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/9.1 (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

[Discuss the Release Candidate for Ubuntu 9.10]

Originally sent to the ubuntu-announce mailing list by Steve Langasek on Thu Oct 22 19:30:41 BST 2009

With Ubuntu 9.10 Alpha 6 now out the door and momentum building towards a rocking Karmic Koala release, it is time to name and share the direction and focus for the next step in the Ubuntu evolution that follows Karmic.

Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of the Ubuntu project has announced the next version of Ubuntu:

Two years ago we announced the second LTS release, and what we hoped would become a standard practice of making LTS releases on a predictable two-year schedule, overlayed on our existing six-month schedule of desktop and server releases.

We are now giving a name to the next Ubuntu LTS: The Lucid Lynx.

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS will ship in April 2010 and is the culmination of significant work in Ubuntu, in Debian and across the free software ecosystem. LTS releases are maintained for five years on the server and three years on the desktop, so they are designed for those who are making larger deployments or who otherwise prefer to have a common platform for an extended period.

Lucid will continue our tradition of focusing an LTS on a quality, stable and consistent experience and will require a number of adjustments to the usual plan. Those are documented at http://wiki.ubuntu.com/LucidLynxSchedule, the Lucid Lynx release schedule. In summary, we will be more conservative in the new code we bring into Ubuntu during the development cycle, and we will run a longer test period. Our focus will be stabilisation and bug-fixing across the platform with additional refinements in quality in key areas such as user interface improvements, boot experience, browsing and installing the incredible catalogue of software available for Ubuntu, and continuing our tradition of best-of-breed hardware support. We will maintain the health and security of our lynx with point releases.

The Lynx is a predator that depends on very considered tactical positioning for success. It’s a small cat, which fits nicely with the lean nature of Ubuntu on both the desktop and the server. It’s stylish and sleek, the bow-tie-adorned James Bond of the feline set, so you can bet we’ll make sure it’s dressed for the occasion. The lynx likes to keep things in perspective, sticking to high ground. So do we. And it’s the national animal of Macedonia, a country that has deployed tens of thousands of Ubuntu desktops in schools.

Speed is an essential ingredient in the attack of a lynx, and speed remains our goal. We have improved the boot time in each of the releases during this era of Ubuntu, and expect to complete some of the major improvements required for 10 second booting with Lucid. Fully harnessing Upstart, in collaboration with Debian, will get us even closer to the goal.

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS will be a round dozen Ubuntu releases. 12 great cycles, from a great community that continues to devote itself to the goal of bringing the best stable free software to an audience of people who don’t think of themselves as computer specialists – and shouldn’t have to, either. It’s a wonderful privilege to be part of making it happen. That should put a tuft on your ears.

Welcome to Karmic Koala Alpha 6, which will in time become Ubuntu 9.10.

Pre-releases of Karmic are *not* encouraged for anyone needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent breakage. They are, however, recommended for Ubuntu developers and those who want to help in testing, reporting, and fixing bugs.

Alpha 6 is the sixth in a series of milestone CD images that will be released throughout the Karmic development cycle. The Alpha images are known to be reasonably free of showstopper CD build or installer bugs, while representing a very recent snapshot of Karmic. You can download it here:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/karmic/alpha-6/ (Ubuntu)
http://uec-images.ubuntu.com/releases/karmic/alpha-6/ (Ubuntu Server for UEC and EC2)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/karmic/alpha-6/ (Ubuntu ARM)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/karmic/alpha-6/ (Kubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/karmic/alpha-6/ (Xubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/karmic/alpha-6/ (UbuntuStudio)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/mythbuntu/releases/karmic/alpha-6/ (Mythbuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/releases/karmic/alpha-6/ (Edubuntu)

See http://wiki.ubuntu.com/Mirrors for a list of mirrors.

Alpha 6 includes a number of software updates that are ready for large-scale testing. This is an early set of images so you should expect some bugs; in particular, there are a number of known issues related to recent boot performance changes that will be fixed between now and the Ubuntu 9.10 Beta. For a list of known bugs that you don’t need to report if you encounter, and that you might want to pay close attention to before upgrading, please see:

http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/karmic/alpha6

If you’re interested in following the changes as we further develop Karmic, have a look at the karmic-changes mailing list:

http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/karmic-changes

We also suggest that you subscribe to the ubuntu-devel-announce list if you’re interested in following Ubuntu development. This is a low-traffic list (a few posts a week) carrying announcements of approved specifications, policy changes, alpha releases, and other interesting events.

