Ubuntu is going through a quite significant transformation, and for the next October 19 when Ubuntu 17.10 Artful Aadvark is finally launched we will find a quite different system to the one we were used to.

Things are going to change, inside and out. Artful Aadvark will have a new desktop environment, a new graphical server and a new login manager. Even default applications could change based on community feedback.

The last week several details about the new Ubuntu have come to light as development progresses, so we have decided that it is a good time to review them.

From things so simple but that have caused many times a lot of controversy, such as changing the buttons of the windows from left to right, to the addition of a new dock, which will interestingly have the same Unity dock location.

How could they learn in OMG! Ubuntu! , Canonical is working on a fork of the popular GNOME extension, Dash to Dock. This allows us to anchor the GNOME dock on either side of the desktop.

Ubuntu 17.10 will come with this dock activated by default, it will have an adjusted width, 70% opacity, and will occupy the entire screen extension. The Ubuntu developers say that it is not about reproducing the Unity experience, but offering familiarity.

Another significant change for some and completely irrelevant for others, is the fact that the buttons on the windows will be located on the right side of Ubuntu 17.10.

It’s not the first time they’ve switched sides, but it’s been a while since they moved to the Mac-style left over there in 2010. Now that there’s no more Unity, the reasons for keeping them left are over, and they’re back to the right as in Windows.

Another return that will make its appearance with the next version of Ubuntu, is the icon of the recycle bin . As in GNOME they can not add the trashcan icon to the dock as it happened in Unity, they have decided to anchor the trash to the desktop by default.

Another that will change a bit of appearance with Ubuntu 17.10, is the veteran music player Rhythmbox , because in the next version of the system will come installed by default a plugin called “Rhythmbox Alternative Toolbar” to help it integrate better with the appearance of GNOME.

With all this it is clear that the changes do not stop stacking, and although at the moment none of this is written in stone, because we are still in alpha development phase, no doubt when October arrives we will find one of the most interesting Ubuntu of the last years, at least in quantity of novelties.