Ubuntu’s fourth LTS release comes at a time when the product has seen unprecedented uptake at a large scale in a variety of businesses. Qualcomm, the City of Munich, LVM have all spoken recently of their use of Ubuntu at large scale.

I’m sure most enthusiasts keep their systems up with the latest releases, but I can definitely see a use for longer desktop support. Over the years I’ve set up a few family members with Linux systems, some of which now have severely out of date software. Since these Linux systems just keep working with little to no maintenance, I don’t get around to upgrading them. Once 12.04 is released I’ll be able to install that for family members and not have to upgrade them for five years.

The release candidate for Ubuntu 11.10 should be out any time now. OMG Ubuntu pointed me to a video on the Ubuntu promotional YouTube channel about what makes Ubuntu 11.10 great:

The channel has a few great videos I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. Be sure to check out the one about the new Ubuntu font family.

The first thing I noticed is the new login screen. GDM has been replaced by LightDM, a display manager with a lighter-weight codebase than GDM that uses WebKit to draw an HTML-based login screen. Functionally, the new login screen is almost identical to the old one, but it sports a new theme with a basic scrolling animation. If you occasionally have the need to restart or stop your display manager, the command to do so has changed to:
sudo service restart lightdm

Déjà Dup (under the name “Backups”) has been added bring easy backup functionality to the default desktop. The user interface makes it simple to set up an encrypted, remote, and incremental backup. One downside is that the backup format is opaque rather than plain files.

Other application changes include Ubuntu Software Center getting a substantially improved interface, and Thunderbird replacing Evolution as the default email client.

Unity is now based on GNOME 3 and GTK+ 3. Many GNOME applications like the file browser are improved and have cleaner interfaces. The new GNOME System Settings application is included.

Unity itself has seen many changes. The button to open the dash has moved into the launcher. “Places” are now called “Lenses” and are accessible from within the dash instead of the launcher. The Alt+Tab application switcher has a new look. The default theme has been tweaked, and application toolbars are now dark to match window title bars and the top panel.

Unity 2D has replaced the classic desktop as the fallback for systems without accelerated graphics (the classic desktop is still available to install). Unity 2D, based the the old Metacity window manager, is mostly consistent with the Compiz-based version but loses the 3D icon stacking effect in the launcher and true transparency in windows like the Terminal. However, it still does some tricks I didn’t think a non-compositing window manager could do: it keeps the transparent dash with blurred background and the animated workspace switcher. I wonder how well it will perform on older hardware.

Speaking of performance, I’m hoping that using the dash as a application launcher will be a bit faster. In 11.04 there’s a slight but irritating lag between typing to search and the list of matching applications being displayed. It’s hard to tell in the virtual machine, but 11.10 seems to be better.

Switching between tabs by mouse-over scrolling is not working in the file browser or system monitor (but the terminal is fine). Does anyone know whether this is a bug or intentional?

Some of Ubuntu’s interface changes are taking a while to be applied to every application, even those installed by default. LibreOffice and Firefox are still missing the overlay scrollbars (terminal has gained them). LibreOffice is also missing the unified menu bar and the new dark toolbars.

The final release is scheduled for October 13th. I’m looking forward to upgrading next month!

More about Unity
The what’s new page for this release is dedicated to introducing the new Unity desktop environment. In past releases, Unity was the netbook-friendly interface. Now that Unity is suitable to both large and small screen sizes, the netbook edition of Ubuntu is no longer needed and has been retired. Although Unity looks similar to the recently released GNOME 3, it has been rewritten as a Compiz plugin rather than using GNOME 3′s Mutter window manager.

The “classic” Ubuntu interface is still available as an option on the login screen. This also functions as a fallback when 3D acceleration is not available. However, in future releases this will be replaced with a 2D Unity desktop. I doubt that the classic interface will be available much longer now that GNOME 3 has superseded GNOME 2.

