[ubuntu-studio-users] Ubuntu Studio 24.10 Released

Erich Eickmeyer eeickmeyer at ubuntu.com
Thu Oct 10 16:38:38 UTC 2024


The Ubuntu Studio team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu 
Studio 24.10 code-named “Oracular Oriole”. This marks Ubuntu Studio’s 
35th release. This release is a Regular release and as such, it is 
supported for 9 months, until July 2025.

Since it’s just out, you may experience some issues, so you might want 
to wait a bit before upgrading. Please see therelease notes 
<https://ubuntustudio.org/ubuntu-studio-24-10-release-notes/>for a more 
complete list of changes and known issues. Listed here are some of the 
major highlights.

You can download Ubuntu Studio 24.10 from ourdownload page 
<https://ubuntustudio.org/download>.


    Special Notes

The Ubuntu Studio 24.10 disk image (ISO) exceeds 4 GB and cannot be 
downloaded to some file systems such as FAT32 and may not be readable 
when burned to a standard DVD. For this reason, we recommend downloading 
to a compatible file system. When creating a boot medium, we recommend 
creating a bootable USB stick 
<https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/create-a-usb-stick-on-ubuntu#1-overview> with 
the ISO image or burning to a Dual-Layer DVD.

Minimum installation media requirements: Dual-Layer DVD or 8GB USB drive.

Images can be obtained from this link: 
https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/24.10/release/

Full updated information, including *Upgrade Instructions,* are 
available in the *Release Notes 
<https://ubuntustudio.org/ubuntu-studio-24-10-release-notes/>*. 
<https://wiki.ubuntu.com/GroovyGorilla/Beta/UbuntuStudio>

Upgrades from 24.04 LTS should be enabled within a month after release, 
so we appreciate your patience.


    New This Release


      Minimal Installation

We have now implemented minimal installations in the system installer. 
This will let you install a minimal desktop to get going and then 
install what you need viaUbuntu Studio Installer 
<https://ubuntustudio.org/ubuntu-studio-installer/>. This will make a 
faster installation process and lets you customize what you need for 
your personal Studio.

Unfortunately, at least for the time being, we also had to get rid of 
the default shortcuts in the panel since it would cause an error when 
loading without the applications being installed. A solution for this is 
coming in 25.04.


      Generic Kernel

The Generic Ubuntu Kernel is nowfully capable of low-latency workloads 
<https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/fine-tuning-the-ubuntu-24-04-kernel-for-low-latency-throughput-and-power-efficiency/44834>. 
As such, with this release,*we have switched from the LowLatency Kernel 
to the Generic Kernel*with the boot options to enable the low-latency 
configuration enabled by default.

These options can be changed viaUbuntu Studio Audio Configuration 
<https://ubuntustudio.org/audio-configuration/>and customized depending 
on your use-case and your workload. If you don’t need the low-latency 
and wish to have a computer that is more energy-efficient, you may wish 
to turn off all three options. The choice is yours.


      Plasma 6

Ubuntu Studio, in cooperation with Kubuntu, s*witched to Plasma 6 this 
cycle*. This switch was not without issues, so we expect many of the 
issues to be Plasma 6 related, especially when it comes to the default 
configuration and theming.


      New Look

Ubuntu Studio had been using the same theming, “Materia” (except for the 
22.04 LTS release which was a re-colored Breeze theme) since 19.04. 
However, Materia has gone dead upstream. To stay consistent, we found a 
fork called “Orchis” which seems to match closely and have switched to that.

As you can see from the screenshot, it has more vivid colors, round 
corners, and a more modern look. We hope you enjoy it. We are aware of a 
bug involving adark bar under windows 
<https://github.com/vinceliuice/Orchis-kde/issues/25>which may be an 
issue, but sometimes switching the window decorations to another 
variation of the theme is a solution.


      PipeWire 1.2.4

This release contains*PipeWire 1.2*. With PipeWire 1.2, FireWire devices 
requiring FFADO are supported./Do note that the Ubuntu Studio team does 
not have any FireWire devices and could not test this./

PipeWire’s JACK compatibility is configured to use out-of-the-box and is 
zero-latency internally. System latency is configurable viaUbuntu Studio 
Audio Configuration <https://ubuntustudio.org/audio-configuration/>.

However, if you would rather use straight JACK 2 instead, that’s also 
possible. Ubuntu Studio Audio Configuration can disable and enable 
PipeWire’s JACK compatibility on-the-fly. From there, you can simply use 
JACK via QJackCtl.


        Complete Deprecation of PulseAudio/JACK setup/Studio Controls

Due to the maturity of PipeWire, the traditional PulseAudio/JACK setup, 
where JACK would be started/stopped by Studio Controls and bridged to 
PulseAudio, is now*fully deprecated and the option is not offered 
anymore*. This configuration is*no longer installable via Ubuntu Studio 
Audio Configuration*. Studio Controls may return someday as a PipeWire 
fine-tuning solution, but for now it is unsupported by the developer.


      Ardour 8.6

While this does not represent the latest release of Ardour, Ardour 8.6 
is a great release. If you would like the latest release, we highly 
recommendpurchasing one-time or subscribing to Ardour 
<https://community.ardour.org/download?platform=linux&architecture=x86_64&type=compiled&paymentSelection=options>directly 
from the developers to help support this wonderful application.

