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About Ubuntu

Jaunty Jackalope Alpha 2

Table of Contents

Contents

  1. Introduction
    1. Upgrading from Ubuntu 8.10
  2. New Features in Jaunty
    1. Updated Packages
    2. X.Org server 1.6
    3. Linux kernel 2.6.28
  3. Download Alpha 2
  4. Known Issues
  5. Reporting Bugs
  6. Participate in Ubuntu
  7. More Information
  8. Credits

Introduction

The Ubuntu developers are moving quickly to bring you the absolute latest and greatest software the Open Source Community has to offer. The Jaunty Jackalope Alpha 2 is the second alpha release of Ubuntu 9.04, bringing with it the earliest new features for the next version of Ubuntu.

Introduction to Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Download
  3. Upgrading from Ubuntu 8.04
  4. New Features since Ubuntu 8.04
    1. GNOME 2.24
    2. X.Org 7.4
    3. Linux kernel 2.6.27
    4. Encrypted private directory
    5. Guest session
    6. Network Manager 0.7
    7. DKMS
    8. Samba 3.2
    9. PAM authentication framework
    10. Totem BBC plugin
    11. Server Virtualization
      1. python-vm-builder
      2. Ubuntu as a Xen guest
      3. JeOS is now an option in the server installer
    12. Notable inclusion in the main repository
    13. Boot degraded raid setting
    14. Service command now supported
    15. OpenLDAP using ''cn=config''
    16. Service-aware Uncomplicated Firewall (ufw)
  5. Known Issues
  6. Participate in Ubuntu
  7. Help Spread the Word About Ubuntu 8.10
  8. More Information

Introduction

The Ubuntu team is happy to bring you the latest and greatest software the open source community has to offer. This is their latest result: the Ubuntu 8.10 release candidate, which brings a host of excellent new features.

For Kubuntu see https://wiki.kubuntu.org/IntrepidIbex/RC/Kubuntu
For Xubuntu see https://wiki.kubuntu.org/IntrepidIbex/RC/Xubuntu

Download

Get it while it's hot. ISOs and torrents are available at:

Local mirrors are also available:

Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania/Australia South America

Upgrading from Ubuntu 8.04

To upgrade from Ubuntu 8.04, press Alt+F2 and type in "update-manager -d" (without the quotes) into the command box. Update Manager should open up and tell you: New distribution release '8.10' is available. Click Upgrade and follow the on-screen instructions.

New Features since Ubuntu 8.04

GNOME 2.24

Ubuntu brings you the newest GNOME 2.24 desktop environment with tons of bug-fixes and new features, some of which include:

  • Nautilus file manager has tab support (by Christian Neumair) and Eject icons for removable drives in Places sidebar (by Stefano Teso, Cosimo Cecchi, Christian Neumair, and others).

  • File Roller archive manager now supports ALZ, RZIP, CAB, TAR.7Z file types also (by Paolo Bacchilega and Changwoo Ryu).

X.Org 7.4

X.Org 7.4, the latest stable version of X.Org, is available in Intrepid. This release brings much better support for hot-pluggable input devices such as tablets, keyboards, and mice. At the same time this will allow the great majority of users to run without a /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. A new failsafe X is introduced, to give better tools for troubleshooting X startup failures.

Two of the older nvidia binary drivers are not available for X.Org 7.4 yet, so users of these drivers will be automatically switched to the corresponding open source drivers.

Linux kernel 2.6.27

Ubuntu 8.10 RC includes Linux kernel 2.6.27, a significant release with better hardware support and numerous bug-fixes.

Encrypted private directory

The ecryptfs-utils package was recently promoted to Ubuntu main, with support for a secret encrypted folder in your Home Folder (by Michael Halcrow, Dustin Kirkland, and Daniel Baumann).

You can help test this new feature by going to Applications → Accessories → Terminal and typing:

  • sudo aptitude install ecryptfs-utils

  • ecryptfs-setup-private

Guest session

The User Switcher panel applet (package fast-user-switch-applet) now provides an extra entry for starting a Guest session (by Martin Pitt). This creates a temporary password-less user account with restricted privileges: the account cannot access any users' home directories, nor permanently store data. This is sufficiently safe to lend your laptop to someone else for a quick email check.

