Ubuntu, Too

According to the Ubuntu Project, April will see the release of Hoary Hedgehog, the second installment of Ubuntu Linux. Major new features include X.org, Gnome 2.10, UTF-8 by default, and improved hardware detection. A new package management system is also in the works for Hoary based on simple-to-use Gnome applets.

Ubuntu is also taking a radical new approach to the Live CD. Booting and hardware detection is now standardized with the main installable CD using elements from the Debian installer. This approach simplifies maintenance and also makes it easier to produce Live CDs for a range of platforms, such as PPC and AMD64.

This spring, Ubuntu will also preview some of the other exciting new technologies in the pipeline from Canonical. Launchpad is a collection of development tools, including the Bazaar version control system, the Malone bug-tracking system, and the Rosetta online translation tool (with more to come). (Thanks to Henrik Nilsen Omma.)