Xubuntu, the Xfce Ubuntu flavor, has been released today along with the other Ubuntu flavours. It's a great alternative for those who do not want to use GNOME Shell or Unity and prefer a more traditional layout.
The latest Xubuntu 12.10 brings updated artwork and default applications and the latest Xfce 4.10.
Here's a video I've recorded, presenting the changes in Xubuntu 12.10:
(direct video link)
Xfce 4.10 by default
Xfce 4.10, which is used in Xubuntu 12.10, brings many improvements, including:
- re-written application finder which combines the functionality of the old appfinder and xfrun4:
- a new vertical display mode for the panel, called "deskbar" which switches the applets orientation to horizontal, making the panel behave like a vertical 'dock':
- multiple rows support for the panel:
Other Xfce changes include:
- the window manager supports tiling windows when dragging them to the screen edges
- thumbnail rendering support for Xfdesktop
- the mouse and touchpad dialog is capable of handling basic Synaptics and Wacom properties in the GUI
Xubuntu 12.10 artwork
The artwork has received special attention in Xubuntu 12.10. For instance, Greybird, the default Xubuntu 12.10 theme, has got a complete makeover, with re-written GTK3 support:
There's also a new default wallpaper, updated login screen and Ubiquity slideshow:
Default applications
To make Xubuntu 12.10 fit on a CD (unlike Ubuntu), quite a few default applications were removed. In Xubuntu 12.10, you'll no longer find Synaptic Package Manager, GIMP, Gnumeric or Startup Disk Creator installed by default. There are also less games: only Mines and Sudoku are available on the CD.
 |
| Ubuntu Software Center in Xubuntu 12.10 |
The default application selection in Xubuntu 12.10 includes: Firefox 16.0.1, Thunderbird 16.0.1, gMusicBrowser 1.1.9, Parole 0.3.0.3, Thunar 1.4.0, gThumb 3.0.2, Pidgin 2.10.6, Transmission 2.61, Abiword 2.9.2+svn, Catfish search tool 0.4.0.2, XChat 2.8.8 along with Ubuntu Software Center 5.3.14.2, on top of Xfce 4.10.
Other changes
It's also worth mentioning that the offline documentation has been completely rewritten for Xubuntu 12.10.
Unfortunately, the messaging indicator isn't available for Ubuntu 12.10. Also, just like for Ubuntu, there isn't an alternate ISO anymore.
Download Xubuntu 12.10
Download Xubuntu 12.10 from http://xubuntu.org/getxubuntu/ and check out the official release notes!
