Ubuntu 8.04 Release Candidate Ready for Download

The Ubuntu team has announced the arrival of the release candidate for Ubuntu 8.04, code-named “Hardy Heron.” The release candidate is considered complete, stable, and suitable for testing by any user.

Also available today are the release candidates for other Ubuntu variants like Kubuntu, Xubuntu, UbuntuStudio, and Mythbuntu. The final releases of all 8.04 variants will arrive next week on April 24.

Ubuntu 8.04 features a new version of the Gnome Desktop, Pulse Audio support and a number of other improvements, including Wubi, a single-click Ubuntu installer for Windows.

Version 8.04 also brings upgrades for most of the open source applications that ship with Ubuntu. Perhaps the most notable is Firefox 3 beta 4, which looks much more like a Gnome application thanks to native GTK2 buttons and widgets.

Live CDs of the release candidate can be found on the Ubuntu site (it doesn’t appear to be live yet, though a message to the Ubuntu announcement mailing list has direct links to mirrors) and there’s also a complete guide to upgrading your existing version of Ubuntu.

Source: Ubuntu