Ubuntu GNOME

Ubuntu GNOME
Ubuntu Gnome 17.04
Ubuntu GNOME 17.04
OS familyLinux (Unix-like)
Working stateDiscontinued in favor of the standard Ubuntu distribution
Source modelOpen source
Initial release18 October 2012; 12 years ago (2012-10-18)
Final releaseUbuntu GNOME 17.04 (Zesty Zapus) / April 13, 2017 (2017-04-13)
Available inMultilingual
Package managerdpkg
Kernel typeMonolithic (Linux)
UserlandGNU
Default
user interface		GNOME Shell
LicenseFree software licenses
(mainly GPL)
Official websiteubuntugnome.org

Ubuntu GNOME (formerly Ubuntu GNOME Remix) is a discontinued Linux distribution, distributed as free and open-source software. It used a pure GNOME 3 desktop environment with GNOME Shell, rather than the Unity graphical shell. Starting with version 13.04 it became an official "flavour" of the Ubuntu operating system.[1][2]

In April 2017, it was announced that 17.04 would be the last release. The distribution was to be discontinued in favor of the standard Ubuntu distribution, which switched from using Unity to GNOME Shell as its desktop environment starting with its 17.10 release.

History

The project began as an unofficial "remix" because some users preferred the GNOME 3 desktop environment over Unity.[3] Ubuntu GNOME 12.10 Quantal Quetzal was the first stable version, released on 18 October 2012.[4]

Writing in October 2013, Jim Lynch stated:

"Ubuntu GNOME 13.10 will be welcomed by GNOME fans. GNOME 3.8 adds some significant new features that enhance the desktop experience, and all of it has been combined well with Ubuntu 13.10 itself. So the end result will probably be quite appealing for those who want Ubuntu, but with GNOME 3.8 instead of Unity. If you are not a fan of GNOME 3 then Lubuntu, Kubuntu or Xubuntu are much better desktop environments if you need to stay within the Ubuntu family. If none of those appeal to you then you might want to just sit tight and wait for Linux Mint 16 to arrive."[5]

Jim Lynch reviewed Ubuntu GNOME 14.04 LTS again in April 2014 and concluded:

"I have seen some reviews of regular Ubuntu 14.04 that have proclaimed it to be "the best version of Ubuntu yet" and that sort of thing. Well, I think it's fair to say that Ubuntu GNOME 14.04 may also be the finest version of Ubuntu GNOME as well, and that's something that the Ubuntu GNOME developers and users can take pride in."[6]

On 5 April 2017, Canonical Executive Chairman and Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth announced that the mainline version of Ubuntu would move from Unity to the GNOME 3 desktop starting by version 18.04 LTS, which would make it virtually identical to Ubuntu GNOME.[7][8] It was later revealed that Ubuntu 17.10 would in fact be the first version to use GNOME.[9]

Shuttleworth wrote on 8 April 2017, "We will invest in Ubuntu GNOME with the intent of delivering a fantastic all-GNOME desktop. We're helping the Ubuntu GNOME team, not creating something different or competitive with that effort. While I am passionate about the design ideas in Unity and hope GNOME may be more open to them now, I think we should respect the GNOME design leadership by delivering GNOME the way GNOME wants it delivered. Our role in that, as usual, will be to make sure that upgrades, integration, security, performance and the full experience are fantastic."[10]

In light of Ubuntu's announcement that it would switch desktop environments from Unity to GNOME, the Ubuntu GNOME developers announced on 13 April 2017 that the distribution would merge into the mainline Ubuntu, starting with the 17.10 release.[11]

