Table of Contents |
Introduction
We’re preparing Ubuntu GNOME 13.10, the Saucy Salamander, for distribution in October 2013. With this initial Beta pre-release, you can see what we are trying out in preparation for our next version. We have some interesting things happening, so read on for highlights and information.
NOTE: This is an beta pre-release. Ubuntu GNOME Pre-releases are NOT recommended for:
- Regular users who are not aware of pre-release issues
- Anyone who needs a stable system
- Anyone uncomfortable running a possibly frequently broken system
- Anyone in a production environment with data or workflows that need to be reliable
Uubuntu GNOME Pre-releases ARE recommended for:
- Regular users who want to help us test by finding, reporting, and/or fixing bugs
- Ubuntu GNOME developers
Getting Ubuntu GNOME 13.10 Beta 2
Download a Disk Image
Instructions for burning the image to a DVD or USB flash drive can be found on the Burning ISO Howto.
We recommend you learn how to check your image file so your pre-release is as it’s supposed to be. Compare your MD5 checksum with the correct ones found alongside the images.
Beta 2 Highlights
Software Updates
Most of GNOME 3.8 is now included. See the GNOME release notes for more details.
The Plymouth bootloader theme and login screen have been updated with our new logo designed by Alfredo Hernández.
- The new GNOME Classic session is included. To try it, choose it from the Sessions option on the login screen.
Ubuntu Online Accounts is no longer included by default (1040193). If you'd like to install it, install gnome-control-center-signon, evolution-data-server-uoa, and whichever of the account-plugin-* packages you want to use.
- Ubiquity Slide Show has been updated.
Infrastructure
Linux Kernel
The Beta 2 Saucy Salamander snapshot includes the 3.11.0.8 Ubuntu Linux kernel which is based on the the upstream v3.11.1 Linux kernel. The 3.11 release contains support for KVM and Xen virtualization on 64-bit ARM (AArch64) hardware. There has also been significant progress on making PCI support not be tied to SoC-specific code but to make PCI host controller drivers for ARM work as loadable kernel modules.
Known Problems
Ubuntu GNOME Desktop
Installation and Updates
In some cases, when installing to a disk that was previously partitioned, the installer (both text and GUI versions) will give an error about being unable to inform the kernel about partition changes. The workaround for this is to remove the partition table entirely and then reboot back into the installer. (1229432)
The desktop image installer cannot unlock existing encrypted (LUKS) volumes. If you need to make use of existing encrypted volumes during partitioning, then use the "Try Ubuntu without installing" boot option to start a live session, open the encrypted volumes (for example, by clicking on their icons in the Unity launcher), enter your password when prompted to unlock them, close them again, and run ubiquity to start the installer. (1066480)
When using installer to upgrade or reinstall an existing installation with encrypted swap, the installer may fail to reuse the partition. A warning will be shown, however the installation can be completed. The installed system will not have swap activated and users are advised to recreate swap on their systems. Please see advice about adding and activating swap at: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwapFaq (LP: #1172002)
Installs on very small memory systems may fail to start or exit without completing with no error. It is recommended that swap be created before install for such systems. Please see advice about adding and activating swap at: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwapFaq (LP: #1172161)
In rare circumstances the 'Next' button on the installer 'Install Type' screen is non-functional. This is intermittent and may be resolved by hitting 'Back' and retrying. (LP: #1172572)
Networking
In order to improve compatibility with other local nameserver packages, NetworkManager now assigns IP address 127.0.1.1 to the local nameserver process that it controls instead of 127.0.0.1. If the system's /etc/resolv.conf is absent or is a static file instead of the symbolic link to ../run/resolvconf/resolv.conf installed by default then this static file will have to be updated by the administrator in order to continue using the NetworkManager-controlled nameserver.
Feedback
Development of Ubuntu Gnome 13.10, the Saucy Salamander is ongoing and bugs are fixed every day. Before reporting bugs, please ensure your system is up to date. For verifying installation related bugs, updated disk images are available from Daily bootable images for standard PCs/laptops/netbooks.
You can contact us at:
Mailing List: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-gnome
- IRC: #ubuntu-gnome on the freenode network