Rhino Linux is a relatively new Linux distribution based on the Ubuntu development branch. I know what you’re thinking: “Another Ubuntu fork,” but don’t jump to conclusions because we’re dealing with a slightly different kind of beast here.
More precisely, the rolling release model ported onto an Ubuntu base, achieved by having the distribution based on its development branch.
The just-released new update brings few but exciting changes, so let’s see what it’s all about.
What’s New in Rhino Linux 2023.3
Rhino 2023.3 is the third in the row update to the release, after the previous 2023.1 and 2023.2 in August. But more importantly, it includes a significant change that promises to make your desktop experience more enjoyable and easy. Here’s what it is.
As we informed you earlier, in May, the Rhino developers unveiled their vision of how users should interact with the graphical environment, implementing their in-house backed Unicorn Desktop into the distribution.
In short, this is a modified version of the Xfce 4.18 desktop environment bringing some new features, such as a built-in App Grid, well known to GNOME users, a preinstalled by default Ulauncher and Plank dock, plus a wholly changed theme that matches the look and feel of the distribution.
However, Rhino 2023.3 goes one step further, giving its users unified global menu support, well known to Ubuntu users from the days when the distribution relied on its own Unity desktop environment.
In other words, the menu of an active application (like File, Edit, View, etc.) is not displayed in the application window itself. Instead, it’s displayed on the top panel of the desktop, regardless of where the application window is located or its size.
This improves the environment’s consistency and, most importantly, the user experience.
However, if you’re already using Rhino, ensure you’ve updated all packages first to take advantage of the new feature. Then, copy and paste the following snippet into a file, save it with a name of your choice, and run it as an executable in your terminal.
dir_path=".config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml"
for i in "xfce4-panel.xml" "xsettings.xml"; do
sudo cp /etc/skel/$dir_path/$i ~/$dir_path/$i
doneCode language: PHP (php)Furthermore, Rhino 2023.3 fixes several issues, the most notable of which is that a bug in the Unicorn Desktop that causes the Plank dock to be inconsistent has been fixed and that the Ulauncher now starts much faster.
Under the hood, the distribution is powered by the latest and greatest Linux kernel 6.5, as Timeshift, a system restore utility, now comes preinstalled.
You can refer to the release announcement for detailed information about all changes.
Of course, since Rhino follows the rolling release model, if you already use the distribution, there is no need to perform a fresh installation. To upgrade to Rhino Linux 2023.3, run “rpk update -y,“ wait for all updates to be applied, then reboot your system.
For those who want a fresh install, ISO images for the x86_64 and ARM64 architectures are available at the project website’s downloads section.
