Kubuntu Active 12.04 beta 2 screen shots

Though the second beta edition of what will become Kubuntu 12.04 was released last month (see screen shots here), very little press was given to another edition released on the same day. That edition is Kubuntu Active 12.04 beta 2, a version with a graphical interface called Kubuntu Active, which is designed for use on tablet computers.

Whether it will gain traction or not is another matter, but at least it is a distribution you can play with. While tablet computers are probably more popular than desktop and notebook computers now, there are none that I am aware of that you can install Kubuntu Active on as easily as you can install a standard Linux distribution on a desktop computer.

So at the moment, it seems the platform that you can run it on is on a desktop computer. This article shows some screen shots from a test installation. A full review will follow when the final stable edition is released later this month. Note: Kubuntu Active is essentially Kubuntu, but with a different graphical interface. Which means that they use the same installation program.

Here is the login screen.

The login screen showing the Showing the shutdown options.

The login screen showing the Session menu.

The home screen.

Another view of the desktop, with a different theme.

Yet another view of the desktop,

You can change the desktop theme.

Adding themes with the online keyboard visible.

Apps and widgets are available.

Clicking on Apps brings up a list of applications that you can add to your App menu.

To see the applications or apps that you have added to the App menu, just click on the “plus” button on the upper left of the desktop.

You use Dolphin, the file manager, just like you do on the standard desktop.

You can play your favorite games too.

Calligra Sheets and other components of Calligra Office suite is available.

You may download Kubuntu Active 12.04 beta 2 from here.