Network Manager 0.7

Ubuntu 8.10 RC ships Network Manager 0.7 (by Dan Williams and others), which comes with long-expected features, such as:

  • system wide settings (i.e., no need to log in in order to get a connection)
  • management of 3G connections (GSM/CDMA)
  • management of multiple active devices at once
  • management of PPP and PPPOE connections
  • management of devices with static IP configurations
  • route management for devices

More information can be found on the Network Manager wiki.

DKMS

DKMS (by Dell) is included in Ubuntu 8.10, allowing kernel drivers to be automatically rebuilt when new kernels are released. This makes it possible for kernel package updates to be made available immediately without waiting for rebuilds of driver packages, and without third-party driver packages becoming out of date when installing these kernel updates.

Samba 3.2

A lot of new features have been added in Samba 3.2 amongst them:

  • clustered file server support
  • encrypted network transport
  • ipv6 support
  • better integration with the latest version of Microsoft Windows™ clients and servers.

PAM authentication framework

Ubuntu 8.10 RC features a new pam-auth-update tool, which allows simple management of PAM authentication configuration for both desktops and servers (by Steve Langasek). Packages providing PAM modules will be configured automatically, and users can adjust their authentication preferences by running sudo pam-auth-update.

More information can be found in the Ubuntu wiki.

Totem BBC plugin

Ubuntu 8.10 RC features a new plugin for the Totem movie player that fetches free digital content from the BBC. To enable it, start Totem (Applications -> Sound & Video -> Movie Player), enable the plugin (Edit -> Plugins -> BBC content viewer) and select "BBC" from the drop-down labelled "Playlist".

Thanks to the BBC and Collabora for their work developing this feature.

Server Virtualization

python-vm-builder

This is a complete rewrite of ubuntu-vm-builder featuring a better template system, a plugin architecture allowing support for other distributions, front-ends and additional functionalities such as post install task (--exec, --copy) or first boot (--first-boot, --first-login). It provides a compatibility mode with the previous command-line syntax and adds better reporting.

Python-vm-builder allows you to create a new virtual machine in a few minutes without going through the interactive installation process. It can be very useful for developers, software vendors or system administrators. A tutorial is available at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/JeOSVMBuilder

Ubuntu as a Xen guest

Using Ubuntu as a Xen guest is now a supported option included in the standard server kernel and is a choice when building virtual machines with python-vm-builder.

JeOS is now an option in the server installer

In an effort to simplify our build process and avoid confusion when trying to install JeOS on real hardware, JeOS is no longer provided as a separate ISO. Instead, it is an option that is activated on the server installer by pressing F4 on the first screen and selecting the "Install a minimal virtual machine" option.

Notable inclusion in the main repository

The following packages have been included in the main repository and are now supported options that can be of particular interest for server administrators:

  • Sun's Java OpenJDK 1.6 - an open source implementation of the Java development kit
  • Apache's Tomcat 6 - A Java servlet container
  • ClamAV - a virus detection engine that can be coupled to mail servers

  • SpamAssassin - A spam detection engine that can be coupled to mail servers

Boot degraded raid setting

Traditionally, booting an Ubuntu installation with the root filesystem on a degraded RAID drops the system into a busybox prompt in the initramfs. This is the safest choice as it will prevent any further possible harm to data and let administrator pick what to do, but was causing issues with server hosted in remote locations. A system administrator can now statically configure their machines to continue on booting even if a disk is bad in the array by issuing the following command: 

  • 		echo "BOOT_DEGRADED=true" | sudo tee -a /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/mdadm

Additionally, this can be specified on the kernel boot line with the bootdegraded=[true|false] parameter.

Service command now supported

Fedora or Red-Hat administrators will now feel a bit more comfortable using Ubuntu as the service command they had been using to manage daemons is now standard on Ubuntu. In addition to the traditional sudo /etc/init.d/<service> [start|stop|restart] way of managing a process, it is now also possible to use sudo service <service> [start|stop|restart].

In addition, numerous standard services now support the status option so that, e.g., sudo service postfix status will now report if the service is running or not.

OpenLDAP using ''cn=config''

The default installation of the OpenLDAP server now uses the cn=config extension, which allows automatic synchronization between LDAP replicas of configuration changes made.

