You need to check what's been updated for each release subsequent to 2.6.24 - namely 2.6.25, 2.6.26 and 2.6.27 to get the full picture of what has been worked on.

For the most part there's nothing spectacular in the list, and this is reflected in the very minor version number increment. I did get mildly excited to see the current kernel now includes a brand new file system - developed by Nokia of mobile phone fame - which is optimised for pure flash devices. I expected to read this came about due to the rise in prominence of netbooks with their flash-based primary storage. Yet, it's not so, this new file system has a very dedicated and specialised purpose and it is nothing to do with USB sticks, flash drives or their ilk.

However, each new kernel release does promise enhancements in drive performance, improved drivers for wireless hardware, web cameras, hard disk drives and other hardware components.

Nevertheless, it's still only early days. The gulf between the latest kernel available for the two Ubuntu options will grow as time moves on. Mind you, by then it'll be time for Ubuntu 9.04, Jaunty Jackalope, anyway.

Finding nothing too compelling here, I next turned to the collection of installed packages. I executed the command dpkg --get-selections on each system, sending output to a file. I then compared the two files using the diff command. This revealed a number of differences, including items in Intrepid Ibex not in Hardy Heron and updated software - both of which you'd expect. However, there were also items in Hardy Heron that had disappeared from Intrepid Ibex.

I'll take you through them. If you hate lists you might want to skip the next three pages.

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