Thursday is Feature-Freeze for Ubuntu 9.10
Whoever wants their favorite features integrated into Karmic Koala will have to hurry. From Thursday, the impending Ubuntu will accept no more changes.
The feature freeze primarily concerns developers and maintainers of single packages. Any large changes will have to be made in the source code by Wednesday, latest, writes Steve Langasek on the Ubuntu Announce List. Package changes after the deadline will have to be filed as bugs in Launchpad.
The last few days before the freeze have seen Ubuntu developers buzzing about the Pidgin issue. The free instant messenger has been replaced by Empathy in the new Ubuntu 9.10.- a decision that has not pleased all Ubuntu users. The latest version of Pidgin now comes with web cam support, a feature that has always given Empathy the edge over Pidgin. So, until Thursday, there is still a slim chance that Pidgin may well remain the default IM client, with Empathy waiting eagerly in the wings.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.
-
Plasma Ends LTS Releases
The KDE Plasma development team is doing away with the LTS releases for a good reason.