Ubuntu Studio For Linux

Welcome to the Precise Pangolin edition of Ubuntu Studio, which is also the first ever release of this open source operating system as an LTS (Long Term Support) version based on the latest Ubuntu Linux technologies and built around the lightweight Xfce desktop environment.

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS was officially announced by Canonical on April 26, 2012 and it will be supported with security patches and software updates until April 2017. It is the first ever Ubuntu Studio release distributed as Live DVD ISO images (finally!), covering the 64-bit and 32-bit hardware platforms.

This means that the user can now try the operating system before installing it, or just use it as-is from the bootable medium. As expected, the boot loader of the Live DVDs is a bit different from the one found on Alternate DVDs, as it allows the user to access the graphical installer, perform a memory test, boot an existing OS, or check the DVD for defects.

This is also the first ever release of Ubuntu Studio to feature a fully customized Xfce desktop environment comprised of a top panel and a bottom dock (hidden by default). At a first glance, we can notice that Canonical tried to keep the same look and feel as on GNOME-powered versions of the product.

Among the preinstalled multimedia apps, we can mention Audacity, Hydrogen, Qtractor, MuseScore, JAMin, Ardour, Blender, Inkscape, GIMP, MyPaint, Darktable, Phatch, RawTherapee, Shotwell, DVD Styler, OpenShot, Xjadeo, Subtitle Editor, and Totem.

In conclusion, we feel obliged to give a five start to Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin), as it is the operating system suitable for multimedia production work, so far. All we can hope is that the Ubuntu Studio distribution will get better and stronger with each new release.