Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter Issue 804

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 804 for the week of September 3 - 9, 2023.

In this Issue

  • First Mantic Minotaur test rebuild
  • Mantic Minotaur (23.10) UI Freeze
  • Welcome New Members and Developers
  • Ubuntu Stats
  • Hot in Support
  • LoCo Events
  • Thank You for the Passionate Discussion: An Update on Installation Options and Provisioning Overhaul
  • Web3Lagos Conference Report
  • Xubuntu Development Update September 2023
  • Ubuntu at DebConf 2023
  • Other Community News
  • Ubuntu Cloud News
  • Canonical News
  • In the Blogosphere
  • In Other News
  • Featured Audio and Video
  • Meeting Reports
  • Upcoming Meetings and Events
  • Updates and Security for 20.04, 22.04, and 23.04
  • And much more!

General Community News

First Mantic Minotaur test rebuild

Graham Inggs informs us the first test rebuild of Mantic Minotaur started on 30 August 2023 for all architectures and components. We’re told the main component completed for all architectures except for riscv64, and is still running for universe and multiverse. We’re given a link to view superseded builds, and another link for failed builds, with a request to help fixing these failures (currently in mantic-proposed).

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2023-September/042779.html

Mantic Minotaur (23.10) UI Freeze

Utkarsh Gupta on behalf of the Ubuntu Release team alerts us that Ubuntu Mantic (23.10) is now in User Interface Freeze. We’re given a link so we can remind ourselves what this means, as well as a brief explanation.

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2023-September/001338.html

Welcome New Members and Developers

Congratulations to this contributor!

Ubuntu Stats

Bug Stats

  • Open: 142333 (+53)
  • Critical: 319 (+1)
  • Unconfirmed: 71465 (+8)

As always, the Bug Squad needs more help. If you want to get started, please see: BugSquad - Ubuntu Wiki

Translations

  • Ukrainian: 87.37% (40198/1015)
  • German: 86.45% (43105/284)
  • French: 82.28% (56362/6939)
  • Spanish: 80.22% (62943/4706)
  • Swedish: 77.52% (71518/855)

Hot in Support

Ask Ubuntu Top 5 Questions

Ask (and answer!) questions at: https://askubuntu.com/

Ubuntu Forums Top 5 Threads

Find more support at: https://ubuntuforums.org/

LoCo Events

The following LoCo team events are currently scheduled in the next two weeks:

  • Arizona LoCo Team: Sierra Vista Ubuntu Hour: Thu, September 14, 6pm – 7pm - Schlotzsky’s Cafe, 3900 E Fry Blvd, Sierra Vista AZ 85635
  • Arizona LoCo Team: Virtual Phoenix Ubuntu Hour: Thu, September 14, 7pm – 8pm - Big Blue Button, https://bbb.azloco.net
  • Arizona LoCo Team: Virtual Installfest/Linux: 16 September, 1000-1600 - Workshop on line using Big Blue Button, https://bbb.azloco.net (co-hosted with the Phoenix Linux User Group)
  • Arizona LoCo Team: Team Meeting: 17 September, 2100-2130 - on irc.libera.chat, channel ubuntu.us.az

Looking beyond the next two weeks? Visit the respective LoCo Team calendar to browse upcoming events. Please see:

Ubuntu Arizona LoCo: https://www.azloco.org/az-team-calendar/

Registered LoCo contacts: Ubuntu Local Communities - Ubuntu Community Hub

The Hub

Thank You for the Passionate Discussion: An Update on Installation Options and Provisioning Overhaul

Tim Holmes-Mitra thanks all who contributed to the Ubuntu desktop ISO discussion for their valued input. We’re reminded of the purpose: the exploration of combining ‘Full’ and ‘Minimal’ installation options into a new default install. Plans for 23.10 have changed and will now include the result of this new default, plus a full install option. It is expected this will ‘inform’ what maybe best going forward.

[update] Modern Communication Platforms - Call for Feedback

Mauro Gaspari thanks all who shared the good and bad of Matrix. Mauro discusses some of the points raised in this thread. Brief mention is made of many participants in the prior thread, and likely plans of action (use of bridges etc), with mention of some who expressed problems and a request to “have specific discussions about those, here in the open”. We’re told that even if discussions occur elsewhere, updates will be provided here on discourse.

Web3Lagos Conference Report

Bright Adams gives us his experiences from a recent Web3 event, where he promoted Ubuntu, and helped attendees with their installations. Bright sees “significant potential for Ubuntu in Africa”, but with a need for “more awareness and education”, which leads to Bright’s proposal to organize more events like this one. We’re given a link to join the Nigeria LoCo, along with a number of photos.

