Kubuntu

Revision 17 as of 2007-08-25 20:48:39

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Introduction

On April 12th, 2007, Mark Shuttleworth stated that "the Fawn has found her legs," and [https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2007-April/000276.html 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. However, 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 5, the fifth 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 5 releases can be downloaded from the following URL:

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

  • [:GutsyGibbon/Tribe1/Kubuntu: Tribe 1]
  • [:GutsyGibbon/Tribe2/Kubuntu: Tribe 2]
  • [:GutsyGibbon/Tribe3/Kubuntu: Tribe 3]
  • [:GutsyGibbon/Tribe4/Kubuntu: Tribe 4]

New In Tribe 5

Gutsy Gibbon Tribe 5 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.BR https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+filebug

OpenOffice.org

To read the previous release concerning OpenOffice.org with the Tribe 4 release, please click the link above. Here is an excerpt from the Tribe 4 release notes concerning OpenOffice.org:

OpenOffice.org is the amazing, FREE, office suite for your personal computer. Version 2.3 is a beta release and still has a few bugs to work, but none the less, the OpenOffice.org developers have impressed us all once again. There are so many new features to list, a bunch of bug fixes, improved functionality, and the list goes on. Besides the new release, Kubuntu also receives a new splash screen for OpenOffice.org that is, well blue! And to kick it up a notch, the splash screen is the only thing that works with OpenOffice.org at the moment. Yes, you heard right. OpenOffice.org is currently broken in Kubuntu for the time being and it isn't an OpenOffice.org bug either. This same bug is also causing problems with other parts of the operating system and should be fixed shortly. So without further ado, and seeing as we try to include screenshots of the applications running, enjoy the new splash screen in the following image.  The current workaround is to install openoffice.org-gnome.

GOOD NEWS: OpenOffice.org is back up and running in the Tribe 5 release of Kubuntu 7.10.

KDM Artwork

New in Tribe 5 is an updated color scheme for the login window (KDM) as well as the login splash screen (KSplash).

Strigi

Strigi is now fully integrated into Kubuntu Tribe 5 and provides you the ability to run the search via Strigi - Desktop Search application through KMenu KMenu -> Utilities -> Strigi - Desktop Search or by adding the Strigi applet to the Kicker. To add the applet to the Kicker, simply right click on the Kicker and select Add Applet to Panel.... Find the Strigi applet, highlight it and select OK. You will be presented a small text box in your kicker in which you can start your index searches from.

KDE Sudo

KDE Sudo (kdesudo) is a graphical front end for sudo. This command/application is used when launching windowed applications with Root access. With Tribe 5, KDE Sudo replaces KDE Su (kdesu). The added benefit is that your password will be remembered for up to 15 minutes, or whatever you set sudo too.

OpenSync in KDE PIM

INFO: http://www.opensync.org/ BR

OpenSync is a platform and distribution independent synchronization framework used for mobile devices. OpenSync allows you to synchronize any type of data including notes, email, address books, calendars and more. New with the Tribe 5 release is the incorporation into the KDE PIM suite (Kontact).

KDE PIM Enterprise Branch

INFO: http://websvn.kde.org/branches/kdepim/enterprise/kdepim/ReleaseNotes?view=markup BR

As of Tribe 5, Kubuntu will start using the Enterprise branch of the KDE PIM applications. The benefits of the Enterprise branch are the bug fixes and extra libraries that are needed when working in an Enterprise environment. A lot of work has gone towards using the KDE PIM suite with Kolab.

KioskTool

INFO: http://extragear.kde.org/apps/kiosktool/ BR

KioskTool is a point and click application that allows system administrators to easily enable KDE's kiosk features as well as allowing pre-configured KDE releases. The latest release in Tribe 5 now allows the use of the Sudo (kdesudo).

Adept

Installer

KMenu -> Add/Remove Programs BR

The new Adept Installer now provides you the ability to see the popularity of an application prior to you choosing it for installation. Depending on the popularity of the application, you will notice the cool stars next to the word Rank: in the right hand side where the description of the application is shown.

Batch

Batch, intended for shell scripts and external applications, is the Adept module that allows you to install packages with Adept from the command line. The latest version now adds the functionality to run in update mode, similar to that of apt-get update.

Notifier

The new Adept Notifier, the little upgrade notification icon in the task bar, will now prompt you for a reboot after installing updated system packages such as the Linux kernel, the C library, the Glade library, and more.

KMail and GPG

KMail is now automatically installed with all programs needed for GPG (and S/MIME) encryption/decryption and signing/verification. Additionally, for new installations, all GPG components will be correctly configured. Existing installations will need configuration changes. See the [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/KMailGPGAgent#head-c6757d6675d3932eaeffb136479725842a81d9b6 community documentation] for instructions.

Virtual Keyboard

INFO: http://www.kde-apps.org/content/show.php/Kvkbd?content=56019 BR

KvKbd is an onscreen, virtual keyboard, which has been added to Kubuntu for accessibility. Some of the features included in KvKbd are:

  • System tray icon for easy access
  • A dockable widget
  • Numeric/cursor keypad layer
  • Dynamic detection of language
  • Resizable

Feedback

We want to hear what you think about the current release of Kubuntu 7.10, The Gutsy Gibbon, Tribe 5 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 [http://www.ubuntu.com/community/conduct Ubuntu Code of Conduct] we would like to hear it.

So what are you waiting for, head on over to the [:GutsyGibbon/Tribe5/Kubuntu/Feedback:Feedback Page] and let us know!