14 DAY TRIAL // Martin Wimpress had the pleasure of informing Softpedia today, April 23, about the immediate availability for download of the Ubuntu MATE 15.04 (Vivid Vervet) computer operating system, as well as about its highlights.
The biggest news of the Ubuntu MATE 15.04 release is that the entire project is now an official Ubuntu flavor. It is built around the MATE 1.8.2 desktop environment, which provides users with a traditional, two-panel layout like old versions of Ubuntu used to have.
"I am shocked that a distribution I initially made for my family has proven so popular. As good as Ubuntu MATE is, it is the Ubuntu MATE community of which I am most proud," says Martin Wimpress exclusively for Softpedia.
"The community is full of helpful and generous (with their time and money) people that have helped shape the project and made it such a success. I extend my thanks to everyone involved in the project, I couldn't have done it without them."
Highlights of Ubuntu MATE 15.04
Prominent features of Ubuntu MATE 15.04 include Linux kernel 3.19, fully integrated Compiz support, user interface switching that allows users to completely transform the look and feel of the MATE desktop, Tilda pull-down terminal, Folder Color, and a new theme called Yuyo.
Support for the Raspberry Pi 2 computer board and PowerPC (PPC) hardware architecture has been implemented as well in Ubuntu MATE 15.04, along with a settings panel for the LightDM GTK Greeter and improved Client Side Decoration (CSD) support.
New software packages have been added and old ones updated
New software packages replace old ones in Ubuntu MATE 15.04. For example, Totem Video Player has been replaced with VLC Media Player, GNOME's Cheese webcam viewer was replaced with guvcview, and systemd has been implemented to replace the Upstart init system.
Last but not least, this release adds categories to the system menus, a new set of wallpapers from the community, introduces support for full color icons in all GTK+ 3 themes, updates the Rhythmbox music player to version 3.1, and the Plank dock to version 0.9.0.
As expected, numerous issues have been resolved in Ubuntu MATE 15.04 when compared with the Beta 2 version of the distribution. You can download Ubuntu MATE 15.04 (Vivid Vervet) right now from Softpedia, and don't forget to check out the in-depth screenshot tour below!
