Matt Zimmerman, CTO of Canonical, gave the Ubuntu Live attendees here a look ahead on the Ubuntu Technical Roadmap, letting us see what’s coming in Ubuntu 7.10 Desktop and Server.
Users with high-end monitor needs will be happy to hear that the Ubuntu release known as Gutsy Gibbon should have 3-D desktop functionality working right out of the box. Multiple monitor configuration will also be provided in the release. If you have a laptop, power profiling features are planned for the desktop version.
On the server side, the plan is to have turn-key Web-based administration, thanks to the new Landscape tool announced at the conference yesterday. There will also be more one-step server tasks added to the server functionality, similar to the one-step LAMP setup that exists in the current version of Ubintu server.
Zimmerman also told the crowd that there will be proactive security provided via the AppArmor toolset.
This presentation was low-key, matter-of-fact, and well received by the crowd. And that, in a nutshell, has been the tone of every presentation I have been to thus far at Ubuntu Live. This is not a show about shaking things up, or preaching to the choir about how great Ubuntu is.
Mostly this show is about getting information and education out to the the Ubuntu community, and those people on the outside of the community who are interested in working with Canonical and/or the Ubuntu community. Which is, I think, exactly what Canonical wanted out of their first trade show.
This is not a criticism; per se. More of an observation of a company that’s about to move into the big leagues in the enterprise, the desktop, and the SMB space. This company is not about flash, no matter what people assume about the software or its leadership.