ubuntuglassI don’t know if all of you out there have been following the technology scene lately, but there is a holy trinity of operating system releases going on. Apple released the most recent version of OSX, 10.6, code named Snow Leopard in late August. Microsoft is set to release Windows 7, following the still born catastrophe called Vista. Last but not least, Ubuntu is set to release version 9.10 of their operating system, code named Karmic Koala.

Most people are probably familiar with Apple’s OSX and Microsoft’s windows, but fewer are familiar with Linux in general, even if it is Ubuntu. Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distribution today and rightfully so. In about 5 years, Ubuntu has gone from a fledgling Debian derivative, to a full blown force of its own. The last iteration of Ubuntu, 9.04, code named Jaunty Jackelope brought more internal or ‘under the hood’ improvements and refinements. Expanding on the functionality and speed improvements, 9.10 adds a little more in the way of GUI enhancements and user experience improvements. 9.10 also looks to cloud computing with the inclusion of Eucalyptus, yet another excellent open source project.

I have been using 9.10 since the Alpha releases, and the current Beta is running well. There are few minor issues here and there, but that is expected with Beta software. I can’t wait until the 29th to get my hands on the final release version. I am excited to put it through its paces and see where the Ubuntu developers have put the most effort. The desktop version (beta) is excellent and the UI polish is very evident. Also noteworthy are the significantly reduced boot up and shut down times. They are very noticeable. I have also installed 9.10 beta Server Edition on one of my personal web servers and it has run flawlessly since the beta released. I am very satisfied with that. I’m eager to see how much uptime I can get on the final release version.

Either way, it will be interesting to see how Mark Shuttleworth is making on his goal to surpass Apple OSX in functionality and UI polish in ‘three years.’ Although I love Mac, I am hoping he succeeds. You can never have too many competitors in the market, and getting large software vendors to start releasing for the Linux platform (or truly multi-platform apps developed in a language like…oh…say…Java!) is always a good thing. We’ll see how it all lays out on the 29th.