Latest Ubuntu Delivers on the Promise of Open Source

LONDON, April 2007 – For users wanting a secure, feature rich alternative to Microsoft Windows, Canonical Ltd., the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, announced today the Thursday release of Ubuntu version 7.04.

Ubuntu is the award-winning Linux distribution for the desktop, laptop, thin client and server which brings together the best of open source software every 6 months. Ubuntu 7.04 desktop edition (www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntudesktop704) includes a ground-breaking Windows migration assistant, excellent wireless networking support and improved multimedia support.

Ubuntu 7.04 server edition (www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntuserver704) adds support for hardware facilities that speed up the use of virtual machines as well as other improved hardware support, making it an excellent choice as a web, database, file and print server, the fastest growing area of Linux server use. Ubuntu's already outstanding support for thin clients is boosted with advanced print and sound support.

“In the coming months, many individuals and businesses will be making the decision to upgrade their existing computer systems and their operating systems,” said Jane Silber, director of Operations, Canonical Ltd. “With added features to both the desktop and server editions, Ubuntu 7.04 is the most user-friendly version to date and is ideally suited to anyone who wants to make the switch to Linux and join the community of Ubuntu users. In fact, with this version of Ubuntu, it is easier than ever to move away from proprietary platforms.”

At the same time as Ubuntu, the project also will release new versions of Kubuntu (www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntuflavours704), and Edubuntu (www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntuflavours704), specialized versions of Ubuntu which include the KDE desktop environment and educational applications, respectively.

Ubuntu Fully Supported
Used by businesses, home users, schools and governments around the world, upgrades to new releases will always be free of charge. Ubuntu 7.04 will be maintained for 18 months on both the desktop and on the server, and additional free support is available from the thriving Ubuntu community. For deployments which require additional service guarantees, full telephone and online support is commercially available globally from the professional support team at Canonical Ltd. and service partners.

About Canonical and Ubuntu
Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, is headquartered in Europe and is committed to the development, distribution and support of open source software products and communities. World-class 24x7 commercial support for Ubuntu is available through Canonical's global support team and partners.

Since its launch in October 2004 Ubuntu has become one of the most highly regarded Linux distributions with millions of users around the world. Ubuntu will always be free to download, free to use and free to distribute to others. With these goals in mind, Ubuntu aims to be the most widely used Linux system, and is the center of a global open source software ecosystem.

Download Ubuntu from www.ubuntu.com/download. To learn about commercial support for Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Edubuntu, please see www.canonical.com/support. For more information visit www.canonical.com or www.ubuntu.com.

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Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu and their associated logos are all registered trademarks of Canonical Ltd.


Contact:
Bill Baker, Baker Communications Group, , pr@canonical.com