Lucid Lynx Demo Video on YouTube

Check out the demo video that shows some of what the latest version of Ubuntu's operating system, Lucid Lynx, can do. It's not comprehensive, but it's shows some cool stuff.

Link to video found here

Lucid Lynx

Scheduled for release in April 2010, Lucid Lynx, the newest open-source operating system to be released by Canonical, promises to be more user-friendly and customizable and efficient than ever before. Canonical is an international information technology company devoted to the promotion of the Ubuntu project.

Launched in 2004, the Ubuntu project is a free operating system than can be contributed to by anyone, according to www.Ubuntu.com.

Canonical and Open Source

Canonical’s mission is to fully realize the potential of free software for individuals and organizations alike, according to their website. The core idea of open-source, in this case the Ubuntu project, is that software is better created by those who actually use it, thereby changing the way the industry operates.

The latest version of the most popular Linux-based operating system for regular consumers is designed with the user in mind, and works to become more and more like the market-leading Windows operating system.

Linux was started as a class project by Linus Torvalds in 1991 as an alternative to proprietary operating systems like Microsoft’s Windows or Apple’s Mac OS.

Though lacking a concrete estimate of Ubuntu market share, (anecdotal estimates are about 30 million) the operating system is quickly gaining popularity, thanks in part to its vocal adoption by IT giant Novell. (Linux promotional video may be found here)

The Ubuntu Appeal

With updates released up to several times each day and major version releases about every six months, Ubuntu generally runs flawlessly and is always quick to integrate the best feature suggestions from users.

Part of the Ubuntu appeal comes from the complete functionality the operating system boasts upon install. Media players, document processing suites, image editing and hardware drivers come already on board. “It just works” says the Ubuntu website.

The operating system also has inherent software that aids in making most any hardware work seamlessly with the operating system as well as the rest of the hardware, i.e. microphones work with webcams, CDROM burners work with music players and so on.

Lucid Lynx

The latest incarnation of Ubuntu, Lucid Lynx, continues the trend, along with new features that help create a fully-customizable software experience. In addition, Lucid Lynx is designed with “light” in mind, according to the official Ubuntu Wiki.

The idea of light extends beyond design into how the system manages resources. This means that the way the “brain power” of the computer is more carefully supervised, and less of the power is used at any given time. That frees up processing power for other programs, like image editing or playing games.

Open Source Dissent

Lucid Lynx and the greater Ubuntu project are not without their critics however. TechSource blogger Jun Azua was quick to comment on the striking similarity between the Lucid Lynx theme (pictured on top) and that of Mac’s OS X. (pictured on bottom)

Among Ubuntu forums, there is wide-spread dislike of all things Mac, and the initial similarities between the two have been hotly discussed.

Beyond criticisms specific to Lucid Lynx, there are a number in the open source community who dislike the Ubuntu project and its goal of making open source usable for everyone. Numerous comments on Ubuntu community forums allude to dislike of Ubuntu’s usability.

The most outspoken posts indicate that some feel that Ubuntu dilutes the Linux community and its occasional “in-crowd” mentality. Some elite users feel that those who need a user-friendly operating system should stick to Windows or Mac OS.

Lucid Lynx is still in alpha testing, but users are invited and in fact welcome to assist with design and testing. More information may be found at www.Ubuntu.com.

Images from www.junauza.com

Jolicloud

Hello all,

This being my first post to Open Source for N00bs, I thought I might give you all a short piece about who I am. Feel free to skip the next paragraph if you want to just read the review of Jolicloud.

My name is Aaron Ball and I've been working open source for a few years now. I run Ubuntu Linux almost near 95% of the time. I run mostly open source applications day in and day out (Eclipse/Aptana for web development, Open Office for office related activities, Gimp for photo editing, KeePass for password management, etc.). If it is not obvious yet, I'm a huge proponent of open source software.

To preface, my test environment was on a laptop with 3 gigs of ram, an 320 gigabyte hard drive (not SSD of course), and an Intel core two duo 1.86 gigahertz. I ran Jolicloud from the live CD (hey now, I'm not about to mess up my nice Ubuntu install with a dual boot).

