What can we expect from 11.04?

[MundoMondo]

Hello!

I have been an avid user of Ubuntu (Gnome GUI) up until this latest release. The Unity interface has to be the worst thing invented til date. And IMHO keyboard shortcuts, the hidden scroll in the window margin etc doesn't make up for the poor choise of GUI for ubuntu.

This has forced me to look into other Linux Distributions. Ubuntu has for me always been fast, reliable, simple and easy to use. So i would like to continue to use the *buntu distribution. I am currently looking into the Xubuntu flavour. What news can we be expecting from 10.04 migration to 11.04? I will be installing a fresh install. Will this include the latest XFCE version? Will the packages in repos be updated to the cutting edge latest, or are there other focuses in xubuntu?

Simply put...dazzle me with reasons why i should go with Xubuntu. And no, KDE is of no interest :P

[grege]

I have been trailing the beta on a spare machine.

The Xfce version is 4.8 - the latest, which among other things brings the ability to browse Samba shares in Thunar. The rest is Ubuntu 11.04, a 2.6.38 kernel and the latest xorg and drivers.

The bottom toolbar is setup to function like AWN. That is it autohides and is transparent. This toolbar is basically a program launcher. The top toolbar has the usual stuff like clock and network manager, plus the task manager.

It has a slick look and makes a good alternative for those looking for a Unity free desktop. I also installed Nautilus and set that as the default file manager. Nautilus makes folder sharing easy and I need mp3 mouseover preview.

Xfce is based on GTK, but it is not Gnome. There is some learning involved, but it is easy to convert.

It does not cost anything to give it a try. The current beta is the release version, so download the Live CD and try it.

I think most Ubuntu users will be happy in Xubuntu, and convert fairly rapidly.