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

Bug reports should go to the Ubuntu bug tracker:

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

[Discuss Karmic Alpha 6 on the Forums]

Originally sent to the ubuntu-devel-announce mailing list by Steve Langasek on Thu Sep 17 22:20:03 BST 2009

You can make a highly visible contribution to Ubuntu 9.10 by helping to create the release countdown banner… but only if you get your submission in soon! By noon UTC on Sept 22nd you need to post your concept to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Website/KarmicCountdownBanners so that a banner can be chosen. You do not have to complete your banner by the 22nd but you do have to submit a design for review. Anyone is welcome to participate. Discussions will take place on the Ubuntu Web Presence team’s mailing list and chat room at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Website#Mailing%20List

[Discuss the Countdown Banner Deadline on the Forums]

Originally sent to the ubuntu-news-team mailing list by Matthew Nuzum on Tue Sep 15 16:43:57 BST 2009

Welcome to Karmic Koala Alpha 5, which will in time become Ubuntu 9.10.

Pre-releases of Karmic are *not* encouraged for anyone needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent breakage. They are, however, recommended for Ubuntu developers and those who want to help in testing, reporting, and fixing bugs.

Alpha 5 is the fifth in a series of milestone CD images that will be released throughout the Karmic development cycle. The Alpha images are known to be reasonably free of showstopper CD build or installer bugs, while representing a very recent snapshot of Karmic. You can download it here:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/karmic/alpha-5/ (Ubuntu)
http://uec-images.ubuntu.com/releases/karmic/alpha-5/ (Ubuntu Server for UEC and EC2)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/karmic/alpha-5/ (Ubuntu ARM)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/karmic/alpha-5/ (Kubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/karmic/alpha-5/ (Xubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/mythbuntu/releases/karmic/alpha-5/ (Mythbuntu)

See http://wiki.ubuntu.com/Mirrors for a list of mirrors.

Alpha 5 includes a number of software updates that are ready for large-scale testing. This is quite an early set of images, so you should expect some bugs. For a list of known bugs (that you don’t need to report if you encounter), please see:

http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/karmic/alpha5

If you’re interested in following the changes as we further develop Karmic, have a look at the karmic-changes mailing list:

http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/karmic-changes

We also suggest that you subscribe to the ubuntu-devel-announce list if you’re interested in following Ubuntu development. This is a low-traffic list (a few posts a week) carrying announcements of approved specifications, policy changes, alpha releases, and other interesting events.

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

Bug reports should go to the Ubuntu bug tracker:

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

[Discuss Karmic Alpha 5 on the Forums]

Originally sent to the ubuntu-devel-announce mailing list by Steve Langasek on Thu Sep 3 17:24:42 BST 2009

Welcome to Karmic Koala Alpha 4, which will in time become Ubuntu 9.10.

Pre-releases of Karmic are *not* encouraged for anyone needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent breakage. They are, however, recommended for Ubuntu developers and those who want to help in testing, reporting, and fixing bugs.

Alpha 4 is the fourth in a series of milestone CD images that will be released throughout the Karmic development cycle. The Alpha images are known to be reasonably free of showstopper CD build or installer bugs, while representing a very recent snapshot of Karmic. You can download it here:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/karmic/alpha-4/ (Ubuntu)
http://uec-images.ubuntu.com/releases/karmic/alpha-4/ (Ubuntu Server UEC)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/karmic/alpha-4/ (Kubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/karmic/alpha-4/ (Xubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/karmic/alpha-4 (Ubuntu Studio)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/mythbuntu/releases/karmic/alpha-4/ (Mythbuntu)

See http://wiki.ubuntu.com/Mirrors for a list of mirrors.

Alpha 4 introduces the first Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud alpha images for Karmic. Information on using these images on your UEC instance or on Amazon EC2 can be found at the download page at:

http://uec-images.ubuntu.com/releases/karmic/alpha-4/

Alpha 4 also includes a number of software updates that are ready for large-scale testing. Please refer to http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/karmic/alpha4 for information on changes in Ubuntu.

This is quite an early set of images, so you should expect some bugs. For a
list of known bugs (that you don’t need to report if you encounter), please see:

http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/karmic/alpha4

If you’re interested in following the changes as we further develop Karmic, have a look at the karmic-changes mailing list:
http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/karmic-changes

We also suggest that you subscribe to the ubuntu-devel-announce list if you’re interested in following Ubuntu development. This is a low-traffic list (a few posts a week) carrying announcements of approved specifications, policy changes, alpha releases, and other interesting events.

