Ubuntu community has been graphically the richest distro in the entire Linux community. When we actually talked about Ubuntu 8.10, Intrepid Ibex, people went ga ga over the desktop theme above anything else. This time too, after the announcement of Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope due for today), the community is buzzing up with the talks of the newest version of Ubuntu 9.10, Karmic Koala. If we are to start in one line then, the desktop side will focus on beautification and an improved boot-up experience; the server side will target cloud computing.

Mark Shuttleworth’s version of Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala will feature:

1. better integration with cloud-computing environments, and the simplification of cloud creation using open-source tools on Ubuntu Server Edition.
2. faster boot
3. seamless netbook support
4. taking advantage of kernel mode setting to make the boot process and virtual terminals shinier and snappier
5. a pretty default theme for your desktop.

Server Version

Amazon EC-2 Integration

Ubuntu aims to keep free software at the forefront of cloud computing by embracing the API’s of Amazon EC2, and making it easy for anybody to setup their own cloud using entirely open tools. The plans is also to fix a set of standard Ubuntu server Amazon Machine Image (AMI) profiles that will provide a starting point for creating specialized images. This will help to simplify deployment of Ubuntu on Amazon’s EC2 platform.

Eucalyptus project

The Eucalyptus project, from UCSB, enables you to create an EC2-style cloud in your own data center, on your own hardware. And then Shuttleworth quite characteristically with his subtle sense added,

A savvy Koala knows that the best way to conserve energy is to go to sleep, and these days even servers can suspend and resume, so imagine if we could make it possible to build a cloud computing facility that drops its energy use virtually to zero by napping in the midday heat, and waking up when there’s work to be done. No need to drink at the energy fountain when there’s nothing going on. If we get all of this right, our Koala will help take the edge off the bear market.

So the bottom line is, this will enable organizations to get many of the advantages of elastic computing in their own data centers, including the ability to scale down power consumption when load is low.

Desktop & Netbook Version

Beautification

As the saying goes, “There is never a second chance to the first impression”. And Karmic Koala believes in just that. The beautification is of prior importance, so much so that Shuttleworth is confident that the users will be impressed from the booting time only. Red Hat’s Plymouth (a new graphical boot process that is able to benefit from the latest Linux graphics capabilities) is something they are trying to integrate to this version of Ubuntu.

Usplash (a userspace application that uses the Linux framebuffer interface or direct vesa access to draw a splash screen at boot) is not into consideration.

Performance

Though its apparently obvious to us that any rich visual experience comes at the cost of the the speed of the computer but Karmic Koala may become an exception. The team plans to make it boot in less than 25 seconds on a netbook!

Ubuntu Netbook Remix (a ‘remix’ of the standard Ubuntu Desktop release to enable it to work better on devices with small screens, such as Netbooks (sub-notebooks)) will be installed pretty easily and will be working brilliantly on all the latest netbook hardware.

Ubuntu will import work from Intel’s Moblin project to better support Atom-based netbooks.

WishList

I will wish to see a lot of simple things done with finally.

1. Can we see a change in the much controversial orange-brown theme that Ubuntu always comes up with in name of improvements! A different color combination will be a welcome change. Its not just like that silver and blue are preferred by companies like Microsoft, Apple et al. not to forget the sweet competitor Fedora.
2. Moblin or Netbook Remix, it doesn’t matter. The next time I buy my netbook, I won’t be too happy to complain again in the Ubuntu community about a normal service I am not getting. There are enough of them lodged already.
3. I will like a more themable GNome Panel. Better integration of Compiz Fusion, for those who use it. As is, it lacks all sorts of polish.

Schedule

Conclusion

Ubuntu 9.10, Karmic Koala is going to have its first developers’ conference on May 29th, 2009. It will be too much of a prediction to appreciate/ criticize anything beforehand. For that matter, let’s hope that Ubuntu 9.10 will have some really cool featurs inside and not just looks ‘coz you have some big players scheduled right up (Windows 7 for e.g.). All beauty and all brains will just be a composition that Ubuntu will need to attract the elusive crowd.