Ubuntu 21.10 was released yesterday, 14 October. It is a standard release and as such is only supported for 9 months. It uses Gnome 40 as the default desktop environment. So what is new? It introduces the horizontal workspace switcher to replace that irksome vertical one. It has a revamped application launcher and it adds multi-touch gestures to make it easier to enter/exit workspace switcher but they are only available in a Wayland session by default.

The Dock is still on the left side of the screen but now there is a separator between pinned shortcuts and running but not pinned apps. The trash can and any USB drives are on the Dock instead of the Desktop.

The Yaru light theme is now default. Apparently missing is the Standard theme. The dark theme can be enabled in settings.

Zstd compression is enabled for the main archive.

Wayland can now be used on systems with proprietary NVIDA graphics drivers.

It includes LibreOffice 7.2, Thunderbird 91, and the latest version of FireFox as well as several Gnome 41 apps and ships with the Linux 5.13 kernel.

It can be downloaded from https://ubuntu.com/#download. There are also links too the various Ubuntu flavors at that site on the lower right side of the page. Happy Ubuntu-ing.

AZLOCO has moved its IRC channel, #ubuntu-us-az, from irc.freenode.net to irc.libera.chat. This has already been accomplished. We will continue to monitor the old channel for a while to assist individuals in migrating to the new channel. The procedure to visit channels that are restricted to registered nicknames remains the same. You need to send a message to Nick Service from the Nick that you want to register. It would look like this: /msg NickServ REGISTER (password) (your email address) Of course you replace (password) with your password and (your email address) with your email address omitting the ( ). This will enable you to enter and carry on a conversation in those channels that are limited to registered nicknames only. It is anticipated that #ubuntu-us-az will convert to that status.

If you had a Ubuntu cloak in freenode,it is not transferable to libera. You must reapply. To obtain a Ubuntu cloak you must first be a Ubuntu member. You must also ensure that your Launchpad profile page contains your new nick from Libera: (your nick) on irc.libera.chat. Then all you have to do is join #ubuntu-irc and ask for a Ubuntu cloak. You must also include a link to your Launchpad profile.

If you are not a Ubuntu member and want a Libera cloak, register your Nick and send this message: /join #libera-cloak and type !cloakme

Our Sunday meetings will be conducted on our new channel beginning with the 06 June 2021 meeting.

Ubuntu 21.04 was released on 22 April 2021 with a load of new features. Wayland is now default. Your home folder is now private by default. There is a recovery key for encrypted installs and it comes with the Linux 5.11 kernel and Python 3.9. You can download it https://ubuntu.com/#download. There are also links to the Ubuntu flavors on that page. Remember that Hirsute Hippo is only supported for 9 months (January 2021) so if you are looking for a LTS release either stick with 20.04 or wait for the release of Ubuntu 22.04 (April 2022). By the way the release date for the next Ubuntu version (Ubuntu 21.10, Impish Indri) is 14 October 2021.