14 DAY TRIAL // Xubuntu 14.10 Beta 2, the Linux distribution based on Ubuntu and using the Xfce desktop environment, has been released and is now ready for testing. The developers have prepared a surprise for users, in the form of a small visual change.
Xubuntu is one of the lightest distributions in the Ubuntu ecosystem, alongside Lubuntu. It's based on Xfce 4.10 for this release, which was to be expected, but the developers have made an additional change that might prove to be quite interesting.
Xubuntu 14.10 Beta 2 is the last release in the series before the final version is made available on October 23, along with all its brethren, Kubuntu, Ubuntu GNOME, Lubuntu, Ubuntu Kylin, and all the others.
So, what's the surprise?
In case users have forgotten, the current generation of Ubuntu releases has the codename Utopic Unicorn. It's only the second time a mythical creature is chosen instead of a real one, so the Xubuntu developers have chosen to celebrate the name in a unique way. They have changed the highlight colors and a few other aspects of the operating system to pink.
"To celebrate the 14.10 codename 'Utopic Unicorn' and to demonstrate the easy customisability of Xubuntu, highlight colors have been turned pink for this release. You can easily revert this change by using the theme configuration application (gtk-theme-config) under the Settings Manager; simply turn Custom Highlight Colors 'Off' and click 'Apply'. Of course, if you wish, you can change the highlight color to something you like better than the default blue!," note the developers in the announcement.
Besides this obvious change that will certainly be noticed by everyone, there isn't much to say about this release. It uses Linux Kernel 3.16.3 as its base, which is the one implemented in the Ubuntu base as well.
Xubuntu users will be greeted by a new tool called Inxi, which is used to gather system information, the display dialog has been updated, the power manager can now control the keyboard-backlight and features a new panel plugin, the themes now support GTK+ 3.12, and more.
Where can you download this pink monster?
The Xubuntu 14.10 branch will be supported for just nine months. The LTS version that preceded it, 14.04 LTS, will be supported for three years, so you might want to take this information into consideration. In any case, you can download the latest Xubuntu 14.10 Beta 2 from Softpedia and give it a spin.
This is still a work in progress, although it has all the features of the final version. There still are bugs to work out, so it might be a good idea to not use a production machine.
Enjoy!
