Earlier this month we saw open-source Ubuntu remixed for netbook-class ultra-portable laptops. Today, MIDs are feeling the hot, sweaty breath of Hardy Heron breathing down the back of their Intel chipsets. The UME-8.04 release features a Gecko-based browser with screen zooming optimized for smaller displays, Pidgin for instant messaging, GNOME's Cheese webcam app, Claws Mail eMail, and Moblin Media for music and video -- all optimized for current and last generation MID / UMPC chipsets from Intel. Available to download now for McCaslin (e.g., Samsung Q1 Ultra) and Menlow-based (Lenovo's Ideapad U8) MIDs.

[Via Phoronix, thanks Boning C.]

It only been a short little while since Gutsy Gibbon (otherwise known as Ubuntu 7.10) made its way into hearts and hard drives around the world, but the folks at the Ubuntu Dev Summit are already dropping details on the next release, charmingly dubbed "Hardy Heron." According to Ars Technica, the overarching focus with Heron will be on robustness, as it's apparently intended to be supported for a full three years. Among the more specific changes you can expect to see is an improved Compiz window manager, which was pegged as one area needing a boost in usability, along with updated PolicyKit and Tracker tools. Not surprisingly, Heron is also apparently "likely to see a complete visual refresh," including a whole new icon theme that'll use more SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) and bring things more in line with the Tango icons used by GNOME. Of course, all that is still quite a ways off, so if you haven't yet gone Ubuntu, there's no reason not to give the Gibbon a shot.

[Via Slashdot]