The Xubuntu team is proud to announce the Alpha2 release of Xubuntu 12.04, Precise Pangolin!
Updates for this release include
- New greeter + theme
- xfdesktop4 has been updated to support single click to open items, thumbnail support for the desktop.
- xfce4-settings has been updated to include the new mouche/touchpad dialog (backported from 4.9.x)
- Some other syncs, updates and patches from Debian and upstream, including: xfce4-power-manager, Ristretto and gmusicbrowser
- Minor updates to default settings and packages, mostly appearance (including Terminal font size change)
Visit the download page to give it a try. Be sure to report your testing results to help the Xubuntu developers - see the ISO testing tracker. Bugs can be reported in Launchpad. If you are looking for support), please see the #ubuntu+1 or #xubuntu IRC channels on irc.freenode.net. Before testing this release, make sure to review the release notes.
Known issues
- For the desktop images, installing from the CD menu is failing, however, allowing the CD to spin until it stops at “try Xubuntu”, “Install Xubuntu” works
- Xubuntu upgrade testing is not done for Alpha2
1. I can’t hear a sound. How can I get my sound back?
There are many reasons why sound can be lost on a system, most of them if you try to use different audio protocols. The usual way to get sound back is to run sudo /etc/init.d/alsa-utils restart.
If this doesn’t work you can try running sudo alsa force-unload and sudo alsa force-reload.
Pulseaudio can sometimes cause conflicts with ALSA. If you are sure you don’t need one or the other, you could try purging pulseaudio with sudo apt-get purge pulseaudio.
If you still have problems please join the forums or IRC channels and feel free to ask all the questions you need.
2. I need a program (to do thing) X, how do I install it?
Xubuntu uses the same software sources (package repositories) than the rest of the Ubuntu family, that means you can install any software in Ubuntu in Xubuntu as well. To do this, use one of the following:
- Ubuntu Software Center in
Applications menu » 
Ubuntu Software Center
- Synaptic Package Manager in Applications menu »
System » Synaptic Package Manager
- apt-get
You can configure networking with the Network manager from the main panel or by running it with Alt+F2 and running nm-connection-editor. For PPPoE connections, you should use pppoeconf.
4. Gnome Keyring keeps asking me for the correct password, how do I remove the prompt?
You have to delete ~/.gnome2/keyrings and start over.
5. My window decorations/panels are gone! How do I get them back?
You can restore window decorations by pressing Alt+F2 and running xfwm4. To restore panels, press Alt+F2 and run xfce4-panel.
If the window decorations and/or panels don’t start automatically on login, add the respective commands to your session from Applications Menu » Settings » Settings Manager in Session and Startup on the Application Autostart tab.
In Xfce 4.8 (Xubuntu 11.04 and newer):
- Install Alacarte from terminal,
sudo apt-get install alacarte --no-install-recommends
- Run Alacarte and edit the menu
In Xfce 4.6 (Xubuntu 10.10 and older):
- Copy
/etc/xdg/menus/xfce-applications.menu to ~/.config/xdg/menus and customize it
- You can also create desktop entries in
~/.local/share/applications to override the existing applications (change or hide) or add new ones.
See http://wiki.xfce.org/howto/customize-menu for more information.
7. How can I add custom themes or new themes to Xubuntu
Yes, you can use themes for GTK and install themes directly to ~/.themes or /usr/share/themes. You can obtain more themes from various sites, like xfce-look.org.
8. My mouse pointer/cursor doesn’t change on demand, how do I fix that?
If the cursor doesn’t follow the theme set for 11.04 and above, try chmod +x ~/.Xdefaults. .Xdefaults also must be executable for Xfce 4.8, this is a change from Xfce 4.6.
9. Can I install Compiz on Xubuntu?
Yes, yes you can, but keep in mind that Xubuntu doesn’t package Compiz and does not provide any support for it. You can install Compiz by running sudo apt-get install compiz
Once Compiz is installed you need to replace xfwm with Compiz. Do this by pressing Alt+F2 and running compiz --replace.
Also see “How do I enable Compiz in Xubuntu?” at askubuntu.com. If you still have problems please join the forums or IRC channels and feel free to ask all the questions you need.
