20 Biggest Features Of Ubuntu 17.10 And Release Date

Update: Nov 8th, 2017

Ubuntu 17.10 Released, Ubuntu 18.04 development has started

In case you don’t know, Canonical has released Ubuntu 17.10 Artful Aardvark operating system with GNOME desktop environment. This has also started the development of Ubuntu 18.04, which is codenamed Bionic Beaver. The 18.04 release date and release schedule is also out now.

The original story continues from here:

Short Bytes: Canonical has revealed the release schedule for its next short-term Ubuntu release. Ubuntu 17.10, codenamed Artful Aardvark, will finally arrive on October 19, 2017. While we can’t say much about the new features of Ubuntu 17.10, you can expect default GNOME desktop (probably GNOME 3.26), default Wayland, Linux kernel 4.13 or kernel 4.14, etc.

Canonical has announced the release date, the complete release schedule to be precise, of the next Ubuntu short term release, i.e., Ubuntu 17.10. It was also revealed that Ubuntu 17.10’s code name will be Artful Aardvark. As per our poll, the majority of users liked the new name.

As said above, Ubuntu 17.10 release schedule is now public. You’ll be able to get your hands on the final Ubuntu 17.10 release on October 19, 2017. Here’s the complete release schedule:

Ubuntu 17.10 Release Schedule

Alpha 1 for opt-in flavors — June 29th (Released)
Alpha 2 for opt-in flavors — July 27th (Released)
Feature Freeze, Debian Import Freeze — August 24th
Beta 1 for opt-in flavors — August 31st
Final Beta — September 28th
Kernel Freeze — October 5th
Final Freeze, Release Candidate — October 12th
Final Release Ubuntu 17.10 — October 19th

For those who don’t know, Ubuntu follows a time-based cycle, instead of a feature-driven cycle. This means that Ubuntu plans in advance to release on a fixed date and the development process is carried out by keeping that in mind. In general, the October releases follow a 25-week schedule. The freezes normally take place at 2100 UTC.

Recommended: The Future Of Ubuntu Linux Desktop — What’s Next?

Ubuntu 17.10 New Features

It’s very early to write about the list of final features that are going to arrive in Ubuntu 17.10 Artful Aardvark. Still, we have a rough idea of the major changes. I’ll be covering these features in detail once the final release of Ubuntu 17.10 arrives. Take a look:

GNOME will be default desktop (probably GNOME 3.26)
Ubuntu GNOME won’t be a separate flavor
Wayland display server by default
Optional X.org server session
Mesa 17.2 or Mesa 17.3
Linux kernel 4.13 or kernel 4.14
New Subiquity server installer
Mozilla Thunderbird might not be default email client
Better hardware support
New Ubuntu Server installer
Switching to libinput
An always visible dock using Dash to Dock GNOME Shell extension
Bluetooth improvements with a new BlueZ
Upgraded to Network Manager 1.8
GDM is the default Display Manager
EXT4 encryption with fscrypt
Windows buttons back to the right top corner
Better GPU/CUDA support
4K/ HiDPI/Multimonitor improvements
Minimal images getting smaller

Please note that these are the tentative Ubuntu 17.10 features. So, you should take some of them with a pinch of salt. I’ll be keeping a close eye on Ubuntu 17.10 development cycle to tell you about the latest updates.

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