<p>This might be handy for Ubuntu users in the group </p>
<p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br>
forgive my brevity this email was sent from my android phone running cyanogenmod </p>
<div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: "Kate Stewart" <<a href="mailto:kate.stewart@canonical.com">kate.stewart@canonical.com</a>><br>Date: Apr 14, 2011 9:27 PM<br>Subject: Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) Beta 2 Released<br>
To: <<a href="mailto:ubuntu-announce@lists.ubuntu.com">ubuntu-announce@lists.ubuntu.com</a>><br>Cc: <<a href="mailto:ubuntu-devel-announce@lists.ubuntu.com">ubuntu-devel-announce@lists.ubuntu.com</a>>, <<a href="mailto:ubuntu-release@lists.ubuntu.com">ubuntu-release@lists.ubuntu.com</a>><br>
<br type="attribution">The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu 11.04 Beta<br>
2.<br>
<br>
Codenamed "Natty Narwhal", 11.04 continues Ubuntu's proud tradition of<br>
integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a<br>
high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution. The team has been hard at<br>
work since Beta 1, fixing bugs and getting things all nice and natty.<br>
<br>
For PC users, Ubuntu 11.04 now supports laptops, desktops and netbooks<br>
with a unified look and feel based on Unity.<br>
<br>
A special Ubuntu Netbook version is provided for platforms based on ARM<br>
technology, such as the Panda and Beagle boards.<br>
<br>
Ubuntu Server 11.04 has made it easier to provision servers, and reduce<br>
power consumption.<br>
<br>
Ubuntu Server 11.04 for UEC and EC2 is available as well, with a new<br>
kernel and improved initialization and configuration options.<br>
<br>
The Ubuntu 11.04 family of Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Edubuntu, Mythbuntu, and<br>
Ubuntu Studio, also reach Beta 2 status today.<br>
<br>
<br>
Ubuntu Changes<br>
--------------<br>
<br>
Some of the new features now available are:<br>
<br>
Unity is now the default Ubuntu desktop session. The Unity launcher has<br>
many new features, including drag and drop re-ordering of launcher<br>
icons, full keyboard navigation support, launcher activation through<br>
keyboard shortcuts, right-click context menu quick-list and switching<br>
between running applications.<br>
<br>
The Ubuntu One control panel now allows selective syncing, and the<br>
launcher icon now displays sync progress. File syncing speed has been<br>
improved as well.<br>
<br>
The Ubuntu Software Center now allows users to "rate & review"<br>
installed applications, share reviews via integration with social<br>
networking services added into Gwibber, and has other usability<br>
improvements.<br>
<br>
<br>
Key applications have been updated to newer versions:<br>
<br>
Ubuntu 11.04 comes with the latest Firefox 4.0 as standard web browser.<br>
<br>
LibreOffice 3.3.2 has been included in 11.04 as the default office<br>
package.<br>
<br>
Banshee 2.0 is the standard music player now and has been integrated<br>
into the sound menu.<br>
<br>
<br>
And we continue to improve the underlying infrastructure:<br>
<br>
11.04 Beta 2 has a kernel based on 2.6.38.<br>
<br>
X.org 1.10.0 and Mesa 7.10.1 are the new versions included with 11.04.<br>
<br>
GNU toolchain has transitioned to be based off of gcc 4.5 for i386,<br>
amd64, and ARM omap3/omap4 architectures.<br>
<br>
All main packages have now been built and and are installable with<br>
Python 2.7.<br>
<br>
dpkg 1.16.0-pre brings us up-to-date with staged changes for the<br>
upcoming Debian 1.16.0 dpkg release, as well as pulling in the current<br>
version of the in-progress multiarch work<br>
<br>
Upstart has been updated to 0.9.4-1. There are a lot of new features:<br>
its now "chroot-aware", there is support for basic job/event<br>
visualization, there are two new initctrl commands (show-config,<br>
check-config), a socket bridge is now provided, the latest D-Bus version<br>
now allows D-Bus services to be activated via Upstart, a manual job<br>
configuration stanza, and override file support is now available<br>
<br>
<br>
Please see <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/natty/beta" target="_blank">http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/natty/beta</a> for details.<br>
<br>
<br>
Ubuntu Netbook on ARM<br>
--------------------<br>
<br>
The ARM version is the first one to ship with our new Unity 2D interface<br>
by default.<br>
<br>
The 2.6.38 kernel for OMAP4 has had many driver improvements, most<br>
notably the display driver was switched to use the HDMI port by default<br>
and auto detect the monitor resolution.<br>
<br>
For developers, an Ubuntu Headless image is available for omap3 and<br>
omap4 hardware. Headless is fully set up for the serial port and<br>
contains a minimal command line install.<br>
<br>
<br>
Ubuntu Server<br>
-------------<br>
<br>
cobbler and mcollective have been included, which will make provisioning<br>
servers easier.<br>
<br>
Powernap 2.0 uses a new method to reduce power consumption and can now<br>
