The reviews are in for the beta of Ubuntu 11.04, also called Natty Narwhal and the reactions are mixed.

Reviewers mainly had qualms with the brand new Unity interface, which Mark Shuttleworth earlier said would bring the OS a superlative, more interactive look. But reviewers miss the GNOME interface, saying Unity is not ready for prime time.

Canonical has ended a program in which it sent out delivered free Ubuntu CDs worldwide via a distributor.

"For Ubuntu 11.04 you will no longer be able to go to our website and apply for a free CD," said Gerry Carr, a Canonical blogger.

This is something they should've done a while ago. The intent was clean -- to push Ubuntu into the lives of millions of people, as Carr romanticizes. But the administrative cost was high, shipped CDs were few, and downloads topped CD shipments.

The lightning fast Lucid Puppy, popularly known as Puppy Linx, got updated to version  5.25. The new distro is based on the latest Linux kernel, and offers a chock full of new features and software updates.

The installation file is just 127MB, and it is based on Ubuntu 11.04, also known as Natty Narwhal. The software is a major update, as it reworks some core Linux ingredients.

"All this and the low overhead that makes Puppy fast, friendly and fun," said Barry Kauler of Puppy Linux on his blog.

The first beta of Ubuntu 11.04, also called Natty Narwhal, was released today. This is the first semi-stable 11.x version that Ubuntu enthusiasts can work with.

The feature set is impressive, it certainly provides an impetus for Ubuntu adventurers to upgrade from the previous version 10.10.

The revolutionary, Ubuntu 9.10, also called Karmic Koala, will reach end-of-life by April 29, an Ubuntu community representative said today.

This comes as Ubuntu 11.04, also called Natty Narwhal, approaches its first beta release on March 31. The final 11.04 version will be released on April 28.

IDC is projecting Google's Android OS to have a 39.5 percent market share in 2011, growing to 45.4 percent market share in 2015.

It's a surprise to see Symbian expected to have 20.5 percent market share this year. That maybe due to the el-cheapo candybar phones (or non-smartphones) bought by folks in developing countries. iOS will have a 15.7 percent market share this year, while Blackberry will have a 14.9 percent market share.

Are you a student and want to earn a stipend for writing open-source code? The Google's stupendously successful Summer of Code 2011 program pays student developers to write code for open-source software projects.

Google pays a stipend of $5500 for writing code -- $5000 to you, and $500 to the mentoring organization. Google opens up applications on March 28, ending 10 days later, on April 8.

Ubuntu's technical board has rejected the idea of enabling the installation of Adobe Flash by default. It comes as part of a new ruling by the board disabling installation of non-free software by default.

On March 31, users will be able to download the much hyped beta version of Ubuntu code-named Natty Narwhal, which is version 11.04. One of the improvements will be an updated and faster Linux kernel. The Linux kernel  2.6.38, will help Natty's beta be faster than alpha versions.

The new kernel would " ...would provide our users the best support for new hardware, driver updates, and bug fixes," explained an Ubuntu Kernel Team member in rather complicated English in a forum entry. .

Microsoft earlier this week sued (PDF) Barnes and Noble, which uses the Android OS in its Nook e-reader. Microsoft is alleging that B&N violates patents filed dating back in 1998, including patents related to capturing, editing and remote retrieval of documents. The patents under dispute are listed on Geekwire's site.