Updated Ubuntu Core 16 beta images available

[Michael Vogt]

Ubuntu Core 16 Images
=====================

The Ubuntu snappy team is happy to announce new beta images for Ubuntu
Core 16.  The images use the snapd package manager to install and
update all components of the system including kernel, core, gadget and
applications.

Some hightlights for this release:
- a preview of snapweb is installed by default, snapweb is a web-ui to
  control an all-snap system
- pi3 image available
- smaller image size to fit better on sd-cards
- bugfixes

The images are available for PC (amd64, i386) and Raspberry Pi2/3
(armhf) and the Dragonboard 410. You can download them at:

    http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-snappy/16.04/current/

The images are bootable, the pc image can be booted directly in
qemu-kvm or virtualenv. When running the images in qemu-kvm it is
helpful to use the "-redir" feature of qemu-kvm. E.g.:

    $ kvm -m 1500 -redir tcp:10022::22 -redir tcp:14200::14200 ubuntu-core-16-amd64.img

The message from console-conf is a bit misleading in this setup. It
will say "ssh USER at 10.0.2.15". However due to the way that qemu-kvm
user networking works, you will actually have to run:

    $ ssh -p 10022 USER at localhost

to ssh into the images. Snapweb will be available at
http://localhost:14200 in this setup.

The pi2/pi3/dragonboard image can be written to a sdcard via dd. An
alternative way to write the image is to use "go-dd":

     $ sudo snap install --devmode --beta godd
     $ sudo /snap/bin/godd ubuntu-core-16-pi2.img
     [this will print a message showing what devices are removable]
     $ sudo /snap/bin/godd ubuntu-core-16-pi2.img /dev/sdXX

The advantage of godd is that it will not write to devices that are
still mounted and that it can help in detecting what removable devices
are available (and it shows a progressbar and syncs at the end).

After booting the image you can enter your Ubuntu SSO email and it
will automatically create a matching user with the right ssh keys. If
you do not have an Ubuntu SSO account yet you can create one at:

    https://login.ubuntu.com/

These images follow the "beta" channel.

Enjoy the fresh images! If you find any bugs or issues, please let us
know via:

    https://bugs.launchpad.net/snappy/

Known issues:
- On the pi3 the wireless interface does not work for the initial
  setup, you need to use the wired interface http://pad.lv/1624322 and
  http://pad.lv/1623120
- snapweb on i386 works only after the first `snap refresh` (will
  happen automatically)

Cheers,
 Michael (on behalf of the snappy team)