monitor user activity (Console, Mouse, Keyboard), system activity (load,<br>
processors, process IO), and network activity (wake-on-lan, udp ports<br>
tcp ports)<br>
<br>
Default dhcpd server updated from dhcp3 to isc-dhcp (version 4).<br>
<br>
Eucalyptus is now the latest stable point release (2.0.2) with security<br>
and efficiency fixes. (Known bug against the dhcpd server)<br>
<br>
OpenStack (nova) in Universe is a technology preview, with a recent<br>
snapshot of 2011.2 (Cactus) release.<br>
<br>
libvirt is updated to 0.8.8 with new features and bug fixes (see<br>
upstream change log for full information 0.8.3->0.8.8)<br>
<br>
<br>
Ubuntu Server for UEC and EC2<br>
-----------------------------<br>
<br>
cloud-init has been updated to 0.60. This feature includes support<br>
resizing of the root file system at first boot, adds minimal OVF<br>
transport (iso) support and allow setting of hostname when first<br>
booting. Rightscale support has been added to cloud-config and<br>
cloud-init.<br>
<br>
Some of the supporting technologies that have been packaged and included<br>
are, Cassandra 0.7.0, ZeroMQ, Membase, and XtraBackup.<br>
<br>
<br>
Kubuntu<br>
-------<br>
<br>
Kubuntu 11.04 Beta 2 sports the latest KDE software including KDE<br>
Platform 4.6.1.<br>
<br>
Kubuntu now provides a working Samba file sharing module that lets you<br>
add and manage shares from the folder's Properties dialogs.<br>
<br>
The new Language Selector module allows you to add, remove, and manage<br>
system languages directly from System Settings.<br>
<br>
An updated system-config-printer-kde brings a number of bug fixes to<br>
Kubuntu's printer management tool.<br>
<br>
Please see <a href="https://wiki.kubuntu.org/NattyNarwhal/Beta2/Kubuntu" target="_blank">https://wiki.kubuntu.org/NattyNarwhal/Beta2/Kubuntu</a> for<br>
details.<br>
<br>
<br>
Xubuntu<br>
-------<br>
<br>
Xubuntu wallpaper has been updated for this release. The wallpaper is<br>
designed to integrate well with the new graybird theme.<br>
<br>
The installation slide show has been updated for Natty Narwhal, and<br>
really displays the best of Xubuntu.<br>
<br>
The Elementary Xubuntu icon theme has been updated.<br>
<br>
Xubuntu is using the Droid font by default, since it is a lightweight,<br>
good visibility font.<br>
<br>
The newly released Xfce 4.8 is included. The menus in Xfce 4.8 are now<br>
editable with any menu editor that meets the <a href="http://freedesktop.org" target="_blank">freedesktop.org</a> standards.<br>
The suggested editor is alacarte.<br>
<br>
<br>
Edubuntu<br>
--------<br>
<br>
You can test Edubuntu 11.04 directly from your web browser by going at<br>
<a href="http://www.edubuntu.org/weblive" target="_blank">http://www.edubuntu.org/weblive</a> .<br>
<br>
WebLive is also directly integrated in the Ubuntu Software Center<br>
letting you test the most popular apps without installing them on your<br>
machine. Just click the "Test drive" button.<br>
<br>
Ubiquity now has an additional step allowing users to fine-tune which<br>
applications should be installed on the final system.<br>
<br>
Edubuntu now ships with Arkose, which provides application sandboxing<br>
for downloaded apps.<br>
<br>
New software packages in Edubuntu include Pencil, Geogebra, Calibre,<br>
LibreCAD, Freemind and Stellarium.<br>
<br>
Theming improvements include a new LDM theme when installing LTSP from<br>
the Edubuntu installer. The text-mode boot mode now displays "Edubuntu"<br>
instead of "Ubuntu". Our ongoing menu refinements include new icons<br>
where they were missing, and more consistent case use in menu entries.<br>
<br>
Edubuntu 11.04 ships with the classical Gnome desktop by default but<br>
Unity is available as an option in the installer.<br>
<br>
For more details on what has changed in Edubuntu 11.04, please refer to<br>
<a href="http://www.edubuntu.org" target="_blank">http://www.edubuntu.org</a> .<br>
<br>
<br>
Ubuntu Studio<br>
-------------<br>
<br>
The task selections during installation have been updated. The audio<br>
tasks have been parsed into two groups: generation and recording.<br>
<br>
Currently, Ubuntu Studio is shipping the -generic kernel. We are working<br>
with the Ubuntu Kernel Team to get a -low latency kernel into the<br>
archives. An interim -lowlatency kernel is available in Allesio<br>
Bogani's PPA.<br>
<br>
network-manager has replaced gnome-network-admin.<br>
<br>
The packages shipped in Ubuntu Studio are now more focused to support<br>
identified tasks and their derived work flows.<br>
<br>
Ubuntu Studio does not currently use Unity. As the user logs in it will<br>
default to Gnome Classic Desktop (i.e. Gnome2).<br>
<br>
<br>
Mythbuntu<br>
---------<br>
<br>
The Mythbuntu-bare (Backup and Restore for the database and<br>
configuration files) Mythbuntu Control Center plugin now has the<br>
ability to schedule backups on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.<br>
<br>
