Ubuntu releases new distribution

Linux users have a new option available with Thursday’s release of the desktop and server versions of Ubuntu version 6.10Ubuntu version 6.10, featuring a revamped interface, faster boot-up and added applications. The release comes as Oracle Corp. denies rumors that it is integrating Ubuntu into its offerings.

On the desktop side, a big part of the Ubuntu 6.10 upgrade effort went into the interface. “Some improvement in looks include an updated log-in screen and log-in splash, wallpaper and icons,” according to Jane Silber, an executive with Canonical Ltd., the company that commercially sponsors Ubuntu.

The interface improvement is important as Ubuntu tries to expand its user base. More users are asking for major applications to run on Ubuntu.

“We do see significant customer interest in running Oracle on Ubuntu,” said Silber via e-mail.

Industry insiders have been speculating that Oracle would integrate Ubuntu into its software stack, and expected an announcement to that effect this week at Oracle’s OpenWorld conference. However, Oracle instead made the surprise move of announcing support for Red Hat Linux, and in a question and answer session with reporters Wednesday, executives said they had not talked with people involved in the Ubuntu project about a distribution agreement.

South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth initiated the project to create Ubuntu, based on Debian GNU/Linux, in 2004. Commercial sponsorship is now in the hands of U.K.-based Canonical, which offers usage and basic support of the operating system for free. The company offers additional services on commercial terms.

A significant enhancement in Ubuntu 6.10 is a faster system boot-up time, Canonical’s Silber said. Developers have developed a new initialization process, Upstart.

Upstart is a replacement for standard Unix services. Linux has traditionally relied on a number of different daemons, or background procedures, inherited from both the open-source BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution) and Unix System V, to manage the task of booting a machine, starting and stopping services and running user tasks at the appropriate time. Upstart combines this functionality into a single daemon which can be easily configured by a system administrator, Silber said. It introduces management features such as the ability to make certain tasks dependent on other tasks completing first.

Two new applications in Ubuntu version 6.10 are Tomboy, a note-taking tool, and F-spot. F-spot, a new photo manager, replaces gThumb and is designed to allow for easy tagging, editing and uploading to various online photo Web sites, including Flickr.

Additionally, Ubuntu 6.10 includes the recently released Firefox 2.0.

Also included is OpenOffice.org 2.0.4, which is mostly a security and bugfix release, dealing with specific issues regarding sandboxing of Java applets and macros.

Ubuntu upgrades are scheduled for every six months. At the beginning of each cycle, Canonical and community developers gather at an Ubuntu Developer Summit and define the features and specifications for the next release, Silber said.

The team first considers what is happening in the open-source world generally.

“With our regular, 6-monthly releases, we are able to bring the best of the open-source world to our user community” Silber said.

Canonical is striving to drive Ubuntu usage around the world.

“Our growth metrics are strong, both in terms of month over month growth and the geographic reach of Ubuntu. We see a thriving and vibrant community, increased adoption in the enterprise market, and continued appreciation of Ubuntu by technical and non-technical users,” Silber said.