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Ubuntu Gutsy Feature Plan

lists.ubuntu.com — Now that the set of feature goals planned for Ubuntu 7.10 ("Gutsy Gibbon") has been largely finalised, it seems like an appropriate point to announce the plan to the world.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jun 19, 2007

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  • kazamx, on 10/11/2007, -2/+63"We are aiming for Ubuntu to be one of the first distributions to ship
    the newly merged Compiz and Beryl projects (compcomm/OpenCompositing);
    and enable it as the default window manager on systems with a supported
    combination of hardware and drivers."

    Ohhhhhh Yea. I know many won't be able to use it, but the fact it is (with some luck) going to be there as default is fantastic. I know many people think its just eye candy, but I believe it does two things.

    1/ Destroys the myth that Linux is functional but ugly. Its now functional AND beautiful.
    2/ Helps improve productivity. Once you scale back the flash graphics, there are many features which help improve productivity.
  • shad0walker, on 10/11/2007, -1/+42I think i can safely say the best feature has to be Xorg 7.3
  • Dumbledorito, on 10/11/2007, -5/+44Sorry. That won't be out until the "Wireless Walrus" edition.
  • mikm, on 10/11/2007, -0/+37You do realize it won't be released until October, right?
  • footissimo, on 10/11/2007, -2/+38Why do your parents need to know how to make a text file called 'smorgasbord' as root?

    I'm confused =(
  • Yoshi39, on 10/11/2007, -3/+32"XP works for weeks on end."
    Wow weeks you say
  • fucter, on 10/11/2007, -2/+29@kazamx it true, if it looks ugly, people will consider it cheap/or low tech
  • 5lectro, on 10/11/2007, -2/+20So, is it finally going to detect the monitor resolution/refresh rate automatically?
  • melve, on 10/11/2007, -0/+17"Color me underwhelmed. They aren't adding any interesting new features. Most of the "features" are just upgrades of components taken from elsewhere."

    We're talking about a six month release cycle here. Of course it's going to be an incremental upgrade. It seems to me that for the amount of development time, they're packing in a lot of new features, including a graphical program to configure the display (a long overdue but very welcome improvement) and the new compiz/beryl project by default on supported hardware. If you're expecting something on the level of XP=>Vista or Tiger=>Leopard in six months you're expectations are a bit unrealistic.

    Also, Ubuntu is a distribution. That means that most of what they do consists of integrating software from other sources. That's how things work in the free software world.
  • nonsequitor, on 10/11/2007, -0/+17@grogan "They aren't adding any interesting new features. Most of the "features" are just upgrades of components taken from elsewhere."

    Perhaps you have misunderstood the role of a Distribution. They test all the components that they ship to make them work well with each other. The fact that you CAN get them if you know where to look and even role your own .deb files is besides the point. The news here is this is all being shipped and activated by default.
  • Craga89, on 10/11/2007, -2/+18I believe support from wireless cards is pretty good right now in Feisty. But i suppose it depends if your wireless card drivers were created by neo-nazi programmers.
  • MrTranquility, on 10/11/2007, -0/+15Actually that may be a good thing.

    3.5.7 is stable, while the newly released 4.0 will be suffering from the problems every major new release has. By the time Gutsy+1 is released, the KDE team will have had the opportunity to fix the larger bugs. There will undoubtedly be packages of KDE 4.0 made available for Kubuntu anyway, so everybody who wants to upgrade can.
  • alaren, on 10/11/2007, -3/+16Actually some awesome implementations. But you know what feature they don't list?

    "Functioning drivers for extremely common wireless cards such as the RTL818x chipset without resorting to ndiswrapper."

    That's why I run Fedora. And yeah, I got dugg down last time I badmouthed Ubuntu too, but 6.06LTS was an awesome release that I ran for months. All this focus on compiz is great but they broke my wireless in 6.10 and haven't fixed it yet.
  • inactive, on 10/11/2007, -1/+15I would like that ATI releases fully 3D support open source drivers before this update occurs
  • intangible, on 10/11/2007, -0/+12Um.... DUH?!

    How can they test it on hardware that wasn't out when they created the release? It's the same situation as with Windows, you're just lucky that the manufacturer of said hardware provides drivers themselves; email the manufacturer and tell them why you'll be buying a competitor's product that has better Linux support, otherwise, just sit back and wait for someone else to do it for you out of the goodness of their heart, or do the new hardware support yourself.
  • Craga89, on 10/11/2007, -2/+14Let's hope a full implementation of the compiz/beryl feature doesn't get pushed back to the next release like it did with Feisty
  • melve, on 10/11/2007, -2/+13If you're hoping that every single configuration file in the system is going to have a gui app to configure it, don't hold your breath. There's way too many. And it wouldn't be that helpful anyway. I think Ubuntu has been doing a fairly good job of providing an easy way to configure the basic parts of the system as it is. Having to edit xorg.conf to configure your display has been a major one that's missing. However this release should now be providing a gui configuration app for the display.

