You can download Black Lab Linux right now from Softpedia

Sep 15, 2014 08:13 GMT  ·  By

Black Lab Linux 6.0 Beta 1, a distribution based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, is out and users can now download and test it.

Black Lab Linux was initially released to provide a real alternative to Windows and Mac OS X systems, but as time passed, the developer switched this approach to one focused more on open source design. Gone are the days of dreary desktops with all-too-known designs. We are now entering the GNOME world and it looks like it’s hit the spot.

The distribution is using the GNOME 3.10 branch, but the devs have implemented a different kind of desktop. They didn't just add the default GNOME, with the launcher on the left side. That launcher has been replaced with a dropdown menu that looks a little like Xfce, but it's more polished. This kind of desktop should make some of the users who don't like the default look and design of GNOME very happy.

What the devs are saying about Black Lab Linux 6.0 Beta 1

"Today we are pleased to release the Beta 1 release of Black Lab Linux 6. This release has been in planning over the last several months and while we have been slaving away over it we have introduced some unique features.  With this release we changed the core system we have also changed our default desktop environment. Many of the core packages have remained the same and have been updated to newer versions," note the developers in the release announcement.

According to the changelog, the new desktop is now a customized GNOME 3.10 interface, the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS base is now used by default, Mozilla Firefox 32 has been implemented by default, Abiword and GNUMERIC have been added, DVD and full multimedia codec playback is now available for users, VLC is the default video player, the WINE packages have been updated and are ready for installation, and the Virtual Machine performance with GNOME 3 has been improved.

As it stands right now, the developers have two distros under construction, one that's in the 5.x branch and this new one, which is very different from everything that's been done before with Black Lab Linux.

Check the official announcement for more details, features, and changes about this build. You can download Black Lab Linux 6.0 Beta 1 right now from Softpedia. This is only the 64-bit edition.

Remember that this is a development version and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended for testing purposes only.

Photo Gallery (5 Images)

The launcher in Black Lab Linux
The second part of the launcher in Black Lab LinuxGNOME calendar Black Lab Linux
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