Mid-August is upon us, and that can only mean one thing (corn on the cob and the Saint-Napoleon notwithstanding): the next release of Ubuntu is inching ever closer to maturity. With the debut late last week of the third alpha of Ubuntu 10.10, it’s time to take a look at how Maverick Meerkat is shaping up.

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If all goes according to plan, Ubuntu 10.10 will sport Gnome 3, which represents a radical overhaul of Ubuntu’s default graphical user interface in the form of Gnome Shell, when it debuts a year from now.  In order to get a taste of what this desktop of the future will look like, I’ve spent the last few days using the development version.  Here’s what I’ve found.

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Apple started the App Store revolution. Canonical hopes to continue it with the Ubuntu Software Store. The Web has been buzzing a few days about the store — which debuts in Ubuntu 9.10 but may really come together in Ubuntu 10.10. Is there demand for an Ubuntu Software Store? Before you answer, consider my oldest son’s current (and future) use of an Apple iTouch, Ubuntu netbook and Ubuntu notebook.

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