Ubuntu 9.10 has been in development for the pas 4 months, ahead of its release in October.
Below, I list of 10 features and changes on the way that you may not yet know about…
Well, unless you read this blog daily! ;)
Ekiga
Ekiga, the VoIP application nobody uses (or so it seems) is being removed from Ubuntu’s default installation.
I know of no-one who use this (or anyone who themselves know of someone else who uses it), so its omission won’t be missed. Bigger sin than its comparative lack of popularity: it took a considerable amount of disk space!
The good news is that Ekiga will still be available to install from the karmic repositories, if you miss seeing it sat in your menu gathering dust ;)
Wine Integration
Installing and managing Windows/WINE applications in Ubuntu will get significantly easier in Ubuntu 9.10, thanks to a deeper level of integration between the desktop and WINE.
Around 50% of all Ubuntu users currently install WINE, per Ubuntu developers.
But as is, it does feel very separate to the rest of the desktop. Double-clicking on Windows installers is hit and miss; uninstalling WINE applications often doesn’t work; and inserting a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM and waiting for an autorun.youknowwhat to do its thing takes ages.
As such, the Karmic Koala will see Wine integration throughout the system.
This will range from: –
- Detecting when a users tries to install a Windows app and prompt them to install WINE
- Uninstalling WINE applications via Add/Remove (Ubuntu Software Store)
- GNOME control panel entry for managing WINE applications
- New icons that badge the app icon with a generic “Windows Program” icon
Also, menu entries for Wine will be changed. You won’t need to go to Applications > Wine > because Ubuntu 9.10 will offer:
- A bookmark for WINE’s virtual
C:\drive in the ‘Places‘ menu - ‘Configure Wine’ can be done via System > Preferences > Wine Apps
- ‘Uninstall Wine Apps’ is now available in ‘Add/Remove’
- App shortcuts no longer in ‘Apps > Wine > Programs’ but ‘Apps > Wine’ itself.
For the security conscious, ClamAV, the open source Virus application, will also be installed if Wine is to boost security and ensure no rouge malware, viruses, etc are inadvertently installed.
Revamped Migration Assistant
The Migration Assistant usually found during an Ubuntu installation has been rewritten in Python to allow for greater development and maintainence.
Controversially, it’s also been removed from the actual installer. It’s now located in the ‘System‘ menu of the Gnome Panel. For dual-boots, that’s fine, but if a user wants to replacing Windows with Ubuntu they’ll no longer have an option migrate their data first, unless they boot to the desktop in the live CD.
On the plus side, the migration assistant will be able to import from a wider range of sources:-
Operating Systems:
- Microsoft Windows XP
- Windows Vista (all editions)
- Windows 7 (all editions)
- Apple Mac OS X
- Other major Linux distributions
Applications:
- Microsoft Outlook, Evolution, Mozilla Thunderbird
- Contacts
- Account settings
- Email messages
- Calendar events (planned, not yet done)
- To-do list items (planned, not yet done)
- Apple iTunes, Banshee, Rhythmbox, Windows Media Player
- Music
- Playlists
- Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Apple Safari, Opera, Google Chrome
- Bookmarks
- Homepage
- History (planned, not yet done)
- AOL IM, Yahoo! IM, MSN IM, Pidgin IM
- Accounts
- Contacts
- Logs (planned, not yet done)
- System
- Wallpaper
- Documents
- Desktop files
- Pictures
- Fonts
- Bookmarks (files and folders)
- WPA/WEP wireless encryption keys (planned, not yet done)
- IPP network printers (planned, not yet done)
New Look Network Manager
The interface for connecting to wireless networks is also undergoing changes ahead of the final Ubuntu 9.10 release.
The aim of the work is to:-
- Removed confusing and unnecessary options when joining networks
- Make it easier to find, join and switch wifi networks
A new Network Manager applet in the panel builds on the success of Ubuntu’s already awesome network managing prowess.
You can see a work-in-progress mockup of the direction planned:
In this re-jigged version, the currently connected network is placed at the top of the available networks list. This a simple, but logical, improvement over the previous listing ordered by name.
The “radio” buttons on each network have been removed and replaced with just one ‘connector’ looking icon for the currently connected network.
Several other improvements are planned, but yet to be implemented, such as new icons for secure networks and signal strength.
Connection Dialogs
The network joining dialogs have also been refined, as these screenshots show:
Connecting to WEP Networks:
Connecting to WPA/WPA2 networks:
Social Network Integration
Ubuntu 9.10 will integrate social networking features, something the distro’s makers feel is an important task:
We should make the desktop more social, making it easier for users to not only use their computer but participate in something much larger, be it ubuntu or any other community they have an interest in.
The Karmic Koala has even gained an unofficial slogan: “Social right from the start.”
Gwibber integration is planned for Karmic, from having social data in the Gnome “About Me” user profile, using Notification bubbles and the newly expanded ‘messaging’ menu. (Above)
Computer Janitor
Computer-Janitor is undergoing a complete UI overhaul ahead of 9.10. The aim is to provide a “…clearer, more usable user interface” for users.
I made a quick mock-up (based on the specifications from the information on the Ubuntu wiki page) as to how this might look:
UbuntuOne
UbuntuOne is Canonical’s cloud storage service and it will be included in Ubuntu 9.10 by default. Anyone who’s currently beta testing the client in Ubuntu 8.10 will find deeper integration in the 9.10 desktop.
UbuntuOne in Karmic will be able to use, sync and share more data between computers: –
- Files and folders
- Screensharing
- Evolution Contacts
- Firefox Bookmarks
- Notes
Another key feature of UbuntuOne in Karmic will be the option to share data with other computers via LAN, which is welcome indeed!
Wubi Migration
WUBI (Windows UBuntu Installer) is adding a ‘migration’ tool of it’s own. This will allow existing WUBI installs to be transferred to their own dedicated partition, benefiting from faster performance than when nestled within Windows.
How will this work?
Insert an Ubuntu CD in an existing WUBI install, and the system will detect it and ask the user if they wish to migrate their existing set-up or do a fresh install. Some options during the normal install process will be removed (like presenting options to wipe/format entire disk) and (finally!!) fstab will be re-written from scratch during the migration.
(Anyone who has tried to migrate a WUBI install to it’s own partition may well have been greeted with fstab errors aplenty after reboot, resulting in the need for a fresh install.)
Empathy Vs. Pidgin. Still.
Empathy was set to replace Pidgin as the default messaging client in Ubuntu 9.10… Until the latter announced it was adding voice and video chat too.
As of now, Empathy is still shipping in place of Pidgin, but a feature freeze exception has been filed to continue debating the merits of each client before deciding exactly while will be in place come October’s release…
XSplash for boot
Whilst the boot-screen in the video below is not the new boot splash in Ubuntu 9.10, it is a boot-screen using Xsplash, a boot screen using the X Server (i.e what draws everything you see on screen). It was added late in development, landing a day before the feature freeze deadline.
XSpash will be the boot-screen “manager” for Ubuntu 9.10, but what it ends up presenting us with is, for now at least, TBD…
Source: Phoronix