Ubuntu Karmic Koala 9.10 Alpha 6-Nice Features

[exploder]

They have a long way to go to get all that working! Ubuntu 9.10 is a total mess right now. I still have to run a manual fsck before it will load for the first time. Empathy is completely useless. Applications randomly crash for no apparent reason. Xsplash is not present, only the throbber has been added and the artwork does not even match.

Intel graphics work alright if you can keep the system running. I normally will run the Ubuntu development release at this stage but not this time, it is just too unstable. Time will tell if this release will be any better than the last but it really needs a lot of work.

[emorrp1]

Well, Ubuntu releases seem to run in phases: LTS are (usually) really stable (relatively speaking of course); LTS+1 are crammed full of all the stuff that didn't make it into LTS so it's quite unstable; LTS+2 usually hit a good middle ground, reasonably stable, but good new features; LTS-1 are crammed full of as much new stuff as possible, especially if it replaces legacy stuff they don't want to support in the upcoming LTS, meaning it's quite unstable.

I think it's a good way to do it, since those who want stability but also a reasonable amount of features can upgrade in Spring or Summer each year, and can bet on stuff working fairly easily (except Jaunty & Intel). The LTS-1 release being so unstable is basically what enables LTS to be more stable, as it "forces" everyone to test the new stuff and report bugs for it. For instance, I was fairly happy installing Hardy beta in easter hols, since I knew it wouldn't stop me working, but I won't be using Karmic beta as my main OS, because it would be suicide, so I'll just try it in a virtual machine.

[exploder]

I ran Karmic in a virtual machine and would not even consider using it as a main OS at this point. You are right, it would be suicide! I have to wonder sometimes if Microsoft is paying the Ubuntu developers to put this stuff together.

[vrkalak]

I assume that a few short weeks after the final release of Ubuntu 9.10 ... the new LinuxMint-8 Helena will be out.

I also, assume that Helena will have all the new features and apps by default, that are in Karmic Koala?
As well as, the new Linux 2.6.30 kernel and Grub2
All these things ... only "Mint-ified"

I can hardly wait Come on, Helena

[emorrp1]

noob707: Upstart has been included in Ubuntu for a while now. And Fedora has been using DeviceKit etc. for a while too, along with some of the other stuff mentioned. So while the code may be new to Ubuntu, not all of it is actually new, so it shouldn't be too bad, stability wise, it's just when they change many components at once that starts to cause problems. Anyway, I agree, it looks like Helena will be one hell of an upgrade from Gloria!

EDIT: ok, it appears I was wrong on the Upstart issue

vrkalak: yep, pretty much, though don't expect to see Ubuntu's Software Store in Mint, as it's pretty useless in Karmic at the moment, compared to mintInstall Oh also, it's kernel 2.6.31 in Karmic

[exploder]

I just know that every time I shut down Karmic in Virtualbox I have to run fsck to be able to boot up again. If I run Fedora with all of it's cutting edge technology, it boots up every time. The Ubuntu Developers need to look at what Fedora is doing right.

[exploder]

I grabbed today's daily build of Karmic and I must say that there has been some amazing progress! The fsck problem seems completely fixed! Empathy is connecting to Yahoo chat now and working.My computer is using very little RAM even with Compiz enabled, that is a first for my machine! Some of the new artwork doesn't look half bad. The new theme and icons actually look pretty good. The default wallpaper looks grainy but they included some pretty decent looking wallpaper options and I found one that looks nice with everything else.

Multimedia playback is working good, pod casts now play good in Firefox 3.5.3. The Intel issue appears to be fixed, now flash works in full screen without having to jump through hoops! I am really surprised because the system runs well and there is still plenty of development time left to work on remaining bugs. Ubuntu wants to be more competitive with MacOS and with the improvements they have made and a better default wallpaper they might just be able to meet that goal. The brown they used in the default theme actually looks pretty decent and it works better with a variety of wallpaper choices. The Humanity icons look much better than the icons Ubuntu was using, especially the folder icons.

The slide show that was added to the installer looks good, it really adds a touch of professionalism to the installer. I can sleep better now knowing that the base for our next set of releases if finally looking stable!

Edit: I have found a couple of remaining quirks. Every once in a while xsplash does not display. Once was because I forgot to close Firefox, kind of odd but it is still a beta. One of the applets, (forget which one) crashes every now and then. Totem will freeze up if I try and close it when I have music playing. These bugs are very minor compared to earlier betas and I should think that there is plenty of time to get these resolved. The fsck bug was one of the main things I was watching and it is fixed now.

[midas]

Mmm...finally good news. Thanks Exploder!

[exploder]

Mmm...finally good news. Thanks Exploder!

Your welcome! Oh, it is the "Indicator applet that keeps crashing.

[GoustiFruit]

Is Mono more and more integrated in Ubuntu ? This thing is pushing me out of Gnome more and more.

[emorrp1]

Is Mono more and more integrated in Ubuntu ? This thing is pushing me out of Gnome more and more.

It's not so much "more and more integrated" as there are more and more useful apps being written in mono, like gnome do.

