The latest release brings to our popular open source firewall many features: together with a new kernel that boosts performances and security, EFW 3.3 comes with an improved certificate management and Let’s Encrypt integration. You also get the possibility to remove kernel modules bundled within the system.
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS Bionic Beaver is a long-term support version that was released on 26 April 2018, Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS was released three months later on 26 July 2018. Ubuntu 18.04.2 LTS was released six months after Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS, on 15 February 2019. Further incremental update releases of the 18.04 LTS cycle were released as 18.04.3 and 18.04.4 at an approximately six-month release cycle, on August 8, 2019, and February 12, 2020, respectively. Version 18.04.5 was released six months later, on 13 August 2020. Ubuntu 18.04.6 LTS was released thirteen months later, on 17 September 2021. Plans to include a new theme, created by the Ubuntu community, were announced on 5 February 2018. However, as the development of the theme was unfinished and buggy as of 13 March 2018, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS did not include a new theme, and instead retained the Ambiance theme from 2010 as its default theme. The new theme was available as a Snap package. Ubuntu 18.04 LTS introduced new features, such as colour emoticons, a new To-Do application preinstalled in the default installation, and added the option of a "Minimal Install" to the Ubuntu 18.04 LTS installer, which only installs a web browser and system tools. Ubuntu 18.04 LTS's default display server was returned to Xorg for more stability and reliability, however, Wayland was still included as part of the default install. This release employed Linux kernel version 4.15, which incorporated a CPU controller for the cgroup v2 interface, AMD secure memory encryption support and improved SATA Link Power Management. For the first time some applications were delivered by default as snaps. In reviewing Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Michael Larabel of Phoronix wrote, "Ubuntu 18.04 is mostly an incremental upgrade over Ubuntu 17.10 with updated packages, the switch back to X.Org session by default rather than Wayland, continued presence of Snaps, and a variety of minor user-interface updates. It's really not a big deal going from 17.10 to 18.04 besides the LTS extended support nature, but it is quite a change if upgrading from Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. For that upgrade you now have the GCC 7 compiler, Unity 7 to GNOME Shell by default, and a wealth of other package updates." In reviewing the Ubuntu 18.04 LTS server version, Michael Larabel of Phoronix indicated that the newly developed text-based installer is an improvement over previous installers. Ubuntu 18.04 LTS has normal LTS support for five years, until April 2023 and has paid ESM support available from Canonical for an additional five years, until April 2028.
The name of this release, Artful Aardvark, was announced via Launchpad on 21 April 2017, instead of on Shuttleworth's blog as had been the case in the past. It was released on 19 October 2017. This was the first release of Ubuntu to use the GNOME Shell interface, and replaced X11 with the Wayland display server. In May 2017, Ken VanDine, a Canonical Software Engineer on the Ubuntu desktop team tasked with the switch to GNOME, confirmed that the intention is to ship the most current version of GNOME, with very few changes from a stock installation. This release also dropped support for 32-bit desktop images but a 32-bit system can still be installed from the minimal ISO. Writer J.A. Watson of ZDNet said, "I have not been much of an Ubuntu fan for a long time now, but this release includes a lot of significant changes, many of which might address some of my most serious objections about Ubuntu. So I think I should take a closer look at it than I normally do." He noted on printer configuration, "I got a notice that our wireless printer had been successfully configured. I hadn't even thought about trying to set up a printer yet, so that was a very nice surprise – and a good thing to point out to those who are still going around spouting 5+ years out of date information about how difficult it is to use printers with Linux." Reviewer Scott Gilbertson of Ars Technica wrote, "Ubuntu 17.10 is a huge departure for Ubuntu, but one that sees the distro seemingly getting its footing back. The transition to GNOME, while not without its pitfalls for some users, is surprisingly smooth. Unity did have some features you won't find in GNOME, but Canonical has done a good job of making things familiar, if not identical. More important than individual features in 17.10, this release sees Ubuntu starting over to some degree. The long development process of Unity 8 was threatening to turn it into Godot, but now Ubuntu is free of Unity 8. Its users no longer have to wait for anything." The first point release, 17.10.1, was released on 12 January 2018. It fixed a problem that prevented the firmware of some Lenovo computers from booting.
