One of the thing I should have done on the 18th of october, is blogging about the new Ubuntu release : 7.10, codename Gutsy Gibbon. No need to make another list of new (great) features included in the release, I would like to talk about the server team.
During gutsy cycle, Canonical have hired a bunch of people for taking care of the server platform. The team has been growing (thanks to the community), and we are now 78 members. This team is working hard to make Ubuntu Server rocks (well, it’s already rocks, but rocks more). First results have reached gutsy, there will be more for hardy, the next Ubuntu release (due in April) which will be a LTS (Long Term Support, which for the server team means 5 years).
Lot of people have been asking “Why I should use Ubuntu as a server, Ubuntu is a desktop distro?”. I remember Adam Conrad saying about differences between Debian and Ubuntu as a server : “Release schedule, LTS releases, commercial support from Canonical, and a different logo”. From my experience, I think it is an excellent summary of the advantages of Ubuntu.
If you’re looking into contributing or if you want to help us, reporting bug is a good starting point!