Ubuntu Tutorials

For those that are fans of the Free Software Office Suite, Open Office, a release candidate has been made available for version 3.2. This version improves a number of features in all areas of the tool. Some of the highlights are:

• Faster startup times: both Calc and Writer have cold-boot start times improved by 46%!
• Improved ODF standards support
• Improved proprietary file support including MS Excel, MS Word, MS Powerpoint, OLE Objects, Encryption support, and much more
• Support for Postscript based OpenType fonts
• Improved autocorrect word completion
• Mediawiki support moved to extension
• A number of Calc improvements including: improved sort, better merged cell handling, complex copy/paste,
• much more!

If you’d like to see the complete list, visit: http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/features/3.2/rc1.html

For those wanting to upgrade to the Release Candidate (Final release is scheduled for January), you can download the latest packages at the link below. It should be noted that 3.2 final release should be included in the next Ubuntu release, 10.04, due this April.

http://download.openoffice.org/all_rc.html

You’ll want to select the .deb package from your preferred language. Enjoy.

The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the Release Candidate for Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop and Server editions, Ubuntu 9.10 Server for UEC and EC2, and the Ubuntu Netbook Remix. Codenamed “Karmic Koala”, 9.10 continues Ubuntu’s proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution.

We consider this release candidate to be complete, stable, and suitable for
testing by any user.

Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop Edition improves on the work of 9.04 to get you going faster, with improved startup times and a streamlined boot experience.

Ubuntu 9.10 Server Edition integrates Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud setup in the installer and provides improvements to system security with AppArmor, including an AppArmor profile for libvirtd to further isolate virtual machines from the host system.

Ubuntu 9.10 Server for UEC and EC2 brings the power and stability of the Ubuntu Server Edition to cloud computing, whether you’re using Amazon EC2 or your own Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud.

The Ubuntu 9.10 family of variants, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Edubuntu, Ubuntu Studio, and Mythbuntu, also reach RC status today. This release sees the first technology preview of Kubuntu Netbook.

The final release of Ubuntu 9.10 is scheduled for 29 October 2009 and will be supported for 18 months on both desktops and servers. Users requiring a longer support lifetime on the server may choose to continue using Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, with security support until 2013, rather than upgrade to 9.10.

Before installing or upgrading to Ubuntu 9.10 please review the instructions and caveats in the release notes:

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/910

In addition, there are a small number of known bugs in the release candidate that will be fixed before the Ubuntu 9.10 release, but warrant highlighting for your attention:

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/910overview#Known%20issues

About The Release Candidate
—————————

The purpose of the Release Candidate is to solicit one last round of testing before the final release. Here are ways that you can help:

* Upgrade from Ubuntu 9.04 to the Release Candidate by following the instructions in the release notes referenced above.

* Participate in installation testing using the Release Candidate CD images, by following the testing and reporting instructions at
http://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/ISO

Desktop features
—————-

GNOME 2.28 featuring Empathy: with this latest release, Ubuntu now uses the Empathy instant messaging service by default, introducing the Telepathy framework.

Ubuntu Software Center: the first step in a replacement for Add/Remove Software has landed.

New boot experience: multiple changes to look, feel and speed of the boot experience have been included in the Ubuntu 9.10 release candidate.

Server features
—————

Cloud computing: Ubuntu 9.10 builds on the tantalizing cloud support in Ubuntu 9.04, with support for Eucalyptus configuration at install time and publishing of standard VM images for UEC.

AppArmor: Ubuntu 9.10 continues to raise the bar for server security, with AppArmor profiles enabled by default for ntpd and libvirt providing another layer of protection from attacks on the network or via guest virtual machines.

UEC and EC2: Ubuntu 9.10 includes the first official release of Ubuntu Server images for UEC and for Amazon’s EC2, giving you everything you need for rapid deployment of Ubuntu instances in a cloud computing environment. UEC images, and information on running Ubuntu 9.10 on EC2, are available at:

http://uec-images.ubuntu.com/releases/9.10/rc

Ubuntu Netbook Remix features
—————————–
Ubuntu Netbook Remix is optimised for Intel Atom netbooks and compatible x86 devices. It includes a new consumer-friendly interface that allows users to quickly and easily get on-line and use their favourite applications. This interface is optimised for a retail sales environment.

