Ubuntu 7.10 Beta has been released:

The Ubuntu team is proud to announce the beta release of Ubuntu 7.10 and its variants, Kubuntu, Edubuntu and Xubuntu. Codenamed "Gutsy Gibbon", 7.10 continues Ubuntu's proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest
open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution.

Ubuntu 7.10 on the desktop features a cutting-edge graphical experience with composited desktop effects, fully automated printer installation, and superior support for Firefox browser plugins.

Ubuntu 7.10 server edition brings enhanced security-in-depth with AppArmor and easy install-time options for multiple common server configurations.

Desktop highlights
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Compiz Fusion: This innovative compositing window manager enables 3-D desktop effects that let users work with, and see, their desktops in completely new ways.

Printer installation: In GNOME, printers are automatically configured for use as soon as they are connected.

Free Flash support with Gnash: Ubuntu 7.10 leads the pack with a preview of this Flash browser plugin. Although still actively in development and not yet fully supported by Ubuntu, Gnash gives a glimpse into the future of free Flash, bringing partial Flash support to 64-bit desktop systems.

Automated Firefox plugin installation: Beyond the addition of Gnash, Firefox in Ubuntu now supports automatic installation of popular plugins through the standard Ubuntu package repositories, for a richer web-browsing experience with the integrated security support of the rest of the Ubuntu system.

Please see http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/gutsybeta for details.

Server highlights
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AppArmor: This easy-to-deploy kernel technology limits the resources an application is allowed to access and can be used to provide an added layer of protection against undiscovered security vulnerabilities in applications.

Pre-configured installation options: Mail Server, Print Server, Database Server, and File Server options join existing LAMP and DNS options for pre-configured installations, easing the deployment of common server configurations.

Edubuntu highlights
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Faster thin clients: Thin clients have been sped up significantly through the use of compressed images.

Kubuntu highlights
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As well as the above desktop highlights, the following new features are specific to KDE users:

Dolphin file manager: This updated file manager gives Ubuntu users a glimpse of the upcoming KDE 4.

Strigi desktop search: Another pillar of KDE 4 available now in Kubuntu.

Restricted-manager: Kubuntu 7.10 includes a KDE front-end for easy installation of proprietary drivers, complementing the existing GNOME front-end.

Please see https://wiki.kubuntu.org/GutsyGibbon/Beta/Kubuntu for details.

Other
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* On the Desktop: KDE 3.5.7, GNOME 2.20, OpenOffice.org 2.3.0rc1, X.org 7.2

* On the Server: Apache 2.2, PostgreSQL 8.2, PHP 5.2.3, LTSP 5.0

* "Under the hood": GCC 4.1.2, glibc 2.6, Linux 2.6.22, Python 2.5

The full release notes can be found at http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/gutsybeta

About Ubuntu
------------

Ubuntu is a Linux distribution for your desktop, laptop, thin client and server, with a fast and easy install. Ubuntu comes in several variants, including Ubuntu Desktop, Server, Kubuntu, Edubuntu and Xubuntu. The Ubuntu project makes no separation between our free edition and our enterprise edition - this is our best work and it is freely available.

Used by businesses, home users, schools and governments around the world, Ubuntu offers regular releases, a tight selection of excellent packages installed by default and professional commercial technical support from Canonical Ltd and hundreds of other companies.

To Get Ubuntu 7.10 Beta
-----------------------

Download Ubuntu 7.10 Beta here (choose the mirror closest to you):

Europe:

http://se.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (Sweden)
http://nl.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (The Netherlands)
http://ftp.snt.utwente.nl/pub/linux/ubuntu-releases/7.10 (The Netherlands)
http://ie.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (Ireland)
http://it.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (Italy)
http://gb.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (Great Britain)
http://de.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (Germany)
http://fr.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (France)

Asia:

http://tw.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (Taiwan)

Africa:

http://za.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (South Africa)

North America:

http://ca.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (Canada)
http://us.releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (United States)

Rest of the world:

http://releases.ubuntu.com/7.10 (Great Britain)

Please download using Bittorrent if possible.

To upgrade from Ubuntu 7.04 to Ubuntu 7.10 Beta, follow these
instructions:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GutsyUpgrades

The final version of Ubuntu 7.10 is expected to be released in October 2007.

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

If you would like to help shape Ubuntu, 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 Beta into the best release of Ubuntu ever. Please report bugs through the Launchpad bug tracker:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/gutsy/+bugs

If you have a question, or if you think you may have found a bug but are not 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
----------------

You can find out more about Ubuntu and about this preview release on our website, IRC channel and wiki. If you are new to Ubuntu, please visit:

http://www.ubuntu.com/

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