Review of Resolute Raccoon Kubuntu 26.04 LTS

[oshunluvr]

I have an updated and de-snapped 26.04 install and sound works fine. Pipewire exists as a normal install, not a snap.

Shocker - a youtuber is making things up... <rolls eyes>

Correction: The video is about Ubuntu and I missed that initially. Curious that he Kubuntu team didn't follow that particular Ubuntu path but still install Firefox and Thunderbird as snaps. There still seems to be a strong push-back against snaps in my web reading experience. No way to tell how actually prevailing that sentiment actually is.

[acheron]

Lets be clear here. I am Kubuntu devloper. I am also a full Ubuntu Core developer.

The pipewire package (and sub packages) in resolute 26.04 are conventionally packaged self contained.debs, which themselves contain the pipewire binaries, shared libraries, data/config/services files all in those. They do not install a snap version or require one. Ubuntu itself, and none of the flavours, ship pipewire as a snap or require it.

The claim in some online video somewhere that a pipewire snap is shipped or required is complete BS.

According to the 26.04 roadmap, maybe shipping pipewire as a snap is something that might be considered in a future release at an unspecified time beyond 26.04. i.e. looking at and evaluating the concept during the 26.04 release cycle, but not shipping it there. The roadmap is clear on this. I think there have also been some things quoted on say the register which say "looking at for 26.04", where maybe "during" would have been more accurate.

And to me honest, since that uncommital aspiration in the roadmap post last November, I have heard no more about it myself in development channels.

I think here that some social media commentors/creators have misconstrued/misunderstood (if I am being generous) what was said and posted last November, and come to 2+2=7 in their messaging. They certainly did not bother to check what was actually in 26.04.

[Snowhog]

I know that someone will ask; it occurred to me; if the pipewire package isn't just a "snap pointer package".

AI Overview

The Ubuntu package gstreamer1.0-pipewire:amd64 (version 1.6.2-1ubuntu1, often associated with PipeWire version 0.3.x or 1.x depending on the Ubuntu release) is a true, native .deb package.

It is not a "snap pointer" package.

Here is the breakdown:

Native Plugin: This package provides the GStreamer plugin necessary for GStreamer-based applications to use PipeWire for audio/video input and output.

Package Management: It is installed, managed, and upgraded via apt or dpkg, standard Debian package management tools.

Library Component: It installs shared libraries (.so files) into system directories (like /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gstreamer-1.0/) that allow native GStreamer applications to interact with the system-wide PipeWire daemon.

While Ubuntu uses snaps for many applications, essential system audio/video plugins like gstreamer1.0-pipewire remain native .deb packages to ensure deep integration with the system's multimedia framework.

[acheron]

Thank you. Maybe pipewire is a snap on Ubuntu... Have just installed Kubuntu 26.04 beta, when I find the energy I'll try de-snapping it, and running do-release-upgrade -d on a snapshot.

The link I gave was for Ubuntu. No pipewire snap there.

[jlittle]

Thank you. Maybe pipewire is a snap on Ubuntu... Have just installed Kubuntu 26.04 beta, when I find the energy I'll try de-snapping it, and running do-release-upgrade -d on a snapshot.

[acheron]

One of the points he makes is that in 26.04 pipewire is a snap, so if you de-snap, no sound.[

I have not heard of that being the case, and on the beta and daily Ubuntu images no such snap is present. pipewire is there as .deb packages as always.

https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/da...amd64.manifest

[jlittle]

Just watched https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG2ZMvBT8W4 on the Youtux channel. He doesn't like 26.04 and has a bit of a moan about it. (That tone is typical for the channel.)

One of the points he makes is that in 26.04 pipewire is a snap, so if you de-snap, no sound.

Has anyone testing resolute raccoon de-snapped?

I shall be trying this. I really didn't like the churn that snaps provoked in my incremental backups, sometimes seeming to double the time taken.

[oshunluvr]

Yeah, the lone main dev plans to keep it around as long as there is interest.