It includes the same faster boot times and improved boot experience as Ubuntu desktop.

Kubuntu features
—————-

Kubuntu 9.10, built on KDE 4.3, brings users a complete, full-featured KDE 4 desktop with many new applications and innovations.

This is the first release for a new Kubuntu variant, Kubuntu Netbook Edition. Built on a Kubuntu base, it brings users an exciting first look at KDE’s netbook-oriented desktop environment.

New features include better integration with OpenOffice.org and various social website connections for applications. Notable problems with network management and user configuration have been fixed.

Please see https://wiki.kubuntu.org/KarmicKoala/RC/Kubuntu for all the details.

For upgrade instructions from Kubuntu 9.04 or 8.04 see
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/KarmicUpgrades/Kubuntu

Xubuntu features
—————-

Xubuntu 9.10 comes with the light-weight Xfce 4.6 desktop environment to provide a desktop designed for productivity while conserving system resources.

Xubuntu 9.10 is proud to offer an improved multimedia experience with the Exaile media player, a more integrated power management solution with the Xfce4 power manager, and more convenience built right in with improved multimedia volume key support and more consistent desktop notifications.

Please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Xubuntu/KarmicKoala/RC for the full list and details about all the great enhancements Xubuntu 9.10 has to offer.

Edubuntu features
—————–

Edubuntu 9.10 transitions from an add-on educational CD that depended on an existing Ubuntu installation to a full Ubuntu derivative delivered on as a DVD image. This allows prospective users and decision makers to try the educational offerings prior to installation and the flexibility to make Edubuntu a first class educational operating system.

Mythbuntu features
——————

Mythbuntu 9.10 introduces MythTV 0.22. The entire stack has been ported to QT4 and now allows for very neat UI effects. Also 0.22 adds support for VDPAU hardware acceleration, and HD-PVR hardware support.

Please see http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Release_Notes_-_0.22 for more details about changes introduced in 0.22.

See http://mythbuntu.org/9.10/rc for information about the Mythbuntu release candidate.

A more complete tour of the features new in 9.10 can be found at
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/910overview

About Ubuntu
————

Ubuntu is a full-featured Linux distribution for desktops, laptops, netbooks and servers, with a fast and easy installation and regular releases. A tightly-integrated selection of excellent applications is included, and an incredible variety of add-on software is just a few clicks away.

Professional services including support are available from Canonical and hundreds of other companies around the world. For more information about support, visit http://www.ubuntu.com/support

To Get the Ubuntu 9.10 Release Candidate
—————————————-

To upgrade to Ubuntu 9.10 Release Candidate from Ubuntu 9.04, follow these instructions:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/KarmicUpgrades

Or, to perform a new installation or try out 9.10 “live” from CD, download the Ubuntu 9.10 Release Candidate here (choose the mirror closest to you):

Asia:

* http://mirror.unej.ac.id/ubuntu-cd/9.10 (Indonesia)
* http://ubuntu.qualitynet.net/releases/9.10 (Kuwait)
* http://ftp.linux.org.tr/ubuntu-releases/9.10 (Turkey)

Europe:

* http://ubuntu.ipacct.com/releases/9.10 (Bulgaria)
* http://ucho.ignum.cz/ubuntu-releases/9.10 (Czechia)
* http://ubuntu.univ-nantes.fr/ubuntu-cd/9.10 (France)
* http://ftp.uni-kl.de/pub/linux/ubuntu.iso/9.10 (Germany)
* http://ie.releases.ubuntu.com/9.10 (Ireland)
* http://releases.ubuntu.fastbull.org/ubuntu-releases/9.10 (Italy)
* http://no.releases.ubuntu.com/9.10 (Norway)
* http://se.releases.ubuntu.com/9.10 (Sweden)

North America:

