Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
These days Ubuntu and most of its flavors are pretty stable. None are in the throes of large, wholesale changes, like switching desktop environments, such as back in 2011 when Ubuntu moved from GNOME 2 to Unity or 2017 when it moved to GNOME 3. Instead, most flavors just bring in a few, small incremental improvements with each release.
Ubuntu MATE is really in a different category, though, as it actively avoids changes. One of its stated objectives is to “recreate the halcyon days of Ubuntu for users who prefer a traditional desktop metaphor.” That essentially means that it is dedicated to continuing the GNOME 2 desktop, just as it is. To be fair, though, they did introduce the Brisk menu to replace the old GNOME 2 triple menus, but otherwise Ubuntu MATE has really not changed over time, beyond a few bug fixes. Ubuntu MATE works quite well as it is and that is it!
This 22nd release of Ubuntu MATE, version 22.10, came out on 10 October, 2024. As an interim release it kicks off the new development cycle of three interim releases leading to the next long term support (LTS) version, which will be Ubuntu MATE 26.04 LTS, expected in April, 2026. Because Ubuntu MATE 24.10 is an interim release, it only comes with nine months of support, running until July, 2025.
So what is new in this release? Not much, but that really is the point!
Installation
I downloaded the Ubuntu MATE 24.10 ISO file from the official source, using BitTorrent. This ISO is actually 17% smaller than the last release, weighing in at only 3.5 GB compared to 4.2 GB for Ubuntu MATE 24.04 LTS. The release notes state, “this is thanks to some fixes in the installer that no longer require as many packages in the live-seed.” So that is helpful.
I did a command line SHA256 sum check on the file to ensure it was not corrupted and then dropped it onto a USB stick equipped with Ventoy 1.0.99 to boot it up to a live session. Ubuntu MATE is officially listed as supported by Ventoy so it worked perfectly.
System requirements
The listed minimum hardware has not changed for this release and remains:
Dual core processor 64-bit 1 GB of RAM 8 GB of disk space Display 1024 X 768 px
The recommended hardware is:
Core i3 processor 64-bit 4 GB of RAM 16 GB of disk space Display 1440 X 900 px, with graphics card
As well, Raspberry Pi B models are supported including Raspberry Pi 2, 3, 3+ and 4 (all memory sizes).
New
So, as expected, the changes in this release are a short list. In fact, the only substantial change was the replacement of the Arctica Greeter with the previously employed Slick Greeter. This switch back was due to a race-condition induced in the boot process which resulted in the display manager failing to initialize. Ubuntu MATE users had been requesting the return to the Slick Greeter anyway, as it includes a graphical configuration screen allowing customization of the greeter.
As with all the Ubuntu 24.10 family of releases, with Ubuntu MATE 24.10 you get Linux kernel 6.11 and systemd 256.5 as the initialization system. Ubuntu MATE has now been using systemd for ten years and 20 releases with no problems encountered.
One thing that has not changed in this release is the MATE 1.26.2 desktop which is the same version that was used in 24.04 LTS. The next version 1.28 desktop has been released, but it has some bugs that need addressing prior to shipping. It is expected to be introduced later on in this development cycle, hopefully in time for inclusion in the next LTS.
Settings
As I have noted, sameness is a virtue in Ubuntu MATE and so 24.10 retains the default green-colored theme, including the same default wallpaper it always sports. It still has 23 window color themes and 28 wallpapers provided, although this time around four of the wallpapers feature orioles in various colors, as this release is code named Oracular Oriole. I am not a fan of the default green wallpaper, but there are some nice alternative ones provided that dress up the desktop quite nicely.
The default menu provided on Ubuntu MATE is still the singular Brisk menu. Brisk works well and includes a menu search feature, as all modern menus do, to save clicking through looking for an application. The panel options do include several other menus including the original classic GNOME 2 triple menu, which is nostalgic, but lacks menu searching. By installing the original menu, though, you can have Ubuntu looking exactly like it did in the early days, from Ubuntu 4.10 to 11.04.
As in the past, if you want a launcher, the Plank desktop dock comes already installed and can easily be turned on by opening it from the menu. It is also easy to turn off, just right click “quit” on it and it is gone. As docks go it is fairly unobtrusive and hides when a window touches it. I think its greatest virtue is that it is optional.
