Ubuntu Archive

There has been a lot of talk about Android maybe making its way to various netbooks. However, thanks to the boys and girls at Canonical, Android might be taking a completely different direction when it comes to these little laptops: they're building an execution environment which will allow Android applications to run on normal Linux distributions.

Eeebuntu 3.0, the Ubuntu distribution especially custom-built for the EeePC, just last week saw its third release of the Base edition-- the edition that includes a minimal amount of apps and features for more advanced users to customize. Though nothing's really been said on the matter, I suppose we can expect the Standard and NBR editions to be updated soon as well.

Many Linux users have experience with Wine, the application compatibility layer which allows some Windows programs to run on UNIX-like machines. During Ubuntu's Open Week event, Mark Shuttleworth was asked about Wine, and how important he believes it is for the success of Ubuntu.

"GNU Screen is a powerful terminal multiplexer that makes it easy for users to manage multiple sessions at the command line. It provides rudimentary window management capabilities in text-based environments and enables users to detach a session and resume it later. The tool has long held a position of distinction among the most popular terminal utilities for system administrators. Although Screen is very powerful, it is also difficult to configure. Most users aren't even aware of its more advanced features and few take advantage of its full potential. In an effort to make Screen more accessible to the masses, the Ubuntu developers have assembled a nice collection of embellishments that make the program easier to configure and use. These improvements are delivered in the screen-profiles package, which was introduced in Ubuntu 9.04."

The Ubuntu team has released the release candidate for Ubuntu 9.04; we already covered the various changes and additions when the beta was announced. "The Ubuntu team is happy to bring you the latest and greatest software the Open Source community has to offer. This is their latest result, the Ubuntu 9.04 release candidate, which brings a host of excellent new features." The various other Ubuntu-derived distributions, like Kubuntu, have also had their RCs released.

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux, has struck back at claims made by Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc about Windows' success in netbooks compared to Linux. Most of the claims made by LeBlanc are refuted quite accurately by Canonical's Chris Kenyon in a blog post titled "Microsoft, FUD and the netbook market".

According to Canonical head honcho Mark Shuttleworth, Windows 7 presents the ideal opportunity for Linux to gain significant inroads into the desktop market. He said so in an interview with InternetNews. While I certainly do hope so, an eerie sense of deja vu creeps up on me: isn't this like the 923298th opportunity where Linux is supposed to make inroads into the desktop market?

Just now, both the server and desktop editions of the Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope beta have been released. It comes with a boatload of new features, some of which come courtesy of upstream. A new GNOME release, a new X.org release, a new notification system, they're all in there.

According to Keir Thomas, author of "Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference," the said book has been downloaded over 150,000 times within days of its launch. The book is supposedly written for even the timid of the Windows users who wish to switch over, assuming that the user has "zero Linux knowledge." According to Thomas, the book takes the unknowing user by the hand throughout the installation process and then delves into the file system and manager, and even covers the command line features as well as system security. The book was published and sold for $9.94 on Amazon, but is also available for free as a downloadable PDF here. Assuming each download represents a struggling to-be Linux user, it sounds like there are just barrels of them waiting to be converted.

The open source leader and founder of the Ubuntu Linux distribution explains the elements that can inspire innovation and change the world--or at least your small piece of it. He'd be one to know, huh?

As if we are watching an episode of The Scary Door, Canonical's Mark Shuttleworth has praised Windows 7, and welcomed Microsoft's latest operating system into the fight. Shuttleworth made his remarks in a short interview with The Register.

Apart from well-known editions such as the normal Ubuntu and Kubuntu, the Ubuntu project includes several other variations as well. One of those is Ubuntu Mobile, which targets Mobile Internet Devices and netbooks. While this release currently uses GNOME Mobile, Canonical's David Mandala has stated that they may look at Qt 4.5, which will be released under the LGPL, as a development environment.

To supplement storage space with the initial purchase of the Aspire One (8 GB SSD version), I bought a 16 GB Transcend TS16GBSDHC6 card that integrates nicely into the left card slot. The pre-installed Linux Linpus just wasn't what I needed since I use many networking tools at work and at home. I initially ran Ubuntu 8.041 with the /home partition on the 16 GB SDHC card. I discovered Eeebuntu while searching for information on how to boot and run Linux off a SDHC card. The goal was of multi-boot installations of Ubuntu, with one install specifically loaded with the tools I use at work. The Acer Aspire One BIOS does not 'see' the card, so you can't boot from it using the startup key (More on the SDHC boot up further in this article).

The Linux version of the Acer Aspire One netbook comes with a customised version of the Linpus distribution pre-installed, which might not be to everyone's fancy. Linux4one, a modified Ubuntu, could be a good alternative. Linux4One is optimized for the Aspire One; it includes drivers for the One, and comes with an interface derived from the Netbook Remix version.