Service-aware Uncomplicated Firewall (ufw)

Common services now inform ufw of the ports that are recommended for their proper enabling, so the administrator can open them in a single simple command ufw allow <service>.

Known Issues

There are a small number of known bugs that users may run into with Ubuntu 8.10 RC which will be fixed before the final release. We have documented them here for your convenience along with any known workarounds.

For a full list of errata for Ubuntu 8.10, please see the Ubuntu 8.10 release notes.

  • The Live CD's detection of nVidia hardware incorrectly selects the 'nv' driver even for hardware not supported by that driver, preventing X from running on some systems. This issue will be fixed in daily builds immediately after RC and will be resolved for the Ubuntu 8.10 final release. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/261977

  • When performing an install from the Ubuntu MID image, the installer will prompt for a username. The username entered must be "ubuntu"; if the username

is changed from "ubuntu", X will not start on the installed system. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/287857

If you want to help with bugs, the Bug Squad is always looking for help.

If you plan to do an installation of the release candidate, be sure to head to the Testing page. With just a few minutes of your time, you can really help to improve Ubuntu. We have two different tests; one takes just a short time, and the other is more thorough.

Participate in Ubuntu

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

Help Spread the Word About Ubuntu 8.10

A new banner is available that counts down the days until the Ubuntu 8.10 release:

You can add the countdown banner to your website to help build excitement for the new release as the date approaches.

More Information

You can find out more about Ubuntu on our website and wiki.

To sign up for future Ubuntu development announcements, please subscribe to Ubuntu's development announcement list at:

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

8.10 Technical Overview

Introduction

The Ubuntu developers are moving quickly to bring you the latest and greatest software the open source community has to offer. This is the Ubuntu 8.10 beta release, which brings a host of excellent new features.

Note: This is a beta release. Do not install it on production machines. The final stable version will be released on October 30th, 2008.

Download

Get it while it's hot. ISOs and torrents are available at:

Local mirrors are also available:

Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania/Australia South America

Upgrading from Ubuntu 8.04

To upgrade from Ubuntu 8.04, press Alt+F2 and type in "update-manager -d" (without the quotes) into the command box. Update Manager should open up and tell you: New distribution release '8.10' is available. Click Upgrade and follow the on-screen instructions.

New Features since Ubuntu 8.04

These features are showcased for your attention. Please test them and report any bugs you find on Launchpad: http://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu .

 

GNOME 2.24

Ubuntu brings you the newest GNOME 2.24 desktop environment with tons of bug-fixes and new features, some of which include:

  • Nautilus file manager has tab support (by Christian Neumair) and Eject icons for removable drives in Places sidebar (by Stefano Teso, Cosimo Cecchi, Christian Neumair, and others).

  • File Roller archive manager now supports ALZ, RZIP, CAB, TAR.7Z file types also (by Paolo Bacchilega and Changwoo Ryu).

X.Org 7.4

X.Org 7.4, the latest stable version of X.Org, is available in Intrepid. This release brings much better support for hot-pluggable input devices such as tablets, keyboards, and mice. At the same time this will allow the great majority of users to run without a /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. A new failsafe X is introduced, to give better tools for troubleshooting X startup failures.

The fglrx and two of the older nvidia binary drivers are not available for X.Org 7.4 yet, so users of these drivers will be automatically switched to the corresponding open source drivers.

Linux kernel 2.6.27

Ubuntu 8.10 Beta includes Linux kernel 2.6.27, a significant release with better hardware support and numerous bug-fixes.

Encrypted private directory

The ecryptfs-utils package was recently promoted to Ubuntu main, with support for a secret encrypted folder in your Home Folder (by Michael Halcrow, Dustin Kirkland, and Daniel Baumann).

You can help test this new feature by going to Applications → Accessories → Terminal and typing:

  • sudo aptitude install ecryptfs-utils

  • ecryptfs-setup-private

Guest session

The User Switcher panel applet (package fast-user-switch-applet) now provides an extra entry for starting a Guest session (by Martin Pitt). This creates a temporary password-less user account with restricted privileges: the account cannot access any users' home directories, nor permanently store data. This is sufficiently safe to lend your laptop to someone else for a quick email check.

