Canonical and the Ubuntu development team have announced the release of a second alpha version of Ubuntu 11.10, code-named "Oneiric Ocelot". Oneiric Ocelot Alpha 2 is based on the upcoming version 3.0 (rc5) Linux kernel and ships with GNOME 3.0 based foundations, but the controversial Unity desktop is still the default desktop. Unity, the theme and the Ayatana scroll bars have been updated for GTK/GNOME 3 compatibility.
On May 16, 2011, Fenghua Yu submitted a series of patches to the upstream Linux kernel implementing support for a new Intel CPU feature: Supervisor Mode Execution Protection (SMEP). This feature is enabled by toggling a bit in the cr4 register, and the result is the CPU will generate a fault whenever ring0 attempts to execute code from a page marked with the user bit.
The creator of Linux, Linus Torvalds is starting to think that the Linux 2.6 kernel is getting out of hand and he is thinking of killing it and releasing a new version.
In a message to the Linux Kernel Mailing List, Torvalds said that there have been too many updates to Linux 2.6 kernel releases and with traditional Linux humour he said that the numbers have got so long he could end up tagging this as the Linux 2.8.0 kernel.
For those of you watching Ubuntu's website recently, you may have noticed a new version of the popular and easy to use variant of Linux has been surfaced - Natty Narwal. It can be downloaded from the previously linked site free of charge. Among the various new features, the Unity interface is set as the default UI, and includes the launcher (an OS X like dock), the dash (a popup menu with user defined shortcuts), and workspaces (a virtual desktop manager). According to the Ubuntu website, the OS can boot in as little as 7 seconds (following POST).
For those that follow my personal Twitter feed will know that for the past week I've been closely testing Ubuntu 11.04 and all Ubuntu releases going back to Ubuntu 8.04 on many mobile devices in the office. The overall system performance, power consumption, and boot performance have been the principal targets. However, late this week I discovered a glaring regression: Ubuntu 11.04 is viciously going through power.
Among the additions for kernel version .39 are the Xen network backend, support for ipset, and the rudimentary Poulsbo graphics driver; the kernel hackers have now also completely eradicated the BKL. Greg Kroah-Hartman has taken up maintaining the series 33 kernel again because it is the basis of the real-time branch.