Named for the toy rubber octopus with suckers on her eight long arms that appeared in Toy Story 3. The release was frozen on February 7th, 2017. Support for the powerpc architecture was dropped in this release, whileas the mips64el architecture was introduced. This release introduced debug packages with a new repository in the archive, packages from this repository provided debug symbols automatically for packages.
On 17 October 2016, Mark Shuttleworth announced that the codename of Ubuntu 17.04, released on 13 April 2017, would be Zesty Zapus. This release dropped support for the 32-bit PowerPC architecture, following the same move by the upstream Debian project. Other changes include the default DNS resolver now being systemd-resolved, Linux kernel 4.10, and support for printers, which allow printing without printer-specific drivers. Joey Sneddon of OMG Ubuntu said of this release, "this is no normal release of Ubuntu. It's potentially the last version of the distribution that will come with the Unity 7 desktop by default. That's not a certainty, of course, but we know that Ubuntu will switch to GNOME for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS next year. It's reasonable to expect developers to want to kick a few tyres on that switch ahead of time, in the next interim release. A bittersweet release then, Ubuntu 17.04 sees the distro reach the end of the alphabet in codenames, and the end of an era in everything else. Sadly there's not an awful lot to say. Unity is, by and large, the same as it is in the 16.04 LTS ... Ubuntu 17.04 is an iterative update with modest appeal. While there is little compelling reason for anyone running Ubuntu 16.04 LTS to upgrade (especially for those who opt receive the newer hardware enablement stack) it's not an irrelevant release. Ubuntu 16.10 users will want to upgrade to Ubuntu 17.04 for the general around improvements, access to newer apps, and because the truncated support period of these short term releases necessitates it." Maruis Nestor of Softpedia called it, "a powerful release, both inside and outside" and noted, "the default desktop environment remains Unity 7, so your beloved Ubuntu desktop environment is not going anyway at the moment. It will also be available in the upcoming Ubuntu 17.10 release, whose development will start next month. After that, starting with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, the GNOME desktop will be used by default."
Mark Shuttleworth announced on 21 April 2016 that Ubuntu 16.10 would be called Yakkety Yak. It was released on 13 October 2016. This release features a maintenance version of Unity 7, but offers Unity 8 packages included in the ISO, so that users can test them. Other improvements include a new version of Ubuntu Software that supports faster loading, better support for installing command-line-only non-GUI applications, support for installing fonts and multimedia codecs and introduction of paid applications. It is based on Linux kernel version 4.8. This version of Ubuntu introduced only minor incremental changes. These included LibreOffice 5.2, GTK3 version by default, the Update Manager shows changelog entries for Personal Package Archives (PPAs), as well as repository software, GNOME applications updated to version 3.20, with some using version 3.22. Also, systemd now handles user sessions as well as the previously implemented system sessions. Joey Sneddon of OMG Ubuntu said, "Ubuntu 16.10 is not a big update over Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, released back in April. If you were hoping it'd be a compelling or must-have upgrade you'll be sadly disappointed." He did find some improvements, "The Ubuntu Software app is also significantly faster in use. This solves a real pet peeve of mine on the incumbent LTS desktop. Thankfully, Yakkety makes it quicker to find, browser, search and install applications," but concluded, "Ubuntu 16.10 is not a must-have upgrade—not for most people." Marius Nestor of Softpedia noted, "Ubuntu 16.10 is not an exciting release for fans of the open source operating system. Probably the most important feature of Yakkety Yak is Linux kernel 4.8, which brings support for the latest hardware, but other than that, you'll get some updated components that are mostly based on the old GNOME 3.20 Stack." Writing in Makeuseof, Bertel King, Jr. said, "If you're feeling underwhelmed, you probably remember the Ubuntu of yesteryear. Back in the days of 8.10, 9.04, and 10.04 each release brought forth a new theme or ambitious feature. Unity first appeared in 10.10 as a netbook interface before replacing the regular desktop in 11.04. By comparison, modern Ubuntu updates feel relatively stagnant. You would be forgiven for not being able to distinguish between 12.04 and 16.10."