To help support Ardour’s funding, you may obtain later versions directly 
from ardour.org. To do so, pleaseone-time purchase or subscribe to 
Ardour from their website. <https://ardour.org/>If you wish to get later 
versions of Ardour from us, you will have to wait until the next regular 
release of Ubuntu Studio, due in April 2025.


      Ubuntu Studio Audio Configuration

Ubuntu Studio Audio Configuration’s Dummy Audio Device now also has a 
much-requested*Dummy Audio Input*.

Additionally as described above, Ubuntu Studio Audio Configuration has 
an option to configure the default boot parameters that are commonly 
used to enable the low-latency capabilities of the Linux kernel used in 
Ubuntu. For more information about that, see theUbuntu Studio Audio 
Configuration <https://ubuntustudio.org/audio-configuration/>page.


    We’re back on Matrix

You’ll notice that the menu links to our support chat and on our website 
will now take you to a Matrix chat. This is due to the Ubuntu community 
carving its own space within the Matrix federation.

However, this is not only a support chat. This is also a creativity 
discussion chat. You can pass ideas to each other and you’re welcome to 
it if the topic remains within those confines. However, if a moderator 
or admin warns you that you’re getting off-topic (or the intention for 
the chat room), please heed the warning.

This is a persistent connection, meaning if you close the window (or 
chat), it won’t lose your place as you may only need to sign back in to 
resume the chat.


    Frequently Asked Questions

*Q:* Does Ubuntu Studio contain snaps?
*A:* Yes. Mozilla’s distribution agreement with Canonical changed, and 
Ubuntu was forced to no longer distribute Firefox in a native .deb 
package. We have found that, after numerous improvements, Firefox now 
performs just as well as the native .deb package did.

Thunderbird also became a snap so that the maintainers can get security 
patches delivered faster.

Additionally, Freeshow is an Electron-based application. Electron-based 
applications cannot be packaged in the Ubuntu repositories in that they 
cannot be packaged in a traditional Debian source package. While such 
apps do have a build system to create a .deb binary package, it 
circumvents the source package build system in Launchpad, which is 
required when packaging for Ubuntu. However, Electron apps also have a 
facility for creating snaps, which can be uploaded and included. 
Therefore, for Freeshow to be included in Ubuntu Studio, it had to be 
packaged as a snap.

We have additional snaps that are Ubuntu-specific, such as the Firmware 
Updater and the Security Center. Contrary to popular myth, Ubuntu does 
not have any plans to switch all packages to snaps, nor do we.

*Q*: Will you make an ISO with {my favorite desktop environment}?
*A:* To do so would require creating an entirely new flavor of Ubuntu, 
which would require going through the Official Ubuntu Flavor application 
process. Since we’re completely volunteer-run, we don’t have the time or 
resources to do this. Instead, we recommend you download the official 
flavor for the desktop environment of your choice 
<https://ubuntu.com/download/flavours> and use Ubuntu Studio Installer 
<https://ubuntustudio.org/ubuntu-studio-installer> to get Ubuntu Studio 
– which does *not* convert that flavor to Ubuntu Studio but adds its 
benefits.

*Q: *What if I don’t want all these packages installed on my machine?
*A: *Simply use the *Ubuntu Studio Installer* to remove the features of 
Ubuntu Studio you don’t want or need!


    Get Involved!

A wonderful way to contribute is to get involved with the project 
directly! We’re always looking for new volunteers to help with 
packaging, documentation, tutorials, user support, and MORE! Check out 
all the ways you can contribute! <https://ubuntustudio.org/contribute/>

Our project leader, Erich Eickmeyer, is now working on Ubuntu Studio at 
least part-time, and is hoping that the users of Ubuntu Studio can give 
enough to generate a monthly part-time income. We’re not there, but if 
every Ubuntu Studio user donated monthly, we’d be there! Your donations 
are appreciated! If other distributions can do it, surely we can! See 
the sidebar for ways to give!


    Special Thanks

Huge special thanks for this release go to:

  * *Eylul Dogruel*: Artwork, Graphics Design
  * *Ross Gammon*: Upstream Debian Developer, Testing, Email Support
  * *Sebastien Ramacher*:**Upstream Debian Developer
  * *Dennis Braun*: Upstream Debian Developer
  * *Rik Mills*: Kubuntu Council Member, help with Plasma desktop
  * *Scarlett Moore:*Kubuntu Project Lead, help with Plasma desktop
  * *Cristian Delgado*: Translations for Ubuntu Studio Menu
  * *Dan Bungert*: Subiquity, seed fixes
  * *Len Ovens:* Testing, insight
  * *Wim Taymans*: Creator of PipeWire
  * *Mauro Gaspari*: Tutorials, Promotion, and Documentation, Testing,
    keeping Erich sane
  * *Krytarik Raido*: IRC Moderator, Mailing List Moderator
  * *Erich Eickmeyer*: Project Leader, Packaging, Development,
    Direction, Treasurer

--
Erich Eickmeyer
Ubuntu MOTU
Project Leader - Ubuntu Studio
Technical Lead - Edubuntu
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