In a message posted on the Ubuntu mailing list this morning, Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth announced that Ubuntu 8.10, which is tentatively scheduled for release in October, will be called Intrepid Ibex. Ubuntu loosely adheres to a six-month release cycle and derives its official version numbers from scheduled release dates. During the development cycle, an Ubuntu release is referred to by its code name. The next major Ubuntu release is 8.04, which is known as Hardy Heron and is scheduled for release in April. Intrepid Ibex will be the next release after the upcoming 8.04.

Plans for Intrepid Ibex include improvements to mobile computing and desktop scalability as well as increased flexibility for Internet connectivity. "Our desktop offering will once again be a focal point as we reengineer the user interaction model so that Ubuntu works as well on a high-end workstation as it does on a feisty little subnotebook. We'll also be reaching new peaks of performance—aiming to make the mobile desktop as productive as possible," Shuttleworth wrote in the e-mail. "A particular focus for us will be pervasive Internet access, the ability to tap into bandwidth whenever and wherever you happen to be."

Development planning for Intrepid Ibex will take place at the upcoming Ubuntu Developer Summit, which will take place in Prague between May 19 and 23. During the Developer Summit event, developers from Canonical meet with Ubuntu contributors and other members of the open source software community to establish blueprints and outline strategies for assembling the technologies that will be included in the next major Ubuntu release. I attended the last major Ubuntu Developer Summit in Boston last year and got first-hand exposure to Hardy Heron planning.

Shuttleworth notes that the 8.10 release will be the ninth Ubuntu release and will coincide with fourth anniversary of the first Ubuntu release, which was 4.10. Ubuntu's open development model, he says, has been a profound success. "We have open specifications, open governance structures and a willingness to empower everyone to make their unique contribution to the success of the project," Shuttleworth states in his message. "Those contributions come as much from the corporate world—Canonical and other companies that have embraced Ubuntu as a core of their offering—as from a huge number of individual professionals. It is this combination of expertise and perspectives that makes it such a pleasure for me to be part of this project, and I thank all of you for your continued passion, participation, and energy."

Ubuntu is a climbing star in the Linux community and has attracted considerable attention from prominent commercial hardware vendors as well as enthusiastic end users. Our initial testing with Hardy Heron shows a lot of promise, and we are looking forward to seeing what plans coalesce as additional details begin to emerge about Intrepid Ibex.