Introduction

On April 12th, 2007, Mark Shuttleworth stated that "the Fawn has found her legs," and announced the next development cycle codename for the 7.10 release, the Gutsy Gibbon. As with previous releases, the users had made it clear that usability and stability are the things they look for the most. Well, we are happy to say that the goals for the Kubuntu developers for 7.10 will be to increase the usability following the guides created by recent audits from the KDE community, increase stability while using the latest applications for the Linux desktop, and increasing the ease of installation.

Some of the things you can look forward to is better power management, desktop installation improvements, better data migration, and plenty of fixes to the K Desktop Environment. One thing you might be able to look forward to is the possibility of packages created in time for release, the new KDE 4 desktop. KDE 4 will not be the default desktop environment for Kubuntu 7.10, but you can guarantee the development team will work hard to bring you installable packages as soon as they possibly can.

Gutsy will not be the next LTS (Long Term Support) release, but it will nonetheless see a lot of server work and be useful for fast-moving server deployments.

Tribe 2, the second in a series of milestone CD images that will be released throughout the Gutsy development cycle, represent the very latest snapshots of Gutsy. The pre-release images are known to be reasonably free of CD-build or installer bugs, however they are not recommended for use in stable environments. These releases will be for those who are developing, documenting, and testing. Tribe 2 releases can be downloaded from the following URL:

• http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/gutsy/

NOTE: This is an alpha (pre-) release. Pre-release version of Gutsy are NOT encouraged for anyone needing a stable system or for anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent, breakage. Pre-release versions of Gutsy ARE recommended for Kubuntu developers and those who want to help in testing, reporting, and fixing bugs.

Screenshots will be available at: http://www.thecodingstudio.com/opensource/linux/?q=node/55

Previous Kubuntu 7.10 Releases

• Tribe 1

New In Tribe 2

Gutsy Gibbon Tribe 2 CD release brings with it many updated, new, and exciting applications. For this latest release of Kubuntu 7.10, the usability standards have improved and there have already been some aesthetic changes. Besides these changes, there have been updates to many common applications as well as bug fixes to some of those annoyances you may or may not have run into. With every new pre-release, updates will be documented allowing you to thoroughly test your Kubuntu 7.10 installation. Remember that all of these features are part of a pre-release version of Kubuntu, and may still have issues. We ask that any problems you come across that you file a bug, if one has yet to be filed for your problem.
https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+filebug

Amarok 1.4.6

INFO: http://amarok.kde.org/
KMenu -> Multimedia -> Amarok

Amarok is the music player for Linux and Unix with an intuitive interface. Amarok makes playing the music you love easier than ever before - and looks good doing it. With release 1.4.6 comes added features, bug fixes, and more. Some of the changes include:

• New icon set featuring the Oxygen color scheme
• Updated SQLite increases overall performance
• Rockbox support for the iPod!
• much much more...

KOffice 1.6.3

INFO: http://www.koffice.org/
NOTE: KOffice is not installed by default. Please use Adept or your preferred installation method to do so.

KOffice, a free office suite which integrates with the K Desktop Environment has announced version 1.6.3. KDE has also announced that this will be the final maintainance release in the 1.6 series. This latest release addresses and fixes quite a few bugs, adds 3 more translations, and even offers a new feature or two. Some of the changes include:

• KWord HTML import filter improvements
• KPresenter bug fixes
• A ton of changes to Kexi
• Krita improvements and fixes
• much much more...

KNetworkManager 0.2

INFO: http://en.opensuse.org/Projects/KNetworkManager
KMenu -> Internet -> KNetworkManager

KNetworkManager 0.2 is the latest SVN snapshot from the great KDE team over at openSUSE. This latest release fixes a lot of bugs and adds some needed features. One noticeable feature will be that when you left click on the icon in the system tray, you will be provided with a dialog showing the connection status.

GDebi KDE 0.3

Kubuntu now has its very own application that allows you to simply install a downloaded (local) package without using the command line. So, if you go to a website that is offering a .deb package for an application you are interested, you will now be offered the option of not only saving it to the disc, but also opening it with the Gdebi Package Installer. If you have a downloaded .deb file in one of your directories, simply right clicking on it and selecting Open With -> GDebi Package Installer will get your installation on its way. Also, if you were used to right clicking on it and seeing the action to install via the command line, that has been removed since.

Kubuntu Restricted Extras 5

Well, the Kubuntu team has decided to roll most of your multimedia dreams into one simple package. Whether it is audio, video, DVDs, RAR, Java, or Flash, this package is for you.

Feedback

We want to hear what you think about the current release of Kubuntu 7.10, The Gutsy Gibbon, Tribe 2 CD Release. We want to know if it Rocks, if it is just OK, or it is flat out wrong. No matter the feedback, as long as it is in line with the Ubuntu Code of Conduct we would like to hear it.

So what are you waiting for, head on over to the Feedback Page and let us know!