons are also included.

Ubuntu One File Syncing

Select any folder in your home directory for sync, pick from your existing contacts when sharing folders. An updated preferences application has been added, with more features.

Ubuntu One Music Store

Millions of songs are available for purchase from your Ubuntu desktop, integrated with the Rhythmbox Music Player and using Ubuntu One cloud storage for backup and easy sync. Watch http://one.ubuntu.com/blog for the public beta launch.

New features for Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC)

The Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud installer has been vastly improved in order to support alternative installation topologies. UEC components are now automatically discovered and registered, including for complex topologies. Finally, UEC is now powered by Eucalyptus 1.6.2 codebase.

Security Issue when upgrading from Lucid Alpha 2

If you installed Lucid prior to Alpha 3, you may have libmysqlclient16 7.0.9-1 installed. This package was present in the Ubuntu archive by mistake and was retracted, but because it has a later version number than the real libmysqlclient16 package, the real package will not be installed automatically on upgrade. To ensure that you have the official package installed on your Lucid system and will receive security support for it throughout Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, it is important that you run sudo apt-get install libmysqlclient16/lucid and follow the instructions.

Known issues

As is to be expected at this stage of the release process, there are several known bugs that users are likely to run into with Ubuntu 10.04 Beta 1. We have documented them here for your convenience along with any known workarounds, so that you don't need to spend time reporting these bugs again:

• Because of the new alternatives system used for nvidia driver packages, the nvidia installer from NVIDIA's website currently doesn't work.

• The fglrx binary driver for ATI video chipsets does not yet support the X server in Lucid. As a workaround, users should use the open source -ati driver instead. (494699)

• A number of outstanding bugs prevent users of the OpenLDAP server (the slapd package) from upgrading successfully from Ubuntu 8.04 LTS to 10.04 LTS Beta 1. Users running OpenLDAP servers are advised to wait until Beta 2 before upgrading. (538516, 536958)

• Configuration of "LVM with encryption" in the Ubuntu Server installer and the alternate installer fails when setting up swap. Investigation of this issue is ongoing. (539324)

• Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud 9.10 upgrades to 10.04 do not yet work seamlessly, and UEC 9.10 administrators are advised not to upgrade to 10.04 Beta 1. This problem is a high priority (519513), and is expected to be resolved for 10.04 Beta 2. This does not affect new installations of UEC 10.04, which are expected to work quite well at 10.04 Beta 1.

• Xubuntu Desktop is installed by default without language support (540878). To localize your system, after installation, go to Applications -> System -> Language Support and add your language.

• When running Kubuntu in Install Only mode ("Install Kubuntu" from the boot menu), the system will fail to reboot correctly at the end of the install. As a workaround, users can "Try Kubuntu without installing" and click on the installer icon on the desktop. (540856)

• Installation with /boot on RAID1 fails due to a bug when installing the bootloader to disk. This bug will be addressed for 10.04 Beta 2. (527401)

• If the cryptsetup package is installed as part of an install from the alternate CD, the X server may crash after boot the first time you press . To correct this problem, install version 0.8.0~-17 or later of the plymouth package from the Ubuntu archives after the initial installation. (540256)

• Wubi as included on the ISO images is unable to enter its second stage of installation, so you will not be able to install inside Windows using just an ISO image in this beta release. As a workaround, users who are installing the Ubuntu Desktop Edition can download the stand-alone version of wubi from http://releases.ubuntu.com/10.04/wubi.exe which includes the fix for this bug. This bug will be fully addressed for 10.04 LTS Beta 2. (541607)

• Selecting OEM installation on Kubuntu in 10.04 LTS Beta 1 does not install the oem-config-kde package required to complete OEM configuration after reboot. Users in need of Kubuntu OEM installation support are advised to wait until 10.04 LTS Beta 2. (540895)

Reporting bugs

It should come as no surprise that this beta release of Lucid Lynx contains other bugs. Your comments, bug reports, patches and suggestions will help fix bugs and improve future releases. Please report bugs using the tools provided.

If you want to help out with bugs, the Bug Squad is always looking for help.

Participate in Ubuntu

If you would like to help shape Ubuntu, take a look at the list of ways you can participate at

• http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate/

More information

You can find out more about Ubuntu on the Ubuntu website and Ubuntu wiki.

To sign up for future Ubuntu development announcements, please subscribe to Ubuntu's development announcement list at:

http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel-announce

Ubuntu installation

Yesterday I installed the Ubuntu 9.10 “Karmic Koala” Beta release by way of the desktop (Live-CD) based installer. The installation was very clean and polished. It has been a while since I’ve used a graphical installer and I am pleased with the improvements that I found. It definitely rivals any “professional” or “enterprise” install session that I’ve ever seen, and easily beats them in terms of speed and ease. I’d like to give a short review of the Beta release and encourage everyone to try it and finalize any remaining bugs.

Installation

The installation was quick and painless. All of the questions were asked in the beginning and then the installer took over. During the installation messages were displayed regarding the benefits of Ubuntu and the software that it provided. Below are some screenshots of the installation process.

