Author: Jan Stedehouder

For quite some time now, Ubuntu has been stealing the limelight as a Linux distribution that is simple to install and easy to master for novice desktop users. Since 2005 Ubuntu is the no. 1 distribution on Distrowatch. When main stream journals write about Linux, it's Ubuntu that takes the centre stage. The local communities grow year after year. Each six months a new release is revealed, stirring those communities up to organize Ubuntu Release Parties, again drawing a lot of attention from the IT press. October 2009 sees the release of Ubuntu 9.10, 'Karmic Koala'.

Ubuntu releases need to find a balance between implementing innovative features and maintaining the stability and ease of use most current users have come to expect. What new features will Karmic Koala bring and how does it measure up to previous releases? What choices were made and how did they turn out?

It's position as the foremost open source desktop also makes Ubuntu the target for heated debates. Canonical, the parent mother of Ubuntu, launched a new cloud service this spring, called Ubuntu One. Ubuntu became the focal point of the anti-Mono campaign. And this summer the uneasy relationship between Ubuntu and it's grounding distribution Debian came to the fore again. What to make of these controversies and what consequences can or will they have on the future developement of Ubuntu?

Then, rounding off the presentation, we will have a closer look at factors that promote, or hinder, the adoption of Ubuntu in organizations.

Presentation slides