[rhY]

I don't understand the empathy choice. Pidgin is finally getting to the point where it might be able to compete with Skype, etc.. Why not support that and really make Linux a superior OS to Windows/Mac, even for n00b end users? The problem with Linux, and in particular Ubuntu/Debian is the sheer volume of competing apps, and how most of them are inferior to the solitary hegemonic option in Mac/Windows. Nero is a better burner than any of the Linux alternatives I've tried for instance. I recently discovered Audacious, which is on even footing with Winamp, so that's a good thing, but it's not the default app on any distro I've found.

The only default apps that really make Linux shine for the common end user in my opinion are Firefox, Pidgin, and Open Office Write, and now one of the main distros (Ubuntu) is talking about ditching Pidgin for some other also-ran.

I don't get it.

[emorrp1]

The reason empathy has been chosen over pidgin is its multimedia support. Most of the complaints I've seen online are that the newest version of pidgin now has video support, but they fail to notice that's only in the XMPP protocol (e.g. Google Talk) so it's far from being a skype-killer yet. The framework exists for more multimedia support in future Pidgin versions, but it doesn't work now in e.g. sip, whereas empathy does. Everyone has their favourite apps, and there seem to be a lot of people who seem to think that their app is better than all the alternatives, so should be the default. The reality is that gnome apps are going to be preferred to non-gnome apps because of the entire desktop integration (e.g. rhythmbox is more integrated, even if - for some - songbird is "better")

[exploder]

rhY , Empathy and Pidgin are installed by default now. Both apps and Evolution use the Indicator applet too.

[emorrp1]

rhY , Empathy and Pidgin are installed by default now. Both apps and Evolution use the Indicator applet too.

well that's just weird, why duplicate functionality, it just uses more space on the liveCD. Ahh well, the beta will be out in a few days.

[vrkalak]

I have recently installed Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala, Alpha 6, for testing and just plain playing around, in a dual-boot with LinuxMint-7

I first, downloaded the ISO files via torrent. (as a back-up, in case, the upgrade didn't go well)
Then, I installed Ubuntu 9.04 from a LiveCD I had from a Linux Magazine; on its own separate partition.
After that, I did an "apt update, apt upgrade-distro", through the Update Manager in Ubuntu.

The upgrade seemed to go well, but it did have a couple of minor glitches. Easily fixed.
I played around with it and screwed up the boot-loader, because it didn't recognize another OS (linuxmint)
I then re-partitioned and re-installed Karmic 9.10, Alpha 6 via the ISO CD, I had made earlier. Perfect!!
I recommend a 'fresh' install over an 'upgrade'.

I am really liking the new desktop and backgrounds, and a few extra features of the Linux Kernel 2.6.31-10 and Gnome 2.28 and even Grub2
Ubuntu Karmic is prettier and faster than its predecessor.

While I like Karmic 9.10, that doesn't mean that I will switch from LinuxMint . . . it only makes me more eager for the New LinuxMint-8 Helena.
And, what new features we can expect from Clem and the Mint Team in the compiling of Helena. I'm sure they will do an awesome job.

[emorrp1]

just came across this: http://d0od.blogspot.com/2009/08/new-fe ... c-910.html it just goes to show that there're loads of little improvements coming (probably thanks to 100 papercuts) such that it's going to be really fun to discover these things all over the place.

[rhY]

Improved Wine looks great! Why can't Canonical just FINISH Pidgin and make it default? It's 95% way to being the best IM program ever. It just needs 5% more elbow grease:

Working video/voice on Windows, and for all protocols, both in Linux AND Windows.
Facebook protocol inclusion.
Mild interface clean up.
Ability to join games with contacts (Urban Terror, Mupen64plus, Zsnes, Texas Hold'em....

If you could start a voice/video chat with any other pidgin user automagically just by knowing somebody's email, and on any OS, Pidgin would kill Skype once and for all (Skype kinda sucks anyway), and the last thing that makes me dual boot (Skype), would be solved.

I really don't understand why they haven't put more energy into this.

Other welcome additions: The improved wifi menu. ABOUT TIME!

Seriously, I'm a Mint Fanboy, and that means at the core, I'm an Ubuntu Fanboy too, but why always with the hideous orange and brown?

[exploder]

Seriously, I'm a Mint Fanboy, and that means at the core, I'm an Ubuntu Fanboy too, but why always with the hideous orange and brown?

I am not a fan of the brown and orange either but they actually made it look good this time around. The only thing that looks bad is the current default wallpaper. Once you change the default wallpaper the system is almost like using the MacOS. The gdm now matches the throbber and the shut down splash appears to have been fixed this morning. There are little refinments to the artwork all over the place and the new icons are a huge improvement over the old ones.

I am really surprised at how Karmic is shaping up, I never expected it to be in such good shape with so much development time remaining. Major bugs are quickly disappearing and you can see improvements nearly everywhere you look. Memory use is so good that I have not turned off desktop effects and I was even able to watch a show on Fancast with them enabled without issue. People with Intel graphics are going to be a lot happier this time around. I would go as far as to say that this release is not going to be half baked this time, it is looking really good.

I can't wait to see Mint 8 releases using this base!

[deleted]

I've installed Mint 7, then changed sources.list to point to Karmic.
I've installed Karmic then installed MintTools.

I've been running with both configurations since Karmic Alpha 2 on AMD Phenom x4 and Intel Core2 Quads (NVIDIA graphics) for primary development work in a heterogeneous (Wiindos, RHLinux, HPUX) work environment with no problems.