The upcoming availability of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition for free download on Thursday 24 April, was announced by Canonical Ltd. Canonical also announced, in related news, the simultaneous release of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server Edition.A stable platform for software and hardware vendors, developers and users, is provided by Ubuntu 8.04 Long Term Support (LTS). 8.04 LTS, with three years of support and maintenance on the desktop, is a great choice for large-scale deployment. A rich set of choices for desktop users is provided by a substantial and growing ecosystem of free and commercial software built for Ubuntu. This is the eighth desktop release of Ubuntu. Ubuntu's track record in delivering, on a precise schedule every six months, a commercial operating system that is free, stable, secure and fully supported, remains unique.
Principal analyst at Redmonk, Stephen O'Grady, said:
"Ubuntu's polished, user focused version of the Linux desktop has built itself a wide enough following to compel significant ISV interest and support". "By coupling a very capable desktop offering with long term support options, Ubuntu is becoming an increasingly viable option for enterprises as well as consumers."
Cice president of IBM Lotus Software, Kevin Cavanaugh, said:
"Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino bring highly scalable messaging and industry-leading collaboration to the Ubuntu desktop". "We believe the extended multi-year support for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS makes it an excellent desktop solution for corporate users who wish to deploy Lotus Notes on an open platform."
Holonyx Inc. announced its Partner Program to provide Linux support and open source software support to Value Added Resellers and System Integrators. Holonyx is solving a major need for the VAR and system integrator community by providing a single point of contact for Linux support and open source technologies support.
