Ubuntu Hardy Heron - 8.04 LTS Desktop and Server Edition Released

The next major release of Ubuntu has taken place. The new name being Hardy Heron. It is released as a Long Term Support (LTS) version. Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop edition is supported till year 2011 (3 year support) and the server version is supported till 2013 (5 year support).
Some of the features that will be big draw for any Linux enthusiast are as follows :

* Wubi Windows Installer - This allows any Windows user to install Ubuntu on their hard disk without any partitioning what so ever and run it from a folder in the 'C:\' drive. It allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu as any other Windows application, in a simple and safe way.
* Enhanced security via SELinux
* Integration with Microsoft Active Directory
* Support for KVM out of the box. KVM, or kernel-based virtual machine, is a device driver and userspace component for Linux that utilizes hardware virtualization extensions such as Intel's VT to create virtual machines running on a Linux host.

You can read the main features of the Desktop edition of Ubuntu Hardy Heron here.

If you are as excited as I am in this new release, then choose a mirror close to your geographic location and start downloading this excellent Linux distribution. On the other hand, if you already have Ubuntu installed, you can also upgrade following the steps detailed at http://ubuntu.com.