20 years of Ubuntu: Canonical celebrates 10.24 coming up – and it’s outstanding as usual

Ah, Ubuntu. I remember those early days very clearly. Back in 2004, I switched from Red Hat Linux (before Fedora and after using it since 1997) to this emerging distribution and never looked back. Since then, I have only used Ubuntu or an Ubuntu-based distribution for my primary operating system.

With good reason.

Ubuntu is stable and user-friendly as an operating system. And with a release schedule that works like clockwork, I can always count on when a new version is coming out.

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Well, it’s almost October and that means another new release. This time is something special because it is the 20th anniversary of the first release of Ubuntu (Warty Warthog – version 4.10). There have been a lot of ups and downs during development (think Ubuntu Unity) but the rough spots have been ironed out and, for the most part, Ubuntu releases can be considered reliable and enjoyable. taste.

As soon as I installed the test version of Ubuntu 24.10 (Oracular Oriole), I nodded and smiled in recognition of all the familiar and good things about this open source operating system.

But what’s new with Canonical’s latest release?

Gnome 47

Linux distributions live and die by the desktop environment. Without an outstanding user interface, a distro has no chance of surviving in a hyper-competitive world filled with options that can cause bouts of dizzying indecision.

Gnome 47 is here and it has a lot of improvements. No, there aren’t any game-changing features to be found, but what the developer has added improves an already great desktop. New additions include:

• Supports native accent colors
• New dialog box interface with floating buttons and changes to improve the interface on narrow screens.
• Improved interface for low resolution screens.
• Screen recording is hardware encrypted.
• Persistent remote login session
• Improved Nautilus sidebar (with rearranged shortcuts for easier access to Trash, Network, etc.; easier bookmark management; internal drives now appear in the sidebar; and bookmarks pages can be rearranged via drag and drop).
• Improved user interface for Disk Usage Analyzer.
• More settings including “enable window on hover” and improved online accounts.
• The progress bar in the Dock launcher for snap apps is used when the app is updating in the background.

Gnome isn’t the only change coming to Ubuntu 24.10. There are also improvements to the App Center, which pay homage to the color scheme of the first Ubuntu release (with the addition of the stock 4.10 startup sound that plays when you log in), pictured new background, new Security Center app (slightly different). limited in features, but this is a first launch), Nvidia GPUs now automatically default to Wayland, improved fingerprint biometrics support, and more.

But what is it like?

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My impressions of Ubuntu 24.10

I’m used to Canonical not releasing show stopping releases. For years now, every Ubuntu release has felt like a polished version of what came before. With October 24, that’s very true. Yes, there are a lot of little notes here and there but nothing that will disappoint you.

Unless you really like an operating system that is extremely stable, performs like a champ, and looks as good as any previous release.

For me, one thing that stands out about Ubuntu 24.10 is performance. I believe this is a combination of Gnome 47 and kernel 6.11. Regardless, this latest release (even the beta version) is one of the best performing versions Canonical has released. I installed Ubuntu 24.10 as a virtual machine (use VirtualBox) with only 3GB RAM and 2 CPU cores and it surprised me with its performance. Apps opened instantly, updates were fast (much faster than what I’m used to with Ubuntu), and reboots were quick.

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Speaking of updates, Ubuntu 24.10 comes with APT 3.0, which includes an improved layout for better readability. I’m not 100% sure whether APT 3.0 contributes to Ubuntu update speed, but I’m sure it helps.

If you’re looking for a Linux distribution that offers a comprehensive desktop environment but behaves like you’re running something much lighter (such as Fluxbox or Window Maker), then Ubuntu 24.10 is what you’re looking for. want.

It’s been a while since a release from Canonical has disappointed, and 10.24 continues that trend. Oracular Oriole proves that you don’t have to throw in the kitchen sink for an outstanding OS upgrade as 24.10 will wow you with its subtle improvements and increased performance.

You can download it beta version of Ubuntu 24.10 Or wait until October 13 as the official release date.