
Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat Alpha 3 Released

Update with Ubuntu 10.04 LTS
You can upgrade to the third alpha from Ubuntu 10.04 LTS on the desktop version using the command:
update-manager -d
Running Update Manager will inform you about the availability of the new version 10.10 . Click "Update" and follow the instructions of the program.
To upgrade server-side Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, you must:
- Install the package
update-manager-core
(if it is not already installed); - Edit
/etc/update-manager/release-upgrades
and installPrompt=normal
; - Run the update manager team
sudo do-release-upgrade -d
; - Follow the instructions of the program.
What's New at Maverick Meerkat
The development of functionality for Maverick has begun, details are available in the Maverick specifications .
Please test the release and report bugs .
Package Updates
As is usually the case when preparing a new version, packages (applications and other software) are updated very often. Many of these packages arrive automatically when synchronized with the Debian Unstable branch. At the moment, the automatic synchronization period is over, so now there will not be many changes.
You can get a list of packages accepted for 10.10 Maverick Meerkat by subscribing to maverick-changes .
Ubuntu
GNOME has been updated to the current version 2.31. It specifically includes the dconf and gsettings APIs . Evolution has been updated to version 2.30, and now works much faster compared to the version included in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS.
Ubuntu Netbook Edition
By default, the shell in the netbook edition of Ubuntu is now Unity .

Among other things, it contains the global application menu ( there are many screenshots of Unity, as well as videos).
The date / time indicator now provides a real calendar widget:

It is also worth noting the redesign of the volume control menu, which first appeared in the last alpha: Shotwell

is now used as a standard photo manager .
Kubuntu
KDE has been updated to 4.5 release candidate. The default web browser is now Rekonq, based on Webkit. Qt has been updated to the current version 4.7 beta .
Xubuntu
Xfce4 has been updated to the current version 4.6.2, in which many bugs have been fixed and many programs used in Xubuntu have been updated. New default programs: Parole media player instead of Totem Movie Player, Xfburn disc burning program instead of Brasero, xfce4-taskmanager process manager instead of Gnome-Task-Manager.
Edbuntu
Edubuntu inherits all changes from Ubuntu. The edubuntu-artwork package has been split into several smaller packages to simplify the installation of updates and reduce the size of downloaded files.
Software center

The “Featured” and “What's New” sections have appeared on the software-center start page. The application began to work faster, the interface became more responsive, the “History” function was added, where a list of what was installed, removed and updated is presented. Added support for extensions (plugins), by default, specific technical entries are not displayed.
Kernel 2.6.35
Alpha 3 comes with a kernel 2.6.35-14.19, based on the final version 2.6.35.
This kernel contains a number of security improvements . One of the most important innovations changes the standard behavior of the PTRACE used by gdb, strace, ltrace, etc. Starting with Ubuntu 10.10, only child processes can be traced, which is due to the initial value of 1 in
/proc/sys/kernel/ptrace_scope
. In some systems, this value can cause problems, for example, in the systems used for development and servers where there are only administrator accounts. If use sudo
for PTRACE is undesirable, you must set this value to 0.Ubuntu Server Cloud Images
cloud-init
, the customizable Ubuntu Server cloud initialization process, acquired new features in Maverick Alpha 2, including pluggable hooks, ebsmount, ext4 support and new parameters in the cloud-config format. Starting with Alpha 3, cloud instances can manage their own kernel, including updating the kernel with
apt
. This is done using the pv-grub utility provided by Amazon .Installation
Now during installation, you can use the new btrfs file system (for manual partitioning), if the partition is
/boot
placed on another system.Download Alpha 3
Fly in until it's cool! ISOs and torrents available:
Ubuntu Desktop, Server and Netbook
Ubuntu Server for UEC and EC2
Kubuntu Desktop and Netbook
Xubuntu
Edubuntu DVD
Ubuntu Studio
Ubuntu ARM
Known Issues
At this stage of preparation for the release, it is natural that there are some known problems that users may encounter in Maverick Alpha 3. Here you will find descriptions of such problems, as well as possible fixes so that you do not lose time by reporting these bugs again.
- Installation in OEM mode fails if there is no Internet connection due to unsuccessful installation of the package
oem-config
from the installation image. If you need this for testing, ensure a permanent connection to the network throughout the installation ( 613008 ) - The installer for Windows Wubi fails. The problem is being studied ( 600578 , 613288 ).
- Ubuntu Netbook Edition with Unity shell does not currently provide a workaround for systems with a video driver that does not support 3D acceleration, such as NVidia ( 600567 ).
- On systems with a small amount of memory (256 MB or less), ureadahead causes low memory errors, which can lead to inability to boot ( 600359 ).
- Applications using sqlite3 face many problems related to the performance and proper execution of queries, for example, banshee ( 612370 ).
- The prerelease version of Eucalyptus 2.0 is included with Alpha 3, although it still has a number of problems. For example, registration after installation does not work reliably ( 609112 ), complex topologies (such as, for example, separating CLCs from Walrus) are not yet supported ( 613033 ). When installing a “node” system, be prepared to get two problems with grub that can be ignored without consequences ( 613463 ).
- KDM issues a timeout when booting from a Kubuntu Live image, after which the start of a fault-tolerant X-session should be possible ( 613574 ).
Error messages
It should not be very surprising that other errors may be present in the alpha version of Maverick Meerkat. Your comments, bug reports, patches and suggestions will help to make the necessary corrections and improve future versions. To report an error, use standard means .
If you want to help correct errors, then you need to Bug Squad , where you are always welcome new forces.
Help Ubuntu
If you want to contribute to the future of Ubuntu, check out the list of possible ways to participate in her fate.
other information
You can find more information about Ubuntu on the website and in the Ubuntu wiki .
You can also subscribe to the Ubuntu's development announcement list .
via ubuntu.com