On October 20, 2004, a new operating system was born. Based on Debian, and according to Linus Torvalds himself, it was easier to install than its ancestor, and if we put it all together the rest is history. It is the most widely used Linux-based operating system in the world, something that is helped by the fact that there are now 11 official flavors. Ubuntu 24.10 Oracular Oriole This is the edition that celebrates the 20th anniversary, something that is evident in a special edition that features a new label informing about it.
Over the past 20 years, the main edition started using GNOME, then spent some time in Unity and returned to GNOME, but now in version 3 and very different from the classic environment. About 10 years ago, Ubuntu MATE was born, which recovered the desktop from its beginnings adapted to the new times, and more recently a version with Unity also appeared. The happy family does not stop growing, and In this article we are going to talk about all its components.
News shared by the entire Oracular Oriole family
Although Ubuntu is an operating system, the main one being GNOME, so are the other official and unofficial flavors. Thus, Kubuntu is Ubuntu with KDE software, Xubuntu is Ubuntu with Xfce, and so on. They all share a base, and in Oracular Oriole it is this:
- Supported for 9 months, until July 2024.
- Linux 6.11.
- APT 3.0, with a new image.
- Open SSL 3.3.
- systemd v256.5.
- Netplan v1.1.
- OpenJDK 21 by default, but OpenJDK 23 available as an option.
- .NET 9.
- GCC 14.2.
- binutils 2.43.1.
- glubc 2.40.
- Python 3.12.7.
- LLVM 19.
- Rust 1.80.
- golang 1.23.
From here on, the list with the differences.
Ubuntu 24.10, GNOME 47 and many signs of the 20th anniversary
Ubuntu 24.10 is the major release, and it comes with some major changes to celebrate the 20th anniversary. We'll notice them even before we get into the operating system, when we see something like this:
That “20 Years” sign above Ubuntu also appears when the operating system loads. To remind us of the celebration, they have included a group of wallpapers from previous editions of the operating system.
After entering, you will hear an entrance melody, very different from what we heard about 20 years ago, but present as then:
Once inside the operating system, most of the changes are due to GNOME 47, the graphical environment that it will use:
- Improved experience on small screens.
- Hardware encoding for screencast.
- Performance and smoothness improvements have been a constant since GNOME 41 — the first release after the big jump.
- New windows in dialogs.
- Many improvements to Files — aka Nautilus — and other GNOME project applications.
- More detailed list in the related article.
other developments
Among the rest of the new features, the following stand out:
- The Security Center application is installed by default. Currently, its purpose is to provide greater control over snap packages and their access to the file system.
- In Ubuntu 24.10, computers with NVIDIA graphics also use Wayland by default.
- Improved fingerprint support.
- Improvements in energy profiles.
- Applications updated to new versions, including but not limited to:
- Libre Office 24.8.2.
- Shotwell 32.7.
- Transmission 4.06.
- Rhythmbox 3.4.7.
- Remmina 4.35.
- Calendar 47.
- Totem 43.
- Snapshot 47.
- There are changes in the images for Rasbperry Pi 4 and 5, and that is that Oracular Oriole shows all the initial GNOME configuration when starting for the first time.
Kubuntu 24.10, the first Ubuntu with Plasma 6
After about 18 months, Kubuntu 24.10 finally releases a new version of Plasma, specifically 6.1.5. In 23.04 they used Plasma 5.27, a version from which they continued with 23.10 because there was nothing new, and last April they stayed with that version so as not to risk an LTS version. The list of most important points would be completed by Qt 6.6.12 and KDE Frameworks 6.5.0. The set of applications has been partially upgraded to KDE Gear 24.08, while others remain on 23.08.
As recommended or done by KDE since February 2024, Wayland has become the default session, but there is still the ability to choose X11 from the login screen.
Lubuntu 24.10, a big leap towards LXQt 2 and Qt6
Lubuntu has made a big leap since the previous LTS. Its oracular oriole has risen to LXQt 2.0.0 already Qt 6.6.2 As the most notable changes, they have had to postpone the jump to Wayland, which was planned for this release, and is expected for Lubuntu 25.04. On the other hand, they have taken advantage of the opportunity to update software and applications, and the components that it shares with KDE are now at 6.1.5.
