Softpedia is once again the first to announce today, March 1st, that the first Beta release of the upcoming Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin) operating system is now available for download. As usual, we've grabbed a copy of it in order to keep you up-to-date with the latest changes in the Ubuntu 12.04 LTS development.

Click here to see the Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Beta 1 screenshot tour!

Click here to see the Kubuntu 12.04 LTS Beta 1 screenshot tour!

What's new in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Beta 1? Well, there's a new kernel, based on the stable Linux kernel 3.2.6, which enables RC6 by default for Sandy Bridge systems, allowing GPUs to enter into a very low power consumption state.

Mozilla Firefox 11.0 is on board, bringing you a complete web browsing experience, alongside the Mozilla Thunderbird 11.0 email client, Transmission 2.50 torrent/magnet downloader, and the final version of LibreOffice 3.5.0 office suite.

The Unity interface gets improved once again in this release, bringing a kameleonic Ubuntu button that changes its color depending on your wallpaper.

Support for ClickPad devices has been added in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Beta 1, and language support for newly installed packages via Ubuntu Software Center are now automatically installed.

The system sound preferences dialog has been revamped and it looks like in the image below...

What's new in Kubuntu 12.04 LTS Beta 1?

Kubuntu 12.04 LTS Beta 1

What's new in Xubuntu 12.04 LTS Beta 1?

Also, some keyboard shortcuts were added and other replaced, and a new wallpaper has been added.

Xubuntu 12.04 LTS Beta 1

What's new in Lubuntu 12.04 LTS Beta 1?

Lubuntu 12.04 LTS Beta 1

The Precise Pangolin Release Schedule:

December 1st, 2011 - Alpha 1 release February 2nd, 2012 - Alpha 2 release March 1st, 2012 - Beta 1 release March 29th, 2012 - Beta 2 release April 26th, 2012 - Final release of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

Download Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Beta 1 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu DVD 12.04 LTS Beta 1 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu Server 12.04 LTS Beta 1 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu Cloud Server 12.04 LTS Beta 1 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu ARM 12.04 LTS Beta 1 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu Netboot 12.04 LTS Beta 1 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu Core 12.04 LTS Beta 1 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.

Download Kubuntu 12.04 LTS Beta 1 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.

Download Xubuntu 12.04 Beta 1 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.

Download Edubuntu 12.04 LTS Beta 1 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.

Download Lubuntu 12.04 Beta 1 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.

Download Ubuntu Studio 12.04 Beta 1 (Precise Pangolin) right now from Softpedia.

Remember that this is a beta 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.

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