Test Drive an Ubuntu Release in a Virtual Machine

A relatively small number of Ubuntu users actually test our Alpha, Beta, and RC ISO images. Most of the users will remain on the current stable Ubuntu release, and upgrade a few days after GA. And in cadence, many of these users become upset, frustrated, angry, disappointed, etc. with the new release. In some cases, it's a simple matter of getting used to the new release. In other cases, these users have very serious complaints and identify real bugs that could have been fixed, had they been reported earlier in the cycle.

TestDrive is a project that makes it very easy to download and run the latest daily Ubuntu development snapshot in a virtual machine. Actually, it can be configured to download an run any URL-access ISO in a virtual machine. But the primary goal is to provide a very simple method for allowing non-technical Ubuntu users to test and provide feedback on the current Ubuntu release under development.

To use TestDrive, a user simply installs the package on their current, stable Ubuntu desktop or laptop (which ideally has a VT-capable CPU), and runs:
 Applications -> System Tools -> Test Drive the Ubuntu Development Branch

The TestDrive application then rsyncs the ISO that the user wants to test to a local cache directory, and launches it in KVM.

This can be used to test any flavor of Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Desktop, Server, Netbook Remix, amd64, i386, lpia, etc. Basically anything that has an x86 ISO.