I think Ubuntu 23.10 is making a mistake

The next version of the world's most popular desktop Linux operating system (that's Ubuntu, for those playing dumb) comes with fewer apps available out-of-the-box.

Daily builds of Ubuntu 23.10 now ship with just a super-slim set of default software. These are designed to cover basic computing needs only.

For anything else, the idea is that we, the user, fire up the Software Store (though the new one isn't included in daily builds yet) and install what we want for ourselves.

As an idea, it's not without merit.

But in practice, I think it's a potential misstep.

Basically, Ubuntu will no longer ship with LibreOffice, an email client, Shotwell, or a host of other applications and tools. While there's certainly a market for slim distributions that install a lean and mean base installation for the user to expand into exactly the installation they desire, I doubt users opting for such an approach are interested in using Ubuntu, of all distributions (use Void. It's the only Linux distribution with the official OSNews Seal of Approval). In other words, this seems like an odd choice for a distribution aimed at relative newcomers to the Linux world.

But then again, Fedora is a better choice for those people anyway.