Shuttleworth announced on 21 October 2015 that Ubuntu 16.04 LTS would be called Xenial Xerus. It was released on 21 April 2016. The default desktop environment continues to be Unity 7, with an option for Unity 8. In May 2015, Shuttleworth indicated that Ubuntu 16.04 LTS would include Unity 8 and Mir, but that users have a choice of that or Unity 7 and X.org. He said, "Unity 8 will be an option for 16.04 and we'll let the community decide the default for 16.04." The release adds support for Ceph and ZFS filesystems, the LXD hypervisor (using seccomp) for OpenStack, and Snap packages will be supported. It will use systemd instead of Upstart as its init system. This release will replace the Ubuntu Software Center with GNOME Software and eliminate Empathy and Brasero from the ISO file. Reviewer Jack Wallen said, "The truth of the matter is, the Ubuntu Software Center has been a horrible tool for a very long time. Making this move will greatly improve the Ubuntu experience for every user." This release has online Dash search results disabled by default in Unity 7. "None of your search terms will leave your computer", stated Ubuntu desktop manager Will Cooke. Reviewer Jack Wallen said about this, "I've never considered the inclusion of online search results to be spyware. In fact, I have always considered the online results to be an efficient means of searching for products through Amazon (etc.). That being said, with the release of 16.04, this feature is disabled." Ubuntu 16.04 LTS does not support the AMD Catalyst (fglrx) driver for AMD/ATI graphics cards and instead recommends the radeon and AMDGPU alternatives. These may not provide optimal graphics performance, however. AMDGPU-PRO is available for Ubuntu 16.04. The first point release, 16.04.1, was released on 21 July 2016. Release of Ubuntu 16.04.2 was delayed a number of times, but it was eventually released on 17 February 2017. Ubuntu 16.04.3 was released on 3 August 2017. Ubuntu 16.04.4 was delayed from 15 February 2018 and released on 1 March 2018, providing the latest Linux kernel, 4.13, from Ubuntu 17.10. Ubuntu 16.04.5 was released on 2 August 2018, and Ubuntu 16.04.6 was released on 28 February 2019. Ubuntu 16.04.7 was released on 13 August 2020. In September, 2021, Canonical announced that it would extend LTS support for the 14.04 and 16.04 to a total of 10 years, extending the support date for 16.04 until April 2026.
Shuttleworth announced on 4 May 2015 that Ubuntu 15.10 would be called Wily Werewolf. He initially expressed hope that the release would include the Mir display server, but it was released on 22 October 2015 without Mir. It was the 23rd release of Ubuntu. Ubuntu 15.10 eliminated the disappearing window edge scrollbars in favour of the upstream GNOME scrollbars, a move designed to save developer time in creating patches and updates. In reviewing the release, Chris Jones wrote, "Ubuntu 15.10 as an operating system for Review is pretty lackluster. There's nothing new as such and there's nothing we can really say that is going to change your opinion from its predecessor, 15.04. Therefore, we recommend you to upgrade either out of habit and according to your regular upgrade schedule rather than out of a specific necessity for a specific feature of this release. Because there is really nothing that could possibly differentiate it from the older, yet still very stable 15.04 release. But if you're going to stick with 15.04 for a little longer, we do recommend that you look at upgrading the kernel to the latest 4.2 branch. It is worth it. If you really want a reason to upgrade? Linux kernel 4.2 would be our sole reason for taking Ubuntu 15.10 into consideration." Joey Sneddon of OMG Ubuntu noted, "For a release named after a terrifying mythological creature Ubuntu 15.10 is surprisingly tame. There are no dramatic transformations, no bone popping or shirt ripping and certainly no hair sprouting under the milky eye of full moon. In fact, a new wallpaper and change in scrollbar appearance is about as shapeshift-y as this werewolf gets." Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols of ZDNet praised the release for its integration of cloud services, such as the new Ubuntu OpenStack cloud deployment and management tool, OpenStack Autopilot as well as its server tools. Ubuntu's machine container hypervisor, LXD, included by default in 15.10, was singled out. Vaughan-Nichols concluded, "with these advances, chances are you're more likely to use Ubuntu, hidden behind the scenes, on clouds and servers." A Hectic Geek review noted problems with X.Org Server crashes and concluded "If you use Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and if it's working out for you, then there really is no need to switch to a non-LTS release, especially to the 15.10." A review on Dedoimedo identified problems with Samba, Bluetooth, desktop searching, battery life and the smartphone interface and found the release inconsistent, saying, "unpredictability is horrible. Give me a good experience, or give me a bad experience, but please try not to seesaw between them erratically. Continuous, steady change in behavior, any which way." The review concluded, "it underperforms compared to some of its siblings and ancestors. Not the best, definitely not worth a perma upgrade, but you might find it more palatable to your hardware and use cases. Overall, though Wily isn't the best of distros. It sure gave me the willies. 7/10."
