A look at Ubuntu "Hoary Hedgehog" and Kubuntu [LWN.net]

March 24, 2005

This article was contributed by Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier.

The Ubuntu team is closing in on its second release. The Ubuntu project announced the preview release for 5.04, better known as "Hoary Hedgehog," on March 10; the final release is scheduled for early April.

The first Kubuntu distribution release was also announced recently, and is also scheduled for early April. Kubuntu uses Ubuntu as a base, but with the KDE desktop and related packages rather than GNOME. We decided to take a look at both releases, to see how far Ubuntu has come since its inception, and to see what users could expect in the forthcoming release.

For those not familiar with the project, the Ubuntu distribution is based on Debian, but with a six month release schedule, much like GNOME and OpenBSD. Releases are supported, meaning critical bug fixes and security updates, for 18 months. Ubuntu has a bit narrower scope than Debian, however. Ubuntu supports only three architectures, Intel/x86, AMD64 and PowerPC, and has a more limited set of packages (the "main" and "restricted" repositories) to provide updates for. A larger set of packages are available through the "universe" and "multiverse" repositories.

The release numbers may seem like version inflation, but actually reflect the year and month of the release, hence 5.04 for Hoary Hedgehog and 4.10 for Warty Warthog -- the first Ubuntu release, from October 2004.

We installed the Ubuntu preview release on a Pentium 4 laptop with 1 GB of RAM. The installation was completely painless, requiring minimal user input and a bit of patience while packages were downloaded from the Ubuntu archive. Ubuntu had no problem detecting all of the laptop's hardware. No manual configuration or tweaking was necessary for X.org or anything else. Mileage may differ on other hardware, of course.

To install Kubuntu, we simply followed the instructions on the Kubuntu documentation page. After running "sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop" and choosing between KDM and GDM, we had Kubuntu, the KDE 3.4.0 desktop and a number of KDE applications, installed.

Whereas Debian installs a fairly minimal system and then allows the user to choose packages, Ubuntu and Kubuntu start off with a set of default applications for typical desktop use, allowing less experienced users to get started right away without having to decide which application they wish to use for e-mail, spreadsheets, word processing or web browsing. For example, Ubuntu installs GNOME 2.10, Evolution, OpenOffice.org, Totem, Firefox, Synaptic, Gaim, the Gimp, and so forth. Kubuntu installs KDE 3.4, Konqueror, Kontact, Kopete, Kynaptic, Akregator and other apps for KDE that most users would (probably) want.

Overall, we like the choice of packages that are installed with Ubuntu and Kubuntu by default. Developers and power-users will have to grab additional packages, but for typical desktop use, Ubuntu is ready "out of the box." Users that prefer other applications should be able to find them in Ubuntu's universe repository. For example, this writer still prefers XMMS to Rhythmbox. Though Rhythmbox is the default music player installed with Ubuntu, XMMS is easily added using Synaptic or apt-get.

By default, Ubuntu does not set up a password for the root user. Instead, the first normal user set up at install time can use "sudo" to perform tasks, like installing software or configuring a network card, usually done by root. This was a bit off-putting at first for this writer, but after a few days of working with Hoary, it's become second-nature. (In the past, this writer has simply gotten around using sudo on Ubuntu by running "sudo su" and setting a root password and using root normally from there on.)

Though GNOME and KDE are the defaults for Ubuntu and Kubuntu, respectively, KDE and GNOME are not the only desktops available to Ubuntu/Kubuntu users. There are also packages for XFce, Enlightenment, Blackbox, fvwm and several other window managers in the Ubuntu Universe repository. This writer prefers the XFce desktop environment, and has been happily using XFce with Ubuntu for some time.

Even though this is only a preview release, it seems exceptionally solid. Though the preview releases contain a lot of "cutting edge" software, we didn't find any major application bugs or problems of any kind. We've also been grabbing updates on a regular basis since installing Ubuntu Hoary, and it's obvious the Ubuntu team is keeping busy.

