I’m been using Ubuntu for quite a while, which I installed on my old HP Compaq laptop as a second platform for me to work with my programming stuff. Unlike any other Linux-based open source operating system (OS), Ubuntu is super fast and user friendly and a decent platform for your open source needs. So, yesterday, Ubuntu version 9.04 (code-named Jaunty Jackalope) was launched and I spent some time upgrading to the latest version. Here are some of the things I noted:

NEW FEATURES

• The boot up acpi problem is fixed
• OpenOffice 3 is included (A FREE Office Suite that performs much better that that annoying pricey MS Office!)
• Packed with other open source tools
• Kernel being used is 2.6.28-11
• EXT4 Filesystem Support
• Powered by GNOME 2.26
• New Notification System
• Coherence tools (UPnP Plugin)
• Inclusion of  Computer Janitor ( For removing unused Packages)
• USB Startup Disk Creator

OTHER ISSUES:

• The Notification System looks great!
• It comes with Firefox 3.08 instead of Firefox 3.1 Beta.

FINAL VERDICT

It is indeed much better than the earlier version but still some issues on drivers compatibility. I would give it an 8 out of 10. Salute to Ubuntu community and Canonical!

If you’re interested, try it now and it’s FREE. It’s good to have it as a second platform and it work best even on low-end pcs or notebooks.