* http://mirror.anl.gov/pub/ubuntu-iso/CDs/9.10 (United States)
* http://mirror.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/ubuntu-releases/9.10 (Canada)
* http://mirrors.cat.pdx.edu/ubuntu-releases/9.10 (United States)
* http://ubuntu.media.mit.edu/ubuntu-releases/9.10 (United States)

Oceania/Australia:

* http://ftp.citylink.co.nz/ubuntu-releases/9.10 (New Zealand)

South America:

* http://mirrors.ucr.ac.cr/ubuntu-cd/9.10 (Costa Rica)

Rest of the world:

http://releases.ubuntu.com/9.10 (Great Britain)

Please download using Bittorrent if possible. See https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BitTorrent for more information about using BitTorrent.

Feedback and Participation
————————–

If you would like to help shape Ubuntu, take a look at the list of ways you can participate at

http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate/

Your comments, bug reports, patches and suggestions will help turn this Release Candidate into the best release of Ubuntu ever. Please note that, where possible, we prefer that bugs be reported using the tools provided, rather than by visiting Launchpad directly. Instructions can be found at

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs

If you have a question, or if you think you may have found a bug but are not sure, first try asking on the #ubuntu IRC channel on FreeNode, on the Ubuntu Users mailing list, or on the Ubuntu forums:

http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-users
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/

More Information
—————-

You can find out more about Ubuntu and about this preview release on our website, IRC channel and wiki. If you are new to Ubuntu, please visit:

http://www.ubuntu.com/

To sign up for future Ubuntu announcements, please subscribe to Ubuntu’s very low volume announcement list at:

http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-announce

The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the Release Candidate for Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop and Server editions and Ubuntu Netbook Remix.  Codenamed “Jaunty Jackalope”, 9.04 continues Ubuntu’s proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution.

We consider this release candidate to be complete, stable, and suitable for testing by any user.

Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition brings faster boot speeds and a new notification system to your everyday computing experience.

Ubuntu 9.04 Server Edition makes it easy to experiment with cloud computing using Eucalyptus on your own servers, and sports an improved mail server integration stack based on postfix and dovecot.

Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix brings a new, easy-to-use interface that is designed to be used on the smaller screens of netbook devices.

The Ubuntu 9.04 family of variants, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu Studio, and Mythbuntu, also reach RC status today.

The final release of Ubuntu 9.04 is scheduled for 23 April 2009 and will be supported for 18 months on both desktops and servers.  Users requiring a longer support lifetime may choose to continue using Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, with security support until 2011 on the desktop and 2013 on the server, rather than upgrade to 9.04.

Before installing or upgrading to Ubuntu 9.04 please review the instructions and caveats in the release notes:

Release Notes

In addition, there are a small number of known bugs in the release candidate that will be fixed before the Ubuntu 9.04 release, but warrant highlighting for your attention: Known Issues

About The Release Candidate
—————————

The purpose of the Release Candidate is to solicit one last round of testing before the final release. Here are ways that you can help:

* Upgrade from Ubuntu or Kubuntu 8.10 to the Release Candidate by following the instructions in the release notes referenced above.

* Participate in installation testing using the Release Candidate CD images, by following the testing and reporting instructions at
ISO Testing

Desktop features
—————-

Faster boot times:  improvements to Ubuntu’s start-up process mean you can spend less time waiting and more time being productive with your Ubuntu desktop.

Notification system:  notifications, those alerts that signify a change of status on your system or whether someone is contacting you, have been made consistent across applications to provide a pleasing, intuitive experience for users.

Server features
—————

Cloud computing:  Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (powered by Eucalyptus) puts you in control of your own cloud computing security and infrastructure, compatible with Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) but running on your own servers behind your firewall.  Ubuntu Server Edition 9.04 will also see Ubuntu available on Amazon EC2 — making it the most complete cloud environment available today.

Turn-key mail servers:  the dovecot-postfix package in Ubuntu 9.04 provides an all-in-one solution for deploying SMTP, POP3, and IMAP services with integrated server-side filtering support.

Netbook Remix features
———————-

Built-for-purpose interface: favourite applications and websites are just a click away, making Ubuntu Netbook Remix a great choice for netbook users.

