Ubuntu 9.10 a.k.a. Karmic Koala

Nope, this is not a joke... Mark Shuttleworth, the father of Ubuntu Linux, has just announced a few minutes ago the codename and the goals of the next version of his marvelous operating system, Ubuntu 9.10 (codename Karmic Koala), scheduled for release in October 2009. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the *Karmic Koala*, the newest member of our alliterative menagerie. When you are looking for inspiration beyond the looming Jaunty feature freeze, I hope you'll think of the Koala, our official mascot for Ubuntu 9.10. And if you'll bear with me for a minute I'll set the scene for what we hope to achieve in that time." - said Mark Shuttleworth in the official announcement.

For the Karmic Koala, the development team will focus their efforts on the "first impressions," which means that they plan to change the old brown desktop with a whole new look and change the current Usplash with a smooth and flicker-free boot splash, such as Red Hat's Plymouth. Also, the boot times will decrease even more in Ubuntu 9.10, as the team plans to make it boot in less than 25 seconds on a netbook! Moreover, they even plan to change the login screen in Ubuntu 9.10, with a very nice one.

"We made a splash years ago with Usplash, but it's time to move to something newer and shinier. So the good news is, boot will be beautiful. The bad news is, you won't have long to appreciate it! It only takes 35 days to make a whole Koala, so we think it should be possible to bring up a stylish desktop much faster. The goal for Jaunty on a netbook is 25 seconds, so let's see how much faster we can get you all the way to a Koala desktop." - said Mark Shuttleworth.

There are also some good pieces of news for all netbook users, be it Mini Me or Dell Mini, as the Ubuntu Netbook Edition will be updated with all the bleeding-edge Linux goodies. Mark says that the Netbook Remix of Ubuntu 9.10 will install easily and work flawlessly on all netbooks.

The new look of Ubuntu 9.10 will be unveiled in Barcelona, on May 25-29, at the Ubuntu Developer Summit. So make sure you're there if you want to meet Mark Shuttleworth and take an exclusive peek at the brand new look of the upcoming Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala).

"A newborn Koala spends about six months in the family before it heads off into the wild alone. Sounds about perfect for an Ubuntu release plan! I'm looking forward to seeing many of you in Barcelona, and before that, at a Jaunty release party. Till then, cheers." - Mark Shuttleworth ended the announcement.

About Ubuntu:

Ubuntu is a Linux distribution for your desktop or server, with a fast and easy install, regular releases, a tight selection of excellent packages installed by default, every other package you can imagine available from the network, and professional technical support from Canonical Ltd and hundreds of other companies around the world.

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