Ubuntu GNOME 15.10 (Wily Werewolf) just got its final Beta last night and quite a lot of things have happened in the past few months, so we’ve put together a screenshot tour that shows off some of the new features.
First of all, let’s get the obvious thing out of the way. Ubuntu GNOME is based on the GNOME 3.16 branch, which is not the latest version available right now. Just a few days ago, GNOME 3.18 was made available, and there are always a few people out there that will criticize the fact that Ubuntu GNOME won’t integrate it by default.
This happens every time, with every release, and it shouldn’t really surprise users anymore, but that’s not the case. So, to make this perfectly clear, Ubuntu GNOME 15.10 ships with GNOME 3.16 because the two development cycles are not synced. Even if Ubuntu GNOME still has a month until its launch and GNOME 3.18 is stable right now, it can’t be adopted. The OS is in Beta freeze, meaning that no more features or other changes can be added, only bug fixes. A PPA will be provided after launch to get most of the GNOME 3.18.
Ubuntu GNOME 15.10 Beta 2 needs testing
The distribution is basically using the vanilla version of GNOME, so there are not too many surprises there. It’s also using almost the same major software as the other ones, like Firefox 41, the LibreOffice suite, Rhythmbox, and a few others. The difference is that Evolution is the default email client, and Empathy is the default messaging client.
A few things stand out, though. For example, users will not have access to GNOME Music and GNOME Photos, a fresh Getting Started app is available as well, and there is even a Wayland session for the more adventurous users.
Ubuntu GNOME 15.10 Beta 2 is available for download right now from Softpedia. It’s not intended for production machines, and you can check the gallery below for more screenshots.
Via Softpedia