Network Manager 0.7

Ubuntu 8.10 Beta ships Network Manager 0.7 (by Dan Williams and others), which comes with long-expected features, such as:

  • system wide settings (i.e., no need to log in in order to get a connection)
  • management of 3G connections (GSM/CDMA)
  • management of multiple active devices at once
  • management of PPP and PPPOE connections
  • management of devices with static IP configurations
  • route management for devices

More information can be found on the Network Manager wiki.

DKMS

DKMS (by Dell) is included in Ubuntu 8.10, allowing kernel drivers to be automatically rebuilt when new kernels are released. This makes it possible for kernel package updates to be made available immediately without waiting for rebuilds of driver packages, and without third-party driver packages becoming out of date when installing these kernel updates.

Samba 3.2

A lot of new features have been added in Samba 3.2 amongst them:

  • clustered file server support
  • encrypted network transport
  • ipv6 support
  • better integration with the latest version of Microsoft Windows™ clients and servers.

PAM authentication framework

Ubuntu 8.10 Beta features a new pam-auth-update tool, which allows simple management of PAM authentication configuration for both desktops and servers (by Steve Langasek). Packages providing PAM modules will be configured automatically, and users can adjust their authentication preferences by running sudo pam-auth-update.

More information can be found in the Ubuntu wiki.

Totem BBC plugin

Ubuntu 8.10 Beta features a new plugin for the Totem movie player that fetches free digital content from the BBC. To enable it, start Totem (Applications -> Sound & Video -> Movie Player), enable the plugin (Edit -> Plugins -> BBC content viewer) and select "BBC" from the drop-down labelled "Playlist". The feed is fetched from a staging server at the moment so there may be a delay while it is downloaded.

Thanks to the BBC and Collabora for their work developing this feature.

Known Issues

There are several known bugs that users may run into with Ubuntu 8.10 Beta. We have documented them here for your convenience along with any known workarounds.

  • A problem that could result in corruption of the firmware on Intel GigE ethernet hardware has led to the disabling of the e1000e driver in the Linux kernel included in Ubuntu 8.10 Beta. Ethernet devices that use this driver cannot be used with Ubuntu 8.10 Beta; support for this hardware will be re-enabled in daily builds immediately after Beta and this issue will be resolved for the Ubuntu 8.10 final release. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/263555

  • Clicking on links in GNOME programs, such as evolution, will not launch firefox automatically due to a bug in a wrapper script used by the firefox-3.0 package. As a workaround, users can launch firefox manually and copy and paste links into the location bar. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/275410

  • NetworkManager 0.7 as included in Ubuntu 8.10 Beta is not compatible with static network configuration in /etc/network/interfaces. New installations are not affected by this issue because NetworkManager will manage all interfaces by default. Users upgrading from previous Ubuntu releases can work around this issue by disabling NetworkManager at startup. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/256054

  • When using the Kubuntu LiveCD, the ubiquity installer hangs at the end of the installation instead of prompting you to reboot. Investigation of this issue is ongoing; as a workaround, you can safely reboot to the new system by hand. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/270423

  • Installing an LTSP server fails with Ubuntu 8.10 beta because the CD is not recognized as an apt source. This will be resolved for the final release. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/276349

  • The Live CD's detection of nVidia hardware incorrectly selects the 'nv' driver even for hardware not supported by that driver, preventing X from running on some systems. This issue will be fixed in daily builds immediately after Beta and will be resolved for the Ubuntu 8.10 final release. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/261977

Reporting Bugs

Intrepid Ibex Beta has bugs! Your comments, bug reports, patches and suggestions will help fix bugs and improve future releases. After reading the bug-reporting guidelines, please report bugs through the Ubuntu bug tracking system.

If you want to help with bugs, the Bug Squad is always looking for help.

If you plan to do an installation of Intrepid Beta, be sure to head to the Testing page. With just a few minutes of your time, you can really help to improve Ubuntu. We have two different tests; one takes just a short time, and the other is more thorough.

Participate in Ubuntu

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

Help Spread the Word About Ubuntu 8.10

A new banner is available that counts down the days until the Ubuntu 8.10 release:

You can add the countdown banner to your website to help build excitement for the new release as the date approaches.

More Information

You can find out more about Ubuntu on our website and wiki.

