Ubuntu's "Gutsy Gibbon" features finalized, coming to a handheld near you

Those of you disappointed by the "top secret" features of Leopard might want to cast your hopeful, wayward glances in the direction of Ubuntu. Here comes "Gutsy Gibbon," otherwise known as Ubuntu 7.10 whose feature-set now appears finalized with a planned October release just like Apple's big cat. Pumping the 2.6.22 Linux kernel at its core, Gutsy G will be the first Ubuntu release to include new Mobile and Embedded editions "targeted at hand-held devices and other mobile/embedded form factors." It will integrate the Hildon UI components developed by Nokia and already on display in their N800 tablet. In other words, that Sony Ericsson P990i we saw running Ubuntu likely wasn't a hoax after all. We also expect this to be the first distribution to feature the recently merged, Compiz/Beryl windows manager for desktop users. Mmmm, eye candy. So prepare your houses and disk allocations -- October 18th is the scheduled release.

[JMV290 @ Jun 20th 2007 3:57AM]

Sounds pretty awesome. Ubuntu on a phone is something I'd love to check out.



iPhone hacks are something I'm waiting for.

[Iam9376 @ Jun 20th 2007 4:02AM]

I've been a developer and user of Linux systems for over 6 years now, and I currently use Ubuntu at the moment. But i believe the article is very misleading with "hose of you disappointed by the "top secret" features of Leopard might want to cast your hopeful, wayward glances in the direction of Ubuntu."

I'm sorry, but if you were disappointed with Leopard, I highly doubt you'll be overly impressed with Ubuntu 7.10

[tchiseen @ Jun 20th 2007 5:52AM]

" I'm sorry, but if you were disappointed with Leopard, I highly doubt you'll be overly impressed with Ubuntu 7.10 "

Well, I can see where you are coming from, but I was disappointed by the first impressions of Leopard, and am no longer looking forward to it's final rls. While this perhaps has not made me more interested in 7.10, it means for me I can forget about reading further tech blogs concerned with Leopard, and more acutely focus my fanboyism on 7.10.

I also think that many people look to Linux distros and Apple upgrades for the future of our OS's, cause lord knows there's no reason to look at M$. While there may be limited advances in the near future, surely the interest now can only be seen as a positive.

[avner shilo @ Jun 20th 2007 4:02AM]

"wideo" 3d web browser is the next big thing

a preview of it is already on youtube!!!

[avner shilo @ Jun 20th 2007 4:33AM]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8806244491048474533

[Klaas @ Jun 20th 2007 7:43AM]

And how is this useful. Looks like an ugly winamp visualization to me.....

[Tim @ Jun 20th 2007 4:06AM]

Think if it was called i-Buntu, it would sway the masses.

[Charlie @ Jun 20th 2007 6:28AM]

I thought it was an ubuntu ashtray from the picture... ;-)

[JC @ Jun 20th 2007 7:47AM]

Can't wait to see what goodness Canonical has in store for us. I heart Ubuntu.

[HaX80r @ Jun 20th 2007 8:16AM]

Sounds interesting. It's always good to see Linux make its way onto hardware that's not the standard rank-and-file workstation, server, or laptop. I bet $10 that someone will hack this onto a RAZR or similar ubiquitous yet non-Linux phone within 48 hours of it's release.

[James Laver @ Jun 20th 2007 8:24AM]

Ubuntu first with the beryl/compiz merge? Don't count on it. Foresight beats ubuntu with new niceties every time, and yet all anyone wants to hear is ubuntu.

Bet foresight beats them again.

[JC @ Jun 20th 2007 10:04AM]

I knew it was only a matter of time before some (insert Linux distro here) diehard would come in here and rain on the parade.

[James Laver @ Jun 20th 2007 10:17AM]

You mean someone sat at a gentoo box who just happens to think that obsession with ubuntu is a bit pathetic?

What I object to is the notion that ubuntu is the first with everything and that ubuntu is simply the best distribution, neither is true.

