Ubuntu 10.04
I have finally had a chance to get a copy of Ubuntu 10.04 installed, and I am extremely impressed. I think this version of Ubuntu has more user upgrades than any single version in the last two years. I’ll take the next few moments to go over some of the more noticeable changes.
The UI got a big upgrade. First of all, they finally got away from that awful Human theme (it was consistent, but very ugly) and began to use the Ambiance theme.
Instead of using a drab brownish gray for the task bars, you now have a darker Steel-Gray that compliments the startup background.
The window decorations are also much different from the Human theme. They have abandoned the Windows-style window decorations to much cleaner Mac-style window decorations.
I think one of the biggest changes is with the addition of the Ubuntu One Music Store within RhythmBox. They have a very respectable selection, and from what I can tell, the prices are pretty good. There were many artists whose songs were 77 cents. It looks like they aren’t going with a one-price-fits-all scheme such as some of the other services.
The second part of this, was the native ability to sync your iPod or iPhone through USB as long as you have the 3.1 firmware installed on your iPhone. Before, all you could see were the images on your iPod or iPhone. Now you can even play music directly from your device without jailbreaking the player.
Some other changes:
By default Canonical removed Gimp from the default installation to save room. That’s fine, because it just takes a second to install it through synaptic, terminal, or the Ubuntu Software Center.
They are continuing to use Empathy instead of Pidgin as the text messenger. I think this is a very good idea.
From what I can tell, Power Management has also been improved. I am getting anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes extra battery life just since the new installation.