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

Bug reports should go to the Ubuntu bug tracker:

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

[Discuss this Alpha Release on the Forums]

Originally sent to the ubuntu-devel-announce mailing list by Steve Langasek on Thu Aug 13 21:49:53 BST 2009

Welcome to Karmic Koala Alpha-3, which will in time become Ubuntu 9.10.

Pre-releases of Karmic are *not* encouraged for anyone needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent breakage. They are, however, recommended for Ubuntu developers and those who want to help in testing, reporting, and fixing bugs.

Alpha 3 is the third in a series of milestone CD images that will be released throughout the Karmic development cycle. The Alpha images are known to be reasonably free of showstopper CD build or installer bugs, while representing a very recent snapshot of Karmic. You can download it here:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/karmic/alpha-3/ (Ubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/karmic/alpha-3/ (Kubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/karmic/alpha-3/ (Xubuntu)
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/karmic/alpha-3/ (Ubuntu Studio)

See http://wiki.ubuntu.com/Mirrors for a list of mirrors.

Alpha 3 includes a number of software updates that are ready for large-scale testing. This is quite an early set of images, so you should expect some bugs. For an overview of new features and a list of known bugs (that you don’t need to report if you encounter).

For Ubuntu please see:

http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/karmic/alpha3

For Kubuntu please see:

https://wiki.kubuntu.org/KarmicKoala/Alpha3/Kubuntu

If you’re interested in following the changes as we further develop Karmic, have a look at the karmic-changes mailing list:

http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/karmic-changes

We also suggest that you subscribe to the ubuntu-devel-announce list if you’re interested in following Ubuntu development. This is a low-traffic list (a few posts a week) carrying announcements of approved specifications, policy changes, alpha releases, and other interesting events.

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

Bug reports should go to the Ubuntu bug tracker:

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

[Discuss this on the Forums]

Originally sent to the ubuntu-devel-announce mailing list by Martin Pitt on Thu Jul 23 14:57:09 BST 2009

Announcing the Hardy Heron (Ubuntu 8.04), the next version of Ubuntu that will succeed Gutsy Gibbon (Ubuntu 7.10, due for release in October 2007). Not only will the Ubuntu community continue to do what it does best, produce an easy-to-use, reliable, free software platform, but this release will proudly wear the badge of Long Term Support (LTS) and be supported with security updates for five years on the server and three years on the desktop. We look forward to releasing the Hardy Heron in April 2008.

With the opening of each new release cycle of Ubuntu, we have more and more opportunity at our fingertips. Not only are our friends in the upstream world constantly innovating and extending their applications and software, but the Ubuntu community continues to see incredible growth in its diverse range of areas such as packaging, development, documentation, quality assurance, translations, LoCo teams and more. Each new release gives us all an opportunity to shine, irrespective of which bricks in the project we are laying, and this is at the heart of our belief - working together to produce an Operating System that will empower its users and shape the IT industry, putting free software at the corner-stone of our direction.

Most people only ever see the end-user view of Ubuntu, running it on their desktops, servers and mobile devices around the world. For these users, Ubuntu provides a simple, convenient means to do what they want to do easily, effectively and without unnecessary complexity. For many of us though, we want to open up the hood and understand how the system works and how to extend and grow it. Thousands of us get out of bed every day, united behind Ubuntu, ready to make a difference, working together to make our vision happen.

Importantly, our ethos of collaboration and freedom extends to the development process as well as the end product. As such, the Ubuntu development process is a very open, transparent one, and anyone is welcome to get involved. It works like this:

• Everyone is welcome to think of and develop ideas for features that could be present in the Hardy Heron release. These ideas are written as specifications (detailed documents outlining how the idea would work and be implemented). You are welcome to add your specifications to https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu.
• In October 2007, we will hold the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and generate a schedule of sessions to discuss these specifications. The sessions provide a means for interested parties to help scope out the proposed feature and determine methods and plans to implement it. The Ubuntu Developer Summit is a semi-virtual event in which those who cannot attend can dial in with VoIP and use IRC and collaborative editing with Gobby to take part in the summit.

Everyone is welcome to participate, everyone is welcome to get involved, and everyone is welcome to help shape the form of the Hardy Heron. Let’s work together to shake things up, make things happen and make the most compelling Ubuntu release yet. Start your engines…