Jaunty Jackalope

Linux Monday: Leaping to the Jackalope

Linux Monday is back even though my laptop isn't. Last week I finally configured a backup machine that does everything I need except fit under my arm, and on Thursday night/Friday morning I upgraded Ubuntu from version 8.10 to the brand new Jaunty Jackalope, version 9.04.

If you saw the liveblog you'll see I had a couple bumps in the road. Turns out my problem was a font package that was messed up in my 8.10 install in the first place. I chose an upgrade that kept my configuration, so what was a problem before remains a problem. Fixing the install took a couple (sorry) command line commands, (sudo apt-get upgrade, for those of you who understand) but then all was well. I also found instructions to fix the font issue as well.

The second machine I upgraded, which was a bit older, had no problems.

I know this doesn't make my proselytizing case well, but truth is the best option here. And for me, the silver lining is that I get a dry run on the backup machine before I work on the laptop.

Semi-random thoughts:

Boy does this version boot FAST.

Audio and video are working well; audio was an issue for me in the upgrade from 8.04 to 8.10. And my Flash video plugins (which you need for YouTube) are working better than they did on this machine in 8.10.

Open Office is upgraded from 2.4 to 3.0 (which just barely missed the cutoff for Ubuntu 8.10). I'd already upgraded that myself on the good machine but this made it easier.

Included by default is KStars, a nice little astronomy program that was configured with one question (where are you), so if you're a space geek like me it's a nice touch. There's also a neat little disk cleanup utility called "Computer Janitor" that clears away unnecessary files and explains why they're no longer needed.

Something I haven't tried yet but plan to: a wizard for creating a bootable USB druve.

The tiny feature I miss the most from the early versions: the clock screen-saver. I think Ubuntu dropped that after 6.06. It's not hard to figure out, but why not just keep it?

So, so far so good. More to come when the laptop returns.