We have embedded a video below which shows a completely new heads-up display which will apparently be built into Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin, however we can’t quite work out whether this is a bit of a gimmick or something which will seamlessly integrate itself into the way use our computers forever.

The basic ideas is that the new HUD will replace the seemingly never-ending menu structure built into applications, instead just call up the HUD begin typing (or narrate) the function you want to use and it’s there for you, select it and voila, it’s done. Want to print? Simply tap Alt to call up the HUD and say or begin typing print and the correct options will display. Obviously there’s lots of keyboard shortcuts which nullify the need for some of these functions, but when you’re using an unfamiliar application it should really help you out.

The main criticism from many is that it almost seems as if it would be easier to click on menu items rather than using the new HUD, we guess time will tell. Another issue is that if you’re new to an application how do you know which menu items there are to call up? More complex software titles sometimes have hundreds of functions which you never discover unless you have a look through the menus, so this is something which Ubuntu’s developers will have to take into consideration.

By the looks of things the HUD will be enabled by default, but it will be optional, in our opinion it will suit tablet users much more than those who have a keyboard and mouse. The commands available will depend on the applications you use, check out the video below and you’ll get see a taster of what to expect. You can see a more in-depth look at the HUD here.

Do you think the new HUD is a gimmick or a great new feature?

More About: ubuntu, Ubuntu 12.04

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The developers behind Ubuntu have listened to feedback, however still seem to believe that Unity is the way forward, recently Jason Kennedy over at ExtremeTech tried out Ubuntu Unity 5.0 to see if it was an improvement and the answer has to be yes.

You can see Kennedy’s hands on here (there are six pages to see), he shows you how to get access to Unity 5.0 and also gives us a quick glimpse of what’s changed.

Firstly a lot of Ubuntu users like to really play with the look of Ubuntu, we can now reveal that CompizConfig allows you to really play with Unity’s appearance, there’s lots you can change including fade-out time, opacity, animations and more, you can see a full breakdown on page 2 of his hands on.

When you press the ‘Super Key’ you will still be able to search for applications and files easily, but now you will be able to choose filters to help pinpoint what you are looking for and we are told that Unity 5.0 searches deeper than ever before.

Kennedy says that in testing Unity 5.0 seemed far snappier than previously (even on older hardware), my personal gripe with Unity was the annoying delays which occurred far too often when using the ‘Super Key’ or trying to view different desktops etc, so maybe I won’t see such a problem with Unity 5.0. Kennedy also suggests that more functions are now available when you right-click a shortcut which shows up in Unity – this sounds like Unity 5.0 should be far more intuitive than ever before.

Do you like the sound of Unity 5.0? What other changes would you like to see? Let us know in the comments section below.

More About: ubuntu, Unity GUI

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A recent article posted over at PCWorld.com has some early details regarding the release of Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin, apparently this won’t be a major update, but when it does arrive power saving improvements will have been made.

One fix which will be part of the update will address a PCI Express Active State Power Management (ASPM) issue, whilst developers are currently working on a resolution for a problem relating to Aggressive Link Power Management (ALPM). There is also talk of putting “USB and PCI controllers of devices such as webcams, wireless, Ethernet and Bluetooth into a lower power state”, however as you can probably understand any fix which makes it into the 12.04 build will need positive feedback from the beta testers etc.

Usually new versions of Ubuntu are rolled out every six months, this will probably mean that Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin will arrive in April or thereabouts, when we get it we will definately be testing it out to see just how many extra minutes of battery life we can squeeze out of our batteries! It is not just battery life which is going to benefit from lower power consumption, it is great for the environment as well, think of the millions of computers around the world which will be consuming less watts of power, you never know your electricity bills may even drop very slightly!

What other improvements need to make it into Ubuntu 12.04? Personally I think that the Unity user interface could do with some work…

More About: Linus, ubuntu, Ubuntu 12.04

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Now that people have had a chance to upgrade we thought we would see how you were getting on with Ubuntu’s latest release, as Ubuntu runs on such a vast range of hardware and allows for so much customization and different software packages we doubt that everyone installed 11.10 without issues, so we have pulled together some information regarding problems which some people have found so far.

We always find that forums are the best place to report any strange issues you are finding, therefore you should definitely check out the Ubuntu Forums if you need some support. For now we will talk about some of the more common problems which people have been experiencing (note some of these issues are just hours old, so you may find that bookmarking this page and checking out the links later on will help).

If your upgrade failed completely check out these links: Link 1, Link 2, Link 3. If your user profile fails to load post install check out this link, if your previous password now fails go here and if you can’t get past the login screen click here.

Some people are suggesting that their Bluetooth keyboard fails after the upgrade, this fix may help you. Some people suggest that upgrading resulted in their Evolution emails being deleted, whilst others suggest that 11.10 has introduced strange boot behaviour and frequent restarts. As you can see the problems vary, so you should just check out the “Installation & Upgrades” section of the forums for all of the problems – you can register to the forums for free.

If you are really unhappy with Oneiric Ocelot you should check out this thread titled “Please tell me there’s a way to downgrade from 11.10 to 11.04” – we hope this thread brief article helped you find fixes for the problems which you experienced, please share your fixes etc in the comments section below, we will do out best to keep you up-to-date with any relevant information we come across.

When carrying out my upgrade from 11.04 to 11.10 I received quite a few error warnings during the installation, most of which related to Flash, at one point it suggested that the install had failed and may result in system instability, sadly the warning messages were very vague and after rebooting my computer and logging in could see wallpaper and a mouse cursor, but nothing else loaded – let me know if you know how to fix this. Update: Logging in as a guest, logging out and then logging in to my profile seemed to work.

