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Introduction

The Ubuntu developers are moving very quickly to bring you the
absolute latest and greatest software the Open Source Community has to
offer. Hardy Heron Alpha 6 is the sixth and final alpha release of
Ubuntu 8.04, and with this new alpha release comes a whole host of
excellent new features.

Note: This is still an alpha release. Do not install it on
production machines. The final stable version will be released in April
2008.

In General

These features are showcased for your attention. Please test them
and report any bugs you find. If you want to see what the developers
have cooking for the next alpha release, take a look through the Hardy
blueprints page: https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/hardy

Upgrading from Ubuntu 7.10

To upgrade from Ubuntu 7.10, run "update-manager -d" using the update-manager package from Gutsy.

Xorg 7.3

The latest Xorg
is available in Hardy, Xorg 7.3, with an emphasis on better
autoconfiguration with a minimal configuration file. Alpha-6 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.

Linux kernel 2.6.24

Alpha 6 includes the 2.6.24-11.17 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.

PulseAudio

Alpha 6 includes PulseAudio
enabled by default. Some non-GNOME applications still need to be
changed to output to pulse/esd by default and the volume control tools
are still not integrated. https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/cleanup-audio-jumble

PolicyKit

With Alpha 6, PolicyKit integration is visible in the administrative
user interfaces. PolicyKit makes it possible to run administrative
applications as a normal user, and have them get a particular set of
extra privileges for certain operations, which allows fine-grained
control over user permissions and enhances usability, as well as
eliminating the security implications of running the whole application
as root.

alpha6_polkit5.png

For details of PolicyKit integration in Hardy, refer to the policykit-integration blueprint.

Firefox 3 Beta 3

Firefox 3
Beta 3 replaces Firefox 2 as the default browser in Alpha 6, bringing
much better system integration including icon and colour theming that
matches the system, as well as GTK2 form buttons and open dialog.

ff3alpha6.png

Transmission

The GTK version of the popular Transmission BitTorrent client comes with Alpha 6. It's set to replace the Gnome BitTorrent downloader.

transmission-gtk.png

Vinagre

The new Vinagre VNC client is installed by default in Alpha 6, replacing xvnc4viewer.

vinagre.png

Vinagre allows the user to view multiple machines simultaneously,
can discover VNC servers on the network via Avahi, and can keep track
of recently used and favorite connections.

Brasero

The Brasero
CD/DVD burning application, which will complement the CD/DVD burning
functions of Nautilus and replace the Serpentine audio CD burning
utility, is installed by default in Alpha 6.

brasero.png

World Clock Applet

Integrating the features of the intlclock applet, the GNOME panel clock in Alpha 6 can display the time and weather in multiple locations.

intlclock.png

GVFS

Nautilus
2.21.6 in Alpha 6 uses GVFS, the virtual filesystem abstraction layer
that's set to replace the aging GnomeVFS in GNOME 2.22, as its backend.
In the near future, GVFS will make it possible to fix shortcomings of
Nautilus such as the inability to restore files from trash, pause and
undo file operations, and make it possible to escalate user privileges
for certain operations using PolicyKit for authentication. It also
brings a significant performance boost to many operations.

nautilus-gvfs.jpg

GNOME System Monitor

The GNOME System Monitor has a revamped "Resources" tab, with Cairo
graphs that scroll and scale smoothly, and brand new widgets.

g-s-m-alpha6.png

Virtualization

KVM is now officially maintained within the Ubuntu kernel.

libvirt and virt-manager
have been integrated in Ubuntu. They allow 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. They also work with
XEN, even though it is not officially maintained.

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

ActiveDirectory integration

Likewise Open
is available from the universe repository. It enables seamless
integration of Ubuntu within an Active Directory network. Users can use
their AD credentials to log on 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 install process.

Firewall

ufw (Uncomplicated Firewall) is a new firewall application designed
to make administering a firewall easier for end-users while not getting
in the way of network administrators. Currently, ufw is a command-line
interface for administering host-based firewalls.

For more details, read the UbuntuFirewall specification.

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.

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 (see below), 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

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

In the alternate and server CDs, most file systems are now mounted with the relatime
mount option by default, for improved performance. This is not yet done
by the desktop CD installer, but that will be in place by beta.

Download Alpha 6

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

Caveats

There are several known bugs that users are likely to run into with
Hardy Alpha 6. We have documented them here for your convenience along
with any known workarounds, so that you don't need to spend time
reporting these bugs again:

  • The kernel in Alpha 6 is unable to access CD-ROM devices in
    some configurations, which means some users who were previously able to
    install Ubuntu will not be able to install this alpha from CD media. As
    a workaround, users can boot the installer with the additional
    "all_generic_ide" boot option. https://launchpad.net/bugs/181561

  • Video problems have been reported with the 64-bit
    (amd64) version of Edubuntu desktop. As a workaround, users can
    manually specify a video resolution at the boot menu. https://launchpad.net/bugs/173130

  • Printing from Firefox beta 3 does not work. A fix will be available in a subsequent version of Firefox. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/194486

  • Installation from the Live CD using the
    "auto-resize" partitioning option prompts for a password to mount
    partitions and triggers an error message. Investigation of this issue
    is ongoing. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/199129

  • Problems running Wubi, the Windows Ubuntu
    installer, with the 64-bit (amd64) version of Ubuntu have been
    reported. As a workaround, users should run Wubi from the i386 CD
    images.

  • Suspend (to ram) and hibernation do not work in a
    Wubi installation. Even if those options are available on the desktop,
    you should avoid using them.

  • When running Wubi from a Kubuntu CD, the KDE
    desktop will crash and the user will be left with just a X cursor,
    however the install will continue and it will reboot automatically upon
    completion.

  • Upgrades from Ubuntu 6.06 LTS currently fail because of problems with python-central. See https://launchpad.net/bugs/198456

  • The "do not use" method in the installer's
    partitioner cannot be selected; this will be fixed in the next build.
    If you need this, run chmod +x /lib/partman/choose_method/70dont_use/choices from a root shell beforehand.

  • XFS cannot be selected in the alternate and server
    installer's partitioner; this will be fixed in the next build. If you
    need this, run chmod +x /lib/partman/finish.d/70aptinstall_xfs /lib/partman/valid_filesystems/25xfs from a root shell beforehand. The desktop installer is not affected.

  • Attempting to configure software RAID in the
    installer's partitioner causes a fatal error. This will be fixed in the
    next build. We apologise for the inconvenience. https://launchpad.net/bugs/198106

Reporting Bugs

It should come as no surprise that this alpha release of Hardy Heron
contains other bugs. Your comments, bug reports, patches and
suggestions will help fix bugs and improve future releases. Please
report bugs through the Ubuntu bug tracker

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

Participate in Ubuntu

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

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:

Credits

The Alpha 6 release notes were brought to you by:

  • Murat Güneş

  • Timo Aaltonen

  • Corey Burger

  • Steve Langasek

  • Agostino Russo

  • Evan Dandrea