Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala Alpha 1 Released

[YuMeng]

Ubuntu is one of most favored Linux flavor and popular among Linux users. Most interesting part about Ubuntu is fastest development cycles. Ubuntu Developers are moving quickly to bring the absolute latest and greatest software the Open Source Community has to offer.
Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalop release Ubuntu developers started working on next version of Ubuntu 9.10 code name Karmic Koala. Yesterday Ubuntu Team has released first alpha version of Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala This is Pre-releases of Karmic Kola and ISO of Ubuntu 9.10 is available for download however it should be noted that this is not stable release should not be deployed on server machine.
Since it’s just a start of Ubuntu 9.10 there are very few changes from Jaunty Jackalop to karmic Kola.
List of Changes in Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala

1. Ubuntu Karmic Alpha 1 includes the latest GNOME 2.27.1 development release.
2. Ubuntu 9.10 Alpha 1 includes the 2.6.30-5.6 kernel based on 2.6.30-rc5.
3. Some infrastructure changes for power management
4. New Intel video driver architecture available for testing
5. New Default Compiler Karmic uses GCC-4.4 as the default compiler
How to Upgrade Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalop to Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala

1. Install the update-manager-core package if it is not already installed
2. Edit /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades and set Prompt=normal;
3. Launch the upgrade tool with the command sudo do-release-upgrade; and follow the on-screen instructions.

Download Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala ISO

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/karmic/alpha-1/ (Ubuntu Alternates, Server, Netbook Remix, and MID)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/re...armic/alpha-1/ (Kubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/re...armic/alpha-1/ (Xubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/netboot/karmic/alpha-1/ (Ubuntu ARM)


Source: Blogsdna

[hellnoire]

Wow... they are ahead of the clock! I was talking with one of their coders and he said the Alpha was to come out at the end of this week!

[brayden]

I heard about this on sunday when i was looking at softpedia, I couldn't believe the speediness of their coders. It has been released so quick it's insane. I don't know how they do it but i guess because they're talented independant coders who want to do this rather than need to.

[Firstmate]

To think they release a whole new edition every 6 months, I think is amazing.

[findingmyzen]

I can't even keep up with Ubuntu anymore, last one I used was version 7..guess it's time to order a cd of their newest version? Would it be worth it to try the Alpha release?

[YuMeng]

You can't order an Alpha release CD, only official.
I think they work another version after official version come out.

[brayden]

As soon as the official comes out they start to do hours of work into the next release. they don't slow down for anything, unlike windows developers, and as they're independent and anyone can do it they have more people helping out.

[utkarsh30june]

Originally Posted by brayden

As soon as the official comes out they start to do hours of work into the next release. they don't slow down for anything, unlike windows developers, and as they're independent and anyone can do it they have more people helping out.

If you think Windows Developers don't work hard, I'm afraid you're possibly out of your mind. "Yeah Yeah Windows developers were sitting and eating Donuts on their desks and the Windows 7 RC hit the world, out of nothing! Yeah yeah none of the Microsoft developer is hard working, right?"

I admit Canonical has a very talented team of developers but it just doesn't prove that Microsoft developers are idiots/lazy. Tell me, does it?

Software development is a continuous process. It is not as easy as it seems to be. It doesn't stop even if the team is on a break after a recent release. Human mind never stops thinking, does it?

Microsoft was inconsistent with the release date of Vista but that was history. There is always a door for improvement and I see Microsoft moving towards the same. You may not accept my point but you can't deny it, as well.

If you've got some personal grudge with Microsoft, Fly to Redmond, wear a "I hate MS" T-shirt and blast out all your anger over there.

[brayden]

Can you get me the plane ticket to redmond with return airfares? anyway Microsoft aren't open source and all. so they do not have a wide band of talented programmers who want to do this and feel proud to be helping one of the best operating systems in the world. Ubuntu has a major release every 6 months! Not every 3 years. and they keep their .iso at about 700mb so it can be burnt to a CD, and do not have those insane 2.5GB sizes that other than using up all your bandwidth and taking forever to download, need DVDs. oh and windows doesn't have as intuitive recovery modes.

and anyone using ubuntu right now try the win+tab, its' so cool xD

[Polkadot]

As with every development team, they were working on "K" months before "J" was released. Within any development cycle, there are 'freeze' dates: After date x, anything which is not yet finalized, gets pushed onto the next pile. The features which are ready get compiled into the final code, they do x many days/weeks testing, and BAM...out the door it goes! The team(s) working on those features/functions which were not released with version "J" may finish them prior to release, but not before the freeze date. They now become the basis of "J.10". The 'J' release is still stable, but the features/functions in " .xx" are the only alpha/beta components.

EDIT:
Should you update? That depends. Go to their site and check the 'change log'. If the changes reflect things you need, then, by all means update. If they are functions that you don't need/use, you would be wasting your time, a DVD, and their bandwidth that people who need those functions could otherwise be using.