The Ubuntu Studio team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu
Studio 23.10, code-named “Mantic Minotaur”. This marks Ubuntu Studio’s
33rd release. This release is a regular release and as such, it is
supported for 9 months (until July 2024).
Since it’s just out, you may experience some issues, so you might want
to wait a bit before upgrading. Please see therelease notes
<https://ubuntustudio.org/ubuntu-studio-23-10-release-notes/>for a
more-complete list of changes and known issues.
You can download Ubuntu Studio 23.10 from ourdownload page
<https://ubuntustudio.org/download>.
Upgrading
Instructions for upgrading are included in therelease notes
<https://ubuntustudio.org/ubuntu-studio-23-10-release-notes/#upgrading>.
New This Release
Ubiquity System Installer Returns
In the days where we used Xfce as our default desktop environment, our
default system installer was one developed and used by most Ubuntu
flavors called Ubiquity. However, when we switched to KDE’s Plasma
Desktop as our default desktop environment, we wished to use the Qt
version, but we found out it was hardcoded for Kubuntu’s branding. With
that, we partnered with Lubuntu, which also uses a Qt-based desktop
called LXQt, to use the Qt-based Calamares installer.
Unfortunately, we found that, despite the customization and user
experience it provided, it lacked a few features Ubiquity provides:
* A language chooser at boot, which changes the language for the live
session and installer alike
* An OEM mode for computer manufacturers
* The ability to install without running the live session
This release, we worked hard to make sure the first time you boot Ubuntu
Studio 23.10 is a pleasing one and that everything is themed correctly,
including pushing changes to Ubiquity itself so that the GTK version of
Ubiquity would work with our default theming as well as fixing a bug
that affected other Ubuntu flavors with dark themes.
For the next release, we hope to switch to the same installerUbuntu
Desktop <https://ubuntu.com/desktop>(GNOME) andUbuntu Budgie
<https://ubuntubudgie.org/>are using, which is a graphical frontend for
the text-based Subiquity installer used inUbuntu Server
<https://ubuntu.com/server>. We believe that unifying under a single
codebase makes maintenance easier and creates a higher-quality
experience for everyone.
PipeWire Continues to Get Stronger
Pipewire logo.svg
PipeWire has gained numerous improvements, including fixes for prosumer
and professional audio. The JACK compatibility now performs in
real-time, and some FireWire features have now been implemented.
We also include a new utility, called the*Ubuntu Studio Audio
Configuration*utility, found in the Ubuntu Studio Information menu. This
can be used to configure the default/PipeWire Quantum/value, Enable or
Disable the PipeWire-JACK compatibility layer (handy for using JACK by
itself), or switch to the classic PulseAudio-JACK setup that was the
default prior to 23.04.Click here for more information about that
utility <https://ubuntustudio.org/ubuntu-studio-installer/#audioconfig>
In the Repositories: QPrompt
*QPrompt*is a Qt-based teleprompter application now available in the
repositories. While a snap version does exist and is installable from
Discover, the version in the repositories is more up-to-date. Since
Discover does not see the version in the repositories, it needs to be
installed from the command line by issuing the following command:
sudo apt install qprompt
Backports PPA is Now Deprecated
As stated in the release announcement of Ubuntu Studio 23.04, that
release was the last release in which packages would be backported to
the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA. As of this release, we will no longer
be backporting packages from the next release to regular releases such
as this release. As such, the backports PPA items have been removed from
Ubuntu Studio Installer for this release. This simply means a longer
wait for new software and that interval will be six months for regular
releases.
In the future, we plan to utilize the official Ubuntu Backports
Repository and backporting newer package versions there, except for
Ardour Backports when new whole versions are released as they would
still be backported to our Ardour Backports PPA.*The Ubuntu Backports
Repository only supports LTS releases*. Therefore, we plan to backport
only to 22.04 LTS and, in the future, only 24.04 LTS using the backports
repository once it releases.
Furthermore, as of today, backports to the Backports PPA for 23.04 have
stopped, and software for 23.04 in that PPA will be deleted when 23.04
goes End-Of-Life (EOL) in January 2024. If you would like newer software
and are running 23.04, we encourage you to upgrade when you receive the
notification.
Plasma Desktop Backports
Since we share the Desktop Environment with Kubuntu, simply adding the
Kubuntu Backports will help you with keeping the desktop environment and
its components up to date with the latest versions:
* |sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports|
* |sudo apt upgrade|
More Updates
There are many more updates not covered here but are mentioned in
theRelease Notes
<https://ubuntustudio.org/ubuntu-studio-23-10-release-notes/>. We highly
recommend reading those release notes so you know what has been updated
and know any known issues that you may encounter.
Get Involved!
A wonderful way to contribute is to get involved with the project
directly! We’re always looking for new volunteers to help with
packaging, documentation, tutorials, user support, and MORE!Check out
all the ways you can contribute! <https://ubuntustudio.org/contribute/>
Our project leader, Erich Eickmeyer, is now working on Ubuntu Studio
part-time, and is hoping that the users of Ubuntu Studio can give enough
to generate a monthly part-time income. Your donations are appreciated!
If other distributions can do it, surely we can! See the sidebar for
ways to give!
Special Thanks
Huge special thanks for this release go to:
* *Eylul Dogruel*: Artwork, Graphics Design
* *Ross Gammon*: Upstream Debian Developer, Testing, Email Support
* *Sebastien Ramacher*:**Upstream Debian Developer
* *Dennis Braun*: Upstream Debian Maintainer
* *Rik Mills*: Kubuntu Council Member, help with Plasma desktop
* *Len Ovens:* Studio Controls
* *Mauro Gaspari*: Tutorials, Promotion, and Documentation, Testing
* *Krytarik Raido*: IRC Moderator, Mailing List Moderator
* *Erich Eickmeyer*: Project Leader, Packaging, Development,
Direction, Treasurer
Frequently Asked Questions
*Q:*Does Ubuntu Studio contain snaps?
*A:*Yes. Mozilla’s distribution agreement with Canonical changed about a
year ago, and Ubuntu was forced to no longer distribute Firefox in a
native .deb package. We have found that, after numerous improvements,
Firefox now performs just as well as the native .deb package did.
Additionally, FreeShow is an Electron-based application. Electron-based
applications cannot be packaged in the Ubuntu repositories in that they
cannot be packaged in a traditional Debian source package. While such
apps do have a build system to create a .deb binary package, it
circumvents the source package build system which is required when
packaging for Ubuntu. However, Electron apps also have a facility for
creating snaps, which can be uploaded to the snap store. Therefore, for
FreeShow to be included in Ubuntu Studio, it had to be packaged as a snap.
*Q*: Will you ever make an ISO image with {my favorite desktop environment}?
*A:*To do so would require creating an entirely new flavor of Ubuntu,
which would require going through the Official Ubuntu Flavor application
process. Since we’re completely volunteer-run, we don’t have the time or
resources to do this. Instead, we recommend you download theofficial
flavor for the desktop environment of your choice
<https://ubuntu.com/download/flavours>and useUbuntu Studio Installer
<https://ubuntustudio.org/ubuntu-studio-installer>to get Ubuntu
Studio./Please note that this process does not convert that flavor to
Ubuntu Studio but adds its tools, features, and benefits to the existing
flavor installation/.
*Q:*What if I don’t want all these packages installed on my machine?
*A:*Simply use the*Ubuntu Studio Installer
<https://ubuntustudio.org/ubuntu-studio-installer/>*to remove the
features of Ubuntu Studio you don’t want or need by unchecking the boxes!
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