Ubuntu 9.04: What's New, Release History & Support Lifecycle

What Is New in Ubuntu 9.04

Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) delivers a faster boot experience, tighter integration with cloud services, and a host of updated packages. This release focuses on performance and laying the groundwork for future cloud computing capabilities.

How much faster is the boot time in 9.04?

The boot process is significantly faster, aiming for a 25-second startup target on supported hardware. This was achieved through kernel and userspace optimizations, including parallel startup of services and reduced readahead overhead.

In practice, this makes a noticeable difference for both desktop users rebooting and sysadmins provisioning systems. The faster boot is one of the most immediately appreciated user-facing improvements in this release.

What's the deal with the Ext4 filesystem?

Jaunty introduces Ext4 as a supported option for new installations, though Ext3 remains the default for stability. Ext4 offers improvements in scalability, performance, and reliability for large filesystems.

This matters because it provides a clear, supported upgrade path for users who need the newer filesystem's features. You can create an Ext4 partition during the manual partitioning step of the installer.

What cloud features were added?

This release includes the first iteration of Ubuntu One, a personal file synchronization service. It also features enhanced integration for launching Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC) and standard Amazon EC2 images.

These additions mark Ubuntu's strategic move into cloud computing, making it easier to deploy and manage instances in both private and public clouds. The groundwork laid here is crucial for future cloud-focused releases.

How are notifications different?

The new NotifyOSD system presents passive, non-interactive notifications that appear and then fade away without requiring user input. This replaces the previous alert-style pop-ups.

This change creates a less intrusive user experience. Notifications are there to inform you, not to interrupt your workflow, which is a much cleaner approach for a desktop environment.

What major package updates are included?

Jaunty ships with GNOME 2.26, OpenOffice.org 3.0, Firefox 3.0.10, and X.Org Server 1.6. The Linux kernel is updated to version 2.6.28.

These updates bring numerous improvements and new features from their respective communities. The new X server in particular includes support for input hotplugging and improved graphics driver architecture.