Ubuntu’s Misleading Hardy Heron (8.04) Release

From the ‘you gotta read the fine print‘ files:

I track Ubuntu development reasonably closely, which is why I was surprised to see a release this AM titled,” Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition Released.” After all, according to the publicly available info I had on Friday, the release was set for an April 24th release.

Perhaps I was mistaken? Nope, that not the case. Ubuntu in my honest opinion has just put up a slightly misleading headline for its press release.

After you get pulled in by the headline — (with the ‘released’ in it) – if you actually read the very first sentence of the release it states:

LONDON, April 21, 2008  Canonical Ltd. announced the
upcoming availability of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition for free download on
Thursday 24 April. In related news, Canonical also announced the simultaneous
release of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server Edition.

Aha! So it is a Thursday release! So if you see the press release (or some unfortunate mis-informed press story on it) and think that you can get the full GA version of Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04 today…cool your heels for a few days until Thursday. There is however a release candidate that you can get today, but with a full version out in a few days, it’s likely a smarter move just to wait.

Certainly Ubuntu isn’t the only software vendor to pre-announce availability of software. However to state in a headline that something is released – when it’s not – is not something that I think is a good thing.