[altlinux-announce-en] ALT Education 11.2 is now available

[Мария Фоканова]

Good day!

11.2 minor release of ALT Education operating system is available.

About version 11.0:
https://lists.altlinux.org/pipermail/altlinux-announce-en/2025/000049.html

This release is based on the stable Platform 11 repository branch (p11 
Salvia). The build is prepared for x86_64 and AArch64 architectures, 
based on kernel 6.12 (LTS).

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

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

ALT Education 11.2 introduces key upstream contributions (Xfce, Veyon, 
Linux kernel), critical hardware fixes, and new tools for teachers and 
administrators.


Classroom Management and Display Enhancements for Teachers

* Veyon on Wayland — classroom management now works in KDE Plasma 
sessions. Previously, Veyon was limited to X11 sessions only. Since KDE 
Plasma in ALT Education defaults to Wayland, Wayland support is now 
production-ready in Veyon 4.11.0 
(https://github.com/veyon/veyon/releases/tag/v4.11.0). Screen 
monitoring, demonstration, and input blocking (via PipeWire) are now 
fully functional.
* Full touchscreen configuration in Xfce. This release adds a missing 
subsystem to Xfce, now upstreamed (Merge Request 198: 
https://gitlab.xfce.org/xfce/xfce4-settings/-/merge_requests/198). The 
Mouse and Touchpad settings now include a Touchscreen tab, allowing 
touchscreen mapping to specific monitors, rotation, and reflection 
configuration. Tested on HP, ASUS, CHUWI, ICL, and DEPO devices. Manual 
xinput set-prop scripts are no longer required.
* Server setup visualization during first boot. When deploying with 
Moodle, Nextcloud, or MediaWiki (the Server Applications for Education 
component), the boot screen now displays setup progress with a Do not 
power off your computer warning, making the process more transparent.


System Administrator Improvements

* Wi-Fi stability fix for MediaTek MT7921/MT7922 adapters. Fixed an 
issue where Wi-Fi would fail after connection loss or resume from 
suspend on laptops with these adapters. Patches have been backported 
from upstream to kernel 6.12.96 and accepted into the stable Linux 
kernel branch 
(https://lists.altlinux.org/pipermail/devel-kernel/2026-June/008679.html). 
Wi-Fi connectivity is now stable. For already installed systems, the 
kernel can be updated following the Kernel Update guide 
(https://en.altlinux.org/Kernel_update).
* PostgreSQL 16 in the server package set. Alongside MariaDB (which 
powers the server applications for education), PostgreSQL 16.14 has been 
added as an additional DBMS option.
* New security policies in ALT Center. Added policies for user console 
lockdown, Podman controls, process tracing restrictions, SysRq blocking, 
network service startup control, and GRUB recovery mode lockdown.
* Security updates. Vulnerabilities closed in Thunderbird (40), Dovecot 
(16), curl (18), Apache (13), GRUB (6), and many others. OpenSC (smart 
card and digital signature access) and ClamAV (antivirus) have also been 
updated to the latest versions.

** Important note for administrators: Dovecot has been updated to 
version 2.4.4. This release introduces configuration file format 
changes; legacy configurations are not compatible. Migration 
instructions are available in the official project documentation: 
https://doc.dovecot.org/2.4.4/installation/upgrade/2.3-to-2.4.html


Updated Development Tools

* IDEs and compilers:
Qt Creator 20.0
Lazarus (Free Pascal) 4.8
Java 21 introduced in vocational and higher education package sets (Java 
25 remains for secondary education)

* Scientific and creative packages:
QGIS 4.2
Stellarium now correctly installs from the secondary education package set
Blender 4.5, Inkscape 1.4, Audacity 3.7, Octave 11.2

* Application fixes:
Blender: fixed glTF 2.0 export
Audacity: LV2 plugin interfaces now open correctly
KDE Spectacle: text recognition on screenshots is now functional


Desktop Environment

* Virtual keyboard for tablets on KDE/Wayland. Maliit keyboard has been 
added. It must be manually selected in System Settings -> Keyboard -> 
Virtual Keyboards, after which it automatically appears when input 
fields receive focus.
* ALT Education theming now applies to all connected displays (not just 
the primary one).
* HPLIP updated to 3.26 with support for 24 printer series including 
LaserJet Pro MFP, OfficeJet, OfficeJet Pro, DeskJet, and Envy.
* Duplex printing issue on Pantum P3300DN has been fixed.
* GRUB boot menu now more readable with a new font for HiDPI displays; 
artifacts and hangs on certain processors (AMD Ryzen 5) have been resolved.


More (in Russian):
https://www.altlinux.org/Альт_Образование_11#Основные_новшества_в_11.2

Please find our distributions at:
https://getalt.org/en/