Thursday, October 30, 2008

Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex is Released

Details and press release:

Ubuntu® 8.10 Desktop Edition enables mobile, flexible computing for a changing digital world
London, October 27, 2008: Canonical Ltd. announced the upcoming availability of Ubuntu® 8.10 Desktop Edition for free download on 30 October. In related news, Canonical also announced the simultaneous release of Ubuntu 8.10 Server Edition.

Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop Edition is designed for the pervasively connected digital lifestyle. With new 3G network support, users can move smoothly from wired and WiFi networks onto 3G cellphone networks while traveling. Ubuntu 8.10 is also built to be shared - users can start a quick "guest session" on the fly and let someone use their computer to surf the web or check email, while maintaining the security and integrity of their own data. And if that person really enjoys their brief session as an Ubuntu guest, they can put Ubuntu on any USB key and take it home to install on their own computer rather than having to burn a CD.

As a bonus, all Ubuntu 8.10 users will be able to enjoy programming from the BBC, with high quality streamed content available through the default media players in Ubuntu 8.10. Canonical has worked with the BBC to make sure that much of the material is available to users in all locations.

"Ubuntu 8.10 sees us lay the groundwork for a radically different, more mobile, desktop computing environment over the next two years," says Jane Silber, COO of Canonical and head of Online Services for Canonical. "Our rapid release cycle means we can deliver the elements to support this future faster, more fully realised, and more attractively packaged than the traditional OS vendors. Ubuntu 8.10 has many features that sign-post how Linux will provide the drive and innovation in desktop computing."

"Working with open source technologies like GNOME, Ubuntu 8.10 provides exciting new features for users like creating an always-on system that seamlessly connects wireless and cellular networks," said Stormy Peters, executive director at the GNOME Foundation. "Users no longer need to worry about finding a network - their computer is always connected. This is a great step for both mobile and desktop computing."

Features
3G Support
For constant connectivity public WiFi has limitations. Improvements to the network manager in Ubuntu 8.10 makes it simple to detect and connect to 3G networks and manage connectivity. This connectivity is delivered through an inbuilt 3G modem, through 'dongle' support, through a mobile phone or through Bluetooth. It is a complex environment that Ubuntu 8.10 simplifies through a single interface and the auto-detection of many of the most popular devices.

Write Ubuntu to and Install from a USB Drive
Ubuntu has been made available to users as an image for CDs and DVDs to date. But CDs and DVDs are slower, less portable and less convenient than USB sticks. Now, a simple application in Ubuntu will allow users to write Ubuntu to a USB drive, even a modified version of Ubuntu with their data on it, so it can be carried everywhere to plug in and use on any machine.

Guest Sessions
In a world of 'always on' pervasive computing it is more likely that users lend their computers to colleagues or friends at conferences, cafes or at parties so they can check email, etc. Guest sessions allow users to lock down a session easily so a guest can use the full system without interference with programs or data.

BBC Content
Starting the media players within Ubuntu (Totem Movie Player and Rhythmbox) launches a menu of selected content from the broadcaster that is free to air. This is a mixture of video, radio and podcasts and available in high quality, much of it playable using non-proprietary codecs. Content is constantly updated via the corporation's stream and will vary dependent on location, though some content will be available for every user.

Latest Gnome 2.24 Desktop Environment
The GNOME desktop environment project releases its latest version which is incorporated into Ubuntu 8.10. New features include a new instant messaging client, a built-in time tracker, improved file management and toolbars plus better support for multiple monitor use with the ability to set screen resolution by monitor.

Pricing, Availability and Technical Information
* Additional information and a feature tour is available at www.ubuntu.com.
* Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop Edition is free of charge and available on Thursday 30 October from http://www.ubuntu.com/download.
* The Server press release can be found at http://www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntu-8.10-server.

About Canonical Ltd
Canonical Ltd, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, is a global organisation headquartered in Europe committed to the development, distribution and support of open source software products and communities. World-class 24x7 commercial support for Ubuntu is available through Canonical's global support team and partners. Since its launch in October 2004 Ubuntu has become one of the most highly regarded Linux distributions with millions of users around the world.

Ubuntu will always be free to download, free to use and free to distribute to others. With these goals in mind, Ubuntu aims to be the most widely used Linux system, and is the centre of a global open source software ecosystem. For more information visit www.canonical.com or www.ubuntu.com.

Have a question or problem that this article doesn't cover?
Ask our Ubuntu Mini 9 Google Group for help.

21 comments:

Unknown said...

Can the Dell Mini 9 handle the ubuntu-8.10-server-amd64.iso or is it cabable of ubuntu-8.10-desktop-i386.iso only?

Anonymous said...

If I'm already using 8.10 beta, do I need to do anything other than the usual apt-get updates to make sure I'm running the current release code?

Thanks for the great site, best I've found so far for us mini9ers.

redDEAD said...

chadskinner,

From what I have found on the net:
Atom 200 series (single-core)
Diamondville" (45 nm)
All models support: MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, Intel 64 (Intel's x86-64 implementation), XD bit (an NX bit implementation)

So in theory it could run a 64-bit OS.

redDEAD said...

anonymous,

Yup updating from beta to release is that easy.

pHreaksYcle said...

I'm interested to know if anyone actually watches the BBC content and what they provide.

Anonymous said...

Does the release version of Ibex really work on the Inspiron Mini 9? I had major problems with the lan an wlan cards using 8.10 RC1. 8.04.1 works like a charm

Anonymous said...

