Ubuntu 20.10 ‘Groovy Gorilla’ has been released for Raspberry Pi 4, among others

By admin On Oct 23, 2020

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Canonical has released the stable version of Ubuntu 20.10 ‘Groovy Gorilla’. It is the first version of the Linux distribution optimized for the Raspberry Pi 4. Version 20.10 of the operating system is based on Linux kernel 5.8.

Canonical is highlighting the release of Ubuntu Desktop to the Raspberry Pi when announcing the availability of Ubuntu 20.10. The image for the popular ARM computer runs on Raspberry Pi 4 models with 4GB and 8GB of memory and, according to the makers, offers everything an average desktop user would expect. Until now, only Ubuntu Core, a minimized version of the distro, has been available for the Raspberry Pi. Users can use the Raspberry Pi Imager application . to put the OS on the computing board. This app is available for Windows, macOS and Linux and contains the current image of Ubuntu Desktop. According to Raspberry Pi’s Eben Upton, this is a first step towards an Ubuntu LTS version with long-term support for the Raspberry Pi.

Ubuntu 20.10 ‘Groovy Gorilla’ is built around Linux kernel 5.8, a major kernel upgrade that includes updates for Microsoft’s Hyper-V and for ARM CPUs, and the exFAT file system. In addition, the release of 20.10 includes GNOME 3.38, with changes to the apps grid and more options for organizing the display of apps. The power management settings now have a toggle for displaying the battery percentage and private Wi-Fi hotspots can be shared via qr codes. A restart option has now been placed next to the menu options for logout or shutdown.

Other changes include the integration of Active Directory for enterprise users, the presence of LibreOffice 7.0,2, a notification if the microphone is in use but muted, and new wallpapers. Canonical explains the various changes in a webinar . All changes are listed in the release notes . The Ubuntu 20.10 image has a size of 2.9GB. After version 20.10, the 21.04 and 21.10 releases will follow in 2021. The next LTS release will be 22.04, which will be released in early 2022.