Software | Operating systems

The end of October saw the much anticipated release of Ubuntu 8.10 - affectionately called the Intrepid Ibex.

It's a release that sees Ubuntu going from strength to strength.

And with its popularity reaching stratospheric proportions, we thought that now was the perfect time to pool together our favourite tips into one place.

If you've never tried Ubuntu, there's never been a better time to dive in. If you're already a convert, read on to discover how to get the best from your installation.

System performance  read more »

Have you been clinging to KDE 3.5 like a polar bear to the last Arctic ice shelf?

If so, now's a good time to consider jumping on to the mainland. The recently released KDE 4.1 is a vast improvement over the original.

Hundreds of bugfixes and refinements mean that the KDE desktop is now a stable, functional and productive environment. It's faster, more streamlined and full of eye candy, and is also where all the developers' effort is now concentrated.

Things are only going to get better for KDE users. But, as with all these big changes, there are still teething problems – things don't always work the way you expect them to and many of the newer features are poorly documented.  read more »

Our sister title Linux Format magazine has been elbows deep in the latest release of Ubuntu - Ubuntu 8.10 - and asked: is it any good, what has changed since the last release and what artificially alliterative name will they use this time?

Let's answer those in reverse order.

The answer to the last question is easy: Ubuntu 8.10 is Intrepid Ibex.

What's changed? Well, not loads, but as Linux Format says: "Ubuntu has matured now, and as a product matures, improvements become more incremental - it's only washing powder that shows such immense improvements with each new release (or advertising campaign)."

So, is it any good?  read more »

Windows Vista SP2 will arrive in the wild as a limited beta release on Wednesday October 29, although it's not expected to bring any surprises.

Ever since XP's SP2 famously ripped out the guts of the OS and replaced it with a more secure version, Microsoft has been trying to disavow the public of the notion that Service Packs are major upgrades.

Indeed, Vista's eagerly awaited SP1 was really just an amalgamation of the automatic upgrades available for the OS, and SP2 is likely to bring something similar.

Small group of testers

However, more will be apparent on Wednesday, when the beta version is handed out to a 'small group of Technology Adoption Program custom'.  read more »

With the state of Microsoft's fragile ego these days, it's hardly surprising to hear that it's reaching out to customers to finally get some idea about what they actually want in an OS.

Among many MS surveys the company conducts during a typical year, the latest suggests that the company is looking to reduce Windows boot times drastically – possibly even entirely, if we're lucky.

Netbook experience

The poll, sent to a few registered Windows users, asks about the appeal of an "Instant On experience" similar to that on some Linux netbooks and Dell's Latitude laptops.

It goes on to say, in somewhat contradictory terms, that 'Instant On' would mean some key aspects (probably just the browser, we reckon) of a PC being usable within eight seconds.

Better than nothing  read more »

Given its history of moving deadlines at a moment's notice, it hardly seems surprising that Microsoft is keeping Windows XP alive even longer than expected, but its latest move looks particularly bad for Vista.

The apparent decision to allow OEM computer sellers to offer disks that downgrade installations of Windows Vista to XP until the end of July next year clearly bumps up against the period when Windows 7 might be released.

Unpromising outlook  read more »