Holding true to its development timeline, Ubuntu is planning the release of its Linux distribution, codename Gutsy Gibbon, version 7.10, scheduled for release in only 2 short days.

Gutsy Gibbon, considered by Ubuntu to be “complete, stable and suitable for testing by any user” will offer many new features over its predecessor, Feisty Fawn, which was released nearly 6 months ago, to the day.

“Each new release gives us all an opportunity to shine, irrespective of which bricks in the project we are laying, and this is at the heart of our belief – working together to produce an operating system that will empower its users and shape the IT industry, putting free software at the corner-stone of our direction,” Jono Bacon, community manager for Canonical, wrote on his blog.

Three of the more popular features that will be debuted with Gutsy Gibbon include desktop 3D effects, hard drive encryption, and a new graphical configuration tool.

Enabled by default (hardware providing), Compiz Fusion, the 3D effects environment, will bring many additional visual effects to the Ubuntu’s new release.

The new graphical configuration tool will allow users to choose which driver their graphics card will use through an easy-to-use GUI.

The Gutsy Gibbon alternate installer will offer the user an option to encrypt their hard drive, providing much protection in the event of theft or loss.

According to a recently released survey of DesktopLinux.com users, Ubuntu was the most widely used distribution of Linux, a sure sign of its increasing popularity among the Linux community.

Gutsy Gibbon will be supported for 18 months on desktops and servers and will include installable live Desktop CDs, server images, and alternate text-mode installation CDs. Users of Ubuntu 7.04, Feisty Fawn, will be able to update their system using Ubuntu’s Gutsy Gibbon upgrade guide.

Ubuntu developers from around the world will be gathering for the Ubuntu Developer Summit between October 29th and November 2nd to discuss the scope of the next release of Ubuntu, Version 8.04, or “Hardy Heron”, scheduled for release in April of 2008.

Hardy Heron will be a “long-term support” release, meaning it will be supported by security updates for five years on the server and three years on the desktop.

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Entry was posted on Tuesday, October 16th, 2007 at 9:02 pm under Linux, Open source.

Read more entries by George Gardner.
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