I’m a big fan of Unity on my netbook, but have yet to discover how well it will work out on my big monitor. I’ve used GNOME Do or Synapse to launch applications for a long time. I’m happy that the Unity dash implements this functionality: press super key, type the first few letters of what I want, press enter to launch. The new window grid functionality is fantastic. You can maximize or split-maximize windows by dragging them to the top or edges of the screen. Pressing control alt and a numpad key allows more complex layouts to be created.

One thing that bothers me about Unity is the lack of consistency in scrollbars. Most applications use fancy new-style scrollbars. Some applications still use the old scrollbars (Firefox) or draw their own scroll bars (Chrome). Terminal uses a black variant of the old scrollbars, and the Unity dash draws it’s own yet different scrollbars.

I’d recommended reading some documentation in order to get up and running with Unity quickly, and to discover the advanced features. Try OMG! Ubuntu!’s guide, The Power User’s Guide to Unity, and Unity keyboard/mouse shortcuts.

I installed 10.10 Beta on my netbook when it came out, but the Unity netbook interface turned out to be unusably buggy. Fortunately some updates mostly fixed the problems, and the final release works fine.

Installer

I installed the ISO onto a SD card using the standard Startup Disk Creator in Ubuntu. The Ubuntu installer has overhauled in 10.10. It now includes an option to install non-open source software for “MP3 playback, Flash content, wifi hardware, and similar functionality”, and options to install updates while installing, and it checks that you are plugged in, have enough disk space, and are connected to the Internet before starting.

The installer now asks for partitioning information early in the install process. This lets the installer run the partitioner and copy files while it asks for more information. I do think there should be more of a warning before the partitioning starts in case someone doesn’t expect this. If you run out of steps before the installer is done its work, you will get the new install slideshow.

The Unity Interface

The netbook edition now defaults to the new Unity desktop environment. If you don’t like it, you can still switch to the normal desktop from the login screen. Unity is based on GNOME 3 technology, including the Mutter compositing window manager.

When maximized, windows put their title bars and application menus in the new global menu bar, which also includes the system indicator applets. It’s a shame that the only old notification icon left is the network manager applet. It’s also disappointing that neither Firefox nor OpenOffice put their menus in the global menu bar properly.

On the left side of the screen is the Unity launcher. It shows a stack of application icons, one for every application that’s running or chosen to always appear for quick access. The icons stack up and scroll when there are too many, and everything is nicely animated. Clicking the icon of the focused application shows all its windows using a scale effect similar to Compiz’s.

The Unity dash can be access using the Ubuntu button in the top left of the screen, or using the “Files & Folders” and “Applications” icons in the launcher. The Ubuntu button gives you a full screen menu with big icons for a few tasks including “web”, “music”, and “get more apps”. “Files & Folders” gives you a simple file browser which isn’t too useful. “Applications” gives you a interface for searching and launching installed applications, as well as applications available in the Software Center. All the dash screens also include search. Searching seems to be a bit slow, and I wish I could select results using the keyboard.

Congratulations to everyone who has worked on Ubuntu for a great release!

Unity is a new desktop environment designed for netbooks and touch-screen devices. It includes a new panel as well as a new vertical launcher. Unity is build using technologies from GNOME 3, including the Clutter library and the Mutter window manager.

Ubuntu Light is a version of Ubuntu designed to dual-boot with another operating system, and focused on getting on the web fast. It’s a stripped down Ubuntu (no file management) and uses the simpler Unity desktop. Canonical is offering Ubuntu Light to computer manufacturers only, because it’s intended to be customized for specific computers in order to boot fast.

Here’s a few other bits of information about the next version of Ubuntu:

• Ubuntu Netbook Edition will drop Network Manager for Intel’s Connection Manager because Network Manager does not support indicators. This change will probably be included in the Ubuntu 11.04 desktop.
• GNOME Shell is for desktops (it will be available in Ubuntu 10.10, but not as the default environment), and Unity is for netbooks.
• Client-side window decorations and RGBA (alpha channel) will be added to Ubuntu 10.10 early in development.
• More category indicators (like the messaging indicator) will reduce the number of indicators. A sound indicator will hold indicators for media applications and allow interactions like manipulating playlists.
• Canonical has a professional font foundry working on a new interface font. When it’s ready, there will be a beta program.
• A new icon theme is being worked on, but it will take a while to complete and may not be finished in time for the next Ubuntu.
• Ubuntu 10.10 will be released on October 10, 2010 (that’s 10.10.10).