To sign up for future Ubuntu development announcements, please subscribe to Ubuntu's development announcement list at:

Intrepid Ibex Alpha 6

Table of Contents

Intrepid Ibex Alpha 4

Contents

Contents

Intrepid Ibex Alpha 3

Contents

Intrepid Ibex Alpha 2

Contents

Ubuntu 8.04 Release Candidate

Introduction to Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron

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.

For Kubuntu and Kubuntu KDE 4 Remix see HardyHeron/RC/Kubuntu

Download

Get it while it's hot. ISOs and torrents are available at:

Local mirrors are also available:

Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania/Australia South America

Upgrading from Ubuntu LTS 6.06 and 7.10

New Features since Ubuntu 7.10

New Core System features

GNOME 2.22

The Ubuntu 8.04 release candidate brings you the latest and greatest GNOME 2.22.1 with lots of new features and improvements, such as a new version of the Nautilus file manager that uses the faster and more reliable GVFS backend and shows a list of possible actions upon insertion of removable media, an international clock applet that can show time and weather information for multiple locations around the world, the new Seahorse keyring manager, and Google Calendar support in Evolution.

nautilus-rc.png

Linux kernel 2.6.24

The release candidate includes the 2.6.24-16.30 kernel based on 2.6.24.3. This brings in significant enhancements and fixes that have been merged in the last few months into the mainline kernel, including:

  • 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.

PolicyKit

PolicyKit allows fine-grained control over user permissions and enhances usability and security, by allowing administrative applications to be run as a normal user and gain extra privileges dynamically only for privileged operations instead of requiring the whole application to run as root.

Ubuntu 8.04 features PolicyKit integration with the "Network", "Users and Groups", "Services" and "Time and Date" tools in the System/ Administration menu and the panel clock applet for authorization, as well as gnome-mount and HAL for fine-grained access control for devices and power management. All the privileges can be configured using the System / Administration / Authorizations interface, which itself uses PolicyKit for authorizing the changes.

network-rc.png

PulseAudio

The release candidate comes preinstalled with the PulseAudio sound server, which makes it possible to mix audio from multiple applications together, assign audio from individual applications to specific sound cards, adjust volume levels of each individual application, and perform advanced operations on audio streams such as transferring the audio to another computer or changing sample formats and channel counts.

Xorg 7.3

The latest version of the X window system, Xorg 7.3, is used in the release candidate, with an emphasis on better autoconfiguration with a minimal configuration file.

This release brings a new Screen Resolution utility that allows users to dynamically configure the resolution, refresh rate, and rotation of a second monitor. This will be particularly handy for laptop users that connect to a projector or external monitor.

gnome-display-properties.png

New Software Functions

Firefox 3 Beta 5

Firefox 3 Beta 5 is the default browser, bringing much better system integration including GTK form buttons in web pages, a native GTK print dialog, file chooser dialogs with image previews, and icon theming that matches the desktop environment.

ff3b5-rc2.png

Brasero

The Brasero CD/DVD burning application, which complements the CD/DVD burning functions of Nautilus and replaces the Serpentine audio CD burning utility, is installed by default in the release candidate.

brasero.png

Transmission

The GTK version of the popular Transmission BitTorrent client comes preinstalled in the Ubuntu 8.04 release candidate, replacing the Gnome BitTorrent downloader.

transmission-gtk.png

World Clock Applet

Integrating the features of the intlclock applet, the GNOME panel clock in the release candidate can display the time and weather in multiple locations.

clock-rc-2.png

Vinagre

The new Vinagre remote desktop (VNC) client is installed by default, replacing xvnc4viewer.

vinagre-rc2.png

Vinagre allows the user to view multiple machines simultaneously, can automatically discover servers on the network without needing manual configuration (via Avahi), and can keep track of recently used and favorite connections.

Uncomplicated Firewall

The Ubuntu 8.04 release candidate includes ufw (Uncomplicated Firewall), a new host-based firewall application configurable from the command line which is designed to make administering a firewall easier for end users while not getting in the way of network administrators.

Totem

The Totem movie player now has a YouTube plugin that makes it possible to search for and play YouTube videos directly, a local search plugin for searching for video files via Tracker, and DVB support that lets you watch digital TV broadcasts.

