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Ubuntu 24.04 splits firmware packages for faster updates and Canonical leaves IRC aside
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OMG Ubuntu ☛ Ubuntu 24.04 splits firmware packages for faster updates
Firmware updates on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS have got smaller, as Canonical has backported the split GNU/Linux firmware packages it introduced in 26.04. To make the change in noble, the linux-firmware package is now a meta-package that pulls in all of the individual firmware packages. Functionally, nothing changes; all installs get the full whack. The binary blobs the distro uses are now split across 18 vendor-specific sub-packages: Some non-default firmware was already available to install as a sub-package, e.g., linux-firmware-xilinx-vcu, so those don’t change (but aren’t looped into the new metapackage).
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The Register UK ☛ Canonical shuttering some of its legacy chat channels
Canonical is closing off some of its older tools and communications channels for users, although some may remain – just unofficially.
Back in May, Canonical’s Aaron Prisk announced on Discord that the company was closing the Ubuntu Pastebin at the end of June. Now a comment from a different Aaron, Aaron Rainbolt, says that the IRC channels will follow.
The official Ubuntu chat channels are now on Matrix – there’s an introductory site and under Step 3: Join the Ubuntu space there’s a Matrix link to Ubuntu’s area: you can either type /join #community:ubuntu.com or follow a Matrix link. (Note: the preceding link will only work if you have a Matrix client installed, and your browser can open it.) This isn’t unprecedented: the Linux Mint project did much the same back when Mint 22 came out a couple of years ago.