Canonical Reveals Details of Ubuntu 11.04

On the heels of Canonical's latest release, Ubuntu (News - Alert) 10.10, the company is discussing the design and development of the next version, Ubuntu 11.04. The code named Natty Narwhal, Ubuntu 11.04 is slated for release in April 2011.

In a keynote talk at this week’s Ubuntu Developer Summit (UDS) in Orlando, Fla., Mak Shuttleworth, creator of Ubuntu and founder of Canonical, set out the strategic direction for the next release and provided some insight into how users can expect to experience Ubuntu in the coming months.

“What continues to make Ubuntu special is the global community involved in every step of its design and development. UDS is vital to that process by gathering all of the contributors to Ubuntu in a few rooms – and now virtually,” said Rick Spencer, Ubuntu’s engineering director at Canonical.

According to the keynote speaker, the next release of Ubuntu, 11.04, will use Unity shell as its default desktop interface. "Users want Unity as their primary desktop.” Unity, which was introduced as the new netbook interface in the Ubuntu 10.10, is now adapted for desktop implementation,” said Shuttleworth.

He noted that the push to adopt Unity comes as Canonical seeks wider acceptance among non-technical users for Ubuntu, and as non-desktop devices continue to reshape the computer landscape.

In describing the Unity interface, which is based on the GNOME desktop interface, Shuttlework explained that it delivers a new user experience, such as featuring the icons of the most popular apps on the left-hand side of the screen. This layout has been derived from smartphones, but adapted for netbooks to achieve larger work space, said the creator of Ubuntu.

Shuttleworth said Dell (News - Alert) has sold several million Ubuntu-based desktops, laptops and netbooks, and he indicated he expects other major manufacturers to release Ubuntu-based devices. Utilizing one integrated interface for desktops and netbooks could increase its appeal to manufacturers and customers.

Other new features include improved uTouch gesture and multi-touch stack, and greater support for ARM (News - Alert) based devices. In addition, a version of Unity will be offered that supports 3D acceleration for appropriate hardware, said the company.

According to the developer, the Ubuntu 11.04 alpha release is planned for early next month, less than a month after the release of Ubuntu 10.10.