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We seem to have missed the actual Ubuntu Testing Week but a late reminder is better than none at all right? With Ubuntu 21.04 coming soon it's time to report the bugs.

Now is a good time to get testing, as the Beta version is out now and a Release Candidate is due around April 15 so this is your chance to make one of the top Linux desktop distributions as good as possible for the 21.04 release due on April 22. According to Steam stats and our own stats, Ubuntu is in the top three most used for gaming.

Pictured - Ubuntu 21.04 Beta

What to expect from Ubuntu 21.04? It's coming with the 5.11 Linux kernel, Wayland as the default (except NVIDIA), Pipewire support is in for the next-generation of Linux audio / video, PulseAudio 14, BlueZ 5.56, NetworkManager 1.30, most GNOME apps updated to GNOME 40 but they're sticking with the previous Shell version due to it being a big change and updates to all your regular apps like the latest Firefox, LibreOffice and Thunderbird.

How to get involved? Head over to this link which has a bunch of other important links.

Additionally, announced today, is that Alan Pope is set to leave Canonical. Pope has been a huge force in the Ubuntu community over the years and recently as a Developer Advocate, along with their work on Snap packages and much more. Good luck for the future popey! This follows on from Canonical losing Martin Wimpress, their previous desktop lead back in February.

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DebianUser Apr 8, 2021
Right. :)
scaine Apr 8, 2021
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Out of the most recognisable names from my early Ubuntu years (Sil, Popey, Wimpy, Jono and Jorge), only Jorge is left, as far as I know.

These guys shaped Ubuntu for me. They built an incredible community that I contributed to for over 15 years, first on the Ubuntu Forums, then on Ask Ubuntu (I still have my "top 100 contributors" t-shirt lying around somewhere!).

Absolute stars. They'll be missed.


Last edited by scaine on 8 April 2021 at 1:38 pm UTC
iiari Apr 8, 2021
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Wonder why they're all leaving now... Perhaps Canonical isn't moving as fast as some would like to sell out and have a big payday for some who have been there a long time and they're tired of waiting? Perhaps Canonical is downgrading desktop as a priority? Who knows...
BielFPs Apr 8, 2021
I hope Wayland become default to the next Ubuntu LTS version too. In my opinion this would help developers to realize that wayland is now the standard and start to port their apps to it, since Ubuntu is still the "main" distro for those entering the Linux world.
iiari Apr 8, 2021
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Quoting: BielFPsI hope Wayland become default to the next Ubuntu LTS version too. In my opinion this would help developers to realize that wayland is now the standard and start to port their apps to it, since Ubuntu is still the "main" distro for those entering the Linux world.
Agreed. I've been using Manjaro Gnome Wayland for the better part of a year now on my work laptop and it's terrific. I have no idea how gaming is on Wayland, though, as I game on my Manjaro KDE xorg desktop.

How is Wayland for gaming right now?


Last edited by iiari on 8 April 2021 at 2:54 pm UTC
Kimyrielle Apr 8, 2021
Quoting: BielFPsI hope Wayland become default to the next Ubuntu LTS version too. In my opinion this would help developers to realize that wayland is now the standard and start to port their apps to it, since Ubuntu is still the "main" distro for those entering the Linux world.

Well, the right way to do it would be getting major applications to run flawlessly in Wayland -before- declaring it standard, and breaking all things that aren't yet ready for it. Not the other way around. You don't push stuff to production systems before they aren't absolutely ready for it, and I am not convinced that Wayland has reached that state yet.

Anyway, I am probably going to jump ship soon anyway. I have been a long-time Ubuntu user, but their push towards Snap is a dealbreaker for me. The point of Linux to me is that it's not controlled by a single corporation who can dictate me what to do with my system, and if I wanted an Appstore-like monopoly in my ecosystem, I might as well buy a Mac.
Lofty Apr 8, 2021
Quoting: Liam Dawemost GNOME apps updated to GNOME 40 but they're sticking with the previous Shell version due to it being a big change


Just as an FYI for anyone testing or running something like Arch which recently got the Gnome 40 update. The much used but out of action 'dash-to-panel' extension has now been forked to Gnome 40. It's still WIP but it appears to work okay 🙂

https://github.com/home-sweet-gnome/dash-to-panel/pull/1303


Last edited by Lofty on 8 April 2021 at 3:48 pm UTC
EagleDelta Apr 8, 2021
Quoting: iiariWonder why they're all leaving now... Perhaps Canonical isn't moving as fast as some would like to sell out and have a big payday for some who have been there a long time and they're tired of waiting? Perhaps Canonical is downgrading desktop as a priority? Who knows...

I can't speak for every tech job, but generally, if you want (or need) a pay increase or need to push forward in your skillsets and career it means a job change. Most jobs only hand out cost-of-living wage increases yearly (unless you get a promotion). Even then, depending on the direction of the company, there may not be many opportunities for an engineer to grow their skillsets if they stay at the same company.
Kimyrielle Apr 8, 2021
Quoting: Akonady
Quoting: KimyrielleThe point of Linux to me is that it's not controlled by a single corporation who can dictate me what to do with my system, and if I wanted an Appstore-like monopoly in my ecosystem, I might as well buy a Mac.

I think you like fragmentation (that holds Linux back) and no optimization whatsoever.

And yet we're here, obviously considering that fragmented world that is Linux to be better than it's corporate-controlled alternatives. Can it be that the free competition of ideas, approaches and different implementations tends to produce better results in the end?
BielFPs Apr 8, 2021
Quoting: iiariAgreed. I've been using Manjaro Gnome Wayland for the better part of a year now on my work laptop and it's terrific. I have no idea how gaming is on Wayland, though, as I game on my Manjaro KDE xorg desktop.

How is Wayland for gaming right now?
Gaming right now is mostly xwayland due to legacy applications not supporting native wayland (old SDL2 embed libraries for example). But in practice, playing in a single monitor, I didn't had any drawbacks compared to x11, and I've notice some improvements with some of my games when I changed to wayland (I think I can thank Gnome compositor for this, despite I don't like to use gnome)

I don't know about the state for multiple screens, but I know that any problems wayland have right now is a work in progress instead of broken by design.

Quoting: KimyrielleWell, the right way to do it would be getting major applications to run flawlessly in Wayland -before- declaring it standard, and breaking all things that aren't yet ready for it. Not the other way around. You don't push stuff to production systems before they aren't absolutely ready for it, and I am not convinced that Wayland has reached that state yet.
Well, that's kind of a problem with every change of technology, specially with a big one like this. To make something to run "flawlessly" you first need people to test in the real world, then people will complain about some problems, and then they can fix it.

It's a bad, but necessary step to make it work.

The good news is wayland already covers mostly of this cases and xwayland covers mostly of others, and both are being improved while we speak :)

Quoting: KimyrielleAnyway, I am probably going to jump ship soon anyway. I have been a long-time Ubuntu user, but their push towards Snap is a dealbreaker for me. The point of Linux to me is that it's not controlled by a single corporation who can dictate me what to do with my system, and if I wanted an Appstore-like monopoly in my ecosystem, I might as well buy a Mac.

For a long time I don't use Ubuntu (way before snaps) but I still recognize them as the main door for someone outside the linux to enter. You don't look like someone who needs an advice for a linux distro, but if for some reason you need a "unsnaped x11 Ubuntu" I would recommend you linux mint right now, since they're openly agains snap packages, and they had to pretend wayland isn't a thing yet because of their partnership with Nvidia.

Or Debian, Debian is cool :P
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