Steve Langasek has announced the availability of the first beta release of Ubuntu> 10.04, code name "Lucid Lynx", a long-term support (LTS) version.
Press release
The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the first beta release of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Desktop, Server, and Netbook editions and of Ubuntu 10.04 Server for Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC) and Amazon's EC2. Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Desktop and Netbook editions continue the trend of ever-faster boot speeds, with improved start-up times and a streamlined, smoother boot experience. Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Server edition provides even better integration of the Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud, with its install-time cloud setup.
Read the release announcement and release notes for further details.
Release Meta
Download (SHA256): ubuntu-10.04-beta1-desktop-i386.iso (675MB, torrent), ubuntu-10.04-beta1-desktop-amd64.iso (679MB, torrent). Also release today were 10.04 beta 1 builds of (Kubuntu, release notes), (Xubuntu), (Xubuntu),
(Edubuntu), (Mythbuntu, release announcement) and (Ubuntu Studio).
The Lucid timeline image is courtesy of: http://anotherubuntu.blogspot.com/