A new settings panel in Ubuntu 22.10, “Kinetic Kudu”, consolidates the desktop options. Here’s how it looks.
Due to planning and scheduling conflicts, Ubuntu 22.04 did not feature GNOME Settings 42 when it was released in April 2022. Instead, it came with gnome-control-center version 41.0.
The Appearance tab in Settings 41.0+ used to have the light and dark theme switcher. In addition, it had accent colour options, Desktop Icons, and Dock options.
A New Settings Panel in Ubuntu 22.10
After the settings panel is ported for Ubuntu 22.10, the Desktop icons and dock options go to a new settings tab called “Ubuntu Desktop”. Here’s a glimpse of it looks.
Moreover, the Background tab, which enables you to choose wallpapers, goes to the Appearance tab. This eliminates the Background Tab and consolidates all the theming options.
This change was much needed and is better now, considering the usability. There was no point in keeping to a separate settings tab for background and appearance. It’s worth mentioning that the stock GNOME desktop settings window also has a similar look.
Furthermore, this change effectively brings the gnome-control-center 42.x for this release. However, GNOME 43 should also be released before October. Hence we are not sure whether the GNOME 43 with the latest control centre would land in Ubuntu builds before October. But I firmly believe Ubuntu 22.10 should feature GNOME 43 as it will be released before BETA on September 22.
Other Noteworthy Changes
Not only the above change, the upcoming Ubuntu 22.10 “Kinetic Kudu” pushes the technology ahead with some exciting changes. Firstly, the Pipewire sound server will default for the first time, which is the modern replacement for good ol’ PulseAudio.
Secondly, the legacy WPA-Supplicant wireless module is changing and being replaced by a more modern IWD (iNet Wireless Daemon). The IWD is developed by Intel and is now mature enough to arrive in Ubuntu. It has certain advantages and more features over WPA_Supplicant.
Other than that, usual toolchain updates, core packages and the latest Kernel should grace the upcoming Ubuntu 22.10 “Kinetic Kudu”.
The daily builds are already available as it is currently under development. You may want to grab the daily build ISO from the below link, and I recommend you not to use it unless you want to poke around.
