Ubuntu 12.04 LTS with HUD May Arrive in April

Most know I am an Ubuntu user … one of my daily driver PC uses Ubuntu LTS.  And I may switch to Ubuntu HUD LTS when it allegedly becomes available in April.

If you use an iPad you will be familiar with ”touch selection experiences” …

Shuttleworth is working on the Ubuntu menu system …

The menu is a core element of the graphical user interface developed by Xerox, and it has been adopted by virtually all popular computing environments ever since. Even in this supposedly post-PC world, the menu is still very much alive and kicking – they may have remarketed them as pop-overs or “touch selection experiences” or whatever, but don’t be fooled by that nonsense. A menu is a menu.

Shuttleworth seems to believe it’s time to retire the concept entirely – or at least offer an alternative. Menus are awesome in that they’re generally in the same place, there’s a fair level of consistency (even cross-platform), and, well, they’re familiar. They have downsides, too, though; it’s hard to find something within menus and nested menus have a tendency to close accidentally.

The HUD does things differently. As complicated as Shuttleworth’s long blog post makes it out to be, it’s just a search field which only searches within menu items of one application. That’s it. In all honesty, it’s actually quite brilliant, and I’d love to have it on my applications right now.

Here is a video of HUD: Introducing the HUD to Ubuntu

We think of it as “beyond interface”, it’s the “intenterface” notes Mark Shuttleworth. “This concept of ‘intent-driven interface’ has been a primary theme of our work in the Unity shell, with dash search as a first class experience pioneered in Unity. Now we are bringing the same vision to the application”, he added.

This new system will be fully compatible with the present apps as well as menus. In fact, the report also confirms that voice input will also be introduced but not when Ubuntu 12.04 LTS arrives in April. To integrate voice into the apps it will take some more time but hopefully it will happen very soon.

The big issue that I see, however, is that it doesn’t look like a replacement just yet. Only when you specifically know what command you want to invoke is the HUD useful; otherwise, it offers no discoverability features. In that sense, it’s the exact opposite of Microsoft’s ribbon. Luckily for us, the HUD will supplement the traditional menu at first, but Shuttleworth does plan to abolish the menu altogether eventually

They’re still working on the HUD, and Shuttleworth acknowledges the discoverability issue – they’re still working on a solution. I’m curious where they’re going to take this idea, but I’m happy they’re trying.

Is This The Big One ?? Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Beta 1 Now Available

Canonical has announced the availability of the first Ubuntu 10.04 beta release. The new version of Ubuntu, codenamed Lucid Lynx, is scheduled to arrive April 29. It will be a long-term support (LTS) release, which means that updates will be available for three years on the desktop and five years on servers. And here it is: Ubuntu developers have announced the release of first beta of their upcoming Ubuntu 10.04 LTS release.

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Beta 1 is now available as a free download.

Lucid Lynx is a milestone release. As a Long-Term Support (LTS) edition of Ubuntu, Lucid Lynx will be supported for the next three years on the desktop and five years on the server instead of the usual 18 months of free security updates.

This edition will, therefore, set the scene for Ubuntu for a decent chunk of time and provide a launch pad for the distro’s move down a more refined and user-friendly path that subsequent releases should build upon.

This edition of Ubuntu has several versions available: Desktop, Server, and Netbook along with versions for cloud computing. However, you can download the desktop version and add-on the other version features. The result may be a little crufty, but it works. It’s getting bad out there, with ISPs limiting bandwith and all.

The desktop and netbook editions are optimized for fast booting. The server editions are optimized for better integration with the Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud. My 6700 based desktop boots quite quick now. Fast enough to power down between uses.

Get yours now for testing. Final release is April 29, 2010.

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS “Lucid Lynx” Hits Alpha 3

I am running it now, and it looks really good, going to be a hot chase for windows 7. For those that have been waiting to try out Ubuntu 10.04 (a.k.a. the Lucid Lynx) until it gets closer to a beta state, the third and final alpha release is now available.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that Microsoft with Windows 7 will have difficulty putting any daylight between Windows 7 and the Ubuntu operating system, it’s free as well. It boots way fast, which is impressive for those users who want to power down their systems between uses.

It’s not perfect yet. If you need perfect, better to wait on future releases. The final is due on April 29. It’s the real deal. Free with five year support.

Touch Screen Linux

I was at the local Best Buy yesterday, and sure enough they have the latest HP Touch Screen systems set up, so I sat down and played a hand. I cam away underwhelmed. Don’t know why, the figures swirled and danced, but I found my tried and true mouse and keyboard far easier. The arm soo got tired raising up to touch the screen and the mouse got used more and more as the fun slipped away.

Frankly, on a desktop, this whole touchscreen thing may not make any sense. But on a laptop or whatever portable, it might make quite a bit of sense. If it becomes truly accurate enough to replace the stylus in any big way — There is something about a pencil like device that just works for human hands. But, ever since Apple wowed the world with the iPhone, with the insanely high per month charges, the world has been abuzz with touch screen mania.

So now along comes Linux, meetoo, meetoo, they shout … You knew there was going to be someone didn’t you? And isn’t that the true beauty of open source free softarwe, you are free to try anything.

This video shows some action made using a multitouch capable tablet.
these action are handled natively by the new Linux kernel 2.6.30 meaning that you can now produce the same effects shown in proprietary systems.

More information and downloads on the ENAC multi-touch technology may be found: http://lii-enac.fr

Ubuntu 9.04 Upgrade, Reuse /Home

Finally took the plunge on my daily driver, the important system. I have been using Ubuntu since, well I don’t know, somewhere around release 5. something. So I am reasonably well adapted to Ubuntu. Been a UNIX user, Solaris, since the 70s so …

But one little wall remained, how to update from the latest LTS to Jaunty. Since the upgrades from prior upgrades had left some unwanted cruft, I decided a new install was best. So off I went, install new, keep home and reuse the users spaces. All was well until boot, then no login with the original users. So now what?

For once I decide to do a wipe and install, OS only. I had already put /home into another partition long ago, and have been using that.