Xfce & Xubuntu 2018 Year In Review

2018 has been a busy year for Xfce & Xubuntu. As we enter 2019 and continue to inch closer to Xfce 4.14, let’s look back at one of the busiest development years in a while. Here’s your 2018 year in review!

January

News

• Xubuntu 17.04 “Zesty Zapus” reached End of Life
• Xubuntu 17.10.1 “Artful Aardvark” was released, resolving the Lenovo BIOS corruption bug

Major Releases

• MenuLibre 2.1.4 introduced some useful new features to the popular menu editor, including a Test Launcher button to try out a launcher before saving and the Parsing Errors dialog to easily identify menu configuration issues.

Other Notable Releases

• Catfish 1.4.4 (performance and error handling improvements)
• Xfce Timer Plugin 1.7.0 (GTK+ 3 port and UI improvements)

February

News

• The State of Xfce Tranlations in Early 2018
• The Xubuntu 18.04 Community Wallpaper Contest was opened

Major Releases

• Exo 0.12.0 was the first stable Xfce 4.14 release for the Xfce application development library. The new release included support for both GTK+ 2 and 3, and added Brave, Geary, Google Chrome, and Vivaldi to the natively supported application defaults.
• MenuLibre 2.1.5 expanded its support of desktop environments. With this release, MenuLibre’s powerful menu editing options are available for Budgie, GNOME, KDE Plasma, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, Pantheon, Unity, and Xfce.

Other Notable Releases

• Thunar 1.6.14 (stable bugfix release)
• Thunar 1.7.1 (development bugfix and feature release)
• Thunar Media Tags Plugin 0.3.0 (GTK+ 3 port)
• thunarx-python 0.5.1 (Python 3 documentation fixes)
• Xfce PulseAudio Plugin 0.3.5 (improved device and media player management)
• Xfce Terminal 0.8.7 / 0.8.7.1 (bugfixes and new configuration options)
• xfce4-volumed-pulse 0.2.3 (GTK+ 3 port)

March

News

• The Xubuntu QA & developments teams called out for testing

Major Releases

• MenuLibre 2.2.0 was finally released with an expansive list of improvements. Key improvements include expanded desktop environment support, easy window identification, launcher testing, and parsing error reporting.
• Parole Media Player 1.0.0 included playback performance updates, automatic video output selection, and improved podcast and live stream support. The new Mini Mode reduces the player to a small window that stays out of the way and within reach.
• Xfce PulseAudio Plugin 0.4.0 introduced device management and MPRIS support to the audio management plugin. Available input and output devices can be selected from the plugin menu, immediately moving streams to the new device. MPRIS support adds media player controls for supported applications.
• Xfce Settings 4.12.2, 4.12.3, and 4.13.2 improved multi-monitor support for stable and development releases. The mouse cursor can now be shown with a key press, which can be configured with the Xfce Settings Manager.

Other Notable Releases

• LightDM GTK+ Greeter 2.0.5 (improved defaults and theme support)
• Thunar Shares Plugin 0.3.0 (GTK+ 3 port)
• Tumbler 0.1.33 and 0.2.1 (bugfix releases)
• Xfce Indicator Plugin 2.3.4 (fixed builds with Xfce 4.14 development libraries)
• Xfce Notifications 0.4.2 (improved stability and several bug fixes)
• Xfce Terminal 0.8.7.2 and 0.8.7.3 (bugfix releases)

April

News

• Xubuntu 18.04 Community Wallpaper Contest winners were announced
• Xubuntu 18.04 was released! I featured some screenshots here.

Major Releases

• Xubuntu 18.04 “Bionic Beaver,” an LTS release supported for 3 years, was released with 32-bit and 64-bit downloads available. This release included some new desktop applications: Some MATE components replaced their GNOME counterparts for improved desktop consistency; the Xfce PulseAudio Plugin replaced the Sound Indicator; and the Xfce Notifications plugin, featuring a new Do Not Disturb mode, was added to the panel.

Other Notable Releases

• Parole Media Player 1.0.1 (translations)
• Thunar 1.6.15 and 1.7.2 (bugfix releases)
• Xfce PulseAudio Plugin 0.4.1 (translations)
• Xfce Verve Plugin 1.1.1 (GTK+ 2, translations and feature release)
• Xfce Verve Plugin 2.0.0 (GTK+ 3 port)
• Xfce Whisker Menu Plugin 2.1.6 and 2.1.7 (translations and bug fixes)

May

This was the first month I started publishing monthly news roundups. Check out the June Development Update for an in-depth look at May’s development progress.

News

• New Xubuntu Testers Wiki Pages, written by the testers themselves, were announced
• The last of Xubuntu’s repositories were migrated from Bazaar to Git
• The codename for Ubuntu 18.10, “Cosmic Cuttlefish,” was announced
• Kubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu Kylin, Ubuntu MATE, and Ubuntu Studio announced that they would no longer provide 32-bit ISOs for 18.10 and forward
• I chatted about Xfce and Xubuntu on Destination Linux and Late Night Linux Extra

Notable Releases

• Xfce CPU Frequency Plugin 1.2.0 (GTK+ 3 port)
• Xfce Screenshooter 1.9.2 (various enhancements and dropped Zimagez support)
• Xfce Sensors Plugin 1.3.0 (bug fixes and code quality improvements)
• Xfce Panel 4.13.3 (bug fixes and usability improvements)
• Xfce Terminal 0.8.7.4 (bugfix and feature release)
• Xfce Whisker Menu Plugin 2.2.0 (performance and usability improvements)

June

June Development Roundup

Major Releases

• Thunar 1.8.0 and 1.8.1 were the first stable GTK+ 3 releases of the Xfce file manager, offering major usability and developer-friendly improvements. The pathbar now includes navigation buttons and a much tidier location selector. GObject Introspection for Thunar’s plugin library makes it possible to develop plugins in a number of programming languages.
• Xfce Settings 4.12.4 and 4.13.4 featured improvements to display manufacturer recognition. The mappings were updated and various manufacturer names were simplified for better screen real estate. 4.13.4 introduced Xrandr display scaling, making it possible to scale the X display and all applications.

