Ubuntu lets you sample the distro (or wreck it completely) without touching your system, using live media.
It’s that most special time of the year when Canonical releases a new Ubuntu LTS. This I time, the creature it has loosed unto the world is Noble Numbat. And what a fine specimen it is. OK, full disclosure before we get stuck in: we’re basing our evaluation on the latest daily images. So, we’re ignoring some rough edges as we’re sure they’ll be smoothed by the time you read this. This does mean we may miss any final flourishes the team is holding back until the final release, but we’re sure you’ll forgive us.
Before you rush to https://ubuntu.com/desktop to download the installation material, we’d like to offer a few pointers. If this is your first foray into the world of Ubuntu, or Linux in general, good news: we’re making this feature as beginner-friendly as possible. The flipside of this is that installing Ubuntu is sometimes a bit trickier than actually using it. Ideally, you’ll want to install Linux on its own machine. This way, you sidestep any issues that arise from dual booting with Windows. Make sure there’s nothing important on that machine; if there is, back it up right away. The easiest way to install Ubuntu is to let it erase an entire drive, and once that’s happened, you’re not getting anything back.