| 6/6/2008
-- Make no mistake about it: I think Ubuntu is the best Linux distribution
for the corporate/institutional desktop available, and I'm not likely to change
my mind. With that said, however, I have to question the logic behind the latest
release.
Version 8.04 was officially launched this year in April (hence the "04")
and Canonical, the company overseeing Ubuntu, has been fairly good at keeping
to the new-release-every-six-months schedule. Likewise, back in the early days
of PCs, Microsoft seemed to release new versions of operating systems around
every turn -- but was often lambasted for it.
(Interesting: What we perceived as iniquity in Microsoft then, we attribute
to advancement in Linux now.)
This Ubuntu release is notable in that it's the first Long-Term Support (LTS)
release in a while (about two years). Because it's LTS, support for its desktop
implementation is guaranteed until 2011 and for the server implementation until
2013, with all other releases identified as short-term support.
But aside from this distinction, there's nothing else that makes this release
truly stand out -- leading me to wonder whether it was released to meet an actual
need or to simply prove that something new can come out every six months. After
all, for the most part, 8.04 is just an update of the collection of software
applications that accompany the OS; it's not really an update to the OS itself
(aside from a few tweaks to the printer setup and some other little things).
In contrast, 8.10 -- which will be released at the end of October -- actually
looks like it will have some new and noteworthy components. While the code for
8.10 is a long way from freeze, expected in that release are two key items:
- A new desktop. This has been talked about for a while but was withheld
from recent releases to undergo further development. If you took a screenshot
of Ubuntu now, you wouldn't be able to identify whether it was from 8.04,
7.10 or an even earlier release.
- A focus on "pervasive Internet access."
On that last one, here's
what Mark Shuttleworth, the chief executive officer of Canonical, had to say:
A particular focus for us will be pervasive Internet access, the ability
to tap into bandwidth whenever and wherever you happen to be. No longer will
you need to be a tethered, domesticated animal -- you'll be able to roam (and
goats do roam!) the wild lands and access the Web through a variety of wireless
technologies. We want you to be able to move from the office, to the train
and home, staying connected all the way.
By the way, to understand the reference to goats, you should know that while
the public names for the operating system are 8.04 and 8.10, their code names
-- what the developers and many users actually use -- are derived from the names
of animals that move around a lot, in alphabetical order. For example, 8.04
was known as "Hardy Heron" ("h" is the eighth letter of
the alphabet) and 8.10 is "Intrepid Ibex" ("i" is the ninth).
If I had any input at all, my one suggestion would be to get rid of the code
names. No administrator wants to put in a purchase order for 500 PCs running
Hardy Heron and have to explain to a dozen people what he's talking about.
Back to the topic. If you have never used Ubuntu in your environment before
and are contemplating doing so, you'll find that 8.04 is as good an implementation
as you can choose (as was 7.10). On the other hand, if you've used any implementation
of Ubuntu within the past two years, there's no reason to move to 8.04. In fact,
I would highly recommend you stick with what you have -- at least, until 8.10
comes around. |
