Zinc 22.04.3

Zinc 22.04.3 is now available. Zinc is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu LTS with Xfce desktop. It is based on Xubuntu but aims to provide a more modern desktop with better defaults.

What’s New

Components

• Linux kernel v5.19
• Xfce 4.18
• Nemo 5.6.3 from Linux Mint 21.1
• LibreOffice 7.5.2

Faster Shutdown

Systemd will now wait 15 seconds for services to exit before killing those services and shutting down the system. The normal timeout for Ubuntu and other distributions is 90 seconds which is very long. This is similar to the changes done in Fedora 38 to reduce the timeout.

BTRFS compression by default

On most distributions, BTRFS filesystems are mounted without compression. If compression is needed, it must be enabled manually by editing the /etc/fstab file, or by specifying the compress= option when running the mount command.

Zinc will mount all BTRFS devices with Zstd compression enabled. If compression is not needed, it must be disabled manually by editing the /etc/fstab file, or by specifying the compress=none option when running the mount command.

Desktop Layouts

A new app was added for selecting the desktop layout. Four layouts are provided for displaying the taskbar and system tray at various edges of the screen.

Misc Changes

• BTRFS: Use compress=zstd:3 by default
• BTRFS: Use discard=async by default
• Hide Ubuntu Pro messages
• Add packages:
  • btrfs-compsize
  • mint-themes-minimal

Note

• This ISO is for new installations. If you are already running Zinc, you can keep your system updated by installing updates from Ubuntu repositories.
• This distribution is a remix of Ubuntu. You can continue using the installed system for the next 5 years till Ubuntu 22.04 reaches end-of-life, or upgrade to the next non-LTS release of Ubuntu using the usual methods.
• Ubuntu LTS is chosen as the base since it can be used for up to 10 years without having to upgrade to the next release. Ubuntu’s non-LTS releases must be upgraded every 9 months after they reach end-of-life, which makes them unsuitable as a daily driver.
• This is a free distribution that is provided without support or warranty. If you have donated to this project and have any questions, feel free to send an email to [email protected].

Donate

If you find this distribution useful, you can buy me a coffee using the link below.