Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) Predictions

Now with the release of the latest version of Ubuntu only 5 days away what better time then now to make predictions about the future of the Ubuntu Operating System. So lets get down to it, shall we?

1. Linux (more specifically, Ubuntu) for the masses – not happening (at least not yet). While I feel the Linux community has come extremely far in development in the past few years, especially Ubuntu it is still not there yet. Issues such as Xorg’s multiple monitor support-or lack there of. If you cannot easily configure multiple monitors on a Linux based system without editing configuration files then you’re not there yet. I know that this feature was supposed to be available in Xorg 7.3 which is what ships with Ubuntu 8.04 however, I could not get it working during my testing. Also, during while I was testing the beta I decided I would try and configure Google Talk with voice chat capabilities so I could talk to my girlfriend while at the computer – good idea right? I mean, I use Google Talk with my girlfriend religiously every day to talk to her. One small problem, I literally had to jump through hoops and dependency hell to even attempt to get the voice capabilities working at all. Considering this is something I rely heavily on for communication it just is not going to fly well with me.

2. Ubuntu will start to appeal to a wider range of people than ever before. Hardy Heron will absolutely bring an influx of new Linux users aboard – even if it is just to try it and get some experience with Linux. Hardy Heron will be pumping a number of new features out that I believe will bring about this wide expansion of users. The one I am referring to specifically is Wubi.

3. Ubuntu will start to emerge as a common platform in the Operating System market. I believe with the release of Hardy Heron you will see more applications and hardware (perhaps) packaged for Ubuntu as with Windows and OSX. The developers that have shied from Linux in the past will start to look at the operating system more seriously in terms of development for applications and software.

Let me know what you think, leave a comment! What predictions do you have (if any)?