Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
Ubuntu 21.10 was released on 14 October, 2021. This is the final “standard” release before the next Long Term Support (LTS) version is unveiled on 21 April, 2022 which will complete the development cycle since the last LTS version, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.
The last two standard releases did not introduce many changes beyond new versions of the Linux kernel, updated applications, and the move to the Wayland display server. I was interested to see if that trend of “minimal changes” was going to be altered with Ubuntu 21.10 and it has, with a sudden flurry of developer activity before the upcoming LTS release.
Ubuntu 21.10 is the 35th Ubuntu release and the ninth one since the interface transitioned from Unity to a modified version of the Gnome Shell. At this point in history, 15 years since the first Ubuntu release, Ubuntu 4.10 Warty Warthog, it is safe to consider Ubuntu as a mature and stable distribution that knows where it is going from release to release.
This release is code named Impish Indri. For those users who are not primatologists, an Indri is the largest member of the lemur family. Found exclusively on the island of Madagascar, the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as “critically endangered”.
Installation
I did not install Ubuntu 21.10 on my hard drive, but instead tested it from a USB stick, written using UNetbootin, which conveniently leaves the drive in FAT32 format.
When running from a USB stick, Ubuntu 21.10 runs very quickly and smoothly, just like it would do on an installed hard drive.
System requirements
The recommended minimum system requirements for Ubuntu 21.10 have not changed since 20.04 LTS and remain:
• 2 GHz dual core processor • 4 GiB RAM • 25 GB of hard-drive, USB stick, memory card or external drive space • Screen with a minimum of 1024×768 pixel resolution • Either a CD/DVD drive or a USB port for the installation media • Internet connection is useful, but not essential
There are indications that this release should run more smoothly and quickly than in the past, due to the new kernel, as well as some fixes and adjustments. That certainly seems to be the case when running it, as it feels light and quick.
New
This release has made up for the lack of new features in the last two releases and comes just in time to incorporate these into the upcoming spring LTS release.
Ubuntu 21.10 uses the Linux 5.13 kernel, which brings support for a lot of new hardware, including future Intel and AMD chips, such as the Intel Alderlake S and AMD Adebaran. It also supports Microsoft Surface Laptops and tablets and introduces initial rudimentary support for the new Apple M1, ARM-based chipsets. Ubuntu 21.10 will also run NVIDIA graphic cards using Wayland.
This release moves to the Gnome 40 desktop but, as in the recent past, a modified version that still looks and works much like the old Unity 7 interface. As always in Ubuntu, the window minimize and maximize buttons that Gnome excludes by default are there, which improves usability a lot.
The desktop includes a horizontal-layout application launcher (main menu) that makes better use of screen space and a horizontal workspace switcher, which allows dragging and dropping of windows between workspaces or using the application launcher’s top-displayed thumbnails. Workspaces can move horizontally by use of the mouse scroll wheel or the Page Up/Page Down keys. By default, there are two workspaces.
The Wayland protocol display server as default was introduced in Ubuntu 21.04 and continues in Ubuntu 21.10. This implementation of Wayland introduces scaled, multi-touch gestures for the workspace switcher, opening the main menu and exiting. The windows and workspaces move as you move: fast or slow.
The Ubuntu Dock now shows open applications at the bottom and pinned applications at the top, separated by a very subtle divider line. In fact, if it wasn’t pointed out, you might not notice it. Also, the trash can has been moved from the desktop to the dock, leaving a totally clean desktop.
Since Ubuntu 20.10, the built-in firewall has been nftables, although it is not turned on by default. That can be accomplished from the command line with UFW or using the graphical GUFW.
There are many additional small upgrades and changes incorporated. For instance, the network connector now shows recently used WiFi networks at the top of the list to make them quicker to find and the “settings - about” page shows more hardware information than before, like the computer builder and model.
Settings
Ubuntu has never offered a lot of user customization and Ubuntu 21.10 cuts the choices even thinner. Given that Ubuntu is really aimed at enterprise desktop users these days, this probably makes sense. People who like more choices in how their desktop looks and works will probably have already moved from Ubuntu to another flavor, like Kubuntu which offers a literally bewildering array of user configuration choices.
Recent Ubuntu versions offered three choices of window themes but this release cuts that to just two Yaru themes, light and dark, eliminating the old compromise default “standard” theme which had dark window tops and light backgrounds.
The wallpaper choice is also reduced to four, including the default “indri” graphic wallpaper in the usual Ubuntu pallet of purple and orange. I will add that at first glance the indri looks an awful lot like a surprised koala. As wallpapers go, it is one of the better designs in recent years. Unlike with the window themes, it is easy to add your own favorite wallpaper if you don’t like the meager offerings.
