Aug 4, 2011 19:53 GMT  ·  By

A few minutes ago, the third Alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) 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 11.10 development.

What's new in Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3? Well, Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3 is now powered by the latest stable version of Linux kernel 3.0 and the GNOME 3.1.4 desktop environment. The kernel in Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3 has the following features:

· Rebase to upstream v3.0 final kernel; · Enabled Overlayfs; · Enabled Realtek RTL8192CU/RTL8188CU Wi-Fi driver; · Enabled support for rt53xx wireless chipset family; · Enabled Intellimouse mode for Lenovo Zhaoyang E47; · Numerous config updates.

Mozilla Thunderbird 6.0 is now the default email client and Mozilla Firefox 6.0 is the default web browser. Unity menu and launcher integration has also been added for Thunderbird.

Review image
Mozilla Thunderbird 6.0 under Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3
Review image
Mozilla Thunderbird 6.0 menu indicator integration on Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3
Review image
Mozilla Firefox 6.0 under Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3
This release features experimental versions of Compiz and Unity. Moreover, the old ALT+Tab functionality has been replaced with CTRL+Tab one, the launcher and panel perform better, and the indicator stack was ported to GTK3.
Review image
ALT+Tab has been replaced with CTRL+Tab on Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3
Last but not least, a lot of new options for a pleasant desktop experience have been added to the power indicator, such as easy access to setup your monitor, bluetooth devices, startup applications, printers, USB devices, and system updates.
Review image
Easy access to Bluetooth devices on Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3
Review image
New Startup Applications dialog on Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3
Review image
New Bluetooth dialog on Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3
Ubuntu Software Center got a new "top rated" views feature to all the subcategory pages and the main category page. Moreover, installing individual deb files is a lot faster now.

What's new in Kubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3? Well, the third Alpha release of the upcoming Kubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) operating system, is built on top of the newly released KDE Software Compilation 4.7.

KDEPIM 4.7, Amarok 2.4.3 and Muon Software Center can be found in this third and last Alpha release of the Kubuntu 11.10 operating system.

Review image
Kubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3
What's new in Xubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3? Well, the developers decided not to release the ISO images for Xubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3, because of some installation issues. Sorry guys! Below is a screenshot of a daily build of Xubuntu 11.10 Alpha.
Review image
Xubuntu 11.10 Alpha Daily Build
On October 13th, 2011, Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) will become the fifthteenth release of the Ubuntu operating system. See you again in about one month (September 1st), for the first Beta release of the upcoming Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot).

The Oneiric Ocelot Release Schedule:

June 2nd, 2011 - Alpha 1 release July 7th, 2011 - Alpha 2 release August 4th, 2011 - Alpha 3 release September 1st, 2011 - Beta 1 release September 22nd, 2011 - Beta 2 release October 13th, 2011 - Final release of Ubuntu 11.10

Download Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3 (Oneiric Ocelot) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu Server 11.10 Alpha 3 (Oneiric Ocelot) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud 11.10 Alpha 3 (Oneiric Ocelot) right now from Softpedia.

Download Kubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3 (Oneiric Ocelot) right now from Softpedia.

Download Edubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3 (Oneiric Ocelot) right now from Softpedia.

Download Mythbuntu 11.10 Alpha 3 (Oneiric Ocelot) right now from Softpedia.

Download Lubuntu 11.10 Alpha 3 (Oneiric Ocelot) 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.