Check out partner presentation from the Canonical stand at Linux World Expo

About Ubuntu

Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. In General
    1. Upgrading from Ubuntu 8.04
    2. Xorg 7.4
    3. Linux kernel 2.6.26
  3. Download Alpha 3
  4. Caveats
  5. Reporting Bugs
  6. Participate in Ubuntu
  7. More Information

Introduction

The Ubuntu developers are moving very quickly to bring you the absolute latest and greatest software the Open Source Community has to offer. The Intrepid Ibex Alpha 3 is the third alpha release of Ubuntu 8.10, 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 October 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 intrepid blueprint page https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/intrepid

Upgrading from Ubuntu 8.04

To upgrade from Ubuntu 8.04, run "update-manager -d" using the update-manager package from hardy.

Xorg 7.4

The latest Xorg is available in Hardy, Xorg 7.4, with new cutting-edge features. In the short term, this will cause increased instability for some users while the video drivers catch up.

Linux kernel 2.6.26

Alpha 3 includes the 2.6.26-4.11 kernel based on 2.6.26-rc8.

Download Alpha 3

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

Caveats

As is to be expected at this stage of the release process, there are several known bugs that users are likely to run into with Intrepid Alpha 3. 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:

  • When using manual partitioning and configuring crypt+LVM, the partitioning will fail in certain configurations. As a workaround, you can use the "entire disk with encryption" install option. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/251640

  • A bug in Pulse Audio causes it to prefer the PC speaker sound driver over other output devices. As a workaround, you can blacklist the `snd_pcsp` kernel driver to force Pulse Audio to use the normal sound card for output. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/242966

  • When running under VMware, the GNOME desktop locks up the virtual machine at log in time due to the new alsa PC speaker sound driver. As a workaround, you can boot the system first into text mode, unload this driver with sudo modprobe -r snd_pcsp, and then continue booting into the graphical login screen. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/246969

  • The Intrepid 2.6.26-3 kernel fails to boot as a guest under Virtualbox. Investigation of this issue is ongoing. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/246067

  • On Kubuntu systems, administrative commands using the kdesudo command fail with an xauth problem. As a workaround, administrative tasks can be launched by hand using sudo from the commandline. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/251315

  • On Ubuntu systems, the "Shutdown" button on the GNOME desktop does not shut down the system, but instead logs the user out. Investigation of this issue is ongoing. As a workaround, to shut down the system you can log out of GNOME and then shut down from the login screen. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/250506

Reporting Bugs

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

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.

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