Ubuntu Intrepid ready to fly
The Ubuntu team will today release the penultimate testing version of its latest operating system, known as Intrepid Ibex. The final release of 8.10, or Intrepid, is scheduled for October 30, but today’s "release candidate" version will be the closest thing to a final release to date.
The initial hype around Intrepid was that is would bring with it major improvements in the way it handled mobile computing. And while that is still the case, there are also a number of other changes that users can look forward to from the latest release.
Among these improvements are encrypted private directories. Designed to be a separate folder in the home directory, the idea is that anything placed into that folder will be secured. The idea is not new and has been mooted for many months now, but Intrepid promises to be one of the first Linux distributions to introduce this.
One of the lesser known features of Intrepid is the addition of a new guest account. It is perhaps a small change but one that many users will appreciate. Using the new guest account users can give temporary access to their PC to other users that don’t have a login without compromising their own data.
The big expectation for Intrepid is the promise of faster booting and user log in times. Most Linux distributions have this as a top priority at the moment as they prepare for the growth in netbooks which my their nature rely on fast on and off times.
Flash 10 will also be Incorporated into Intrepid. Adobe’s Flash 10 player was released last week and has already been added to the repositories. The Flash 10 player is also expected to resolve a number of the audio issues that have plagued Ubuntu to date.
No OpenOffice.org 3.0
The one thing that Intrepid will not include by default is OpenOffice.org 3.0. Despite finally being released last week, the Ubuntu development team has decided that because of delays with OpenOffice.org, version 3.0 would not be included in the release.
It is a decision that has made many Ubuntu fans unhappy as they argue that it undermines the quality of Intrepid. OpenOffice.org 3.0 will, however, be included in Jaunty, the Ubuntu version planned for release in April 2009.
Loading ...