Ubuntu's Latest Long Term Support (LTS) Version have been Released on 23 April. Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Code Named as Xenial Xeru have Many New Features Available.
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS ships with a modified version of Linux 4.4 kernel.
It introduces numerable improvements to system stability, performance, power efficiency, and file system handling, and introduces support for newer Intel and AMD hardware.
ZFS is best described as a combination of a volume manager (like LVM) and a filesystem (like ext4, which remains the default for Ubuntu installations).
Ubuntu has produced a reference guide to help those interested in filesystems take advantage of ZFS on Xenial.
Snappy is Ubuntu’s brand new packaging format. It aims to help app developers bring newer versions of their apps to the Ubuntu desktop, instantly, reliably and safely.
We took a look at the key benefits of Snap packages in an earlier post, which is well worth a read for a full rundown.
But the short of it is this: you will get to install new versions of your favourites apps in Ubuntu sooner than before, and without having to worry about missing or out of date dependencies.
The window control keybinding changes from alt-super.
Unity is Ubuntu’s default desktop shell. A host of bug fixes for some long-standing issues feature in its latest outing.
Yes, as you may have heard by now, Ubuntu 16.04 finally lets you move the Unity launcher to the bottom of the screen — six long years after users first asked.
The ‘option’ to change the position is not exposed via the native system settings app, instead lurking in the nerdy nether regions of the dconf-editor. Third-party utilities like Unity Tweak Tool (available from Ubuntu Software) offer an easier, one-click toggle, however.
Ubuntu’s controversial online search features are now disabled by default for new installs.
A victory for the privacy conscious,you’ll no longer need to sift through tangentially related eBay, Wikipedia and web results when hunting down a local file or app.
Session shortcuts have been added to the Dash to make it even faster to reboot, logout or shutdown your PC.
Other changes in Unity 7.4:
Changes since Unity 7.2 (used in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS)
Since a good chunk of you will be doing an upgrade from Ubuntu 14.04 LTS we’ll mention some other notable tweaks to the desktop shell since the version you’re used to was released.
Among them:
Almost every new version of Ubuntu comes with a new desktop background and a selection of new community-contributed wallpapers.
The default desktop background is a palatable mish-mash of purple, though far removed from the heady days of the Hardy Heron! Whether you keep it or change it, the new default desktop wallpaper will at least make it easier to spot Ubuntu in the wild!
Several new apps ship as part of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, including a new desktop calendar app and a brand-new software store (pictured above).
Both are welcome additions to the desktop, with Calendar able to show your upcoming appointments and reminders in the Datetime Indicator.
The new Software app replaces the Ubuntu Software Center. Use it to search for, browse and install from hundreds of thousands of free and open-source application, as well as a few non-open-source and paid apps, too.
It’s not perfect — it doesn’t always mark installed apps correctly, it leaves behind dependencies on uninstalls — but these bugs will be fixed in subsequent updates.
The Cheese webcam booth lets you — surprise — take screen-lit selfies using your webcam.
The latest releases of Mozilla’s Firefox web-browser and Thunderbird e-mail client are (naturally) also included, as are new versions of other key apps like LibreOffice, Evince and the Eye of GNOME image viewer.
Both have been removed from the ISO image.
If you’re upgrading from an earlier release note that these apps won’t be uninstalled.
Ubuntu 16.04 — New Features
Linux Kernel 4.4
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS ships with a modified version of Linux 4.4 kernel.It introduces numerable improvements to system stability, performance, power efficiency, and file system handling, and introduces support for newer Intel and AMD hardware.
- Improved Intel Skylake processor support
- 3D support in the virtual GPU driver
- New driver for Corsair Vengeance K90
- Support for TPM 2.0 chips
- Journaled RAID 5 support
ZFS
A bigger (and somewhat controversial) change is the addition of support for the Zfs filesystem on Linux — the first version of Ubuntu to support it natively, out of the box.ZFS is best described as a combination of a volume manager (like LVM) and a filesystem (like ext4, which remains the default for Ubuntu installations).
Ubuntu has produced a reference guide to help those interested in filesystems take advantage of ZFS on Xenial.