The only glitches we ran into were, more or less, self-induced. We tried upgrading from the default 2.6.10 kernel that was installed to the 2.6.11 package that's available. For some reason, our system locked up each time we tried to log into GNOME or KDE after installing the 2.6.11 kernel. After going back to 2.6.10, everything ran smooth as silk. There are also 2.4.x series kernels in the Ubuntu Universe repository for users who require the 2.4.x series for some reason, though we didn't test any of those kernels.

The Hoary release can be found at http://releases.ubuntu.com/hoary/. Live CDs and install CDs are available for Intel/x86, PowerPC and AMD64. Users who prefer to go the KDE route can download installation media or live CDs from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/hoary/preview/. The next Ubuntu release is scheduled for October, and has been dubbed "Breezy Badger."

Users looking for a cutting-edge Linux distribution that "just works" should try out Ubuntu. The distribution is put together very well, offers an excellent selection of packages and a very active and helpful user community.

(Log in to post comments)

A look at Ubuntu "Hoary Hedgehog" and Kubuntu

Posted Mar 24, 2005 3:52 UTC (Thu) by bfields (subscriber, #19510) [Link]

I really don't see the need to have a new release every 6 months. Maybe the developers get bored :-), but as a business user I don't like upgrading so often, Also presenting a stable environment for commercial software vendors is 'a good thing' imho.

For your purposes, then, the important number is 18 months--that's how long they're promising support (in the form of security upgrades) for each version, so that's how often you'd probably end up having to upgrade.

--Bruce Fields

A look at Ubuntu "Hoary Hedgehog" and Kubuntu

Posted Mar 24, 2005 3:53 UTC (Thu) by bfields (subscriber, #19510) [Link]

For your purposes, then, the important number is 18 months--that's how long they're promising support (in the form of security upgrades) for each version, so that's how often you'd probably end up having to upgrade.

(Erm, sorry, note I'm talking about Ubuntu here--no idea about Kubuntu's plans.)

6 months has its advantages

Posted Mar 24, 2005 17:05 UTC (Thu) by dwheeler (guest, #1216) [Link]

Releasing every 6 months has its advantages, though. This means that instead of all-at-once massive changes that are hard to deal with, changes are a little more gradual. Thus, for example, if something stops working, it's easier to find the problem. It also makes it much easier to stay "more current", which on the desktop is more important because many of the desktop applications are faster-moving (and many people REALLY need/want those new features). Six month upgrades don't make sense on many servers, but on a desktop they make a certain amount of sense.

A look at Ubuntu "Hoary Hedgehog" and Kubuntu

Posted Mar 27, 2005 20:38 UTC (Sun) by smurf (subscriber, #17840) [Link]

Do you mean that suspend to RAM and/or disk do work on your laptop without any tweaking ?

If the laptop firmware and your X11 display driver are not broken: yes, it does work out-of-the-box for some systems. Not all. Yet. :-)

Good explanations but room for improvement

Posted Mar 28, 2005 10:14 UTC (Mon) by tousavelo (guest, #27022) [Link]

Yep.
We have come to understand that these things might be "broken" and hence not functional on Linux. Yet, as Windows user we are used to having those "broken" stuff fully functional. Looking forward for the future. Just a decent choice of laptops guaranteed as "Linux" compliant (including firmware etc etc), including some best deals at the supermarket next door, might be enough to make me happy.

A look at Ubuntu "Hoary Hedgehog" and Kubuntu

Posted Mar 27, 2005 21:35 UTC (Sun) by piman (subscriber, #8957) [Link]

> it shows a lot of ordinary stuff to be installed by the user (Java, codecs etc).

Unfortunately, due to copyright and patents, such things often cannot legally be put in the box.

Good explanations but room for improvement

Posted Mar 28, 2005 10:23 UTC (Mon) by tousavelo (guest, #27022) [Link]

Yes indeed, there are good explanations/reasons. I can think also of freetype related limitations/patents.
In my eyes, reviews should not overlook these. If the review is too positive, frustration of newcomers is likely. And I feel that frustrated newcomers might eventually impact Linux image more badly than Microsoft.
If Linux (including installing/configuring/tweaking) is presented as a cool thing for techies, everyone might choose to take the challenge and eventually assess his skills. If it's presented as "it works out of the box" without any warning, I will grow bad feelings if it doesn't.