If you had difficulty getting previous versions of Ubuntu to recognise all your hardware then you might wish to attempt it again and see if the new drivers make a difference for you.

Besides hardware the major new features advertised of Intrepid Ibex fall into these categories:

Software updates - GNOME, OpenOffice.org, Compiz and some other items have been updated. I expect these will all be available via Update Manager for Hardy Heron too.

New login options - an "auto sign in" option when installing, and a pre-configured guest account for others to use without messing up your computer. These options may have some use in specific circumstances.

Built-in encrypted folder - Drop any file into your secret ~/Private folder and it will be encrypted.

Online anywhere - more support for 3G cellular modems for online-anywhere access, with a newer version of NetworkManager to handle these. Your mileage with NetworkManager may vary.

And that's about it. Certainly, the much touted recommendation engine in Add/Remove Programs is still nowhere to be seen.

You will pardon me if I confess to being underwhelmed by the Ibex. As it's the latest Ubuntu release I've no doubt it offers the widest hardware support and some greater performance. Newcomers should definitely have confidence.

Yet, apart from the presumed hardware benefits and the pleasure of having the latest dot-releases of everything available I don't find anything maddeningly compelling about Intrepid Ibex that would make me suggest anyone exert effort in upgrading - let alone setting up again from scratch - their existing Hardy Heron setups.

I also have to ask, what's with that wallpaper? What do you think of the Intrepid Ibex wallpaper? Is it a long-horned goat or a scary bear? I think the latter!