As to KDE Linux, there really is absolutely zero Arch stuff to learn. They just use it to build the base OS image. There is no pacman or aur or anything at all

The immutability part, well, that depends. Currently, things are not fleshed out. When they offer a User focused version, this should be better, but no idea on how much that can do to make it useful for system-level tinkering. As I am wont to do here and there, considering I run it on a Chromebook that needs keyboard support added.

For more 'normal' usage, it isn't bad, even considering it uses pre-release Plasma versions. But most Linux users are NOT normal, lol. Someone who can find everything they need in Flathub will be fine. But most people, even normal users, will find third-party things like VPN clients challenging at this time. A stable release (of the dev version) iirc is hoped to be here in a few months so there is a while still before a user focused version is released.

I installed KDE Linux in a VM and it seems not horribly different than what I'm used to but I didn't fiddle with it too long. I guess that I've been operating in a certain way for a long time and just stubbornly don't want to change. From a higher level, I can see a future where we might achieve an "unbreakable" Linux release which might dramatically change the OS landscape. I "feel" that one of the main things I love about Linux - my ability to "make it my own" - would become impossible and I don't like that idea. Probably, it's more likely I would just have to learn a new way to do things.

In any case, my livelihood no longer depends on my knowledge of operating systems so this is just chaff.

[claydoh]

However, I did just read that Neon will likely be re-based to 26.04

Yeah, the lone main dev plans to keep it around as long as there is interest.

As to KDE Linux, there really is absolutely zero Arch stuff to learn. They just use it to build the base OS image. There is no pacman or aur or anything at all

The immutability part, well, that depends. Currently, things are not fleshed out. When they offer a User focused version, this should be better, but no idea on how much they can do to make it useful for system-level tinkering. As I am wont to do here and there, considering I run it on a Chromebook that needs keyboard support added.

For more 'normal' usage, it isn't bad, even considering it uses pre-release Plasma versions. But most Linux users are NOT normal, lol. Someone who can find everything they need in Flathub will be fine. But most people, even normal users, will find third-party things like VPN clients challenging at this time. A stable release (of the dev version) iirc is hoped to be here in a few months so there is a while still before a user focused version is released.

[oshunluvr]

Worked with no issues. Thanks again for the suggestion!

[oshunluvr]

Have you tried a more current ISO?

I have seen breakages in the past that aren't easily fixable/traceable, with a nuke and pave being the easier option. I suspect stray lib versions not removed, and/or in different locations, and the package database is blissfully unaware of all. With things in Beta now, all that should be locked down now.

No, I'm updating an early January install on bare metal. I'll try a totally new install when I get time. Thanks for the suggestion.

I was planning on switching from Neon back to Kubuntu since Neon may not live long now that KDE Linux is being developed. I have no interest in learning the Arch way to do things nor do I want to learn how to work in an immutable environment. However, I did just read that Neon will likely be re-based to 26.04 so I would be able to kick the can down the road a bit. My current Neon install is from 2018 so I'm of the mind that a fresh install and new home is past due.

[claydoh]

I'm unable to log into Kubuntu 26.04 since Feb. 5th.

Have you tried a more current ISO?

I have seen breakages in the past that aren't easily fixable/traceable, with a nuke and pave being the easier option. I suspect stray lib versions not removed, and/or in different locations, and the package database is blissfully unaware of all. With things in Beta now, all that should be locked down now.

[skyfishgoo]

seems like dejavu all over again...

did you try deleting "quiet splash" from the kernel parameters in grub?

[oshunluvr]

I'm unable to log into Kubuntu 26.04 since Feb. 5th. If I update all the packages I end up with a non-working install. It boots and the login screen appears, but when I attempt to log in,, it goes to a black screen and stays there - no apparent activity at all.

