Introduction

The Ubuntu developers are moving quickly to bring you the absolute latest and greatest software the Open Source community has to offer. The Maverick Meerkat Alpha 1 is the first alpha release of Ubuntu 10.10, bringing with it the earliest new features for the next version of Ubuntu.

This is an alpha release. Do not install it on production machines. The final stable version will be released on October 10, 2010.

Upgrading from Ubuntu 10.04 LTS

To upgrade from Ubuntu 10.04 LTS on a desktop system, press Alt+F2 and type in "update-manager -d" (without the quotes) into the command box. Update Manager should open up and tell you: New distribution release '10.10' is available. Click Upgrade and follow the on-screen instructions.

To upgrade from Ubuntu 10.04 LTS on a server system: install the update-manager-core package if it is not already installed; edit /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades and set Prompt=normal; launch the upgrade tool with the command sudo do-release-upgrade -d; and follow the on-screen instructions.

New features in Maverick

Feature development for Maverick has started. Please see the Maverick blueprint list for details.

Please test and report any bugs you find:

• http://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs

Updated Packages

As with every new release, packages--applications and software of all kinds--are being updated at a rapid pace. Many of these packages come from an automatic sync from Debian's Unstable branch. For a list of all packages being accepted for 10.10 Maverick Meerkat, please subscribe to maverick-changes:

• https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/maverick-changes

GNOME

The GNOME base platform has been updated to the current 2.31 versions. This particularly includes the new dconf and gsettings API. Evolution was updated to the 2.30 version, which operates much faster compared to the version in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS.

KDE

KDE was updated to the current 4.5 beta 1 release.

Qt

Qt was updated to the current 4.7 beta release.

Linux kernel 2.6.34

Alpha 1 includes the 2.6.34-5.12 kernel based on 2.6.34.

Download Alpha 1

Get it while it's hot. ISOs and torrents are available at:

• http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/maverick/alpha-1/ (Ubuntu Desktop, Server, and Netbook)
  

• http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/maverick/alpha-1/ (Kubuntu Desktop and Netbook)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/maverick/alpha-1/ (Xubuntu)
  http://uec-images.ubuntu.com/releases/maverick/alpha-1/ (Ubuntu Server for UEC and EC2)
  

Known issues

As is to be expected at this stage of the release process, there are several known bugs that users are likely to run into with Maverick Alpha 1. We have documented them here for your convenience along with any known workarounds, so that you don't need to spend time reporting these bugs again:

• Ubuntu Netbook launcher (both the 2D and 3D variants) have an empty "Favourites" tab. Please switch to the "System" tab to find the launcher for the installer. Due to the same root cause, the panel configuration looks like in standard GNOME instead of the UNE specific setup. (588675)

• On the alternate images, the boot menu's "Rescue Mode" item shows as "Alternative desktop environments". (588221)

• The Ubuntu Server amd64 CD image is oversized and will not fit onto a standard 700MB CD. However, you may still test it using a DVD, a USB drive, or a virtual machine. (587893)

• Encrypted home directory creation may be broken on some images. (588705)

Reporting bugs

It should come as no surprise that this alpha release of Maverick Meerkat contains other bugs. Your comments, bug reports, patches and suggestions will help fix bugs and improve future releases. Please report bugs using the tools provided.

If you want to help out with bugs, the Bug Squad is always looking for help.

Participate in Ubuntu

If you would like to help shape Ubuntu, take a look at the list of ways you can participate at

• http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate/

More information

You can find out more about Ubuntu on the Ubuntu website and Ubuntu wiki.

To sign up for future Ubuntu development announcements, please subscribe to Ubuntu's development announcement list at:

• http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel-announce