This is the initial installation screen. As you can see it offers a number of options including disk and memory checks, as well as booting off existing installations. I selected “Install Ubuntu” and hit [ENTER].

This appears to be the initial boot splash screen while the Live-CD installer is booting.

A preview of the new default wallpaper.

Welcome to the installer! Select your preferred language. This language will be used during and after the installation.

Select your timezone. I very much like this improved location selector tool. Instead of trying to find myself on a map that zooms in and out (you may remember what I’m referring to from previous releases), this simply slices up the world into timezones and allows you to select yours.

Select your keyboard layout. For US English standard qwerty layouts you can click forward. I needed to select “Choose your own:” and “USA – Dvorak” for my layout.

Partitioning was simple. I erased and used the entire disk.

Username information. Enter your full name, username and password information. Remember that this user will also act as the initial administrator.

I also like the addition of the “Require my password to log in and to decrypt my home folder” as well as the other options. I selected the last option and am using the encrypted home folder system.

Final review point before installation. From here you can still go back and make changes. Once you click install it should be hands free from here out.

Welcome to Ubuntu 9.10 – “Ubuntu is designed to be easy. Feel free to explore!”

Browse the web with Firefox

Relive Memories with F-Spot Photo Manager

Accessibility in Ubuntu

Control your digital life with Evolution

Keep in contact with Empathy IM

Office tools at your fingertips

Watch and listen on Ubuntu

Installing additional software

Getting Help with Ubuntu

Post Installation

Installation complete. At this point you can restart the machine and your installation should be done.

This is a screenshot of my final installation. I have changed the following:

• GNOME panels moved to top. Panel size 23px.
• All fonts set to Droid Sans 8pt.
• 96 DPI, LCD antialiasing
• Shiki Brave Theme
• Selected the space desktop wallpaper(s). These auto-rotate.
• Installed Gnome-Do, Dropbox and Chromium Browser

Conclusion

So far I think this release seems very polished. The graphics and artwork are very clean and professional. I had no trouble getting things installed properly, and I haven’t had any issues post-installation. The notification system appears to be a little more polished as compared to 9.04. We’ll see what my feelings are with continued use.

So far I am pleased with this release and would confidently suggest it to others, even if it is the Beta release.

LInux Sync Tool

If you have not heard about Dropbox let me tell you firsthand it’s by far the best file sync utility to keep your files synced up between your Linux, Mac, and Windows machines and also making them accessible through the web. After the initial upload all changes to the files are uploaded rather than the file itself all over again. You can roll back a file to any previous version and you can share your folders to a workgroup or your friends or even the public.

Head on over to http://www.getdropbox.com and see the preview and sign up for some free space. There are Ubuntu .deb files for easy installation (Even 9.04) and the development is active. It uses Amazon’s S3 cloud platform for the backend and it’s very efficient and robust

Sexy LInux ! Ubuntu Nokia Synchronisation

Make your Symbian phone talk to your Linux computer

Nokia is extremely Windows minded. That makes sense, because the market share of both Nokia and Symbian (largest shareholder: Nokia) makes Nokia a sort of Microsoft of the smartphone business, which leaves users of other operating systems out in the cold. Sure, Nokia made a few programs to provide a bit of totally inadequate Mac support, but they've never programmed a single line of code to make your Symbian S60 phone talk to Linux. Sony Ericsson? LG? Motorola? They're as guilty as Nokia.

To make things worse for Linux users, PC Suite doesn't work under WINE.

There are ways to close the communication gap a little. Wammu is like a kind of bare bones PC Suite for Linux. Unfortunately most of its features don't work with new Symbian phones.
• Wammu (front-end to Gammu)

KMobileTools and gnokii are older attempts at mimicking PC Suite functions. KMobileTools uses the Gammu engine (you're better off with Wammu), gnokii only works with old versions of Symbian, not with S60 3rd ed. or UIQ.
• KMobileTools
• gnokii

Phone Manager may turn into a Linux PC Suite, but in its current state it can only send SMSs from your computer through your phone:
• Phone Manager

Joomla! is a site with tricks to transfer files from your Nokia to your Linux computer and back, use your Nokia as a modem, and more. But prepare for lots of typing on the command line.
• Joomla!

Smoking Linux has a tutorial that explains how to transfer files from your Linux computer to your phone memory. Lots of command line typing.
• smihael

Windows users can synchronise their phone with Outlook. But who wants to use outlook anyway when you can sync your phone with Mozilla Thunderbird on your Linux box?
• bluZync: synchronise your phone with Thunderbird over bluetooth
• bluZync user forum (you may need this, because bluZync doesn't work just right out of the box and their FAQ is not ready yet)

Tuxmobil.org has a list of Linux programs for older Nokias.
• TuxMobil

There's no Linux version of Nokia Map Loader, but there's a Nokia Map Loader Alternative that works on Linux (and on any other operating system too!):
• Nokia Map Loader Alternative

http://seekingz.blogspot.com