Ubuntu's First Ten Paper Cuts Spotted

With the release of Ubuntu 9.10, which is due out this October, Canonical and the Ubuntu developers hope to fix at least 100 "paper cuts" on the Ubuntu Linux desktop. Paper cuts are rather trivial usability bugs that are small, but in one way or another could impair the Linux desktop or increase the burden placed on a new Linux user ever so slightly. They are likely bugs that a new user of the Ubuntu desktop may encounter immediately but is something that may go unnoticed by a veteran Ubuntu user or developer since they have grown accustomed to the Linux desktop and its small flaws.

The first ten of the one hundred paper cuts for Ubuntu 9.10 have now been determined and are shared on the Ubuntu development list. Making up this list of ten small Linux desktop imperfections are dimming file icons when you "cut" them for "pasting" later on, changing the "move to trash" text string in the Nautilus CD burner to "remove from disc", icons for XDG user directories, consistent volume "safe to remove" notifications, and other small action items.

Besides addressing these small usability gaps in Ubuntu 9.10, the Karmic Koala will also feature the Linux 2.6.31 kernel, will finally switch to using kernel mode-setting (where available) for graphics support, GRUB2 is being used by default, EXT4 is now the default file-system choice, and there are many other improvements too.