Ubuntu Desktop 16.04.5 LTS - USB

Version 16.04.5 Release Date: August 2, 2018

NOTE: This distro comes on a 16GB USB Flash Drive. Please ensure that your system has USB 2.0 + ports before ordering. Ubuntu Desktop will come on a name brand USB flash drive. We use Kingston, Adata, PNY, or SanDisk USBs.

About Ubuntu

Codenamed "Xenial Xerus", 16.04 continues Ubuntu's proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution. The team has been hard at work through this cycle, introducing new features and fixing bugs.

Under the hood, there have been updates to many core packages, including a new 4.4-based kernel.

Support lifespan

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS will be supported for 5 years for Ubuntu Desktop, Ubuntu Server, Ubuntu Core, and Ubuntu Kylin. All other flavours will be supported for 3 years.

New features in 16.04 LTS

Snap application format

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS introduces a new application format, the ‘snap’, which can be installed alongside traditional deb packages. These two packaging formats live quite comfortably next to one another and enable Ubuntu to maintain its existing processes for development and updates

Updated Packages

As with every new release, packages--applications and software of all kinds--are being updated at a rapid pace. Many of these packages came from an automatic sync from Debian's unstable branch; others have been explicitly pulled in for Ubuntu 16.04.

Linux kernel 4.4

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS is based on the long-term supported Linux release series 4.4.

Python 3

Python2 is not installed anymore by default on the server, cloud and the touch images, long live Python3! Python3 itself has been upgraded to the 3.5 series.

Golang 1.6

golang toolchain was upgraded to the 1.6 series, and gccgo was upgraded to the GCC 6.1 release candidate 1. Thus the same level of standard library and compiler features are provided by both compilers on all fully supported architectures.

OpenSSH 7.2p2

Recent OpenSSH releases disable several pieces of weak, legacy, and/or unsafe cryptography. If you are upgrading a system remotely over SSH, you should check that you are not relying on these to ensure that you will retain access after the upgrade.

• Support for the legacy SSH version 1 protocol is disabled by default at compile time. Note that this also means that the Cipher keyword in ssh_config(5) is effectively no longer usable; use Ciphers instead for protocol 2. The openssh-client-ssh1 package includes "ssh1", "scp1", and "ssh-keygen1" binaries which you can use if you have no alternative way to connect to an outdated SSH1-only server; please contact the server administrator or system vendor in such cases and ask them to upgrade.

• Support for the 1024-bit diffie-hellman-group1-sha1 key exchange is disabled by default at run-time. It may be re-enabled using the upstream instructions.

• Support for ssh-dss, ssh-dss-cert-* host and user keys is disabled by default at run-time. These may be re-enabled using the upstream instructions.

• Support for the legacy v00 cert format has been removed.

• Several ciphers are disabled by default in ssh: blowfish-cbc, cast128-cbc, all arcfour variants and the rijndael-cbc aliases for AES.

GNU toolchain

glibc was updated to the 2.23 release, binutils to the 2.26 release, and GCC to a recent snapshot from the GCC 5 branch (post GCC 5.3.0).

Apt 1.2

Apt 1.2 includes the new privilege separation features introduced in Apt 1.1. Importantly, the unprivileged "_apt" user is now used when making outgoing network connections and parsing the results for the various apt transport methods (HTTP, HTTPS, FTP).

Ubuntu Desktop

The general theme for 16.04 on the desktop is one of bug fixes and incremental quality improvements.

General

• GNOME is mostly upgraded to 3.18. GLib upgraded to to 2.48 (corresponding to GNOME 3.20)
• GNOME Software replaces Ubuntu Software Center. This brings a faster store experience and moves our archive metadata in line with Debian. It has been renamed "Ubuntu Software" to improve recognition for Ubuntu Software Center users.

• All default applications and libraries ported to use WebKit 2

• GNOME Calendar is now included by default
• Empathy and Brasero are removed from the default installation
• Chromium upgraded to version 48
• Firefox upgraded to version 45
• Online searches in the dash are now disabled by default
• Improved HiDPI support in the greeter
• Multiple bug fixes

Unity & Compiz

• Improved launcher integration with file manager and devices
• Support for formatting removable devices from quicklist
• Improved support for gtk applications using headerbars
• Improvements to the switcher and spread backends
• Activate app spread by Super+Ctrl+W
• Unity control center option to always show menus
• Improvements to GNOME key grabbing
• New dash overlay scrollbars
• Better Dash theming support
• Support for scaling cursors in HiDPI environments
• Show icons launching state in launcher when apps launched elsewhere
• Launcher can be moved to the bottom

LibreOffice

LibreOffice 5.1 brings a lot of improvements to the entire package. For more information on these improvements please see the LibreOffice release notes available here. You can see a video highlighting some of the new features here.

General

• LibreOffice defaults to the Breeze theme in Ubuntu

• Improvements in the Python scripting and language bindings http://conference.libreoffice.org/assets/Conference/Aarhus/Slides/MatthewFrancisPyUNO.pdf

• Support for WebDAV via HTTPS

Writer word processor

• Added support for whitespace hiding. A long standing feature request.

• Mailmerge in Writer can use spreadsheets as a data source http://vmiklos.hu/blog/mail-merge-embedding.html

• Spell check dialogue no longer auto closes

Calc spreadsheets

• Exponential and power trend lines handle negative Y values
• Performance improvements leveraging SSE3 for SUM functions
• Added support for PNG export
• Search for numbers as formatted/displayed

Impress presentations

• Slide transitions use OpenGL 2.1+ and new transitions added
• Keyboard shortcuts for navigation and sorting
• Screensaver inhibiting for KDE, XFCE, Mate

Ubuntu comes with everything you need to run your organisation, school, home or enterprise. All the essential applications, like an office suite, browsers, email and media apps come pre-installed and thousands more games and applications are available in the Ubuntu software centre.

Open source

Ubuntu has always been free to download, use and share. We believe in the power of open source software; Ubuntu could not exist without its worldwide community of voluntary developers.

Secure

With a built-in firewall and virus protection software, Ubuntu is one of the most secure operating systems around. And the Long Term Support releases give you five years of security patches and updates.

Accessible

Computing is for everyone regardless of nationality, gender or disability. Ubuntu is fully translated into over 40 languages and includes essential assistive technologies.

Looks great on the latest hardware

Ubuntu is designed to work beautifully on the latest laptops, desktops and touch screen devices, it looks incredible on high resolution screens — and with touch screen enhancements and interface refinements including individual menu bars in each application window, it’s now even easier to use.