In the latest Alpha version of Karmic Koala, Canonical has included a number of software updates, and say testers should expect some substantial bugs.

Steve Langasek announced the release of the new Alpha on the Ubuntu developer list. Alpha 5 comes with Gnome 2.27.91, kernel 2.6.31-rc8 and GCC 4.4. The kernel boots with Kernel Mode Settings, enabling a switch to UXA Intel drivers instead of the EXA used in 9.04. This should solve most performance problems found with Intel graphics, but other difficulties can be expected. More problems will probably occur in the hardware- and power managment. Ubuntu has abandoned the old Hardware Abstraction Layer hal and replaced it with DeviceKit-power, DeviceKit-disks and udev. In these two areas, (Intel drivers and DeviceKit), Canonical is asking users to take particular care when testing and to submit detailed bug reports.

Empathy has definitively taken the place of Pidgin as default IM client and Ubuntu has completely overhauled the GDM login manager. As default also included is the file sharing tool Ubuntu One.

The KDE variant is also available in a new netbook version, with the current 4.3 also included. Alpha 5 comes for the first time with image files for Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC).

The netbook optimized Kubuntu version in Alpha 5

A few bugs have already been found: in some time zones, the system will carry out a file-system check immediately after installation because the clock shows the wrong time. Various problems have also been discovered by the installation of OEM.

The complete announcement can now also be viewed on the Canonical page.

Download links:
Gnome
KDE
XFCE
Mythbuntu
ARM
Ubuntu Server for UEC and EC2

In the latest Alpha version of Karmic Koala, Canonical has included a number of software updates, and say testers should expect some substantial bugs.