Ubuntu Lucid Lynx 10.4 Linux is out.

I’ve got it installed on all my boxes, except may be a shoe box. I am thoroughly thrilled about its looks, apps, performance, features and stability. After testing it for some time (ever since alpha 1 version was out), installing and reinstalling it numerous times I  have to say – it’s a great operating system! All the devices worked out of the box on all the computers, even the brand new, fresh smelling Radeon HD 5830. It boots in an instant, it has all the apps you’ll ever want (for free) and, with the Compiz eye candy, it looks even better than OS X. In fact it was the OS I was waiting for, from the times I’ve first installed Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) on my laptop back in, well, 2008.10. Yes, Jaunty 9.4 and Karmik 9.10 offered a great ride, but they are not the LTS.

Lucid Lynx is a long term support release (LTS) that means that the Ubuntu folks spent lots of hours working out kinks and quirks of the previous release (9.10). They’ve fixed [most of] the problems and will provide fixes in a future for 3 more years.

Is it for an average user? I think so. The install process is trivial (pop the cd in, run the installer) and quick. The user base and the all the forum/wiki support that comes with it is enormous. In fact it is so big that when I need to google a linux related topic, it get more relevant results by using the work “ubuntu” instead of “linux”.

So, if you are still thinking about Windows 7, stop. Start thinking about a better alternative, that will cost you $0.