You can get all the details by watching Mark Shuttleworth’s UDS keynote (thanks to Alan Pope for posting the video).

There’s an official PPA software source from Canonical with a test version of Unity. Here’s how to install it:

1. Open Ubuntu Software Center.
2. Select Edit->Software Sources->Other Software.
3. Click Add, enter ppa:canonical-dx-team/une, and click Add Source.
4. Search for Unity in the Software Center and install it.

To start Unity, log out to return to the login screen. Select your user, select Ubuntu Unity Netbook Edition in the Sessions box, and log in.

At first glance, it looks like you have the normal netbook edition GNOME panel at the top of the screen, but with a Google search box instead of a window list. There’s also a colourful stack of icons on the left hand edge of the screen.

The launcher

The Unity application launcher is a dock. There are some default applications which always appear. Any application that is running will also appear, along with a small indicator that it is running on the left of the icon. The currently focused application also get a indicator on the right side.

Selecting an icon in the launcher causes it to glow while the application loads. Dragging up and down scrolls the list of applications, and dragging an icon out allows it to be repositioned. Right clicking on an icon initiates a scale effect which lets you select from all the windows for that application. There’s no support for minimizing windows.

It’s not easy to access applications which are not in the launcher because there’s no main menu. One item in the launcher is a folder which will show all the installed applications.

The window manager
Unity uses the Mutter window manager from GNOME 3. It’s a compositing window manager and supports some basic animations. At this time the integration between window title bars and the panel has not been implemented. The panel and launcher are run by Mutter, so it won’t be possible to use another window manager like Compiz with Unity. [update] A Compiz developer has Compiz working inside Unity, so this may not be true after all.

The panel

Clicking the Ubuntu logo scales all the windows and lets you select one to switch to it. The search box goes to Google for now, but later it should be used to search your computer. Everything else on the panel is an indicator, which the current exception of the network manager applet. Despite it’s appearance, the panel is not based on GNOME panel, but is drawn by Mutter.

I’m pretty excited about Unity. While the current version is not complete, it does seem to be in a usable state on my netbook so I’ll continue testing it there.

Moving everything to the left opens up the space on the right nicely, and I would like to experiment in 10.10 with some innovative options there.

Now it is clear what he was talking about: Shuttleworth has introduced window indicators (“windicators”) on his blog. Window indicators are like the indicator applet on the panel, but live on the right hand side of every window title bar. They would be used to show state for a particular application, and would be interacted with using an API similar to the one used for the indicator applet.

Here are the example window indicators given:

• online/offline status
• unsaved changes
• progress
• “basket” showing items selected for a purpose
• sharing status
• application-specific volume

Shuttleworth also proposes using window indicators and Chrome-inspired temporary status bars to replace traditional status bars. This would save precious vertical screen space on netbook displays. On netbooks, window indicators would also be integrated into the panel like the title bar is in Ubuntu Netbook Edition. Shuttleworth blogged about a global menu bar for netbooks as well.

These changes would be implemented in the next version of Ubuntu, 10.10 “Maverick Meerkat.”

My Thoughts
I’m not convinced that there’s enough benefit in window indicators to justify the problems they would create.

It will be a challenge to get applications to adopt window indicators. Thanks to PulseAudio, it’s easy to show a volume control for every window. But most applications that use sound already have a volume control built in which would have to be patched out for Ubuntu. I can foresee problems with applications such as web browsers which use sound through plugins which show up as separate applications to PulseAudio. But most other window indicators will require even more modifications to applications. If GNOME doesn’t adopt window indicators, then applications will need specific code for Ubuntu and every other distribution.

Currently window title bars are not drawn by the individual applications, but by the window manager or window decorator. Window indicators require applications to interact with their title bars much more. If an application draws it’s own title bar, it’s called “client side window decorations,” which are mentioned in Shuttleworth’s blog post. (Google Chrome has an option to do this in order to draw tabs over the title bar and save screen space.) Giving applications this control could create inconsistent title bars and cause problems for other window managers (just read what Compiz and KWin developers have to say). A better option for implementing window indicators would be to have an API for the application and window manager to communicate over.

