Ubuntu MATE 15.04 Beta 2

Ubuntu MATE 15.04 Beta 2 is now available for official download. This release builds on Ubuntu MATE Beta 1, makes a few changes and fixes a lot of bugs.

As usual preparing this release of Ubuntu MATE has been a team effort. Special thanks to Mike Gabriel, Vlad Orlov and Stefano Karapetsas for putting in a great deal of effort triaging bugs, doing code reviews and creating new upstream MATE Desktop 1.8.x point releases. Thanks guys!

Thanks also to Mathieu Trudel-Lapierre, Colin Watson, Adam Conrad and Daniel Holbach for their patience and guidance that has helped fix and improve Ubuntu MATE.

What works?

People tell us that Ubuntu MATE is stable. You may, or may not, agree.

What changed since the Ubuntu MATE 15.04 Beta 1 release?

Here is what changed since Ubuntu MATE 15.04 Beta 1:

• Fixed the Notification Area crashing on i386. LP: #1425401
• Fixed various glib compatibility issues.
• Fixed assorted bugs. All bugs fixed in Debian have been synced with Ubuntu.
  • Debian #774546, #775212, #775261, #776689, #776698, #777311, #778278, #778816, #778817, #778824, #778826, #778835, #776698, #779719, #779821, #779848, #779856, #779916, #780104, #780210, #780226, #780399, #780731
  • Ubuntu #1364111, #1377967, #1422402, #1425499, #1425611, #1427704, #1428131, #1428275, #1430045, #1430204, #1430210, #1431349, #1432439, #1432235, #1419321, #1426664, #1428273, #1426436
• Added some community contributed wallpapers from Ghost Sixtyseven.
• Added MATE Menu and also uploaded it to the official Ubuntu archive.
• Added MATE Tweak and also uploaded it to the official Ubuntu archive.
  • Compiz is now only presented as an option if the video device driver has the required capabilities.
• Enabled Qt accessibility modules when a MATE session is detected.
• Enabled systemd as the default init system. LP: #1427654.
• Updated Folder Color to 0.0.60 and Folder Color Caja to 0.0.62.
  • Now allows folder colours to be set globally.
• Updated Yuyo, Ambiant-MATE, Radiant-MATE themes to override symbolic icons with full colour icons.
• Updated MATE specific autostart files and configuration so they do not conflict with other desktop environments. LP: #1426862.
• Updated available languages.
  • en es pt are available on all architectures
  • bn fr hi ja zh-hans are available on all except PowerPC.
• Updated mate-themes with improved support for GTK3 Client Side Decorations and pop-overs.
• Updated MATE profile for Compiz to enhance the effects slightly.
• Replaced Cheese with guvcview.

Known Issues

It is not all good news however. Here are the known issues. All of which affect every Ubuntu flavour.

• Once installation has finished, and the final Restart button is pressed, the screen freezes and becomes unresponsive. Pressing Enter which would normally do the reboot does nothing.
  • The computer will require a manual power off or reset after the disc has been ejected.
  • LP: 1436816
• Virtualbox guests will only get a resolution of 640x480
  • LP: #1368784
• It is not possible to install the Virtualbox drivers via the Additional Hardware application.
  • LP: #1434579
  • The workaround is to open a shell and sudo apt-get install virtualbox-guest-x11.
• You may not be able to enter your pass phrase if you use full disk encryption.
  • LP: #1386005
• OEM Config is broken.
  • LP :#1436937
• Running Linux on PowerPC can require some tinkering and the following are useful references.
  • PowerPC Known Issues
  • PowerPC FAQ

You’ll also want to check the Ubuntu MATE bug tracker to see what has already been reported. These issues will be addressed in due course.

• Ubuntu MATE Bug Tracker

Useful Information

You may find the following information useful, which is why we titled the section Useful Information since the information presented here is mostly useful.

• Ubuntu MATE 15.04 Useful Information

Feedback

Is there anything you can help with or want to be involved in? Maybe you just want to discuss your experiences or ask the maintainers some questions. Please come and talk to us.