OStatic

It's been a week since Ubuntu 9.10, aka the Karmix Koala, was unleashed on the world. I wanted to post a general review after having used the special K since it went RC in late September and early October. In general, I've been very impressed, especially in comparison to another, recently released, operating system.

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Q&A: Ubuntu 9.10 security. What are the most notable security features introduced with Ubuntu 9.10, and how can you work with them?

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There's news out of Canonical today that the release of Ubuntu 9.10 Server Edition -- codenamed Karmic Koala -- is just around the corner. It's the greenest release yet, with a heavy emphasis on power management and cloud computing tools.

Ubuntu 9.10 includes Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC), a system designed to help users build and support private clouds. It's underlying technology relies on Eucalyptus, an open source infrastructure for implementing cloud computing on clusters.

We've been reporting this week on excitement surrounding netbooks running the new Moblin version 2 operating system, and how many different directions Moblin may go in. At the Intel Developer Forum conference this week, Intel showed a smartphone running the operating system, with its own chips powering the phone.? While Intel has officially handed over stewardship of Moblin to The Linux Foundation, the company is demonstrating its belief in Moblin for many types of hardware platforms ranging from netbooks, to smartphones, to Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs).

Intel has a long history of high-profile partnerships with big technology companies such as Microsoft and Dell, and that's why I'm not surprised to see that the first netbook running Moblin version 2 is Dell's very well-liked Mini 10v (shown). It's set to ship with Canonical's Moblin remix of Ubuntu, and is evidence that Dell--the world's number two computer manufacturer--remains committed to shipping Linux-based netbooks.

Google's Chrome plug-in for IE is half-baked. IT organizations are unlikely to adopt the plug-in without enterprise deployment and management tools.

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Why Africa gets the IBM-Ubuntu bundle and you do not. IBM and Ubuntu are partnering on a Linux bundle for Africa, but only there.

Why open-source DNS is the Internet's dirty little secret.? Do Nominum's new Skye cloud DNS services close a key weakness in the Internet?

CodePlex Foundation will help spread use of Mono. The foundation will ensure that there are incentives for open source software developers who embrace Mono.

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OpenID implementation works on mobile platforms. Swedish company Accumulate has implemented a version of the OpenID standard for mobile phones.

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Attendees at Atlanta Linux Fest's breakout session Ubuntucon were among the first to hear straight from Mark Shuttleworth that the popular Linux distribution Ubuntu's next release -- version 9.10 10.04 -- will be named Lucid Lynx.

This codename in the next in a long line of clever choices that designate versions of Ubuntu releases. Past names include Hardy Heron, Dapper Drake, Breezy Badger, and the most recent, Karmic Koala. According to Shutteworth, the idea for the odd naming scheme originated quite by accident.

UPDATE: As our eagle-eyed readers correctly point out, the next version number will be 10.04 not 9.10.

As Slashdot, Moblin Zone, and ZDNet UK are reporting, the very first netbook preinstalled with Moblin version 2 for Netbooks is likely to launch next week, very probably at Intel's Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco, or at Portland's LinuxCon. ZDNet UK did an interview with Imad Sousou, head of Intel's Open Source Technology Center, in which he implied as much. Sousou has also confirmed that Moblin version 2 will be made widely available after that, with many new features.

While Microsoft's Windows 7, due in October, is going to be aggressively pushed in the netbook space, Moblin will join Ubuntu and Google's upcoming Chrome OS in the effort to keep innovative open source operating systems going in the fast-growing netbook space. Intel has handed stewardship of Moblin over to The Linux Foundation, which could help its chances. Netbooks represent an important frontier for open source adoption and innovation, and I have my own guess at who will be shipping the first Moblin v2 netbook.