| Reviews praise Ubuntu 9.10, knock Ubuntu Moblin Remix |
Oct. 15, 2009
 The Ubuntu 9.10 ("Karmic Koala") beta won a positive review from eWEEK, while InfoWorld reports on the server edition's capability for developing private clouds that are compatible with Amazon EC2. Meanwhile, ArsTechnica found the developer's version of Ubuntu Moblin Remix to be "promising" but "rough."
The eWEEK review of the new Ubuntu 9.10 ("Karmic Koala") beta joins several other positive first-look reviews, as noted in our earlier coverage, here. In Jason Brooks' "Ubuntu 9.10 Beta Promises to Strengthen Distro's Position as Desktop Favorite," the reviewer emphasizes some of the more enterprise-focused features of the new release, including disk encryption, tightened AppArmor system permissions, and cloud service integration. These features, plus the updates to GNOME, KDE, and other packages, "combine to make Ubuntu even more attractive as the Linux distro of choice on the desktop," writes Brooks.
Key points in Brooks' review include:- Encryption -- Recent Ubuntu releases have offered users the option of encrypting all but their boot partitions with block-level encryption, explains Brooks, but the feature has been limited to the text-based alternate install disk, not the more commonly used default LiveCD-based disk. In Ubuntu 9.10, the default LiveCD installer now offers a home directory encryption option, and according to Brooks, it's a good one. The encryption scheme is layered atop the file system and targets specific system folders, as opposed to encrypting everything on disk, and it should "deliver improved performance by ignoring data outside of home or swap directories," writes Brooks. It also allows for unattended booting, as well as for multiple home directories, each encrypted with its own key.
- Firefox AppArmor policy -- The AppArmor enhanced access control framework, available since version 7.10, bolsters existing Linux access controls by enabling administrators to grant or deny system privileges in a more granular fashion, writes Brooks. Ubuntu 9.10 includes a policy for applying these controls to contain the Firefox Web browser. Brooks found that the new feature worked well protecting SSH keys, for example, but he would like to see the project's Personal Package Archive build service extended with AppArmor policy generation tools.
- UbuntuOne -- Since Canonical launched a beta storage and synchronization service called Ubuntu One earlier this year, the beta has gone public, and the storage cap for paid subscriptions has been raised to 50GB, says the review. Meanwhile, the service has expanded beyond file synchronization to take on data sync duties for specific Ubuntu desktop applications, writes Brooks. Various components of Ubuntu 9.10 add support for Ubuntu One, including the TomBoy note-taking app, which includes the service among its list of note synchronization targets. Brooks has so far been unable to get the TomBoy sync working, however. In addition, the Ubuntu One service itself is "definitely still rough around the edges," he writes. Particularly flawed are the web-based interfaces for viewing notes and browsing files, he says. Still, Brooks concludes that the service and the synchronization features are promising.
Ubuntu server edition adds private cloud backing
Brooks promises he will soon review the server version of the Karmic Koala beta, which is due to arrive Oct. 29. Meanwhile, InfoWorld's Paul Krill writes that the server upgrade supports the Eucalyptus project's open source system for cloud implementation "using hardware and software already in place."
As noted in our earlier coverage, Ubuntu 9.10 Server Edition builds upon the 9.04 version in supporting UEC (Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud), an open source cloud computing environment based on the APIs used for Amazon's EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud). UEC is an umbrella name for a set of cloud technologies including the Eucalyptus project.
The new support enables business users to take advantage of private clouds, according to the story. With Ubuntu 9.10, users can apply agility, resource pooling, and virtualization in deploying clouds hosted on their own hardware, according to Canonical's director of support and services, Steve George. Users can set up 10 to 15 private servers and leverage the same capabilities available with Amazon EC2, George was quoted as saying, and applications can be swapped between the Amazon cloud and a private cloud.
