Canonical Announced the latest badboy from Ubuntu, the Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition. Here’s what the Ubuntu homepage had to say:

Faster boot speed, enhanced application suite and more visual appeal — give users more reasons than ever to choose Ubuntu

Image via Wikipedia

LONDON, April 20, 2009 – Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, announced today that Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition is free to download from Thursday 23 April. Also announced were the simultaneous releases of Ubuntu 9.04 Server Edition and Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix (UNR)

Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition delivers a range of feature enhancements to improve the user experience. Shorter boot speeds, some as short as 25 seconds, ensure faster access to a full computing environment on most desktop, laptop and netbook models. Enhanced suspend-and-resume features also give users more time between charges along with immediate access after hibernation. Intelligent switching between Wi-Fi and 3G environments has been broadened to support more wireless devices and 3G cards, resulting in a smoother experience for most users.

Jane Silber, COO, Canonical, says: “With every release, we see Ubuntu Desktop Edition make significant steps forward in appealing to mainstream computer users. With access to the latest office productivity suite, support for Skype and Adobe Flash, and faster boot times, we’re confident that Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition will see more people join millions of others and make the switch to an open platform.”

Ubuntu 9.04 features OpenOffice.org 3.0. This gives users a complete office suite that is entirely compatible with Microsoft Office. This free office software provides an immediate saving of at least $200 for users who need to create presentations, write documents or manage spreadsheets at work or at home.

A new integrated notification system appears in Ubuntu 9.04 for the first time. This system combines the notification methods of various applications and presents that information in a simple, unobtrusive manner. New icons and artwork also appear in this release, part of the continual improvement of the Ubuntu user experience.

Availability

Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition is available from 23 April 2009. Get your copy by:

• Visiting www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu for a free download
• Visiting shop.canonical.com to purchase a CD
• Visiting shipit.ubuntu.com to request a free CD

Professional Services, including support, can be purchased from www.canonical.com/services.

About Canonical

Canonical Ltd is an organisation that provides commercial services based on the Open Source operating system Ubuntu. Canonical helps hardware manufacturers install and market Ubuntu around the world. Canonical’s Professional Services help businesses deploy and support their Ubuntu-based infrastructures. Canonical delivers services online direct to users who run Ubuntu on their desktops and servers. Canonical also provides much of the infrastructure that allows its employees, the Ubuntu community and the world’s leading IT companies to collaborate on the Ubuntu platform.

About Ubuntu

Image via Wikipedia

Since its launch in October 2004, Ubuntu has become one of the most highly-regarded Linux distributions. With millions of users in homes, schools, businesses and governments around the world, Ubuntu is growing in popularity on both the server and the desktop. With the values of Open Source software at its core, Ubuntu costs nothing to download or update. Users are also actively encouraged to copy, reinstall, modify and share their Ubuntu software anytime, anywhere and with anyone. Visit www.canonical.com or www.ubuntu.com for more information.

Permalink To Ubuntu

Quite undoubtedly this will give competition to the fresh upcoming Windows Seven, and Microsoft should soon be under pressure. With boot timings getting shorter with each update from Ubuntu, this version claims a mere 25 second boot up time, which is quite impressive with the large number of services that it has during the first boot. Windows Seven also is trying to bring down the first boot timing by introducing a new concept of “parallel service loading” which loads the startup services in parallel, maximising the full potential of your Dual Core of Core2Duos or even Quad Core processors, providing optimum speed.

This OS is even more User friendly than it’s previous cousins. The OS comes with pre-installed Open Office software, which can make the user avoid the unnecessary steps required to install and run the office suit and save plenty of money, by not purchasing Windows Office suit.We’re still wondering how Microsoft will compete with Ubuntu over this release. Windows Seven, rumored to be released shortly in the last quater of this year, is supposed to be the best Windows OS till date, some say, the Vista and Mac Killer. Only Time Will Tell, the fate of the Operating System Wars, lets kick back with a bucket of popcorn and watch the OS Giants battle it out.