Ubuntu 11.10 ‘Oneiric Ocelot’ Gains Linux 3.0 and Thunderbird

After all the controversy that followed the publish of Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal," IT's hard not to anticipate with at least some anxiety the future debut of version 11.10, alias "Imagination Felis pardalis."

Planning on that new version began in earnest back in March, and a couple of months later I outlined some of the Key features that were then supposed to be enclosed.

Today, however, is the official feature block on the relinquish, meaning that by now–three alpha versions in–we should follow able to get a clean feel of what Oneiric Ocelot will look wish when it's at last released on October 13.

Ready for an update? Hither's how things cause nearly recently attribute leading.

1. Linux Nub 3.0

Perhaps most central to Imagination Ocelot is its inclusion in Alpha 3 of the 3.0.0-7.9 Ubuntu kernel, which is settled on version 3.0 of the mainline Linux heart. This is an update even up just from the Alpha 2 release, which used a version based on the mainline v3.0-rc5 kernel.

What will that mean? Enhanced wireless chipset and wifi device driver support every bit healed as many config updates, to name just a a few improvements since the previous alpha variant.

2. A New Background

As wel notable about the third gear of import version of Ubuntu 11.10 is that a new and data-based release of Compiz and Unity has been included, settled on GTK3. Among the key features associated thereupon change are a new alt+tab switcher and better launcher and panel public presentation.

GNOME, meantime, has been updated to the currently unstable version 3.1.4 as a step along the way to GNOME 3.2.

3. Thunderbird for E-mail

Causing great joy in many quarters of the Linux human race is the fact that Mozilla's Thunderbird will be shipped by default in Oneiric Panther cat instead of Evolution, which was long the Ubuntu electronic mail regulation. Thunderbird has been in there awhile for testing purposes, but Canonical has now reportedly definite to make it authorised. I'm a Thunderbird fan myself, so I agree that this is good newsworthiness.

4. Ubuntu Software Center

One big improvement to the Ubuntu Software Center in this new unloosen is the accession of a "top rated" view of both the main category page and all subcategory pages. This is going to pass a lot easier to zero in on the primo software package.

The Software package Snapper will straight off besides allow you to blue-pencil or delete your own reviews, and IT's gotten importantly quicker for standalone ".deb" file installations.

5. Gwibber

Along with a newly updated Gwibber microblogging client comes better performance and a new interface using the nigh recent GNOME technologies, the Ubuntu developers say.

Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3 is available for download on the project site, only information technology's not yet ready for production use. More inside information virtually the release are uncommitted on its Technical Overview page.

The future big milepost wish be the first exploratory version, which is due on Sept. 1, followed by a moment matchless on Sept. 22. Then, in the end, will be the day we're all wait for: Oct. 13.