Faster boot times: improvements to Ubuntu’s start-up process mean you can spend less time waiting and more time being productive with your Ubuntu Netbook desktop.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix is known to work on these netbook models:
Asus Eee PC 900
Acer Aspire One
Dell Mini 9

Kubuntu features
—————-

Kubuntu, built on the amazing KDE 4.2, brings users a complete, full-featured KDE4 desktop with many new applications and innovations.

Please see Kubuntu Features for details.

Xubuntu features
—————-

Xubuntu comes with the light-weight Xfce 4.6 desktop environment for those who want a desktop that is easy to use, but places particular emphasis on conserving system resources.

Please see Xubuntu Features for further details.

Ubuntu Studio features
———————-

Ubuntu Studio includes updates to input hardware and sound device management from Ubuntu Desktop and a complete suite of tools for generation of audio, video, and graphic content.

Ubuntu Studio 9.04 also features a streamlined installation process, giving you a familiar Ubuntu desktop and all of your studio applications in a
single step.

The realtime kernel flavor (linux-rt) has returned and is again used by default in Ubuntu Studio.  The rtirq script (http://alsa.opensrc.org/Rtirq)
is also now included in the ubuntustudio-audio package.  It is recommended that users not use the new EXT4 filesystem with the linux-rt kernel on production systems due to some reports of instability.

Jack-audio-connection-kit now includes support for the Free Firewire Audio Drivers (FFADO, www.ffado.org).

Mythbuntu features
——————

As of 9.04, Mythbuntu fits better into the Ubuntu ecosystem by using the same build methods as all other remixes and derivatives.  Because of this, 9.04 has been a focus around stability and preparing for an easy transition to the next version of MythTV (0.22) later this year.

Unfortunately, the main Mythbuntu website, Mythbuntu is temporarily down due to a problem with the hosting provider.  RC images
will still be available at Mythbuntu .  We’ll restore the other mirrors as soon as the main site returns.

A more complete tour of the features new in 9.04 can be found at 9.04 Overview

About Ubuntu
————

Ubuntu is a full-featured Linux distribution for desktops, laptops, netbooks and servers, with a fast and easy installation and regular releases.  A
tightly-integrated selection of excellent applications is included, and an incredible variety of add-on software is just a few clicks away.

Professional services including support are available from Canonical and hundreds of other companies around the world.  For more information about support, visit Support.

To Get the Ubuntu 9.04 Release Candidate
—————————————-

To upgrade to Ubuntu 9.04 Release Candidate from Ubuntu 8.10, follow these instructions:

Jaunty Upgrades

Or, to perform a new installation or try out 9.04 “live” from CD, download the Ubuntu 9.04 Release Candidate here (choose the mirror closest to you):

Asia:

* http://ftp.tcc.edu.tw/iso/Ubuntu/9.04 (Taiwan)

Europe:

* http://ubuntu.univ-nantes.fr/ubuntu-cd/9.04 (France)
* http://ftp.uni-kl.de/pub/linux/ubuntu.iso/9.04 (Germany)
* http://ftp.ntua.gr/pub/linux/ubuntu-releases/9.04 (Greece)
* http://ie.releases.ubuntu.com/9.04 (Ireland)
* http://nl.releases.ubuntu.com/releases/9.04 (Netherlands)
* http://es.releases.ubuntu.com/9.04 (Spain)
* http://se.releases.ubuntu.com/9.04 (Sweden)
* http://ubuntu-releases.datahop.it/9.04 (United Kingdom)

North America:

* http://less.cogeco.net/ubuntu-releases/9.04 (Canada)
* http://mirrors.cat.pdx.edu/ubuntu-releases/9.04 (United States)
* http://ubuntu.media.mit.edu/ubuntu-releases/9.04 (United States)

Oceania/Australia:

* http://ubuntu-releases.optus.net/9.04 (Australia)
* http://ftp.citylink.co.nz/ubuntu-releases/9.04 (New Zealand)

Rest of the world:

http://releases.ubuntu.com/9.04 (Great Britain)

Please download using BitTorrent if possible.  See
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BitTorrent for more information about
using BitTorrent.

