While Ubuntu fans out there still discover and enjoy the brand-new Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) operating system, somewhere deep in the Ubuntu headquarters, the Canonical developers are working on the next major update for their popular Linux distribution. Therefore, we announce today that the first Alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) operating system was released a few minutes ago. As usual, we've downloaded a copy of it in order to keep you up-to-date with the latest changes in the Ubuntu 10.10 development.

Editor's note: I would like to inform you that the release schedule has been changed again to 3 Alpha releases, one Beta version, and a Release Candidate. Because of this, the final release of Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) will be available sooner, on Sunday, October 10th, 2010!

What's new in Ubuntu 10.10 Alpha 1? Well, not much! The developers said that the GNOME version was now 2.31.x (current development version), but it appears that all the GNOME packages are still at version 2.30, the one used in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. The Evolution e-mail client was updated to version 2.30.1.2 and it is now much faster than the one in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. Last but not least, the kernel packages were upgraded to version 2.6.34-5.12, based on Linux kernel 2.6.34. This is how Ubuntu 10.10 Alpha 1 looks like...

Ubuntu 10.10 Alpha 1

What's new in Kubuntu 10.10 Alpha 1? Well, some good news for Kubuntu users, as this first Alpha version is built on top of the newly released KDE Software Compilation 4.5 Beta 1, which looks pretty good and has a lot of new features. The Qt 4.7 Beta 1 framework is included in this release, the Kubuntu boot splash looks very nice, and we have no idea why there are two panels (as you can see in the screenshot below)!

Kubuntu 10.10 Alpha 1

Xubuntu 10.10 Alpha 1

On October 10th, 2010, Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) will become the thirteenth release of the Ubuntu operating system. See you again in one month (July 1st), for the second Alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat).

The Maverick Meerkat Release Schedule:

June 3rd, 2010 - Alpha 1 release;
July 1st, 2010 - Alpha 2 release;
August 5th, 2010 - Alpha 3 release;
September 2nd, 2010 - Beta release;
September 30th, 2010 - Release Candidate;
October 10th, 2010 - Final release of Ubuntu 10.10.

Download Ubuntu 10.10 Alpha 1 (Maverick Meerkat) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu Netbook Remix 10.10 Alpha 1 (Maverick Meerkat) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu Server 10.10 Alpha 1 (Maverick Meerkat) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu Studio 10.10 Alpha 1 (Maverick Meerkat) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud 10.10 Alpha 1 (Maverick Meerkat) right now from Softpedia.

Download Kubuntu 10.10 Alpha 1 (Maverick Meerkat) right now from Softpedia.

Download Kubuntu Netbook Remix 10.10 Alpha 1 (Maverick Meerkat) right now from Softpedia.

Download Xubuntu 10.10 Alpha 1 (Maverick Meerkat) right now from Softpedia.

Remember that this is an alpha release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only. Please report bugs to the Ubuntu Bug Tracker.