Version 10.10 was released today! http://www.ubuntu.com

So, give it a month and it may have enough fixes shipped to make it usable if it's like previous releases.

syg00 isn't wrong at all. :P

Anyway here is some help for new users. Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat Post Installation Guide

I downloaded it today, and have tried writing it to 2 USB drives, with different programs, with both Window and Linux, and I can't get it to boot. It gets stuck at "No init found.", with an empty prompt.

sygOO is 100% right.

could be a bad iso. do a checksum on it

Did a checksum, and it was fine. I'll download a new iso in a few days, perhaps. For now, LMDE is working fine.


EDIT:After reading in another thread about how only the latest version of Unetbootin works, I tried it, and now the Ubuntu 10.10 edition works.

However, I'm not very impressed by it. There are nearly no perceivable changes, save the Software Center.

I installed it, and it's been fine. Much less buggy than a number of other releases (JJ and KK).

For what it's worth, I always do a clean install of the newest *buntu releases as soon as they are available.
There have been various bugs with many of the *buntu versions; but I have never found a problem that I could not work around or solve just by reading the (exponentially growing volumes of) Ubuntu documentation that is available on the internet.

It helps to read the release notes and the documentation. Unfortunately, many Ubuntu users cry for help when a few simple clicks with the mouse do not solve their problems.

I am currently running the newest child in the *buntu family: Lubuntu.
It is fast and light, just like Ubuntu was back in the days of Warty 4.10 and Hoary 5.04. Yes, there were a few issues, but nothing I could not solve on my own.

I do not use ppa repos or other third party repos either. I strongly believe that using unsupported repos is the source of many (if not most) of the problems that people have with Ubuntu. This is especially true when users upgrade to a new *buntu version with all of those third party apps and drivers installed.

And FWIW, I always leave upgrades until the release has been out several months. The Ubuntu devs don't put enough effort into the the release about to go out - they are already looking at the next one.
I used to do the alpha/beta thing. Keep an eye on launchpad - the devs don't like to hear about what they've cocked up.

I used to recommend Ubuntu to new users - not any more.

Yes, this is true to some extent.
Ubuntu is released every 6 months. Ready or not, here it comes! Ubuntu 10.10 also had a shorter development schedule than usual, because they wanted to get it out the door on 10-10-10, at 10:10 AM in fact!
When a new version of Ubuntu comes out, there are always a lot of updates in the beginning of the release cycle. This includes a large number of kernel patches and fixes. The updates gradually decrease in number toward the middle to end of the 6 month release cycle.
In my opinion, the most trouble free Ubuntu was 6.06 Dapper Drake. Note that the version number was 6.06, and not 6.04. This was because Dapper was the first LTS (Long Term Support) release of Ubuntu. The devs held it back for 2 months until enough bugs were fixed to merit releasing it as a LTS version. They do not hold back the LTS releases any more though. They are released as usual, every 6 months.
However, Ubuntu 10.04 LTS was based on Debian testing, and not Debian sid as is usual.

This exemplifies the trade off between distros that try to release new versions and new features "on time", versus those distros that release new versions when they are ready, like Slackware or Debian.

im still running 10.04 as well. i believe that after about 90 days it should be good to go.

I am running 11.04 testing.

As the guy falling off the 100 story building said as he pasted the 75th floor, everything is fine so far.