Review - Ubuntu Lucid Lynx Beta

Posted on Mar 30th 2010 | 1comments

Ubuntu has been impressive since it's first release in October 2004 and it's latest version(Lucid Lynx) is no exception.I am pretty sure that Ubuntu fans would not be disappointed with it's latest release.As a designer, Ubuntu is still not my preferred operating system as many design tools are still not supported on it. However, Ubuntu is the best OS when it comes to programming or research work.

Upgrading to Lucid Lynx

Upgrading to the latest version is a pretty eask task.Just press Alt+F2 and type in update-manager -d into the command box. Update Manager should open up and tell you: New distribution release '10.04' is available. Click Upgrade and follow the on-screen instructions. Up-gradation might take several hours depending upon the number of packages you have installed on your system. You can just sit back and relax.When it's all done, the system will restart and you would be greeted with a new login screen. The booting time is more or less equal to that of Ubuntu Karmic Koala.

Interface and Themes

The interface is pretty much the same. However, two new new themes are now available - Ambiance and Radiance. Some new wallpapers and icons are also available in this version. Following is a screenshot of my deskop with the new ambiance theme.(Unfortunately,that pi wallpaper is not bundeled with this version. I got it from somewhere else)

You might have noticed that the window buttons are left positioned in this theme.However, the buttons are still positioned to the right in the new wave theme.The ambiance and radiance theme also support transparency as shown in the following screenshot

Social Networking

New themes, wallpapers and icons are just an eye candy. However, it's the in-built social networking tools that make Lucid Lynx an excellent release.You can now post twitter updates right away from your panel with the help of MeMenu, which is buil upon the Gwibber Project.Morever, it also enables you to access Gtalk, Facebook chat, Jabber, AIM and other IM services.(Empathy IM client) You can also access your Facebook updates, Twitter messages, Flickr account, Friendfeed account and Digg account with the help of Gwibber Social client. We all do spend a lot of time in social networking and hence Ubuntu developers have taken a step in the right direction by including these tools in Lucid Lynx.

Gwibber Social Client

MeMenu in Panel

Twitter notifications are also available in Gwibber

Ubuntu Music Store

Ubuntu Lucid Lynx has a new music store which is integrated with Ubuntu one cloud storage.Ubuntu One's music store is built into the Rhythmbox music player

Other Updates

The sound controller looks better.Other widgets have also been improved in appearance.

Some new games have also been added in this version. gBrainy is one of them which tests you on logic, calculation, memory and verbal abilities.

Surprisingly, the default search engine has been changed to Yahoo! However, you can change it back to Google anytime.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Ubuntu Lucid Lynx is an excellent release. A lot of new features have been added in accordance with latest trends of social networking and cloud storage. This is still a beta version. The final version would be released on 29th April 2010. There are some minor issues here and there, but I think they would be covered up on final release. I will give this version 4 stars out of 5. Go for it!

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