The Release Candidate of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Is Here

The RC (Release Canidate) version of the upcoming Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (codename Hardy Heron), due for release in five days, has been released last night and it brings new technologies, such as ActiveDirectory integration, iSCSI support, memory protection, a brand-new firewall, the latest and greatest 2.6.24.3 Linux kernel and a revamped artwork and more:"The Ubuntu developers are constantly bringing you the absolute latest and most stable software that the open source and free software communities have to offer. This is their latest result: the Ubuntu 8.04 LTS release candidate, which brings a host of excellent new features." The following updated components are part of this RC release of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS:

? Xorg 7.3 ? Linux kernel 2.6.24-16.30 (based on the 2.6.24.3 kernel) with brand-new features:

- dynticks support for amd64, bringing the same power savings already available on 32-bit systems to 64-bit laptops and desktops; - the "Completely Fair Scheduler", a new process scheduler introduced in Linux 2.6.23 that provides improved interactive performance.

? PulseAudio ? PolicyKit ? Firefox 3 Beta 5 ? GNOME 2.22.1

Below is a short overview of the new applications and technologies that will be part of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, but don't hesitate to take a look at our "What to Expect from Ubuntu 8.04" article:

? GNOME 2.22 - which comes with amazing features, applications and technologies such as: Cheese, Window Compositing, GVFS, International Clock, Google Calendar support in Evolution, improved GNOME System Monitor, Remote Desktop Viewer and more!

? Firefox 3 Beta 5 - which just replaced Firefox 2 and it is now the default web browser in Ubuntu 8.04 LTS!

? Transmission - as the default BitTorrent client!

? Brasero - as the default CD/DVD burning tool!

? Inkscape - as the open source solution which allows you to edit text and graphics in PDF documents!

? Hard Disk Checking Status - a new option was introduced in this release, as you can now see the status of the hard disk checking utility, while booting. Moreover, you are now able to skip the drive checking routine by pressing the ESC key. Until now, when the hard drive checking routine took place, nothing was displayed on the screen (just a black screen and a blinking line), which was very confusing for many users.

? KVM - is now officially maintained within the Ubuntu kernel. Moreover, libvirt and virt-manager have been adapted to Ubuntu, which offer an easy way to create and manage guests out of the box. The kernel also includes the virtio modifications which should greatly improve guest I/O access.

? ActiveDirectory integration - a new technology which enables seamless integration of Ubuntu within an Active Directory network.

? iSCSI support - has been fully integrated in the kernel and it allows one to mount iSCSI targets as a block device.

? Memory Protection - additional access checks have been added so that /dev/mem and /dev/kmem can only be used to access device memory. This will defend your machine against RootKits and other malicious code.

? ufw - a new firewall tool designed to make administering a firewall easier for end-users, while not getting in the way of network administrators. However, ufw is a command-line firewall and we think that it will not be embraced by all users!

? umenu - just replaced WinFOSS and the Windows open source software. umenu is a simple launcher that offers you the following possibilities:

? install Ubuntu from Windows using Wubi; ? install Ubuntu on a partition without having to make their CD-ROM the first boot device; ? find out more about Ubuntu.

? Installation - file systems are now mounted with the relatime mount option by default, for improved performance.

? LTSP - the alternate CD now provides a quick option to install an LTSP terminal server.

The known issues in this RC are:

? Translations haven't been updated for Firefox 3 in Ubuntu 8.04 yet; ? Installation will fail when more than one swap partition previously existed. As a workaround, before starting the installer run sudo swapoff -a; sudo hdparm -z /dev/sda, where /dev/sda is the installation target; ? Choosing a non-Latin keymap at the boot menu will result in a broken keymap in the alternate or server installer. As a workaround, don't make any changes to the keymap at the boot screen; ? Installing on community-supported ("ports") architectures is not currently possible with desktop CDs because of a problem with mirror selection. A fix for this is expected to be included in the final release.

Remember that this is a beta release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only. Make sure you read all the above issues and report new ones to the Ubuntu Bug Tracker

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Release Schedule:

30 November 2007 - Alpha 1 release 21 December 2007 - Alpha 2 release 10 January 2008 - Alpha 3 release 2 February 2008 - Alpha 4 release 23 February 2008 - Alpha 5 release 6 March 2008 - Alpha 6 release 20 March 2008 - Beta release 18 April 2008 - Release Candidate 24 April 2008 - Final release of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS

About Ubuntu:

Ubuntu is a Linux distribution for your desktop or server, with a fast and easy install, regular releases, a tight selection of excellent packages installed by default, every other package you can imagine available from the network and professional technical support from Canonical Ltd and hundreds of other companies around the world.

The Release Candidate of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Is Here

Final release is expected in five days!