    As for howtos being done by command line, I really don't know why people complain about this. It's a lot easier to give a sequence of commands to type than it is to explain a sequence of menu items to click. For the most part, people can just copy the instructions directly into the command terminal. What could be easier than that? I think most people complaining about this are coming from a windows background and think that the command line is some antiquated technology that shouldn't be used on a modern system. But on unix systems the command line is a first class citizen. Btw, on OSX there's a lot of configuration you can do by the command line that isn't exposed through their gui configuration system.
  • jshabad00, on 10/11/2007, -0/+10"KDE 4.0 final is due to be released one week after Gutsy, we should make packages available on the day of release and create an unsupported remastered Gutsy Live CD with the KDE 4 packages hosted on kubuntu.org."

    So there.
  • motang, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9"We are aiming for Ubuntu to be one of the first distributions to ship the newly merged Compiz and Beryl projects (compcomm/OpenCompositing)"
    Nice...will be looking forward to this and also will be sticking this on my brand new dual-core computer! :-D
  • inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9Man, I am a linux worshipper now.

    Just installed xbuntu on a P2 450 128MB ram minutes ago....everything just works. A total opposite of what I thought, This is an excellent web browser/word processor/ipod transfer....er. And to think I was gonna give this machine to best buy to recycle....
  • Darkhacker, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8@grogan

    That is typically what a distribution does. They take software from upstream (the FOSS projects) and then assemble them to create a complete operating system. Most of what Ubuntu actually does is maintain a repository (using Debian's APT), provide occasional patches and configure the upstream software so that they can get the result they want. In theory I could create an exact clone of Ubuntu using Linux From Scratch. Although Ubuntu does write patches and they have some of their own utilities included with Ubuntu, most of the features and fixes you see in Ubuntu are not actually done by them. They are done upstream.
  • BlackAle, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9I'll wait for Zany Zebra
  • OHiggins, on 10/11/2007, -6/+14What of wireless card support for laptops? That's been a major breaking point for lots of people with laptops that had to fight with ndiswrapper and whatnot.
  • Chandon, on 10/11/2007, -3/+11H is already used ("Hoary Hedgehog"), so my guess is that we'll see "I" next. Impish Iguana?
  • manitoba98xp, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8...and KDE 4.0rc2 packages will also be available.
  • troydoogle7, on 10/11/2007, -10/+17I think that there is some really great ideas on that post,

    I am still waiting for that release that creates gui alternatives (not replacements) for command line and config file editing. I would love to do away with those 42 line how tos that permeate the ubuntusphere. Its no good having a "pretty" os if you have to teach your parents how to "sudo kwrite smorgasbord"

  • coredump0x01, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7"So, is it finally going to detect the monitor resolution/refresh rate automatically?"

    Xorg 7.3 should do that automatically, as well as hotplugging/autodetection of displays provided the drivers properly support it (*cough* ATI).
  • trogdoor, on 10/11/2007, -2/+9Can you please give a screenshot as an example? I never understood why people said that fonts in Ubuntu look bad, mine look just fine.
  • Gaidorade, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7I think you're being a little "gutsy" yourself with that pun.
  • psylence, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6I'm gonna have to go ahead and say no, you haven't been a Linux user for almost 8 years. That argument hardly applies anymore, mainly to obscure hardware and laptop wireless chipsets. And ATI cards, but it's been long enough that everyone knows and I feel sorry for no ATI owner anymore...
  • antitab, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6This has been stated over and over, but I'll grudgingly oblige: CLI commands are much easier to give in a guide as it's a simple matter of copying and pasting into the terminal. E.G. "sudo apt-get install xchat" rather than "go to Add/Remove Programs, click Internet, scroll down to XChat, click the check mark, click apply, wait for install, click close." Seriously.
  • Chandon, on 10/11/2007, -2/+8Have you actually used a recent (post 2004) Linux distro? Objectively, the font rendering is about as good as Visa or OS X. Subjectively I like it better after getting used to it (Windows fonts look all aliased, and Mac fonts look all blurry).
  • coredump0x01, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6@xkrwlng

    Because it's annoying, obstructive, and most of all, it's reminiscent of Windows. I don't like to stop everything i'm doing and save all my ***** just to install a driver. That's one of the reasons I love Nvidia, proper drivers with no irrelevant restarts.
  • Protean1, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Asus WL-167G wifi USB key works great in Feisty, as long as you boot with it inserted.
    (Dell Latitude C840 all hardware 100% in FF)
  • sephiroth965, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6If he can only get windows to work for a number of weeks, something tells me he's just not very good with computers in the first place.

