For users who want to go directly from Ubuntu 22.04 to Ubuntu 24.04, here’s an overview of the changes between the two Ubuntu LTS releases.
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS has 5 years support until 2029, and then 7 years extended security updates (through Ubuntu Pro) until 2036. The release features Linux Kernel 6.8, and will receive feature Kernel updates in next point releases.
Linux Kernel
Ubuntu 22.04 so far has Kernel 6.5. As usual, it will backport Kernel 6.8 from 24.04 in the next point release.
Before that happens, you’ll see a list of changes between the Kernel 6.5 and Kernel 6.8, including: Continue Reading…
Ubuntu 24.04, code-name Noble Numbat, is finally available for Beta testing after a week of delay.
Ubuntu 24.04 is long term support (LTS) release with 5-year of support. By enabling Ubuntu Pro, user can get 7 years more security updates. Meaning that Ubuntu LTS has 12 years of support!
The new LTS features GA Kernel 5.8 and GNOME Desktop 46.
An attacker using the name “Jia Tan” installed a backdoor into liblzma library. It’s a part of xz, which happens to be a dependency of OpenSSH in Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, etc. The backdoor sends hidden commands at the start of an SSH session, allowing the attacker to run an arbitrary command on the target system without logging in.
Russ Cox, Google’s Golang developer, post a page talking about timeline of the xz open source attack. According to the post, “Jia Tan”, the attacker, started contributing to xz since October 2021, and became a maintainer since the second half of 2022.
Attack began on 2024-02-23, and Debian Unstable, Ubuntu 24.04 (Dev), Fedora 40 Beta and Fedora Rawhide have been affected. Continue Reading…
The default wallpaper for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Noble Numbat, was finally released this Tuesday!
Similar to the one for current Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, the new wallpaper uses gradient color background (from purple in top-left to orange in bottom right?) with mascot in center.
I can’t say how it looks! Just see the image below for the new wallpaper:
For Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, the top 8 photo images that won the wallpaper competition are out! They will be shipped by default in the .iso image as optional wallpapers for Ubuntu 24.04 Desktop.
Ubuntu Desktop team started the wallpaper competition for Ubuntu 24.04 on Feb 8. The submissions are grouped into 4 categories, including Mascot Theme, Digital / Abstract Art, Nature, Other. Each category has 2 winners and they are:
NOTE: The images here are optimized for faster loading. For original images, please scroll down and go to the competition web page.
Ubuntu has a few offline games out-of-the-box. Now, the developer team is going to remove them from the installer in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
Since Ubuntu 23.10, Ubuntu Desktop no longer provides ‘Minimal installation‘ option in the installer. Instead, it’s “re-named” to “Default installation” with just the essentials, web browser and basic utilities. User can choose “Full installation” option for the office, media player, games, and other app packages that’s previously installed by default in old Ubuntu releases.
Just a few days ago, the desktop team proposed to remove the games from full installation, then made the decision with wider support.
Meaning that the game packages may be completely removed from the iso image, though they are still available to install in Ubuntu Software (App Center).
For those who are interested in the development of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, the developer team has opened a channel for the desktop installer usability test.
Anyone can try out the desktop installer by simply visiting a page in web browser. It will ask to grant permission to share the screen of browser window (Screen Sharing), so developer team can know where you spend time, get stuck, and go smoothly.
Also it asks to enable Microphone, so you can tell what you’re thinking as you go. And, of course either or both can be disabled! Continue Reading…
Wallpaper Contest for the next Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Noble Numbat, is open! Top 8 winner images will be shipped in the iso image.
A bit different to the previous contests, this time the submissions are separated into 4 categories: Mascot Theme, Digital / Abstract Art, Nature, and Other. Each category will have 2 winners, and finally 8 mixed images will be made as optional wallpapers in Ubuntu 24.04 out-of-the-box.
The AI generated artwork is NOT allowed! Because there are active legal debates on the ownership of AI generated artwork and whether it can be copyrighted or not. And, many popular AI generation tools use a license that does not align with those for the contest.
Like Firefox, Thunderbird email client in Ubuntu is going to be replaced as a Snap app runs in sandbox.
Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, is working on porting core apps to Snap package format in recent years. Firefox, Chromium (in system repository), and Ubuntu Software (App Center) are now Snap apps in current Ubuntu releases. Next will be probably Thunderbird!
Canonical has built Thunderbird as Snap package for a period of time. It’s a re-pack of the upstream binary, only available for amd64 (Intel/AMD CPUs), as alternative package for the pre-installed .deb package.
Just one day ago, the Ubuntu Desktop team announced that the Thunderbird Beta Snap now is building from source instead of repacking. Meaning it can be built on other CPU architecture types, such as arm64 and armhf.
And, the Thunderbird Snap built from source aims to be default in next Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
We are aiming at using the snap built from source instead of the deb in Noble. (the reasons are the same than for Firefox, making it easier to roll new versions on older supported series and reducing the maintenance efforts).
Meaning in future, there will be (mostly) NO .deb package for the Thunderbird email client in Ubuntu repository!
Thankfully, those who prefer the classic .deb to Snap can use the Mozilla Team PPA instead, which is maintained by members from Ubuntu Developer Team.
For more about the Thunderbird package format transition, see it in discourse.ubuntu.com.
Ubuntu 24.04, is in development now! Here’s when it will be released!
Ubuntu 24.04, code-name ‘Noble Numbat’, will be a new LTS release with 5 years support and another 5 years extend (ESM) support. It will probably features GNOME Desktop 46, and of course newer Linux Kernel.
The development was started this Thursday, according to this announcement. And, the final release is planned for April 25 2024.
Here’s the full release schedule according to the official discussion page.
