A few minutes ago, the Ubuntu development team unleashed the fourth alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) operating system, which is scheduled for release in late October this year. As usual, we've downloaded a copy of it in order to keep you up to date with the latest changes in the Ubuntu 9.10 development.
What's new in Ubuntu 9.10 Alpha 4? Well... the good news in this release is that Firefox 3.5 replaced the old Firefox 3.0 as the default web browser! The actual version of Mozilla Firefox in Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) Alpha 4 is 3.5.2.
Starting with this alpha, the Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC) was also introduced. With a preconfigured AMI, you can instantly try out the Karmic Koala Alpha 4 server instantly on Amazon EC2, but now, with Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud, you have the possibility to download an image and place it into your very own cloud!
Last but not least, the kernel packages are at version 2.6.31-5.24, based on Linux kernel 2.6.31 RC5, and the Kernel Mode Setting is now enabled by default for Intel graphics. The GNOME 2.27.5 is also present and the iSCSI installation has been improved (the iscsi=true boot parameter is no longer required).
What's new in Kubuntu and Xubuntu 9.10 Alpha 4? Kubuntu 9.10 Alpha 4 contains the newly released KDE 4.3.0 desktop environment and the following applications and features:
· Arora Web Browser (replaces Konqueror) · Amarok 2.1.1 · KPackageKit 0.4.1.1 · K3b 1.66.0 (alpha 2) · QtCurve 0.65.2 · kcm-gtk 0.5.2 · KDE microblogging Plasma widget · Message Indicator
The Karmic Koala Release Schedule:
May 14th, 2009 - Alpha 1 release
June 11th, 2009 - Alpha 2 release
July 23rd, 2009 - Alpha 3 release
August 13th, 2009 - Alpha 4 release
September 3rd, 2009 - Alpha 5 release
September 17th, 2009 - Alpha 6 release
October 1st, 2009 - Beta release
October 22nd, 2009 - Release Candidate
October 29th, 2009 - Final release of Ubuntu 9.10
Download Ubuntu 9.10 Alpha 4 (Karmic Koala) right now from Softpedia.
Download Ubuntu Server 9.10 Alpha 4 (Karmic Koala) right now from Softpedia.
Download Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud 9.10 Alpha 4 (Karmic Koala) right now from Softpedia.
Download Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.10 Alpha 4 (Karmic Koala) right now from Softpedia.
Download Kubuntu 9.10 Alpha 4 (Karmic Koala) right now from Softpedia.
Download Kubuntu Netbook Remix 9.10 Alpha 4 (Karmic Koala) right now from Softpedia.
Download Xubuntu 9.10 Alpha 4 (Karmic Koala) right now from Softpedia.
Download Ubuntu Studio 9.10 Alpha 4 (Karmic Koala) right now from Softpedia.
Download Mythbuntu 9.10 Alpha 4 (Karmic Koala) right now from Softpedia.
Remember that this is an alpha release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only. Please report bugs to the Ubuntu Bug Tracker.