Canonical's Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Desktop Edition features three years of support, an online music store, a new look and social network integration

Long-term support (LTS) version of popular desktop operating system generally available on 29 April

LONDON, April 27, 2010: Canonical announced today the upcoming release of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Desktop Edition, the latest version of the popular Linux desktop distribution, which includes three years of support through free security and maintenance updates. It will be available for free download on Thursday 29 April and will be pre-installed on a range of machines from a number of manufacturers in Summer 2010.

The desktop edition of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS will feature extensive design work, faster boot speed, social network integration, online services and the Ubuntu One Music Store.

"Ubuntu 10.04 LTS challenges the perceptions of the Linux desktop, bringing a whole new category of users to the world of Ubuntu," said Jane Silber, CEO, Canonical. "Changes like the new look and feel and the addition of a music store, layered on top of our relentless focus on delivering an intuitive and attractive user experience for new and existing Ubuntu users -- these are the bridging elements to the mainstream market that our community, our partners and our users really want. Long-term support makes Ubuntu 10.04 LTS very attractive to corporate IT as well."

New in 10.04 LTS:

• Boot speed: Noticeably quicker on almost any machine and super-fast on SSD-based machines such as netbooks, which means users can speed straight to the browser for fast web access.
• Social from the start: The new 'Me Menu' in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS consolidates the process of accessing and updating social networks including Facebook, Digg, Twitter and Identi.ca. The Me Menu also integrates chat channels so users can talk with friends or colleagues on Google Talk, MSN, IRC and nearly every network.
• Ubuntu One: Enhanced desktop integration for the online service means files and folders can be shared and saved on the cloud more easily. Bookmark and contacts sharing has been added, speeding the move from personal computer to personal computing.
• Ubuntu One Music Store: Music from the world's largest labels and greatest bands available direct to Ubuntu users through the default music player. Purchase tracks, store in Ubuntu One and share DRM-free music from one location across multiple computers and devices.
• Ubuntu Software Centre 2.0: An easy way to find new software, and keep track of it once it's installed in a new, sleeker interface. Users can also single out software provided by Ubuntu, by Canonical partners or by developers who use Canonical's Launchpad Personal Package Archive (PPA) hosting service.
• Ubuntu 10.04 Netbook Edition (UNE): As well as benefiting from the improvements in the Desktop Edition, netbook users will see even faster boot speeds on SSD-based devices, faster suspend/resume that will extend battery life -  and the industry-leading interface for these smaller screens.

Availability

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Desktop Edition and Ubuntu 10.04 Netbook Edition are entirely free of charge and will be widely available for download from http://www.ubuntu.com on Thursday 29 April 2010.

At that time, users can upgrade directly to Ubuntu 10.04 LTS from the previous Ubuntu 8.04 LTS version as well as the Ubuntu 9.10 release from October 2009.

Useful links:

• Ubuntu One offers 2 GB storage for free, and 50 GB for $10 per month. See http://one.ubuntu.com
• Ubuntu One Music Store can be accessed via the Rhythmbox Music Player in Ubuntu
• Canonical provides support products for desktop and notebook users priced from $55 per year. Information at http://www.ubuntu.com/support/services

About Canonical

Canonical provides engineering, online and professional services to Ubuntu partners and customers worldwide. As the company behind the Ubuntu project, Canonical is committed to the production and support of Ubuntu – an ever-popular and fast-growing open-source operating system. It aims to ensure that Ubuntu is available to every organisation and individual on servers, desktops, laptops and netbooks.

Canonical partners with computer hardware manufacturers to certify Ubuntu, provides migration, deployment, support and training services to businesses, and offers online services direct to end users. Canonical also builds and maintains collaborative, open-source development tools to ensure that organisations and individuals can participate fully in innovations within the open-source community. For more information, please visit www.canonical.com.