Foresight has newer things and there is no 'best' distribution, there is only best for a given need.

So when you go and make a blanket statement about something you know nothing about, expect to sound like an idiot.

[JC @ Jun 20th 2007 10:51AM]

I KNOW Ubuntu is not the best distribution, nor the most innovative in the Linux community's eyes. It is, however, the most user-friendly from a non Linux user point of view. Easy networking? LiveCD? Easy 6 step install? Yes, all good things, but not for a power user.

I've used Mandriva, SuSE, and Ubuntu so far is the best install out of the box and got all my hardware working. Surely you can't argue that somebody who has had no exposure to Linux would benefit from this.

I'm an intermediate Linux user, and as such, I'm GLAD Ubuntu isn't on the bleeding edge of everything. It would be irresponsible for a company that offers long term support and offers a stable OS to implement the best and newest (also read: buggy) features. Hmm... what other OS manufacturer puts unstable operating systems out on the market to be tested and bug-fixed on its users?

When you try to fit your paradigm of what something should be on others who might not see things the same way, expect to be called on it.

[James Laver @ Jun 20th 2007 1:01PM]

"It is, however, the most user-friendly from a non Linux user point of view."

I assume you haven't tried foresight yet or you'd change your mind.

"Easy networking? LiveCD? Easy 6 step install?"

Foresight has all of the above. In fact the only thing I can fault with it is that I personally don't like having seperate live and install CDs

"Yes, all good things, but not for a power user."

I don't know about that. I happen to like things 'just working', what I don't appreciate is not being able to tweak things on a 'just works' system.

"I've used Mandriva, SuSE, and Ubuntu so far is the best install out of the box and got all my hardware working. Surely you can't argue that somebody who has had no exposure to Linux would benefit from this."

Quote me, I don't recall saying anything of the sort

"I'm an intermediate Linux user, and as such, I'm GLAD Ubuntu isn't on the bleeding edge of everything. It would be irresponsible for a company that offers long term support and offers a stable OS to implement the best and newest (also read: buggy) features. Hmm... what other OS manufacturer puts unstable operating systems out on the market to be tested and bug-fixed on its users?"

If you think foresight puts buggy software out, you'd be entirely wrong. It can get stable software out faster though because the package manager is lightyears ahead of dpkg (which is, IMO, a terrible package manager, though feel free to talk about it yourself once you've packaged a few debs). Gentoo, on the other hand, is full of buggy software, but that's the nature of the distro, it is intended to be DIY.

A further point i'd like to make is regarding your stable releases idea. If you've had ubuntu cross-release dist-upgrades go as spectularly wrong as I have (through no fault of my own, I hasten to add, I don't mind when I break things, I am after all a gentoo user). Foresight is a metadistribution however, each release is a snapshot in time, so upgrades are no problem at all. This alone is such an improvement you would not believe. The same goes of gentoo, but as I said, gentoo is a DIY distro.

[JC @ Jun 20th 2007 1:44PM]

I think you make some good arguments, but for you to call me an idiot because I speak from a "casual" Linux user's point of view is not doing anything to help further ANY Linux distribution.

I will definitely try Foresight, although as you pointed out, when I went to download, I was a little annoyed that the LiveCD and install are different discs.

You still speak from the perspective of a power user though. Come down to where I'm standing, or even lower, and Linux is a little more intimidating.

[Mystakill @ Jun 20th 2007 9:37AM]

I just hope that 7.10 has full support for Atheros & Broadcom chipsets standard, and WPA2 support in the standard networking tools (quite a few still only support WEP...) I don't care if it's proprietary -- I just want it to work without having to install a bunch of extra crap and make a bunch of config changes at the command-line.

[JC @ Jun 20th 2007 10:55AM]

Ditto on the Broadcom support. This would help out the Dell laptop users a lot. I hate having to reinstall ndiswrapper and drivers everytime there's a kernel update on my Inspiron 1501. Quite a few of the Atheros chipset cards work out of the box though, which is good for my desktop.

