Ubuntu 6.10 Released

Canonical Launches New Ubuntu Release for Desktops and Servers

London - 26th October 2006 - Canonical Ltd, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, the world’s fastest growing Linux distribution, today announced its latest desktop and server version. Following months of development and user feedback, Ubuntu 6.10 offers a cleaner, sharper design, together with new and enhanced desktop applications and advances in security. Significantly faster boot up times and the best in leading edge free software technologies make the latest Ubuntu the first choice for many new and existing Linux users.

The fundamental freedoms of Ubuntu allow everyone, from home to enterprise users, to deploy Ubuntu without restriction. Ubuntu 6.10 is freely available and will be maintained for 18 months, with free security updates for all users. For deployments which require additional service guarantees, full telephone and online support on commercial terms is available globally from the professional support team at Canonical Ltd and service partners.

The desktop version introduces a host of new features, an improved interface and a wide variety of new applications and desktop tools making Ubuntu 6.10 flexible and user-friendly. Enhancements include:

Tomboy, an easy-to-use and efficient note-taking tool

F-Spot, a photo management tool that enables tagging, photo editing and automatic uploading to on-line web management sites such as Flickr

GNOME 2.16, which in addition to new features such as enhanced power management, makes the GNOME desktop more secure, faster and more stable

Upstart, a replacement start-up manager offering a cleaner design, eye-catching effects and a substantially faster boot time

The latest Firefox web browser, which offers inline spell check support in web forms, easy recovery of crashed sessions, built-in phishing detectors, enhanced search engine management with built in OpenSearch support, and better support for previewing and subscribing to web feeds

Proactive security features, preventing many common security vulnerabilities even before they are discovered

Evolution 2.8.0, which brings new features such as vertical message panes

"With Ubuntu 6.10, we've made improvements across the board, both on the desktop where they're a visible part of the user experience, and in the underlying infrastructure where they improve performance and reliability for servers and desktops. The result is a system which is easier to use, faster, and more robust than ever. A great release in its own right, it will also be a solid base on which to build the next generation of Ubuntu features," said Matt Zimmerman, Ubuntu CTO.

The Ubuntu server edition builds on the functionality from the previous release simplifying common Linux server deployment processes. It also includes a pre-release of the upcoming LTSP-5 (Linux Terminal Server Project). LTSP-5 offers clients a lower TCO (total cost of ownership), simpler installation and easier maintenance than typical IT deployments. With all data stored on the server, administrators have substantially eliminated the cost of updating individual workstations to ensure their security. Enhancements to LTSP-5 include:

Automatic network configuration with DHCP service for servers with two or more network cards attached – available with the alternate CD installer

Language and session selection from the LTSP log in manager – allowing a user to choose from any of the languages and desktop sessions installed on the server

Support for locally attached devices on thin clients – allowing users to access cameras, ipods or USB sticks on the thin client

Printing support - enabling printing on a local printer from the thin client

Full support for Etherboot

"LTSP-5 is the culmination of over one and a half years of collaboration between the LTSP project, the Ubuntu project, and the open source community to define the next generation of Linux thin client technology. This partnership between the thin client expertise of LTSP and the desktop technology of Ubuntu has enabled a richer thin client experience for users than ever before, while allowing both projects to benefit from each other's achievements," said Oliver Grawert, LTSP Project Manager at Ubuntu.

New versions of Kubuntu and Edubuntu are also being released. Kubuntu is a derivative of Ubuntu which includes the KDE desktop environment. Kubuntu 6.10 includes KDE 3.5.5 which brings speed improvements, updates to the instant messenger and improved translations. Edubuntu is a derivative of Ubuntu focused on the education market. Edubuntu 6.10 includes the LTSP enhancements described above, as well as an enhanced student control panel.

About Canonical and Ubuntu

Canonical, a global organisation headquartered in Europe, is committed to the development, distribution, and promotion of open source software products, and to providing tools and support to the open source community. Canonical is the sponsor company for Ubuntu, which since its launch in October 2004 has become one of the most highly regarded Linux distributions, with millions distributed and in use around the world. Ubuntu will always be free, and will not have restrictive licenses associated with it. With these goals in mind at all times, Ubuntu aims at being the most widely used of all Linux systems, and is the centre of a global open source software ecosystem.


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To learn about commercial support for Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Edubuntu, please see www.canonical.com/support. For more information visit www.canonical.com or www.ubuntu.com.

Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu and their associated logos are all registered trademarks of Canonical Ltd.

Microsoft to Support Open-Source Linux with Novell

11.02.06
By Natali T. Del Conte

Microsoft announced in a press conference on Thursday that the company has struck a deal with Novell Inc. to allow open-source Linux software to work compatibly with Windows.

The move is one of Microsoft's most significant endorsement of open-source programs.

"We're here to announce a set of agreements that will help bridge the divide between open-source and proprietary software," said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer for Microsoft. "The impetus for this event really comes from our customers. We have customers that use a mix of technologies to manage their businesses and they demand interoperability."

Under the agreement, Novell will be the preferred Linux environment that will interoperate with Windows and Microsoft will distribute coupons for SuSE Linux Enterprise Server maintenance and support so that customers can benefit from the use of an interoperable version of Linux.

Jeffrey Jaffe, executive vice president and chief technology officer for Novell, said that the three key areas of the agreement are virtualization, Web-services management, and document-format compatibility.

"Customers will now be able to run virtualized Linux on Windows or virtualized Windows on Linux," Jaffe said. "Customers continually ask us how they can consolidate servers with multiple operating systems through virtualization. By working together, Novell and Microsoft enable customers to choose the operating system that best fits their application and business needs."

One of the more surprising elements of the agreement is that Microsoft will not unleash its patent lawyers quite so harshly on developers who want to write code for Novell's open-source apps.



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"We've made two promises under this agreement," said Brad Smith, senior vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary, legal and corporate affairs for Microsoft. "One is a promise that we won't assert our patents against individual open-source developers. These are individuals that are contributing code, not creating it as part of their job, but acting in an individual non-commercial way. The second is for developers who are getting paid to create code that Novell then takes and inputs into its distribution that is then covered within the open-source agreement between us."

Ballmer said that Novell and Microsoft will collaborate on sales and marketing. Microsoft will purchase 70,000 coupons from Novell enabling a one-year subscription to SuSE. There was no discussion of how much consumers will pay for these coupons.

Despite the collaboration, Ballmer made it clear that Microsoft and Novell will remain competitors.

"As we cooperate, both companies will continue to do what we do best, which is to compete in the market," Ballmer said. "If you have a new application, I'm going to tell you the answer is Windows, Windows, Windows. Ron is going to tell you something different and that's fine. But we do want to collaborate in the right way as well."