When it comes to deploying Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope), Canonical’s installed base seems to be a loyal, eager crowd. To wit, the vast majority of WorksWithU site visitors have already upgraded to Ubuntu 9.04, according to an informal reader poll.

Even before Ubuntu 9.04 arrives April 23, System76 has reason to celebrate. The PC maker — which specializes in Ubuntu systems — grew its first quarter 2009 revenue more than 60 percent compared to 1Q 2008,  according to System76 President Carl Richell (pictured). But Richell isn’t resting on his laurels. He’s making sure System76 is ready to catch the Ubuntu 9.04 wave — from servers to netbooks. Here’s how.

The next version of Ubuntu, ‘Jaunty Jackalope’, offers several new features in the server edition.  Below, we take a look at what the latest release of Ubuntu, set to become stable on April 23, will mean for server administrators, IT departments and service providers.

The cloud isn’t the only new place you will be seeing Ubuntu in the future. You will soon be able to run it on your phone, games console or any device powered by an ARM processor.

I recently downloaded Ubuntu 9.04 alpha 5, “Jaunty Jackalope,” to see for myself what’s in the works for the next release of Ubuntu, set to come out in stable form on April 23.  Following are some observations, with screenshots.

With the April 23 release date getting ever closer, I decided to test Alpha 4 of Ubuntu 9.04 — code-named Jaunty Jackalope –  to get a feel for the forthcoming operating system.

This thought hit home when I was working to fix a sound issue on my computer, although the seeds had been sown quite some time ago with my upgrade to Ubuntu 7.04. My concern is not about FOSS philosophy, but rather about updates and version releases.