Many of the core components have been updated

Feb 25, 2016 22:00 GMT  ·  By

Softpedia has been informed by Martin Wimpress, the lead developer and maintainer of the Ubuntu MATE operating system, an official Ubuntu flavor, about the general availability of the first Beta build of Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS.

There was a lot of work involved for the Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS Beta 1 release, and it looks like most of the core components have received new versions that include a bunch of improvements and new features, the most important of them all being Ubuntu MATE Welcome, which is now at version 16.04.3.

Highlights of Ubuntu MATE Welcome 16.04.3 include a Software Boutique package manager, which features approximately 120 apps, support for launching apps, category filtering, screenshots for applications, highlighting of installed applications, spinner when installing apps, toggling of Proprietary software, and more.

Ubuntu MATE users will also be able to subscribe to updates for Ubuntu MATE Welcome, which means that they will always get the latest versions of the Software Boutique and Welcome apps. Various Raspberry Pi 2 information has been added as well to the new Ubuntu MATE Welcome version.

Another essential component that has been updated for this cycle is the MATE desktop environment, which is now at build 1.12.1, bringing features like Caja 1.12.4, Pluma 1.12.2, Eye of MATE 1.12.2, reduced CPU resource requirements across the board, fixes for multiple memory leaks, as well as many other under-the-hood optimizations. The OS is now powered by Linux kernel 4.4.2 LTS from Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Beta.

"Ubuntu MATE is fortunate to have a small group of technically outstanding individuals who are passionate about delivering the best desktop user experience. Thanks to the donations we receive from the equally epic Ubuntu MATE community we've been able to contribute financially to most of the Ubuntu MATE and MATE Desktop developers this month," said Martin Wimpress for Softpedia.

"I'm super happy with Ubuntu MATE 16.04 Beta 1, it is by far the best milestone release so far with very few issues. We can now focus on refining Ubuntu MATE on the lead up to 16.04 final, our first proper LTS release, and also work on introducing support for more hardware architectures," he added.

Introducing the Mutiny panel layout

We've already reported on the new Mutiny panel layout for Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus), which lets users transform their standard MATE desktop environment into a Unity look-alike. The new feature has been implemented as an optional setting in the MATE Tweak tool, under the Interface section, as part of Ubuntu MATE Settings 16.04.2.

Last but not least, the first Beta of Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS ships with MATE Dock Applet 0.67, which provides users with a customizable dock that can be placed anywhere on the screen. Then, there are the Topmenu Applet 0.2.1, which lets users place a global menu in MATE panel applets, and Ubuntu MATE Artwork 16.04.2 with new wallpaper from Ghost Sixtyseven.

Those of you interested in taking Ubuntu MATE 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) Beta 1 for a test drive can download the Live ISO images for 64-bit, 32-bit and PowerPC (PPC) hardware architectures right now from Softpedia. Again, we're informing our readers that Beta builds may contain bugs, so you shouldn't install them in production environments.