A week with the Gutsy Gibbon

Judging by my previous lack of loyalty to various Linux distributions, it may come as something of a surprise that I’m still using Ubuntu as my primary desktop OS.

Last week I upgraded a couple of Dell machines in the office to give me a chance to test all the new features before I go out and buy myself a new laptop later this week (yay!).

Firstly, the compiz fusion desktop effects are not only cool to look at, but quite useful too. Dragging and organising apps between virtual desktops has never been easier.

The latest version of The GIMP has loads of improvements, including the ability to do rounded corners with the selection tool which will make our lives a bit easier.

Open Office has a new version too, although it all seems pretty similar, if slightly faster to load.

All my old favourites are present and correct (apart from emacs, which I installed using synaptic), and I really don’t think I could live without the excellent tomboy notes and Glipper clipboard manager.

One nice surprise is the fantastic new printing tool – I told the machine which host the printer is connected to, and it set up all the details automatically. Very un-linux like.

All in all, I can’t fault the Gutsy release at all. This OS just keeps on getting better.

The next version ‘Hardy Heron’ is scheduled for release early next year, and is slated to be another ‘LTS’ or ‘Long Term Support’ release, which means you will be able to buy commercial support for five years after release. I expect Dell and a lot of other PC manufacturers will be waiting with baited breath for that one.

Posted on Oct 29, 02:52 pm by treb0r

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