The new version of Ubuntu 23.10 “Mantic Minotaur” is now available and in this new release a large number of packages and applications have been updated, of which I know the inclusion of Kernel 6.5 which contains an Ubuntu-specific change in module compression using the zstd algorithm, which has reduced boot time, as well as adding new patch sets for shiftfs, Apparmor and LSM. In addition, by default, MGLRU mechanism is enabled and the kernel configuration has been optimized to reduce lag when performing desktop-oriented tasks.
On the desktop, we can find GNOME 45, in which a dynamic virtual desktop indicator in the panel, improved search engine performance, added a camera on indicator, Video playback has been hardware accelerated, the image viewer and camera app have been replaced, and the sidebar display style has been changed, and the GTK 4.12 and libadwaita 1.4 libraries have been updated.
On the installer's side, the new installer that uses "minimal" mode by default, so for users who want installation of additional apps, they must enable initial installation of applications in extended installation mode.
In addition to this, in the installer it was added experimental support for disk encryption, which does not require entering a disk unlock password at boot, by storing key decryption information in the TPM.
On the system side, we can find the new Ubuntu Store application manager, written in Dart language using the Flutter framework. Ubuntu Store implements a combined interface for working with packages in DEB and Snap formats, in addition to the application using a new rating system, in which the five-point rating scale is replaced by a voting in Like/Dislike format. like (+1/-1).
Regarding the changes made in Ubuntu 23.10 "Mantic Minotaur", now access to user namespaces is only granted to programs for which a special AppArmor profile has been added. This change is mentioned to improve the security of systems that use container isolation from vulnerabilities that require access to the user's namespace to exploit.
Have expanded privacy management tools, since a mechanism has been added that requests permissions from the user if it is necessary to grant additional rights to applications (for example, to access certain files). Also Security has been improved for PPA repository key management, since now all the data from the PPA repository is added to .sources files in deb822 format, instead of adding the gpg file and key separately.
With regards to system parcel, we can find the Firefox 117 browser, the LibreOffice 7.6.2 office suite, the Thunderbird 115.2.3 email client, the GIMP 2.10.34 image editor, the Mesa 23.1.7 graphics stack, NetworkManager 1.44 and Pipewire 0.3.79. XNUMX
Of the other changes that stand out from this new version:
- The installer has returned support for the ZFS file system.
- Added a new firmware updater application (Firmware Updater), which allows you to install firmware updates without running the update management service in the background.
- Added the fonts-ubuntu-classic package, which provides a set of classic fonts used in Ubuntu before version 23.04.
- Support for hardware video encoding and decoding has been implemented in the snap package with the Chromium browser.
- Ubuntu Desktop uses the Netplan system, already used in Ubuntu Server, to store network interface configuration.
- The package includes an extension for GNOME Shell - Tiling Assistant, which expands the capabilities of working in tiled mode and, among other things, supports a layout with a screen divided into 4 parts.
- Added support for Raspberry Pi 5 and SiFive HiFive Pro P550 boards.
- An edition of Ubuntu Core Desktop is being developed, based on the Ubuntu Core platform and including only applications designed using Snap format packages.
Finally If you are interested in knowing more about it, you can check the details In the following link.
Download and get Ubuntu 23.10
For those who are interested in getting the installation and boot images, you should know that they are made for Ubuntu, Ubuntu Server, Lubuntu, Kubuntu, Ubuntu Mate, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu Studio, Xubuntu, and UbuntuKylin (China edition).