With Hardy now past feature-freeze it's time to start to plan features that are being lined up for inclusion after Ubuntu 8.04 LTS is released in April.
And so I'd like to introduce you to the Intrepid Ibex, the release which is planned for October 2008, and which is likely to have the version number 8.10.
During the 8.10 cycle we will be venturing into interesting new territory, and we'll need the rugged adventurousness of a mountain goat to navigate tricky terrain. Our desktop offering will once again be a focal point as we re-engineer the user interaction model so that Ubuntu works as well on a high-end workstation as it does on a feisty little subnotebook. We'll also be reaching new peaks of performance - aiming to make the mobile desktop as productive as possible.
A particular focus for us will be pervasive internet access, the ability to tap into bandwidth whenever and wherever you happen to be. No longer will you need to be a tethered, domesticated animal - you'll be able to roam (and goats do roam!) the wild lands and access the web through a variety of wireless technologies. We want you to be able to move from the office, to the train, and home, staying connected all the way.
The Intrepid Ibex will take shape at our next Ubuntu Developer Summit, an open event to which members of the Ubuntu community, upstream communities, corporate developers and other distributions are all invited. That summit takes place in beautiful Prague, in the Czech Republic from 19th - 23rd May 2008. Together we will draw up detailed blueprints for Ubuntu 8.10. Please join us there to help define the Intrepid Ibex: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UDS-Intrepid
Ubuntu 8.10 will be our ninth release, and the fourth anniversary of the first release - 4.10. In those four years, Ubuntu has grown as a project, an ethos and a community. The Ubuntu community have worked to set the benchmark for open, inclusive, and collaborative development processes. We have open specifications, open governance structures and a willingness to empower everyone to make their unique contribution to the success of the project.
This has created an extraordinary diversity in participation; a depth of talent including packagers, programmers, translators, writers, testers, advocates, technical support, artists and many others. Those contributions come as much from the corporate world - Canonical and other companies that have embraced Ubuntu as a core of their offering - as from a huge number of individual professionals. It is this combination of expertise and perspectives that makes it such a pleasure for me to be part of this project, and I thank all of you for your continued passion, participation, and energy.
Hardy is our best development cycle yet, delivering on our promise of reliability and stability for the Heron. We must stay focused on that goal. To the extent that you have a brilliant idea for the future, you now have a peg to hang it on - the Intrepid Ibex. When the Hardy Heron has taken flight we will engage fully with the Ibex. Give it horns!
Mark Shuttleworth : Wed Feb 20 15:08:04 GMT 2008