    PEBKAC.
  • elduder, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5There's a package you can apt-get called bcm43xx-fwcutter that totally works to get Broadcom wireless cards of that series working (e.g. Dell Truemobile and a hojillion other types), which _used_ to be a major pain in the ding ding. Not anymore, thankfully.

  • srg13, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Please explain what exactly sucks.
  • mckirkus, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Good question, my monitor is 1920x1200 and I have to hack Xorg.conf every time I install Ubuntu with an Nvidia card
  • ssam, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3"I think I can safely say the worst feature of all of these releases is the gay-ass names. WTF is next? Ubuntu Horny Hippo?" -- willynilly

    If only the ubuntu code names were as business like and professional as you screen name :-) (though i would not mind running ubuntu 8.04 Willy Nilly)
  • leszek, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3A lot of scanners are working on Linux:
    http://www.sane-project.org/sane-backends.html

    If your scanner don't work with linux, complain to your scanner manufacturer!
  • Spr0k3t, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Go complain to the chip makers of the wireless devices. More often than not, your problem is with the lack of support from the hardware vendor. An alternate solution would be to purchase a laptop with a well supported chipset like the open source Intel wireless. Not all hardware is supported as wireless definitions are a moving target. Once 802.11N is out and stable, we'll see the next version released as the "latest and greatest" before it's even defined. Check through the supported wireless drivers that are available without NDISWrapper, there are quite a few supported... then add in the 100+ through NDISWrapper. The support is pretty good as it stands... now if we could just get some of these hardware vendors to open their eyes.
  • selrahc, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5You know how they have gotten Linux to run on toasters? Well when you have a bunch of different appliances running Linux you'll probably want to have the 'smorgasbord' option available when you want them all to start working at once...
  • AlanOrozco, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Maybe you should try this
    http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=343670
  • BassJunkie, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2@melve: I fully agree that it's a lot easier to follow CLI guides then those designed for a GUI! For a CLI guide all you need to do is pretty much what you said, copy and paste! whearas a GUI guide either involves a load of "Click Next, yes, Next etc......." or tons of pics that take up even more room!
    I'm finding myself using windows a lot less now and I guess I can say I'm an avid Ubuntu user for a few reasons! Mainly that I've set it as the default OS on one system and it's replaced XP as the OS on my home server! I just find it a lot more responsive on the lesser specced systems, and just generally easier to use then XP - I don't really play that many games and those that my kids play are mainly online flash games as they are all fairly young still!

    I've got Beryl running on my Ubuntu install on my 19 month old laptop and whilst it doesn't do all the effects the extra workspace afforded by the cube aswell as peoples reactions to the clear window bars and rubber windows is priceless!
  • MikeTheC, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3I've really never had any major issues with font display in Linux myself; however turning on the hinting does help as mentioned above. IMHO, as a Mac user, Linux gets it a helluva lot better than Windows.

    Now, if only we could get a GoLive- or Dreamweaver-class GUI web authoring app, Scribus up to the standards of at least PageMaker 6.5, and Gimp fully up where it belongs, then frankly there'd be nothing holding me back from running Linux full-time as my desktop OS. Hell, I'm already running Debian Etch as my full-time server OS.
  • sqrt7744, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2@elduder: i don't know why people are digging you down. You're totally right. Most people who still complain about wireless support have Broadcom 43xx chipsets. Ubuntu is not allowed to ship the firmware. To get these chipsets to operate you just need to install the bcm43xx-fwcutter package (it grabs the firmware automatically from the internet). It has made the installs I've done for other people *way* easier.
  • JohnFlux, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2@seam

    That's because it's a lot easier to describe steps using the command line when you are talking over irc.

    Same for MS Windows though. If I want someone to renew their ip address on the network card adapter, it's easier for me to say: "Click on start, run then type in cmd. Then type in: ipconfig /renew all" than it is for me to describe how to do that in the gui. (It's easier if the network icon is visible, but by default it isn't.) Plus the gui layout changes between releases.

    It's the same for getting network card info. Telling someone to type in ipconfig /all is a lot easier than the gui way of trying to find out which dns server they are using (In fact I think that's impossible in windows to do via the gui? At least I never found out how)

  • generalloy, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2I change it to no hinting in Fonts preferences. Works good for me.

    BTW Ubuntu/Debian apprently disable the autohinter by default, which Fedora uses. You might try turning that on in fonts.conf.
  • ssam, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I think people can become too dependent on command line howtos.

    people ask how to do things that can be done in a few click, and are given a command line answer.

    really people should be encouraged to explore the system menu, then they can start looking for solutions be them selves.
  • SteveMax, on 10/11/2007, -5/+6"Kubuntu 7.10 will ship with KDE 3.5.7"
    It sucks that a leading distro doesn't change their Gnome-based release schedule (even if only their KDE-based version's schedule) to include a major, really ground-breaking new version of a major desktop environment.
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