by Cory Rauch 2007-04-24 Category: Linux-Review
In this article I will review the latest release of Ubuntu, version 7.04. I have been using Ubuntu for a few years now and have come to love the ease of use that Ubuntu is known for. But does the latest release live up to its predecessors?
On my main machine I was running the prior release of Ubuntu and last week there was a surprise in the updates window. List was an upgrade option for version 7.04, I am not to sure if this is a new feature. But I do not remember seeing this in prior releases. So for this review I used the upgrade option (See the pics below) which worked flawlessly for me. After about 2 hours counting download and install, I rebooted and was in Ubuntu 7.04. Some nice notes about the upgrade:
- Upgraded installed packages automatically to the latest and greatest
- Gave you the option to uninstall or keep packages no longer maintained in the Ubuntu distribution
- Flawlessly upgraded my drivers including proprietary ones (Nvidia driver worked after upgrade)
- I noticed no loss of preference settings, so the upgrade is was very smooth
The System
The two most touted new features of the latest release was the Windows migration tool and a Multimedia wizard. And while I did not test the Windows migration feature, multimedia is definitely much more accessible for the average user. How so? By automatically downloading and installing multimedia codecs (with your permission of course) if you try to open a file which has no supporting codec installed on your system it will go an fetch and install the codec for you. I think most users even real computer newbies would have no problem using this feature. It also is a wonderful addition for more advance users who could care less with having to load up Synaptic Package Manager and do a search and install just to play a multimedia file. I also noticed the OS seemed faster though I could not time any actual increase in speed (Probably more a perceived difference). This included Gnome start-up, Ubuntu boot time, and XGL was much faster. While we are talking about XGL, desktop effect are real easy to install using the included “Desktop Effects” tool located right under preferences if your video card is supported. Overall my impression of Ubuntu 7.04 was that it was much more polished compared to previous releases, and that is quite an achievement considering how good earlier releases have been.
So what is the killer new feature?
For some it may be the new virtualization technology included in the latest build of the Linux kernel. For others it maybe just the polish this release adds with the multimedia codec wizard or window migration tool. For me personally the difference was not huge when compared with earlier Ubuntu releases, but now that I have upgraded I would not go back. So I must say at this moment I think Ubuntu is the desktop Linux distribution to beat, and that keeps on getting harder each release.
Other ImprovedSource Articles:
Boot Fedora Linux Faster: How I Modified Fedora To Boot In Under 25 Seconds
Linux Fastest Boot Time Challenge
How to make a System Restore CD-ROM