Julian Lavergne announced a few days ago, the immediate availability for download of the first Beta release of the upcoming Lubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) operating system.

Lubuntu 10.10 Beta 1 brings a new lxappareance from LXDE git (without the Openbox integration) and the existing Ubuntu 10.10 Beta updates.

"Please note that Lubuntu Maverick is based on Ubuntu Maverick, same warning apply: "Pre-releases of Maverick are *not* encouraged for anyone needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent breakage. They are, however, recommended for Ubuntu developers and those who want to help in testing, reporting, and fixing bugs" - said Julian Lavergne in the release announcement.

Highlights of Lubuntu 10.10 Beta 1:

· New lxappareance;
· lxdm is now supported by the Ubiquity installer;
· New theme, created by Rafael Laguna;
· New installer slideshow;
· LXDE is now HAL-free, but it still depends on HAL for the CD-burner app;
· Added the lubuntu-core package for minimal installations of Lubuntu;
· Added the lubuntu-restricted-extras package for users who want to install Java, Flash Player, and extra video/audio codecs;
· Indicator applets are now supported on lxpanel (they are turned off by default);
· Added update-notifier;
· Added Xpad;
· Removed Parcellite;
· Removed Pyneighborhood;
· Added LXtask instead of Xfce4-taskmanager;
· Evince is now the default PDF viewer;
· Added various small games, powered by ace-of-penguins;
· Various other LXDE and Lubuntu updates and fixes.

Lubuntu 10.10 Beta 1

The Lubuntu project started in March 2009, with the purpose of creating a lighter and less resource demanding alternative to the Xubuntu operating system, using the LXDE desktop environment. The ultimate goal of this project is to join the ranks of Kubuntu and Xubuntu and become an officially supported derivative of Ubuntu.

Download Lubuntu 10.10 Beta 1 right now from Softpedia. Remember that this is a beta release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only.