Ubuntu team has released the 3rd alpha of Ubuntu 10.04 code named Lucid Lynx. Alpha 3 brings the following enhancements:
- Ubuntu Lucid Alpha 3 includes the latest GNOME desktop environment.
- Alpha 3 includes the 2.6.32-14.20 kernel based on 2.6.32.8.
- Alpha 3 of Kubuntu features the new KDE SC 4.4.
- Lucid Alpha 3 sports full removal of the hal package, making Ubuntu faster to boot and faster to resume from suspend.
- The likewise-open package, which provides Active Directory authentication and server support for Linux, has been updated to version 5.4.
- The Nouveau video driver is now the default for nVidia hardware.
- Built in integration with Twitter, identi.ca, Facebook, and other social networks with the MeMenu in the panel.
- The Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud installer has been vastly improved in order to support alternative installation topologies.
You can download Ubuntu 10.04 alpha 3 from here. Kubuntu 10.04 alpha 3 can be downloaded from here.
Since it’s an alpha release, please read the known issues below before downloading.
Known Issues:
- On video hardware that supports KMS, the live CD sometimes does not reboot successfully, instead displaying the boot logo indefinitely.
- When running on Ubuntu Server, the plymouth boot splash screen does not exit after the system is booted. To get to a console login after boot, you must press Ctrl-Alt-F1 to switch to VT1.
- Console keyboard selections made at install time may not be correctly respected on reboot, leaving users with the default US keyboard map. This issue affects all images, but is mostly of concern to users of Ubuntu Server.
- Because of the new alternatives system used for nvidia driver packages, the nvidia installer from NVIDIA’s website currently doesn’t work.
- The fglrx binary driver for ATI video chipsets does not yet support the X server in Lucid. As a workaround, users should use the open source -ati driver instead.
- OEM setup mode does not work from the Alpha 3 Desktop CD, because the post-reboot configuration tool is not present. As a workaround, users can use the alternate CD for OEM installs.
Source: Ubuntu.
Technorati Tags: Ubuntu 10.04, Lucid Lynx, KDE 4.4, GNOME, HAL, Kernel, ATI, NVidia
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OpenOffice.org team has released OpenOffice 3.2. OpenOffice 3.2 brings the following enhancements/features:
- OpenOffice.org 3.2 Calc and Writer have both reduced ‘cold start’ time by 46% since version 3.0 was released just over a year ago.
- OpenOffice.org 3.2 has made further strides in compliance with ODF 1.2, including closer conformance to OASIS ODFF/OpenFormula specifications.
- OpenOffice.org 3.2 provides improved support for other common office document types – Password protected Microsoft Office XML files, OLE objects, form controls and pivot tables can now be read from MS Excel 2007 documents, Encryption support within the Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP filter allows password protected Microsoft Word documents to be saved, Filters for AportisDoc and PocketWord now support type detection based on DocType, When writing string data to SYLK files, embedded double quotes are no longer escaped by doubling; semicolons are now escaped by doubling..
- Support for Postscript based OpenType fonts.
Other than those general fixes above, there are numerous additional fixes for individual modules of OpenOffice like Writer, Calc, Draw etc. For complete list of changes, refer to OpenOffice release note.
Technorati Tags: OpenOffice, ODF, XML, Postscript
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Mozilla Messaging team has released the 1st alpha version of Mozilla Thunderbird 3.1 code named Lanikai. I’m using Thunderbird 3.0 since it was released and I like it. I like the tabbed interface. The only irritating problem I have is with the folders that Thunderbird created under Archives for my GMail accounts. Even if I read the emails under my inbox, the archive folder doesn’t get refreshed and when a new email comes, I get new email notification with multiple email subjects. This is pretty irritating and I have no idea how to stop it unless I go and click each individual mails under Archives. I also would like to see the compose window open in a new tab instead of a new window.
Lanikai Alpha 1 is built on top of the Gecko 1.9.2 platform. Here are some important changes in Thunderbird 3.1 alpha 1.
- Several improvements to IMAP.
- Several fixes for Smart Folders, message filters, and attachment handling.
- Several design improvements and corrections to the interface.
- Download Manager is now accessible as a menu item (Tools > Saved Files).
- Stability and memory improvements.
If you want to give it a try, read the known issues in this release, below.
- All Systems
-
- If you are using the Kaspersky Anti-Spam Extension, it is disabled in Lanikai Alpha 1. The Kaspersky Anti-Spam Extension will support Thunderbird 3 in their next version.
- If you use or had previously used the master password feature, you may be prompted to enter your master password when you first start up Lanikai.
- Your passwords are stored in a new location. If you go back to using a Thunderbird 2, or switch back and forth between Lanikai and Thunderbird 2, your password lists do not get updated.
- Searching your emails is case sensitive for languages other than English.
