First details of developments in Ubuntu 10.10

It seems possible Btrfs could replace Ext4 as the default file system in Ubuntu version 10.10, code name "Maverick Meerkat". Developers attending last week's Ubuntu Collaboration Summit in Brussels discussed testing Btrfs as the default file system in an alpha version of Ubuntu 10.10. Ubuntu Developer Manager Scott James Remnant assessed the likelihood of switching to Btrfs as "a one in five chance".

If Btrfs were to become the default in Ubuntu 10.10, this would be the second time the default file system had changed in less than a year. Ext4 was elevated to the default in Ubuntu version 9.10 – six months later than planned. It was originally scheduled to step up to the plate in Ubuntu 9.04, before last minute hitches resulted in its deferral.

The desktop is also set to change, with Ubuntu 10.10 slated to include GNOME 3.0, although the new GNOME Shell is not expected to be included. According to Mark Shuttleworth, GNOME Shell will initially be included in daily builds for testing, before discussion of its possible inclusion in Ubuntu 11.04. However, GNOME Shell will be installable from the Universe repository in Ubuntu 10.10.

Shuttleworth also announced that the release date for Ubuntu 10.10, originally set for late October, had been brought forward to the symbolic 10.10.2010. Preliminary dates for subsequent versions have also been set, with Ubuntu 11.04 currently due to ship on the 28th of April, 2011 and Ubuntu 11.10 on the 13th of October, 2011. Updates for Ubuntu 10.04 LTS are due on the 27th of January, 2011 and the 29th of July, 2011. The next version for long term support is Ubuntu 12.04, due for release on the 26th of April, 2012.

See also:

• Ubuntu developers set application line up for 10.10, a report from The H.
• Shuttleworth: No default GNOME Shell in Ubuntu 10.10, a report from The H.
• What's new in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, a feature from The H.

(crve)