Ubuntu Moblin Remix reviewed
While Ubuntu is reaching into enterprise clouds, it's also creeping down into mobile devices, with the help of the Intel-backed Moblin v2.0 netbook stack. ArsTechnica's Ryan Paul made an exhaustive investigation of the admittedly rough developers version of Ubuntu Moblin Remix, which was introduced by Dell for its Mini 10v netbook (pictured above right). Ubuntu Moblin Remix arrived with the formal launch of Moblin v2.0 in late September.
According to Paul, Dell enlisted Canonical to build a special version of Ubuntu that "incorporates Moblin's unique customizations." The hybrid Ubuntu Moblin Remix combines Ubuntu's "familiar underpinnings and enormous package repository" with Moblin's performance and user interface enhancements, he continues.
Paul's tests, which used the current Ubuntu 9.04-based Remix, revealed a 22 second average boot-up for a fully usable desktop. He expects this to improve with the 9.10 version, which incorporates Karmic Koala's boot performance optimizations. According to Paul, Ubuntu 10.04, due in May 2010, is expected to offer 10-second boot-ups, and the eventual goal is two seconds.
In reviewing the Moblin v2.0's intriguing new UI layer, Paul notes that the current version is still quite buggy and prone to crashes. Moblin's Mutter-based window manager breaks from tradition by not permitting users to minimize or maximize windows. Another unsettling novelty is found in the rejection of a standard taskbar.
Beta version of Moblin v2.0 Myzone home screen
Moblin's novel windows management and other UI design elements can be a bit "jarring," writes Paul, but he adds that he was able to learn to "appreciate its advantages." He particularly likes the automatic zone instantiation feature, which shifts the burden of window management away from the user. Despite the lack of traditional flexibility, he finds that on small-display netbooks, the take-charge zone system "is arguably a major improvement over conventional virtual desktops."
Other comments in the lengthy review include:- Power -- Ubuntu Moblin Remix does not fully support Intel's PPM power management technology, but should in the future. In the meantime, the Dell Mini 10v lasted just under three hours when screen brightness was configured to the lowest level.
- Networking -- Paul notes that the Ubuntu project itself has determined that its new ConnMan connection manager "still needs some work before it's ready for widespread deployment." Still, he experienced only one crash, and it seemed to work fine, including the WiFi configuration.
- Web browser -- The review calls the browser, which is based on a the Mozilla Gecko rendering engine and Clutter canvas framework front end, "the weakest component in the Moblin environment." Paul knocks the browser for being unstable and lacking in features. For example, there's no real bookmark system or way to view history, and there's a total lack of support for add-ons, he writes. Still, he continues, Clutter "brings a lot to the table and creates a lot of potential for future innovation." Paul also notes that Flash is fully supported in Ubuntu Moblin Remix, but that the implementation on the Mini 10v did not dissuade him from his opinion that "Flash still sucks horribly on Linux and significantly degrades the user's browsing experience on devices with limited CPU resources."
- Email -- The GNOME interface for Ubuntu Moblin Remix offers a netbook-friendly front-end for the Evolution email client called Anjal, and Paul dubs the Remix version a "very big improvement over Evolution's standard user interface." He goes on to note, "I'm really impressed with Anjal, but like the browser, it still lacks stability."
- Multimedia -- Moblin's "Hornsey" media library application, which uses GStreamer as its back-end media engine, is still very rough, writes Paul, and is "still significantly less functional and cohesive than some existing Linux programs in this category like Banshee and Amarok."
The review concludes that Moblin has come a long way, is "very promising," and could be a "game-changer," yet the technology "still requires a lot of work before it will be ready for regular users." While criticizing the browser and media library, he praises the Zones interface, as well as the Anjal Evolution front-end. Paul concludes that "for developers who want to leap into Moblin development and get a better feel for what Clutter brings to the desktop, the Mini 10v with the Ubuntu Moblin Remix is a good choice."
Availability
The Jason Brooks review of Ubuntu 9.10's enterprise-focused features in our sister publication, eWEEK, may be found here.
The Paul Krill story in InfoWorld on Karmic Koala's server edition and cloud features should be here.
Ryan Paul's ArsTechnica review of Ubuntu Moblin Remix developers version should be here.
-- Eric Brown
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