Karmic Koala
Ubuntu 9.10 is out, Karmic Koala, and I love it.
I got back from a trip away, created a USB stick launcher (VERY easy – hadn’t done that before), booted off the USB and away I went. The installation process has always been very easy with Ubuntu and continues to be. It’s always been a LOT easy than Windows to install but of course Windows always comes pre-installed so most people wouldn’t realise that.
So, what’s new and what do I like about it:
It just works
More so than previous versions of Ubuntu, this one ‘just works’. I haven’t had to use the command line once. I realise that a few people had a few hicups, and I don’t think that 9.04 ever resolved the video driver issue it had with the Intel Cards, but this time, it was all seamless for me.
Improved Power Management
Suspend, Hibernate, Sleep etc. They all work beautifully. This has been a weak area until now. It probably still has some way to go before it catches up with Mac on this one but Mac will always have the advantage of building an operating system that is built for a very specific set of hardware.
New Look
Long overdue and much improved. They are obviously making headway here and I suspect that 10.04 will be better still. It feels a little inconsistent at the moment with the boot up bit having a very different look and feel to the main desktop but, as I say, getting better. The new icons are an important improvement.
New Login Screen
Prettier, easier. Boot times still seem very good as well. Not sure how much quicker it is than previous editions, seems about the same to me, but I’m assured that it is the quickest boot time yet.
There’s probably more and I’ll update this post when I think of it but all in all I’m really impressed. Just the ease of use improves more an more every time.
Update:
Dual Screen monitor support has regressed for me – at least in terms of going sVideo into my TV. It really only seems to work when I Mirror screens which means both resolutions suffer. Hopefully this will work a bit better after a couple of updates.
