Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
I have been anticipating the release of Xubuntu 21.04, ever since 20.10 came out.
Readers of my review of that release in Full Circle 163 will recall that it was put out with no changes. At the time, the Xubuntu developers explained this as being due to migrating the Xubuntu codebase from Launchpad to GitHub. I was quite interested to see if they would make any changes in the 21.04 release or just maintain the status quo throughout the entire development cycle through to Xubuntu 22.04 LTS, due out in April 2022. With Xubuntu 21.04 released on 22 April, 2021, now we know; changes have been incorporated!
Xubuntu 21.04 is the 31st Xubuntu release. This really is a very mature project, so large changes would be unexpected.
As a standard release, Xubuntu 21.04 has only nine months of support, until January, 2022.
System Requirements
The developers have increased the recommended system requirements from the last release. These are now: 1.5 GHz Dual-Core processor 2 GiB RAM 20 GB of hard-drive space
These specs are probably more realistic than the last ones and represent a computer about ten years old.
Booting It Up
After downloading the ISO file via bittorrent, I did an SHA256 sum check to make sure the download was done without errors and then used UNetbootin to write it to a USB stick.
When booting up Xubuntu 21.04, it no longer runs an overt file system checker, unlike previous versions. Rik Mills, a Kubuntu and Ubuntu developer, says that “it now runs silently in the background so it does not delay the boot.” I have to assume that the files were all good, because I did not see any notification to the contrary!
New
Xubuntu 21.04 introduces a new version of the Xfce desktop, 4.16, which replaces 4.14. This version exclusively uses the GTK3 toolkit, bringing it up to the most current GTK standard. Xfce 4.16 brings some small changes to the menus, the desktop, and the Thunar file manager as well.
The Linux kernel 5.11 is also new, along with the raft of new hardware that it supports.
If you are going to install Xubuntu 21.04, you now have a choice of a full or a minimal installation.
Some of the default applications have been changed as well. This release adds the Synaptic package manager, a fairly technical application. The existing Gnome Software “software store” is retained, although, for some reason, it does not show up on any individual entry on the Whisker menu – just under “all applications”. I suspect this was just an oversight.
The Hexcat IRC client is also new, and is in addition to the IRC client included for many years, Pidgin. The developer release notes indicate that they recommend Hexchat as highly configurable and, by default, it is “preconfigured to connect to the #xubuntu channel on Freenode”. I imagine Pidgin will be deleted from the ISO file by the time the LTS release occurs.
Not mentioned in the release notes, but gone anyway, is the Startup Disk Creator; the small program that allows writing ISO files to a USB stick for booting. There are probably better choices these days available anyway. I use UNetbootin, but there are other good ones, too.
This release has new default wallpaper, a rather simple, modernist design, that harkens back to similar wallpapers in Xubuntu’s past, like from 19.10. If it is not to your taste, there are 19 others provided, or you can use your own.
Overall, it looks like the developers are making up for the time lost in the previous release, by introducing a host of small changes now.
Applications
Some of the applications included with Xubuntu 21.04 are: • Atril 1.24.1 PDF viewer • CUPS 2.3.3 printing system* • Catfish 4.16.0 desktop search • Firefox 87.0 web browser • GIMP 2.10.22 graphics editor • Gnome Software 3.38.1 package management system • Gparted 1.1.0 partition editor* • Hexchat 2.14.3 IRC client • LibreOffice 7.1.2 office suite • Mousepad 0.5.3 text editor • Parole 4.16.0 media player • Pidgin 2.14.1 IRC client • PulseAudio 14.2 audio controller • Ristretto 0.10.0 image viewer* • Simple Scan 3.38.1 scanning utility (re-badged by Gnome as “Document Scanner”) • Software Updater 21.04.8 (update-manager) software update manager • Synaptic 0.90.2 package management system • Thunar 4.16.6 file manager • Thunderbird 78.8.1 email client • Transmission 3.00 bittorrent client* • Wget 1.21 command line webpage downloader • Xfburn 0.6.2 CD/DVD burner* • Xfce4 Panel 4.16.2 desktop panel • Xfce4 Power Manager 4.16.0 system power manager
* indicates the same application version as used in Xubuntu 20.10 LTS.
The LibreOffice 7.1.2 office suite included is complete, except for the database application, LibreOffice Base. These days, very few users work on databases and it can always be installed from the repositories if needed.
As with recent Xubuntu releases, there is no default webcam or video editing application although there are several in the repositories that can be installed.
Settings
Like recent releases, Xubuntu 21.04 still has Greybird as its default window theme. There are five alternate schemes included, one of which is the dark theme Greybird-dark. Numix is probably the best one installed, but I still find that none of these themes allow for easy differentiation of active versus inactive windows. This makes it too easy to close the wrong window, especially when using keyboard shortcuts.
Otherwise, the settings for user customization of the desktop are nicely arranged on one sub-menu and are easy to find and use.
Conclusions
After making no changes in Xubuntu 20.10, it seems that the Xubuntu developers are not going to sit out this entire development cycle. Starting with 21.04, they have introduced some minor refinements. When you have a loyal user following, you need to proceed cautiously. Most Xubuntu users I know love the OS and don’t want to see big changes. The result here, in Xubuntu 21.04, is a good solid release that will keep users happy on the road to the next LTS version.