Development on Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala is picking up pace — take a deep breath and read on as I run through 5 notable updates its development sprint.
Ready… Set… READ!
Grub 2.0 Default for New Installs
Grub2 will replace Grub 1.5 in Ubuntu 9.10 — for all installs from the first alpha onwards. What is Grub2? Basically, a minority improved version of the Grub boot loader you currently stare it when you turn your PC on. Grub2 sees a slight visual refresh, meaning it is easier to fix and reinstall Grub on Ubuntu 9.10 — should you need to!
Banshee vs Rhythmbox (again)
Ubuntu developers are yet to settle on which app will ship as the the default music player in Ubuntu 9.10. During UDS it seemed like the long-standing choice, Rhythmbox, was agreed on — but Banshee advocates have since piped up and a decision on the default media player for Karmic is, as of Alpha 2, once again up for debate…
Aiming for 10 Second Boot
Few of us enjoy a long, meandering boot when we power up our computers. We want to log in and get things done! For Ubuntu 9.10, developers are aiming to reduce boot times to 10 seconds — and so far they’re making excellent progress on meeting it! As part of this, they’ve decided NOT to swap to using the ‘Plymouth’ boot-splash (which looks fancier, admittedly) since the computer won’t be booting long enough for us to notice it — hah!
EXT4 Default Filesystem
Ubuntu 9.10 will use the EXT4 filesystem by default, delivering a significant speed boost for Ubuntu users when writing/reading files and applications. EXT3 is the current default file system. Existing installs (i.e., those who upgrade from 9.04 -> 9.10) won’t be affected.
No Major New Theme/Revamp
Finally, a bit of a bum note. The big user interface recap planned for the ‘Jaunty’ cycle that was pushed back to the ‘Karmic’ one is… Being pushed back again. Ubuntu now plans to debut with updated visuals during the Ubuntu 10.04 cycle. Reasons for the delay include the maturing of the Ayatana design team and many of the project goals they have in mind.