New Ubuntu Variants Tailored for KDE Enthusiasts and Educators

Updates to Kubuntu, Edubuntu and Xubuntu Include Improved Speed, Sound, and Documentation

LONDON, April 16, 2007 – To coincide with the Ubuntu 7.04 launch Thursday, Canonical Ltd., the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, announced the availability of Kubuntu, Edubuntu and Xubuntu. Ubuntu 7.04, including the Kubuntu, Edubuntu and Xubuntu variants, will be widely available on April 19.

Ubuntu is the award-winning Linux distribution for the desktop [ http://www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntudesktop704 ], laptop, thin client and server [ http://www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntuserver704 ] which brings together the best of open source software every 6 months. Ubuntu 7.04 includes enhancements to all versions of its distribution to increase usability across the board.

About Edubuntu 7.04

Edubuntu is an education version of Ubuntu, designed to allow a teacher or network administrator to setup and maintain a classroom quickly and easily. It includes educational applications, and office suite, web browser, communication tools, and a secure operating system.

Edubuntu 7.04 integrates the latest thin client technology out of the box for a simple thin client server setup. The thin client boot-speed is improved in the new release, and thin client sound support now enables volume control while providing sound to many more applications – functionality traditionally missing from thin clients. Recognizing that the use of technology by educators is more important than the technology itself, the distribution has improved documentation featuring the Edubuntu Handbook with tips and best practices for educators and educational IT administrators.

About Kubuntu 7.04

Kubuntu is a user friendly operating system based on Ubuntu and KDE, the K Desktop Environment. The latest version includes a new upgrade tool which makes upgrading an existing install to the latest release a simple and smooth process. Discovering and connecting to a local network has been improved with the addition of a new network manager. Kubuntu 7.04 also comes with the latest KDE 3.5.6 which includes speed improvements to the web browser and translations in 65 languages. This new release is the first distribution to ship K3b 1.0, the industry leading CD burning application.

About Xubuntu 7.04

Xubuntu is built on the Ubuntu base and is ideal for old or low-end machines, or or any system which does not meet the minimum requirements for Ubuntu. Xubuntu 7.04 now features the latest Xfce 4.4, which includes the new Thunar file manager as well as several major improvements of its core components. Designed for productivity, it loads and executes applications quickly, while conserving system resources. The operating system also incorporates new, glossy artwork to give Xubuntu a professional and appealing desktop environment.

Ubuntu Fully Supported

Used by businesses, home users, schools and governments around the world, upgrades to new releases will always be free of charge. Ubuntu 7.04 will be maintained for 18 months on both the desktop and on the server, and additional free support is available from the thriving Ubuntu community. For deployments which require additional service guarantees, full telephone and online support is commercially available globally from the professional support team at Canonical Ltd and service partners.

About Canonical and Ubuntu

Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, is headquartered in Europe and is committed to the development, distribution and support of open source software products and communities. World-class 24x7 commercial support for Ubuntu is available through Canonical's global support team and partners. Since its launch in October 2004 Ubuntu has become one of the most highly regarded Linux distributions with millions of users around the world. Ubuntu will always be free to download, free to use and free to distribute to others. With these goals in mind, Ubuntu aims to be the most widely used Linux system, and is the centre of a global open source software ecosystem.

Download Ubuntu from www.ubuntu.com/download. To learn about commercial support for Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Edubuntu, please see www.canonical.com/support. For more information visit www.canonical.com or www.ubuntu.com.

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Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu and their associated logos are all registered trademarks of Canonical Ltd.