New features in Ubuntu 15.04 Desktop. Look at what’s new in Ubuntu 15.04 – some of the most exciting changes and list of new features in Ubuntu 15.04.
Ubuntu 15.04 will be supported for 9 months for Ubuntu Desktop, Ubuntu Server, Ubuntu Core, Kubuntu, Ubuntu Kylin along with all other flavours.
Some of the most notable features are:
- Ubuntu 15.04 switch init manager from upstart to systemd. The change will affect “Ubuntu desktop/server/cloud and the flavors like Kubuntu, but *NOT* ubuntu-touch.”
- Ubuntu 15.04 had been upgraded to the brand new Linux kernel 4.0 with its no reboot patching. The new Ubuntu will be using the Linux 3.19.3 kernel. This kernel features improved graphics and file system support.
- Local menus are now the default and all applications now use local menus instead of the global menu for the application. Instead of Ubuntu orange background, the Ubuntu 15.04 desktop uses a purplish color background.
- Updated applications for Ubuntu 15.04. The latest release of Ubuntu comes with all its major applications refreshed to their newest versions. These include Firefox 37.0 for the web browser and LibreOffice 4.2.2.2 for the office
- Ubuntu 15.04 comes with a pre-release version of the next version of OpenStack, which is scheduled for release on April 30.
New Features in Ubuntu 15.04 Desktop
Below are some of the new features of the Ubuntu 15.04 Desktop:
Unity
Unity has had many bugs fixed and new features added. Locally integrated menus are now available for unfocussed windows. There have been a number of usability improvements to the dash.
Unity 7.3
- A configuration option to have menus displayed at all times instead of only on mouseover.
- Enable the Dash, HUD, or logout dialogs over fullscreen windows.
- Tweaks to animations for faster startup and shutdown experiences.
Compiz 0.9.12
- Fixes for various problems that occur only with the nVidia proprietary driver (mostly blank or black windows) (thanks nVidia).
- Full integrated support for the MATE desktop on a par with Gnome2 and Unity
- Refresh of the gtk-window-decorator for Gnome2 support
General Changes
Firefox is updated to version 36 and Chromium is updated to version 41.
Most of the Gnome platform is now based on version 3.14. Qt updated to version XX.
Pulseaudio is updated to version 6 paving the way for a move to Bluez5 next release.
LibreOffice
LibreOffice 4.4 brings a lot of improvements including improved change tracking in Writer, improve mail merge performance, improved shapes which can now have fully formatted content with tables etc, more statistics functions in Calc, improved OpenGL support for slide transitions in Impress and Draw, password protected documents in Impress. Support for digital signed PDF exports has been added, as has support for connecting to Sharepoint and One Drive. Many new multimedia formats are supported including .ra, .rm, .dv, .ac3, .opus, .asf, and .m4a.
Ubuntu Make (new Developer Tools Centre)
Ubuntu Make continues to add support for new platforms, bringing the total to 15 (from 1 last release). This includes highlights such as:
- Android NDK support and bumped Android Studio to latest version
- Other new IDEs: IDEA (ultimate and community editions), pycharm (professional, educational and community editions), webstorm, rubymine, phpstorm and eclipse
- Golang compiler support
- Firefox developer edition
- Dartlang editor
- Stencyl game development platform
- Numerous usability improvements and accessibility (ppa, doc)
These new features are also available to LTS users.
Internet of Things: Snappy on Devices
‘Snappy’ Ubuntu Core is the smallest and most secure edition of Ubuntu. It is a super-lean, transactionally updated version of Ubuntu, perfect for growing Ubuntu developer community and smart, connected devices. It powers drones, robots, network switches, mobile base stations, industrial gateways, and IoT home hubs. The first stable version of ‘Snappy’ Ubuntu Core is now available as part of 15.04.