With Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon due out in just a few weeks, Canonical has released the first beta of the next generation of the popular Linux distribution.

We told you about most of the new features in Ubuntu 7.10 when discussing the alpha release. But the beta label implies a bit more stability as well as a few new enhancements. Here are a few updates since the release of Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn:

• Read/write support for NTFS partitions
• Lower power consumption
• Improved thin-client support
• Graphical interface for adjusting monitor settings
• Automatic printer installation
• Improved Firefox plugin finder
• Desktop search
  

You can download Ubuntu 7.10 as a LiveCD or you can upgrade from Ubuntu 7.04. We'd probably recommend holding off on the upgrade option until the full release on October 18.