Inkscape

Inkscape 0.46, which is available in the Universe repository, is a major update that introduces native PDF support, providing an easy, open source solution to editing text and graphics in PDF documents. Users will appreciate being able to draw up flyers, posters, and other documents, save them as PDF (or as the native .svg) in inkscape, and send them to a print shop for printing without ever leaving Ubuntu or loading a proprietary tool.

New and Improved Support

ActiveDirectory integration

Likewise Open, available from the Universe repository, enables seamless integration of Ubuntu within an Active Directory network. Users can use their AD credentials to log onto Ubuntu machines and access any kerberized services provided by an Ubuntu server.

iSCSI support

iSCSI Initiator has been fully integrated in the kernel, allowing Ubuntu to mount iSCSI targets as a block device. iSCSI is available in the Ubuntu Server installer if iscsi=true is passed on the kernel command line at the beginning of the installation process.

Memory Protection

Additional access checks have been added so that /dev/mem and /dev/kmem can only be used to access device memory. These changes will help defend against rootkits and other malicious code.

The lower 64K of system memory is no longer addressable by default. This will help defend against malicious code that attempts to leverage kernel bugs into security vulnerabilities.

Applications compiled as Position Independent Executables (PIE) are now placed into memory in unpredictable locations, making it harder for security vulnerabilities to be exploited.

SELinux Support

In addition to supporting AppArmor, Ubuntu 8.04 LTS includes support for SELinux in the Universe repository. System security can be enhanced using SELinux, a kernel feature allowing fine-grained mandatory access control. SELinux, including security policies for most system processes, can be installed via the "selinux" package.

umenu

WinFOSS and the Windows open source software have been replaced by umenu, a simple launcher that lets the user install Ubuntu from Windows using Wubi, install Ubuntu to a partition without having to make their CD-ROM the first boot device, and find out more about Ubuntu at the www.ubuntu.com website.

umenu.png

Virtualization

KVM is now a fully maintained option for virtualization, and libvirt and virt-manager have also been integrated in Ubuntu, allowing for easy guest creation and basic management of virtual machines out of the box. Virt-manager can be used to administer guests on a remote server.

The kernel also includes virtio, greatly improving I/O performance in guests.

Wubi

There is a new installation option for Windows users. Wubi allows users to install and uninstall Ubuntu like any other Windows application. It does not require a dedicated partition, nor does it affect the existing bootloader, yet users can experience a dual-boot setup almost identical to a full installation. Wubi works with a physical CD or in stand-alone mode, by downloading an appropriate ISO to install from. It can be found on the root of the CD as Wubi.exe. A full installation within a dedicated partition is still recommended, but Wubi is a great way to try Ubuntu for a few days and weeks before committing dedicated disk resources.

wubi.png

Installation

File systems are now mounted with the relatime mount option by default, for improved performance. More information about this feature is available at kerneltrap.org.

LTSP

The alternate CD now provides a quick option to install an LTSP terminal server. You can read more about this feature at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuLTSP/LTSPQuickInstall.

Caveats

There are several known bugs that users may run into with Ubuntu 8.04 RC. We have documented them here for your convenience along with any known workarounds.

  • Translations haven't been updated for Firefox 3 in Ubuntu 8.04 yet. 195013

  • 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. 218394

  • 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. 218754

  • Installing on community-supported ("ports") architectures is not currently possible with the desktop CDs because of a problem with mirror selection. A fix for this is expected to be included in the final release. 218801

If you want to help with bugs, the Bug Squad is always looking for help.

If you plan to do an installation of the release candidate, be sure to head to the Testing page. With just a few minutes of your time, you can really help to improve Ubuntu. We have two different tests; one takes just a short time, and the other is more thorough.

Participate in Ubuntu

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

Help spread the word about Ubuntu 8.04

A new banner is available that counts down the days until the Ubuntu 8.04 release:

You can add the countdown banner to your website to help build excitement for the new release as the date approaches.

More Information

You can find out more about Ubuntu on our website and wiki.

To sign up for future Ubuntu development announcements, please subscribe to Ubuntu's development announcement list at:

Hardy Heron Alpha 1 Test Release

Contents

Ubuntu and Debian

Debian and Ubuntu

Ubuntu and Debian are closely related. Ubuntu builds on the foundations of Debian architecture and infrastructure, with a different community and release process.

About Debian

Debian is "the rock upon which Ubuntu is built".

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