Ubuntu “Gutsy Gibbon” Alpha Adds New Features

The third alpha for the next revision of Ubuntu, version 7.10, dubbed Gutsy Gibbon, was released into the wild yesterday afternoon. This release packs a host of new features, but it is an alpha, so don't rush out and install this in a production environment.

Alpha 3 of Gutsy Gibbon is intended for developer testing only and there are still a host of known issues (click through that link and you'll notice that the number on bug, listed as “Critical” with a solution “In Progress,” is that “Microsoft has a majority market share”).

But even if Ubuntu 7.10 isn't ready for prime time, the new features list gives a peak at what you can expect from the final release in October.

Among the highlights:

• By popular demand, the various theme, background and other appearance related tools have now been merged into a single dialog, allowing faster access to more settings.
• The new Rhythmbox 0.11.1 contains gapless playback and better support for visualization.
• Ebox — a network services control tool designed to be easy to use even for non-Unix admins. Ebox allows control of a huge number of services from a single web interface. Parts of the 0.9.3 release has been packaged and many Ubuntu-specific changes have been made.
• AppArmor, a framework for providing “enhanced pro-active security” through mandatory access control — i. e. minimize the privileges of processes to greatly reduce the potential impact of security vulnerabilities.

If you'd like to assist the Ubuntu team with finding, reporting or fixing bugs, you can grab a copy of the new alpha from the Ubuntu 7.10 development site.