Kubuntu 11.10 is the latest stable release of the desktop Linux distribution sponsored by Canonical Ltd., a Linux software provider based in London, UK. It is based on Ubuntu, but uses KDE, the K Desktop Environment.

Ubuntu 7.10 had introduced support for install-time encryption to provide a fully encrypted LVM. However, this feature was only available through Ubuntu's alternate CD installer and not Ubiquity, Ubuntu's popular LiveCD installer. We had hoped the disk encryption support would be added in Ubuntu 8.04 and then later Ubuntu 8.10, but that never occurred.

And also unlike the graphical installer of Ubuntu 12.10 beta 1, that of Kubuntu 12.10 beta 1 does not yet have preliminary support for LVM, the Linux Logical Volume Manager, and full disk encryption, and there is no indication that those features will even make it into the installer by late October when the final stable version is released.

Full disk encryption and LVM configuration in Ubuntu’s graphical installer showed that two very important features that were missing in Ubiquity, the installation program of Ubuntu Desktop, will finally be incorporated into the version that will ship in Ubuntu 12.10.

Ubiquity (the Ubuntu live CD's installer) is getting a slideshow that will play during the installation. The slideshow is written in HTML and CSS. The README file for the code indicates that slides should be 700x420 in order to fit on displays of 800x600.

The recent Beta 2-release of Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) features a new sleek installer that brings a fresh breeze of professionalism into the installation procedure.

Because it is based on Ubuntu, its installation program is Ubiquity, Ubuntu’s graphical installer. But the version of Ubiquity in BackBox 3 is the pre-Ubuntu 12.10 version, so full disk encryption and automatic LVM configuration are not supported.

Less than 30 days before the final release, comes Ubuntu 12.04 beta 2. While there is very little difference in most visible desktop features between this and the last few releases, users still demand to see screen shots.

Ubuntu Desktop 11.10, code-named Oneiric Ocelot, is the latest stable release of Ubuntu, a Linux distribution whose development is sponsored by Canonical Ltd., a Linux software provider with headquarters in the UK.

This article provides a detailed review, using material from test installations of the graphical installer, the alternate installer and the DVD editions.