Ubuntu 21.10 brings GNOME 40 debut and a focus on devs

Ubuntu 21.10 comes out today, an interim release with nine months of support, and the first to use GNOME 40 for the desktop. The Ubuntu release cycle delivers a new LTS (Long Term Support) version every two years, the next one being 22.04 in April. This means that 21.10 is a handy preview of features that may not get …

[PJD]

Desnapify ubuntu

For what it's worth, here's how to get rid of snap on a fresh install (tested on 20.04, will be curious to see if it gets harder on 22.04..)

sudo snap remove snap-store

sudo snap remove gtk-common-themes

sudo snap remove gnome-3-34-1804

sudo snap remove core18

df

# look for line ending /snap/snapd/[some number] (may be /snap/core/[somenumber]

sudo unmount /snap/snapd/[some number] # or sudo unmount /snap/core/[somenumber]

sudo apt purge snapd

sudo apt-mark hold snapd # prevents it being reinstalled as a dependency, will prevent installs of things only available as snaps

rm -rf ~/snap

sudo rm -rf /snap

sudo rm -rf /var/snap

sudo rm -rf /var/lib/snapd

[elsergiovolador]

Re: Desnapify ubuntu

The only legit SNAP

[katrinab]

Re: Desnapify ubuntu

Or you could just install Debian

[dajames]

Re: Desnapify ubuntu

Or you could just install Debian

Or, if avoiding annoying software is your goal, you could just install Devuan.

[jake]

Re: Desnapify ubuntu

Thanks, but I much prefer Slackware.

Avoiding annoying software is easy ... Slack is still free of the systemd-cancer. It also doesn't mandate Wayland, although Slack makes it optional if you like. GTK is included, but no Gnome desktop. Snap was looked at, laughed at, and summarily ignored. What's not to like?

[Citizen99]

Re: Desnapify ubuntu

Which avoids, in particular, systemd.

[Mike_R]

Re: Desnapify ubuntu : helpful website

https://cialu.net/how-to-disable-and-remove-completely-snaps-in-ubuntu-linux/

[Anonymous Coward]

So fun, much wow.

So, in short... we hear what diversity and inclusivity mean to Canonical. That's good to bear in mind. And it runs on every platform it runs on. Uh-huh.

New graphical whatevers, yay, maybe dialog buttons have gone back to where they belong?

And a snappy firefox? What are they smoking? Wasn't one of the big upsides of the last release "we've increased performance of the calculator to the point where it doesn't take ten seconds to load by not making it a snap anymore"? And going by my experience, this will probably mean "no, you can only download to the download folder, that's why it's called download folder, and no, it cannot be a symlink to elsewhere".

Yeah, let's see.

[theOtherJT]

I think the numbers speak for themselves...

"There are 10 million systems actively using Snap every day"

I'm sure there are Mr. Gibbon. Because you package a load of odd things using it by default that no one would ever notice until it suddenly does something weird. And then you snuck packages into apt that redirect to snap so when you apt something you get a snap without asking for it. Adoption numbers are no indicator of quality when something is the default option.

[David 132]

Re: I think the numbers speak for themselves...

Honestly the first thing that sprang to my mind when I read that quote was the old "Eat shit - 10 million flies can't be wrong."

[Robert Carnegie]

Re: I think the numbers speak for themselves...

It works... isn't that (1) good and (2) the point?

[jake]

Re: I think the numbers speak for themselves...

Ransomware works, too. Doesn't mean I want it on my computers.

[Robert Carnegie]

Re: I think the numbers speak for themselves...

You want to install application software and have it working. Snap simplifies this process. That looks all right to me.

[ecofeco]

"It's all about inclusivity,"

Wanker.

[Anonymous Coward]

Isn't it the Linux subsystem for Windows (LSW?) Given it's a linux subsystem.. running within Windows? o.o

WSL would be like Wine...

[katrinab]

No, it is a Windows Subsystem that allows the NT kernel to run Linux binaries.

Many years ago, there was a Windows Subsystem for OS/2 and one for Unix.

[Mac Logo]

Ancient history

Strictly speaking, it was a POSIX subsystem, not UNIX.

And to install successfully Impish Indri in WSL, you need to remove snapd. It's an ill wind... and silver linings all round.

[abs]

Bricked my Ubuntu side

Just bricked the Ubuntu side of dual boot laptop with Windows 10 being the other OS. Oops.

Was following the guide on the Ubuntu website, https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/upgrading-ubuntu-desktop#3-check-for-updates

The Windows side is working ok. I'm planning on moving to Ubuntu proper when the next LTS comes out.

Oh well. Something to do this weekend.

[Notas Badoff]

Certified? By who?

"That said, Canonical's list of certified hardware is more constrained, featuring only a few vendors."

It's not just only a few vendors, it is likely a small subset of their models that have been certified. I tried finding a recent model desktop Dell with reasonable specs (64GB, 10thGen) and the list has no knowledge of that model, nor the whole set of models in that line.

And the list will have 3 and 4+ entries for one model number. It's like these are the records of successful tests on various individual machines. Perhaps self-reported somehow? And so "hit or miss" whether they've gotten 'round to your preferred model.

I'm afraid the list is no good for guiding purchase choices.

[Ian Johnston]

Why do people hate Snap so much? Sure, it slows things down, doesn't update, eats disk space and increases vulnerability unless the developers release a new version every time a dependency fixes a security problem, but apart from all that ... aqueducts?

[Anonymous Coward]

Makes it hard to find the service name to start/stop, makes it hard to debug applications, mounts a ton of stuff inside chroot jails, makes it hard to access data elsewhere on your system, updates apps in the background without your permission... no problem really.

[Allonymous Coward]

All that and more.

Snap feels like just the latest in a long list of Canonical not-invented-here technologies. Along with things like bzr, Launchpad, upstart, Unity, Ubuntu Phone, and probably a few I’ve forgotten.

[David 132]

Yeah, but apart from that, why do people hate Snap so much?

I mean honestly, it seems like you're all just nit-picking.

[SCP]

I think there is a lack of information here, could you shine some light as to which units you are using here.

[Randesigner]

Privacy issue

""There are 10 million systems actively using Snap every day…"

They know this because it phones home every day!

[David 132]

Re: Privacy issue

Oh no, no no.

Phoning Home is creepy and invasive.

Telemetry is what modern, inclusive, diversity-embracing software does nowadays. And of course it's strictly limited to the absolute minimum necessary information - just your app version, OS version, platform, hardware BoM, software manifest, GPS coordinates, name, mother's maiden name, social security number, your shoe size, contents of your fridge, Costco membership number, your next door neighbour's pet name for his wife, and other essential data needed to improve your computing experience.

Or in the words of Bender B Rodriguez: "Blackmail? I prefer 'Extortion'. The x makes it sound cooler."

[georgezilla]

People actually .................

People actually use Ubuntu?

Why?

Last time I used it was 6.something.

And had a silly ass animal name?

And NO, I don't use Arch.

Oh, and doesn't WSL stand for "Windows Sucks ( use ) Linux!" ?