Ubuntu Linux Feisty Fawn
Ubuntu Linux 7.04 (Feisty Fawn), was recently released, and from installation to every day use, this version is the best so far. Read on to see what's new in this release for diehard Linux users and tire kickers, too... |
What's New in the Ubuntu Linux "Feisty Fawn" Release?
This Ubuntu release is characterized by a healthy number of improvements both in stability and features over the previous versions. Ubuntu fans will enjoy the improved Gnome desktop graphics and speed, easier connection to wireless networks, and WPA wireless encryption support. Newcomers will appreciate the Windows migration tool, which looks for all the Windows essentials like browser bookmarks, favorite links, desktop wallpaper and Instant Messaging contacts, then ports them over to Ubuntu.
The Beryl/Compiz 3D desktop manager, now an integral part of the Ubuntu distribution, provides some eye candy like the “desktop on a cube” and “wobbly windows” effects that offer a nice wow factor. Just as cool, I think, as the desktop effects from Apple and Microsoft, but they can run nicely on older hardware.
The Ubuntu desktop looks a lot like its earlier versions although the GUI and graphics are certainly improved, and now the Control Center can be enabled or disabled, which is a plus.
Laptop support has been significantly improved in this release, and most new PCs are very well supported out of the box. In case you need proprietary drivers (for graphics, wireless or other hardware), a new panel helps you install and configure them.
As for software included in the Feisty Fawn release, there's OpenOffice 2.2 (word processor, spreadsheet and presentation suite) Firefox 2.0, the Evolution email manager, the Rhythmbox media player, and F-Spot for editing and managing photos.
There's also new multimedia codec support, and a tool called Avahi that helps you share resources over a network. The Language support tool allows you to use other languages by simply installing new locales. Ubuntu ships as an ISO image that fits on a single CD, which serves as a Live CD and install disc. If you want to try out the Feisty Fawn release, you can simply boot up with the Live CD and experience Ubuntu Linux without making any changes to your computer.
The minimum RAM requirement for Ubuntu 7.04 is 256MB of memory. The Desktop edition can be installed on any standard x86 machine (Pentium, Celeron, Athlon, Sempron, etc.) but PowerPCs are no longer officially supported. You can install the Ubuntu Linux Feisty Fawn release by downloading the CD Installer from the Ubuntu website. The Installer is rather large (about 700MB) so if you don't have a high-speed connection, you can order a free Ubuntu CD instead.
All in all, the new version of Ubuntu is a marked improvement on earlier versions and offers some very exciting novel features. I recommend Ubuntu Linux to anybody interested in trying something new. If you are currently running expensive proprietary Windows or Mac offerings, consider a secure, flexible, robust (and free!) Linux operating system instead.
|
|
|
This article was posted by Bob Rankin on 25 Apr 2007
| For Fun: Buy Bob a Snickers. |
 |
Prev Article: Running Windows on Linux |
The Top Twenty |
Next Article: Burn ISO Image |
 |
Post your Comments, Questions or Suggestions
|
Free Tech Support -- Ask Bob Rankin Subscribe to AskBobRankin Updates: Free Newsletter Copyright © 2005 - Bob Rankin - All Rights Reserved About Us Privacy Policy RSS/XML |
Article information: AskBobRankin -- Ubuntu Linux Feisty Fawn (Posted: 25 Apr 2007)
Source: https://askbobrankin.com/ubuntu_linux_feisty_fawn.html
Copyright © 2005 - Bob Rankin - All Rights Reserved
Most recent comments on "Ubuntu Linux Feisty Fawn"
Posted by:
Bob
08 May 2007
Thanks for the informative pieces on Linux. Could one install "Feisty Fawn" on a new hard drive that has no operating system on it?
EDITOR'S NOTE: Absolutely, just pop in the CD and boot up!
Posted by:
Roy Flint
08 May 2007
Hello Bob, I was excited about this new version after reading your post, so I downloaded it and burned it to a re-writable CD. I am a bit of a noobie with Linux still, but I have tried a lot of Live CDs and use them for various backup tasks and disk imaging. Thus far, I'm not impressed this release, especially the Live-CD aspect of it. I am testing with a simple Dell Latitude CPTV. That is a Celeron 266 (If I remember correctly) with the minimum mentioned 256M of ram.
I powered on and hit F2 to check the bios time first, then hit ESC. After a few error messages (Buffer I/O error on device fd0, logical block0, for example, which in my opinion should just be a minor check because how many systems have floppy drives in them anymore, expecially if you're booting from CD..) And literally 29 minutes later, the Gnome clock appeared. At that point and after, mouse reactivity was very slow. And my old stand-by, never fail Xircom combi card was not automagically connected to the network. I did see as it was loading that a swapfile was activated, and network interfaces were configured. Thus the sluggishness and the lack of connectivity confuse me.
But a Live CD that takes 29 minutes to boot to a GUI is of no use at all... I only hope that once installed, if that is successful, it runs a bit quicker. I must also say that that last version of Mepis 6 Live CD works well on this machine, and I believe it is based on Ubuntu. Thus I expected this CD to be spectacular, and I find it anything but.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Could it be a bad (scratched or dirty) CDROM disc? I've seen bad discs cause major slowdowns.
Posted by:
JT
09 May 2007
I have installed Ubuntu 7.04. I have solved all my problems and feel very happy with it. I can run some Windows programs via Wine. I only go back to windows xp for a few applications. When next stable release comes. We can see more people jump to it.
Posted by:
joe
23 May 2007
Mr.Bob, is ubuntu the newest linux version? and what if some newer versions come out? i wont have to reformat my pc? and all my stuff will still be there? does it support all the softwares? like guitar pro 5 or anti-viruses?
EDITOR'S NOTE: Feisty Fawn is the latest version of Ubuntu Linux. There are MANY other Linux distributions. If you're running Linux and a new version comes out, there's no reason you have to upgrade. Even if you do, it will not require a format or loss of data. And keep in mind that Linux will generally NOT run Windows programs, unless you have an emulator such as mentioned here: http://askbobrankin.com/running_windows_on_linux.html
Posted by:
Dr S
17 Jun 2007
Hi Bob, Good website! I have wanted to use Linux as my main operating system, tried various distros & Live Cds, but the main problems have been:
1) my inability to use the winmodem (Conexant HSF, vendor ID 14F1, Device ID 2015,Subvendor Id 14F1, Subdevice ID 2015. I downloaded various drivers but was unable to install them.
2) Inability to read the hundreds of webpages saved as MHT files
3) inability to create MS Powerpoint presentations.
Can you help with these? specially the modem driver problem. I want to try Ubuntu if i can find driver for my Modem.
EDITOR'S NOTE: How about a new modem? They're under $20 now. Not sure about MHT files, but you can do PP-compatible files with OpenOffice.
Posted by:
Matz
31 Jul 2007
There is a program called kmhtconvert. It can extract the content of a mht file or convert it to the war-format (the konqueror equivalent of mht). Have a look at http://members.hellug.gr/sng/kmhtconvert/index.html . In Ubuntu you can install it from the universe-repository.