Do you know where I can find a good guide on getting the BCM4312 wifi adapter to work with kismet or aircrack?

redDEAD said...

Nocture,

You're the only person complaining so far.

Mandx said...

What about a guide of Intrepid on the Inspiron 1501? Have you forgotten your other readers??? I had to suscribe to ubuntuMini just to hear from you guys...

MeTimNotYouTim said...

Greetings, I did a clean install of Intrepid on a brand-new Mini 9 and the wireless is unable to detect any networks.

This is remarkable because I'm literally surrounded by all kinds of WLANs, with all kinds of encryption. The one that I'm trying to connect to is WPA2 Personal/AES. If I try to do a manual connection I get prompted repeatedly for the key but I know I'm inputting the correct key.

The proprietary Broadcom STA wireless driver is activated.

I've tried WICD and I get no love: "no wireless detected."

Any suggestions?

redDEAD said...

MeTimNotYouTim

I think your the only one, everyone else is connecting.

MeTimNotYouTim said...

Yeah, it wouldn't be the first time in my life that I've been on an island by myself.

But...suggestions? :)

Anonymous said...

Intrepid Ibex LiveUsb (i386) install worked like a charm for me. No hitches, and no need for the special UI launchers, as I use terminal windows and IDEs, primarily. I'm a developer (independent contractor), and this machine puts my previous 4 year old laptops (IBM R40 and Dell Inspiron 6000) to shame - faster, smoother, quieter, better battery life, and much, much lighter!

Customers are charmed by it, and have tons of questions.

I formatted a 4GB partition for "/", another 4GB partition for "/home", and the remainder for a partition for "/usr/local".

I also put in a 16MB SDHC card, formatted it up with a lone partition, and it now auto-mounts as my "/local" directory, for a total nominal "disk" of 32GB. I mount it by UUID, not by device/partition name, incidentally.

I also typically carry development sandboxes on USB pens, so I can move them between desktops, full sized laptops, and the Mini, easily.

No problems with wireless, at all.

However, one of my USB ports appears to be flaky, as it sometimes takes two or three insertions of a USB pen before it is recognized, and auto-mounted. The upper left USB port is the one with the problem.

Once mounted, everything works fine.

What's interesting is that battery life appears to be *better* with this install, than with the (rather broken) Dell lpia install/repositories.

Deal breaker for me on Dell/lpia was the complete lack of working development tools - the installed gcc couldn't even compile and link a c "hello, world" program, for crying out loud! Same comment for the lpia team - at a minimum, guys, repackage the i386 packages, and provide those!

The 1GB kernel memory limit, and the 4GB disk image on a 16GB SSD were just plain silly, too, though easily remedied. Dell, are you listening?

I upgraded to 2GB of memory, right after receiving the machine.

Cold boot is 45 seconds, resume from suspend is < 2 seconds, and I'm seeing 8 .5 hours of battery life for an idle system, ~5.5 hours of battery life for light use (web surfing, reading documents), and 4+ hours for moderate usage (compiles, edits, execution of software test runs.)

Yup, something like this could easily make me a fanboy!

MeTimNotYouTim said...

Thought I'd come back again to let you and your audience know that I'm not the only guy having problems with Intrepid and Broadcom. http://ubuntu.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=963978

In other news, I tried swapping the Broadcom 4312 with an Intel WM3945ABG out of a Vostro. The hung while booting the Intrepid installer from USB DVD.

I've reinstalled the Broadcom 4312 and I'm re-running the Intrepid installer as a clean install. Because I like beating my head against rocks. :)

redDEAD said...

metimnotyoutim,

Broadcom blows for Linux users, this is nothing new but the Mini 9 should work. Could your problem be hardware based?

MeTimNotYouTim said...

Thanks for the suggestion. I don't know what's up. I learned this afternoon that my wireless should be working perfectly but....well check out my contribution to that huge thread on the Ubuntu Forums: http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=6154122&postcount=176

Man do I wish that Intel NIC would've worked /sigh

And by the way - very impolite of me to forget to mention it before now - thanks for this blog. Lots of good info here.

MeTimNotYouTim said...

/grumble ...me again. I grabbed the Dell Ubuntu 8.04 Restore CD off the Usenet, installed it, and WiFi happiness. Haven't tried an upgrade to Intrepid yet but I will soon. I wish it would work the Canonical 8.10 distro! The Dell load is tweaked to look like a Winblows system with a top-down menubar and I find it annoying as all get-out.

Anonymous said...

In response to the question of whether the Mini 9 can run a 64 bit OS, the answer is "no".

The Mini 9 processor is an Atom N270, which lacks 64 bit support, according to this Wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Atom_microprocessors

A 2.5W TDP is rather remarkable, however!

risckyW said...

I to have WPA2/AES issues. I found a HOW-TO http://tinyurl.com/398ytc and mentions the use of wpa_passphrase. If you follow those steps it will spit out a psk has... I used that as my password and now I'm able to connect to my WPA2/AES wireless network with out any issues.

Tim said...

Sorry if I missed it, but is there a setup when you are installing U 8.10 to a clean SSD? I got the Runcore 32GB, put the WinXP 8mb in a drawer, and installed 8.10 from an external CD drive.

All is great, except I can't seem to get sound working.

redDEAD said...

Tim,
Did you bother looking? http://www.ubuntumini.com/2008/10/user-guides-for-ubuntu-810-intrpid-ibex.html