As in previous Ubuntu releases, the dock bar can be set to the left, right or at the bottom of the screen, but not at the top, as it would conflict with menus on the top bar display there. The dock's icon size can also be adjusted, which changes the dock width. It can be made smaller to free up some more lateral space or bigger for touchscreen use. These can all be adjusted in the settings menu.
Ubuntu's single, unified settings menu remains perhaps the best control panel available in any operating system today, with everything in one place. It at least makes the limited customization available easy to find.
Applications
Some of the applications included with Ubuntu 21.10 are:
• Archive Manager (File Roller) 3.40.0 archiver • Cheese 3.38.0 webcam application* • CUPS 2.3.3 printing system* • Document Viewer (Evince) 40.4 PDF viewer • Document Scanner (Simple Scan) 40.5 optical scanner • Files (Nautilus) 40.2 file manager • Firefox 93.0 web browser • Gnome Calendar 41.0 desktop calendar • Gnome Disks 41.0 disk manager • Gnome Terminal 3.38.1 terminal emulator* • Gparted 1.2.0 partition editor • Image Viewer (Eye of Gnome) 41.0 image viewer • LibreOffice 7.2.1 office suite • PulseAudio 15.0 audio controller • Remmina 1.4.20 remote desktop client • Rhythmbox 3.4.4 music player* • Shotwell 0.30.11 photo manager* • Startup Disk Creator 0.3.11 (usb-creator-gtk) USB ISO writer • Text Editor (gedit) 40.1 text editor • Thunderbird 91.1.2 email client • Transmission 3.00 bit torrent client* • Ubuntu Software (Gnome Software) 40.4 package management system • Videos (Totem) 3.38.10 movie player*
* indicates the same application version as used in Ubuntu 21.04.
As can be seen, the application collection includes a mix of software from Gnome 3.38, 40 and even 41.
Probably the most controversial application change in this release is that Firefox is now a snap package by default, instead of the previous .deb package. This change was actually requested by Mozilla to make their support for Linux easier and Canonical was happy to oblige. At least for Ubuntu 21.10, the .deb package remains available in the repositories and it will receive updates for the life of 21.10, until July 2022. All this means that it looks like snaps are now an unavoidable fact of life for Ubuntu users, despite several tech writers providing instructions on how to ban them from your installation. Mostly snaps make life easier for Linux developers and package managers, and that is not a bad thing.
Snaps do have some advantages, including that applications come with all their needed dependencies packaged together, meaning they should work better. However, one of the main objections to snaps is their slow opening time but, in my testing, Firefox opened initially in four seconds and in subsequent openings in one second, which is fast. It is worth noting that snaps do not follow system themes and that is the case in Ubuntu 21.10, as Firefox only semi-conforms to the chosen light or dark Yaru theme, with a dark window top and then light or dark backgrounds as selected, although it does not look clunky or out of place and integrates well for themes.
The Ubuntu 21.10 version of LibreOffice is 7.2.1 and it is lacking only LibreOffice Base, the database application. Like Ubuntu 21.04, this release also includes LibreOffice Math, the math formula writer, although I am not sure what the user case is for including it. Does anyone really use this?
Gnome calendar can now import and open .ics files, the standard calendar export format used by applications like Google Calendar. The included PulseAudio 15.0 brings support for both Bluetooth LDAC and AptX codecs and adds HFP Bluetooth profiles, which will give improved audio quality.
The latest version of the Gnome file manager, Nautilus, has new sorting capabilities and also the file transfer time progress bars have been improved for accuracy. Nautilus' location bar now has “auto-complete” and Nautilus can also open password-protected zip files. Nautilus would still be improved by restoring the removed “up one level” button, however.
The gedit 40.1 text editor has syntax highlighting, now with a choice of nine different highlight color schemes, four of which are dark themes. It is notable that gedit includes spell checking and correcting by default (at Shift+F7). The application requires no set-up for tasks such as writing web pages; it is ready to go to work right out-of-the-box.
Conclusions
Overall 21.10 is another strong Ubuntu and close-to-flawless release with a surprising number of changes after the two previously “minimum change” releases. It has some performance enhancements, too, making it run fast and smoothly. Ubuntu 21.10 seems very well-polished and modern. All of this bodes well for the next release, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, which is code named (I kid you not) “Jammy Jellyfish”.
While most Ubuntu desktop users will probably stick with Ubuntu 20.04 LTS until the 22.04 LTS is out on 21 April, 2022, there are some who may be tempted to upgrade to 21.10 to take advantage of the work done like the addition of Wayland and the performance boosts included. Even if you hold out for 22.04 LTS to upgrade, the work done on 21.10 will be incorporated, so you will reap the benefits in six months.