Ubuntu 11.04 Beta 1 Is Available for Download

A few minutes ago, the first Beta version of the upcoming Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) operating system was made available for testing by the Ubuntu developers. As usual, we've grabbed a copy of it in order to keep you up-to-date with the latest changes in the Ubuntu 11.04 development cycle.

What's new in Ubuntu 11.04 Beta 1? Well, first of all you should know that this is the first of two Beta releases for the upcoming Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) operating system. The second version should have small modifications from this one, with lots of bugs fixed. The Beta releases can be tested by any user!

If you want know more about all the nice features included in this release, check out our First Look article for Ubuntu 11.04 Beta 1. The kernel packages in Ubuntu 11.04 Beta 1 were upgraded to version 2.6.38-7.39, based on Linux kernel 2.6.38, which re-enables the vesafb module in order to prevent screen corruption and GPU hangs on boot.

"We also saw a scattering of device quirk patches to enable some problematic audio devices. Going forward we'll continue to pull in the upstream 2.6.38.y stable updates to help resolve any issues and keep our focus on delivering a solid kernel for the Ubuntu 11.04 release." - was stated in the release notes.

Ubuntu 11.04 Beta 1 includes the highly anticipated multiarch support!

Ubuntu 11.04 Beta 1

Unity has been greatly improved in this Beta version and Canonical wants you to test it and report back. At this moment, Unity allows you to drag & drop icons, re-order icons, quick-lists on the right-click context menu, keyboard navigation, keyboard shortcuts, ability to switch between running apps.

Ubuntu 11.04 Beta 1 includes applications such as LibreOffice 3.3.2, Mozilla Firefox 4.0, Banshee 1.9.5, GCC 4.5, Python 2.7, dpkg 1.16.0 and Upstart 0.9.

The ARM edition of Ubuntu 11.04 Beta 1 comes with the new Unity 2D interface, enabled by default. The first Headless developer image for OMAP3 and OMAP4 hardware was also made available with this first Beta release.

Last but not least, Ubuntu Server 11.04 Beta 1 includes Powernap 2.0, isc-dhcp v4, Eucalyptus 2.0.2, OpenStack 2011.2, libvirt 0.8.8.

What's new in Kubuntu 11.04 Beta 1? Well, Kubuntu 11.04 Beta 1 is now build on top of the KDE Software Compilation 4.6.1 environment. It includes the new OwnCloud remote file storage server (see screenshot below) from KDE.

Moreover, the Phonon GStreamer backend is now the default multimedia system and a game of patience was added on the Live CD.

Kubuntu 11.04 Beta 1

OwnCloud remote file storage server in Kubuntu 11.04 Beta 1

What's new in Xubuntu 11.04 Beta 1? Xubuntu 11.04 Beta 1 is build on top of the recently released Xfce 4.8 desktop environment. The default wallpaper has been changed, and the whole desktop looks very clean and nice. The Elementary Xubuntu icon theme was also updated.

Xubuntu 11.04 Beta 1

On April 28th, 2011, Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) will become the fourteenth release of the Ubuntu operating system. See you again in two weeks (April 14th), for the second and last Beta version of the upcoming Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) operating system.

The Natty Narwhal Release Schedule:

December 2nd, 2010 - Alpha 1 release February 3rd, 2011 - Alpha 2 release March 3rd, 2011 - Alpha 3 release March 31st, 2011 - Beta 1 release April 14th, 2011 - Beta 2 release April 28th, 2011 - Final release of Ubuntu 11.04

Download Ubuntu 11.04 Beta 1 (Natty Narwhal) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu Server 11.04 Beta 1 (Natty Narwhal) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu ARM 11.04 Beta 1 (Natty Narwhal) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud 11.04 Beta 1 (Natty Narwhal) right now from Softpedia.

Download Kubuntu 11.04 Beta 1 (Natty Narwhal) right now from Softpedia.

Download Xubuntu 11.04 Beta 1 (Natty Narwhal) right now from Softpedia.

Download Edubuntu 11.04 Beta 1 (Natty Narwhal) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu Studio 11.04 Beta 1 (Natty Narwhal) right now from Softpedia.

Download Mythbuntu 11.04 Beta 1 (Natty Narwhal) 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. Please report bugs to the Ubuntu Bug Tracker.