The fourth alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 8.10 (codename Intrepid Ibex), which is scheduled for release in late October this year, was made available a few minutes ago and, as usual, we intend to keep you up-to-date with the latest changes in the Ubuntu 8.10 development. Compared with the third alpha, which brought you the Nautilus file manager (with tabs), this version comes with the old Human-Murrine (white) theme, some new features and a lot of bug fixes. First of all, let's take a quick look at the included applications:

? Kernel 2.6.26-5 (based on Linux kernel 2.6.26.2) ? X.Org Server 1.5 ? Mozilla Firefox 3.0.1 ? OpenOffice.org 2.4.1 ? The GIMP 2.4.6 ? F-Spot 0.4.4 ? Pidgin 2.4.3 ? Brasero 0.8.0 ? Transmission 1.22 ? Rhythmbox 0.11.6 ? Ekiga 2.0.12 ? Evolution 2.23.6 ? Nautilus 2.23.6.1 ? Vinagre 2.23.4

For the Intrepid Ibex, the development team will prepare an unbelievable desktop, with amazing performance, that will work on mostly any computer (be it a high-end workstation or an old and dusty Pentium III machine). Another major feature planned for Ubuntu 8.10 is the ability to be connected to the Internet (wireless connections) wherever you go: "We want you to be able to move from the office, to the train, and home, staying connected all the way," said Mark Shuttleworth.

With Alpha 4, the development team introduces Private Directory Encryption, which allows every user to encrypt one or more folders with sensitive data. A guest session (a password-less user account with restricted privileges) can be started from the GNOME's User Switching Applet, ideal if you want to let someone, for a short period of time, surf the Internet, chat with friends or check his/her e-mail address from your personal computer or laptop. Moreover, Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 4 brings you a greatly improved version of the Network Manager tool, which will allow you to manage 3G connections (GSM/CDMA), PPP and PPPoE connections, routes, static IP configurations and multiple active devices. Last but not least, Vinagre is working again in this version. Here is the screenshot tour of this fourth alpha release of Ubuntu 8.10:

As you can see from the above screenshots, the NewHuman theme (yes, the black one) is GONE, but the default theme is ugly (actually, it is not installed correctly). However, selecting the Human-Murrine theme will do the trick. And I can even see some nice improvements in it, especially on the buttons. Once again, the development team failed to implement an "Encrypt system" option in the Live Installer (I sure hope it will be available on future releases), but they've implemented an "Automatically sign in" option on the fifth step (see the first screenshot on the third row). Let's have a look now at the release schedule for Intrepid Ibex:

June 27th, 2008 - Alpha 1 release July 11th, 2008 - Alpha 2 release July 24th, 2008 - Alpha 3 release August 14th, 2008 - Alpha 4 release September 4th, 2008 - Alpha 5 release September 18th, 2008 - Alpha 6 release October 2nd, 2008 - Beta release October 23rd, 2008 - Release Candidate October 30th, 2008 - Final release of Ubuntu 8.10.

About Ubuntu:

Ubuntu is a Linux distribution for your desktop or server, with a fast and easy install, regular releases, a tight selection of excellent applications installed by default, every other package you can imagine available, network and professional technical support from Canonical Ltd and hundreds of other companies in the world.

Remember that this is an alpha release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only. Please report bugs to the Ubuntu Bug Tracker .

Download Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) Alpha 4 right now from Softpedia.

Download Kubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) Alpha 4 right now from Softpedia.

Download Xubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) Alpha 4 right now from Softpedia.

Download Edubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) Alpha 4 right now from Softpedia.