Getting Feisty

With Feisty's release, it seems that the Ubuntu folks are also trying a newer and user-friendlier way of getting the CD images out. Please take note of the slick download page on the left. It gives you the option of choosing which flavor (7.04 or 6.06 LTS) and what platform (standard x86, PowerPC, 64-bit, or UltraSPARC), along with the nearest location.

Now I'm not quite sure about the nearest location option. Physical proximity sometimes coincides to network nearness, but not always. An automatic selection process might have been better. Nonetheless, I did hazard a guess to the closest mirror, Taiwan, and came out with a decent download speed.

Still, I'd much prefer to download via torrent. It's a little disappointing not to have the torrent option on the download page. Like minded folks can instead head over to the traditional version of the release page for 7.04 and select the appropriate file.

Be warned, though: I'm getting tracker timeout errors from the torrent file. Maybe it'll get fixed tomorrow.

Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn Released Today

Welcome, Feisty Fawn!

I've been using Feisty for the past couple of weeks and I must say I'm pretty happy with it. Now that the release version is out, I heartily recommend people go out and get it.

The Ubuntu website is currently pointed at available mirrors. I fully expect worldwide traffic to spike over the next couple of days.

As I've been on Beta, I don't really need to upgrade anymore. But I'm downloading my own copy anyway to give out to others.

Happy! happy! joy! joy!

Networking in Feisty

Feisty Fawn features a significant improvement in its networking interface. As a result, network configuration is a much simpler affair. It's so simple, in fact, that everything is almost automatic. This is thanks in large part to Feisty's use of NetworkManager.

According to the Gnome website:

NetworkManager attempts to make networking invisible. When moving into areas you've been before, NetworkManager automatically connects to the last network the user chose to connect to. Likewise, when back at the desk, NetworkManager will switch to the faster, more reliable wired network connection.

So what does this mean for the ordinary user? You no longer have to click System->Administration->Network from the Ubuntu toolbar. You don't have to go through the network configuration dialogs to restart your connection (even if you plug in your network cable well after your computer has started.)

If you do need to make any configuration changes, just click on the network icon on the toolbar.

Left-clicking gives you the following options:


NetworkManager also discovers the available WiFi access points. All you have to do is select which one you want to connect to. Works like a charm!


Right-clicking lets you turn networking on or off, as well as giving you information on your network.

My First Look at Feisty

I was fully expecting Ubuntu 7.04, Feisty Fawn, to come out last April 1st. I was partly disappointed because it wasn't yet the full release, but the beta was ready for download.

Normally I pass on betas (a habit no doubt ingrained by my past years of using Microsoft products), but I was already feeling a bit impatient, so I decided to take the plunge. A few hours of downloading the Alternate Install ISO file (which I prefer for my slower machines), burned to CD, and installed.

I must say I'm pleasantly surprised by some of the improvements.

On the whole, Feisty doesn't really offer anything significantly new for the interface. Some of the icons have been streamlined even further but it's nothing much to write home about.

On the other hand, the performance is perceptibly faster than my previous version, Edgy Eft. Bootup is much faster and applications come up more quickly and smoothly...and we're talking about a five-year old AMD Duron with only 256MB RAM (of which 64MB is shared with video.)

The Ubuntu 7.04 page describes other improvements but very few of which I'll actually be able to use. There's easy Windows migration but since I haven't used Microsoft products to any significant degree, I doubt I'll be able to try it until I help out another hapless Windows convert. There's also an improved Ethernet stack which features Avahi, which I won't be able to try out for a while. And there's the 3D desktop which won't run on my underpowered hardware. Oh, boo-hoo!

On the upside, I finally have a use for the Totem media player. The codec wizard, which I'll describe in another post, is a sensible compromise between Ubuntu's free software-only philosophy and end-user multimedia needs.

One final drawback, at least with the beta version: updating Feisty after the CD install requires 300MB worth of downloads. The CD install itself is already functional, but if you're anal retentive about getting the latest updates like I am, it's an additional kink. Thankfully, it doesn't require a whole lot of intervention and can be done via Synaptic.

So, what's the final verdict? Is the move worthwhile? If only for the improved performance, absolutely yes. I'm squeezing a bit more life out of my increasingly ancient desktop, and considering that it's a spankin' new OS version, it's certainly worth it.

Feisty's Codec Wizard

Totem, which has shipped by default with Ubuntu since the very first version, has always been the odd man out in an otherwise great distribution. Its utility has been severely limited, able to play only the OGG file format. It's great that it adheres to the free software-only philosophy, but it makes it all that much harder to win new converts.

(You'll recall that in previous posts, I've talked about installing and using Mplayer as a way to get around Totem's limitations.)

Finally, with Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn, we might finally have some use for Totem after all, thanks to Feisty's codec wizard.

How do you bring up the codec wizard? Well, you don't. It comes out automatically, and that's what's great about it.

I downloaded a large AVI movie (ahem! never mind where) and when it was all good and ready, I double-clicked the file. Totem came up, recognized that it didn't have the codec, and prompted me with:

Do I want to install a new codec? Absolutely!

Helpfully, Feisty shows me my options.




I can choose to install only one but I can also choose two or all three. Greedy fellow that I am, I ultimately choose all three.



Note that this is not much different from installing the codecs yourself manually. It's just nice touch not to have to wonder what exactly it is you have to install.

And before long, I was already viewing my new video.