14 DAY TRIAL // The maintainers of the Xubuntu Linux operating system released a first Beta build of the upcoming Xubuntu 16.04 as part of this Thursday's Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) Beta 1 release for opt-in flavors.
Xubuntu 16.04 LTS Beta 1 is a small update, but it's the first one in the forthcoming long-term supported series, which will launch this spring, on April 21, 2016, along with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) and the rest of the official Ubuntu flavors, bringing an updated Xfce experience to its user base.
There aren't any release notes for what exactly has been included in this first Beta build of Xubuntu 16.04 LTS, but being based on the Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Beta 1 release, it inherits all of its core components, such as the long-term supported Linux 4.4.2 kernel, as well as all the security patches and software updates.
"The first beta release also marks the end of the period to land new features in the form of Ubuntu Feature Freeze. This means any new updates to packages should be bug fixes only, the Xubuntu team is committed to fixing as many of the bugs as possible before the final release," reads the announcement.
A default media manager will not be available for Xubuntu 16.04 LTS
The only change noted by the Xubuntu maintainers in the official release notes for Xubuntu 16.04 LTS Beta 1 is the fact that the final release won't have a default media manager installed. The first Beta ISOs, which early adopters can download right now via our website for 64-bit or 32-bit machines, already reflects this change.
When testing Xubuntu 16.04 LTS Beta 1, please be aware of the known issues laid down by the distribution's maintainer in the release notes (link above), as well as of the fact that a Beta release may contains bugs, so it is not recommended for deployment in production environments.