Now, let's get down to the good stuff...

I recently read an article on Lifehacker (I love that site) on the Five best Netbook Operating Systems. Amongst them were Windows 7 (of course), Jolicloud, Ubuntu, Mac OS X, and Linux Mint. Windows 7 and Ubuntu ranked as the top two and Jolicloud came in as the third most popular... it's time to try out something new I think. Besides, what could get more shiny, new, and exciting than a pre-beta release of an operating system? Buckle in everyone...

Upon initial boot, Jolicloud was quite clean looking. The interface is very intuitive and simplistic. Definitely good for people who want a computer that just runs nicely out of the box.

The inevitable next step was attempting to launch applications. Naturally, the first thing I wanted to do was surf the internet. I was saddened to find that despite the very attractive "desktop", the programs lacked similar styles. Rather, they looked much like a minorly styled Linux interface (no transparency, little shading, no shadows, etc.); very unattractive.

Also to my dismay, Jolicloud comes with quite the limited selection of applications. It does not come with a music player/manager (though there are several that can be installed, but we'll cover that later), office software (for documents, presentations, etc), or even an e-mail/calendar/contacts client. Fortunately for all of us, this is a predicament easily remedied. Once registered for Jolicloud, the computer is associated with your account and your application directory becomes available.

From here you can select from many different categories for an impressive number of useful applications (such as the previously mentioned music player, office software, movie players, etc). By default, applications are sorted by most popular which seems to accurately represent the most-useful applications (naturally). I was surprised at all of the applications available that seem to integrate many different cloud-based services into one's netbook (Gmail, Google Docs, Google Wave, FaceBook, Twitter, etc). Installation is very intuitive as well...click install. Whew *wipes sweat from brow* That was difficult.

Another cool feature of Jolicloud that I would just like to point out (it is of little consequence as to how the operating system runs) is it's window opacity changing to make computing easier on those of us with attention deficit disorder. Essentially what happens is when the user switched from one open window to another, the windows in the background become semi-transparent to make them less distracting. The desktop also does this. It's quite the nice feature (not to mention it looks pretty and that's what it's all about, right?).

Overall, I like Jolicloud. It is relatively intuitive and attractive. It runs relatively quickly. I would however like to see better integration of applications into the operating system. Currently Jolicloud looks much like a plugin for Linux rather than a separate operating system. Despite it's aesthetic qualities, it still runs fast and has implemented some new super cool features such as web-based installations, near-seamless cloud integration, and a really cool way to launch/organize programs (the desktop/"start menu"). Keep up the good work Jolicloud. I look forward to see the final product.

http://www.jolicloud.com/

A bit of background

First, some definitions (these are mine, based on my experience and what I have learned in classes)

n00b- a slang term used by many avid computer users for newbie. It is spelled that way because it is in "elite speak" or "1337". Elite speak is characterized by the substitutions in it, like 3 for e (E) or 5 for S, etc. etc. etc. If there is even a passing resemblance to a letter, it will likely be used. Extreme abbreviations are common as well. Hence leet for elite.

Open source- this one is a little more complex. Open source is the general name for any project that is worked on by a community of users volunteering their time and skills. Open source projects typically are not charged for, though many companies do charge for technical support, add-ons or a physical version of something. (i.e. charging for CD-ROMs to install Ubuntu). Donations are also very welcome by any open source organization. Wikipedia and the Wikimedia foundation are particularly well known for soliciting donations. Codes of conduct state that anything may be modified as long as it is publicly available for others to use or change as they will. One of the most widely know is Linux, which was started by Linus Torvalds in the early 1990s.

Why, hello there.

When it comes to open source, I confess to being quite the n00b. (For all of you uber-n00bs, that means newbie.) This blog is intended to work in tandem with a series of other communication methods to educate those about open source technologies. You get to learn as I learn. Please comment and post as much as you like. My very grade depends on it!
That being said, welcome aboard!