Ubuntu MATE still comes with the old GNOME 2 desktop's dual panel set-up, one at the top and one at the bottom of the screen. It is quite easy to change it to a single panel, just add the top panel icons to the bottom one including the menu button and then delete the top panel entirely. If you don't like the result, it is just as easy to reset them all back to the default two panel configuration with just one click.
As in the last release, the MATE desktop does not include a “large text” feature, desktop zoom or scaling control. This has been identified as an issue if you have a laptop with a small, high resolution screen as most are these days. MATE does however have the ability to adjust system fonts at Control Center - Appearance - Fonts and this actually solves the problem reasonably well. You will need to increase all the font sizes from the 11 point defaults to 14 or 16 and then also set the default zoom in Firefox to 133%, LibreOffice Writer to 160%, plus increase the font for the Pluma text editor to 16 pt or so and it all works fine. It just takes a bit of time to set up.
Applications
Some of the applications included with Ubuntu MATE 24.10 are:
Atril 1.26.2 PDF viewer* Caja 1.26.3 file manager* Celluloid 0.27 video player CUPS 2.4.10 printing system Document Scanner (Simple Scan) 46.0 optical scanner* Engrampa 1.26.2 file archiver* Evolution 3.54.0 email client Eye of MATE 1.26.1 image viewer* Firefox 131.0 web browser GDebi 0.9.5.7 package installer* GNOME Disks 46.1 disk manager GNOME Maps 47.0 maps GNOME Weather 47.0 weather Gparted 1.5.0 partition editor* GUFW 24.04.0 firewall controller* MATE Calculator 1.26.0 calculator* MATE Control Center 1.26.1 settings manager* MATE Disk Usage Analyzer 1.26.1 (baobab) disk display* MATE System Monitor 1.26.3 system resource monitor MATE Terminal 1.26.1 terminal emulator* LibreOffice 24.8.2 office suite Pipewire 1.2.4 audio controller Plank 0.11.89 desktop dock* Pluma 1.26.1 text editor* Redshift 1.12 screen colour temperature adjuster* Rhythmbox 3.4.7 music player* Shotwell 0.32.7 photo manager Systemd 256.5 init system Transmission 4.0.6 BitTorrent client Ubuntu App Center 1.0.0 package management system Webcamoid 9.1.1 webcam*
* indicates same application version as used in Ubuntu MATE 24.04 LTS ** supplied as a snap, so version depends on the upstream package manager
There is not much new here in the way of applications, either. There has been no change to the list of included default applications and only a few of them have new versions.
The file browser is still the MATE desktop's native Caja file manager. Caja is an earlier fork of Nautilus with some of its removed features reinstated like the “up one level” button. It also includes some useful features like a fairly good bulk file renaming capability.
Ubuntu MATE 24.10 includes the LibreOffice 24.8.2 office suite, as usual complete, except for LibreOffice Base, the database program. This is probably the least-used part of LibreOffice but it can be installed if needed. Leaving it out saves some space.
The default suite of applications provided includes everything to get an average desktop user started. Basically Ubuntu MATE is ready to get to work right from its installation.
Conclusions
With a motto of “For a retrospective future”, Ubuntu MATE’s goal is basically to continue the GNOME 2 desktop, so we don’t expect much in the way of changes from release to release as it would detract from that aim. Even in kicking off a new developmental cycle, Ubuntu MATE 24.10 is no exception, including just a few minor changes to fix some bugs, plus a new Linux kernel to support newer hardware.
It is easy to dismiss Ubuntu MATE as just appealing to people afraid of change, but GNOME 2 was actually once the most popular Linux desktop and for reasons that are still valid today: it is light, simple and fast to use. There is not much flash or bling here but it does let you get down to work. No Linux desktop since has matched the market share that GNOME 2 had and that includes GNOME 3.
By design, Ubuntu MATE is going to stay pretty much the same over time. This does have some real advantages, including no learning curve for new releases. Plus, if you like it today, you will like it next year. Sometimes constancy is a virtue.
External links
Official website: https://ubuntu-mate.org/