Ubuntu Stonking Stingray swims into spotlight with pre-release kernel
26.10 is here, with not-quite-ready kernel 7.3 and speech-to-text recognition
Ubuntu's latest interim release, named Stonking Stingray, has made a splash with its pre-release kernel version 7.3. This early release, timed two weeks after the beta version, bypasses the usual release cycle. The GNOME 51 edition remains visually identical to the beta, but a notable addition is the window-tiling assistant which now displays a Windows-like pop-up box.
The Myna speech-to-text tool, announced in June, is now a technology preview, working slower in the release version but improving with a USB headset. Installation is smoother with official instructions, taking up nearly a gigabyte of disk space. Testing on LibreOffice showed mixed results, with better accuracy using a USB headset.
While not as sophisticated as macOS and Windows, this feature could be useful for individuals with mobility issues. All flavors have been updated, with Kubuntu, Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Unity, Ubuntu Budgie, Cinnamon, and Lubuntu each receiving their respective updates. Underneath the surface, there are significant upgrades including new Rust versions for core CLI tools, dbus-broker replacing dbus-daemon, and updated server versions including AMD ROCm 10.0, OpenSSL 4, OpenSSH 10.5, and the Rust upki tool for security certificate revocation.
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