OS GUI

The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the beta release of Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop and Server editions. Codenamed "Jaunty Jackalope", 9.04 continues Ubuntu's proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution. Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition brings faster boot speeds and a new notification system to your everyday computing experience. Ubuntu 9.04 Server Edition makes it easy to experiment with cloud computing using Eucalyptus on your own servers, and sports an improved mail server integration stack based on postfix and dovecot.The Ubuntu 9.04 family of variants, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu Studio, and Mythbuntu, also reach beta status today.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the *Karmic Koala*, the newest member of our alliterative menagerie.

When you are looking for inspiration beyond the looming Jaunty feature freeze, I hope you'll think of the Koala, our official mascot for Ubuntu 9.10. And if you'll bear with me for a minute I'll set the scene for what we hope to achieve in that time.

Ubuntu, an operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux, makes two releases every year, using the year and month of the release as a version number. The first Ubuntu release, for example, was Ubuntu 4.10 and was released on October 20, 2004. Consequently, version numbers for future versions are provisional; if the release is delayed until a different month to that planned, the version number changes accordingly.

Ubuntu releases are also given code names, using an adjective and an animal with the same first letter (e.g. Dapper Drake). With the exception of the first two releases, code names are in alphabetical order, allowing a quick determination of which release is newer. Commonly, Ubuntu releases are referred to using only the adjective portion of the code name (e.g. Dapper).

Releases are timed to be approximately one month after GNOME releases, which are in turn about one month after releases of X.org. Consequently, every Ubuntu release comes with a newer version of both GNOME and X. Releases 6.06 and 8.04 have been labelled as a Long Term Support (LTS) to indicate support with updates for three years on the desktop and five years on the server, with paid technical support available from Canonical Ltd.

Linux Mint is an operating system for personal computers, focusing on elegance. While Mint is mostly based on (and compatible with) Ubuntu, the design of the user interface is considerably different. Design differences include:

• A distinct user interface, including a simplified bootloader, desktop layout, theme, and the custom Mint menu.
• A strong focus on full functionality out of the box (E.g.: Wireless drivers included, plugins required to play common media formats installed by default, screen resolution automatically set, etc.).
• The Mint Tools, a collection of system tools designed to make system management and administration easier for end users.

Linux Mint is available for download in the form of ISO images, which can be used to create Live CDs or Live USBs. The latter can be created either manually or using UNetbootin.