Feedback and Helping
——————–

If you would like to help shape Ubuntu, take a look at the list of ways you can participate at

Participate

Your comments, bug reports, patches and suggestions will help turn this Release Candidate into the best release of Ubuntu ever.  Please note that, where possible, we prefer that bugs be reported using the tools provided, rather than by visiting Launchpad directly.  Instructions can be found at Reporting Bugs.

If you have a question, or if you think you may have found a bug but are not sure, first try asking on the #ubuntu IRC channel on FreeNode, on the Ubuntu Users mailing list, or on the Ubuntu forums:

http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-users

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/

More Information
—————-

You can find out more about Ubuntu and about this preview release on our website, IRC channel and wiki. If you are new to Ubuntu, please visit:

http://www.ubuntu.com/

To sign up for future Ubuntu announcements, please subscribe to Ubuntu’s very low volume announcement list at:

http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-announce

I keep seeing this question pop up in IRC so I thought I’d post something about it…

“How do I upgrade from Ubuntu Beta to Ubuntu RC (and eventually to Final)?”

If you’ve installed Beta and want to upgrade to RC (and eventually Final) simply continue to update your machine.  There isn’t anything special that needs to be done, just run Update Manager and apply any available updates.  Updating your machine in this way will take you from Beta to RC to Final.

I hope that helps for anyone still wondering.  Also, for those of you that are still on Ubuntu 7.10 “Gutsy” that are going to be updating I’ll have instructions on that over the next two days.

Well its that time again, the Ubuntu community is just about ready to launch another fantastic release and with that release the worlds interweb tubes are going to get clogged as everyone upgrades.  It’s about this time that I always start thinking about ways to be more efficient with my bandwidth.

Bittorrent, of course, is a great improvement over the traditional direct download method but in some cases there are potentially more efficient methods to use.  I’d like to outline (as I do with every release) how to update your current ubuntu images using Jigdo.

Jigdo, if you’re not familiar, takes a current Ubuntu image and compares its contained packages with the packages within an updated image (ie; alpha vs beta, beta vs RC, RC vs final).  Using this method you’re only downloading the packages that have *changed* between images and not the entire image again.  The morning RC was released I used jigdo against my local ubuntu package mirror and had the new image in about a minute!

Installing Jigdo

Jigdo is available within the Ubuntu repositories.  To install Jigdo you can run the command:

sudo aptitude install jigdo-file

Using Jigdo

Jigdo requires a .jigdo file, which outlines what the latest image *should* have, which is then compared to the previous image file that you already have on the machine.  The previous image can be burned and in the drive or loop-mounted (mount -o loop file.iso /mnt).  So, to begin you’ll need to start Jigdo and give it the path to a .jigdo file:

jigdo-lite http://us.releases.ubuntu.com/hardy/ubuntu-8.04-rc-alternate-i386.jigdo

The .jigdo file can be found on most download sites, look for it just below the .iso or .torrent files.

Jigdo will then download that .jigdo file and read the contents of what package versions should be in the latest release.  It will then ask you for the image you want to compare it to, which you can point it to your loaded disk or mounted .iso.

If not much has changed between the images (its *really* efficient for updating dailies!) it should be finished pretty quickly.  The more changes there are the more packages it’ll have to download.  When it has being able to find, or has downloaded the required updated packages, it’ll create a new .iso image for you.  Tada!  You have an upgraded image and you’ve used much less bandwidth than traditional methods.

note: using Jigdo to compare a 7.10 image vs an 8.04 image is not going to offer any improvements–everything has been changed.  It is best used for incremental updates, like beta to RC, RC to final, etc.

For more information on using Jigdo for updating Ubuntu images see the JigdoDownloadHowTo Wiki page.

The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the Release Candidate for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Long-Term Support) on desktop and server.  Codenamed “Hardy Heron”, 8.04 LTS continues Ubuntu’s proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution.

We consider this release candidate to be complete, stable, and suitable for testing by any user.

