Ubuntu 11.10 Beta 2 is hot off the presses. We are reaching the stage in the development cycle of Ubuntu were things are pretty much in order. So, it is a good time to take a look at what the next release of many Linux users distro of choice is going to look like.

Lately, it seems all the talk with Ubuntu has been the desktop, more specifically Unity. It seems everyone is looking to redefine the desktop. GNOME 3/GNOME-Shell, Windows 8, and of course Ubuntu's in house shell for GNOME, Unity.  Unity was introduced on the desktop in Ubuntu 11.04, it had been used in previous netbook editions of Ubuntu also. Unity's introduction to the desktop was met with scepticism to say the least. The general opinion seemed to be that people either loved Unity or hated it, not a lot of middle ground.

As any other freedom-loving geek, I was rather excited when I heard about the first beta release of Ubuntu 11.10, the next release of Ubuntu. This also meant that Kubuntu would have their first beta out as well. I figured that the 3 of you who read my blog would probably like to see a review of Ubuntu's less well known sibling.

I initially only installed Kubuntu in a VirtualBox virtual machine, but realised that without actually using it, this review wouldn't be worth it. So, not being averse to shiny new software, I decided to upgrade my desktop to Kubuntu 11.10 as well.