Instead of window indicators, I’d like to see something simpler: the menu bar collapsed into a button and moved into this area. Especially in web browsers, there’s been a move away from having a traditional menu bar. Chrome, the Firefox 4 theme mockups, and the latest version of Opera have all moved what used to be the menu bar into different places. Firefox 4 and Opera have added a button to the title bar. Why not standardize on a button in the title bar for the application menu? It would be consistent, reduce clutter on the screen, and save screen space. There are already global menu bar hacks which move the menu bar, so it could be possible to do this without changing applications.

I’ve been following the development of 10.04 on my netbook, but today I performed a fresh installation on it and my main desktop system. Here are my thoughts so far.

Eee PC 901 Netbook
My netbook has been getting better and better with recent Ubuntu releases. Installation is easy thanks to the Startup Disk Creator tool included in Ubuntu which lets me put the installer on an SD card. All the hardware works perfectly.

I’ve actually been running the development version of Ubuntu 10.04 on this system since alpha 1, so I thought there was a bug when after installing the final release I didn’t get any desktop effects. The desktop effects settings are grayed out. After a bit a digging I found that Compiz was not even installed. I haven’t found any information about this, but it appears that the netbook edition no longer includes desktop effects.

During the alpha releases I was using the full Ubuntu desktop rather than the netbook edition because when I installed the netbook installer was not available yet. The netbook edition is touted as being even faster, so I installed that instead when the final release was available.

I set up my wireless network as usual, but found that Ubuntu would not connect to it when I logged in or woke up from suspend. For some reason the “connect automatically” option was not set. I removed the network and re-added it and the option was set this time.

The netbook boots very quickly; if I look away I’ll miss the boot entirely. The boot splash is hardly necessary on this machine.

Dell Dimension 9200
My desktop system has been working great with Ubuntu for many releases now, and this is no exception. After fixing a hardware issue with my CD drive (the old Ubuntu system wouldn’t recognize blank CDs and I got I/O errors from the live CD, checking the SATA cable fixed it), the installation went smoothly. Everything on the system works. This is the first time I’ve installed 64-bit Ubuntu on this system.

On systems with Nvidia graphics, Ubuntu now defaults to the open source nouveau driver. It provides 2D acceleration and kernel mode setting (flicker-free booting) support, but no 3D acceleration at this time. After installing the Nvidia restricted driver, which lacks kernel mode setting, the boot splash is very low resolution and low colour.

General Notes
I can’t wait until I can remove the notification area entirely and replace it with the indicator applet. The indicator applet allows “scrubbing” between different items, and includes no inconsistent right and left click menus. So far the network manager applet is the only item running that has not been ported, and it still includes different right and left click menus!

It’s nice to have a default theme that I can not only live with, but find to be high quality. Parting with the consistent gray panel icons for another theme would be tough.

I was running Ubuntu 9.10 will PulseAudio disabled for a long time. It fixed a lot of stuff but it broke some Ubuntu things, so I’d rather not have to do that. In 10.04, so far it seems that some problems have been fixed, and some remain.

The new Simple Scan utility is awesome, it’s so much better than what there was before.

This is the first time I’ve used 64-bit Ubuntu. I was reading a while ago that there’s actually a performance advantage to running 64-bit when you can. So far everything seems to just work, including running 32-bit applications.

Some of the first applications I installed:

1. Google Chrome: I install the version from Google so I can keep up with updates from the beta channel. Installing Google’s package will add their repository automatically.
2. GNOME Do: the super-spacebar key combination is in my muscle memory so I can’t live without this application launcher.
3. KeePassX: what I use securely store my passwords.
4. Ubuntu Restricted Extras: the quickest way to install Flash, Java, web fonts, audio/video codecs, and more.
5. rdiff-backup: my backup software of choice. I also remembered to restore my crontab to keep my automated backups going.
6. Gmail Notifier: a Gmail notifier that’s integrated with Ubuntu. It pops up a notification when new mail arrives in my gmail inbox, and lights up the messaging indicator.
7. GIMP: the powerful image editor. Don’t forget you have to install it yourself now that it’s not included.
8. WINE: run the occasional Windows application in Ubuntu. Add the WINE PPA to get new versions as they are released.

