[altlinux-announce-en] ALT Workstation 11.2

[Semen Fomchenkov]

Hello!

11.2 minor release of ALT Workstation operating system is available.

About version 11.0:
https://lists.altlinux.org/pipermail/altlinux-announce-en/2025/000046.html

The build is available for на x86_64 and AArch64, based on the 6.12 
(LTS) kernel.

More about the distribution images and updates:
https://packages.altlinux.org/en/p11/images/alt-workstation

Download the release image:
https://download.basealt.ru/pub/distributions/ALTLinux/p11/images/workstation/
http://ftp.altlinux.org/pub/distributions/ALTLinux/p11/images/workstation/
http://mirror.yandex.ru/altlinux/p11/images/workstation/

What's New in Version 11.2

* Installation

- Optionally available: ESPD (Unified System of Program Documentation) 
certificate — for organizations working with regulatory documentation 
and requiring standards compliance.
- The "Video Editors" group is now split into basic (Constrict and GNOME 
Video Trimmer) and advanced (Shotcut) - making it easier to select the 
appropriate option.

* NVIDIA Drivers

- NVIDIA driver installation and updates have been streamlined: required 
libraries and utilities are now shipped together with the driver package.
- After a system update, users no longer need to manually rebuild or 
update the kernel module.

* Graphical Environment

The GNOME 48 desktop environment has been updated, with improvements 
focused on workspace usability:
- Smoother interface rendering.
- New signature fonts: Adwaita Sans and Adwaita Mono.
- Notifications are now grouped by application.
- HDR support added.
- Wayland graphics subsystem capabilities extended.
GNOME components: GTK4 4.20, Libadwaita 1.8, gnome-shell 48.5.

The classic panel mode (Panel) has been enhanced:
- Minimize and maximize buttons added for user convenience.
- Overview screen is now hidden on login.
- Improved application browsing in the menu thanks to increased ArcMenu 
height.
- The new Copyous clipboard manager allows generating QR codes from 
copied text and viewing images in enlarged preview.
- System monitoring access simplified — the Resources application is 
integrated into the Dash to Panel extension and launches from the 
context menu.
- System extensions can now be configured per selected theme mode using 
the dist-extensions mechanism.

Added Adwaita Legacy theme — legacy applications now blend harmoniously 
with the desktop environment (using old-style icons when no modern 
equivalent exists).

In the Nautilus file manager:
- Folders are always displayed at the top in file open/save dialogs — 
faster navigation to desired directories.
- Added a button for creating symbolic links.

The Tuner advanced settings center (introduced in Workstation 11.1) now 
includes seven new modules:
- ALT Packages - package and repository management.
- ALT Components - graphical management of ALT Components (see "Package 
and Repository Management" section for details).
- Security Check - quick system audit against FSTEC recommendations (for 
non-certified systems).
- OS Info - detailed system information with report generation capability.
- GLTS - theme switching for legacy applications.
- Firejail - sandbox configuration for application isolation.
- GDM - login screen appearance (logo, user list, display settings).

For quick navigation, applications are organized into thematic folders 
at installation time: System, Utilities, Creativity, Office, Containers 
and VMs, Wine, Remote Access, Communication, Development. A fixed order 
is additionally pinned for the most important applications. Custom 
configuration remains possible and persists even after system updates 
(via dconf registry).

* New Applications and Tools

Package and Repository Management:
- ALT Components (alt-components) — a new system for managing package 
sets (components).
https://www.altlinux.org/Alt-components (in Russian)
- Flatpak is now enabled by default and integrated with GNOME Software. 
The firsttime-flatpak-mask-openh264 package has been added to prevent 
update failures caused by the unavailable openh264 dependency.
- Stapler — a universal build and package management system - has been 
added. Optional AIDES repository connection is available. When a 
component is selected in GNOME Software, a plugin appears for searching 
and installing packages from Stapler directly through the application 
center.

New Applications:
- Weather (alt-weather-adw) - provides current weather information using 
Yandex Weather and Gismeteo services. The alt-weather-widget extension 
is shipped alongside the application for displaying current weather in 
the GNOME top panel.
- Constrict - video compression to a target file size.
- Kooha - screen recording with format, FPS, and audio source selection 
(lightweight alternative to OBS Studio).
- Apostrophe - Markdown editor with real-time preview.
- GNOME Builder + Manuals - development environment and documentation 
for working with the GNOME stack.
- Pins - shortcut management in the application menu and .desktop file 
editing.
- Command Not Found - if you mistype a command, the terminal suggests 
which package to install.
- Kiosk (kiosk-gnome-profiles) - profiles for running the system in 
kiosk mode with a minimal GNOME session.

* Containerization and Virtualization

The distribution now includes a full desktop containerization stack:
- Podman in rootless mode - secure engine for running containers without 
administrator privileges.
- Pods - graphical interface for managing Podman containers. Allows 
starting, stopping, and viewing containers without entering terminal 
commands.
- Ptyxis - terminal emulator designed for container workflows.
- Distrobox - running Linux distributions in containers with full 
integration into the host system (home directory, USB, graphics).

* System Configuration
- GNOME Settings now supports password changes for domain accounts.
- GNOME Remote Desktop no longer requires an additional terminal command 
for remote connections.
- The Session Keeper extension now restores sessions only after 
confirmation, requested via notification at login.

* Upgrade from p10 to p11

The alt-workstation-10-11-upgrade utility has been added for automated 
system upgrades from the previous p10 generation to p11. It performs 
pre-upgrade checks, supports the MATE → GNOME migration scenario, and 
can work with local repository mirrors.

More (in Russian):
https://www.altlinux.org/Альт_Рабочая_станция_11

Please find our distributions at:
https://getalt.org/en/
-- 
best regards,
Semen Fomchenkov
<armatik at altlinux.ru>