Introduction

The Ubuntu developers are moving quickly to bring you the absolute latest and greatest software the Open Source Community has to offer. The Jaunty Jackalope Alpha 5 is the fifth alpha release of Ubuntu 9.04, bringing with it a number of new features to improve daily computing.

This is still an alpha release. Do not install it on production machines. The final stable version will be released on April 23rd, 2009.

To upgrade from Ubuntu 8.10, press Alt+F2 and type in "update-manager -d" (without the quotes) into the command box. Update Manager should open up and tell you: New distribution release '9.04' is available. Click Upgrade and follow the on-screen instructions. 

These features are showcased for your attention. Please test them and report any bugs you find on Launchpad:

• http://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu

As with every new release, packages--applications and software of all kinds--are being updated at a rapid pace. For a list of all packages being accepted for 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope, please subscribe to Jaunty-changes:

• https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/jaunty-changes

The latest X.Org server, version 1.6, is available in Jaunty. For a little while, this will again cause increased instability for some users while the proprietary video drivers catch up.

Font dot-per-inch settings are now optimized based on your monitor's capabilities, rather than defaulting to 96 dpi. You can further customize your dpi settings via System ? Preferences ? Appearance ? Fonts ? Details...

Included in Jaunty is a simple menu which can be used to set preferences for notification icons, such as where they pop up on the taskbar. There is a possibility that Ubuntu 9.04 will get a whole new notification system, as shown in the Flash movie here:

http://www.markshuttleworth.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/jaunty904_notifications_example1_web_092.swf

Alpha 5 includes the 2.6.28-8.26 kernel based on 2.6.28.7.

Alpha 5 supports the option of installing the new ext4 file system. ext3 will remain the default filesystem for Jaunty, and we will consider ext4 as the default for the next release based on user feedback.

Alpha 5 adds Ext4 support to gparted (Curtis Gedak).

Get it while it's hot. ISOs and torrents are available at:

• http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/jaunty/alpha-5/ (Ubuntu)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/releases/jaunty/alpha-5/ (Ubuntu Education Edition)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/jaunty/alpha-5/ (Kubuntu) Kubuntu release notes
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/jaunty/alpha-5/ (Xubuntu)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/jaunty/alpha-5/ (UbuntuStudio)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/mythbuntu/releases/jaunty/alpha-5/ (Mythbuntu)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-netbook-remix/releases/jaunty/alpha-5/ (Ubuntu Netbook Remix)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-mid/releases/jaunty/alpha-5/ (Ubuntu MID)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/netboot/jaunty/alpha-5/ (Ubuntu ARM)

As is to be expected at this stage of the release process, there are several known bugs that users are likely to run into with Jaunty Alpha 5. We have documented them here for your convenience along with any known workarounds, so that you don't need to spend time reporting these bugs again:

• The installer sometimes fails to tell the kernel to reload the partition table during partitioning. This is a race condition, so not everyone will be affected, but if you are then you may have to re-try partitioning a few times before it completes successfully. We believe that the main problem lies in udev, and will be fixing that immediately after Alpha 5. 334278

• A new XServer, version 1.6, is included in Alpha 4. The binary proprietary fglrx driver is not yet supported for this server and will exhibit various serious issues if run against it. Users of this driver are encouraged to wait or to switch to the open source -ati driver in the meantime. 313027

• Users of Intel i845 or i865 video chipsets are unable to load X, getting an error message of "Fatal server error: Couldn't bind memory for BO front buffer". Users on these systems are advised to wait for a resolution to this bug before upgrading. 304871

• OEM configuration fails in Jaunty Alpha 5 due to a repeating error pop-up when setting up the end user. This bug will be resolved for Jaunty Alpha 6. 334281

• Users testing the ARM images on NSLU2 systems will need to take special measures to avoid time-consuming locale generation. Use the 'Go back' button in the installer, select "Change debconf priority" from the main menu, and select medium priority; once at the detailed locale selection screen, de-select all locales. Detailed instructions can be found at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ARM/NSLU2. In Jaunty Alpha 6, this will be handled by default.

• Ctrl-Alt-Backspace is now disabled, to reduce issues experienced by users who accidentally trigger the key combo. Users who do want this function can enable it in their xorg.conf, or via the command dontzap --disable.

• Font sizes may be abnormally small or large on monitors which mis-report their capabilities. If you suspect this may be the case, please see X/Troubleshooting/HugeFonts for steps to troubleshoot this issue.