Named for the cow girl doll who first appeared in Toy Story 2. This release introduced for the first time the systemd init system as default. Two new architectures were introduced: arm64 and ppc64el and three architectures were dropped: s390 (replaced by s390x), ia64 and sparc. The Sparc architecture had been present in Debian for 16 years, but lacked developer support to make it maintainable in the distribution. The release included many security improvements such as a new kernel that nullified a whole set of security vulnerabilities (symlink attacks), a new way to detect packages which were under security support, more packages built with hardened compiler flags and a new mechanism (needrestart) to detect sub-systems which had to be restarted in order to propagate security updates after an upgrade.
On 20 October 2014 Shuttleworth announced that Ubuntu 15.04 would be named Vivid Vervet. It was released on 23 April 2015. This was the 22nd Ubuntu release. Ubuntu 15.04 used systemd instead of Upstart by default. This release also featured locally integrated menus by default, replacing the previous default global menus. Silviu Stahie, writing for Softpedia, said about this release while it was in beta, "Ubuntu 15.04 is not an exciting release, but that it's only a surface impression. The truth is that it's an important upgrade, because some very important changes have been made, including the adoption of systemd. Users will notice that not too many visual changes have been implemented in Ubuntu 15.04, but that was to be expected. The team is transitioning to a new Unity version that is still not ready for general use, so it's easy to understand why Ubuntu 15.04 is not all that different from Ubuntu 14.10." This release included modest improvements in Intel Haswell graphics performance and bigger improvements for AMD Radeon graphics cards using the open-source Radeon R600 and RadeonSI Gallium3D drivers. In reviewing this release, Joey Sneddon, of OMG Ubuntu, said "Ubuntu 15.04 is yet another solid entry in the distribution's long release history. A dependable desktop operating system suited for end users but with plenty of convenient extras to woo developers with. Though the Unity 7 desktop is largely mothballed as work progresses on the new converged experience with Unity 8, the modest refinements received here buff the experience. Unity in Ubuntu 15.04 shines brighter, a glowing example of a desktop that 'just works' for users.". Jesse Smith of DistroWatch wrote, "One of the changes I was interested in exploring was Ubuntu's switch from the Upstart init software to systemd. In this regard I was pleasantly surprised. I find most distributions, when they initially make the switch to systemd, introduce bugs or, at the very least, break backward compatibility. Sometimes service managers stop working properly and network device names usually change. Even if everything works as it should, the administrator needs to adjust to systemd's approach to logging and adopt a different method of managing services. Ubuntu has taken an approach I like with regards to adopting systemd." He concluded, "on the surface, Ubuntu 15.04 does not bring many changes. There are a few cosmetic adjustments, but nothing major that desktop users are likely to notice. Most of the interesting work appears to be going on behind the scenes ... Ubuntu 15.04 feels very stable and easy to configure. This is an operating system that is virtually effortless to set up and run and I feel the Unity 7 desktop does a nice job of providing lots of features while staying out of the way ... All in all, I like what Canonical has done with Ubuntu 15.04. This feels like a small, incremental evolution for Ubuntu and Unity. The init switch, which has disrupted the users of several other distributions, goes largely unnoticed in Ubuntu and I think that is worthy of praise."