A new breed of ape

Ubuntu 7.10, codenamed Gutsy Gibbon, emerged from the jungles last month and has been beating its chest ever since. Touted as the easiest-to-use desktop Linux distro yet, 7.10 hopes to bring the power of Linux to the masses.

Linux has traditionally been used by software developers and hardcore tech enthusiasts, of course, but the operating system is increasingly being adopted by a more mainstream audience. Ubuntu is already the most popular desktop Linux distribution because it offers impressive ease of use, and it's quickly approaching feature parity with other platforms (it also offers a few unique advantages of its own).

Ars tested Ubuntu 7.10 and its new features extensively on several different computers, including the Dell Inspiron 1420n that we recently reviewed with Ubuntu 7.04. The verdict: it's impressive. How impressive? Read on for our take on installation and new features like the graphics configuration tool and Ubuntu's Firefox improvements.

Installing Ubuntu 7.10

Ubuntu 7.10 can be installed with the Ubuntu 7.10 LiveCD, a complete Ubuntu Linux environment that runs entirely from a CD. The installer uses an intuitive wizard-style graphical user interface and includes adequate partitioning tools. The LiveCD environment can be used to test Ubuntu's hardware compatibility and also makes it possible to surf the web, use an instant messaging application, or play solitaire during an Ubuntu installation.

I tested the Ubuntu 7.10 installer on several computers and didn't encounter any noteworthy problems. On my desktop computer, which uses three monitors and two graphics cards, I had to unplug two of the three monitors in order to get the LiveCD environment to display properly. Aside from that, I have been able to install Ubuntu 7.10 on all of my systems without the need for additional workarounds.

For screenshots and detailed instructions on how to use the LiveCD installation tool, refer to the community documentation for the installer.

Updating from Ubuntu 7.04 to Ubuntu 7.10

Ubuntu includes a software update manager that enables users to obtain important security updates and software upgrades. The updater leverages the APT package management framework, the same system that Ubuntu uses to install new software from remote repositories. The package management system also makes it possible to upgrade directly from one version of Ubuntu to another. This slightly experimental feature has been unreliable in the past, but is considerably more robust in recent versions. I tested the upgrade tool on a Dell 1420n laptop that came preloaded with Ubuntu 7.04.

Ubuntu's upgrade tool is almost entirely automated and requires virtually no user intervention. Before starting the upgrade, I allowed the update manager to perform all pending 7.04 updates. Then I clicked the "Upgrade" button next to the 7.10 release notification box in the update manager.





Upgrading from Ubuntu 7.04 to Ubuntu 7.10

After displaying the release notes, the distribution upgrade tool gave me one final prompt before starting and informed me that 1,275 packages would be upgraded and 146 new packages would be installed. The dialog window predicted that the upgrade would take just over two hours. It took approximately one hour for the tool to automatically download all of the packages from the repository and it took another hour for all of the packages to install. During the installation process, the upgrade tool requested permission to replace system configuration files that had been modified. At the very end, the updater offered to uninstall obsolete packages, then prompted for a reboot.

The entire process was smooth and intuitive. This is the first time that upgrading from one version of Ubuntu to another has worked for me, and the result was quite satisfying. I only encountered one minor problem: when I rebooted after the upgrade, Ubuntu failed to properly detect my display settings and I was dropped into the Bulletproof-X configuration system so I could set my correct resolution. When I installed Ubuntu 7.10 directly from the CD on the same hardware, it correctly detected my monitor settings, so the failure to properly detect my graphics hardware after the update was likely a result of a bug in the update process. Aside from that glitch, everything else worked properly.