Yesterday Ubuntu 7.10, codename “Gutsy Gibbon”, was released – I installed it on both my desktop and my laptop to see if any improvements have been made to the system. And – tadaaa: Several major improvements have been introduced in this version! The inclusion and integration of Compiz Fusion mean that it is pretty easy to get it working – on my desktop, desktop effects were working on first boot – but because I have a ATI Radeon 9800 graphics card, it was a bit tough to get 3D acceleration working (that’s my own fault for buying ATI and mixing it with Linux). On my Dell D620 laptop, I just had to download the nvidia-glx-new driver  using the package manager, and enable it in restricted drivers to get 3D acceleration working.

The system feels more integrated, more slick and more user friendly. It took only 30 minutes to install, and using the package manager, I was enable to completely reinstall my system in around 1½ hours – the extra time was caused by a slow repository from which I were downloading additional packages. The only problem I have now is that my Audigy 2ZS sound card in the desktop is not working (oddly enough), but that is going to be solved tonight.