14 DAY TRIAL // Ubuntu MATE 14.10 Beta 2, a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu that uses the MATE desktop environment, has been released and is now ready for testing.
The Ubuntu MATE developers, which included a MATE and Ubuntu dev, have just released a new version of their distribution, fixing a large number of problems.
Ubuntu MATE has yet to become an official Ubuntu flavor, so its developers are not really bound by the scheduling rules that apply to the other flavors. Still, they are trying to keep as close as possible to the schedule and now they've released a new Beta, the second one in the cycle.
What the latest news on Ubuntu MATE 14.10 Beta 2 is
"Ubuntu MATE 14.10 Beta2 is now available for download. This second beta fixes a number of issues that were present in Beta1, adds a few new features and includes some more original artwork. We've managed to not introduce any new bugs this time but please make sure you read the release notes below because there are still unresolved issues you'll need to be aware of," says Martin Wimpress, one of the developers from Ubuntu MATE.
According to the changelog, a few community contributed Ubuntu MATE Identy graphics from Goce Mitevski have been released, a community contributed GRUB2 theme from Ivan Pejić has been added, the gnome-system-tools package has been added due to popular demand, indicators have been added to the Ubiquity installers to enable access to assistive features and basic system configuration, a few assistive features have been added to LightDM, a number of keybindings, compatible with Sonar, for toggling assistive features have been added, a MATE panel layout that is similar in appearance to Windows XP classic mode has been added, and the default Ubuntu MATE panel layout has been updated to better reflect how Ubuntu 10.04 and 10.10 were arranged.
Also, some icon assets in Ambiant-MATE and Radiant-MATE have been updated, some of the Ubiquity slides used in the installer slide show have been updated, the font configuration is now more consistent across applications, EFI computers are no longer displaying a black screen rendering the system unusable, the activation of the default sound theme has been fixed, the VirtualBox-guest-x11 package has been removed from the Live session, and wubi has been removed from the Ubuntu MATE ISO image.
It's not yet certain whether Ubuntu MATE will receive official status until the October release of the 14.10 (Utopic Unicorn) version, but it's pretty clear that even if it doesn't get it, Ubuntu MATE will be one of the favorite spins for the community.
You can download Ubuntu MATE 14.10 Beta 2 right now from Softpedia and give it a try. It's a Beta release, so you might encounter some bugs and other issues.
