June 2 Distro of the Day: Ubuntu 7.04

Today's featured Distro of the Day is Ubuntu 7.04, codenamed Feisty Fawn. This is the latest version in the Ubuntu Linux juggernaut. Lots of people know about Ubuntu, what with the commercial backing, the signs and billboards that have been popping up, not to mention the seemingly thousands of "My First Experience with Ubuntu" blog articles from Windows users. Ubuntu is definitely the new hotness in Linux distributions. It has been solidly at the top of the popularity ranking at sites like distrowatch.com.

For people who have tried previous versions of Ubuntu, not much has changed in 7.04. (And if you haven't tried it yet, what are you waiting for? Download that LivePC!) It still has the soft brown-and-orange theme that distinguishes it from the typical gray or bright blue in other Linux distros. They made it a little easier to install proprietary multimedia codecs and updated package versions, but not much else has changed. Ubuntu has become a pretty stable distro. (I use it on my PVR with MythTV at home.)

One cool unique feature of this particular Ubuntu LivePC is it comes preconfigured with Hamachi support. Hamachi is an instant-VPN service that allows you to combine arbitrary computers across the Internet into a private local area network. You can chat, share files, or play games with other people in your private network, no matter where they are. The reason Hamachi works so well is it is basically zero-configuration - you don't have to worry about firewalls, NATs, IP addresses, or any of that complicated stuff.

This time, we have a couple of videos thanks to TJ, who also did most of the work in setting up this LivePC. Here's a video that highlights the features of this Ubuntu LivePC.

And here's another video that shows how to use Hamachi to run a private virtual network.

Note that this LivePC uses two network interfaces - one bridged interface and one NAT interface. Depending on your network configuration, the bridged interface may not work and so you may have to switch to the NAT interface. You can do that by clicking on the Network icon in the upper right corner of the desktop.

So if you haven't tried Ubuntu already, this LivePC is a great opportunity to do so. But for those of you who have used it before, don't expect any great new surprises.