In the last working version I have, syslog ends with:

2026-04-06T08:51:57.531179-04:00 kubuntu2604 PackageKit: get-updates transaction /826_dadcabdc from uid 1000 finished with success after 393ms
2026-04-06T08:51:57.553712-04:00 kubuntu2604 kded6[2541]: Registering ":1.72/StatusNotifierItem" to system tray
2026-04-06T08:52:05.912930-04:00 kubuntu2604 org.kde.kdeconnect[2817]: qt.bluetooth.bluez: Missing CAP_NET_ADMIN permission. Cannot determine whether a found address is of random or public type.
2026-04-06T08:52:06.193752-04:00 kubuntu2604 systemd[1]: systemd-localed.service: Deactivated successfully.
2026-04-06T08:52:11.600895-04:00 kubuntu2604 dolphin[3307]: kf.notifications: No event config could be found for event id "BellVisible" under notifyrc file for app "dolphin"
2026-04-06T08:52:15.555883-04:00 kubuntu2604 dolphin[3307]: message repeated 2 times: [ kf.notifications: No event config could be found for event id "BellVisible" under notifyrc file for app "dolphin"]
2026-04-06T08:53:03.650550-04:00 kubuntu2604 dolphin[3307]: kf.notifications: No event config could be found for event id "BellVisible" under notifyrc file for app "dolphin"
2026-04-06T08:53:27.676415-04:00 kubuntu2604 dolphin[3307]: message repeated 23 times: [ kf.notifications: No event config could be found for event id "BellVisible" under notifyrc file for app "dolphin"]​

The non-working version ends with:

2026-04-06T13:22:33.386931-04:00 kubuntu2604 PackageKit: get-updates transaction /861_eccabeac from uid 1000 finished with success after 242ms
2026-04-06T13:22:37.930232-04:00 kubuntu2604 kdeconnectd[2926]: kdeconnect.core: Could not query capabilities from notifications server
2026-04-06T13:22:42.905857-04:00 kubuntu2604 kdeconnectd[2926]: qt.bluetooth.bluez: Missing CAP_NET_ADMIN permission. Cannot determine whether a found address is of random or public type.
2026-04-06T13:22:42.930431-04:00 kubuntu2604 systemd[1]: systemd-localed.service: Deactivated successfully.
2026-04-06T13:22:51.543395-04:00 kubuntu2604 systemd[1948]: plasma-ksplash.service: start operation timed out. Terminating.
2026-04-06T13:22:51.549854-04:00 kubuntu2604 systemd[1948]: plasma-ksplash.service: Main process exited, code=killed, status=15/TERM
2026-04-06T13:22:51.549948-04:00 kubuntu2604 systemd[1948]: plasma-ksplash.service: Failed with result 'timeout'.
2026-04-06T13:22:51.550140-04:00 kubuntu2604 systemd[1948]: Failed to start plasma-ksplash.service - Splash screen shown during boot.
2026-04-06T13:22:55.082857-04:00 kubuntu2604 chronyd[1293]: NTS-KE session with 91.189.91.112:4460 (3.ntp.ubuntu.com) timed out
2026-04-06T13:23:12.965247-04:00 kubuntu2604 org.freedesktop.Notifications[3080]: org.kde.plasma.waitforname: WaitForName: Service was not registered within timeout
2026-04-06T13:23:12.966581-04:00 kubuntu2604 dbus-daemon[1973]: [session uid=1000 pid=1973 pidfd=5] Activated service 'org.freedesktop.Notifications' failed: Process org.freedesktop.Notifications exited with status 1
2026-04-06T13:23:44.865121-04:00 kubuntu2604 kernel: hrtimer: interrupt took 13360 ns​

I can't seem to find the problem but it looks like the splash screen is what's locking up.

I have left it alone for hours and it shows no activity at all after the above.

[claydoh]

will Wayland be installed by default

It will be installed, but the x11 login session will not be removed.

Will Snap be installed?

Probably, but that may depend on how you removed or disabled it.

What would be the best way to upgrade from Kubuntu 24.04?

There is only one way, using the official Ubuntu upgrade tools., either from the notification you will see circa October, or started manually after upgrades are enabled at some point after release.