Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope will officially launch on April 23rd. But if you want to try it out now, the first beta version has hit the Canonical servers. That means you can download and run or install a LiveCD or upgrade from an existing Ubuntu installation. While there are still some bugs to work out, Ubuntu beta releases tend to be much more reliable than alpha versions, pretty much as you'd expect.

Jaunty Jackalope features a number of improvements over Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex, including the latest versions of GNOME and KDE, support for the Ext4 file system, a new notification scheme, and new graphics. Ubuntu 9.04 beta also has a few new features since the last pre-release version, including a faster boot sequence, a new boot splash screen, and updated packages including OpenOffice.org 3.0.1, Firefox 3.0.7, and the latest Linux kernel the 2.6.28-11.37 Linux kernel.

[via Softpedia]