Unity 5.2 Released

Unity 5.2 is released and it brings in some much needed features to Ubuntu's Unity shell. The new upgraded Unity comes with multi-monitor support and there is this tiny little Unity launcher related hack that is going to make the lives of so many Ubuntu users a wee bit easier. 

What's New in Unity 5.2?

• Most important features in new Unity include:

• Seemingly well executed multi-monitor support. You will now see launchers on each of your monitor, and when you scroll across a monitor, you should feel some resistance in order to allow for you to use the launcher on that screen.

• To invoke the launcher, you now need to push against the left of the screen, rather than hover for X seconds. No more hitting the back button in firefox and having the launcher pop up in your way. That was one annoying bug and it isn't there anymore.

Installing Latest Unity 5.2

• Only Ubuntu 12.04 is supported at the moment. If you have installed Ubuntu 12.04 alpha, make sure that you are running the latest version of it before getting started.

• Also, Unity 5.2 did not ship with "the HUD". So if you have been testing the HUD you will need to use ppa-purge to remove and downgrade your packages. 

• Now, follow the instructions to install latest Unity 5.2 in Ubuntu 12.04.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:unity-team/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

• Ubuntu 12.04 itself is bleeding edge stuff at the moment and a lot of things can go wrong. Compiz crashed immediately after upgrading to Unity 5.2 in my laptop. What I am saying is, you should be aware of the risks before getting your hands dirty.