links

MobyMemory Bundle deals
Memory cards+USB reader bundles
Biostek XS360 DVD player
Multi region DVD player with DivX & USB stick support
Stephen Fry's blog
"I've never met a Smartphone I haven't bought"

Ubuntu 'Gutsy Gibbon' review

I've been running Ubuntu Linux 7.04 ('Feisty Fawn') since its release six months ago and have been fairly happy with it, but it's not something I could recommend to everyone. For every polished feature and easy configuration grace note there would be some other clunking bit of config file editing of kernel tweaking that would stop me in my tracks and send me to Google in search of a fix.

Now I'm rarely happier than when I'm elbow deep in documentation and hand-assembling whole operating systems from earwax and pocket fluff, but this is not an experience I can recommend to everyone. Happily, then, I can report that Ubuntu 7.10 (aka 'Gutsy Gibbon') is a big improvement and is at last something that I think I could give to my mum without her writing me out of her will.

The Gnome desktop environment looks a little primitive at first - a bit Windows 2000 rather than shiny new Vista, but this is deceptive. If you have a decent graphics card it will give you a load of slick new features from the Compiz project like 'wobbly windows' (more fun than it sounds) and animated open/close effects. Install the optional settings manager and you can activate an amazing-looking 3D-desktop option that plasters your windows around the face of a rotatable cube. This may sound a bit frivolous, but if you spend all day in front of a monitor little tricks like this make the desktop seem more solid - more like something you can touch and use rather than just a blank page to hold Excel spreadsheets and browser windows. You don't need it, but there are enough usability enhancements ) mixed in with the eye candy that you will miss it when it's gone.

Talking of which, Ubuntu now ships with the latest OpenOffice (for all your mostly-compatible-with-Office XP needs) the Firefox web browser and approximately 2 gazillion extra applications that can be downloaded and installed using the Synaptic Package Manager (a bit like Add/Remove Programs under Windows - only not so obviously crack-addled.)

Hardware support has come a long way and support for typical laptop configurations is much improved with drivers for many more WiFi cards than previous releases.