The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop and Server, continuing Ubuntu's tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution. New Features since Ubuntu 8.04 LTS: GNOME 2.24; X.Org 7.4; Linux kernel 2.6.27; encrypted private directory; guest session; Network Manager 0.7; Samba 3.2; PAM authentication framework; Totem BBC plugin; server virtualization; Ubuntu as a Xen guest; JeOS is now an option in the server installer; notable inclusion in the main repository - Sun's Java OpenJDK 1.6, Apache's Tomcat 6, ClamAV, SpamAssassin; boot degraded RAID setting....

Ubuntu is a community developed, linux-based operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. It contains all the applications you need - a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more.

This VMWare image lets you try it out without installing it or even rebooting your machine, and works in the Free VMWare player.
Login: vmplanet
Pass: vmplanet.net

md5sum: 40f09b88d3a35d3e367e54b767310411 Ubuntu-8.04.2.7z

Ubuntu VMware Image (load balanced mirrors)