Ubuntu Mate For Linux

Ubuntu Mate is nowadays one of the most popular flavors of Ubuntu. Sporting a fork of the Gnome Classic desktop environment, Ubuntu Mate is the go-to Ubuntu flavor for users with older computers, as well as for those who want a remarkably lightweight Linux distribution. Ubuntu Mate 20.04.3 LTS (Long Term Release) is aimed at users who prefer stability, and it comes with three years of support (security and other types of upgrades and updates).

Since Ubuntu Mate is based on Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS Focal Fossa, it brings multiple noteworthy changes and improvements such as the addition of MATE Desktop 1.24, the adoption of Linux kernel 5.4, various visual changes and improvements, and various bugs fixed.

Upgrades to various default apps, as well as the addition of ZFS and GameMode from Feral Interactive are also part of the changes found in 20.04.

Ubuntu Mate 20.04 LTS uses MATE Desktop 1.24. There are various tweaks and changes done to the window manager. The ALT+TAB workspace switcher was reworked, there are now invisible resize borders and icon rendering in HiDPI.

Ubuntu Mate now has a new welcome screen that acts as a sort of walkthrough. Another nice change is the small preview for minimized apps.

20.04 brings forth a new Firmware updater that allows easier driver management, Thunderbird is replaced by the Evolution email client, and the default versions for Firefox, Celluloid, and Libre Office are 75.0, 0.18, and 6.4.22 respectively.

The new kernel (5.4) provides native support for exFAT, as well as improved hardware support. The new Game Mode is not exactly at the level of that found on Windows, but it gets the job done. Even though it has no GUI, you can use the command line to temporarily tweak and optimize the system before launching games.

Ubuntu Mate 20.043 is a very nice addition to the Mate family, and it makes a strong case for upgrading from 18.10 (the last LTS release). Ubuntu Mate is supported until April 2023.