Android and iOS devices can now be used as remote controls.<br>
<br>
MythTV 0.24 is now integrated into the builds.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Please see <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/natty/beta" target="_blank">http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/natty/beta</a> for more details on<br>
the above products.<br>
<br>
<br>
About Ubuntu<br>
------------<br>
<br>
Ubuntu is a full-featured Linux distribution for desktops, laptops, and<br>
servers, with a fast and easy installation and regular releases. A<br>
tightly-integrated selection of excellent applications is included, and<br>
an incredible variety of add-on software is just a few clicks away.<br>
<br>
Professional technical support is available from Canonical Limited and<br>
hundreds of other companies around the world. For more information<br>
about support, visit <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/support" target="_blank">http://www.ubuntu.com/support</a> .<br>
<br>
If you would like to help shape Ubuntu, take a look at the list of ways<br>
you can participate at: <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate" target="_blank">http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate</a> .<br>
<br>
Your comments, bug reports, patches and suggestions really help us to<br>
improve this and future releases of Ubuntu. Instructions can be<br>
found at: <a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs" target="_blank">https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs</a> .<br>
<br>
<br>
To Get Ubuntu 11.04 Beta 2<br>
--------------------------<br>
<br>
To upgrade to Ubuntu 11.04 Beta 2 from Ubuntu 10.10, follow<br>
these instructions:<br>
<br>
<a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/NattyUpgrades" target="_blank">https://help.ubuntu.com/community/NattyUpgrades</a><br>
<br>
<br>
Or, download Ubuntu 11.04 Beta 2 images from a location near you:<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/download" target="_blank">http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/download</a> (Ubuntu and Ubuntu Server)<br>
<br>
<br>
In addition, they can be found at the following links:<br>
<br>
<a href="http://releases.ubuntu.com/natty/" target="_blank">http://releases.ubuntu.com/natty/</a> (Ubuntu, Ubuntu Server)<br>
<a href="http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/natty/beta-2/" target="_blank">http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/natty/beta-2/</a> (Ubuntu DVD, 64-Bit for<br>
Mac, source)<br>
<a href="http://uec-images.ubuntu.com/releases/natty/beta-2/" target="_blank">http://uec-images.ubuntu.com/releases/natty/beta-2/</a> (Ubuntu Server EC2)<br>
<a href="http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-netbook/releases/natty/beta-2/" target="_blank">http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-netbook/releases/natty/beta-2/</a> (Ubuntu<br>
Netbook ARM)<br>
<a href="http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/netboot/11.04/beta-2/" target="_blank">http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/netboot/11.04/beta-2/</a> (Ubuntu Netboot)<br>
<a href="http://releases.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/natty/" target="_blank">http://releases.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/natty/</a> (Kubuntu)<br>
<a href="http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/natty/beta-2/" target="_blank">http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/natty/beta-2/</a> (Kubuntu DVD,<br>
preinstalled ARM image, 64-Bit for Mac)<br>
<a href="http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/natty/beta-2/" target="_blank">http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/natty/beta-2/</a> (Xubuntu)<br>
<a href="http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/releases/natty/beta-2/" target="_blank">http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/releases/natty/beta-2/</a> (Edubuntu)<br>
<a href="http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/natty/beta-2/" target="_blank">http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/natty/beta-2/</a> (Ubuntu<br>
Studio)<br>
<a href="http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/mythbuntu/releases/natty/beta-2/" target="_blank">http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/mythbuntu/releases/natty/beta-2/</a> (Mythbuntu)<br>
<br>
The final version of Ubuntu 11.04 is expected to be released on<br>
April 28 2011.<br>
<br>
<br>
More Information<br>
----------------<br>
<br>
You can find out more about Ubuntu and about this beta release on our<br>
website, IRC channel and wiki.<br>
<br>
To sign up for future Ubuntu announcements, please subscribe to Ubuntu's<br>
very low volume announcement list at:<br>
<br>
<a href="http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-announce" target="_blank">http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-announce</a><br>
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