If you want to run an alternative OS on a x86 computer, then the coming Ubuntu release should be your OS of choice. It is so popular that some of the servers couldn’t handle the load when the latest development version got released. It is one of the few Linux distros released on a single CD. And by far the most popular Linux distro. The choice of software to be included is generally good, just a few changes that I am doing after having it installed, Thunderbird replaces Evolution and Banshee Rhytmbox. This last dev release is reported to have better support for Firefox and Thunderbird, so lucky me!

The big news in the new dev release are:

  1. Migration-Assistant
  2. Easy Codec Installation
  3. VMI enabled kernel for paravirtualization with VMWARE v6.0

And of course lots of other news as well. Enjoy the testing and remember it’s free, no update costs and support service that tells you to send your CD back if you want an update! My take, it doesn’t get more customer friendly. You only pay for the support, if you ever need that and don’t find your answer in the amazing active Ubuntu Forum. Thousands of users are visiting it daily.