Ubuntu 22.04 Review, A Future of FOSS Computing

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Here's our review of Ubuntu 22.04 LTS "Jammy Jellyfish". It's incredibly late, for that we apologize, but it's better than never. We concluded this release as the best LTS ever and as a future of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) computing. Please read on!

 (Ubuntu Jammy with our favorite wallpaper this release by arman1992)

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What's new on Ubuntu 22.04?

The most visible change is the new branding, as now Ubuntu got a new logo. It is a rectangle-based circle of friend, rather than the old circular one.

 

Aside from that, now Ubuntu reached the 10th release of its 3rd desktop generation since 17.04 Zesty Zapus, it is smoother, more elegance, more powerful, and more mature with latest iteration of GNOME and GTK technology. The instantly noticeable change in this regard is the screenshot tool, which got an overhaul as well as additional video recording feature. There are a lot more. The rest of them can be read below.

Basic Information

Here's a basic details about OS 22.04 today.

Name: Ubuntu
Version: 22.04
Support lifespan: LTS, 5 years until April 2027
Enterprise support: yes, via Ubuntu Advantage
Codename: Jammy Jellyfish
Previous release: Impish Indri
Next release: Kinetic Kudu
Kernel version: Linux 5.15
GNU System: Glibc 2.35, Gzip 1.10, Tar 1.34, binutils 2.38, coreutils 8.32, GDB 12.0
Package manager: APT, Snap
Display server: Wayland (default), Xorg (fallback)
Desktop environment: GNOME 42
Built-in applications: Firefox 99, LibreOffice 7.3, Files 42

 

Computers Availability and Installation Overview

Computers availability: Ubuntu-preinstalled PCs and laptops are available from various manufacturers and vendors and today those which come with version 22.04 LTS are increasing. We're glad to see these mass productions (OEMs) and we wish more coming soon in the future. As per end of June, we found that you can purchase Ubuntu-preinstalled devices already with Jammy Jellyfish choice at:

Laptop, Desktop, Server: Coreboot, Pop_Os! official systems, up to 14 hours battery life and 12th generation of Intel Core i5 and i7, etc. See example.

Laptop, Desktop, Ubuntu Phones: i7 and AMD Ryzen 7, with 8GB RAM and more, well-known also as Manjaro laptops, etc. See example.

 

Laptop and Desktop: Coreboot, i7 and Ryzen 7, Iris Xe Graphics, well-known also as elementary OS laptops, up to 64GB RAM, etc. See example.

Laptops: i7 and Ryzen 7, Intel Iris Xe Graphics and NVIDIA GTX, up to 64GB RAM, up to 10 hours battery, etc. See example.

Laptop and desktop: Core i5 and i7, Iris Xe Graphics (GeForce RTX for desktop), up to 64GB RAM, well-known also as Ubuntu MATE laptops, etc. See example.

Laptop and desktop: i7 and Ryzen 9, RTX and Vega 8, TUXEDO OS official, up to 64GB RAM, up to 9 hours battery life, etc. See example. 

Installation Overview

Installation overview: for most people who download and install Ubuntu manually into existing computers (we believe this trend would gradually change), we saw that Jammy is now significantly different by several points.  

• We see new Ubuntu logo branding,
• No visible checking progress at the booting time,
  
• Image File size is now much more bigger by 3GB,
• Installation time is now significantly longer as a consequence.
  
• Comes with additional feature of Microsoft ActiveDirectory support.
  
• Continuing to support OEMs (mass productions) by OEM Install feature.

 

 

Appearance

OS 22.04 now uses GNOME version 42, the latest stable iteration of the GNU desktop environment technology. Please notice that since this release, the OS defaults to Wayland so logout is required to switch back to Xorg.

 

 

Easier Screenshot and Screencast Taking 

As mentioned above, now Jammy features a new way to take screenshots and this includes ability to record screen as well saved into webm. Now, we can take opened menu with ease. However, this has a drawback as we now lose ability to delay. The secret here is that this capability is actually a GNOME Shell built-in feature while the program gnome-screenshot is not included.

