Ubuntu Linux version 9.10 now has a code-name -- 'Karmic Koala' -- and its focus will be on cloud computing tools on the server side, and faster boot times and design improvements on the desktop side, according to Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth.
In a Friday post to the Ubuntu mailing list, Shuttleworth announced the latest in Canonical's series of alliterative code-names and said Ubuntu's embrace of Amazon EC2 APIs is geared toward allowing anyone to set up their own cloud using open tools.
"During the Karmic cycle we want to make it easy to deploy applications into the cloud, with ready-to-run appliances or by quickly assembling a custom image," wrote Shuttleworth.
For those who prefer to build their own Amazon EC2-style clouds in their own data centers, Shuttleworth noted that the University Of California Santa Barbara's Eucalyptus Project will be part of Ubuntu 9.04, code-named 'Jaunty Jackalope', which is slated for release in April.
Jaunty Jackalope is aimed at blurring the line between Web services and desktop applications, as well as speeding up boot times, Shuttleworth said last September in a post to the Ubuntu mailing list.
On the desktop side, Karmic Koala will improve graphical boot and start-up times, and Ubuntu Netbook Edition will be updated to include all the latest technology from Moblin, a Linux-based platform for apps that run on Intel Atom processors.
Shuttleworth has often said that one of his goals is to make the user experience Ubuntu attractive and rewarding enough to long-time users of Windows so that they'll be comfortable in making the switch.
"With millions of Linux netbooks out there, we have been learning and adapting usability to make the Koala cuddlier than ever," Shuttleworth wrote.
