Ubuntu certainly aren't afraid of change. After announcing that the soon to be released Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid) is to default to using Yahoo as the the search engine of choice, they have also announced that it will also receive a fresh new look and UI called "Light". The new theme, style or whatever else you want to call it looks far more mature and professional when compared to the current default theme,  "Human".

The theme will become the face of the Ubuntu desktop for the next several years and may indicate that Ubuntu is entering a new phase with their product. It's possible that Ubuntu will be advertised more vigorously in the coming years and with a far more professional and clean look, could make it more attractive to those who wouldn't otherwise consider it. More information about the facelift can be found on the Ubuntu web site, but here are some screenshots of how 10.04 will look.

Boot Splash

Ubuntu 10.04 Boot Splash

Desktop Theme

Ubuntu 10.04 desktop theme

In addition to overhauling the way the Operating System looks, the Ubuntu brand and all it's assets will also get a face lift. Ubuntu are going for simple yet effective styling in their new brand as you can see from some of the images below. In the coming months expect to see changes to the logos, community sites, merchandising and the official Ubuntu website.

Logos

The new look Ubuntu logos, clean and efficient.

Merchandise

Ubuntu will likely update its merchandising to.

The changes have come about after Ubuntu felt it was time they updated their image and identity to bring it more in line with their key business values and practices..."We're drawn to Light because it denotes both warmth and clarity, and intrigued by the idea that "light" is a good value in software. Good software is "light" in the sense that it uses your resources efficiently, runs quickly, and can easily be reshaped as needed. Ubuntu represents a break with the bloatware of proprietary operating systems and an opportunity to delight to those who use computers for work and play. More and more of our communications are powered by light, and in future, our processing power will depend on our ability to work with light, too. "

All images credited to Ubuntu.

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux has announced that Firefox under Ubuntu Lucid will default to using Yahoo as it's Chrome search engine. Chrome is the name Mozilla have given to the search box to the top right of their Firefox browser.

The announcement has come about after Yahoo seemingly out bid Google to be the default search engine for the Ubuntu Linux distribution and the two companies as a result of that deal have entered into an agreement. The agreement means that Firefox will be configured from installation to search Yahoo and not Google when the user uses the browser's search box.

In effect this deal means that Ubuntu will be siding with Microsoft and it's Bing search engine as Yahoo and Microsoft have entered into a deal that will see Yahoo being powered by the Bing search engine. No doubt this will raise an eyebrow or two among the opensource hardcore that are out there, who are less than best buddies with Microsoft and their products..

The change will be made as soon as possible to the development version of Ubuntu and will definitely be implemented by the time Ubuntu 10.04 (code name Lucid) is released in April. Full details of the agreement have not been disclosed and it is not known as of yet if prior versions of Ubuntu are subject to the agreement.  

Rick Spencer, Ubuntu's desktop engineering manager, ensured users that the default search engine could still be changed to whatever their preference was. Meaning they can change the default search engine back to Google if required.

In his announcement he said "I am pursuing this change because Canonical has negotiated a revenue sharing deal with Yahoo! and this revenue will help Canonical to provide developers and resources to continue the open development of Ubuntu and the Ubuntu Platform. This change will help provide these resources as well as continuing to respect our user's default search across Firefox".