The next version of Ubuntu – codename Lucid Lynx – will be the 10.04 release, and is scheduled to be released and declared stable in April. As a long-term support version, coupled with increasing popularity, this is undoubtedly the most important Ubuntu release to date.

I was privileged to be invited to the Canonical offices in London recently to preview the image changes and comment on how we might adopt them; offer opinions on how I feel the community would interpret the changes, and offer feedback. I expected this to be an art and design type meeting, meaning I did have some concerns about how useful I would be since I can’t even attempt a bluff at being artistic. However, it did turn out to be useful, with lots of fruitful discussions.

For the last 6 years, Ubuntu has traditionally had a theme of brown and earthy colours; which I feel many have come to accept, and perhaps even like. Over the years we have witnessed the colour being toned down and having less significance in the desktop. Following some 8 months of work the colour has been dropped from the distribution design, so it was quite a risky move.

rest here