 

Comes with Dark Theme and New Extensions Manager

Jammy now includes Dark Theme built-in for time-intensive computer users. This can be enabled via Settings, which looks a new right now. Not only that, now we are invited to use the brand new Extensions Manager instead of visiting Extensions website by Firefox browser. We tried one, Clipboard Indicator, and it works very well for our commercial activities.

Easier Way to Add Applications

Canonical managed to make end-users easy to install new applications into Ubuntu thanks to the app center Software. To add one, just click Install at one application presented or by searching. Technically, now it defaults to Snaps (Snapcraft.io source) while still makes DEBs available (repository  source). We're surprised that for first run it proudly displays an editor's choice of GNU Jami, a peer-to-peer Telegram-like fast and full-featured group instant messenger.

 

 

 

Resource Utilization

For this time, Ubuntu takes resource utilization as the following:

1.1GB RAM at idle time with default setup

3.5GB RAM when being used with light browsing, streaming and Writer

This measurement is a kind of standard now since the last 10 releases after Ubuntu switched away from Unity. For a long time Ubuntu user, this release will introduce a thin performance impact as Firefox browser is now running as a Snap (not DEB package).

 

However, this memory footprint is still 3 times higher than Kubuntu, some hundred MB higher than Ubuntu MATE, while slightly smaller than Windows 10 and certainly lower than the latest W11.

Gaming, Multimedia and Amusements

Ubuntu 22.04 supports Vulkan, through the inclusion of Mesa 22 library,  the new computer graphics technology successor to OpenGL rival to DirectX. We've got vulkan-utils and vulkan-tools as well.

On the purely amusement front, we've got plenty of new games. For strategy fans, we've got 0 A.D. upgraded to its latest Yauna.

On the educational gaming front, we've got TuxMath for your kids, as well as TuxType and Super Tux Kart.

On the multimedia production front, we've got Ardour (Adobe Audition alternative) and LMMS (FruityLoops alternative) as well as Guitarix (Neural DSP alternative).

Other games are available via Software.

Server Purposes

OS 22.04 comes with latest technology in server and system administrator world that delivered in user friendly ways. For example, one can have a working Nextcloud (all-in-one network storage) server by issuing just one Snap command. Another example, as usual, one can also have a working Kodi (digital television as well as home theater) server by issuing one APT command too.

Hardware Compatibility

We tested OS 22.04 on an old ThinkPad with full compatibility. Once again this proves that Ubuntu and ThinkPad is a matching pair of software and hardware. We should apologize that our battery unfortunately cannot work in full.

Specification

Laptop: ThinkPad T430

CPU: Intel Core i5

RAM: 6GB

GPU: Intel HD Graphics 4000

Wifi: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 [Taylor Peak]

Cable network: Intel 82579LM Gigabit Network

CDROM: yes, DVD-RW

BIOS: ThinkPad Setup 1.16

BIOS Legacy mode: available

UEFI mode: available

Battery: not in a good condition

 

Testing Result

CPU OK

Fan OK

USB x 4 OK

Wifi OK 

LAN OK

GPU OK

Sound OK

Microphone OK

GPU OK

Sound OK

Keyboard OK

Touchpad OK

TrackPoint OK

Bluetooth OK

CDROM OK

Brightness OK

 

Our full report link is available at LinuxHardware.org. 

Several Drawbacks

A direct drawback to us is that missing image preview at the Firefox browser's file chooser dialog when we want to upload or save files.

Another one is window minimizing problems that occur in many applications especially Files and Settings, in which we cannot minimize one as far as as we used to do in the past.

One more is that Files now loses ability to snap window to half screen, unlike in the previous releases.

Conclusions

We think Ubuntu Jammy is a future of Free and Open Source Software computing. With the default technology it implements --including GNOME, Pipewire and Snap-- and the OEMs availability quickly growing around, Ubuntu is one among few which sets the standard for FOSS computings and the others will surely follow. We recommend Jammy for any new user especially those with mid-high specifications and they can start the journey with Live USB first. The drawbacks are real, and there are few of them, but this release can be considered the greatest LTS ever. Kudos to Canonical and all Ubuntu developers! Congratulations to the community!

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