Filed under: OS Updates, Linux, Open Source
Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex beta available: Don't install it on your laptop yet
by Brad Linder Oct 3rd 2008
Know what you're doing.Are willing to risk frying your LAN card.
As we reported last week, a bug in the latest version of the Linux Kernel used by Ubuntu 8.10 not only causes some Ethernet cards to stop working, but it also kills them dead. Basically, if your Ethernet hardware uses the Intel 82566 or 82567, do not install Intrepid Ibex yet. Because it could corrupt data on your hardware. There is a patch available to address this issue, but Canonical hasn't incorporated that patch yet. It should be in place by the time Ubuntu 8.10 final is released.
So if you do decide to go ahead and install Ubuntu 8.10, what will you see? Intrepid Ibex includes Gnome 2.24 with a number of improvements including tabbed browsing in the latest version of the Nautilus file manager. You also get a new version of the network manager which provides a 3G connection manager, among other things. The OS also uses X.Org 7.4, which has improved support for hot-pluggable input devices like keyboards, mice and tablets.
Update: If I'd spent a few more seconds reading the release notes, I would have told you that the offending component has been disabled so as not to fry anybody's Ethernet card. That's the good news. The bad news is that means you may not be able to access the internet via a LAN using this build. The issue should be addressed by the time Ubuntu 8.10 final is ready to go.
Check out some more of the highlights after the break.
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They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...
