The release candidate for Ubuntu 6.06 LTS is now available:

The Ubuntu team is proud to announce the Release Candidate for version 6.06 LTS of Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Edubuntu - codenamed "Dapper Drake". The Release Candidated includes installable live Desktop CDs, server images, alternate text-mode installation CDs and an upgrade wizard for users of the current stable release.

We consider this release candidate complete, stable and suitable for testing by any user. We would especially recommend that current Ubuntu 5.10 ("Breezy Badger") users and developers use the upgrade procedure described below.

6.06 LTS will be the first Ubuntu release with long-term support: three years on the desktop, and five years on the server.

Upgrade information for Ubuntu and Edubuntu 5.10 ("Breezy Badger") users
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* Make sure you have good bandwidth since the upgrade requires that you download several hundred megabytes of new packages!

* Because this is the Release Candidate, you need to invoke the update manager explicitly. To do this, press Alt-F2 (or open a Terminal using Applications -gt; Accessories -gt;Terminal)

gksudo "update-manager -d"

This step will not be necessary on the final release.

* Make sure you are up to date - click the "Check" button. If you are connected to the network the update manager should now tell you about the 6.06 LTS ("Dapper Drake") release

* Further information about this upgrade procedure is given at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DapperUpgrades

Upgrade information for Kubuntu 5.10 ("Breezy Badger") users
------------------------------------------------------------

* In Adept go to Manage Repositories and change "breezy" to "dapper"
* Click "Fetch Updates"
* Click "Full Upgrade"
* Click "Commit"

To Get the Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Release Candidate CD
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Download the Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Release Candidate here (choose the mirror closest to you):

United States:
http://us.releases.ubuntu.com/releases/6.06 (Ubuntu)
http://us.releases.ubuntu.com/releases/kubuntu/6.06 (Kubuntu)
http://us.releases.ubuntu.com/releases/edubuntu/6.06 (Edubuntu)

Europe:
http://se.releases.ubuntu.com/6.06/ (Ubuntu)
http://se.releases.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/6.06/ (Kubuntu)
http://se.releases.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/6.06/ (Edubuntu)

United Kingdom and Rest of World:
http://releases.ubuntu.com/6.06/ (Ubuntu)
http://releases.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/6.06/ (Kubuntu)
http://releases.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/6.06/ (Edubuntu)

Please download using Bittorrent if possible.

The final version of Ubuntu 6.06 LTS is expected to be released in early June. At that time, we will mail pressed CDs free of charge to people who have made a request to one of the Shipit services. This is the first release with Shipit CDs available for Kubuntu and Edubuntu.

* https://shipit.ubuntu.com/ (Ubuntu)
* https://shipit.kubuntu.com/ (Kubuntu)
* https://shipit.edubuntu.com/ (Edubuntu)

About The Release Candidate
---------------------------------------

The purpose of the Release Candidate is to solicit one last round of testing before the final release. Here are ways that you can help:

* Upgrade from Ubuntu, Kubuntu or Edubuntu 5.10 to the Release Candidate by following the instructions given above.

* Participate in installation testing using the Release Candidate CD images, by following the testing and reporting instructions at http://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/Current

Feedback and Helping
--------------------

If you would like to help shape Ubuntu to better meet your future needs, take a look at the list of ways you can participate at

http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate/

Your comments, bug reports, patches and suggestions will help turn this release into the best release of Ubuntu ever. Please report bugs through the Launchpad Malone bug tracker:

http://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+bugs

If you have a question, or if you think you may have found a bug but aren't sure, first try asking on the #ubuntu IRC channel on FreeNode, on the Ubuntu Users mailing list, or on the Ubuntu forums:

http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-users
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/

More Information
----------------

Ubuntu is a Linux distribution for your desktop or server, with a reputation for making things "Just Work" out of the box, a fast and easy install, regular releases, a tight selection of excellent packages installed by default, every other package you can imagine available from the network, and professional technical support from Canonical Ltd and hundreds of other companies around the world. You can find out more about Ubuntu and about this preview release on our website, IRC channel and wiki. If you're new to Ubuntu, please visit:

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Kubuntu is a user friendly operating system based on KDE, the K Desktop Environment. With a predictable 6 month release cycle and part of the Ubuntu project, Kubuntu is the GNU/Linux distribution for everyone.

http://www.kubuntu.org/

The Edubuntu Linux distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to schools, through its customised school environment.

http://www.edubuntu.org/

To sign up for future Ubuntu announcements, please subscribe to Ubuntu's very low volume announcement list at: http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-announce