More About: ubuntu, Ubuntu 11.10

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Recently PCWorld published an interesting article about the next release, Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot, it looks like this will build upon the solid foundations set by Natty Narwhal. This time round Ubuntu’s devs are said to have concentrated heavily on ease of use, apparently the Unity UI has been polished and shouldn’t be as daunting to people who are new to Ubuntu. If you do not like Unity you can fall back on GNOME 3, also if you do not have 3D-enabled hardware you can use Unity 2D – here’s an interesting article about the new version of Unity.

So what else is new? Well there is now integrated backup which comes as part of the OS, this is called Deja Dump and it allows time machine-like capabilities thanks to scheduled backups to Ubuntu One or local storage. One other thing which has changed is the fact that a customized version of Mozilla Thunderbird is now the default email client. If you want to install 11.10 on ARM-based hardware you will be glad to hear that devs have concentrated heavily on a version of the OS specifically designed for ARM hardware.

Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot is said to become available for download this Thursday (13t October, 2011), we will install it and perhaps post some videos of the new features, so keep checking Product-Reviews for all the latest information.

More About: ubuntu, Ubuntu 11.10

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Because the Unity UI is more demanding on your computer hardware you may need to install additional drivers to allow it to work, this is a very simple process thanks to Ubuntu’s built in “Additional Drivers” menu option.

All we had to do was go to System, Administration and then select “Additional Drivers”, here we found that Ubuntu had found some propriety Nvidia drivers which we could install, they had not been enabled as standard as they were not open-source.

Hopefully you will see a driver which is recommended by Ubuntu, simply click on it and then click Activate, the driver will now download and install itself. Once complete click on the power button in the top-right hand corner of the screen and then select restart and apply updates. Once your PC restarts you should see the new Unity UI.

We are still not convinced about the Unity desktop interface, therefore we switched back to Gnome, this can be done simply logging off, clicking on your name to log in and then at the bottom you will see some options, click on “Ubuntu” and then click on “Ubuntu Classic”, now you are permanently using Gnome again (Thanks Tom).

Do you like the new Unity desktop interface?

More About: Linux, ubuntu, Ubuntu 11.04

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What we are worried about is MyBroadBand News has pointed out more dislikes than likes with the new software. The unified global menu seems to be a hit, as well as how the shortcut keys are used. This version of Ubuntu Unity seems to rely much more on these shortcut keys, as it makes life much easier.

The only other positive is how you can search for files and folders from the dash; again this has been developed to make things easier. Now on to dislikes, and these are extensive; the launcher seems to be a huge turn off. The reason for this is because of its erratic behavior, not knowing if it wants to open fast or slow.

Three clicks to open an application is also another downside, people do not want to spend ages each time they wish to open file or applications. There are suggestions that Unity has that unfinished feel, which you would not expect from Ubuntu Linux. We just hope that version 11.04 is just a stop gap, and that an update to the interface will not be long down the line?

What are your thoughts on the Ubuntu 11.04 Unity Interface?

More About: Linux, operating system, ubuntu

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I recently checked Twitter to see if there seemed to be any major problems with the release, however so far it seems as if people are more than happy, some people are very impressed with the revamped installer, whilst others are also very complimentary of the new Unity UI.

There seems to be a slight problem affecting people who are upgrading from a previous version of Ubuntu to Maverick Meerkat, apparently if you are having problems upgrading Ubuntu you should change the upgrade server.

If you are experiencing crackling/skipping audio there is a fix you should check out here, also this link has instructions for how to fix graphical problems which may occur if you are using Virtualbox.

I have fished around for common problems and to be honest with you the release looks solid as there is a severe lack of complaints, if you are experiencing problems describe your issue(s) in the comments section below and we will do our best to point you in the direction of a fix.

More About: Linux, ubuntu, Ubuntu 10.10

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The next version of Ubuntu to arrive will apparently be 10.10 Maverick Meerkat, full details are unknown at present however at the moment an October 10th release date is expected.

So what new features can we expect? As previously stated a lot is still a mystery, however SoftPedia’s recent article says that Meerkat will have support for mutli-touch gestures, apparently Canonical and Mark Shuttleworth have officially confirmed this.

At the moment Ubuntu’s developers are using the Dell XT2 laptop as a development environment, therefore it looks as if this laptop is a great purchase for anyone who wants the best Ubuntu-based multi-touch gesture support.

Personally I think that multi-touch gestures are a little overrated, however adding this support will perhaps allow Ubuntu to grow in an operating system of choice for tablet owners.

What other features would you like to see added?

Source: SoftPedia

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Ubuntu’s last official release before Lucid Lynx was version 9.10 (Karmic Koala), which after numerous fresh and upgraded installs, seemed to be causing more harm than good to the Ubuntu user-base.

It was reported that only 10% of users who installed the new version were ‘fine and dandy’ with their ‘smooth’ installs, which left 90% of the Ubuntu users unhappy, and a fifth of all installations proving to have caused ‘unfixable issues.’

If you are experiencing any issues with the new release of Ubuntu, please feel free to share the information with us and others so that users will be more aware of the problems, therefore are able to avoid them if possible.

We will keep you updated with any problems and suitable fixes and work-arounds in future posts, but for the time being, please describe any issues below this post.

More About: ubuntu

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