- If using SSL or TLS, and the certificate that comes from the server is self-signed, expired, or has a domain that does not match the server domain, a dialog will be shown asking if Thunderbird should permanently make an exception for the cert. This should only be done if the error is understood.
- The extended columns in the folder pane were removed in Thunderbird 3 Beta 1. There is an add-on that restores this functionality.
- The compact header view was removed in Thundebird 3 Beta 3. There is an extension that offers similar functionality.
- Some Thunderbird 2 users upgrading to Lanikai may not be able to login to their smtp server because the secure authentication setting maybe turned on but not supported by the smtp server. Check your smtp server settings in Tools -> Account Settings -> Outgoing Server, and edit the smtp server with the issue. If use ’secure authentication’ is checked, uncheck it and try again.
- Lanikai requires that extensions either come from a secure server using the HTTPS protocol or are digitally signed, or they will fail to install.
- If you are unable to view content for your RSS feeds in the Wide View Layout, you may need to disable the Lightning Calendar add-on if you have it installed or switch to Classic View and restart Thunderbird.
- Some emails sent in Plain Text may move the message and some of the buttons out of the message pane. Open the message in a New Tab, resize the window, or change your layout to Classic View or Wide View to view the message.
- When working Offline, if you compose an email and select ‘Send Later’, your message may not be sent if you reconnect automatically to the Internet. You will need need to manually resend the email from your Drafts folder.
- In some cases, using ‘Save As Template’ from the File menu may not work. You can still Save As Template from the email Compose window or drag the message into the Template folder.
-
- Microsoft Windows
-
- The keyboard shortcut for ‘Mark All Read’ has changed from Ctrl+Shift+C to Shift+C.
- You can download alpha1 from here.
Technorati Tags: Gecko, Mozilla Messaging, Thunderbird 3.1, Lanikai, IMPA, Google, GMail
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Apple has finally released iPad, the Apple tablet. Read the story at CrunchGear.
Here is the spec:
- 1GHz Apple A4 processor (custom)
- 0.5″ thick
- 1.5 pounds
- 9.7″ Capacitive touchscreen (1024×768)
- 16-64GB of SSD storage
- 3G available but not in all iPads
- $14.99 for 250MB, $29.99 for unlimited data on AT&T (no contract)
- 3G iPads are unlocked, have GSM micro SIMs
- Accelerometer, Compass
- 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1
- Runs iPhone apps in window or pixel doubling
- Hardware-accelerated OpenGL graphics
- SDK out today
- $499 for 16GB base model, $830 for all maxed out
- Dock with hard keyboard available
Here are the shortcomings:
- No camera so no video chat
- Limited space — 64GB may be a lot for an iPod, but when you’ve got movies and such, it’ll disappear real fast
- Multitasking?
- No SD or multi-card reader means that’s all the storage you get
- It’s obviously no more customizable than the iPhone
- iPod dock connection only means no easy connection of USB devices
Prices start at $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB. Adding 3G costs $130.
Credit: CrunchGear.
Technorati Tags: iPad, Apple
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Mozilla Calendar team has released the 1st beta version of Thunderbird calendar extension, Lightning 1.0. This version supports Thunderbird 3.0, the latest email client from Mozilla Messaging. You can download the lightning extension and provider for Google calendar extension from here. Click on the respective OS links and the click on en-US and then download. For eg, you can download the Linux build from here.
I downloaded installed both the extension and restarted Thunderbird 3.0. Calendar started working fine now. You will find a small calendar icon at the right corner inline with the folder headers. You will also see an Events and Tasks menu at the top.
Technorati Tags: Mozilla Messaging, Thunderbird 3.0, Lightning 1.0, Provider for Google Calendar
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Intel announced yesterday at IDF (Intel Developer Forum) support for Silverlight 3 on their Atom-based devices. This includes Intel’s own Linux based Moblin OS. As part of this, Silverlight will become one of the technologies supported within Intel’s Atom Developer Program.
Was this a result of Microsoft trying to be nice to Intel or does Microsoft acknowledge the widespread use of Linux and wants to make Silverlight cross platform or was it to dethrone Adobe flash player from all OSes including Linux? What is the status of Moonlight? Is it going to be abandoned?
News source: The Silverlight Blog.
Technorati Tags: Intel, Atom, Microsoft, Silverlight, Moonlight, Adobe, Flash
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Mark Shuttleworth Announces Ubuntu 10.04: Lucid Lynx
Technorati Tags: Ubuntu 10.04, Lucid Lynx
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Ubuntu team has released the 5th alpha version of Ubuntu 9.10 code named Karmic Koala. Alpha 5 includes the following changes:
- Ubuntu Karmic Alpha 5 includes the latest GNOME 2.27.91 development release.
