Ubuntu gets "hardier" with Hary Heron

First of all, I'm sorry for the long idle period you have noticed on this blog recently. I've had a lot of work to do and I was just unable to grab some free writing time ! I'm back with this post now.

The Beta's still hot out of the oven, and a lot of reviews have appeared throughout the internet describing the numerous improvements, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time talking about them too. I will talk about what the Hardy Heron release can do for Ubuntu.

Indeed, the Heron is carrying a lot of features up its long beak. Most importantly a new X.Org display system with emphasis on better auto configuration support. Also, the file manager now sports more file operation options like restoring from trash. For administrators, a new much more powerful permissions management system that can be tinkered with to a great extent. A new sound manager for music lovers ( like me lol ) and the all-new Firefox 3, a much faster browser than its predecessor Firefox 2. They added a new burning application, a new Bit Torrent client and a new remote desktop viewer. For more details visit the release notes.

But as a matter of fact, Hardy means more than that. Being an LTS or enterprise release, it presents a fully viable alternative to Windows on the business front. As a boss you don't want to hear about the new Linux scheduler or about the new burning application, what matters to you is stability, and usability. And that's where the heron is aiming to land. Ubuntu 8.04 is aiming to provide the most stable and usable Linux desktop (and server) ever made, proudly ready for a business environment.

This is where all those features come in, didn't you notice that they were not focused on being cutting-edge but instead on providing a more polished solution ? For example Compiz-Fusion is not mere eye candy anymore, it's now fully integrated and offered as a solid windows manager that can do its job without crashing or annoying you with inconvenient problems.

Canonical knows this is a very important release, that's why they are being very careful in how to deal with it. It could either determine the ultimate success of the Ubuntu project, or its demise. The south African company has already made deals with several OEM ( like DELL and SUN ) in preparation for its enterprise platform. A Noticeable deal is that one with SUN, which now is planning enhanced support for Ubuntu on its server line. The company was also quick to ready its systems management software Landscape, in competition with the indisputable leader RedHat.

But still, the heron has some drawbacks that need to be resolved before the official release. Most importantly the inclusion of Firefox 3. I'm not saying that they shouldn't put it in, because Mozilla has honestly made considerable efforts to improve Firefox for its Linux users. But having beta software in an enterprise release seems wacky to me. I've heard Mozilla doesn't plan to officially release Firefox until June. I'm sure the Ubuntu guys would think of something after all, they could always meddle with the Firefox code, since it's open-source, in an effort to stabilize it before the release. Either way, Firefox 3 Beta is said to be more stable than the current Firefox build !

Hardy Heron will mark a huge change in the project's history, and most probably for the better. Let's wait and see.

Peace out.