Xubuntu Development Update August 2024
- Sean Davis
- Development Update
- August 8, 2024
Table of Contents
August marks the fourth month of development for Xubuntu 24.10, “Oracular Oriole.” With the arrival of many Xfce 4.19 components, our next release is beginning to take shape. Let’s look at how things are progressing in this month’s Xubuntu development update.
August Schedule
The Oracular Oriole Release Schedule for August includes two critical milestones. Feature Freeze locks in APIs and new packages so features can start to be tested and refined. Debian Import Freeze stops the automatic propagation of updated packages from Debian to Ubuntu. This means more work for the Xubuntu and other flavor teams to keep the two archives in sync.
| Date | Milestones |
|---|---|
| August 01 | |
| August 08 | |
| August 15 | Feature Freeze, Debian Import Freeze |
| August 22 | Ubuntu Testing Week (optional) |
| August 29 |
Expanding the Community
The Xubuntu team has joined the other flavors in embracing Matrix and Discourse.
Matrix is a modern, open-source, decentralized communication platform similar to Telegram. Xubuntu now has a presence on the ubuntu.com homeserver and the Ubuntu Community space. We’re evaluating Matrix as an additional chat platform. Our primary space for communication and support is still IRC. Join the conversation on Matrix and help us make it successful!
Discourse is a modern, open-source forum system used by Ubuntu and its various flavors. Xubuntu was recently granted its topic for communication, which can be found here. We’ll utilize Discourse as another means to communicate announcements and discuss non-support-related topics. We’re new here, so help us make it great! If you want to reach the team or broader community, our main form of communication is still through the xubuntu-users and xubuntu-devel mailing lists.
Major Package Updates in Xubuntu 24.10
The Oracular Oriole features a first glimpse at the upcoming Xfce 4.20, thanks to the inclusion of several Xfce 4.19 packages. We’ve also updated a handful of Xfce 4.18 components (Catfish, Clipman, Mousepad, Ristretto, Screenshooter, and Xfburn) and other apps we ship. Thanks to Unit193, who has single-handedly carried Xubuntu development to this point in the cycle.
The truncated list of important Xubuntu 24.10 package updates.
| Package | Noble (24.04) | Oracular (24.10) |
|---|---|---|
| blueman | 2.3.5 | 2.4.2 |
| catfish | 4.16.4 | 4.18.0 |
| exo-utils | 4.18.0 | 4.19.0 |
| gimp | 2.10.36 | 2.10.38 |
| gnome-sudoku | 46.0 | 46.3 |
| gucharmap | 15.1.3 | 15.1.5 |
| libadwaita | 1.5.0 | 1.5.2 |
| libgarcon | 4.18.1 | 4.19.1 |
| libgtk-3 | 3.24.41 | 3.24.43 |
| libreoffice | 24.2.2 | 24.2.5 |
| libtumbler | 4.18.1 | 4.19.1 |
| libwireplumber | 0.4.17 | 0.5.5 |
| libxfce4panel | 4.18.4 | 4.19.3 |
| libxfce4ui | 4.18.4 | 4.19.5 |
| libxfce4util | 4.18.1 | 4.19.3 |
| libxfce4windowing | N/A | 4.19.3 |
| libxfconf | 4.18.1 | 4.19.2 |
| mousepad | 0.6.1 | 0.6.2 |
| ristretto | 0.13.1 | 0.13.2 |
| thunar | 4.18.8 | 4.19.3 |
| transmission-gtk | 4.0.5 | 4.0.6 |
| tumbler | 4.18.1 | 4.19.1 |
| xfburn | 0.7.0 | 0.7.1 |
| xfce4-appfinder | 4.18.0 | 4.19.2 |
| xfce4-clipman | 1.6.5 | 1.6.6 |
| xfce4-panel | 4.18.4 | 4.19.3 |
| xfce4-power-manager | 4.18.3 | 4.19.3 |
| xfce4-screenshooter | 1.10.5 | 1.10.6 |
| xfce4-session | 4.18.3 | 4.19.2 |
| xfce4-settings | 4.18.4 | 4.19.2 |
| xfconf | 4.18.1 | 4.19.2 |
| xfdesktop4 | 4.18.1 | 4.19.2 |
| xubuntu-desktop | 2.262 | 2.263 |
The 24.10 To-Do List
Beyond our package updates, Xubuntu development is starting very slowly. Here’s where we stand:
- Update development PPAs to include Oracular builds
- Update repositories with Oracular branches
- Update Xubuntu artwork to the development (disassembled mouse) artwork
- Identify new features and improvements for 24.10
- Identify and fix bugs found in 24.04
- Make it easier to translate our new installer
- Review updates needed for Greybird and elementary-xfce
- Create new Xubuntu artwork for 24.10
- Test, test, test.
Looking for Volunteers
Xubuntu is a hobby project run entirely by a small team of volunteers who live busy lives. Our core team today looks roughly the same as it did ten years ago. When life gets busy or complicated (and the older we get, the more this happens), our productivity quickly disappears. Xubuntu has difficulty moving forward and addressing an ever-increasing list of known issues. If you’d like to help keep Xubuntu’s future looking bright, please join our community and help where you can. The opportunities are endless.
Thanks to everybody in the community for keeping Xubuntu afloat!