- Empathy has replaced Pidgin as the default instant messaging client.
- The gdm 2.27.91 login manager is a complete rewrite compared to the version in earlier Ubuntu releases.
- Alpha 5 includes alpha images for the Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC) and Amazon’s EC2.
- Alpha 5 includes the 2.6.31-9.29 kernel based on 2.6.31-rc8.
You can download Ubuntu 9.10 alpha 5 from here.
Here are the list of known issue with alpha 5. Read this before you install or upgrade:
- Users in some timezones will find that their filesystems must be checked (fsck) immediately after install due to a bug in the installer’s clock handling. Investigation of this issue is ongoing, and Ubuntu expects it will be resolved in Alpha 6.
- When using the OEM installation option, the desktop fails to come up after reboot for some users. Investigation of this issue is ongoing.
- The OEM installer is reported to not correctly set up the end user account in Alpha 5. Investigation of this issue is ongoing.
- Due to a bug in the python-boto package, when running ec2-run-instances to launch an EC2 instance you must pass an additional --user-data x option to the command. This bug will be fixed for Alpha 6.
- The virtual kernel image has been built without virtio drivers, so installing using the “minimal virtual” option from the Ubuntu Server Alpha 5 will result in an unusable system after reboot. This problem also affects users of the linux-image-virtual kernel package who have installed from earlier alphas. Users are advised to wait until Alpha 6 before installing or upgrading.
- Installation of an LTSP server using the alternate CD in Alpha 5 will be incomplete because some recommended packages are not installed. This bug will be resolved for Alpha 6. As a workaround, users can install the pulseaudio-esound-compat and dhcp3-server packages after installation.
Kubuntu team has released Kubuntu 9.10 Alpha 5. Here are the changes in Kubuntu 9.10 alpha 5:
- KDE 4.3.1
- Updates to netbook edition
- It has been decided that the default web browser to be shipped with Kubuntu 9.10 will continue to be Konqueror. It was decided that it’s superior integration with KDE was worth more than the hassle of switching default web browsers a lot. However, Arora 0.8 will still be shipped on the DVD for those who want to Arora for it’s superior performance with social web applications such as Facebook.
- A new message indicator has been added which currently has a plugins for Konversation, Quassel, Kopete and Kontact.
You can download Kubuntu 9.10 alpha 5 from here.
Technorati Tags: Ubuntu 9.10, Kubuntu 9.10, Alpha 5, Karmic Koala, KDE 4.3.1, GNOME 2.27.91, Empathy, GDM 2.27.91, Amazon, EC2, UEC
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Tags:
Alpha 5,
Amazon,
EC2,
Empathy,
GDM 2.27.91,
GNOME 2.27.91,
Karmic Koala,
KDE 4.3.1,
Kubuntu 9.10,
Ubuntu 9.10,
UEC
You might have read my earlier post about Quake Live’s announcement about Linux support. Linux is now officially supported by Quake Live. I’m not sure if any other browser is supported in Linux other than Firefox, but it should work with Firefox.
Technorati Tags: Quake Live, Linux, Firefox
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Ubuntu team has released the 4th alpha version of Ubuntu 9.10 code named Karmic Koala. Other than getting updates for features introduced in alpha 3, alpha 4 has the following new additions.
- Alpha 4 brings with it the first Karmic alpha images for the Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC) and Amazon’s EC2. You can try out the latest Karmic server alpha instantly on EC2 using a preconfigured AMI, or download an image and put it into your own cloud with UEC. For information on using Ubuntu UEC on Amazon EC2, see the EC2 Starter’s Guide.
- Alpha 4 includes the 2.6.31-5.24 kernel based on 2.6.31-rc5.
- The iSCSI installation process has been improved, and no longer requires iscsi=true as a boot parameter; the installer will offer you the option of logging into iSCSI targets if there are no local disks, or you can select “Configure iSCSI” in the manual partitioner.
- Putting the root filesystem on iSCSI is now supported.
You can download alpha 4 from here.
Kubuntu team has released the 4th alpha of Kubuntu 9.10. Kubuntu 9.10 alpha 4 brings the following new additions:
- Netbook edition is taking shape with the addition of the Plasma Netbook shell. usb-creator is currently undergoing changes.
- A new message indicator has been added which currently has a plugin for Konversation.
- A new installer called Bling is used for Kubuntu 9.10 installation.
- K3b 1.66.0 alpha 2
- QtCurve 0.65.2 brings a refinement of the Oxygen-like widget style so that your GNOME apps will look more at home in KDE.
You can download Kubuntu 9.10 alpha 4 from here.
(Source: Kubuntu)
Technorati Tags: Ubuntu 9.10, Kubuntu 9.10, Alpha 4, Karmic Koala, Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud, Amazon, EC2, K3b, Bling
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