With Beta 2 of Ubuntu 11.10 quickly approaching us – it’s due on September 22nd – things haven’t exactly been standing still in development land.

Below are a number of minor, but pretty noteworthy, visual tweaks that Ubuntu 11.10 has�received�over the last week.

Alt+Tab changes

Windows displayed in the Alt+Tab window switcher are now all the same height; only the width varies between applications.

Tapping down whilst highlighintg an app icon in the switcher now reveals a larger preview with a new orange border for highlighting.

Launcher

The Unity Launcher,, “Big Fat Button”, Workspace Switcher, Lenses and Track launcher icon all use the “average�background colour” of your wallpaper – just as the Dash and Panel have done for the last few releases.

The result is stunning in action, as demonstrated in the short video below: –

Window Snapping

I won’t call it “Aero Snap”, but I will call it less blinding: the golden effect when dragging a window to the edge of your screen has been toned down in recent updates: –

Workspaces

The “Workspaces Overview” has a tighter, more compact look, complete with orange border for “active/selected” workspace and the dimming out of workspaces without an active application on.

Software Centre

The revamped Ubuntu Software Centre has had a detailed�eye cast of it, with recent updates brining tighter spacing and less padding, along with less�gaudy�headers (no more orange), a much better banner, and other subtle�improvements.

To keep you abreast of installation progress the Software Centre has a new look toolbar-based ‘spinner’: –

Accessibility wise, the Software Centre now plays nicely with�High Contrast themes: –

Dash

The Dash and Lenses now sport slightly bigger icons.