Ubuntu MATE 17.10 to Be First Linux OS to Ship with a Snap Installed by Default

Ubuntu MATE leader Martin Wimpress is pioneering pre-installed Snap support in his Ubuntu distro by shipping the forthcoming Ubuntu MATE 17.10 release as the first distro with a Snap app installed by default.

The Snap app in question is for the pulsemixer curses-based command-line sound mixer for the popular PulseAudio sound server, which is installed by default in Ubuntu 17.10 (Artful Aardvark) and other opt-in flavors, such as Ubuntu MATE. Pulsemixer will only be available as a Snap package in Ubuntu MATE 17.10, as the first step towards an all-Snap Ubuntu system.

"Pre-installing Snaps by default in the desktop images was an outcome of the Ubuntu Rally that took place in New York a couple of weeks ago," said Martin Wimpress. "Installing the pulsemixer Snap by default in Ubuntu MATE 17.10 is being used a pilot and what we learn will help the Ubuntu Desktop team with their efforts to ship Snaps by default in Ubuntu 18.04."

Call for testing for Ubuntu MATE ...