The Ubuntu developers are moving very quickly to bring you the absolute latest and greatest software the Open Source Community has to offer. This is the Ubuntu 8.04 beta release, which brings a host of excellent new features.
New Features since Ubuntu 7.10:
Xorg 7.3: The latest ![[WWW]](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/htdocs/ubuntu/img/u-www.png)
Xorg is available in Hardy, Xorg 7.3, with an emphasis on better autoconfiguration with a minimal configuration file. Alpha-6 brings a new Screen Resolution utility that allows users to dynamically configure the resolution, refresh rate, and rotation of a second monitor. This will be particularly handy for laptop users that connect to a projector or external monitor.
PulseAudio: Alpha 6 includes PulseAudio enabled by default. Some non-GNOME applications still need to be changed to output to pulse/esd by default and the volume control tools are still not integrated. https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/cleanup-audio-jumble
Linux kernel 2.6.24: Alpha 6 includes the 2.6.24-11.17 kernel based on 2.6.24.3. This brings in significant enhancements and fixes that have been merged in the last few months into the mainline kernel, including:
- dynticks support for amd64, bringing the same power savings already available on 32-bit systems to 64-bit laptops and desktops
- the “Completely Fair Scheduler”, a new process scheduler introduced in Linux 2.6.23 that provides improved interactive performance.
PolicyKit: With Alpha 6, PolicyKit integration is visible in the administrative user interfaces. PolicyKit makes it possible to run administrative applications as a normal user, and have them get a particular set of extra privileges for certain operations, which allows fine-grained control over user permissions and enhances usability, as well as eliminating the security implications of running the whole application as root. For details of PolicyKit integration in Hardy, refer to the policykit-integration blueprint.
Firefox 3 Beta 4: Firefox 3 Beta 4 replaces Firefox 2 as the default browser in Alpha 6, bringing much better system integration including icon and colour theming that matches the system, as well as GTK2 form buttons and open dialog.
Vinagre: The new Vinagre VNC client is installed by default in Alpha 6, replacing xvnc4viewer. Vinagre allows the user to view multiple machines simultaneously, can discover VNC servers on the network via Avahi, and can keep track of recently used and favorite connections.
You can read more at Beta Wiki.
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