I recently upgraded my OS to Ubuntu 7.10.I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks now and am in a position to write a review.Ubuntu 7.10 has many more new features which are great.You might face some problems with it if your PC is a bit old so you can refer to some of my older posts labeled Linux.
First of all,the desktop environment-Gnome-2.20 is much better than the previous version in terms of performance.Ubuntu Gutsy also integrates the NTFS-3g project and thus enables NTFS writing which is a great feature.But you need to be cautious while dealing with NTFS partitions if you are using Windows in dual booting with Ubuntu.You need to properly shut-down windows in order to detect your NTFS partitions.Ubuntu 7.10 does not detect NTFS partitions if Windows is Hibernated or is not Shut-Down properly.
Another change is that Compiz Fusion is includeed by default which is the fusion of Compiz and Beryl.The desk bar search applet also comes in handy at times.You might have problems with the usplash screen at startup for which you can refer to this post.
An alternative to usplash is splashy.You can check it out and install it as it is in the Debian repositories.You can try these commands after changing your boot-up resolution to 1024X768 using this procedure-
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install splashy splashy-themes
Ubuntu Gutsy uses Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.6 as the default web browser and Open Office.org 2.3 for all office needs.I’m glad that Pidgin and not Gaim(the older version of Pidgin) is the default IM client.
If you are wondering where I got the Ubuntu title font,used in the first line from,the answer is simple.Ubuntu users have a simple way to get the font.Just type this in a terminal-
sudo apt-get install ttf-ubuntu-title
Overall,Ubuntu 7.10 is a great operating system to have.This release is very user friendly and there’s hardly any thing which can’t be done without using the terminal.I’m sure that Windows users with the bare minimum knowledge about computers won’t find it difficult to use and will love it.The whole system is really fast and the start-up and shut-down time is significantly less.
I recommend you to order a free CD and at least try the live CD.I’m sure you’ll like it and install it.