Other Notable Releases

• Exo 0.12.2 (performance improvements and support for the latest GCC)
• libxfce4util 4.13.2 (support for Vala bindings and improved documentation builds
• Mousepad 0.4.1 (bugfix release)
• Ristretto 0.8.3 (Port to GDBus and various bug fixes)
• Thunar VCS Plugin 0.1.90 (GTK+ 3 port)
• Xfce Desktop 4.13.2 (support for the Thunarx-3 API and various bug fixes)
• Xfce Dictionary 0.8.1 (appearance improvements)
• Xfce Task Manager 1.2.1 (bug fixes and a new –start-hidden command line flag)
• Xfconf 4.13.5 (bugfix release)

July

July Development Roundup

News

• Xubuntu 17.10 is now End of Life
• Xubuntu 18.04.1 was released
• Catfish and Xfce Panel Profiles became official Xfce projects

Major Releases

• Xubuntu 18.04.1, the first point release in the Bionic Beaver series, became available. At this time, users of a prior release should have received an upgrade notice. This release included several stability and performance improvements.
• Xfwm 4.13.1 included massive updates, including a full port to GTK+ 3 and various fixes. This component is one of the critical pieces of the Xfce 4.14 release, so it’s great to see it humming along.

Other Notable Releases

• Catfish 1.4.6 (improved thumbnailer and various bug fixes)
• Thunar VCS Plugin 0.2.0 (GTK+ 3 port)
• Xfce Mount Plugin 1.1.3 (translation updates)
• Xfce Panel Profiles 1.0.8 (bugfix release)
• Xfce Whisker Menu Plugin 2.2.1 (bugfix release)
• Xfwm 4.12.5 (bugfix release)

August

August Development Roundup

Notable Releases

• Mugshot 0.4.1 (bug fixes and code quality improvements)
• Xfce Appfinder 4.13.1 (bug fixes and usability improvements)
• Xfce Screenshooter 1.9.3 (bugfix and feature release)
• Xfce Session 4.13.1 (numerous bug fixes and code quality improvements)

September

September & October Development Roundup

News

• Elementary Xfce 0.13 switched to Manila folder icons, following upstream

Notable Releases

• Thunar 1.8.2 (bugfix release)
• Tumbler 0.2.2 and 0.2.3 (bug fixes and performance improvements)
• Xfce Battery Plugin 1.1.1 (bug fixes and appearance improvements)
• Xfce Cpufreq Plugin 1.2.1 (bug fixes and appearance improvements)
• Xfce Weather Plugin 0.9.0 (GTK+ 3 port)

October

September & October Development Roundup

News

• Xubuntu 18.10 “Cosmic Cuttlefish” was released

Major Releases

• Xubuntu 18.10 “Cosmic Cuttlefish” featured several appearance updates and Xfce 4.14 components. Our icon theme, elementary-xfce, was updated with new Manila folder icons and optimized, resulting in a smaller install size and improved performance. Many more GTK+ 3 Xfce applications were included.
• Xfce Screensaver 0.1.0 (and 0.1.1) was announced as a new screen locker and screensaver for Xfce. This application is a port of MATE Screensaver, adapted to integrate tightly with the Xfce desktop. It shares theming with LightDM GTK+ Greeter to guarantee users a consistent login and lock experience.
• Xfce Settings 4.13.5 featured the new display profiles: saved multi-monitor layouts automatically applied when a new monitor configuration is detected. This works with multi-monitor layouts and switches a laptop to use only the external display when connected.

Other Notable Releases

• Exo 0.12.3 (bug fixes and appearance improvements)
• Gigolo 0.4.90 (GTK+ 3 port)
• Xfce Clipman Plugin 1.4.3 (bug fix and appearance improvements)
• Xfce Notifications 0.4.3 (bugfix release)
• Xfce Sensors Plugin 1.3.90 (bug fixes and appearance improvements)
• Xfce Whisker Menu Plugin 2.3.0 (bug fixes and appearance improvements)

November

Major Releases

• Xfce Screensaver 0.1.3 is the first beta release of the new Xfce Screensaver. It features an expanded configuration dialog, better support for X11 Screensaver and XDG Screensaver, and fully documented functionality. With a focus on improved code quality, contributors should have a much easier time with the project going forward.

Other Notable Releases

• Xfce Screensaver 0.1.2 (bugfix release)
• Thunar Volume Manager 0.9.1 (bug fixes, appearance improvements, and Blu-Ray media support)
• Xfce Dictionary 0.8.2 (bug fixes and appearance improvements)
• Xfce System Load Plugin 1.2.2 (bug fixes and appearance improvements)

December

News

• Lubuntu and Xubuntu announced they will no longer ship 32-bit ISOs for Ubuntu 19.04 and onwards. Ubuntu 18.04 will continue to be supported for the 3-year LTS support window.
• André Miranda published The Ultimate Contributor’s Guide to Xfce, which is definitely a worthwhile read for new and existing contributors.

Notable Releases

• Garcon 0.6.2 (bugfix release)
• Xfce Appfinder 4.13.2 (bugfix release)
• Xfce MPC Plugin 0.5.1 (bug fixes and appearance improvements)
• Xfce Task Manager 1.2.2 (bug fixes and usability improvements)

Cheers to 2019

Look out for Xfce 4.14—we’re so close! Look out for more updates in the coming months.