Today (October 30th) sees a new version of Ubuntu released, version 8.10 (more commonly known as Intrepid Ibex). The release features lots of little improvements and a few bigger ones. A few I am looking forward to:

• The ability to create a bootable USB drive
• A system cleaner
• A new version of Nautilus (the file browser, like Windows Explorer) that brings tabbed windows and eject buttons for media
• A built in encrypted private directory
• Improvements in wireless (maybe I’ll finally be able to get my Vaio online!)
• Better multi-monitor support
• A guest login feature
• A new dark theme (see picture above)

More about these features can be found here and here.

I’m sure I will have more to say about these features once I uprade. It may seem unusual that I’m not downloading the first day- after all, there’s a way to do it via BitTorrent to speed it up, and I love new things. I have learned over past upgrades, though, that’s it’s better to wait a week for the dust to settle. Also, it’s best not to make changes to a perfectly working system in the middle of a big project- in my case, comprehensive exams, which I have this week.

pic by John Griffiths