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Ubuntu Questing Quokka Beta is Out [1]

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Date: 2025-09-19

Several versions are out. The main desktop version came out much later in the day than Ubuntu Studio, which I therefore tried first. No worries here. Now you and I can get the regular distro from the Ubuntu 25.10 (Questing Quokka) Beta page.

Let’s review the download and installation process, which works the same way for any of the Betas of any of the *ubuntu variants.

Use a computer with the fastest wi-fi you can manage. In my case, that means an 11-minute download, whereas one of my older computers would have taken hours. Also a fast USB 3.2 drive, when you install the .iso file to it. DO NOT install any of these Betas on a production computer, where a serious bug could result in data loss. Check whether your installation target is compatible with Ubuntu. linux-hardware.org

Go to a download page, (Ubuntu 25.10 (Questing Quokka) Beta is where it should be, but that page only had ARM and PowerPC versions yesterday morning). Ubuntu 25.10 Beta Available for Download has the Beta of Ubuntu Studio, meant for creatives in art and music, so I tested that first. Click the download link. You should be able to watch the progress of the download. If you lose that view, go to the Tools menu in Firefox and click Downloads. If you aren’t using Firefox, there should be another way to do it. In a Files window, right click the .iso file and open it with Disk Image Mounter. That will open the file as a loop device. Insert a large-enough USB drive, with at least 10 GB of free space. Open the Disks utility. Select the loop device. On the three dots menu toward the right, select Create Disk Image. Make sure that your USB drive is not open in any app, such as Files. Accept the name for the new image, and select your USB drive as the target. When the process is complete, eject the USB drive. Get the computer for the installation ready to boot, and insert the USB drive. Turn it on, and then press and hold ESC, F10, or whatever other key is specified to get to the Menu. Select Boot from USB, or whatever it is called on your machine. Select Try or Install, and follow directions, including choosing your language and keyboard. I use English Dvorak alt-international except when messing around in Russian, Greek, or Yiddish.

Let me know if you need more help. Don’t try this as your first foray into Linux. For the next few weeks Plucky Puffin or Linux Mint is still the way to try it out, with a far more automated process in which you can download a software installer rather than a .iso..

Now you can install and test various software according to your needs. Most people will want LibreOffice. I use the command line in a terminal app to get the Synaptic Package Manager, thus.

sudo apt-get install synaptic

Then I use Synaptic to install

The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

Midnight Commander (like the Norton Commander, but more powerful)

Gnote, so I can make notes on anything needful, and put them in relevant categories like Home, Finances, Computer, and so on.

The Characters utility, which lets me search for any Unicode character, and then select it to copy and paste anywhere

GnuCash for bookkeeping

A few games and puzzles

The VLC Media Player

Document Viewer for reading PDFs and digital books in other formats

A few apps with previously known bugs to see whether they have been fixed yet.

Now I can go look for new bugs to report, which is the point of a Beta release.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/9/19/2344355/-Ubuntu-Questing-Quokka-Beta-is-Out?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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