Ubuntu features the Ubuntu Software Center that aims to be a simpler way of installing applications that the traditional repository system. While the tradition repository system is still what is used in the background, the Ubuntu Software Center improves the experience by hiding unnecessary details of a hierarchy of dependencies.

Just a few versions back the Software Center added support for commercial applications making it a Linux app store of sorts, since then the collection of software (applications and games) has be steadily increasing. In parallel, Canonical also features a music store as part of Ubuntu One that allows you to download DRM-free music and sync it across all your computers.

Now Canonical has announced that eBooks and eMagazines are also going to be available for purchase on the Ubuntu Software Center. Through a partnership with Pearson Technology Group and Linux New Media Canonical will offer a collection of high-quality PDF versions of a number of books and magazines.

VP Business Development at Canonical, Steve George says in the release: “Through this innovative partnership we are adding eBooks and magazines to the wide range of applications currently available in the Ubuntu Software Center, creating a fantastic revenue opportunity for Ubuntu developers and content creators.”

Officials from Pearson Technology Group and Linux New Media also commented on this partnership:

Paul Boger, Vice President and Publisher, Pearson Technology Group: “We’re excited to be one of the first publishers to add our books to the Ubuntu Software Center. This partnership will bring our content to a wider audience of people, and create a central repository for users who want to learn about Ubuntu.”

Brian Osborn, CEO, Linux New Media: “Publishing our magazine titles through the Ubuntu Software Center provides us with a new way to serve our readers globally. By providing our titles electronically, users can gain immediate access to the content they seek and enjoy it on any number of devices, wherever they are.”

Source:http://www.thinkdigit.com/Features/Ubuntu-Software-Center-to-get-electronic-books_7811.html

According to a report last week in the Register, Ubuntu (News – Alert) is moving away from its established six-month-cycle and potentially to a future where software updates land on a daily basis.

Traditionally, this popular Linux based operating system has been going through two updates in a year. Last month, version 10.10, code named Maverick Meerkat, was released and the next version 11.04, dubbed Natty Narwhal, is due for release in April 2011. But, going forward, such updates will become a daily phenomenon, according to the developer.

“In an internet-oriented world, we need to be able to release something every day,” said Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth.

Shuttleworth said during an Ubuntu 10.10 conference call last month that a move to daily updates would help the popular Linux distribution keep pace with an increasingly complex software and platform ecosystem as Ubuntu goes on more devices and syncs up Android (News – Alert) and iPhones, the Register wrote.

It’s not just Ubuntu that’s updated every six months but also modules and code from the other areas of the open-source world that make up an Ubuntu release, Shuttleworth said.

To clarify some of the remarks made by Shuttleworth, Ubuntu engineering director Rick Spencer posted some comments on his blog. In a post on his blog, Spencer said, “Ubuntu is not changing to a rolling release. We are confident that our customers, partners, and the FLOSS ecosystem are well served by our current release cadence. What the article was probably referring to was the possibility of making it easier for developers to use cutting edge versions of certain software packages on Ubuntu. This is a wide-ranging project that we will continue to pursue through our normal planning processes.”

He supported the idea of making it easier for developers to use daily updates of software that they care about, and may be even have them discover this capability through the software center. But, Spencer added, “In his view having a stable six month release with the option to stay cutting edge on certain packages did not constitute a rolling release.”

Source:http://it.tmcnet.com/topics/it/articles/121684-ubuntu-software-updates-becoming-daily-phenomenon.htm

Canonical has released the latest edition of their Ubuntu Linux distribution.

Ubuntu 10.10 is available in all the different variants for desktops, netbooks and servers.

Ubuntu Desktop Edition has been optimized for closer connectivity to the user’s cloud.

Ubuntu Netbook Edition now comes loaded with a brand new user interface called Unity.

Ubuntu One has been updated to support other platforms like Windows OS, Apple iOS and Google Android.

Ubuntu Software Centre also has been updated and users can now use it to purchase software that runs on Ubuntu.

Jane Silber, CEO of Canonical spoke about this release: “Ubuntu 10.10 for desktops and netbooks is our most consumer-friendly release yet. Ubuntu One’s personal cloud services will put Ubuntu at the heart of many users’ computing worlds even when they need or prefer to use other platforms. Unity has the opportunity to change how we think about our use of computers and the Software Centre will bridge Ubuntu with the applications users need to switch to the world’s best OS.”

Source:http://stuff.techwhack.com/9846-ubuntu-10.10-2

On October 10, Canonical Ltd, a company that maintains the world’s most popular Linux distribution Ubuntu, will release its yearly stable release. Ubuntu’s update cycle is periodical and their version numbering system is much like how our PC Buying Guides were named in the past. 10.10 represents October 2010, while the last release (version 10.04) was in April 2010.

Ubuntu 10.04 brought over a change in interface; it concentrated to address people’s social networking needs. A unified way to change status messages from the taskbar was a really nice touch. The multi-protocol instant messenger Empathy connected to modern chat clients like Google Talk and Facebook chat successfully. An app called Gwibber let us view our Twitter feeds and post new tweets via its interface. Then there was also the Ubuntu 10.04 Netbook Edition, which had a special interface meant for small screens. Certain UI tweaks were done to maximize the viewable area. It had large icons that covered up the entire screen for easily accessing applications.

So what does version 10.10 bring to the table? We give it a try by downloading the Release Candidate (RC) of 10.10, for both the desktop and netbook and see what’s new, other than the obvious bug fixes. We tried the netbook edition on our Asus Eee PC 1000H.

Booting and Installation woes

Not being a stable release, one can expect a bit of an erroneous behavior with any beta software. We downloaded the 64-bit desktop version and the 32-bit netbook version of 10.10 from their website. Our first hurdle was quite a big one, as via Windows we used the built-in tool that came in the ISO file to make a bootable flash drive bearing Ubuntu 10.10. We tried using the flash drive both on different computers here in the labs, and it would simply fail to boot into the OS. Later, we tried a third party app called ‘Unetbootin’ to make the flash drive boot-able with 10.10. To our relief, at least the OS booted successfully this way. But installation would get stuck at the first window itself, later asking us to submit a program crash report. Not exactly a positive start, we tell you.

After finding a fix for this on the internet, it is observed that this is a much reported issue. We hope that this problem will be fixed in the final version releasing today.

Source:http://www.techtree.com/India/Features/Ubuntu_1010_First_Look/551-113090-899.html