Ubuntu Wiki

The Ubuntu team is proud to announce the beta release of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS and
the Ubuntu 8.04 family of variants: Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Gobuntu, UbuntuStudio,
and Mythbuntu.  Codenamed "Hardy Heron", 8.04 continues Ubuntu's proud   
tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies
into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution.

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS on the desktop 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 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.

Desktop highlights
------------------

Improved application selection: the GNOME desktop sports a number of
improvements to the default applications, including more featureful 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.

Please see http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/hardybeta for details.

Server highlights
-----------------

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.  Many applications are also now built as
Position Independent Executables, making it harder for application security
vulnerabilities to be exploited.

Virtualization and iSCSI: mounting iSCSI targets is now supported from
Ubuntu, and virt-manager has been integrated, allowing for easier management
of virtual machines.

Edubuntu highlights
-------------------

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

Kubuntu highlights
------------------

As well as the above desktop highlights, the following new features are
specific to KDE users:

<currently awaiting input from Kubuntu developers>

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

Other
-----

* On the Desktop: KDE 3.5.9, GNOME 2.22, OpenOffice.org 2.4.0rc2, X.org 7.3

* On the Server: Apache 2.2, PostgreSQL 8.3, PHP 5.2.4, LTSP 5.0

* "Under the hood": GCC 4.2.3, glibc 2.7, Linux 2.6.24, Python 2.5

The full release notes can be found at
http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/hardybeta

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 Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Beta
---------------------------

Download Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Beta here (choose the mirror closest to you):

  Europe:

    http://se.releases.ubuntu.com/8.04 (Sweden)
    http://nl.releases.ubuntu.com/8.04 (The Netherlands)
    http://ftp.snt.utwente.nl/pub/linux/ubuntu-releases/8.04 (The
    Netherlands)
    http://ie.releases.ubuntu.com/8.04 (Ireland)
    http://it.releases.ubuntu.com/8.04 (Italy)  
    http://gb.releases.ubuntu.com/8.04 (Great Britain)
    http://de.releases.ubuntu.com/8.04 (Germany)
    http://fr.releases.ubuntu.com/8.04 (France) 

  Asia:

    http://tw.releases.ubuntu.com/8.04 (Taiwan)

  Africa:

    http://za.releases.ubuntu.com/8.04 (South Africa)

  North America:

    http://ca.releases.ubuntu.com/8.04 (Canada)
    http://us.releases.ubuntu.com/8.04 (United States)

  Rest of the world:

    http://releases.ubuntu.com/8.04 (Great Britain)

Please download using Bittorrent if possible.

To upgrade to Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Beta from Ubuntu 7.10 or Ubuntu 6.06 LTS,
follow these instructions:

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

The final version of Ubuntu 8.04 is expected to be released in April 2008.

Feedback and Helping
--------------------

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 Beta
into the best release of Ubuntu ever.  Please report bugs through the
Launchpad bug tracker:

  https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/hardy/+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