Download Ubuntu 11.04 alpha 1

The developers of Ubuntu Linux have released the first alpha version of Ubuntu Linux 11.04. This branch of the Linux distribution has been codenamed Natty Narwhal and at the same time, of course, the other members of the Ubuntu family have also been updated, such as Kubuntu, Xubuntu and Ubuntu Studio. Alpha 1 features Unity with Gnome 2.91.3 and Linux kernel 2.6.37-rc3. The announcement on the developers mailing list looks like this:

Natty Alpha 1 Released

defn Spy Hopping: “A form of cetacean behavior that consists of rising vertically out of the water, head first, and scanning the entire surrounding area while rotating.” (Source: Dor)

Natty Narwhal is doing a first bit of Spy Hopping, also known as Alpha 1, which will in time become Ubuntu 11.04.

Pre-releases of Natty are *not* encouraged for anyone needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent breakage. They are, however, recommended for Ubuntu developers and those who want to help in testing, reporting, and fixing bugs.

Alpha 1 is the first in a series of milestone CD images that will be released throughout the Natty development cycle. The Alpha images are known to be reasonably free of showstopper CD build or installer bugs, while representing a very recent snapshot of Natty. You can download it here:
(Ubuntu Desktop, Server)

Additional ISOs and torrents are also available at:
(Ubuntu Server for UEC and EC2)
(cubuntu)
(Xubuntu)
(Edubuntu DVD)
(Ubuntu Studio)

Alpha 1 includes a number of software updates that are ready for wider testing. Please refer to for information on changes in Ubuntu.

This is quite an early set of images, so you should expect some bugs. For a list of known bugs (that you don’t need to report if you encounter), please see:

If you’re interested in following the changes as we further develop Natty, have a look at the natty-changes mailing list:
http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/natty-changes

We also suggest that you subscribe to the ubuntu-devel-announce list if you’re interested in following Ubuntu development. This is a low-traffic list (a few posts a week) carrying announcements of approved specifications, policy changes, alpha releases, and other interesting events.
http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel-announce

Bug reports should go to the Ubuntu bug tracker:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs

enjoy,

†
Kate Stewart, on behalf of the Ubuntu release team