With Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) set to debut this week, here’s a run down of all the new features and changes covered by WorksWithU in the last several months.

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The decision to replace Pidgin with Empathy in Ubuntu 9.10 has not been without controversy, or second thoughts on the part of Ubuntu developers.  Much of the discontent centers around concerns that Empathy does not yet offer the features to compete with Pidgin.  With this in mind, I took a look at how Pidgin and Empathy line up when it comes to delivering the functionality that most people look for in an instant-messaging client.  Here are the results.

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As WorksWithU reported last week, the Gnome application Empathy was set to become the default instant-messaging client in Ubuntu 9.10 upon its release October, replacing Pidgin.  But Ubuntu developers have been reconsidering that decision in the last few days.  Here’s the story, with some thoughts.

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WorksWithU reported a couple weeks ago on new features in Ubuntu 9.10, like kernel mode setting and GRUB 2, that are likely to please geeks.  But Ubunti 9.10 (codenamed Karmic Koala) will also sport changes aimed at traditional users.  Here’s a look at a few of them.

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There’s some reason to believe that Empathy is the next big thing in instant-messaging on the Ubuntu desktop.  There have been passionate calls for its adoption in Ubuntu 9.04 as a replacement for Pidgin, and the Gnome people seem to be pushing it (not surprisingly, since it’s developed under their auspices) for future releases–note the big green dot next to Mary Poppins’ name in the conceptualization images of the new Gnome desktop.  Give all this hype, I decided to try it for myself.

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