Snappy
Snappy is Ubuntu’s brand new packaging format. It aims to help app developers bring newer versions of their apps to the Ubuntu desktop, instantly, reliably and safely.
We took a look at the key benefits of Snap packages in an earlier post, which is well worth a read for a full rundown.
But the short of it is this: you will get to install new versions of your favourites apps in Ubuntu sooner than before, and without having to worry about missing or out of date dependencies.
New Keyboard Shortcuts
The default shortcut for opening the HUD (the ‘heads-up display’ that lets you quickly search for options in the menu of focus applications) changes from ALT to ALT+SPACE in this release.The window control keybinding changes from alt-super.
Unity 7.4
Unity is Ubuntu’s default desktop shell. A host of bug fixes for some long-standing issues feature in its latest outing.
Yes, as you may have heard by now, Ubuntu 16.04 finally lets you move the Unity launcher to the bottom of the screen — six long years after users first asked.
The ‘option’ to change the position is not exposed via the native system settings app, instead lurking in the nerdy nether regions of the dconf-editor. Third-party utilities like Unity Tweak Tool (available from Ubuntu Software) offer an easier, one-click toggle, however.
Ubuntu’s controversial online search features are now disabled by default for new installs.
A victory for the privacy conscious,you’ll no longer need to sift through tangentially related eBay, Wikipedia and web results when hunting down a local file or app.
Session shortcuts have been added to the Dash to make it even faster to reboot, logout or shutdown your PC.
Other changes in Unity 7.4:
- Removable devices now have launcher shortcuts
- ‘Format’ option added to device quicklist
- Improved appearance of apps that use CSD
- New app spread shortcut: Super + Ctrl + W
- Window management fix for Trash
- New HUD shortcut: Alt + Space (previously just ‘Alt’)
- Option to ‘Always Show Menus’ in System Settings
- Dash: new overlay scrollbars
- Improved HiDPI support
- Apps now show launcher icons while loading
Easily create desktop shortcuts
Since a good chunk of you will be doing an upgrade from Ubuntu 14.04 LTS we’ll mention some other notable tweaks to the desktop shell since the version you’re used to was released.
Among them:
- App menus can be made to ‘Always Show’
- Faster login & logout animations
- New overlay scrollbars (no more thumb scrubber)
- Drag and drop apps from the Dash to the desktop to create shortcuts
- Computer can no longer be ‘shutdown’ when the screen is locked
- Dash: Keyboard navigation improvements
- New setting to control the show-now delay (when pressing Alt key)
New Default Wallpaper
The new default desktop background
The default desktop background is a palatable mish-mash of purple, though far removed from the heady days of the Hardy Heron! Whether you keep it or change it, the new default desktop wallpaper will at least make it easier to spot Ubuntu in the wild!
Application Updates
Several new apps ship as part of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, including a new desktop calendar app and a brand-new software store (pictured above).
Both are welcome additions to the desktop, with Calendar able to show your upcoming appointments and reminders in the Datetime Indicator.
The new Software app replaces the Ubuntu Software Center. Use it to search for, browse and install from hundreds of thousands of free and open-source application, as well as a few non-open-source and paid apps, too.
It’s not perfect — it doesn’t always mark installed apps correctly, it leaves behind dependencies on uninstalls — but these bugs will be fixed in subsequent updates.
The Cheese webcam booth lets you — surprise — take screen-lit selfies using your webcam.
The latest releases of Mozilla’s Firefox web-browser and Thunderbird e-mail client are (naturally) also included, as are new versions of other key apps like LibreOffice, Evince and the Eye of GNOME image viewer.
Software, Calendar and USB Startup Creator
- Firefox 45
- Thunderbird 38
- Chromium 48
- LibreOffice 5.1
- Nautilus (aka ‘Files’) 3.14.2
- Totem (aka ‘Videos’) 3.18
- Rhythmbox 3.3
- GNOME Terminal 3.18
- Eye of GNOME 3.18
- Shotwell 0.22
Both have been removed from the ISO image.
If you’re upgrading from an earlier release note that these apps won’t be uninstalled.
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