Releases

Version Code Name Release date Supported Until Kernel Gnome Version Remarks
12.10 Quantal Quetzal 2012-10-18 May 2014 3.5.0 3.4 First release
13.04 Raring Ringtail 2013-04-26 January 2014 3.8.0 3.6
  • Firefox replaced GNOME Web (Epiphany) as the default browser.
  • Ubuntu Software Center and Update Manager replaced GNOME Software (gnome-packagekit).
  • LibreOffice 4.0 became available by default instead of AbiWord and Gnumeric.
13.10 Saucy Salamander 2013-10-17 July 2014 3.11 3.8
  • GNOME 3.8
14.04 LTS Trusty Tahr 2014-04-17 April 2017 3.13 3.10
  • Release as a long-term support (LTS) for three years[12]
  • Included a "GNOME Classic" session available by default in the session menu[13]
14.10 Utopic Unicorn 2014-10-23 July 2015 3.16 3.12
  • Most of GNOME 3.12 was included
  • gnome-maps and gnome-weather were installed by default[14]
  • GNOME Classic session was included and selectable at log-in[14]
15.04 Vivid Vervet 2015-04-23[15] February 2016 3.19 3.14
15.10 Wily Werewolf 2015-10-22[17] July 2016 4.2 3.16
16.04 LTS Xenial Xerus 2016-04-21[20] April 2019[21] 4.4 3.18
16.10 Yakkety Yak 2016-10-13[23] July 2017 4.8 3.20
17.04 Zesty Zapus 2017-04-13[24] January 2018 4.10 3.24[25] Final release

See also

References

  1. ^ "UbuntuFlavors - Ubuntu Wiki".
  2. ^ "UbuntuGNOME - Introduction".
  3. ^ Andrei, Alin (11 March 2013). "Ubuntu GNOME Becomes An Official Ubuntu Flavour". Webupd8. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  4. ^ "Ubuntu GNOME Remix 12.10 Released!". 18 October 2012.
  5. ^ Lynch, Jim (23 October 2013). "Ubuntu GNOME 13.10". Linux Desktop Reviews. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  6. ^ Lynch, Jim (21 April 2014). "Ubuntu GNOME 14.04 LTS". Linux Desktop Reviews. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  7. ^ Sneddon, Joey (5 April 2017). "Ubuntu 18.04 To Ship with GNOME Desktop, Not Unity". OMG Ubuntu. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  8. ^ Shuttleworth, Mark. "Growing Ubuntu for Cloud and IoT, rather than Phone and convergence". Canonical. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  9. ^ Nestor, Marius. "Canonical to Make GNOME Default Session in Ubuntu 17.10, Likely Use Wayland". softpedia. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  10. ^ Shuttleworth, Mark (8 April 2017). "Unity8". Google Plus. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  11. ^ Jeremy Bicha and Tim Lunn (13 April 2017). "Ubuntu GNOME 17.04 Released and What's Next". ubuntugnome.org. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  12. ^ Bhartiya, Swapnil (18 March 2014). "Ubuntu Gnome gets LTS status". Muktware. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  13. ^ Sneddon, Joey (2 March 2014). "Ubuntu 14.04 Flavours Release First Beta". OMG Ubuntu. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  14. ^ a b "Utopic Unicorn Release Notes - Ubuntu Wiki". UbuntuGNOME.
  15. ^ Canonical Ltd (5 December 2014). "Vivid Vervet Release Schedule". Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  16. ^ Sneddon, Joey (19 December 2014). "Ubuntu 15.04 Alpha 1 Releases Now Ready for Download". OMG Ubuntu. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  17. ^ Canonical Ltd (27 May 2015). "Wily Werewolf Release Schedule". Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  18. ^ Sneddon, Joey (19 December 2014). "Ubuntu 15.10 Veta 1 Releases Now Ready for Download". OMG Ubuntu. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  19. ^ Joey-Elijah Sneddon (22 October 2015). "Ubuntu 15.10 Flavors Now Available for Download - OMG! Ubuntu!". OMG! Ubuntu!. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  20. ^ "XenialXerus/ReleaseSchedule - Ubuntu Wiki". ubuntu.com. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  21. ^ "Ubuntu GNOME 16.04 LTS is here - Ubuntu GNOME". ubuntugnome.org. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  22. ^ "XenialXerus/ReleaseNotes/UbuntuGNOME - Ubuntu Wiki". wiki.ubuntu.com. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  23. ^ "YakketyYak/ReleaseSchedule - Ubuntu Wiki". wiki.ubuntu.com. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  24. ^ "ZestyZapus/ReleaseSchedule - Ubuntu Wiki". wiki.ubuntu.com. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  25. ^ Ubuntu (23 March 2017). "17.04 Release Notes". wiki.ubuntu.com. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
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