This is a RELEASE CANDIDATE for 1.0.0. If you want to help keep
xfce4-terminal
bug-free you can test this release and report any problems you
encounter.
DEPENDENCIES UPDATED:
VTE: 0.51.3
Xfce-libs: 4.16.0
General Improvements:
Use XfceTitledDialog for Find (Issue #168)
Include '\r' in unsafe-paste checks
Update tab accelerators at runtime
Consume events that activate accelerator callbacks (Issues #159 #153)
Shortcuts editor (depends on libxfce4ui 4.17):
Center on the active terminal window.
Change handling of goto-tab accelerators so they can be changed
through the editor.
Regressions fixed:
Menubar changes size when the window is maximized (Issue #156)
Context Menu: Revert changes in order and contents introduced by the
transition to XfceGtkActionEntries
Add "Show Window Borders" entry in View menu (it was missing in the
last 2 dev releases)
Revert view menu order (Zoom entries below checkboxes)
Fix the visibility flag of the scrollbar (Issue #161, could lead to
broken themes)
All submissions must adhere to the Terms and Guidelines, including specifics about subject matter, image resolution and attribution.
After the submission deadline, the Xubuntu team will pick 6 winners from all submissions for inclusion on the Xubuntu 22.04 ISO, and will also be available to other Xubuntu version users as a xubuntu-community-wallpaper package. The winners will also receive some Xubuntu stickers.
Any questions?
Please join #xubuntu-devel on Libera for assistance or email the Xubuntu developer mailing list if you have any problems with your submission.
The Raspberry Pi 4 and 400 are capable ARM devices able to run a desktop-class operating system, albeit slowly. Ubuntu has a tutorial for installing a desktop on the Raspberry Pi, but I recommend using Martin Wimpress’ desktopify script to install with improved hardware support. In this guide, I’ll be using a patched version that enables installation on Ubuntu 21.10 and 22.04.
Please note that the Raspberry Pi is not supported by the Xubuntu Team. This installation method is made available for those looking for something different to use their Raspberry Pi for, or those needing to test against ARM hardware.
With this guide, you will
Download your preferred Ubuntu version (20.04, 21.10, 22.04)
Use GNOME Disks or the Raspberry Pi Imager to flash Ubuntu onto an SD card
Use a patched desktopify script to install Xubuntu or Xubuntu Core on your Raspberry Pi 4
Download Ubuntu Server
Download the Raspberry Pi Generic (64-bit ARM) preinstalled server image for your selected Ubuntu version. You should end up with a filename ending in -preinstalled-server-arm64+raspi.img.xz
With the SD card still inserted, you should now be able to access the system-boot partition. Navigate to the network-config file on system-boot and open it in a text editor. Here you can configure the Ethernet settings and add Wi-Fi credentials. Some key details:
Uncomment the sections you want to use by removing the “#” at the beginning of each line.
Each network name needs to be enclosed in quotation marks. E.g. "My Wifi Network"
On the first boot, the Wi-Fi network will fail to connect. Once you are successfully logged in, simply enter sudo reboot to restart the device.
Once you’ve finished, save your changes and eject your SD card.
Insert your SD card into the Raspberry Pi and power it on. The first boot takes a few minutes while the writable partition is expanded to fit the remaining space on the SD card. Once a few minutes have passed or you see a message about SSH keys, you are ready to login.
Once your SSH host keys (redacted) are displayed, you are now ready to login.
Use ubuntu as both the username and password. You will be prompted to change your password immediately. Afterward, you will be logged in. Reboot now if you need your Wi-Fi connection to work with sudo reboot and then login again.
Type ubuntu and click the Enter key to enter your username. Type ubuntu and click the Enter key again to enter your password. Then follow the prompts to set your password.
Time to run updates! Issue the following commands to fully update your device.
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt dist-upgrade
This will take a while, go make some coffee. Once updates are complete, reboot your device with sudo reboot. Login again and it’s time to install Xubuntu or Xubuntu Core with desktopify.
Using the patched desktopify script, you can now install Xubuntu or Xubuntu Core on your Raspberry Pi 4. Select one or other, but don’t try to install both. Xubuntu Core is a subset of Xubuntu, so it probably wouldn’t do anything anyway.
Note: The —oem flag is optional but recommended. Without it, you will need to change the hostname and add a new user yourself.
# Get the desktopify repository
$ git clone https://github.com/bluesabre/desktopify.git
# Switch to the desktopify directory
$ cd desktopify
# Install Xubuntu, or
sudo ./desktopify --de xubuntu --oem
If you opted for the OEM installation option, you’ll first be greeted with the Ubiquity one-time device setup. Enter your details and wait a bit longer and you will be ready to login with your new username and password.
Enjoy Xubuntu on the Raspberry Pi, but remember that it is an unsupported device. Performance issues and missing hardware features are to be expected and are unlikely to be addressed by the team. Despite this, please report issues as you normally would! Issues reported may be common with other hardware and can potentially be addressed by the Ubuntu development team or upstream projects.
