I got to attend UDS in Orlando this year, my first in the 4+ years I've been with Canonical. I heard there that one of the big changes in Ubuntu for the next release is the plan to switch to Unity as the desktop shell (with a GNOME backend still). This assumes that the installer detected a video card capable of running Unity (3d support), otherwise it will be a classic GNOME experience.<div>
<br></div><div>Mark stated that by releasing Unity on Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition that it allowed collecting numerous practical bug reports from a relatively smaller audience. He's not claiming it will be perfect for 11.04 (I think file management is one big thing he expects to take longer), but he feels it will be able to provide a superb desktop experience. I have to admit, I like what I saw. I think it will make users far more productive.</div>
<div><br></div><div>I'm not sure if the above is good news, bad news or "meh" news, but there it is.</div><div><br></div><div>One other interesting note is that everyone was talking about two things: making it easier to develop software targeting Ubuntu and also improving the way software is distributed for both open source and commercial (OSS or not) software vendors. The hope is that software releases will no longer be tied to Ubuntu releases (i.e. when FF5 comes out you can upgrade w/out waiting for the next Ubuntu release). </div>
<div><br></div><div>I'm not sure what the time frame for either of these points is but many people feel a sense of shame at how hard of a time developers are having and are committed to correcting it.<br clear="all"><br>
-- <br>Matthew Nuzum<br>newz2000 on freenode, skype, linkedin, <a href="http://identi.ca" target="_blank">identi.ca</a> and twitter<br><br>"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." -Benjamin Franklin <br>
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