precise pangolin

Ubuntu's default file manager, Nautilus, commonly opens folders by double-clicking on them and allows the launch of a new window from the menu, Nautilus-->File-->New Window

In Ubuntu 11.10, if you drag & drop a file or folder on Nautilus' launcher icon, it opens the home folder unrelated to the location of that particular file.

In Ubuntu 12.04, Nautilus adds an extra behavior, the last updates bringing the ability to open a new window that contains the dragged & dropped file.

Ubuntu 12.04 is definitely an LTS, not only because is released on a two years cadence, but also the commitments to stability and "everything must work".

Precise has adopted an automated test, Jenkins, that stresses the daily builds in order to strengthen them, obviously logging the errors.

What is interesting about Precise's automated test is the response to failures in terms of hours, not days.

Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin has just reached its first milestone, ALPHA 1, marking the first step towards the next LTS.

As expected for an ALPHA release, there are no major changes in Precise ALPHA 1 in terms of UI or features, these are to arrive latter in the cycle.

What is new in Precise ALPHA 1?

The latest updates bring Rhythmbox as the default media player in Ubuntu 12.04 and remove Gbrainy and Tomboy.

This approach has been sketched at UDS-P (and is now available as a blueprint on launchpad) and has as a main goal the use of the lightweight GTK+3 Rhythmbox by default until Precise BETA 1, when the developers will review the status of GTK+3 Banshee (at the moment is a GTK+2 application) and will choose Precise's default media player.

Weeks ago, we announced the launching of the new Vala rewritten Zeitgeist 0.9 ALPHA 1 and its availability in the official Zeitgeist PPA.

This faster version has just landed in Ubuntu 12.04, Precise Pangolin, intended to deliver a superior experience to 12.04 LTS in terms of faster response and memory usage improvements.

Along with this change, new plugins (datasources) are now installed and activated by default, Gedit's and Totem's.

A new icon theme is highly anticipated in Ubuntu 12.04, Precise Pangolin, a change expected by numerous Ubuntu users.

Months ago, an "official rumor" stated that, basically, if not in Oneiric, Ubuntu 12.04 will probably receive a new icon theme.

Today, at "Ask Mark" session, an attendee asked Mark Shuttleworth: "Anything about a new icon theme for Precise? The actual icon-theme look very out ofplace with the modern look of Unity"

Ubuntu's default fancy social networking client, Gwibber, has been updated to version 3.3.1 in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, bringing numerous bug fixes.

Along with stability improvements, the 3.3.1 also comes (not by default) with extra functionality for Unity Gwibber lens, that is now capable to filter the searched&displayed items by user accounts (Twitter, Identi.ca, etc).

How do we install Unity Gwibber lens 3.3.1?
Type in a terminal

Ubuntu's default event logger, Zeitgeist, offers a set of plugins (datasources) for various applications (tomboy, geany, gedit, eog, totem, etc) in order to enhance its productivity (better event logging).

In Ubuntu 11.10, Gedit Zeitgeist plugin can be installed via the official Zeitgeist PPA and then easily activated as a regular plugin (Gedit-->Edit-->Preferences-->Plugin-->check Zeitgeist dataprovider).

Ubuntu developers announced at Ubuntu Developer Summit (Precise Pangolin) Unity's multimonitor enhancements that are to arrive in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.

According to Stewart Wilson (minute 47:34), Ubuntu's User Experience Architect, in multimonitor setup, Precise's Unity will probably feature:

Ubuntu 12.04 brings new functionalities to its default file manager, Nautilus, adopting tags, meaning, when you right-click on a file or folder, a new Tags option appears in the menu.

A user can now assign tags to a file/folder (video clips, .PDF files, images, etc) by simply typing tags, that can be easily checked and unchecked.