11/2/2007 at 10:21 p.m. (2 years, 9 months ago)
After using Gutsy for a couple of weeks, I think I can give a fair assessment of the situation.
First, it is definitely a step up from Feisty. Compiz is much improved (stable) and seems to perform a little better. None of my old configs broke, and I have access to some new facilities for configuring things, such as a gnome configuration panel for x resolution.
However, there are a few drawbacks. Primarily, vmware-server was removed from the Canonical partner repository. I assume this is in preparation for an updated built from VMWare. However, in the meantime, no package exists that is compatible with Gutsy. There are various workarounds involving installing the old package or getting the source package from the VMWare site.
Also, the gnome configuration tool for x isn't perfect, and seems to do some odd things at times. It was especially bad with my dual-head Intel laptop (Thinkpad T60) at work, and would not allow me to configure two monitors. I was very much looking forward to this as I have to restart X every time I want to switch from one to two monitor mode.
Firefox has had quite a few bugs fixed, including a very annoying one that opened new windows in separate windows instead of new tabs. Pidgin is quite nice, as is the new Filezilla and Rhythmbox. EOG is quite a bit faster as well.
Overall, I would say things have improved. However, if you don't need any of these new tweaks and enjoy your stable Feisty, I say wait for Hardy Heron at the end of April. I hope it will be worth the wait.
