Canonical has announced the stable release of Ubuntu 12.10, the latest version of its popular desktop Linux operating system — badged with the slogan “Avoid The Pain of Windows 8.”
The release follows 6 months of busy development and testing and brings a stack of new features to users desktops, some really rather innovative.
If you read this blog regularly (thank you!) then you will be very familiar with what’s new in Ubuntu 12.10, but if not (or you need a refresher), read on for a look at the key changes.
Ubuntu 12.10: Blurring Boundaries
Ubuntu 12.10 includes a suite of integrations designed to blur the boundaries between web and desktop.
Given many of us increasingly rely on web-based services, sites and apps for day-to-day computing, e.g., web mail, networking, chatting, etc, this makes a lot of sense. Reducing friction to productivity is, after all, part of Ubuntu’s USP.
In Ubuntu 12.10, the most user-visible part of this effort in through introduction of ‘Unity Web Apps’.
This innovative integration lets over 30 popular websites meld into the Ubuntu desktop experience just as though they were normal, native applications and services.
When added, apps and services like GMail, YouTube, Amazon and Facebook run in their own browser window, support Unity features like quick-lists, notifications and dock badges, and hook into Ubuntu’s indicator menus and HUD.
Treating web apps as equal citizens to native desktop counterparts in Ubuntu 12.10 will have a huge benefit for users by providing access to services not access not otherwise available native. Or to put it another way, the ‘gulf’ between the two becomes blurred – blurred for the better.
Why the change?
Canonical CEO Jane Silber explains:
“Ubuntu 12.10 is the operating system for the multi-device era. It makes life significantly easier for users by adapting Ubuntu to the way people really access their content today: online and on the hard drive, at work and at home, on the phone and, of course, on the PC.”
Amazon Suggestions
As innovative as mingling local and remote is, it doesn’t always prove popular – something that Ubuntu devs discovered first-hand after adding Amazon Product suggestions to Unity’s Dash during development.
Although the feature sounds useful on paper, and Ubuntu’s founder has hinted at grander plans for it down the line, it’s fair to say the initial implementation wasn’t a reassuring start.
Apart from the annoyance of inserting a row of (largely) irrelevant results in users’ faces when looking for local files/apps, there were concerns over the privacy and security of the text users’ type into the Dash since, y’know, Amazon gets sent it.
To Canonical’s credit they listened. An off switch, adult filtering, and a privacy policy were all introduced to placate those who voiced worries over the feature.
But the real test of popularity for this feature starts today with the release of 12.10 to the masses.
Will users appreciate product results appearing when trying to open their fave app, find a photo, or quickly open a recent music download?
Unity Previews
Elsewhere, Ubuntu 12.10 introduces a new Previews feature to the Unity dash. Previews are accessed when you left-click on a supposed app or file, showing additional information, controls, and options directly in the Unity Dash itself.
This feature, coupled with the new lenses for browsing photos and social networks, makes Unity feel like a truly standout desktop environment.
Elsewhere
Other improvements on offer in Ubuntu 12.10 include:
- Encryption support in Ubuntu Installer
- Remote Desktop Login from Unity Greeter
- New ‘Online Accounts’ Utility
- New ‘On Demand’ Messaging Menu behaviour
- Theme Tweaks
Plus the usual bug fixes, performance tune-ups, tooling and app updates, and so on.
Ubuntu 12.10: Top 10 Features
Reading about features is all well and good, but to better understand how they work it helps to see them in action. I put together a short video to whizz through the ten best features in this release, which you can watch below or over on our YouTube channel:
Download Ubuntu 12.10
Ubuntu 12.10 is first release of Ubuntu that won’t fit on a blank CD. It can be burnt to and booted from a DVD or USB media (a thumb stick that is at least 1GB in size).
So what are you waiting for?
Grab the latest release fresh off the press from behind the link below, or via the Ubuntu CD image server.
When you’re done, check out our list of 10 Things to do After Installing Ubuntu!