a little slice of geek

Ubuntu 8.04 Alpha 5 Released (Hardy Heron)

The latest alpha of the next version of ubuntu has surfaced on the internet. The final build of 8.04 (named Hardy Heron to continue ubuntu’s strange alphabetical naming system…) is due to be released mid-april this year (2008).

Now, back to this alpha (alpha 5) it’s already starting to show some fo the goodies that we shoudl expect in the final build. For starters it’s now running on the latest linux kernel, version 2.6.24, this is a good thing, a very good thing, especially if you’re a lover of obscure hardware. 2.6.24 makes emphasis on it’s ability to work with a wider range of new and older hardware than previous kernels did.

The second point to highlight is the GUI is now handled by Xorg 7.3. This now uses a simplified configuration file and a new control panel to make things a bit easier for the novice user.

Also included int he alpha release is Firefox 3 Beta 3, not quite sure why, theres nothign wrong with Firefox 2, I suppose it’s just keeping up with times, or perhaps that they are planning to incorporate the final build of Firefox 3 into the final build of Hardy Heron…. who knows, strange decision.

The last major point I want to highlight here is that it uses the wonderful Wubi Installer. This allows people who enjoy the comfort of Windows (either Vista or XP) to install 8.04 without leaving the Windows Desktop Environment, no command line, no bash terminal, no partitioning, just a windows GUI to install ubuntu 8.04 Alpha 5, perfect… Bring on the final release!