Ubuntu 7.10 Release Candidate

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Contents

Introduction
Upgrading from Ubuntu 7.04
New features since Ubuntu 7.04
Download
Caveats
Reporting Bugs & Testing
Participate in Ubuntu
More Information

Introduction

The Ubuntu developers are hurrying to bring you the absolute latest and greatest software that the open source and free software communities have to offer. This is the Ubuntu 7.10 release candidate, which brings a host of excellent new features.

We consider this release candidate to be complete, stable and suitable for testing by any user. The final stable version will be released in October 2007.

Upgrading from Ubuntu 7.04

If you are upgrading from Ubuntu 7.04, see https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GutsyUpgrades.

New features since Ubuntu 7.04

GNOME 2.20

The Gutsy Gibbon release candidate brings you the latest and greatest GNOME 2.20 with lots of new features and improvements.

Desktop 3D effects

Compiz Fusion is enabled by default and will bring 3D desktop visual effects that improve the usability and visual appeal of the system. Ubuntu 7.10 automatically detects whether the hardware is capable of running compiz; if not, it falls back to normal desktop. Additional effects can be enabled in "System/Preferences/Appearance" under the "Visual Effects" tab. There you can also disable the effects entirely.

Desktop search

The deskbar applet is now included in the default configuration. It allows quick access to your common actions, including opening web bookmarks and searches, sending messages to your contacts, and more.

The Tracker indexer has been added to the desktop, making it easier and faster to search for your documents, photos, music, videos, chat logs, and all other files. You can use Tracker in the search dialog, the file selector, nautilus, or the deskbar applet.

Fast user switching

It is now possible to easily switch between user sessions without the inconvenience of entering your username or password numerous times, a time-saver on computers shared by multiple users.

Firefox plugins in Ubuntu

Firefox now comes with an improved plugin finder wizard that allows users to search and install packaged plugins easily, bringing users a richer web-browsing experience with the integrated security support of the rest of the Ubuntu system:

In addition, users can now open the Ubuntu application installer with a list of packaged Firefox extensions available by clicking on a link in the Firefox Addons dialog:

Dynamic screen configuration

Several drivers, including ones for ATI, nVidia, and Intel graphics chips now support the X Resize and Rotate Extension (xrandr). This enables dynamic monitor detection, and resizing and rotating of video output, for no-fuss support for projectors and external monitors.

If you have this hardware and used MergedFB / Xinerama previously, you may need to update your X configuration to use this new feature.

Graphical configuration tool for X

You can now configure what driver you want to use for your graphic card, change the default resolution for all users or change your monitor's refresh rate without having to turn to the terminal. A new GUI has been added making it easy to adjust your video and monitor settings. This tool can also set up dual screen capabilities for cards that use the Xinerama mode.

Fully automatic printer installation

Printers are now automatically configured by merely plugging them in and turning them on. Printer setup cannot get any easier!

Handling of non-free device drivers

Restricted-manager can now handle drivers which are free in themselves, but which require non-free firmware or other packages to operate. Only three clicks are needed to fetch and install firmware for wireless cards with Broadcom chipsets, and for a number of Winmodems commonly found in laptops, provided that you have an alternative Internet connection.

When restricted-manager detects hardware for which a restricted driver is available, a notification window pops up:

NTFS writing

While previous Ubuntu releases only supported read access to Windows (NTFS) partitions, Gutsy Gibbon now fully supports reading and writing to them, by integrating the NTFS-3g project. This significantly eases file and document sharing with Windows.

Power consumption

Ubuntu includes the latest Linux kernel, featuring dynticks. It allows the processor to use less power and produce less heat. For laptops this means more battery life and burn-free laps and for desktops and media center PCs, a quieter, cooler environment.

Encrypted hard disks

The alternate installer now given you the option to encrypt the entire hard disk (or individual parts if you partition manually). This provides robust data protection for laptops and other mobile devices which may be lost or stolen. Please keep in mind that this only protects the data when the machine is powered off.

AppArmor security framework

This easy-to-deploy kernel technology limits the resources an application is allowed to access and can be used to provide an added layer of protection against undiscovered security vulnerabilities in applications. Head to the AppArmor user guide to learn about this new security feature.

Additional installation profiles for Ubuntu Server

New pre-configured installation options have been added to the Ubuntu Server CD. Mail Server, File Server, Print Server, and Database Server options join existing LAMP and DNS options for pre-configured installations, easing the deployment of common server configurations.

Profile-based Authentication Configuration

Deploying authentication configuration has become a lot easier with the addition of auth-client-config. Files may be added to the profiles database, allowing for an administrator to set up a single profile for site-wide network authentication roll-outs. Find out more about AuthClientConfig.

Improved thin-client support

The speed of LTSP thin clients has been greatly improved through the use of compressed images, and LDM, the thin-client login manager included in Edubuntu, also now has support for autologin, multiple servers, and unencrypted graphics transport as an additional speed boost.

Download

Get it while it's hot. ISOs and torrents are available at:

http://releases.ubuntu.com/releases/7.10 (Ubuntu)
http://releases.ubuntu.com/releases/kubuntu/7.10 (Kubuntu)
http://releases.ubuntu.com/releases/edubuntu/7.10 (Edubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/7.10/rc (Xubuntu)

Local mirrors are also available:

Caveats

When using desktop effects (i. e. compiz is enabled), the panel sometimes does not appear. The panel can be made to appear by clicking on the area where it belongs (by default, on the top edge of the screen). (https://launchpad.net/bugs/147943)
On some Intel graphics chipsets, users may experience intermittent lockups with gray blocks on the screen when logging out, suspending to RAM, or switching to a text mode console. We are providing the legacy "i810" driver to work around the issue until a complete fix is available. Note that the legacy i810 driver has a reduced feature set compared with the intel driver, and may have other issues which are resolved by the new driver.

To use the i810 driver, open the "Screens & Graphics" configuration tool, choose the "Graphics Card" tab, choose the "i810" driver (if it isn't already selected), and press OK. Once an update to this issue is available, it is recommended to switch back to the "intel" driver for best performance and to receive future updates.

Reporting Bugs & Testing

The Gutsy Gibbon RC may still have bugs! Your comments, bug reports, patches and suggestions will help fix bugs and improve future releases. After reading the bug reporting guidelines, please report bugs to the Ubuntu bug tracking system.

If you want to help with bugs, the Bug Squad is always looking for help.

If you plan to do an installation of Gutsy RC, be sure to head to the Testing page. With just a few minutes of your time, you can really help to improve Ubuntu. We have two different tests; one takes just a short time, and the other is more thorough.

We welcome feedback on the 3D effects to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CompizFeedback. If you report bugs about them, please include the content of ~/.xsession-errors and the output of lspci -nn.