Xubuntu 24.10, taking stable, lightweight and customizable even further
Xubuntu 24.10 has arrived with Xfce 4.19 as the main new feature, although there are also parts of Xfce 4.18. Some components are part of GNOME 46 and the more recent 47. Xubuntu takes what it likes best from each desktop, and this version continues in its line of stability without forgetting customization.
Ubuntu MATE 24.10, classic is still sexy
Ubuntu MATE 24.10 now uses MATE 1.26.2, which includes many bug fixes and new features. This version has seen a return to Slick Greeter — replacing Actica Greeter — due to a boot issue. The ISO is 800mb smaller — from 4.1GB to 3.3GB — and in addition to the desktop, applications such as Celluloid have been updated to v0.27, Evolution 3.54 or LibreOffice 24.8.2.
Ubuntu Budgie 24.10, the most visual official flavor is even prettier
Ubuntu Budgie was the youngest for a while until the arrival of Unity, Cinnamon and the return of Edubuntu, but now it is already a veteran. At Oracular Oriole they have moved to using Budgie 10.9.2, the same last January's edition, but with two point updates already.
Among the highlights, the budgie menu will now display applications with information about whether they are terminal-based, a regression has been fixed where our skip pager and taskbar setting was not being called during build, causing it to appear in our task switchers (IconTasklist and Task List), issues with dialogs and notifications have been fixed, as well as issues with the system tray.
In addition, the opportunity has been taken to correct errors and have added funds to celebrate the 20th anniversary.
Ubuntu Studio 24.10, building with new Plasma and updated apps
Ubuntu Studio 24.10 shares a lot with Kubuntu 24.10. As the next in line with Ubuntu, Studio is a sort of Kubuntu with some customization and metapackages for content creation. This time around, we have:
- Audio
- PipeWire 1.2.4.
- lsp-plugins 1.2.16.
- Audacity 3.6.1.
- Burn 8.6.0.
- Carl 2.5.9.
- Graphics
- digiKam 8.4.0.
- Dark table 4.8.1.
- GIMP 2.10.38.
- MyPaint v2.0.1.
- Crita 5.2.3.
- Inkscape v1.2.2.
- Video
- OBS Studio 30.2.3.
- Blender 4.2.1.
- Kden live 24.08.1.
- Freeshow 1.2.8.
Anticipating a likely future where the RT kernel will be discontinued as Linux 6.12 will kill it off, Ubuntu Studio 24.10 uses the normal kernel with the option to run it at low latency. Additionally, there have been some tweaks to the theme to improve the visuals and it offers a new minimal installation.
Edubuntu 24.10, education also catches up
As in past releases, Edubuntu 24.10 is Ubuntu 24.10, but with some customization and education packages. There are no major changes of its own, beyond a new wallpaper and updated education apps.
Ubuntu Unity 24.10: few changes, but the Lomiri version continues to improve
Unity 24.10 still using Unity 7.7. Several bugs were discovered in unity-greeter, which is why it is now used light-dm-greeter.
Where they have made more progress is in the version with Lomiri, the same desktop that Ubuntu Touch uses. But this update is more internal than anything else.
Ubuntu Cinnamon 24.10: “noble” exterior, new interior
Ubuntu Cinnamon 24.10 will not go down in history as one of the most changed versions. Its release notes contain many points that say “same as Noble”, that is, that they have not undergone any changes since the release last April. Among those points, Cinnamon 6.0.4, Cinnamon Desktop 6.0.0 and Nemo 6.0.2. In other sections there are no “major changes”, such as in Cinnamon Settings 6.2.0. Cinnamon 6.2.0 has fixed crashes… and few new features other than those shared at the beginning of this article. We are facing an update more than anything.
Ubuntu Kylin 24.10: New UKUI for Chinese Users
Ubuntu Kylin 24.10 shares the same base as the rest of the family, but this time they have added a completely new version of their desktop. It's not that they have used a different one, it's that they have started using UKUI 4.0, which has many new features. The complete list of changes is here - in English -.
to enjoy them
The Oracular Oriole family is here, and the 20th anniversary party has begun. Whatever you choose, enjoy it.