Softpedia is the first to announce today, February 2nd, that the second and last Alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin) operating system is now available for download. As usual, we've grabbed a copy of it in order to keep you up-to-date with the latest changes in the Ubuntu 12.04 LTS development.
What's new in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Alpha 2? Well, the final version of Linux kernel 3.2.2 has been added to Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Alpha 2, which merges the amd64 -server and -generic kernel flavors. Not to mention that AUFS is disabled and everyone who needs it is encouraged to migrate to OverlayFS.
Mozilla Firefox 10.0 is now the default web browser and Mozilla Thunderbird 10.0 is the default email client. Moreover, the LibreOffice 3.5 Beta 2 office suite has been added.
The Unity interface received lots of improvements, configuration settings, Nautilus quicklist support, maximized windows improvements, and quicklist items accessible with one right click.
The GNOME components have been updated to latest stable 3.2.2 version, the LightDM login manager has now support for theming, and the desktop wallpapers list has four rows.
Upstart 1.4 has been implemented in this release, as well as GCC 4.6.2, Xorg Server 1.11, libxklavier and libgnome-keyring introspection, pm-utils bug fixes, power consumption tweaks, and upstream updates for Python 2.7 and Python 3.2.
Last but not least, Ubuntu Server and Ubuntu Cloud come with updated HortonWorks Hadoop, automated frameworks for OpenStack and Juju Charms, as well as a beta version of S3-backed EC2 Mirrors in all AWS Regions.
Click here to see the Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 screenshot tour!
Click here to see the Kubuntu 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 screenshot tour!
Click here to see the Xubuntu 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 screenshot tour!
The Precise Pangolin Release Schedule:
December 1st, 2011 - Alpha 1 release
February 2nd, 2012 - Alpha 2 release
March 1st, 2012 - Beta 1 release
March 29th, 2012 - Beta 2 release
April 26th, 2012 - Final release of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
Download Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.
Download Ubuntu DVD 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.
Download Ubuntu Server 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.
Download Ubuntu Cloud Server 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.
Download Ubuntu ARM 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.
Download Ubuntu Netboot 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.
Download Ubuntu Core 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.
Download Kubuntu 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.
Download Xubuntu 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.
Download Edubuntu 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.
Download Lubuntu 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.
Download Mythbuntu 12.04 LTS Alpha 2 (Precise Pangolin) 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.