Flash, for example, will be downloadable from within Ubuntu, but the option won't be selected by default.

4. No More Netbook Edition

Finally, a few weeks ago we learned that Canonical is planning to discontinue its separate Netbook Edition of Ubuntu starting with the Natty Narwhal release. Rather, there will be a single core product that you run on "anything you like from a netbook to a notebook to a desktop," the company on a recent blog. Ubuntu Server, meanwhile, will be maintained separately.

Work has already begun, of course, on . But with so much exciting new functionality coming to Natty Narwhal, there's plenty to look forward to in the much closer future.

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