My question is not covered here, how can I get more help?
Visit the Help & Support page to learn about the available help resources.
There are a few times when, through hard work and diligence, we get things right. The developers and contributors of Xubuntu 11.10 “Oneiric Ocelot” believe they have it right. They are proud to announce the release of Xubuntu 11.10, “Oneiric Ocelot”. Through the outstanding efforts of all involved, this sleek and smooth release offered for your enjoyment and use.
Changes for this release include the following applications included by default: gThumb, pastebinit, and onboard. The team has also chosen to switch from GDM to LightDM as the default display manager and from mousepad to leafpad as the default text editor.
We invite you to give this newest member of the Xubuntu family a spin. The Xubuntu Desktop CD can be used on either USB drives or burned to a CD. Either will allow you to try this fantastic distribution before you install it.
Visit the download page to give it a try. Bugs can be reported in Launchpad. If you are looking for support), please see the #xubuntu IRC channel on irc.freenode.net. Before installing this release, make sure to review the release notes.
There are a few times when, through hard work and diligence, we get things right. The developers and contributors of Xubuntu 11.10 “Oneiric Ocelot” believe they have it right. They are proud to announce the second beta release of Xubuntu 11.10 “Oneiric Ocelot”. This is still a testing build designed for developers and is not suggested for anyone looking for a stable system. Please do not install Oneiric Ocelot Beta2 on your production system.
Visit the download page to give it a try. Be sure to report your testing results to help the Xubuntu developers - xubuntu-devel@lists.ubuntu.com. Bugs can be reported in Launchpad. If you are looking for see support), please see the #ubuntu+1 or #xubuntu IRC channels on irc.freenode.net. Before testing this release, make sure to review the release notes.
The first beta release of Xubuntu 11.10 “Oneiric Ocelot” has arrived. The developers are working hard to make Xubuntu 11.10 one of the best Linux distributions yet. They are striving to ensure that everything will work for all users, and instead of many changes, are working to ensure the release is very stable and secure.
This is still a testing build designed for developers and is not suggested for anyone looking for a stable system. Please do not install Oneiric Ocelot on your production system.
Changes (since Alpha 1 - Xubuntu specific):
- Xubuntu has replaced gdm with lightdm as the application that manages logins. Automatic logins will not work with lightdm at the present time. We are sure lightdm is going to provide a much better experience for the users than gdm.
- Pastebinit is now included in Xubuntu intallations by default. If you need to use http://paste.ubuntu.com/, you can use pastebinit to paste directly without copying and pasting the data.
- The developers have replaced mousepad with leafpad as the text editor. leafpad now includes the ability to print, and is better maintained than mousepad.
- The onscreen keyboard, Onboard, is now included in the default Xubuntu menus, under Accessories. For those who require an onscreen keyboard, this will be much easier to access using only a mouse or touchpad.
- Astute users will observe a new plymouth splash screen in use. Unfortunately, we have found that occasionally, when using the desktop cd to install, the message “hit any key to continue” will not appear. Should you get a black screen with text and the sliding throbber, when the throbber stops moving and the cd ejects, remove the cd and hit enter on the keyboard to continue.
- Bluetooth does not work at the present time in Xubuntu. Please see the bug below. A workaround is to install ‘blueman’ to manage bluetooth.
- The Xubuntu developers and contributors had a discussion about replacing the Gimp with an application to assist with digital photos. As a result, gThumb has been added to the default installation. This application is designed to help with image transformations and viewing.
- (Users must select a session when logging in the first time. If no session is selected, the user will see the Ubuntu wallpaper, and nothing else. In this case, go to a tty using Ctrl+Alt+F2, login, and type: sudo service lightdm restart Now the user can login again, and select the session.)
Visit the download page to give it a try. Be sure to report your testing results to help the Xubuntu developers - xubuntu-devel@lists.ubuntu.com. Bugs can be reported in Launchpad. If you are looking for see support), please see the #ubuntu+1 or #xubuntu IRC channels on irc.freenode.net. Before testing this release, make sure to review the release notes.
