Unity Finally Lands In Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Repositories

Unity is the new Ubuntu Netbook Edition interface which will be available for Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat.

Unity has finally been uploaded to the Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat repositories, until now being available only in a PPA for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx.

The version in Ubuntu 10.10 is 0.2.7 and the one in the PPA 0.1.38 (a lot older), yet there aren't too many improvements. In fact there's no visible improvement, only regressions: there's no search bar anymore and the Expose effect no longer works - but this might be due to the fact that if you install it in Ubuntu 10.10 desktop (not UNE), it doesn't create a new entry in the GDM login screen and you must start it manually.

If you're using Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat already, you can install unity using the following command:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install unity

Then, like I told you, Unity must be started manually, so in a terminal type this:

unity &
mutter --replace &

You may want to move the top panel to the side as it will cover the Unity panel.

To exit Unity, simply type this in a terminal:

metacity --replace
compiz --replace #if you're using compiz

Or log out and log back in.


For a lot more about Unity, see:

• Taking Ubuntu Unity Interface For A Test Drive [Screenshots and Video]
• Ubuntu 10.10 Will Get Unity, Ubuntu Light Interface