| guide | "Minimal installation" in the Ubuntu installer has been one of the distribution's most popular features over the years. |
When users choose Ubuntu's "minimal installation" option, they can get a complete and fully functional Ubuntu system with fewer pre-installed applications installed.
But this feature may be axed - it will be replaced by a new installation option.
According to Tim, Director of Ubuntu Desktop Engineering, they plan to introduce a new installation option - unified default install (unified default install), to replace the existing installation options. The unified default install is said to be able to let the user choose which applications to install/add during installation.
He said that neither "minimal install" nor "full install" can fully meet the different needs of users, and adjusting the number of packages in the configuration of the two is not the solution to the problem. Therefore, instead of focusing on the number of packages, they should try to meet user needs, such as simplifying installation and reducing the time for users to go from installation to production use.
He also said that with today's widespread Internet penetration, obtaining the necessary applications is no longer an obstacle. Simplifying the installation options reduces the ISO size, reduces the need for testing, and simplifies the installation process.
Regarding this plan, Ubuntu users said that he also thinks that the current "full installation" is very bloated, but he thinks it is difficult to find a solution that suits most users. Business users, for example, probably don't need an office suite, and want to be able to customize their installation anyway. Developers and researchers are mainly concerned with development tools and productivity software (such as VScode or Slack), not to mention users with other needs. Therefore, he believes that if you really want to adopt a "unified default installation", try to avoid using large office suites or software that no one uses in the default installation.
Some people think that this is another way for Ubuntu to forcefully promote Snap. According to previous reports, Ubuntu 23.10 will introduce a new "app store"-priority support for the Snap format. So while Unified Default Install lets users choose which applications to install/add during installation, it ultimately wants Ubuntu desktop users to be deeply tied to Snap.