The big news out of the Ubuntu world this month is the radically refurbished look introduced to accompany Lucid when it’s released in April, replacing the orange-brown “Human” theme that Ubuntu users have known and loved–or not–since 2004.  Here’s a look at the new face of Ubuntu, with an attempt at abstract thoughts related to it.

A couple weeks ago, we took a look at Lubuntu, a lightweight Linux distribution based on Ubuntu.  Since then, the operating system has undergone major changes that merit a revisit of its features.  Here’s a second look at the Ubuntu variant that just might replace Xubuntu.

I wrote recently about legal concerns involving multimedia patents on Ubuntu, and how to obtain licensed codecs without breaking the law.  But I didn’t give much thought to the philosophical side of the issue.  That’s an important topic in the Ubuntu community, so I’m catching up with it here.

Ubuntu is way easier to install than certain other operating systems.  But it would be even greater if I could select which applications I wanted on my new system before the Ubiquity installer goes about its business–an idea that was proposed recently on Ubuntu Brainstorm.  Here’s why it should go through.

Canonical has launched a new service, dubbed Ubuntu Single Sign On. The effort seeks to simplify and unify all login services for all Ubuntu-related sites. Sound like a good idea? Here’s the deal…

If the American government invested as many resources rounding up violators of software licenses as it does fighting “terror” (and no, I don’t mean the Jacobin variety), I’d have been put away long ago, because all of my Ubuntu systems use patented multimedia software that I didn’t pay for.  But I’ve recently realized that it doesn’t have to be this way, and that legal codec support is easily available.  Here’s a look at some of those options.

For a long time, the Ubuntu family has had three members–Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu (sorry Edubuntu; we’re not counting you).  But that may change, with a new project, Lubuntu, vying for official endorsement by Canonical.  Here’s a look at Lubuntu, and thoughts on what its future may hold.

If you’re like me, you don’t put much thought into where your multimedia codecs come from: you run a quick “apt-get install gstreamer-plugins-ugly” on new installs and move on to more important things.  But not everyone’s like me, and as Ubuntu moves increasingly into government and the workplace, patent and licensing issues are becoming more and more important for many Ubuntu users.

Canonical is making multiple moves to engage and energize Ubuntu software developers. The latest example involves Ubuntu Opportunistic Developer Week, scheduled for March 1 to 6, 2010. Here are some quick details plus the implications for Ubuntu in business.

These days–in contrast to ten years ago–the world has plenty more Web browsers than it needs. And yet I can’t find one I’m happy with. My continuing search for a browser I get along with led me recently to try Opera, a seasoned but still largely obscure player on the browser scene. Here’s what I thought of it.