The Planet

Xubuntu Development Update September 2023

Sean Davis provides the monthly update of Xubuntu development. Various improvements are covered, including Color Emoji, Bluetooth headphone fixes, the replacement of policykit-1-gnome with a modified mate-polkit (if done perfectly users won’t even notice), and a list of package upgrades. We’re invited to test these changes by using the Xubuntu 23.10 daily ISOs (links provided for the Desktop or Minimal).

https://blog.bluesabre.org/2023/09/04/xubuntu-development-update-september-2023/

Ubuntu at DebConf 2023

Mauro Gaspari starts by reminding us Ubuntu relies on Debian (upstream), which is why Ubuntu is a Gold sponsor of DebConf again this year. We’re told who will be hosting some sessions, and what those sessions will cover, and given a link to the DebConf23 web site for more details, and reminded it’s being held in Kochi, India.

Other Community News

Ubuntu 23.10 Adding Experimental TPM-Backed Full Disk Encryption

Michael Larabel informs us that Canonical is “introducing initial support for TPM-based full disk encryption to make use of your system’s Trusted Platform Module (TPM)”. Michael tells us this feature relies on snaps, and that “Ubuntu 23.10 will have experimental TPM-backed Full Disk Encryption support” that will complement existing encryption. A quote and link to the official announcement is given.

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Ubuntu-23.10-TPM-FDE

Media attention:

September Plasma 6 update

Nate Graham provides a Plasma 6 status update, firstly telling us Plasma 6 will be released early February 2024. We’re then walked through some of the porting and feature tasks that have been completed in the past month, which includes a list of developers who did this work. We’re told the team is now in stage 4 of the Plasma 6 roadmap, and “nibbling” on stage 5. There are 75 Plasma 6 issues, which is a reduction. Nate extends an invitation for developers to come and help, or end-users to help test the Plasma 6 work.

Ubuntu Cloud News

Canonical News

In the Blogosphere

Linux Fix Incoming For Intel Fallout After The Kernel Disabled Buggy AMD fTPM RNG

Michael Larabel writes that the disabling “random number generation (RND) for all AMD fTPMs ended up having unintended consequences on Intel systems” that broke S3 suspend behavior. We’re told a fix for this has been submitted into the Linux 6.6 kernel, and is marked for backporting to LTS kernels. We are given a link and details of where it was discovered, plus a link to the patch.

https://www.phoronix.com/news/AMD-fTPM-RNG-Intel-Fix-6.6

GNOME 45 Arrives in Daily Builds of Ubuntu 23.10

Joey Sneddon reports GNOME 45 has hit Ubuntu 23.10 dailies. Joey reminds us that GNOME 45 still hasn’t been released, thus GNOME on the dailies may change. What we’ll see is described, including some screenshots and a GIF, before being reminded when Ubuntu 23.10 will be released.

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/09/gnome-45-arrives-in-ubuntu-23-10

Mesa 23.2-rc3 Released After Five Week Hiatus

Michael Larabel reports on Mesa 23.2-rc3 being available for testing. Brief mention of some of the fixes is given, before telling us more RCs are expected before final release later this month.

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Mesa-23.2-rc3-Released

Linux Kernel 6.5 is Ready to Install in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

Ji m briefly mentions some of the ‘goodies’ found in the Linux 6.5 kernel, and tells us the kernel has been packaged for Ubuntu 23.10, and as an OEM kernel for Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. We’re briefly told about OEM kernels, and how we can install this kernel on a Ubuntu 22.04 LTS system, and remove it if we wish.

https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2023/09/linux-kernel-6-5-is-ready-to-install-in-ubuntu-22-04-lts/

Ubuntu 23.10 Mascot Art, Default Wallpaper Revealed

Joey Sneddon shows us the default wallpaper of Ubuntu 23.10. We’re told the designers chose to include the mascot image within a maze, making what Joey describes as “ancient and classic yet modern and dynamic”. A link is provided for us to download and use it (and other goodies) today on our systems, or we can view it using the provided image.

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/09/ubuntu-23-10-default-wallpaper-unveiled

Brand New ‘App Center’ Lands in Ubuntu 23.10

Joey Sneddon tells us that “Ubuntu’s new ‘App Center’ app has arrived” on daily builds of Ubuntu 23.10. A picture of the app store running is shown to us, and we’re told it looks like it belongs. Joey gives his finding that it “feels faster” than the store it replaces, and uses less RAM too. Joey notes it won’t let you find & install “repo/deb” software, as it currently only offers snap packages; but this is temporary. Nor is flatpak supported.

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/09/ubuntu-app-center-app-arrives

LibreOffice 7.5.6 Office Suite Released with More Than 50 Bug Fixes

Marius Nestor informs us the Document Foundation has released LibreOffice 7.5.6 which resolves 53 bugs/issues. Links are given to the RC changelogs for more details, along with some details of further LibreOffice expected release dates. We are advised to upgrade when we can.

https://9to5linux.com/libreoffice-7-5-6-office-suite-released-with-more-than-50-bug-fixes

In Other News

Help us make GNOME Calendar rock-solid by expanding the test suite!

