Version 12.04 of Canonical's popular is a notable one for several reasons, including not just the fact that it's a Long Term Support (LTS) release and thus a particularly suitable choice , but also that it's the first to feature Canonical's new .

We already got a taste of HUD in the , which debuted earlier this month. Now, this second beta release adds a few more features while fixing numerous bugs, according to the official from Ubuntu Release Manager Kate Stewart.

Precise Pangolin will make its final debut on April 26. In the meantime, this new release gives an even closer glimpse at what it will look like. Here's a quick rundown of what has changed since the first beta was unveiled.

1. A New Kernel

The second beta version of Ubuntu 12.04 includes the 3.2.0-20.33 Ubuntu kernel, which in turn is based upon version 3.2.12 of the upstream stable Linux kernel. This is an update from the 3.2.0-17.27 Ubuntu kernel that shipped in Beta 1. Also included is an updated AppArmor patch set for better .