Thursday is Feature-Freeze for Ubuntu 9.10
Whoever wants their favorite features integrated into Karmic Koala will have to hurry. From Thursday, the impending Ubuntu will accept no more changes.
The feature freeze primarily concerns developers and maintainers of single packages. Any large changes will have to be made in the source code by Wednesday, latest, writes Steve Langasek on the Ubuntu Announce List. Package changes after the deadline will have to be filed as bugs in Launchpad.
The last few days before the freeze have seen Ubuntu developers buzzing about the Pidgin issue. The free instant messenger has been replaced by Empathy in the new Ubuntu 9.10.- a decision that has not pleased all Ubuntu users. The latest version of Pidgin now comes with web cam support, a feature that has always given Empathy the edge over Pidgin. So, until Thursday, there is still a slim chance that Pidgin may well remain the default IM client, with Empathy waiting eagerly in the wings.
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