I’ll have lots to write about over the next few days as I finish getting set up.

My netbook is an Eee PC 901. Everything works out of the box with the latest versions of Ubuntu. I use the Ubuntu Netbook Remix, but there doesn’t seem to be an alpha release of it available yet so I installed the normal Ubuntu desktop. I downloaded Lucid Lynx Alpha 1 and created a live-USB system using USB Startup Disk Creator.

After booting the live system the network manager notification icon was missing, and I couldn’t connect to my wireless network. Killing nm-applet and restarting it fixed this.

The Ubuntu installer now has a “Update this installer” button on the language selection screen. I was hoping this would mean I wouldn’t have to install updates after booting the new system, but all this button does is install the latest version of the installer application. Once the update finished, the installer restarted and the update button disappeared.

I haven’t had any problems with the installed system, but there isn’t much of a noticeable difference from 9.10 yet. Here’s a few changes I did notice:

• The touchpad defaulted to “edge scrolling” instead of “two-finger scrolling” but it was easy to change this setting.
• Notification bubbles seem to be drawn in a debug mode.
• Ubuntu Software Center uses a nice new animated breadcrumb control.
  
• Bootup seems to be a bit faster than 9.10. A transition from usplash/xsplash to plymouth/xsplash is taking place, so the boot experience could change soon.
• A few changes are planned for the default software selection, but most have not been made yet. GIMP will be dropped, a video editor will be added, and a smaller selection of games will be available.

There were many problems with Intel’s graphics drivers in Ubuntu 9.04. My only system using Intel graphics is my Eee PC netbook, which worked fine with 9.04, and is working better than ever with 9.10. Kernel mode setting is enabled by default, which means that the display’s native resolution is set early in the boot process and does not change even when switching to a terminal. Compiz works great, and windows with 3D rendering will no longer have the 3D area render on top of other windows or in the wrong location. Performance is good enough to play Quake Live (with Compiz disabled).

Since Ubuntu started using PulseAudio by default, it has never worked properly for me. On my netbook, the new version of Skype and PulseAudio are working much better than in 9.04. Most of the problems have been on my main system which I have not upgraded yet, but I’m hopeful. The new sound preferences looks great, and finally exposes the application-specific volume controls that PulseAudio supports.

The boot experience has been improved significantly. I rarely reboot my desktop, but my netbook boots fast enough now that I don’t bother with standby mode and am booting and shutting down often. Booting starts with uspash, just as in previous releases, but now with just a simple white Ubuntu logo and no progress bar. If a disk check is needed, its progress is displayed in usplash. X now starts much earlier to display the brand-new xsplash. xsplash features a fancy spinning progress animation. Next, the newly re-written GDM login screen is displayed with a dark theme matching xsplash. After logging in xsplash is displayed again until the desktop is loaded. The plan is that usplash will not be needed when X/xsplash is able to start early and fast enough. My only complaint with the boot experience is that the xsplash animation stutters a lot.

The new Human theme and Humanity icons are still brown, but look fantastic. The Dust theme, as well as a few nice wallpapers are installed by default.

I’ve finally adopted Ubuntu’s netbook remix interface on my netbook. In previous releases, I’ve always used the full desktop. The auto-maximization and compact window switcher work great for me. The netbook launcher is handy and looks great, but is sorely missing a text box for launching apps. Also, in large categories scrolling is too fast, while in categories with few entries scrolling is very slow. I also wish that the netbook remix left out some applications to save disk space because the smaller SSD in my Eee PC is only 4 GB (and who needs a CD burning application on a netbook?).

OMG Ubuntu has a visual tour of some of the new features. If you’ve installed 9.10, here’s a great post with a ton of things you can do next.