Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail) Alpha 1 has been released

This alpha features images for Edubuntu and Kubuntu.

At the end of the 12.10 development cycle, the Ubuntu flavour decided
that it would reduce the number of milestone images going forward and
the focus would concentrate on daily quality and fortnightly testing
rounds known as cadence testing. Based on that change, The Ubuntu
product itself will not have an Alpha-1 release. Its first milestone
release will be the FinalBetaRelease on the 28th of March 2013.
Other Ubuntu flavours have the option to release using the usual
milestone schedule.

Pre-releases of Raring Ringtail are *not* encouraged for anyone
needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running
into occasional, even frequent breakage. They are, however,
recommended for Ubuntu developers and those who want to help in
testing, reporting and fixing bugs as we work towards getting
this release ready.

Alpha 1 includes a number of software updates that are ready for wider
testing. This is quite an early set of images, so you should expect some
bugs.

While these Alpha 1 images have been tested and work, except as noted in
the release notes, Ubuntu developers are continuing to improve Raring
Ringtail. In particular, once newer daily images are available, system
installation bugs identified in the Alpha 1 installer should be verified
against the current daily image before being reported in Launchpad.
Using an obsolete image to re-report bugs that have already been fixed
wastes your time and the time of developers who are busy trying to make
13.04 the best Ubuntu release yet. Always ensure your system is up to
date before reporting bugs.

Edubuntu:
Edubuntu is the educational flavour of Ubuntu. Based on the standard
Ubuntu desktop, it features educational tools and content for schools
and at home.

The Alpha-1 images can be downloaded at:
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/releases/raring/alpha-1/

More information on Edubuntu Alpha-1 can be found here:
http://www.edubuntu.org/news/13.04-alpha1

Kubuntu:
Kubuntu is the KDE based flavour of Ubuntu. It uses the Plasma desktop
and includes a wide selection of tools from the KDE project.

The Alpha-1 images can be downloaded at:
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/raring/alpha-1/

More information on Kubuntu Alpha-1 can be found here:
https://wiki.kubuntu.org/RaringRingtail/Alpha1/Kubuntu

Regular daily images for Ubuntu can be found at: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com

If you're interested in following the changes as we further develop
Raring, we suggest that you subscribe to the ubuntu-devel-announce list.
This is a low-traffic list (a few posts a week) carrying announcements
of approved specifications, policy changes, alpha releases and other
interesting events.