Canonical on Thursday made available the Release Candidate of its latest Linux-based operating system, Ubuntu 9.10, on the same day Microsoft launched the long-awaited Windows 7. The upcoming Canonical release, which is code-named Karmic Koala, is the latest version of the popular flavor of the Linux OS. The development release on Thursday pushed the OS one step closer to final release, which is due on Oct. 29, according to the company's release schedule .

An image of the OS is available for download on Ubuntu's Web site. Test versions of Karmic Koala RC available for download include the server, desktop and netbook versions. The desktop version can also be installed on standard laptops. Canonical is offering versions of the OS with a variety of desktop environments, including Gnome, KDE and XFCE. These environments, built on top of the Linux kernel, have unique graphical user interfaces and integrated software.

Karmic Koala includes a new "Ubuntu Software Center" from which users can easily add or remove programs, similar to a feature available in Windows. It improves on an earlier feature for adding and removing programs. The OS also fixes many bugs from previous Ubuntu editions and builds in driver support for more hardware. Canonical is also offering its online storage and file-sharing service, called Ubuntu One, by default in Ubuntu 9.10. Users can back up, share or sync data with others through the Ubuntu One Web site. The service gives 2GB of online storage free to Ubuntu users, with an additional 50GB costing US $10 a month.