+Frank B. Subscriber² Posted August 17, 2010 Subscriber² Share Posted August 17, 2010 N-imal? Oh yes, it?s that time of year again, when numerate pollsters make nasal proclamations about the naming of the next next version of Ubuntu. When gazers of balls crystal provide nifty suggestions for new new features and, of course, suitable nomenclature to match. What will it be? A Naiant Nailtail would make a fine coat of arms, but we?re not really in the business of arms. Most of our businesses have legs. Most, I say. We could hedge our bets and go with the Neutral Newt, but it?s placing bets and seeing them through that raises the game for the free software desktop, and now?s a time of great change and invention, not a time for fence-sitting. I?ve been procrastinating. The N-evitable nature of our cadence means that calls for something nicer than ?Maverick+1″ are increasingly noticeable. Naively, I always assume that the answer will leap off the page. Instead, what leaps off the page is a gazillion permutations and combinations of nubile, naughty, naiad and nymph. Moving swiftly onward I linger on the possibilities of the Numbat. Nah. There?s no doubt Fourecks can be a rich source of inspiration, now?s not the time to celebrate Van Diemen?s Land, we?ve better plans for that. And speaking of Fourecks, the Nobby Noctule sounds like something dreamed up by Terry Pratchett, perhaps a fitting way to move beyond Adam?s 10.10.10, but it really is hard to sing the praises of a bat. Especially one with (k)nobs. As you can imagine, after a few weeks with a dictionary and colouring in book of animals, I could draw this out N-definitely. The problem is NP-complete, which I?m now reliably informed by the good folks at HP means it?s provably quite difficult and not something that can be delegated to chips of the non-quantum kind. My chips are most definitely non-quantum though my bugs, strangely, are. Where did that leave us? Well, let?s look at what we want to get done. We have this whole design thing in full flow, which is making Ubuntu sleeker and more stylish, as well as making it smoother for those who just want to get stuff done. We?ll make the N release the best-dressed ever. But classy covers don?t equate to good reads ? we want style and substance to meet and get along famously. Once Maverick is out the door we?ll be turning our attention to making the most of the amazing capabilities of modern graphics hardware, both for outer beauty and for inner efficiency. There?s a lot more to GL than glitz and glamour, though we won?t say no to either. We?re also putting a lot of work into chips and architectures (admittedly, not yet of the quantum sort) that keep cool, and help keep the planet cool in the process. So it would be nice to have a codename which reflects that goodness. Some sort of mascot for a cool planet would do the trick. And so, we come swiftly to a conclusion: allow me to introduce the Natty Narwhal, our mascot for development work that we expect to deliver as Ubuntu 11.04. The Narwhal, as an Arctic (and somewhat endangered) animal, is a fitting reminder of the fact that we have only one spaceship that can host all of humanity (trust me, a Soyuz won?t do for the long haul to Alpha Centauri). And Ubuntu is all about bringing the generosity of all contributors in this functional commons of code to the widest possible audience, it?s about treating one another with respect, and it?s about being aware of the complexity and diversity of the ecosystems which feed us, clothe us and keep us healthy. Being a natty narwhal, of course, means we have some obligation to put our best foot forward. First impressions count, lasting impressions count more, so let?s make both and make them favourable. While it may not in fact get you a pony, the world of free software is the platform upon which the future is being built. So the Narwhal, as the closest thing to a real live unicorn, is an auspicious figurehead as we lay down the fabric from which dreams will be woven. Dreams of someone?s first PC, dreams of someone?s first million instances in the cloud: whatever your vision of the future, we hope the Natty Narwhal will have something to offer. Test your gems against that unicorn ? some will be glass, others of value. Perhaps the unicorn will bring you Luck, perhaps a cure for poisons proprietary. One thing is certain: we?ll be building it together with thousands of the most generous, insightful, fun people on the planet ? not only those in the Ubuntu community, but those who participate in the whole of the free software ecosystem, from a2jmidid to zzliplib, with Debian (happy Birthday!, now longer in the tooth, wiser, but as potent and principled as ever) a special partner. I?m looking forward to the ride, and the result! Source: Mark Shuttleworth's blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiagosilva29 Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 ****ING NARWHALS **** YEAH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knife Party Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 im waiting for an armadillo release :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sethos Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted August 18, 2010 Member Share Posted August 18, 2010 Natty Narwhal? I'm glad they have a sense of humor. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motoko. Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth revealed today that Ubuntu 11.04 will be codenamed Neutered Nudibranch Natty Narwhal. In a blog entry, he described the reasoning behind the codename and discussed some of the features that are planned for the release.Ubuntu is developed on a time-based six-month release cycle. There are two new versions every year, which typically arrive near October and May. The version number is derived from the year and the approximate month of the planned release date. Each version has a development codename that consists of an animal name preceded by an adjective that starts with the same letter. The names follow an alphabetically ordered sequence. In many cases, a future version is referred to by its letter prior to the disclosure of the intended codename. Development on Natty will start shortly after the release of Ubuntu 10.10, codenamed Maverick Meerkat, which is expected in October. According to the Natty release schedule draft, feature freeze is expected to occur on February 24 and the official release is planned for April 28. There will be five alpha releases and one beta release prior to the final official release. In late October, Canonical will host an Ubuntu Developer Summit in Florida at which blueprints for the Natty development cycle will be formulated with the help of upstream contributors and the broader Ubuntu community. Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, has put a lot of effort during the current development cycle into its Unity project, which is developing a lightweight environment for instant-on computing and netbook form-factor devices. Canonical is also working to integrate support for multitouch technology and gesture-based interaction into the mobile user experience. Shuttleworth says that ARM compatibility, design refinement, and improved support for graphics hardware are important priorities for the 11.04 release. This seems to suggest that Canonical's focus on smartbooks and mobile computing will continue to grow in 2011. According to Shuttleworth, the narwhal was selected as the codename for this release due to its similarities to the unicorn. The narwhal is an aquatic mammal that typically has a single horn-like tusk. It is a member of the Monodontidae family, which also includes the Beluga. Experts agree that narwhals are awesome and that unicorns no longer exist because the narwhals defeated them in an epic battle. ArsTechnica I like the name, very clever on their part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillz Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Stupid name. Why not just market it as 11.04? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farstrider Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Stupid name. Why not just market it as 11.04? codenamed Neutered Nudibranch Natty Narwhal It will be, Ubuntu 11.04!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motoko. Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Stupid name. Why not just market it as 11.04? They do for the most part, this is more a less a codename that developers attach like Windows 8 is known as "Midori" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setnom Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 I always like the names they come up with. The only linux dist that makes me laugh two times a year. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted August 19, 2010 Member Share Posted August 19, 2010 I think someone at Ubuntu has a heck of a sense of humor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obi-Wan Kenobi Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 I think someone at Ubuntu has a heck of a sense of humor. so do I, LOL! :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazenga Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Experts agree that narwhals are awesome and that unicorns no longer exist because the narwhals defeated them in an epic battle. I couldn't stop laughing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solid Knight Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Awesome. I wonder what bugs them plan to implement in this release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyH Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Canonical should deffinatly adopt the narwhal song! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knife Party Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Awesome. I wonder what bugs them plan to implement in this release. honestly, I wish i could sucker punch you in the ovaries for you're trolling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoomKid Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 I have it installed on my lappy. I'm loving it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motoko. Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Awesome. I wonder what bugs them plan to implement in this release. Did that oil get to your tap water recently? Or are you just happy to not know what you're talking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown_97784568745 Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 like Windows 8 is known as "Midori" No it's not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motoko. Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 No it's not. It's a project codename referring to Windows 8 and Windows 9, supposedly it's a replacement for the NT kernal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firethorne Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 im waiting for an armadillo release :p You might be waiting for a bit then. They've been pretty much in alphabetical order since 5.10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stereopixels Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 It's a project codename referring to Windows 8 and Windows 9, supposedly it's a replacement for the NT kernal I'm pretty sure Midori is a non-Windows platform based on their Singularity project - nothing to do with Windows 8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motoko. Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 I'm pretty sure Midori is a non-Windows platform based on their Singularity project - nothing to do with Windows 8. You're right the codename for Windows 8 is just Windows 8. That's odd now that I realize it, must be Sinofsky's doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x-byte Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 It's a project codename referring to Windows 8 and Windows 9, supposedly it's a replacement for the NT kernal Why would they replace the NT kernel? The code name is kinda of silly. But it is only during development, so who cares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motoko. Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Why would they replace the NT kernel? The code name is kinda of silly. But it is only during development, so who cares. No body, just sayin. Idk NT is fine for what it is. But things get better I suppose, maybe MS has plans for how it builds Windows in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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