Further to our look earlier today at the design changes that Unity 2D in Ubuntu 11.10 is sporting, here is short burst of screen shots and tid-bits on changes to Ubuntu proper.�

Remember that everything shown below is still in active development and subject to change.

The Dash

As seen in Unity 2D earlier today, the Unity Dash is looking sleeker than ever thanks in part to the smart unification of Unity Lenses into the one window. The Dash also changes colour based on your wallpaper – a neat touch.

The new Dash is summoned by pressing the ‘ubuntu’ button at the top of the Unity Launcher.

As seen in our recap earlier Application Menus now take up the space left by the, perhaps temporary, removal of the “big funny button”.

Music Lens

A brand new Lens is available for ubuntu 11.10: The Music Lens. This lets you sort through you music with a quick search of title or artist, or refined search with Genre filtering.

Those Lens icon up close: –

Indicator Changes

The Messaging Menu sports an item to ‘Clear’ alerts. Clearing can also be achieved by middle-clicking on the indicator itself.

A new look User Menu also landed yesterday. Currently this indicator only shows where more than one account is set up on a system. It allows fast-user switching between accounts, too.

Light themes

The default Ubuntu themes have also seen some due love and attention. The window gradient of Ambiance and the sublime looking ‘buttons’ are of particular note.