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition features incremental improvements to familiar applications, with an emphasis on stability for this second Ubuntu long-term support release, and is easier than ever to try out with the new Wubi installer.

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server Edition follows in the footsteps of Ubuntu 7.10 with even more virtualization support and security enhancements – enabling AppArmor for more applications by default, improving protection of kernel memory against attacks, and supporting KVM and iSCSI technologies out of the box.

The Ubuntu 8.04 LTS family of variants, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, UbuntuStudio, and Mythbuntu, also reach RC status today.

The final release of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS is scheduled for 24 April 2008 and will be supported for three years on the desktop and five years on the server.

Before installing or upgrading to Ubuntu 8.04 LTS please read http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/804

About The Release Candidate
—————————
The purpose of the Release Candidate is to solicit one last round of testing before the final release. Here are ways that you can help:

• Upgrade from Ubuntu, Kubuntu, or Edubuntu 7.10 to the Release Candidate by following the instructions given above.
• Participate in installation testing using the Release Candidate CD images, by following the testing and reporting instructions at http://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/ISO

Desktop Features
—————-
Improved application selection: the GNOME desktop sports a number of improvements to the default applications, including more feature-full clients for BitTorrent and VNC, as well as an advanced UI for mastering CDs and DVDs.

File browsing: an enhanced filesystem layer brings greater performance and flexibility to Nautilus, the GNOME file browser.

Pluggable audio and video output: the PulseAudio sound server is integrated in the GNOME desktop for more flexible sound output, and a new Screen Resolution utility allows easier configuration of multiple video displays.

Wubi installer: a new Windows-based installer option makes it easier than ever to try out Ubuntu, letting users install a full desktop on Windows systems without needing to partition their hard drive.

Server Features
—————
AppArmor profiles: a greater number of server applications are now protected by default with AppArmor, a kernel technology that limits the resources an application is allowed to access, providing added protection against undiscovered security vulnerabilities.

Memory protection: additional protection now prevents direct access to system memory through /dev/mem and /dev/kmem, and the lower 64K of system memory is no longer addressable by default, changes which help to defend against malicious code.  The kernel now also loads Position Independent
Executables at randomized addresses, making it harder for application security vulnerabilities to be exploited.

Virtualization and iSCSI: KVM is now an officially maintained option, which combined with libvirt (CLI) and virt-manager (GUI) management tools allows for a simple and efficient virtualization option on hardware that supports virtualization extensions (AMD-V or Intel-VT).  Mounting iSCSI targets is
now supported (including in the installer), allowing Ubuntu to interoperate with this class of cost-efficient Storage Area Network solutions.

Ubuntu Education Edition
————————
Add-on configuration: Edubuntu is now provided as an add-on to Ubuntu rather than a separate stand-alone flavor, permitting even greater reuse of Ubuntu technologies.

Kubuntu Features
—————-
Kubuntu comes with the rock solid KDE 3 for those who want a commercially supported desktop.

For those who want something more exciting, a KDE 4 Remix is available bringing this cutting edge new version to you first.

Please see https://wiki.kubuntu.org/HardyHeron/RC/Kubuntu for details.

Xubuntu Features
—————-
Xubuntu comes with the light-weight Xfce 4.4.2 desktop environment for those who want to a desktop that is easy to use, but places particular emphasis on conserving system resources.

New Additions To The Family
—————————
Two new variants join us for this Ubuntu release.  UbuntuStudio and Mythbuntu have done releases separately in the past, and with Hardy Heron we’re happy to be able to welcome these fine community projects into the main Ubuntu release process.

For a more in-depth tour of the features new in 8.04 LTS, see http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/804rc

About Ubuntu
————
Ubuntu is a full-featured Linux distribution for desktops, laptops, and servers, with a fast and easy install and regular releases.  A tightly-integrated selection of excellent applications is included, and
an incredible variety of add-on software is just a few clicks away.

Professional technical support is available from Canonical Limited and hundreds of other companies around the world.  For more information about support, visit http://www.ubuntu.com/support

To Get the Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Release Candidate CD
——————————