| Ubuntu 9.10 final ships as IBM spins Ubuntu-based cloud distro |
Oct. 29, 2009
 Canonical's Ubuntu project released the final Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop Edition, featuring faster boot times, improved audio and 3G connectivity, an enhanced Netbook Remix, and more robust cloud support, among other features. The release follows IBM's announcement that it is launching an Ubuntu-based cloud computing distribution for businesses.
Ubuntu sponsor Canonical made a pre-announcement of today's final release of Ubuntu 9.10 last Monday. The release follows last week's announcement by IBM that it would introduce a version of the cloud-oriented Ubuntu/Lotus Notes hybrid distribution it recently released in Africa for the enterprise market, called IBM Client for Smart Work (see farther below.)
Ubuntu 9.10's Firefox 3.5 browser
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Not much new appears to have emerged in the final Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop since the beta release earlier this month. However, in its pre-announcement, Canonical noted a few features we have yet to mention, including the upgrade to Firefox 3.5 (see image above), improved 3G connectivity, and an "audio revamp allowing improved sound control across multiple applications."
As we have noted before, Karmic Koala adds support for the new Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC), and defaults have been switched to the GCC 4.4 compiler, the ext4 filesystem, and the GRUB 2 boot-loader. Other major features in Karmic Koala include a new Intel video driver, which has switched from "EXA" to "UXA" acceleration, thereby solving "major performance problems" of Ubuntu 9.04 ("Jaunty Jackalope").
Ubuntu 9.10 email and chat
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The beta release is built upon the new Linux 2.6.31 kernel, as well as the recently released GNOME 2.28, which is offered as the default desktop. GNOME 2.28 provides a new windowing and UI layer called Sonar, and adds various fixes and usability enhancements, including an improved contact interface in the Empathy messaging client.
Ubuntu 9.10 multimedia applications
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Canonical touts the new release for its faster boot times, a boast that appears to be confirmed by early reviews of the beta. The login and installation processes are also said to have been improved, and there's a new Ubuntu Software Center app store offering streamlined access to optional installations. In addition, Ubuntu now offers developers a simplified toolset called 'Quickly' that helps automate mundane tasks involved in programming, as well as package the code and distribute it via Ubuntu repositories, says Canonical.
As was noted in a recent eWEEK review of the beta, Ubuntu 9.10 offers a number of beneficial features for the enterprise audience. Among other enhancements, encryption features have been improved, as has the AppArmor enhanced access control framework. eWEEK's review also praised the release for offering improved support for Canonical's fledgling storage and synchronization cloud service Ubuntu One, which was described as being rough, but promising.
Ubuntu 9.10 office applications
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The new release also offers updates to Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR), which forms the basis for a Moblin version now being made available in pre-release form on Dell's Mini 10v netbook. According to Canonical, the next step for UNR will be the integration of the Empathy IM program for text, voice, video, and file transfers.
Stated Jane Silber, COO at Canonical, "A faster, more beautiful boot and login sequence, file and contact synchronisation through online services and great experiences on the most popular notebook, desktop and netbook models continue to drive Ubuntu into the mainstream of computing choices."
IBM takes Ubuntu-based cloud client out of Africa
Although it seemed that IBM was satisfied to test out its Ubuntu-based IBM Client for Smart Work in Africa for a while before expanding to other markets, the company announced availability for a version aimed at corporate users, apparently available worldwide.
Taking advantage of the Windows 7 release to offer up its Ubuntu Linux variant as an alternative, IBM announced the package on Oct. 22, touting IBM Client for Smart Work as a way to help companies save up to 50 percent per seat on software costs versus a Microsoft-based desktop. The cost savings are based on the fact that users can run a combination of Web-based applications and Linux on their existing PCs, netbooks, and thin clients, wrote Clint Boulton last week for our sister site, eWEEK.
According to eWEEK,, IBM was said to have stated, "The U.S. version is arriving just in time to help companies avoid the higher licensing, hardware upgrades and migration costs associated with Microsoft Windows 7."
Originally announced last December, the distribution is based on the VERDE virtualization technology from Virtual Bridges, and includes Linux versions of IBM's Open Collaboration Client Solution software (OCCS), based on IBM Lotus Symphony, Lotus Notes, and other Lotus applications.
Boulton quotes Forrester Research analyst Sheri McLeish as saying that Client for Smart Work is an antidote for IBM Lotus Notes shops that are tired of the costs of maintaining a full Microsoft environment. "Our own research shows that a good portion of information workers rarely use all of the tools in their Office arsenal," McLeish told Boulton. "Even IBM acknowledges that some segments will likely still need the full features of Office, but upwards of 70 percent to 80 percent of any given enterprise might be satisfied by a lower-cost alternative."
According to Boulton, Client for Smart Work is primed to enable collaboration through the cloud, with IBM hosting customer data on its servers. However, IBM is also offering the package through an appliance using Lotus Foundations, and on-premises using Lotus Domino. In addition, the VERDE technology allows the software to be extended to virtualized workspaces.
Availability
Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop Edition final is available free of charge, here, says the Ubuntu project.
The eWEEK story on IBM's Client for Smart Work may be found here. According to the story, U.S.-based customers can purchase Client for Smart Work from Canonical, as well as CSS, Compariv, Mainline, Midas Networks, Red Hat, Virtual Bridges, and ZSL.
-- Eric Brown
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