Ubuntu 11.04 Delayed, Release Schedule Changed

The release schedule for Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) operating system has been modified last week on the Ubuntu wiki. The distribution will still be released at the end of April 2011. The first Alpha version was supposed to be available for testing last Thursday, November 4th.

For Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal), the Ubuntu developers decided to change the release schedule again, to 3 Alpha versions instead of 5, a single Beta release, and a Release Candidate. Here is the new release schedule for Ubuntu 11.04:

December 2nd, 2010 - Alpha 1 release
February 3rd, 2011 - Alpha 2 release
March 3rd, 2011 - Alpha 3 release
March 31st, 2011 - Beta release
April 21st, 2011 - Release Candidate
April 28th, 2011 - Final release of Ubuntu 11.04

Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) will be the 14th release of the Ubuntu operating system. It will bring support for multi-touch technology, improved artwork, better hardware support and ARM compatibility.

The Ubuntu development team will concentrate all their efforts to improve the Unity shell and to integrate it much better in the GNOME desktop environment. Unity will also be part of the Desktop edition of the Ubuntu operating system. For the Natty Narwhal, they will focus on first and lasting impressions, on quality!

Also, Canonical will improve the uTouch gesture and multi-touch stack, will introduce support for more hardware components and devices, and the Ubuntu Software Center will support donations for different software applications.

Ubuntu is a Linux distribution for your desktop or server, with a fast and easy install, regular releases, a tight selection of excellent packages installed by default, every other package you can imagine available from the network, and professional technical support from Canonical Ltd and hundreds of other companies around the world.