(Ubuntu "Eoan" 19.10 development version running peacefully in May)
Ubuntu 19.10 codenamed "Eoan" is supposed to be released next October this year. But in May we already can download the ISO image. It continues the previous names of Artful, Bionic, Cosmic, and Disco. And further we can also see the contents of that ISO without even downloading nor running it on our computer by just reading the corresponding manifest file. This short article is for new testers who want to see several information including the desktop, programs versions, and more. This way, it will be interesting for everybody to see and start test Eoan daily build ISO and further to help report issues to the developers. Finally, welcome for Eoan and happy testing for you!
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Summary
- Download
- Desktop
- Codename and development
- ISO and Manifest
- Detailed info
- Bug reports
- Next thing...
Download
You can download Eoan ISO Image from cdimage server today. Please remember that it is a developmental software and not supposed to replace your working stable Ubuntu system. I suggest you to run Eoan as LiveCD only, or install it in a Virtual Machine (QEMU, VirtualBox), or install it on a spare computer.
Desktop
Here's the desktop running from a LiveCD session. The desktop looks not different to 19.04 "Disco Dingo". However, all the wallpapers come from Disco Dingo and there is no new one at this moment.
(Desktop menu view with Sunset of Peloponnesus wallpaper by Simos Xenitellis as the background)
(App overview with Cramond Island wallpaper by Keanu Kerr as the background)
Codename & development
Today the codename is already half-known, it is "Eoan", but we still don't have any official publication of the animal name yet. Whether it will be "Eoan Elephant" or "Eoan Eel" or "Eoan Eagle" or something else we still don't know. But a Launchpad page clearly shows that it is "Eoan Ermine". If you want to know what kind of animal is it, see Animalia site, it's basically a weasel. Both Ubuntu cdimage server and Mark Shuttleworth's personal website didn't publish the animal name yet, even today, even with Launchpad publishes that Ermine name. This codename "Eoan" is known first by Dimitri John Ledkov announcement on ubuntu-devel-announce mailing list last April.
(The brand-new shining orange header of cdimage server shows "Eoan EANIMAL")
Some plans for 19.10 from the announcement Eoan is open for development published by Dimitri John Ledkov on ubuntu-devel-announce mailing list:
- gcc 9 : so when we install gcc we get version 9 by default
- glibc 2.30 : if GNU Project released it in next August or later, Ubuntu will use it as default C Library
- openjdk 11 : so when we install openjdk we get version 11 by default, but we still can choose version 8 or 13 as well
- python 3.7 as the default, while python 2 will be moved from main to universe repository
- icu to be upgraded to 64.2 or newer and to support the new Japan era Reiwa
We can see how the developers discuss Eoan development on Ubuntu Community Forum and ubuntu-devel-discuss mailing list. You can send your comments there.
(Public mailing list archive of ubuntu-devel-discuss in May)
While not directly related to Eoan, Ubuntu Unity Remix team also has discussion about Unity development on Eoan right now in the same forum.
ISO and Manifest Files
At 5 May 2019, the famous Ubuntu's cdimage server publishes its daily-built ISO image along with its manifest file. The ISO file name is eoan-desktop-amd64.iso with timestamp 2019-05-05. The size is 2.0GB at this moment. This is the ISO image I use for this article.
(cdimage server download page of Ubuntu daily-built ISO)
Reading the manifest file informs us what packages and what versions are included in the ISO image. From 5 May manifest, as example below shows, we know that the ISO includes LibreOffice version 6.2.3 with all modules except LibreOffice Base.
(Gedit text editor opens the manifest file and finds out libreoffice-related packages listed)
- LibreOffice Version From the manifest file, the version is 6.2.3. Modules installed built-in are Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, and Math, just like usual.
- Firefox Version From the manifest file, it's 66. It will surely change as Firefox is one among most rapidly updated free software we have in this world.
- Kernel Version From the manifest file, it's 5.0.0.13. It will surely change as well.
- GNU Version GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) version is 8.3.0.
- GNOME Desktop Version It is 3.32.1.
- Nautilus File Manager Version It is 3.32.0.
Detailed Info
At the moment, here's information we can get by running LiveCD session. Release field shows "19.10" and Description field shows "Ubuntu Eoan EANIMAL" both are correct. Kernel version is 5.0.0.13.
(Just like usual, lsb_release -a and uname -a are important to see)
Bug Reports
Amazingly, bug reports for 19.10 are already present on Launchpad and today there are several of them. For example, see bug #1826691, latest bug today, reported by Jason Pritchard.
(Bug reports and discussions of Ubuntu Eoan on Launchpad website)
If you want to report a bug as a beginner, it's best to follow what QA Tracker site guides, that is using built-in program ubuntu-report. See the instruction here. For example, if you found issue with Nautilus you believe it's bug, run command ubuntu-bug nautilus and follow the next steps. Another example, if you found issue with GDM as bug, you run ubuntu-bug gdm3 and follow the rest.
Next thing... Welcome!
This will not represent exactly the final release of 19.10 next October. It's still pretty far and we need to wait. However, as a testing operating system it feels very good and is not different to 19.04 stable. For testers, bug report is open on Launchpad. For curious users, you can install 19.10 on a spare computer to explore everything without worries. Last but not least, I hope this anticipation article encourages you much to test and enjoy it. Finally, I want to say welcome to Eoan Ermine!
This article is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.