Introduction

The Ubuntu GNOME Remix is a mostly pure GNOME desktop experience built from the Ubuntu repositories. As this is our first release, there are still a few minor issues, but we proudly recommend the Ubuntu GNOME Remix to anyone interested in using Ubuntu with the best of what GNOME has to offer.

Get Ubuntu GNOME Remix 12.10

Download

Since the original Ubuntu GNOME Remix 12.10 release didn't boot on EFI computers, we released a new image (12.10.1) on Tuesday, October 23 to fix this problem.

The Ubuntu Desktop images are now bigger than a standard CD, and you should use a USB or DVD for installation.

You can download a torrent of the ISOs below:

• ubuntu-gnome-12.10.1-desktop-amd64.iso.torrent

• ubuntu-gnome-12.10-desktop-i386.iso.torrent

GNOME and the Academic Computer Club Umeå University have graciously provided the following standard downloads temporarily. Please use the torrents if possible as they can provide faster download speeds and are less of a burden on the servers.

• Desktop CD for 64-bit PC computers (standard download)

• Desktop CD for PC (Intel x86 compatible) computers (standard download)

Images have been produced for 32-bit and 64-bit PCs. Neither ARM nor amd64+mac images will be available unless dedicated testers will volunteer to certify the official Ubuntu alpha/beta/release milestones.

Upgrade

It is strongly recommended to do a fresh install however if you prefer to attempt an upgrade instead, first upgrade to Quantal Quetzal 12.10. Then run the following commands:

• sudo apt-get install ubuntu-gnome-desktop ubuntu-gnome-default-settings

(make sure to select gdm as default display manager when prompted)

• sudo apt-get remove ubuntu-settings

• Note that this will remove 'ubuntu-desktop'

What's Included

• The Ubuntu GNOME Remix ships with GNOME 3.6. Please see the GNOME Release Notes to see what's new in 3.6.

• GNOME Shell 3.6.1 and GDM 3.6.1. Among other improvements, the login and lock screen have been redesigned.
• Web (epiphany-browser).
• Abiword for word processing and Gnumeric for spreadsheets.
• Evolution as email client.
• Software (gnome-package-kit), which also includes its own update manager. You can install updates by opening Software and clicking Check for Updates in the Software app menu.
• GNOME Classic (gnome-panel 3) is included but GNOME Shell is the default session if your hardware supports it.
• Tweak Tool and dconf Editor are provided for customizing advanced settings.
• Cheese is a fun webcam app.
• Gwibber allows you to easily connect via social media.
• The complete GNOME Games collection.
• Rhythmbox is the default music player.
• Shotwell is the default photo manager.
• Useful utilities like Simple Scan and Transmission.

What's Not Included

• Some GNOME apps will not be upgraded to 3.6 for the 12.10 release. If you want these, try the GNOME3 PPA. Affected apps include Aisleriot, Nautilus, System Settings, and Totem.

• Web does not support Flash in Ubuntu 12.10 (904505). If you need Flash, try Firefox or Chromium.

• Boxes is not included as it wasn't working earlier in the release cycle (1038763) . Also, qemu-linaro (qemu-kvm-spice) doesn't built on i386 in Ubuntu. qemu-kvm with spice support does build in Debian though on i386. (928432)

• Documents is not included as it currently depends on LibreOffice, at least as packaged in Debian & Ubuntu.

• LibreOffice is a more powerful office suite.

• Ubuntu One is not included by default as it doesn't feel like a GNOME app.

• If you want the GNOME Classic with-effects session to work, install compiz.

• If you want Ubuntu-style notifications in GNOME Classic, install notify-osd.

Known issues

As is to be expected, there are some significant known bugs that you may run into with this first release. The ones we know about at this point (and some of the workarounds), are documented here so you don't need to spend time reporting these bugs again:

• Evolution doesn't add Gmail accounts. On the final page of the setup wizard, uncheck the boxes to add Contacts & Calendar sync to work around this issue. This will be fixed in an update shortly. (1049028)

• Keyboard layout doesn't show in GNOME Shell top bar (1045914). This won't be fixed for 12.10 as the new keyboard status menu requires a newer version of ibus than will be available in Ubuntu 12.10. ibus has a lot of reverse dependencies that would need to be rebuilt for the new ibus version.

• There are two Online Accounts entries in System Settings. One is the GNOME tool which you can use for Contacts, Documents, and Evolution. The other is Ubuntu's tool for Empathy, Gwibber, Shotwell, and if you install it, Unity. Hopefully for 13.04, we'll be able to use just one tool. (1040193)

• The category headings in System Settings have ugly "missing icon" icons (934335)

• The system status menu (the "cog" indicator at the far right in GNOME Clasic) doesn't show up in some cases or display correctly when using the default Adwaita theme or the accessibility themes (975563).

• A separate ubuntu-control-center will not make it into Ubuntu 12.10 but may still happen for 13.04.

• Virtualbox drm driver fails to auto-load (Debian:686994).

Issues shared with Ubuntu

As the Ubuntu GNOME Remix is based on Ubuntu 12.10, please see the Ubuntu known issues.

Reporting bugs

It should come as no surprise that this release contains other bugs. Your comments, bug reports, patches and suggestions will help fix bugs and improve the quality of future releases. Please report bugs using the tools provided.

If you have any questions on how to start with helping out with bugs, please read the Bug Squad documentation to learn what constitutes a bug, how a bug is triaged, the life-cycle of a bug, and other information related to bugs. If you decide to help out even more proactively with bugs, not just those in GNOME Remix, the Bug Squad is always looking for new members who are enthusiastic about fixing bugs.

Participate in Ubuntu and GNOME

If you would like to help shape Ubuntu, take a look at the list of ways you can participate at

• http://www.ubuntu.com/community/get-involved

If you would like to help shape GNOME, take a look at the list of ways you can participate at

• http://www.gnome.org/get-involved/

More information

You can find out more about Ubuntu on the Ubuntu website and Ubuntu wiki. You can find out more about GNOME on the GNOME website.

The GNOME logo and GNOME name are registered trademarks or trademarks of GNOME Foundation in the United States or other countries. The Ubuntu GNOME Remix is not directly produced, endorsed, or supported by the GNOME Foundation.

Support

• Security and bugfix updates for Ubuntu GNOME Remix are provided by the Ubuntu GNOME Remix Team and Community.

• Support via email can be found at the Ubuntu GNOME Remix Mailing List.

• Support via IRC can be found in the #ubuntu-gnome channel on the freenode network.