As part of work on the upcoming Ubuntu 24.04 release Canonical’s engineers are working on improving the Ubuntu installer, with “provisioning” the key aim.
“Provisioning?”
Yes, now that the Ubuntu desktop installer uses the same backend tech as the one in Ubuntu Server, Canonical wants to bring features commonly used in server deployments to desktop.
It says talking to OEMs made it realise its “focus was too much” on installing, so it will begin “evolving from installation to provisioning” in Ubuntu desktop.
Doing so streamlines their development process and make life easier those who need to install Ubuntu in managed environments (e.g., automated installs).
While home user needs don’t tend to be as complex (says who) as OEMs, the idea is to deliver a single dynamic install… er provisioner (?) that meets the needs of everyone.
— Am I meant to look at my laptop and say “I’m going to provision Ubuntu on that” now? 😅
Anyway, a lot of the more interesting “provisioning” features, like setting up a user account after installing or automating installs with yaml files won’t make it in to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS release.
But it will see a visual revamp, a brand new options, and a rejig to the order some steps appear in come April’s stable release.
Let’s take a look at what’s landed so far!
Ubuntu 24.04 Installer Refresh
Note: the following screenshots are heavily compressed (so fuzzy icons or pixelated text are on me). Also, the installer designs below won’t reflect the final, finished product as, naturally, they are still subject to change.
As with the existing installer, the first page gets to straight to business by asking us to pick a language:
The second side is brand new and provides up-front access to accessibility options. As per the new “provisioning” approach, the slide lets users configure accessibility options before they install Ubuntu and have those settings carry over once it’s done.
Each of the 5 sections within the new accessibility slide can be unfurled to show options within. This happens on the same page; there are no pop-ups, modals, or dialogs to keep track of.
This conscientious improvement (looks to) greatly improve Ubuntu’s approach to out-of-the-box accessibility in 24.04 LTS:
Keyboard layout section is now the third slide. While there are no new options on this page (indeed, most others) it adheres to the new design architecture. The image for this slide is of a grey laptop and compass because, er compass = travel = language, I guess?
The ‘Connect to a network’ slide picks up a couple of (much needed buffs) that mean this page no longer looks quite as lost/empty as it did.
It now shows a header, “Connect to the internet?” to better explain the pain of the page to users, and illustrates the concept with a speech bubble housing a wi-fi icon and an arrow pointing to it:
Another slide that’s markedly improved in this revamp is the install options page. Making the line “what apps would you like to install to start with with?” a header rather than regular text drives home the fact this is a pretty important page.
The options remain as they were: default install (minimal) and full installation, with “other options” listing auto-fetching of third-party drivers and media codecs:
While the “type of installation” slide — which I still feel is a slightly understated explanation of this rather vital step — doesn’t get an eye-catching glyph but it does make better used of available space by being centred.
Similarly, the (dynamic) text explaining the current install situation and posing the question is more prominent and eye-catching and, for novices, is likely to be noticed more readily than the tiny paragraph text the incumbent design opts for:
The rest of the slides that follow all look like they do in the 23.10 installer, but the “set up your account” slide now appears before the timezone selection screen:
Beyond that, it’s as it was — for the moment at least.
But is there…
More to come?
As mentioned at the start, the plan is to bring new features to the Ubuntu installer front-end (leveraging ones already available in the backend). This will mean moving (where relevant) options currently configured before installation to the stage during the first boot after installation.
But those sort of changes (sadly) are not going to land in time this cycle.
So Ubuntu 24.04 LTS will retain the existing flow (though the personalisation slide has been removed and an accessibility one added). In 24.10 user creation will happen after the first-boot when what is effectively the second-half of the installer kicks.
Apparently user-creation will happen post-first-boot in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS OEM images, but as I don’t write a blog for OEMs… *flaps hands in whatever motion*.
Anyway, it’s early days for this effort but Canonical’s developers are bullish on the benefits their provisional new provisioning approach will offer. Anything that improve the installation experience is sure to be welcomed.
I just hope it results in seeing fewer of these… 😅
