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Ten reasons you should install Ubuntu 9.04

Jack Wallen Tech Republic

Published: 22 May 2009 14:47 BST

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6. X.Org 1.6
With the inclusion of 1.6, more video cards will find support from Ubuntu. ATI video cards will enjoy EXA acceleration by default, R6xx and R7xx cards will have 2D support, R5xx cards will have 3D support, and an updated, albeit proprietary, fglrx driver offers R6xx/R7xx 3D support.

Nvidia cards will no longer need to install a proprietary driver, thanks to the Nouveau drivers. Much time has been put into reverse-engineering these drivers so users of Nvidia can experience outstanding performance and features while still enjoying open-source drivers. You will also find much improved multi-monitor support.

7. Notifications and system messages
One of the nits to be picked in past releases was that notifications and system messages seemed to be done by many people, which lead to an inconsistent feel. Ubuntu now has a unified notification system. This system combines the notifications of all applications into a single interface, which also includes new, unified icons for notifications. These refinements will keep the notification area much cleaner than under previous releases.

8. Native ARM support
This feature is going to be a real boon for those who own or plan to release mid- to low-end ARM-based netbooks.

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It is especially interesting since Freescale is planning to release an ARM-based sub-$200 (£140) netbook within the year.

You may have an ARM-based PC or netbook lying around just waiting to be given new life. If so, Ubuntu 9.04 is what you need.

If you do not have an ARM-based netbook to hand, rest assured — soon, new ARM-based netbooks will hit the shelves. When they do, you will be ready with Ubuntu.

9. Better menu layout
I mentioned this briefly, but it deserves much more attention: a good user experience on a desktop can be hindered by unintuitive menus. Gnome has come a long way in this area, but it needed a little help from Ubuntu. Now the default Gnome menu system makes perfect sense.

Everything is not only where you think it should be, it is also easy to navigate. Even some of the OpenOffice components are split out of the Office menu — for example, OpenOffice Draw is now on the Graphics menu. I was never a huge Gnome fan, but I have to say the menu layout is the best of the best.

10. Better wireless support
Much of the improved wireless support comes thanks to the 2.6.28 kernel, where a more feature-rich wireless stack has been worked in. This improvement should mean fewer users having to install drivers to get their wireless NICs and cards to work.

Reason enough…
Those 10 solid reasons should be sufficient grounds to give Ubuntu 9.04 a try. Is it perfect? No, but what operating system is? However, I can happily say 9.04 might just be the strongest overall release of a Linux distribution I have seen.

Credit: 10 reasons you'll want to install Ubuntu 9.04 from TechRepublic.com