With Ubuntu Hardy Heron now released, the next exciting thing to come will be Intrepid Ibex, or Ubuntu Linux 8.10 when it makes it debut in October. Intrepid Ibex promises to be packed with more exciting features, something we all enjoy hearing.

The upcoming release of Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) is highly anticipated not only for the system enhancements it will likely get, but also for its new default theme.

With Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron" now in feature-freeze in preparation for its April release, the Ubuntu developers have started planning for Ubuntu 8.10 "Intrepid Ibex", which is due this October. Ubuntu is my distribution of choice, but it's definitely not perfect, so I've come up with a list of improvements I'd like to see by the time 8.10 ships.

If, like myself, you don’t want to take the plunge into the depths of the Intrepid Ibex alpha builds, but tend to be very inquisitive about new features, I have found myself a happy medium for my main Ubuntu machine that is currently running 8.04.1 (Hardy Heron).

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.

"I am delighted to have the pleasure of announcing the Hardy Heron (Ubuntu 8.04), the next version of Ubuntu that will succeed Gutsy Gibbon (Ubuntu 7.10, due for release in October 2007). [This] release will proudly wear the badge of Long Term Support (LTS)..."

Mark Shuttleworth, announced last night the name and the goals for the next version of this marvelous operating system, Ubuntu 8.10 (codename Intrepid Ibex); scheduled for release in October 2008.

The first alpha release of Ubuntu 8.10, codenamed Intrepid Ibex, was made available on Saturday. This preliminary Intrepid prerelease includes updated packages, a new version of the Linux kernel, and an experimental new visual style.

The first development snapshot for the forthcoming release of Ubuntu 8.10 (codenamed Intrepid Ibex) is coming out two weeks late -- likely due to Canonical's focus on getting the Ubuntu 8.04.1 LTS update out next week -- but what matters is that it's finally here.