Ubuntu Version 7.04 availble for download on April 19

Have I forgotten about Linux?  Oh no, it's just that I've been eagerly waiting for the release of Ubuntu Version 7.04.  I don't have long to wait - Ubuntu 7.04 will be out on April 19.

To be honest with you, I'm really excited about Ubuntu 7.04.  I've been playing with pre-release versions pretty extensively and I've been very please with what I've seen.  However, rather than spent time commenting on pre-release versions I thought that since 7.04 "Feisty Fawn" was so close to release that I'd wait for it to hit the download servers.  So far I've been pretty pleased by how well it supports diverse hardware and platforms that I've been using have been very stable and usable.

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Some of the most successful posts that I've made on ZDNet have been about Linux and I've had more feedback from people about Linux than on any other topic.  There's a great interest in having a free alternative to Windows that has broad hardware support and where the learning curve is shallow.  Maybe Ubuntu 7.04 will fill this niche.  I'm hoping that it just might.

I've also been receiving a lot of feedback from people who are interested in what Linux has to offer but who need to convince someone else (Mum, Dad, brother, sister, husband, wife, partner, significant other, work colleague, boss ...) that Linux is an alternative to Windows and that it's worth at least investigating.  It seems that convincing yourself to give Linux a go can be a lot easier than convincing others.

What advice would you give to people who want to experience Linux but need to convince someone else that it's worth the hassle?