When I installed Xubuntu 22.04 I was shocked to see that Bluetooth wasn’t working. I’ve got a pretty standard and well-supported Bluetooth chipset, Intel Wireless-AC 3168 Bluetooth, so this threw me for a loop.
After blaming and then apologizing to Blueman, I found a hint on the Arch Linux forum. The kernel version on 22.04, 5.15.0.18.18, is currently broken with several Intel Bluetooth chipsets. There were reports in that same thread that the issue was resolved in 5.15.4, so I set out to upgrade my kernel… something I haven’t had to do in a really long time.
Upgrading my kernel
The good news is, upgrading your kernel no longer requires that you compile it yourself. Did I mention that it’s been a really long time since I’ve had to do this? After searching for a bit, I came across suggestions to use a utility called Ukuu (the “Ubuntu Kernel Update Utility”). However, this project is no longer free. Instead, you should now use a project called mainline.
Fair warning now… installing alternative kernels could leave your system in a worse state than you started. Just like the version currently available in Xubuntu 22.04, kernel updates can have regressions and will be less tested than those you find in the standard Ubuntu repositories. You have been warned!
Installing mainline
To easily install the latest version of mainline and stay up-to-date, use the cappelikan PPA. Fire up a terminal and enter the following commands:
Once installed, you will find Ubuntu Mainline Kernel Installer in your application menu.
Using mainline
The application interface is pretty straight-forward. Select a kernel version, click Install, and it will be installed!
From here, everything is easy. Select your desired kernel version (I opted for 5.15.24) and click Install. The kernel was installed and my NVIDIA kernel modules were installed alongside it. Upon rebooting, everything, including my Bluetooth, was functional!
Your mileage may vary, but for me, this was the last thing I needed to be running at 100% with Xubuntu 22.04. Here’s hoping this helps somebody else with unexplainable Bluetooth issues. 😉
One of the features I’ve grown to appreciate since using macOS, elementary OS, and GNOME 4x is multi-touch gestures for switching workspaces. When I came back to Xubuntu, I ran into some roadblocks bringing my favorite feature into Xfce. By disabling the Synaptics driver and installing Touchégg, you can bring Magic Trackpad support and gestures to Xubuntu.
Replacing Synaptics with libinput
Xubuntu ships with the Synaptics driver for improved laptop touchpad support. Synaptics is an X11 input driver specifically for touchpad support, but it directly interferes with libinput in Xfce. libinput is a Wayland- and X11-compatible input driver with improved touchpad support and is a key component for Touchégg. If Synaptics is present, it takes precedence over libinput, so it has to be removed to continue.
An additional benefit of removing Synaptics: it doesn’t support the Apple Magic Trackpad 2 at all. When it’s installed, you cannot move your cursor. You can only right-click. Uninstall Synaptics to make the Magic Trackpad work in Xubuntu!
Uninstall Synaptics
Removing the driver is trivially easy. Open up a terminal and issue the following command:
$ sudo apt remove xserver-xorg-input-synaptics
After removing the driver, restart your system. Once you’re up and running, your touchpad should have a bit more life in it! With the Synaptics driver out of the way, libinput will be able to take over and enable Touchégg.
Reinstall Synaptics (if needed)
If for some reason you need to reinstall the Synaptics driver, just enter the following into your terminal and then reboot. Synaptics will be reinstalled, but Touchégg will not function correctly.
$ sudo apt install xserver-xorg-input-synaptics
Install Touchégg for Multi-Touch Gestures
Touchégg runs in the background and translates touchpad gestures into actions. Once configured, you will be able to use three- or four-finger gestures to switch workspaces, resize or rearrange windows, or even run custom commands.
To install Touchégg on Xubuntu, follow the Ubuntu instructions below. Note that you will find touchegg in the Ubuntu repositories, but it is an older version and won’t behave as expected.
Restart your computer and the touchegg daemon will be running in the background.
Install Touché to Configure Touchégg
Touché has an easy-to-understand interface, with options for Swipe, Pinch, and Tap gestures.
Touché is the desktop companion application to configure Touchégg. It’s available on FlatHub so the next step will be to enable Flatpak on Xubuntu. We’re doing it all, right here, right now.
Install Flatpak support in Xubuntu
Following the Ubuntu setup instructions on flathub.org, run the following commands in a Terminal.
You’ll find Touché in the application menu. Launch it and add your global and per-application gestures! Remember that Xubuntu is configured with a single workspace, so gestures to Switch desktop will fail until you add some additional workspaces. You can do this from Xubuntu’s Workspaces settings.
From the Workspaces application, you can add however many workspaces you want. Go wild!
Wrapping Up
I’m finally getting back into Xubuntu and Xfce development after roughly a year’s hiatus. Adding the multi-touch workspace gestures makes the transition much smoother. I hope this guide is helpful for others wanting to use Xubuntu but hesitant to without their modern desktop features. Look forward to more updates in the near future!
