Ubuntu 8.10 officially launches Thursday

Canonical today announced that the 8.10 version of its popular Linux distribution Ubuntu will be available for free download on Thursday, October 30.

Both the desktop and server editions of Ubuntu 8.10 will be available for download on the official Web Site, and on FileForum.

This release focuses on portability and connectivity. Since Linux distributions carry such a small footprint, they make ideal OSes for systems with limited memory and power, or as "take anywhere desktops." This is why a simple application has been included in Ubuntu 8.10 that allows users to write the entire OS (customizations and all) to a USB stick, which can then launch on other systems.

Also, Ubuntu's network manager has been improved to detect and connect to 3G wireless networks, for devices with either built-in 3G radios or with external modems or mobile phones connected via USB or Bluetooth.

BetaNews' faithful testers have voiced their opinions on Ubuntu as it's developed over the years, and it's considered one of the most user friendly ( or as user DudeBoyz said, "n00b friendly,") Linux distros around.

As such, 8.10 includes "Guest Sessioning," which is a method of locking down an open desktop session so another user can hop on without at all disturbing the other user's applications and data.

Finally, Ubuntu's media players -- Totem Movie Player and Rhythmbox -- launch with free video, radio and podcast content from the BBC, much of it in common, non-proprietary codecs. Unfortunately, like the content on BBC's iPlayer 2.0 which launched in the beginning of the summer, this content will not be available everywhere.