Jeff Fortin writes that GNOME Calendar 45 is a “groundbreaking release in terms of UX”. Jeff mentions some bugs that have existed in GNOME Calendar related to timezones and daylight-savings. To help test these, some unit tests are wanted (there aren’t enough currently). Jeff requests help in creating these unit tests. Details on what is required, and how much it will help the project is provided.

https://fortintam.com/blog/call-for-help-writing-gnome-calendar-compliance-unit-tests/

Featured Audio and Video

Ubuntu Security Bootcamp: Configuring hardware security keys for OpenSSH

“In this tutorial, Ubuntu Server engineer Andreas Hasenack demonstrates how to leverage PGP with your hardware security key to create an additional layer of security for OpenSSH access.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKhXdqliTb8

ubuntuonair: Opportunity Open Source Mandi - Room 1 - Fri Sep 8

“Live coverage of the Opportunity Open Source conference in the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi in India, for attending the conference remotely.
This is the stream for the Room 1 (Plenary) on Friday, Sep. 8. On this day we will have sessions from 3:00pm - 8:30pm IST or 9:30 - 15:00 UTC (or 5:30 hours of streaming).”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzu0FIyDfOo

Ubuntu OnAir: Opportunity Open Source Mandi - Room 2 - Fri Sep 8

“Live coverage of the Opportunity Open Source conference in the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi in India, for attending the conference remotely.
This is the stream for the Room 2 (Workshops) on Friday, Sep. 8. We will have sessions from 6:00pm - 8:30pm IST or 12:30 - 15:00 UTC (or 2:30 hours of streaming).”
This is the Zephyr track, including interactive workshop.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOA8yL9yntM

Ubuntu Security Podcast: Episode 208

“This week we detail the recently announced and long-awaited feature of TPM-backed full-disk encryption for the upcoming Ubuntu 23.10 release, plus we cover security updates for elfutils, GitPython, atftp, BusyBox, Docker Registry and more.”

https://ubuntusecuritypodcast.org/episode-208/

Linux Matters Podcast: Episode 11 - Using Two GPUs at Once

"In this episode, we discuss:

  • Exploring the secrets of the TPM
  • Running Radeon and NVIDIA GPUs in one PC.
  • Getting ongoing data from an EV."

https://linuxmatters.sh/11/

Ubuntu Portugal Podcast: Episode 263 - Cromos da Festa

“Queres saber como ser chato e cromo com instituiçÔes pĂșblicas em relação a direitos digitais? Segue este tutorial e tornar-te-ĂĄs um especialista de RGPD! E se um guardanapo fosse mais poderoso do que uma espada? E se pudesses ter o teu prĂłprio servidor de correcção ortogrĂĄfica, com um pc baratucho que ia para o lixo? Enquanto o Tiago continua em missĂŁo secreta, o Diogo e o Miguel puderam falar de como a Canonical quer reorientar o seu instalador para satisfazer toda a gente (Gregos, Troianos e atĂ© Minotauros); camas na Festa do Software Livre e cheques de 750 euros distribuĂ­dos ao povo.”

https://podcastubuntuportugal.org/e263/

Linux & Open Source News: Plasma 6 release date, new Ubuntu App Store, GNOME breaks extensions

“This week, we have KDE Plasma 6’s release date (I’ll spoil the video: it’s in 5 months), we have the new Ubuntu App Center, which seems to still not allow users to install anything other than snaps (let’s hope this changes), and we have GNOME 45 breaking all extensions (yes, for real this time).”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AmGJb2V0eI

This Week in Linux: Episode 232 - Linux 6.5, Valve Proton, Future of Ubuntu, CIQ Sued & more Linux news!

“This episode is jam-packed with stuff. It’s actually kind of ridiculous how much there’s in this episode. So we’re gonna talk about the Linux kernel itself with 6.5 being released. Also, we’re gonna celebrate some birthdays / anniversaries for Valve’s Proton and Bugzilla. And then we’re gonna be talking about the future of the Ubuntu desktop, as well as the Enterprise Linux drama is back and this time, not for Red Hat though. We’re gonna be talking about CIQ slash Rocky Linux, Also, we’ve got some distro releases and some more app news. 
”

https://tuxdigital.com/podcasts/this-week-in-linux/twil-232/

Meeting Reports

Upcoming Meetings and Events

Times shown are UTC. For more details and farther dates please visit: https://fridge.ubuntu.com/calendars/

Updates and Security for 20.04, 22.04, and 23.04

Security Updates

Ubuntu 20.04 Updates

End of Standard Support: April 2025

Ubuntu 22.04 Updates

Ubuntu 23.04 Updates

End of Standard Support: January 2024

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Archive

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Further News

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Conclusion

Thank you for reading the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter.

See you next week!

Credits

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  • Krytarik Raido
  • Bashing-om
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  • Wild Man
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Glossary of Terms

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