Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala released

Released today, Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop Edition and Server Edition bring a host of new features and further position Ubuntu as a viable competitor to Windows 7.

Ubuntu 9.10 features a redesigned, faster boot and login experience, a revamped audio framework, and improved 3G broadband connectivity. Developers interested in writing applications that run on Ubuntu now have a simplified toolset called ‘Quickly’ which makes it fun and easy by automating many of the mundane tasks involved in programming.

Ubuntu 9.10 Server Edition introduces Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC) as a fully supported technology. This is an open source cloud computing environment, based on the same APIs as Amazon EC2, that will allow businesses to start taking advantage of the possibilities of private clouds.

Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC) is powered by software from Eucalyptus Systems, and provides an open source software infrastructure for implementing on-premise cloud computing. UEC makes it extremely easy and fast for system administrators to set up, deploy and manage a cloud environment.

Users familiar with elastic compute environments will be able to build similar infrastructure behind their firewall, avoiding any regulatory and security concerns that prevent many enterprises from taking advantage of cloud environments.

Ubuntu 9.10 is available for download here.