What better place to start our first-half free software roundup than at the OS level? Canonical's Linux-based PC operating system, Ubuntu, may not have anywhere near the market share of Microsoft Windows. But with Ubuntu 9.04, also known as Jaunty Jackalope, we're getting another improved edition of a leading free, open-source client OS on Canonical's roughly six-month release cycle. Ubuntu 9.04 -- version numbers reflect the year and month of release rather than incremental upgrades -- boots faster than its predecessor and now supports hotplugging and better support for netbooks.

Desktop installation includes GIMP 2.6, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 and OpenOffice.org 3.0. Canonical will provide support for 9.04 users through October 2010. It's not the best fit for large-scale IT environments, but smaller organizations unsettled about ponying up for Windows 7 license fees might want to give the Jackalope and its successor a look-see.

Category: Operating Systems