News Flash! Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron LTS (long term support, 3 years as opposed to the normal 1 year) is due out in less than two months! From now until its release, we at TadBit will be providing a post every week to keep you updated on its development. So far, many new updates have been proposed. These updates include a improved version of the Human theme, (the original Human theme has been the bundled theme since the beginning) Firefox 3, (this of course depends on Mozilla though) and better disk management. Originally, there was going to be a completely new theme for Hardy but they decided to put that off until 8.10 because that’s the start of a new LTS cycle. Currently, the dates are as follows:
March 6th, 2008- Hardy Alpha 6 (last Alpha before the release)
March 13th, 2008- Deadline for Artwork
April 17th, 2008- Release Candidate
April 24th, 2008- Final Release
A list of all important dates can be found here. That about wraps it up for this issue, if you have any ideas about what I should throw in the next issue then please comment on this post. Look for interviews with developers, news, and much more in the up coming weeks. For those few brave people who want to try the latest Alpha version, Alpha 5 can be found here. Don’t forget to scroll down for cool Ubuntu links, have a great week!
Cool Links:
Ubuntu Brainstorm
Ubuntu Alpha 5
Kubuntu Alpha 5
The Ubuntu Fridge
Ubuntu Forums
Full Circle Magazine
In my opinion, Amarok is the best (on any platform) media manager and audio player on the planet! The minute you add something new to your collection, it already updates it before you even have the chance to check if it’s there or not. Amarok is a Linux only application that works natively with the KDE environment. If you have a Linux distribution, Ubuntu recommended, you can download it and experience the wonder of this amazing program. 
Everyone’s favorite web browser, the free and open, Firefox. This browser is lightweight, has tons of great extensions and themes, and is one of the most secure browsers out there now. Firefox is unique because it works on Linux, Windows, and Macintosh. Not many browsers could say that, now could they? 
One of the greatest office suites out there today has to be OpenOffice. Unlike Microsoft Office, OpenOffice is free and open which means anyone can get and edit the source code. It also has features that you need to pay for in Microsoft Office, like foreign language spell checking. OpenOffice is available to everyone using a Windows or Linux operating system, so next time you need to write a document or make a slideshow, think OpenOffice. 
In my opinion, VLC is the best media player I’ve ever used. Never have i had a codec problem, syncing problems, or compatibility problems. It’s also lightweight, and free and open (like everything on this list). VLC works on both Windows and Linux operating systems with flying colors. 
Pidgin is an open and versatile instant messaging program for both Windows and Linux. It combines AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Jabber, ICQ and many others into one application. Pidgin also supports video conferencing, chat rooms(including IRC), voice conferencing and tons of addons. 
6. XChat
As you were reading this, you may have asked your self, “Where are all the games?” Well, heres one! It’s called Frozen Bubble, it is a nice relaxing game you can play any time. Heck, I’m playing it in between writing this article. It is currently available for Linux only but a port for Windows and Macintosh is in the works. 
Here’s yet another game, it’s called OpenArena. OpenArena is a fast paced FPS based on Quake III Arena plus it is free and open source. Luckily, OpenArena is available to anyone with Linux, Windows, and Macintosh operating systems. 
Can’t leave the computer graphics enthusiist out now can I? The Gimp is a free and open alternative to Adobe Photoshop. It has many of the same features and some people even prefer The Gimp to Photoshop. The Gimp is available to anyone with a Windows, Linux, or Macintosh operating system. 
Virtualbox is THE BEST virtualization software out there today. Unlike VMware, it is 100% free and open and supports more operating system types than VMware. Virtualbox was recently acquired by Sun Microsystems so there’s bound to be even more improvement. It currently runs on all Linux, Unix, Windows, and Macintosh operating systems. 
