Old rejects and new includes: Oneiric Ocelot

Lets get some updates on the upcoming Ubuntu 11.10 release, aka Oneiric Ocelot. With Alpha 2 release less than two weeks away and feature freeze about a month and a half, Oneiric Ocelot developers are busy making the necessary changes before testing starts on full swing.

So what changes are expected in alpha 2?

1. The biggest and most debated would be the exclusion of Synaptic Package Manager. This is because, Ubuntu Software Centre is not half as capable as Synaptic. It has got cosmetic appeal alright but the advanced features like downgrade, select upgrade and locking of a package are not present. Unless the Ubuntu Software Centre adds in an advanced mode for users , it will be a step backwards .

2. No more Computer Janitor:This is by far the worst program that has been in Ubuntu for the last few releases. It was about time, some action be taken.

3. Deja Dup included:Deja Dup, the  easy to use backup-tool has been included in the default installation. Ubuntu badly needed a backup tool to be installed by default.

4. Upates to unity: A lot of bugs are being fixed right now. So all those changes will go into alpha 2

5. Cosmetic changes to Light DM: Light DM, the replacement for GDM , will be getting some facelift and some more features. Currently, the autologin feature seems to be not working properly for Light DM.

6. Firefox 5 will be the default browser: Released on 21st June, FF5 will replace FF4 as the default browser.

7. Thunderbird 5 beta2 might be included as the default email client.