An eagerly looked forward to version of Ubuntu, 10.04 LTS - the Lucid Lynx is a Long Term Supported version, and on face value, replaces the orange look with a pink-purple one. While it is a Multi-User OS, we reviewed it from the perspective of a home user.

The installation was a breeze, and gave plenty of options, from Install inside Windows to Live CD options like Demo/Trial and Full Installation. From the moment you select full installation, there are just 6 steps till it is complete: Time Zone, Keyboard Layout, Prepare Disk Space (lets you choose the partition, and further, manually divide partitions, apart from giving you the option to resize current partitions), Who Are You? (lets you choose username, password, and computer name), and Ready to Install (also gives Advanced Options, like Install boot loader, and Network Proxy).

As you might have gathered, the installation presentation was definitely user-friendly, and also provided links to community support, as well as tips, during the course of the installation. It also allowed for choice of packages while installing. Total installation size with all packages was 4.3GB.

Startlingly, the boot process was in an aesthetically pleasing purple, apparently using plymouth and Kernel Mode Setting. It started up within 30 seconds, straight to the log in screen. Also noticed, was the boot up and log in music, which was elevating.  

Straight into log in, Lucid Lynx was able to auto-detect both our wired and wireless networks and their settings without a hitch, and was able to go online almost as soon as it logged in. Then came our e-mail (POP3 and IMAP) and chat setup, which was up and running with nary a problem, though the e-mail did take some time to synchronise for the first time (depends on your internet speed). The Update Manager started off immediately, and even after a full package installation, had 233 updates, or 226 MB worth to offer, which translates to almost a full service pack in Windows terms.

Lucid Lynx has 4 virtual desktops by default to allow for desktop/workspace switching, which can be accessed by the four boxes on the bottom right of the screen, called Workspace Switcher. They are quite useful and customizable; however, a big problem is not being able to switch the backgrounds/wallpapers, which is an annoying limitation that makes it slightly harder to readily recognize which Workspace contains what, especially if you have a lot of programs on each one.

Read on to know more about the Lucid Lynx, on the next page...