I had high hopes for the next Ubuntu. Version 7.10 was a solid release, and apart from a debilitating ACPI bug that rendered it impractical (to me) for day-to-day use, I found little to dislike about it. Unfortunately, Ubuntu 8.10 -- a.k.a "Hardy Heron" -- is shaping-up to be one of those releases that reminds of why I can't stand some of the more "desktop-centric" distributions. Simply put, I had high hopes for the next Ubuntu. Version 7.10 was a solid release, and apart from a debilitating ACPI bug that rendered it impractical (to me) for day-to-day use, I found little to dislike about it. Unfortunately, Ubuntu 8.10 — a.k.a “Hardy Heron” — is shaping-up to be one of those releases that reminds of why I can’t stand some of the more “desktop-centric” distributions.Simply put, “Hardy” is nothing more than “me-tooism” run amok. I mean, how many Windows Vista features do you need to rip-off before someone calls you a “copycat?”For example: Individual GUI “unlock” buttons for system-level tasks. Hello? Microsoft calls this “User Account Control.” They even have a special icon image that can be overlaid onto buttons that trigger functions requiring privilege elevation. Oh, but since it’s “UAC-on-Linux” I guess it’ll suck less, right? Yeah, sure … Hand-in-hand with the “unlock” buttons: PolicyKit, the most poorly disguised knock-off of Windows Group Policies I’ve ever encountered. Note to Canonical: Microsoft has an eight year head-start in this department, with massive 3rd party buy-in, so … good luck! World Clock/Weather Applet: One of the features I missed most from Vista during my stay in Ubuntu-land was the ability to have multiple clocks (I travel a lot overseas). Of course, there are numerous weather applets for Windows Sidebar, so this is clearly another “me-tooism.” Finally, prefetch! It’d be interesting to see a technical breakdown of how this new “Superfetch” knock-off compares to the original. I guess Con Kolivas was right, after all! Multiple audio sliders. Again, done already with Vista, though it’s hard to do a proper comparison since the “Hardy” version isn’t enabled yet. Will the “copycatting” never end? To be fair, Ubuntu 8.04 will likely be a fine OS, one that further strengthens the community’s case against Microsoft on the desktop. However, I was really hoping for some innovation here. Both “Feisty” and “Gutsy” were successful in advancing the platform while still providing a unique and compelling user experience. “Hardy,” on the other hand, looks like little more than an attempt to make Ubuntu indistinguishable from Windows. Sad.I dread the introduction of the new GTK theme. If I see any kind of “orb” appear in the upper left corner of the desktop I may just kill myself … Software DevelopmentSmall and Medium Business