[Jeff Waugh @ Jun 20th 2007 11:11AM]

Whoa, come on Engadget... The Ubuntu Mobile stuff is all out in the open, you don't need to repeat silly stuff like this. It's not like Apple where you have to play inane guessing games -- much of the info about the Ubuntu mobile stuff is discussed freely on their developer list.

They've partnered with Intel and are focusing purely on the UMPC/MDI form factor at the moment. There will be no "Ubuntu for your phone" in the near future. Definitely not in the 7.10 timeframe.

Canonical don't have hard mobile/embedded experience or developers, and the UMPC/MDI stuff they're working on is not very far away at all from a normal desktop Linux distro -- it's all the same underneath-- they're just using Hildon as the UI instead of GNOME.

Please stop encouraging your readers to wet their pants about Ubuntu or sexy Linux on phones. They should be looking to other players in the GNOME Mobile space for that. :-)

[Joe Simpson @ Jun 20th 2007 11:26AM]

I gave up on Ubuntu and reverted to a MS OS. XP with a Vista skin will suffice for now. I Couldn't get many things to work with the USB ports and also no subtitles/dvd menu etc. I guess I am too big a n00b for it...meh!

[jerrt @ Jun 20th 2007 11:31AM]

this is killer news. plus it comes with beryl!!! i'm ready to upgrade. [:

[philth @ Jun 20th 2007 1:18PM]

ubuntu > leopard

[Calvin @ Jun 20th 2007 3:03PM]

I want to get this on my PSP what's the requirements? For too long i have seen people running windows on their PSP...too long.

[MarceloL @ Jun 20th 2007 4:42PM]

Ubuntu will have to still contend ( as Linux in general does ) with the inadequacy of the drivers. In specific the mish-most of their video drivers. Some builds support this, and not that. Some builds are packages for RPM, others DEB. And AMD/ATI still refuse to even consider opening up their drivers.

Unless you can install on existing hardware ( yes, even 3 year old hardware can boot Vista, no reason why Beryl/NVidia GLX shouldn't work on a 3 year old Dell Inspiron ) can be properly supported by the driver base, then we're never going to truly make the grade. It's as simple as that.

[a12ctic @ Jun 21st 2007 6:53PM]

I strongly disagree. I can boot up Ubuntu and have almost all my hardware supported (excluding my video driver which is an easy apt-get install nvidia-glx away), my sound card, my mouse, my wireless card, my printer, and several other pieces of hardware that I would have to search the internet for with a vista install.

[marcelol @ Jun 22nd 2007 9:42AM]

Funny....the actual laptop I'm using to enter this in on ( Inspiron 8500 with an GeForceGo 4200 ) is the specific system I mentioned as having a problem BOOTING with the NV-GLX driver ( with GLX visuals ON or OFF, it doesn't matter ).

I know you can apt-get most anything, but that wasn't my POINT, and it was pretty obvious that it wasn't. I didn't say things weren't available. I said things that ARE available don't always work properly. Frankly, I don't mind building certain parts of my OS myself, but these aren't the days of framebuffer-only video cards, and I don't think that everyone out there has the time or inclination to fight video driver bugs. Any Linux today should ( among a small throng of other devices ) include a video drivers that for the given chipset work out of the box.

The funny thing is that the nv-glx ( not the nv-glx-new ) driver does work if I activate it from the desktop and restart X ( CTL-ALT-BackSpace ). But once I reboot, it's back to having to switch to the regular nv framebuffer driver because all I get is a black screen with a cursor at the upper left.

And yes, I've scourted forums, wiki's, even #kubuntu, and other forums on IRC about it. No one seems to explains why for some people ( other people have reported the same issue I have ) it works and for others it doesn't.

[cobranian @ Jul 20th 2007 11:38AM]

This guy has already upgraded to the gutsy gibbon, and has written a cool article about it:
http://kevin.vanzonneveld.net/techblog/article/upgrade_to_ubuntu_gutsy_tribe_3_alpha/