Posted by Devin de Gruyl on Mar 4th, 2010
Here’s a little something for all you fans of Ubuntu (which would include ourselves): The world’s most popular Linux distribution is getting a major facelift.
Beginning with the upcoming release of version 10.04 (Lucid Lynx), currently scheduled for late April, you can say good-bye to the classic Ubuntu “look” of the brownish, earth-colored desktop. In its place will be a new, completely redesigned default interface, with some softer and more eye-pleasing colors in a style the Ubuntu bigwigs are calling “Light.” (This as opposed to “Human,” the general name applied to the Ubuntu look in the past, as in the distro’s tagline “Linux for Human Beings.”)
Also getting a makeover is the Ubuntu logo itself, in an effort to make things look slightly more professional. The famous “circle of friends” symbol has been simplified and slightly modernized, and has been moved to a secondary position to the Ubuntu wordmark itself, which is now in a new skinnier typeface. I’m not sure I like the de-emphasis on the Ubuntu symbol, which is a strong logo all on its own, but the new logos do look sharp and may help Ubuntu be taken more seriously by professional users. (Yes, there are those who do in fact judge software by its cover.)
As for the new desktop, there will probably be some complaints about the new placement of the window-control buttons by default, to the left of the titlebar instead of to the right as has been standard for years in most desktops. Personally I feel it makes the standard GNOME desktop look even more like the OSX interface it’s seemingly always tried to emulate, and I’m sure the option will exist to move the buttons to a more conventional location if the user so chooses. The new colors, however, are a very welcome addition to the party; one of the biggest gripes I’ve heard newcomers have about Ubuntu is that they were completely turned off by the default brown and orange color scheme. It’s really easy to change themes these days, of course, but there is something to be said for first impressions, and historically the “vanilla” Ubuntu distro has been lacking in that area.
You can see a preview of the new-look Ubuntu here. Expect everything to become official around the same time Ubuntu 10.04 goes live, which should be around the last week of April if past patterns hold. (Or if you like, you can always be a daredevil and try one of the preview releases of Lucid Lynx. Of course, it’s still considered “alpha” software, and thus you swim at your own risk if you choose to dive in.)
It may seem like a silly little thing, given how ephemeral a default look usually is for any operating system. However, there’ve been enough gripes over the years about Ubuntu’s relatively ugly out-of-the-box GNOME experience that this change is more than welcome by now. Time alone will tell how effective this tactic is, but one thing’s for sure… it certainly looks a lot less like a hobbyist OS now.
Related posts:
- Reminder: Ubuntu 9.04 Hits Thursday
- Ubuntu 7.10 Is Here
- Ubuntu 8.10 Released
- Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) Hits Final Release
- Ubuntu 6.10 Final Released
Related posts:
- Reminder: Ubuntu 9.04 Hits Thursday
- Ubuntu 7.10 Is Here
- Ubuntu 8.10 Released
- Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) Hits Final Release
- Ubuntu 6.10 Final Released
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As an Ubuntu user, I’ve gotta say that I find the new look extremely butt ugly. Then again, I’ve never been a big fan of the color purple…or any other movie starring Oprah for that matter.
Still, since I use Xubuntu and customize the appearance of it, this decision doesn’t really concern me. Glad to see you covered the new look though, who knows when I’ll be able to make my triumphant(?) return.