We are proud to announce the release of Kubuntu 11.10, the Oneiric Ocelot: the latest release of our friendly OS, built on Ubuntu's core, polished with KDE’s applications and workspaces.

Kubuntu 11.10 is a grand example of friendly, fast, and beautiful software. We recommend it as the perfect OS for casual users, social butterflies, Linux gamers, software developers, professionals, and anyone interested in a free, open platform that is both beautiful and useful.

Getting Kubuntu 11.10

Upgrading from Previous Versions

To upgrade to Kubuntu 11.10 from an older release, follow the Upgrade Instructions. Please be aware of the known issues, as one effects upgrading.

Download a Disk Image

• CDs for standard PCs/laptops/netbooks

• DVDs and Mac optimized CDs

Instructions for burning the image to a CD/DVD or USB flash drive can be found on the Burning ISO Howto.

We recommend you learn how to check your CD image so your pre-release is as its supposed to be. Compare your MD5 checksum with the correct ones found alongside the CD images.

11.10 Highlights

Updates from the KDE community

Plasma and Applications 4.7

The latest stable release of KDE's Plasma Workspaces and Applications brings new features and improvements all around. Highlights include:

• Visual updates include a new Oxygen icon theme
• A cleaner default look to Dolphin
• Gwenview's new ability to compare two or more images
• New breadcrumb feature in the Kickoff menu that simplifies navigating submenus
• More improvements in the Network Management widget

More details can be found here and here.

11.10 will have KDE version 4.7.1; Due to it's very recent release, the latest version, 4.7.2, will be available in the kubuntu-updates ppa until it is available in the standard repositories.

KDE Personal Information Management Suite 4.7

Kubuntu 11.10 brings you the new KDEPIM suite, which includes the Kmail 2. The look and feel is familiar, but under the hood, most of the applications have been updated to use the Akonadi storage service. This is intended to enable better email, calendar, and other PIM activities in the future. Currently it is not as reliable as Kmail was.

IMPORTANT: Do note that this is a major upgrade to the mail, calendar and addressbook systems, and as such still needs usage and migration testing. While loss of data should not be an issue, it is highly recommended for current Kdepim users to back up all important data, mail, contact information, and calendars if you plan to upgrade to 11.10. Data used with this version of kdepim is not downward compatible with earlier versions..

More information on the migration process, the issues involved, and how to import your previous data instead of migrating be found here.

Amarok 2.4.3

This new and improved version of the default music player features native support for remote NFS & SMB/CIFS collections, a better looking user interface, support for gpodder.net, as well as vastly improved reliability.

For more information have a look at the release announcements of Amarok 2.4.1 and 2.4.3

Test Drive OpenGL ES Powered Desktop Effects

For those adventurous and curious, we’ve packaged the work towards using a more compatible and reliable version of OpenGL, OpenGL ES. This new technology is particular interesting in the not so distant future for mobile devices.

To try running your system desktop effects on OpenGL ES install “kde-window-manager-gles”. More information can be found on Martin Gräßlin's blog (that's "graesslin").

New from Kubuntu

Muon Suite 1.2

The Kubuntu team is proud to present our new suite of tools for installing and managing software. Installing of .deb packages, updating, and software management is all part of this new, integrated suite, specifically designed to work with Debian style package management. Check out Jonathan Thomas’s Blog for more info.

Muon Software Center

Accessing thousands of free applications for your computer has never been easier. The Muon Software Center provides an easy-to-use way to access extra applications, games and accessories to further customize your desktop. Applications come with ratings and reviews for each application from the wider Ubuntu community, as well as with screenshot previews to help you make informed decisions.

Muon Package Manager

For the budding system administrator, the Muon Package Manager provides a powerful feature set with a usability-driven interface. With its lightning-fast quick-search and extensive filtering abilities, you should have no trouble finding exactly the right package. From selective upgrades to package pinning to mass package removal, the Muon Package Manager should give you every tool you need to quickly and efficiently administer your system.

Low-Fat Settings

Kubuntu introduces Kubuntu-Low-Fat-Settings: a collection of configuration options that reduce memory usage and even speed up KDE's loading time. This will help Kubuntu run better on older, lower-end systems.

Some of the many tweaks include:

• Turning off compositing by default.
• Disabling the automatic loading of various modules, such as bluedevil, the free space notifier, some Nepomuk services, and a other components.
• Reducing the number of default Krunner plugins that are loaded automatically.
• Reducing the amount of graphical effects used in the window decoration.

Significant reductions in memory usage (up to 32%) and the subsequent savings in KDE's loading time (up to 33%) can be had simply by installing the package "kubuntu-low-fat-settings"!

From the Ubuntu Community

Read the Ubuntu 11.10 Beta 2 Technical Overview for the updates on kernel drivers, better backwards compatibility for 64-bit machines, and other improvements.

Known Problems

• Multiple issues with Kmail2 and the KDEPIM suite, see above.

• 639933 Some users may experience issues while updating from a previous version to the beta. There are proposed fixes for those brave enough to ignore the issue until officially resolved.

• 805906 Shutdown in the live session under VirtualBox sometimes does not work and seems to just hang on the desktop. Just restart the computer with the power button in that case, there is no possibility of data loss.

• KDE Bug 275469: A window may retain a taskbar entry after closing the application.

Feedback

We want to hear your opinions about Kubuntu 11.10.

• Do we “Amarok”?

• Did a feature make or break your day?
• What do you flat-out dislike?

Take a look at the Ubuntu Code of Conduct, try Kubuntu 11.10 and head on over to the Feedback Page. Your input is an invaluable resource, so do take the time to write down your thoughts and let us know what you think!