A good software day: new versions of Ubuntu and AVG released
Two fine updates have been launched today; Ubuntu 8.04 ‘Hardy Heron’, and AVG Anti-Virus 8.0.
Ubuntu 8.04 is the latest LTS (long-term support) distribution, which is designed to appeal primarily to Enterprise users. There’s no shortage of new features, however:
- Virtualization built into the kernel
- Firefox 3 is the default web browser
- Updated Linux kernel
- Windows installer (Wubi)
- New version of Gnome
- New BitTorrent Client
- New VNC client
- Long-term support (5 years vs. the regular 18 months)
I’ve been using the pre-release version of this for a while now, and it’s a solid release. But the real update to look out for is 8.10, which promises a raft of significant new features, and a completely overhauled interface (the current Human theme is getting a bit old; hopefully the don’t go overboard on the brown this time, there’s only so much you can take).
AVG 8.0 is a really nice update, both functionally and visually (AVG had a pretty terrible interface before; now, I’ll go ahead and say that 8.0 is the best looking Anti-Virus software on Windows Vista today).
There’s a table over at grisoft.com that highlights the differences between the various editions (AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition, AVG Anti-Virus, AVG Internet Security). You can check it out here.
